Total Quality Management by Russell - Article Example

Total Quality Principles Name: University: Date: Table of Contents Running Head: TOTAL QUALITY PRINCIPLES 1 1 Total Quality Principles 1 Name: 1 Table of Contents 2 Total Quality Principles 3 Introduction 3 ISO 9001: 2000 3 European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Model 6 Comparative Assessment of ISO 9000 and EFQM Model with view to the TQM concept 8 Impact of ISO 9001:2000 and EFQM Model on Business Performance 8 Analysis 10 Leveraging Organisation Capabilities and Quality Management Systems 11 Recommendations 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Total Quality Principles Introduction In Russell (2000) article, he describe ISO 9000:2000 as a family of standards designed purposely for helping organisations to effectively espouse and run quality management systems (QMSs). ISO 9000, according to the article, highlights the QMSs fundamentals, and the utilisation of fundamental principles promotes business excellence. The objective of this piece is to discuss Russell’s (2000) article. The (TQM) principles are considered to be beneficial to organisations since they are positively related to profitability. Currently, it is more imperative for organisations to come up with a quality strategy through adoption of TQM principles. In order to fulfil the principles, organisations normally apply quality models such as ISO 9000 and EFQM as the main framework. These two models are recognised internationally since they guarantee sound approach. In addition, both models try to help enterprises that are quality-minded to keep track of their development towards quality management. ISO 9001: 2000 This standard offers the requirements for the QMS. The standard does not provide requirements for certain services pr products; instead, it offers a generic requirements set associated with development as well as production process, and ways of managing, reviewing and improving them to attain customer satisfaction. According to Russell (2000), the requirements create the need for comprehensively documenting processes as procedures through which the personnel are required to observe consistently. In this case, the objective is to meet the customers’ expectations and needs and allowing the organisations to abide by all the regulations that are applicable. To implement this standard, the production procedures must be explicit, documented, and are strictly followed. Fig 1; ISO 9001: 2000 (Russell, 2000) For an organisation to abide by the ISO 9001: 2000, it must make sure that all its processes are reviewed in line with the requirements of the standard so as to successfully meet the ‘customer base’ expectations as well as needs. Some of the topics covered in the ISO requirements include: customer focus, the commitment of management to quality, competence of employees, Quality planning, and so forth. Therefore, a Quality Manual has to be complied by an organisation, demonstrating the quality management procedures implementation as well as how the requirements of ISO 9001: 2000 are being met. As mentioned by Russell (2000), after the implementation and establishment of the quality requirements and system, a pre-assessment should be carried out by a third party in order to recognise the areas where the organisation could be operating against the requirements of the standard and to ensure the effective changes have been made. Afterwards, the organisation can employ certification body to carry out an independent auditing with the aim of checking if it is complying with the standard requirements of and also to make sure that they are practically working. The ISO 9001: 2000 has some potential benefits; for instance, the standard covers many requirements and it is determined to improve the management activities of the organisation, which often lead to organisational improvement. Besides that, this standard is recognised internationally for its ability to affirm the management system’s independent approval developed purposely to improve the customer satisfaction level. The standard can improve the external and internal communication as well as an accountability of production procedures and management. Having ISO 9001: 2000 certification could help the organisation to gain the preferred supplier status. Still, this standard has some limitations; for instance, it is considered to be expensive based on running costs and its implementation is time consuming. Furthermore, its flexibility is less as compared to other tools and using it for single issues is more challenging. Given that it is a standard for quality management, it was not developed to evaluate the broader organisation’s environmental or social impacts. European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Model The EFQM model according to Russell (2000) is a self-assessment framework used to measure organisation’s strengths as well as areas that need improvement in various activities. Although it was originally developed for the private sector, voluntary and public sector organisations are as well benefiting from this model. According to Vaxevanidis, Krivokapić, Stefanatos, Dašić, and Petropoulos (2006) the EFQM model is non-prescriptive and the organisation is not required to strictly follow the set of standards or rules, but offers a coherent as well as broad set of assumptions regarding the requirements that would help an organisation together with its management become effective. All the organisations can utilise this model in their own way to develop as well as manage improvement, under the direction of those utilising the methods instead of the external evaluator. Figure 2: The Excellence Model Framework (Russell, 2000) As evidenced by figure two the model has nine ideas which add force to this premise and tries to cover all every activity in the organisation. Enablers and Results have been used to separate these ideas. According to Russell (2000), the enbaler criteria focus on the conduct of the organisation, ways through which it manages its resources as well as staff, how the strategy is planned and also how the key processes are reviewed and monitored. The enablers include processes, people, leadership, partnership and resources, as well as policy and strategy (Russell, 2000). On the other