Problems in Total Quality within the Workplace - Research Paper Example

 Problems in Total Quality within the Workplace Performance Improvement INTRODUCTION: The changing management practices and ongoing technological advancements have resulted in placing additional pressure on the organizations to improve the overall performance and productivity. For this purpose, most of the organizations have been using and implementing the philosophy of total quality management. With the help of total quality management, organizations can reduce the wastages and can improve the overall performance. Since its advent, quality management is being widely spread all over as one of the new approach towards the management of the organizations (Omachonu & Ross, 2004). In order to use the total quality management to make sure all operations and activities of organizations provide high quality end results and there is improvement in the productivity and performance, organizations should adopt the strategy of continuous improvement (Sommer & Merritt, 1994). There is a perception that the concept of total quality management is relevant to the manufacturing organizations only. However, it is important to notice, that total quality management is applicable to every organization operating in any industry or sector. Organizations operating in different industries are implementing total quality management practices in order to improve the performance and workplace. In this report an attempt has been made to explore and analyze different problems in total quality and their solutions with special focus on healthcare organizations. PROBLEMS IN TOTAL QUALITY AT WORKPLACE RELATED TO PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT AND THEIR SOLUTIONS: One of the biggest problems in the total quality at workplace is the integration of the total quality techniques with the human resource or employees of the organization. Employees are one of the most important elements of the organization, which are responsible for the overall growth and development of the organization. Human resource is one of the most important element for the growth and development of the organization. Owing to the increasing importance of employees and their involvement in the growth process, human resource is being perceived as the strategic partner of the organization. For this purpose, organizations are taking necessary steps in order to attract and retain competent employees. Several analysts and researchers have performed different studies and researches in order to identify ways and methods for improving the performance and productivity of the employees with the help of total quality management. According to the research work done by Joiner (2007), the support of the top management and other workers in the organization is one of the key factors for successful implementation of the total quality management. With the help of proper leadership skills and support from the top management, organization can make sure that employees are able to adapt to the new philosophy of total quality management. At the same time, Yue, Ooi, and Keong (2011) presented in their research article that organizations can improve the job satisfaction and in turn the performance by implanting the people related total quality management. Organizations are facing problems in retaining the employees, increasing the job satisfaction, and thus improving the overall performance at the workplace. For this purpose organizations can use people related practices of total quality management which are: training and development, leadership, employee empowerment, team work, employee involvement, and reward and recognition. With the help of these practices, organizations can overcome different issues and problems related to the total quality at the workplace. Furthermore, these tools will allow the organizations to improve the overall output and performance. Sommer & Merritt (1994), in their study showed the impact of the implementation of total quality on the performance and attitudes of the employees of healthcare organization. According to this study, with the help of total quality management healthcare organization was able to improve the job satisfaction, group climate, organizational commitment, and several other workplace related attitudes of the employees. Healthcare organizations have been taking significant measures in order to implement the concept of total quality management, owing to their additional commitment towards the patients and providing them with high quality healthcare services. In order to make sure that the patients are provided with appropriate and high quality services, healthcare organizations are working to improve the productivity and performance of the employees. As, employees or healthcare practitioners are responsible for providing quality services to the patients. Hence, satisfied employees will in turn will satisfy the patients. With the help of effective and efficient human resource management, organizations are able to improve the overall quality of the operations. For this purpose, the top management should keep in mind following points (Omachonu & Ross, 2004): 1. At the time of recruitment and selection, the top management should make sure that the new candidate will be able to adapt and support the quality culture of the organization. 2. The organization should come up with effective strategies in order to retain the competent and productive employees. 3. There should be considerable resources allocated for the training and development of the of the employees. 4. Human resource decisions like recruitment of new employees or firing of old employees should be inconsistent with the mission, vision, and objectives of the organization. 5. There should be proper acknowledgement of the participation of the employees and employees should be provided with the required empowerment. 6. There should be proper and fair reward and recognition system in order to encourage the employees. All these factors are essential for improving the overall performance of the organization as shown by Yue, Ooi, and Keong (2011), Joiner (2007), and Sommer & Merritt (1994), in their respective research studies. CONCLUSION: It has become essential for all organizations whether operating in any sector, to improve the total quality at workplace in order to improve the overall performance. It is important to consider in this regard that most important element for the successful implementation of the total quality management, the organization should be able to effectively manage the employees. For this purpose, all activities and tasks related to human resource management should be performed in an efficient manner. Different research studies have shown the importance of implementing total quality management in order to improve the performance of the employees which in turn will facilitate in the process of growth and development of the overall organization. REFERENCES Joiner, T. (2007). ‘Total Quality Management and Performance: the role of organization support and co-worker support’, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 24(6), 617-627. Omachonu, V., & Ross, J. (2004). Principles of Total Quality. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press LLC. Sommer, S., & Merritt, D. (1994) ‘The Impact of a TQM Intervention on Workplace Attitudes in a Health-care Organization’, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 7(2), 53-62. Yue, J.-W., Ooi, K.-B., & Keong, C. (2011). ‘The Relationship between People-Related Total Quality Management (TQM) practices, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intention: a literature review and proposed conceptual model’, African Journal of Business Management, 5(15), 6632-6639. Read More