TNT Express UK Company Strengths - Case Study Example

Name Instructor Institution Course Date of submission RADAR-Methodology Table of Contents Introduction 3 Analysis of the TNT Express UK company strengths 3 Detailed analysis of improvement areas 4 Detailed analysis of site visit matters 5 Scoring Templates 7 People 8 Conclusion 9 References List 10 Introduction European Framework for quality management or EFQM is intended to allow for TQM philosophy to be applied in European businesses to make them more competitive. EFQM philosophy allows businesses to focus on results, customers, use of facts and processes for management and promotion of leadership and purpose of constancy. Organizations need to sustain continued improvement and have measures to their effectiveness. These goals are achieved through the use of EFQM which provides enablers and results. For all the companies that have joined together through EFQM, there is promotion of continued innovation learning and improvement, development of partnership, involvement and development of people, and public responsibility. The EFQM model is guided by RADAR logic which is abbreviations for Results, Approach, Deployment, Assessment and Review. The RADAR methodology is made such that it reflects real world operations (EFQM 2012). In Europe, private and public sectors organizations have to work under the pressure to compete for limited resources. This is meant as the only way to secure the prosperity of their future. In addition, EFQM enables organizations to cease operating through rigid organizational structures and remain responsive and appropriate in today’s global monetary setting. This paper explores the RADAR methodology for TNT Express UK. The discussion will focus on company strength, areas of improvement and site visit matters. Analysis of the TNT Express UK company strengths In order to qualify to be part of EFQM winners or participants, organizations have to demonstrate strong and irrefutable EFQM Model Core Concepts. These concepts include people oriented; focus on customers, purpose constancy and leadership, involvement and development of people, establishment of partnership and continuous improvement, learning and innovation. TNT Express is known for its qualities in purpose leadership and constancy and involvement of people and their development (TNT 2011). This makes the company a role model in business excellence performance. The company won EFQM prizes for UK in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2005. These prizes made TNT Express UK the best company thereby honoring it with European Quality Award. The company deals with express delivery and logistics. On its part, TNT was nominated for the award owing to its demonstration of logistic markets that are time sensitive. The company also demonstrates remarkably competitive express delivery. One recent award for TNT was through TNT Express Information and communication Services. This award was due to the element of leadership and constancy of purpose within the organization (EFQM 2012). This award was provided to the company owing to its excellence in the operational units’ category. As a company, TNT Express UK has demonstrated strong appreciation of technology, especially due to the leaders and their consistent pursuance of purpose. Detailed analysis of improvement areas The main area of focus at TNT Express is effective leadership for consistence in organizational purpose. For effective leaders and organizational purpose to be achieved, employees have to be constantly empowered to offer their best. For TNT Express, improvements are needed on people development and involvement. Most organizations only involve employees in the implementation process. However, organizations like TNT must not be overly dependent on its leaders to make decisions without involving the employees. Although the customer and society results for the company may be high, people results may be poor owing to lack of or poor investment in employees. The company should also invest in a best practice of a people strategy. Through this strategy, organizational employees will not only be part of the organization but also part of the organization’s excellent performance. The organization should pay emphasis on development of strategies to improve employees’ performance, implement them and constantly review people performance. This can be achieved through the evaluation of the effects of employee strategies on the performance of the organization. TNT Express management should avoid too much emphasis on customer results at the expense of its employees. Effective employees’ strategies are an effective way of ensuring employee retention. Detailed analysis of site visit matters Consistent pursuance of purpose is possible through the use of a dynamic assessment framework provided in RADAR Logic. For TNT Express, the leadership is important in ensuring that there is constancy of purpose. The purpose of this organization is to make timely deliveries and competitive logistic services. The role of leaders in this organization is to ensure that they lead with vision, inspiration and integrity. For the purpose of the organization to be constantly followed and observed, the organization focuses on ensuring that its leaders are optimistic (TNT 2011). This way, it is guaranteed that the organization’s future will be shaped. In addition, organizations leaders must also ensure that they do not only have the organization goals and purpose set but that the goals are also implemented and results achieved. Leaders at TNT Express ensure that part of the organizational strategy specifies the intended results. This provides room for comparison of actual and expected results thereby creating room for improvement or change. For TNT express, the movements of consignments are not just an ordinary role. On the contrary, the company works through threading complicated processes such that they form operations that are seamless where exceptional performance is achieved. Such achievements make TNT Express result oriented thereby ensuring that the organization purpose is consistently followed and observed. Sometimes the expected results are not achieved. However, TNT ensures that customer time is consistently and effectively recovered where it has been lost. The pursuance of TNT express on competitive and sensitive results has kept the company pressing on towards achieving success. The organization’s leaders are subjected to training and empowerment that makes them a first class UK team. It is for this reason and others that the organization is regarded as the best among other UK logistics organizations. In addition, TNT Express focuses on