Implementing Total Quality Management - the Role of Human Resource Management - Research Proposal Example

Globalization in the business environment has forced many business organizations to thrive in ensuring high quality as a tool for competing successfully in the world wide markets. Organizations are facing a great deal of challenges in addressing the issue of cultural differences since it usually leads to stereotyping. In the purest form, cultural diversity should not be related to stereotype. If a company cannot effectively implement TQM practices, it will automatically offer services that do not satisfy the customers. This in turn has direct impact on the level of sales to be made by such an organization. The research proposal critically analyzes the problems faced by management in implementing Total Quality Management for better services and concludes on the efficient steps that top management can take (Perry & Heron, 2003). Introduction Total Quality Management (TQM) is an essential business strategy which creates and embeds awareness of quality in the institutional process of implementing its duties. It is the organization-wide management of quality and it encompasses planning, organizing, control and assurance. It is the concern of many organizations to ensure that the services they offer are of high quality to satisfy the stakeholders. Quality of products is the basis of TQM. The approach is centered on the quality as a way forward of realizing long term success through customer success (Perry & Heron, 2003). Statement of Research Questions The research proposal aims at answering the following questions: What are the effects of cultural diversity on implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) process? What are the challenges that organizations face in implementing TQM in culturally diversified workforce? What are the implications of cultural diversity on operations of an organization - what are the effects on morale of the employees? What are the impacts of cultural diversity on the long term missions and visions of the organization? The questions of the research proposal are very paramount and interesting since the research will be driven by the questions. The questions guide the researcher especially when collecting information or data to be used in ascertaining the actual impacts of cultural diversity on organizations. The research questions will act as the framework throughout the research work. When the researcher is out in the field, he will be using the questions to know whether they are collecting the right data. On the other hand, the questions are very relevant to the management of an organization because they use them to take corrective measures. Literature Review Diversity in the workplace is a common phenomenon that has both negative and positive impacts on management and implementation of different operations in an organization. Past research conducted reveals that differences between different stakeholders impact the process of implementing TQM. According to Perry (2003), quality management is also affected by diversity in the workforce. This diversity has been associated with race and culture but research shows that the issues are brought about by other factors. Differences in profession, lifestyle, sexual preference or orientation, functional expertise and geographical origin are some of the major factors that have led to diversity. Perry argued that cultural diversity is harmful if not controlled since the gap between employees will widen hence affecting the productivity of the workforce. The most common issue with diversity is the rise of conflict. Horizontal conflicts commonly arise in working environments where the workforce has a different background. According to Anadrill (2000), cultural diversity affects many aspects of an organization. The way the organization perceives individuals functions and abilities is one of the challenging factor. In management and leadership, the perception of gender roles has direct implications on the functional roles of different people in the workforce. This has the effect of hindering or fostering employees to certain jobs. For instance, the top management of an organization may hinder qualified persons from carrying out certain duties because the person may be from a different cultural background from that of the managers. The management in turn appoints incompetent people to occupy these posts. Due to their inefficiencies, the company ends up producing poor products which do not satisfy the customers. The idea of TQM will not be achieved since the occupants of these posts will not be able to either plan, direct, control or implement organization’s operations effectively. This in general has adverse effects on the quality of the products and services that the organization offers. Due to diversity in culture among the workforce, there are high chances of resistance to change. Implementing of change in an organization is very difficult if the workforce comes from different cultural backgrounds. Some people resist change because of some cultural beliefs. As a method of ensuring quality of services in order to satisfy the customers, organizations have to incorporate changes all the time. The changes to be introduced might affect the norms and cultural practices of other workforce in the institutions. According to Jackson, implementation of TQM will not be achieved if the workforce is resistant to change because the organization will not be able to implant changes that could lead to effective and efficient production (Roney, 2004). Recruiting and hiring employees in an environment characterized by cultural diversity is very challenging. The process should be done very diligently by qualified persons who are very conversant with both job description and job specifications of different positions. For the organization to execute its operations effectively with the view of high quality services and products, the recruitment and orientation processes should consider the cultural differences (American Institute for Managing Diversity). The management must be able to recruit and maintain high quality workforce. They should be able to create an inclusive workplace that will enable the employees from different cultural backgrounds to maximize on their talents so that every individual can achieve sound results. Respect of values of individuals is important for the organization to achieve its mission and vision (Foster, 1998). Research Methods The research proposal should be carried out using very effective methods. The effective methods to use include: Exploratory research Experimental research Correlation research Action Research Historical research Descriptive research The methods that are commonly used due to their effectiveness are action research and historical research. The purpose for using these methods is to ascertain the reality or what is happening in organizations in effective TQM in culturally diversified workforce. Correlation research and exploratory research will not enable the researcher to get the true data on the effects of cross-cultural issues in organizations. Action Research Method The research process involves the researcher going out in the field. They are the practitioners and instructors. The researcher will be able to attend many organizations to inquire and investigate the specific problem that exists in different organization settings. The researcher is directly involved hence they can collect first-hand information about what is happening on the ground. Under action research, the researcher can acquire substantial information by using questionnaires. The researcher prepares questions that they can use in the field. Care should be taken when preparing these questions to ensure that the rights and the cultural norms of the respondents are not implicated negatively. Direct observation can also be used to collect relevant information about the problem of cultural diversity in organizations. The researcher will interact with the employees and observe how they operate under