The Implementation of Total Quality Management - Two Key Alternatives for Lots of Vital Issues - Case Study Example

Marketing Research: Corporate Situation Analysis Executive Summary The ever-increasing international business competitiveness has mandated companies to build up approaches to turn into low cost producers and to make different their goods and services from their trading rivals. Total Quality Management is one approach that has been praised globally given the impact it had in turning around Japanese Companies into key competitors. Today’s organisations are surrounded by a rising dealing global environment where numerous essentials have developed into a custom that may not have been of distress to organisations in the earlier times. This includes the emergence of computers and telecommunication and information channels such as the internet. For organisations, these are fresh aspects they have to mull over and apply Total Quality Management into. Today, the implementation of Total Quality Management is vital. However, putting Total Quality Management into operation is not easy and poses a key challenge to the present day top management of most organisations. This forms the basis of this research. The research employs a case study approach. The research reveals that top management commitment to Total Quality Management execution is crucial. However, the top management has to deal with deep-rooted issues such as lacking adequate human resources, choosing the best quality method, modelling techniques and the most fitting technology mix. To deal with some of these issues, the top management must be committed to Total Quality Management implementation. Also, they ought to consider the opinion of several experts in implementing Total Quality Management, be problem-focused and engage all stakeholders. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 3 Background Information 3 Implementation of Total Quality Management 4 Research Objectives 6 Research Method and Limitations 7 Research Method: Case Study 7 Limitations of Case Study Research Method 8 Research Findings 9 Conclusions and Recommendations 11 References 14 Introduction Background Information The ever-increasing international business competitiveness has mandated companies to build up approaches to turn into low cost producers and to make different their goods and services from their trading rivals. These approaches include Total Quality Management, Self-Directed Work Teams, Total Productive Maintenance, Just-in-Time, Business Process Re-engineering, and Manufacturing Resources Planning. However, the leading confrontation of all businesses is finding a holistic management approach that will get better their competitiveness in the international trade. Total Quality Management is one approach that has been praised globally given the impact it had in turning around Japanese Companies into key competitors (Yusof & Aspinwall, 2000a). Product Quality is a management concept that has its roots in Japan. The concept was founded by Americans working there in the late 1940's and 1950's: They are Feigenbum, Juran and Deming. These three Americans set the fundamentals of Total Quality Management. According to Magutu (2010), Total Quality Management progressed from a lot of dissimilar management practices and upgrading processes. Essentially, Total Quality Management evolved through several stages starting with Inspection/Supervision, Quality Control, and Quality Assurance to the present Total Quality Management. Different authors have defined Total Quality Management in several ways. In this paper, Total Quality Management simply entails a management plan that involves each one member of an organisation, at all levels, in producing better standards of product or services that they offer in the marketplace. This essentially entails the administration and control of quality all over a whole organization. Different researches and authors have too identified various dimensions of Total Quality Management but the key dimensions take account of: top management support, personnel management, employee involvement, customer rapport, supplier rapport, teamwork, product design process, quality assurance as well as process flow management. Total Quality Management generally lays emphasis on customer focus and satisfaction (Dahlgaard et al 1998). Implementation of Total Quality Management Today’s organisations are surrounded by a rising dealing global environment where numerous essentials have developed into a custom that may not have been of distress to organisations in the earlier times. Emergence of computers, telecommunication and information channels such as the internet has enabled consumers to regularly say their opinion. For organisations, these are fresh aspects they have to mull over and apply Total Quality Management into. All together, there has been consumer service industry blast, organisations have no luxury of time with almost everything nowadays ostensibly accessible at the touch of a button through the internet, and corporations are turning out to be more worldwide leaning (Barrie et al 2007). For these reasons, fewer local companies are putting together each and every one of these aspects into their organisational structures. At any level in a company a worker possibly will have to handle a customer, hence, Total Quality Management is vital for that employee to properly deal with whichever circumstances. Response is vital when handling customers given that peripheral indicators speak about consumer sensitivity and product or service improvement. Consumer