hand, results are what the organisation achieves and they involve the satisfaction level amongst the organisation’s customers as well as employees, key indicators of performance, and its effect on the wider community. They results include: Key performance results, customer results, people results, and society results (Russell, 2000). Still, organisations have to identify a technique for utilising the framework such as workshop approach. After the initiation of the self-assessment exercise, Vaxevanidis, Krivokapić, Stefanatos, Dašić, and Petropoulos (2006) posit that the organisation can start improving its performance with assistance of the guidance included in the relevant publications of the Model. The EFQM model has numerous benefits; for instance, the model offers a holistic framework that helps address quality issues in the organisation systematically. The EFQM model diagnoses organisation’s activities and can be utilised for planning since it connects what the organisation does as well as the achieved results, demonstrating how they are attained. More importantly, the model tries to promote a culture of unremitting improvement. Furthermore, the model does not require external validation and could be utilised as a internal self-assessment tool; thus, enabling the organisation to become open and honest while measuring its performance. Furthermore, the organisation can achieve internal benchmark through scoring and could also be utilised for some external comparison and benchmarking. Some of the possible limitations associated with the EFQM model include; the small social enterprises cannot enter because it expensive and has no formal accreditation or mark. The Excellence Model language cannot be easily translated to voluntary organisations or social enterprises. Comparative Assessment of ISO 9000 and EFQM Model with view to the TQM concept According to Russell (2000), the ISO 9000 focuses on quality assurance while on the other hand, TQM focuses on finding excellence. That is to say, TQM’s basic priorities are achieving loyal and satisfied customers as well as process efficiency while ISO 9000’s priorities are based on fulfilling contractual commitments the organisation has with its customers. Total quality success is attributed to the stakeholders’ cooperation and involvement as well as management commitment. In contrast, ISO 9000 is based on rigorous procedures application as well as sufficient workforce composition to complete the contracts. Akin to TQM, the EFQM consider the business excellence as the main goal. Furthermore, the EFQM model covers all the five principles of TQM as cited by Mønsted and Føns (2002); continuous improvement, leadership, everyone’s participation, customer focus, and focus on facts. Still, Mønsted and Føns (2002) maintains that neither the EFQM model nor the ISO 9000 standards can sufficiently guarantee TQM. For instance, business excellence is not pursued by ISO 9000; instead, it focuses on business assurance. In contrast to TQM concept, the standards have numerous shortcomings such as insufficient measurements for documenting efforts of improvement; they focus on procedures rather than processes; and their approach towards continuous improvement is flawed. Such problems are less in the EFQM model since the framework has included the majority of the TQM principles. Still, EFQM model implementation does not entirely guarantee total quality, but it is aligned more to TQM as compared to ISO 9000. Therefore, Mønsted and Føns (2002) posits that the two models cannot be perceived as competing models, but they are somehow complementary. Impact of ISO 9001:2000 and EFQM Model on Business Performance The business organisations that positively and willingly pursue ISO 9000 certification according to Mønsted and Føns (2002) are inclined to experience improved. As maintained by Russell (2000), the ISO 9000 influence the bottom-line results; but, it does not allow organisations to pursue the certification for purpose of certification. Instead, the management are expected to sincerely believe in TQM as the only path for reporting all ISO 9000 certification effects on the organisation’s financial results. For companies that have good quality systems, ISO 9000 normally adds delays, costs, and undesirable documentation, instead of offering competitive advantage. Introducing the EFQM model in the business normally result to desirable results, such as improved non-financial and financial results. EFQM model enable the organisation to achieve higher returns, improve customer and employee satisfaction, reduce process cycle time, and reduction in waste and emissions. Clearly, frameworks (ISO 9000:2000 and EFQM model) have comparatively the same opposite weaknesses and strengths. The publishing of ISO 9000:2000 exhibited that the side of ISO 9001 included some of the EFQM model’s strengths. According to Mønsted and Føns (2002), the inarguable strength of ISO 9001 needs proof and auditability. Even though the ISO 9001 audit appears to be less strategic, it can be reliable and factual if performed properly and cost-effectively. Furthermore, the ISO 9001 systems normally gain from the two levels of independent regulation as well as scrutiny. On the other hand, EFQM has been described by Russell (2000) as a non-prescriptive model that acknowledges various ways of approaching excellence. Whereas the ISO basic focus is meeting the needs of the customers as well as offering customer satisfaction by means of effective process and system, EFQM emphasises on the company’s overall performance and the customer satisfaction is only a part of it. Analysis With the view to Russell (2000) article, it is clear that both frameworks have leadership, a customer focus, as well as people involvement. Still, the EFQM focuses not just on involvement of people, but all their development. People’s involvement and development have been presented as process that cannot be separated. Furthermore, the model highlights the process importance as well as its management and that facts should be used while making decisions. Although both frameworks have the principle of continual improvement, Russell (2000) posits that the EFQM model has the principles’ of learning and innovations that allows for sustainable success. With view to partnership