Total Quality Management Analysis - Essay Example

Name Course Lecturer Date Total Quality Management 1. Alliant health system is primarily a healthcare organization whose hospitals have superior resources for patients with diabetes and cancer. Recently, as a result of issues related to cost of health care, the organization has tried to improve it quality so as reduce the cost and increase its effectiveness. As such, the corporation resulted to a total quality management (QTM) which addresses several issues as discussed below. It is important to note that that TQM was mainly based on moulding of a culture and structure and as such focused on teams and planning. One of the strategies was a shift from the traditional systems of operation which mainly involved employees identifying, or participating in the identification of problems, being part of the team to solve the problems and making decision via various tools including QITs. The new strategy therefore, involved or targeted ensuring that there was increased job involvement as one of the ways of integrating total quality approaches (Case study 1 2). As such, this strategy primarily addressed the fact that the jobs were supposed to be more customer oriented; therefore, allowing more autonomy, feedback, personal growth and variety. As a result, activities in the organization was characterised by team work which consequently led to the group taking over some specific management functions. However, it is important to note that this kind of ‘evolution’ was somehow unexpected given the fact that most employees in the organization describe this situation as by default. In relation to the above, another TQM strategy that was perceived in the corporation is that of creation of self directed group. Initially, Alliant lost supervisors of various departments; and as such employees started managing the departments by themselves (Case study 1 4). It is perceived that the employees worked hard leading to great output and job satisfaction. The executives are said to have been impressed and therefore created nine more self directed groups and ensured that they were independent in order to allow the corporation to grow. As such, this became a major goal in the organization. Indeed, the teams that initially came up as a result of the exit of the departmental supervisors ended up being a good example to the rest of the colleagues in the work place. In order for the teams to be effective, training and other requirements such as committees to deliberate on various issues such as evaluation, readiness survey were put into place. Notably, this increased the effectiveness and efficiency of the group and the company was able to record more growth and therefore, meeting its quota. Another strategy that characterises the organization in relation to QTM involves the instituting of work systems which were highly involving together with a design that was basically team oriented and job involving. Notably, the above strategy brought in changes in the structure of the organization and various managerial roles. This resulted to a shift from the traditional system design which mainly involved traditional departmental systems such as nursing, finance, patient registration, food and nutrition to a better system which was primarily product centred. Indeed, as a result of this shift, the corporation believed that it would organize in a way that would not only reduce its cost but also maintain a competitive edge. In relation to the above, it is important to note that the traditional way of running system; that is, form a centralize system, would be decentralized in order to emphasis on the well being of the patients. However, the functions related to the centralized systems were not fully eliminated. This led to the patient care centres (PCC) in Alliant which are under the executive managers who are accountable for quality management, selection , development and involvement of employees, services and planning development, fiscal and operational leadership management (Case study 1 6). Under the executive manager (EM), every PCC has a clinical manager and team leaders who report to the EM. Of important to note is that teams in every PCC rely on the structure of the centre. 2. While implementing its TQM there are some strength and weakness that are related to the action that the organization took. Some of the major strengths include; the shifting from the traditional system of planning and implementing its operations, in a way led to the growth of the corporation and as such to some extent reduced costs. In additional, it was highly effective given that it increased the quality of the services and products delivered to the customers. Another issue that depicts strength of its action is that it gave the employees a voice. Indeed, through this, the employees were able to carry out their work efficiently which led to delivery of quality services. Notably, the employees were able to share their views and innovative ideas while communicating with the management. It is important to note that the initial team work that came in place after some supervisors resigned, laid the foundation for the formation of PCC in Alliant. Furthermore, the quality improvement teams brought specific analytical and technicality tools which were important in running the organization. The fact that there was a shift from a centralized system to a decentralized one is a major strength in the actions that the organization took to implement TQM. This is attributed to the fact that most of the functions that under one management were distributed to various centre bringing quality services closer to the customers. In addition, it in a way ensured that all employees were involved in the running of the organization. Despite the above strengths of the actions, there are various weaknesses that are associated with the same. This includes lack of clear vision of some strategies that were laid out. For instance, it was expected with the increase of team groups, the organization would continue to record better quotas. As such, the management basically the role played by the supervisors in running of some departments. As a result of this, absence of equipped personnel and other significant support system such as incentives, sufficient training for the groups and relax standards that would motivate the employees. Another weakness associated with the action is that through the implementation of