analysis, peripheral benchmarking plus market reports trappings can be brought into play in making assessments aligned with future plans. Information technology is improving on a daily basis meaning that admittance to information and consumer requests are occurring at a more rapid rate than before. This is where if Total Quality Management is put into operation at the heart of a company and every employee is taught how to sustain and direct quality of their work, when aspiring to boost productivity total quality ought to be maintained (Yusof & Aspinwall, 2000b). In the 1980’s, a lot of companies, particularly in the manufacturing industry, suffered the brunt of superior quality standards being put to the international market by their Japanese counterparts due to globalisation. In view of the fact that Total Quality Management was initiated in Japan, the Japanese companies had the directed competition in improving their quality procedures and processes. Without improving quality, competitiveness as well as management systems, companies face the risk of not competing well internationally. Europe (2001) argued that with the ever-increasing globalisation and international competition, Total Quality Management is developing into an all the time more imperative aspect of leadership and management to each and every one organisation. Total Quality Management dimensions offer a comprehension and guidance on the implementation of product or service quality. Barrie et al (2007), defines integration as the quality of cooperation among different departments in an organisation so as to pull off unity of effort required by the operating environment. In the present time, integration flanked by different departments in an organisation is not an “if it happens” condition but it is a mandatory requirement. For total quality to be in effect interiorly initiated, project teamwork involving all the staff all the way from production to accounting staff is requisite. This is to make sure that each and every area is considered when scheduling and setting working conditions. A case in point is where in an organisation, measurement and response channels are supposed to be understandable and to the point. Continuous measurement and improvement needs to be made alongside given main result indicators, both internal and external, so as to offer support that things are improving (Barrie et al, 2007) The above illustration makes clear the point that the implementation of Total Quality Management is vital. However, putting Total Quality Management into operation is not easy and poses a key challenge to the present day top management of most organisations particularly small and medium enterprises. Small and medium enterprises face noteworthy divergence in the product or service quality attributes displayed as they grow from the start-up phase into the mature phase. Barrie et al (2007), states that as companies grow, dependence on people is substituted with officially approved systems, procedures and teamwork. Also in the process of growing to maturity, organisations come up with a hierarchical management structure, quality systems are converted into being less people oriented to more process oriented. This paper looks into a number of key challenges managers face in implementing Total Quality Management in the present day emerging firm. Research Objectives Having stated what this research desires to investigate, the following are the objectives that will guide the research study; To find out the role of top management in implementing Total Quality Management; and To establish the key challenges faced by the top management in implementing Total Quality Management. Research Method and Limitations Research Method: Case Study This study will employ a case study method of research. Albeit the method is not commonly used in research, in this particular case it is deemed to be the most fitting research tool. A case study is a practical study that looks into an existing phenomenon in the context of its real existence, in particular when the boundaries sandwiched between the phenomenon and circumstance are not obvious. Case study method allows a researcher to directly scrutinize the data in a detailed perspective. Given that the study will involve going through reports of past studies, case study research makes possible the discovery and comprehension of difficult issues. A case study can be regarded as a strong research method principally once a holistic and comprehensive exploration is obligatory (Yin, 2003). One of the intrinsic attributes of case studies is that they function with a strictly controlled centre of attention. This controlled focus is what enables the researcher to get hold of a comprehensive, in depth comprehension of the subject matter under study. Case study research is lively and for this reason, case studies have the ability of throwing up important matters that were not anticipated when the research begins. Case study research besides, allows the assessment of the special along with typical issues. The deepness and involvedness of case study data is able to shed light on the manner in which correlated factors control each other; hence, they offer a fertile ground for theoretical and hypothetical improvement. This facilitates the use of existing theories alongside multifaceted realism; moreover, the very wealth of the data is able to help engender fresh thinking as well as fresh ideas. The resultant thick depiction is of value in its own right; however, case study research in reality lays bare its importance as soon as such fresh or customized