achieving continued improvement through the exhibition of qualities such as excellence in all of its operational results and excellence in procedures and processes management to achieve these results (Logisticssit 2005). TNT management understands that excellent results are not possible by focusing on one section of the organization. Conversely, the organization presents result orientation as part of every organization operations and that every employee is participates in achieving these results. In any organization, organization structure and organizational culture are very relevant. Organizational structure provides employees with the chain of command. Employees in an organization like TNT Express are very dependent on organizational structure as this offers the opportunity for enhanced communication. Through their effective organizational structures, TNT management not only plans and develops sound approaches to achieve expected results but also communicates to employees how to use these approaches to obtain require results currently and in coming days. The implementation of communicated approaches is enabled by the organization’s culture. For TNT, EFQM business model has contributed to the development of continued improvement ethics that are found throughout the organization (Logisticsit, 2005). Such a culture has been an efficient vehicle in the achievement of sustained improvement in competitiveness. The global economic environment is changing and the market size defragmenting due to increase in the number of product and services providers in the market. In order to remain relevant and sustain a profitable market share, TNT Express through its development of ethics of continued improvement is at the advantage of high quality performance. Continued improvement calls for continued application of assessment and review. This implies that, continuously, the achieved results have to be monitored and analyzed. Scoring Templates Leading Scoring Criteria Weighting scale Enablers Leadership 15% People 5% Strategy 10% Partnership and resources 5% Results People 10% Customers 20% Society 10 % Learning, creativity and innovation People, customers, society and key results 15% Within TNT, the EFQM model at TNT requires balancing of effort application. For instance, the scoring template reveals that people as enablers are not provided significant attention in terms of motivation. Partnership and resources are also not provided least attention. In order to attain any results, organizations require critical management of human resources. However, more emphasis is paid to leadership and organizational purpose compared to people. These will lead to poor people results. People Investment in people Strategy Weighted total Planning People management 15% Leadership and management 30% Learning and development strategy 10% Business strategy 15% Action Performance improvement through involvement, recognition and rewards and effectiveness management 10 % Review Performance measurement 10% Continued improvement 10% Investments in people require proper planning, action and review of employees. Planning involves the assessment and development of strategies aimed at improving people performance. Action requires the organization to act through employee motivation, empowerment and retention. At the end of a given time period, TNT should focus on employee performance review that is separate from customer results assessment. Conclusion European Framework for quality management or EFQM is intended to allow for TQM philosophy application in European businesses to make them competitive. EFQM philosophy allows businesses to focus on results, customers, use of facts and processes for management and promotion of leadership and purpose of constancy. Organizations need to sustain continued improvement and have measures to their effectiveness. TNT Express limited is one of the EFQM awards and prizes recipients. The company’s ICT was ranked the best in 2005 since it demonstrated excellent performance in operational category on leadership and consistence in purpose. This has been achieved through the focus of the organization on results. As a logistic company, TNT has managed to provide logistic services that are competitive and delivery services that are customer sensitive. On customer results, the company has managed to be an excellent role model through the possession of finest systems and services in terms of information system. As a result, the company has managed to achieve excellent constancy of purpose and in leadership which is one of EFQM principle concepts. At TNT Express, people should be made to be part of the organization and its performance. This implies that the company should invest in employees as a way of improving their performance. Organizations should also focus on organizational personnel as an important aspect of obtaining the expected results. In this case, organizations such as TNT express should invest more on employees to ensure even better results compared to current performance. References List Baligh, H. 2005, organization structures: Theories and design, analysis and prescription. Springer. Cascio, W. and Boudreau, J. 2009. Investing in People: Financial impact of human Resource initiatives. Pearson Education, Inc: New Jersey. Cascio, W. and Boudreau, J. 2010. Investing in People: Financial impact of human Resource initiatives. Pearson Education, Inc: New Jersey. Department of trade and industry n.d, A framework for excellence. Viewed 21 November 2012, http://www.businessballs.com/dtiresources/TQM_excellence_model.pdf European framework for Quality management or EFQM 2012, The EFQM Excellence Model. Viewed 21 November 2012, European Framework for quality management 2006, The EFQM framework for managing External Resources. Viewed on 21 November 2012 European Quality Management n.d, Standard for European Quality Management system. Viewed 21 November 2012 < http://oepm-calidad.es/comun/documentos/noticias/NormaEuropeaCalidadPatentes.pdf> Google answers 2003, European Framework for Quality management. Viewed 21 November 2012. < http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=213239> Logisticsit 2005, TNT Express ICS wins European Quality award. Manufacturing and logistics IT Magazine. Viewed 21 November 2012, Nicotera, M., Clinkscales, M. and Walker, F. 2003, Understanding organization through culture and structure. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Roberts, G. n.d, European Framework for Quality management. Viewed 21 November 2012 http://www.businessballs.com/dtiresources/TQM_excellence_model.pdf TNT Express ltd 2011, European Quality Award. TNT Holdings B.V. UK. Viewed 21 November 2012, Read More