development, ISO focuses only on the organisation’s beneficial relationships with its suppliers while the EFQM model concentrates on satisfying the stakeholders’ needs. In this case, the stakeholder includes customers, employees, suppliers, and shareholders. In addition, EFQM has principles like Result orientation as well as Public responsibility, which the ISO does not cover. Therefore, by comparing the principles it is evident that even though EFQM and ISO have many things in common, but they are covered in wide scope by EFQM model. The main significant difference between ISO and EFQM models is attributed to the way they assess and measure the organisation’s performance. ISO utilise the Quality Audit while EFQM applies the self-assessment approach. Besides that, ISO depends largely on inspection to warrant quality while EFQM depends on prevention. Therefore, while the ISO exhibits a reactive nature, the EFQM display a proactive nature. According to Mønsted and Føns (2002), the proactive nature focuses more on the future oriented activities which organisations must handle, rather than fire fighting. Furthermore, the ISO excludes some stakeholders while the EFQM model covers more stakeholders and acknowledges the benefits of all types of partnership. Leveraging Organisation Capabilities and Quality Management Systems In order to achieve as well as sustain outstanding achievements in the organisation, the managers must have good professional skills. According to Civcisa (2012), organisations that are successful are normally led by energetic and skilful managers. Therefore, it is imperative for organisations to have to develop different professional skills. The organisation’s sustainability and success is associated closely with the manager’s professional skills. Therefore, leveraging quality management systems is crucial since it affects the employee and customer satisfaction. In their study, Almushayt (2014) observed that meeting customer expectations as well as requirements are extremely crucial since it enables the organisation to gains new customers, maintain its customers, improve its market reputation and become sustainable. This can be achieved by clearly identifying the expectations as well as needs of the customers in addition to the quality level needed by the customers. The organisation has to work hard from the start in order to save resources, effort, time, and money. Considering that quality plays a crucial role in the satisfaction of the customers. The organisation could be more profitable, productive, as well as efficient while offering superior product quality at a customer-friendly price. As a result, the organisation would become successful and sustainable since it can survive the competition. Furthermore, leveraging quality management systems would help the organisation in numerous critical areas like improving internal communications, reducing defective products, and increasing market share and customer’s satisfaction. Besides that, leveraging QMS enable the organisation to reduce the cost of mistakes, improve quality, reduce waste, and improve productivity. Recommendations Organisations should introduce EFQM Model rather than ISO since it incorporates many TQM principles and involves all stakeholders (Fonseca, 2015). For organisation that has implemented the ISO 9001:2000 standard, they should improve their internal control and efficiency in the process of decision-making. This according to Saizarbitoria, Viadiu, and Fa (2010) would enable the organisation to reduce the amount of improvisation. Besides that, organisations should place much more emphasis on improving internal control, efficiency and systemization. It is imperative for organisations to use the EFQM model since it leads to improved decision-making process, performance, and internal efficiency. The EFQM model also has some noteworthy influence on internal communication, motivation and leadership. Still, having quality models can make the organisation embrace flexible work practices. As pointed out in Russell (2000) article, the EFQM model offers a holistic framework through which an organisation could measure its utilisation of TQM principles as well as standards and find the way forward. The approaches offered by ISO 9001:2000 are complementary, and not rival. More importantly, the quality management systems must support the efforts of the organisation to deliver improved value to all its customers devoid of surrendering the employees’ wellbeing. Conclusion In conclusion, it is clear that both ISO 9001:2000 and EFQM model ensure total quality but differently. However, the EFQM model is aligned more towards total quality as compared to ISO 9000. The EFQM model is better than ISO because in its criteria it incorporates every principle and it is more holistic. The EFQM model is considered more suitable because of its causal and recursive structure. ISO 9000 lacks this form of structure; therefore, it is challenging to understand ways of improving. References Almushayt, O. S. (2014). Analysis, Design And Implementation Of Quality Management System For Ksa Software Company. Science International, 26(2), 791-799. Civcisa, G. (2012). A Combined Approach for Determining Managerial Activities. Management Theory and Studies for Rural Business and Infrastructure Development, 31(2), 36-43. Fonseca, L. M. (2015). Relationship Between Iso 9001 Certification Maturity And Efqm Business Excellence Model Results. Quality Innovation Prosperity, 19(1), 85-102. Mønsted, M., & Føns, T. (2002). A comparative assessment of the EFQM Excellence model and the ISO 9001:2000. Thesis, Aarhus BSS, Aarhus V, Denmark. Russell, S. (2000). ISO 9000:2000 and the EFQM Excellence Model: competition or co-operation? Total Quality Management , 11(4/5&6), 657- S665. Saizarbitoria, I. H., Viadiu, F. M., & Fa, M. C. (2010). ISO 9001 Vs. EFQM: A comparative analisys based on external independent data. 4th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management, (pp. 1575-1582). San Sebastián. Vaxevanidis, N., Krivokapić, Z., Stefanatos, P., Dašić, S., & Petropoulos, G. (2006). An overview and a comparison of ISO 9000:2000 quality system standards with related automotive ones (QS 9000, ISO/TS 16949) and TQM models (MBNQA and EFQM). Journal of Engineering, 4(2), 155-166. Read More