the working environment characterized by different cultures. The action research method involves collective participation where both the researcher and the respondents (recommendable to be employees of an organization) form an integral part of the research work. The exclusive aim of collective participation is to identify the existing problem. It is an empirical research since it is possible for changes to be made to fit the research work while the research process is ongoing (Foster, 1998). Data collection in research method is very effective since first-hand information will be acquired. Questionnaires, interviews and direct observation are the common methods that are used to collect data and this implies that actual information will be collected. The information collected from questionnaires, interviews and direct observation will be very useful and will be used in communicating or recommending possible steps to be taken to counter-attack the problem. Historical research is based on describing the past. It involves recording, analyzing and interpreting of events that happened in the past so as to make deductions and generalizations that can anticipate the future operations of an organization. This method has a great deal of limitations hence the action research method is the best (Fuhr, 2001). Reflections Research work involves going out to the field. A researcher has to access some very vital information about organization in order to ascertain the existence of the problem. Most researchers in the past have been frustrated by the inefficiencies that arise due to lack of enough empirical data. This is attributed to the inability of the researcher to access the right information due to lack of facilities, unwilling respondents and lack of permission from the responsible authorities. The facilities to be used during the research process call for substantial resources that might not be available to the researcher. The researcher might be forced to use the little available ones hence inhibiting the effective process of collecting information. Right materials should be used for the correct purpose but the resource factor can alter this concept. Lack of adequate facilities for research work implies that the researcher is forced to use just the available materials to perform different functions. Doing research in organizational setting where employees are from different cultural backgrounds can be very cumbersome. Employees are the integral part of the research work. The researcher has to interact with them so as to collect relevant data. The respondents might be willing to participate fully in the process due to cultural shortcomings. Researchers will end up collecting less detailed data which is not enough to solve the problem. Some organizations might not allow researchers to conduct the process in their own environment. They might fear losing very important information to the public. Rejections are very common as revealed by past researches (Nystrom, H. & Wiebe, 2001). Ethics - The researcher is obliged to obtained consent from all the participants. If it involves conducting research using employees of an organization, the researcher has to liaise with the concerned authorities. Obtaining informed consent from all participants is the initial stage of the research work. This entails giving full explanations of the procedures which will be used in the process. If it is an organization, it is imperative to obtain informed consent from employees (Fuhr, 2001). The researcher should give at least two copies of the consent form to each participant and the participant should sign. The researcher remains with one copy while the rest are taken by the organisation. The element of cultural diversity might impact the process of obtaining informed consent since employees might not be able to communicate with the researcher. The researcher for this matter should obtained permission from the responsible people. The researcher should provide enough information concerning the research work to all participants so that they can understand the questions that are vulnerable to them. Researchers should also ensure that the confidentiality of all participants and their families is fully preserved. Ethics stipulate that all the participants should be protected from any harm during the time of the research work. Employees who participate should not be exposed to risk of loosing employment because they revealed delicate information. The researcher should very carefully handle sensitive information of the organization to avoid any victimization of some employees. Research work involves a great deal of commitment and endeavor from the researcher. They should ensure that their research is commissioned with respect for cultural diversity or gender differences (Genestre, & Herbig, 2000). As a researcher, the factors discussed above are very critical and should be factored in. Failure to consider them will lead to inadequate information or data collected. It is important that all the subjects of ethics are practiced in order to relate with participants comfortably hence true data is collected. Conclusion It is imperative for the organization to have well planned strategies to effectively counter-attack the challenges posed by cultural diversity. Top management of an organization should be very sensitive to the effects of cultural diversity in the workplace since it can hinder smooth operations hence poor production. The process of Total Quality Management should be implemented bearing in mind the impacts of cultural diversity. If cultural diversity is well managed, it will be very beneficial to the organization. Well managed cultural diversity leads to creativity among different stakeholders due to interactions. They share ideas and they come up with effective ways of solving existing problems hence enabling the organization to be very effective. Efficient and effective organizations will implement TQM successfully. For successful implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM), effective implementation models that engulf cultural diversity should be adopted. Top management of organizations with workforce from different cultural backgrounds should understand all the needs of all their employees. Employees should be harmonized and taught to appreciate their cultural differences. Communication is an aspect that organizations should address to avoid complexities in the communication process. Effective communication skills between different stakeholders should be developed as a way of ensuring effective implementation of TQM (Roney, 2004). Works Cited American Institute for Managing Diversity, Morehouse College, Box 83, 351-55 West view Drive, Atlanta, GA 30314 Anadrill, S. Role of Human Resource Management in Implementing Total Quality Management. Journal AI & Society. London, Springer Publisher, 2000, pp.130-159 Foster, B. Workforce Diversity and Business. Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 3(2). 1998, pp. 10-45. Fuhr, I. Worlds Apart: Managing Workforce Polarization. Training and Development Journal, Vol. 4(3), 2001, pp. 30-60 Genestre, A. & Herbig, P. International motivational differences. Journal of Management Decision. MCB UP Ltd Publishers. 2000:560-570 http://knol.google.com/k/mackyy/implementing-total-quality-management http://www.slideshare.net/shruti27bhatia/diversity-management-the-challenges-and opportunities-presentation. Jackson, D. Beyond affirmative action there is diversity. In: Human Resource Management. July 2002, pp. 12-14. Nystrom, H. & Wiebe, H. A cross-cultural study of the differing effects of corporate culture on TQM in three countries. Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 2(3). 2001, pp. 13-39. Perry, M. & Heron, R. Growing discipline through total quality management in a New Zealand horticulture region. Singapore, National University of Singapore Press, 2003, pp. 12-50. Roney, J. Implementing Total Quality Management: The role of Human Resource Management. USA, Southern Methodist University Press. 2004, pp. 120-150. Read More