the strategy, few or no individual or managerial roles were changed resulting to increased duties for some individuals were part of the team that took work supervisory duties. Therefore, it became difficult to sustain some the teams. In addition, some managers felt that the changes in the structure would also eventually lead to them losing their jobs. As a result of this, the number of self directed groups dropped significantly. The creation of PCC was also characterized with some weakness. For instance, it was hard to predict whether an individual working in one level of management would be proficient the same way in a higher level of management. Simply, it was hard for the Alliant Executive to tell whether a person would be effective in various levels of management as a result of a different organizational structure. This was attributed to the fact that the organization needs different set of various managerial skills in order to ensure that the new structure would be a success and an excellent one. Another weakness related to the action is related to the fact that the managerial in a way did not consider the financial implications that were associated with the changes. Indeed, it is noted that the organization would lose money due to the investment that would be made on construction. In a way this could explain the reason as to why the company was only able to bring up only one PCC. The high turnover in the organization is another weakness associated with the action of QTM. Notably, changes in the structure resulted to most of team leaders to resign from their leadership roles. This is attributed to the fact that most leaders complained of being overload and some role were characterised by ambiguity. Notably, PCC was a new structure in the organization; therefore, in order to make it work, the employees had devoted a lot of extra time an effort. 3. From the above weaknesses, it is important for the organization to implement successful patient care centres. One way of ensuring successful implementation is through a successful communication plan. Indeed, it is widely accepted that for any organization to effectively carry out changes in its structures, it is important for the management to communicate effectively to all the stakeholders. By doing so, the management is ensured that the employees are aware of the changes that will take place in the organization and as such give the needed support. Another recommendation is related to the financial issues. Indeed, it is noted that the company is likely to lose money as it is implementing the PCC. Therefore, it is important that Alliant raise a budget which would help in carrying out financial obligations. With this, the organization would also be in a position to outsource funds from other organizations and also the government. Other important issues that the organization should consider include integrity, and ethical issue. In addition to the above, it is important for the organization to carry out training and workshop seminar for the employees. This is quite important given the fact that the employees are expected to be made aware of the changes that are expected to come and their roles in the new structure. However, prior to this, it is important that the organization conduct a research in the organization in order to consider the employees’ reactions and views towards the implementation of the PCC. With this, the management would be in a position to be able to carry out the training in a way that will suit the employees. Additionally, it is important that the management involve external personnel who would help in carrying out the research and the implementation of PCC in order to eliminate biases. 4. Indeed, while implementing TQM it is important for any organization to address the structure and the culture of the organization. This is quite important given the fact that an organizational traditional structured and culture may be a barrier to a successful and excellent TQM. In regard to culture, an organization is expected to learn that culture influence how employees set professional and personal goals, administer resources and perform tasks. Additionally, it affects how people make decisions which ultimately play a role in implementing TQM. On the other hand, organizational structure high influence implementation of TQM given that a flexible structure make it possible for an organization to swiftly implement the TQM while a rigid one may prove difficult to effectively implement TQM. Notably, both the culture and structure may lead to resistant to implementation of TQM. Notably, this is more outstanding in organizations that have record of poor positive responsiveness to changes. Additionally, if an organization lack skilled changed employees and structures that make it easy for it to accept change, it will call for comprehensive programs of leadership and management to address the problems. In addition to the above, organization should learn that participation of employees to this implementation will created desirable outcomes which will eliminate traditional structures and cultural hindrance to implementing TQM (Packard 15). 5. Similar to Alliant TQM, Blues approach primarily is based on the effort to transform or shift the culture from a traditional one to one that embraces an economic model. However, to some extent, it differs with the Alliant system which is more product-related. Nevertheless both system put customer satisfaction, quality control and work force satisfaction. As a result of this, both organizations have gone ahead and implement the TQM in a way that will lead to aforementioned issues. Furthermore, both organizations aim at flexibility and cost reduction in their operations in order to maximize their profits (Packard 4). A difference between the systems is mainly seen in their use of key elements of successful implementing TQM. These elements include communication, recognition, leadership, teamwork, trust, integrity and ethics. In case of Alliant, communication, recognition, integrity and trust seems to be at their minimal level while teamwork and training has been highly valued. On the other hand, Blues recognizes communication, ethics teamwork and training as important elements in the success of TQM. Work cited Packard, Thomas. TQM and organizational change and development. New York: Rockefeller College Press, 2000. Case Study 1, Total Quality Management; Alliant Health System Read More