thinking occurs (Flyvbjerg, 2006). Limitations of Case Study Research Method Conventionally researchers view case study research methods as missing thoroughness and neutrality when judged against other social research methods. Case studies do offer a lot of data for simple investigation. Collection of this data is often time-consuming plus still more time-consuming to scrutinize. This hampers the use of case studies since if a researcher cuts corners on either of these aspects, this possibly will critically deteriorate the importance and reliability of whichever findings are produced. Also, there is a setback of representation. In case study research, it is almost impossible to ascertain the probability that data is representative of a given much bigger population. A case study is often focused on a particular item that is being studied meaning that other items are not considered especially for single case studies (Yin, 2003). If a researcher opts to use multiple case studies, the research expenses are often too high. When it comes to the presentation of results, it is a lot not easy to present available and reasonable pictures particularly in complex analyses. Moreover, even if, a number of facets of case study work are able to be quite simply be presented in numerical form, a great deal cannot. In view of that fact, case study research calls for a great and vital researcher proficiency, knowledge and insight. When used alongside personal interviewing, data collected for a case study may well not truthfully replicate the state of affairs (Flyvbjerg, 2006). A subjective reply possibly will emanate from a cognitive difference of opinion and/or a conservative outlook of the case on the side of the person being interviewed. Research Findings A study of past case studies reveals that lacking guidance from the top, is frustrating the choice decision involving two uniformly attractive options at the stage of choosing between Total Quality Management concepts and implementation. It is important to note that top management commitment does not come to a close at that point. To identify with the company reorganization process, personal participation from the top management in various problem-solving actions is indispensable. In addition, each one triumphant or abortive effort at finding a solution to an implementation setback is a lesson to the top management in streamlining the organization (Yusof & Aspinwall, 2000a). The top management has too suffered the brunt of intense condemnation for being lazed on matters pertaining to quality and has been held responsible for a letdown in the integration of quality into business pronouncements. Habitually, top management spotlight is by and large directed toward productivity expansion with quality enhancement as a spin-off. Top management, generally, has not comprehended that a focus on quality ends in productivity perfection as a by-product. Even if the top management has been criticized by well-known proponents of Total Quality Management, they have on the whole ignored it as negativism and have failed to transform the message into the formation of progression strategies. The top management has been accused of taking on speedy operations that produce low quality goods than admitting effective but slower operations in the same token that produce high quality goods. This has too failed to catch the attention of the top management. Therefore, the top management plays a key role in the implementation of Total Quality Management (Tanner & Porter, 2004.). The case studies reveal that budding organisations face a number of problems in implementing Total Quality Management which pose a great headache for the top management. The leading troubles are the insufficiency of human resources, lacking participation from non-production divisions as well as trying to accomplish too much in a short span of time. A company's quality department, with few employees, is often tasked with the overall task for guaranteeing product and/or service quality. Another problem is the affinity of a lot of companies to hang on to these singular ideas such as Statistical Process Control, Just-In-Time, and Business Process Re-Engineering as if they were a universal remedy for all troubles. Once they hear of the latest introduction of a quality concept or a freshly enclosed old quality, it turns into the company’s centre of attention. This pushes regular management activities such as organisation of management briefings and seminars, appointment of coordinators, generation of software programs, printing of materials, and so on (Ross, 2004). These conducts prolongs in anticipation of the introduction of another quality concept that is deemed to have additional potential. And the entire regular set of actions is repeated. This should not be the case as Total Quality Management is a continuous process. The top management too faces the difficulty of choosing the most fitting supplier and technology models for their organisation. If models are regularly changed, there may well be uncertainty from suppliers hence hampering quality improvement models due to the arising confusion. Fundamentally, these models comprise several procedures that suppliers have got to act in accordance with (Koh & Low, 2008). The suppliers' dear resources possibly will end up being used up in constantly reorganising and modifying their procedures to gratify every set of discrete desires for their clientele. As a result, the supplier may possibly for no reason find time to focus on crafting a tactical quality improvement model dependable with product or process technology. Conclusions and Recommendations Total Quality Management is an approach that has to be at the heart of an organisation’s activities if it is to be achieved. The concept of Total Quality Management and the effecting Total Quality Management are two very distinct aspects. The theoretical journey of Total Quality Management is relatively undemanding; however, the implementation of Total Quality Management presents two key alternatives on lots of vital issues. The accomplishment of Total Quality Management relies on the top management choosing sensible options (Poonsook et al 2005). At every one level in the entire organisation’s structure a frame of mind of quality management plus constant improvement must be crucial. At the time of spreading and progressing in one piece, an organisation encounters novel confrontations that have to be handled in the most competent manner. The top management has got to clearly set out achievable goals and standards at every one level of the organisation, also, tools and procedures have to be understandable by all users, and everything has to be noticeable through criticism to scrutinize what occurs and how it possibly will be enhanced. Quality contained by the organisation’s processes as well as workforce is as well supposed to be acknowledged and endorsed as a distinctive aspect. As soon as an organisation grows and brings up new businesses, if Total Quality Management is guided by the top management, other members of the organisation get inspired to have quality as a feature of their every day work and self-guidance. It is until the end of time a piece of the constant improvement frame of mind, keep on to improving in the course of day after day performance and quality takes care of itself (Haksever, 1996). For the top management to show commitment to Total Quality Management, they must educate themselves in quality concepts, not just talk quality when presenting speeches. This will start to push the company’s potency in the right direction and facilitate organisational transformation. To successfully implement Total Quality Management, the management must be able to choose, sequence, and blend ideas from a lot of different experts to come to a constructive conclusion. Whichever one quality improvement specialist does not have every bit of required information. Each one expert presents one exceptional suggestion to move ahead the soft technology of looking at quality-related difficulties. Also, if an organisation has an inadequate number of quality personnel, it is of the essence that their human resources are appropriately considered and utilised more than ever as soon as the organisation gets on with new quality programmes. Since no one in the company may be eager to front a question as regards the real problems faced by the company, the top management has to push for a problem-solving focal point. The nonstrategic matters of fitting problems into lately learned methods (method-focus) can drain very important resources into nonstrategic deeds. A problem-focus is the better-quality alternative as it enables application of fitting philosophies and methodologies for the largely competent resolution of the difficulty. The superior move is to focus on in-house strengths in a given literary environment and go after the replication of outcomes rather than the replication of methods (Peters, 2007). Also, for the practice of Total Quality Management to be successful, the management should focus on quality with productivity as a by-product, and not the other way round. Too, the management has to ensure all stakeholders are fully involved. For example, a supplier who is for the most part well-informed on the subject of the technology is in a superior standing to devise a quality improvement model (Dahlgaard et al 1998). References Barrie G.D, Ton van der Wiele and Jos van Iwaarden. 2007. Managing Quality. 5th edn. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Dahlgaard, J.J., Kristensen, K. and Kanji, G.K. 1998. Fundamentals of Total Quality Management. Chapman & Hall, London. Europe, 2001. Quality Systems for Enhancing Competitiveness of SME's: Expert Meeting on Best Practice in the Creation of Quality Systems for Enhancing Competitiveness of SMEs. Geneva: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Flyvbjerg, B. 2006. Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research. Qualitative Inquiry 12(2): 219-245. Haksever, C. 1996. Total quality management in a small business environment. Business Horizons, 33-40. Koh, T. Y. and Low, S. P. 2008. Organizational culture and TQM implementation in construction firms in Singapore. Construction Management & Economics, 26(3): 237-248. Magutu, 2010. Management Through Effective Information Quality Management (IQM) in banking services. AIBUMA, 1: 96-111. Peters, J. T. 2007. In Search of Excellence (2010): The Little Big Things. Poonsook, J, Kusuma, P, and Pong, H. 2005. An Application of Total Quality Management for Thai Communities Knowledge Management Systems. Bangkok: Phranakhon Rajabhat University. Ross, E.J. 2004. Principles of Total Quality. 3rd edn. Tanner, L. J. and Porter, S. J. 2004. Assessing Business Excellence. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Yin, R.K. 2003. Case Study Research Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. Yusof, S.M. and Aspinwall, E.M. (2000a). TQM implementation frameworks: comparison and review. Total Quality Management. Yusof, S.M. and Aspinwall, E.M. (2000b). A conceptual framework for TQM implementation for SMEs. The TQM Magazine, 12(1): 31-36. Read More