Category: Total Quality Management

Executive Summary

Starting and maintaining any business venture is a process that requires determination motivation and general know-how in regards to how to operate a business and ensure that it remains profitable despite the various challenges and risks that may be available in the business environment one wants to venture in. As such, there are several considerations that should be carried out to ensure that all details regarding the business are addressed and well planned for.

The considerations include but are not limited to: the identification of the business opportunity, development of the product or service, evaluations of the suppliers, clients and business environment and market analysis among others. A recurrent and most important concept that must be considered is the quality of the output produced by all processes within the business. Total quality ensures that the business survives the harshness of business environments, all the while guaranteeing profits from the venture.

This report shall set out to explore Total Quality Management (TQM) as being among the core concepts used by business entities to safeguard their reputation, ensure effective and efficient delivery of quality products and services and manage businesses towards success. To this end, the principles of TQM shall be discussed and its relevance to human resource, client satisfaction and supplier management analyzed.

By using relevant and credible sources, this report shall present a comprehensive and informative discussion on how TQM plays an integral role in facilitating business growth, promoting efficient human resource management, guaranteeing customer satisfaction and enhance strategic management in various aspects of the business. In short, this paper shall elaborate the importance of TQM in today’s organizational management.

Introduction

Throughout their existence, organizations and businesses are considerably under a lot of pressured to raise their levels of performance and productivity. This is especially so in the modern-day business environment which is characterized by aggression and excessive competition. This constantly forces businesses to exhibit innovativeness and enhanced performance so as to remain relevant and profitable in the ever increasingly competitive arena.

To achieve the organizational goal of increased productivity, the input of both the individual and groups in the organization remains invaluable. However, for these inputs to make a significant impact there must be a strong leadership and management to steer the individual and group effort in the right direction. This being the case, the development of leadership and management strategies is of great importance to any business entity.

Exemplary leadership and management alone cannot guarantee that a business will be successful in the long-run. Due consideration has to be given to quality management as well. It is from realization that Total Quality Management (TQM) was invented. TQM is an all-inclusive improvement concept that has in the last few decades, been adopted by many organizations in their journey towards increased market share, profitability and sustainable growth.

Considering the importance of this concept, business analysts and scholars have over the years developed various TQM principles and models to assist business leaders make the most out of their ventures. However, many businesses have failed to sustain TQM in their processes long enough to realize its full benefits. This paper shall therefore provide an informative discussion on TQM, its history, principles and applicability in understanding business processes, interactions and growth.

TQM: A Brief History

Bagad defines TQM as a broad and continuous approach that businesses implement to ensure quality and performance improvement that guarantees customer satisfaction (4). According to the author, this guarantee is achieved by “integrating all quality-related functions and processes throughout the company (Bagad 12).”

As regarding to its prominence, Bagad asserts that after the Second World War, the need to inspect the quality of goods and services availed to consumers became a common practice which led to the development of the Statistical Quality Control (SQC) theory which was formulated by Dr. Edwards Deming (Bagad 18).

According to the theorist, the quality of products could only be ascertained by sampling random products produced from each batch. As such, this theory was based on the assumption that any manmade or technical error experienced in the production process would ultimately lead to defects or other quality related issues to the end products. As such, the theorist believed that by eliminating the errors in the production process, the end product would certainly be of high quality.

Testing the quality of manufactured goods was further necessitated by the fact that the Japanese manufacturing industry produced a lot of poor quality goods after the Second World War. As such, in the fifties, quality control became a major concern for most nations. Subsequently, in the 1970’s, the concept of total quality evolved.

This was attributed to the fact that business organizations had acknowledged the value of quality control. As such, it was not only logical, but a strategic move to implement measures that included all employees in quality control processes. This notion was more efficient and covered a wide range of business activities towards the delivery of quality goods.

TQM: Understanding the Concept

As has been elaborated above, TQM is a management tool that facilitates leaders and managers to direct their organization into a successful future. It is a wide concept that requires commitment from both the management and organizational employees if it is to be successful.

As such, it not only aims at managing and assuring that quality is maintained in all goods or services produced, but extends to the management of the people and processes used. This approach ensures that each internal and external production stage promotes full consumer satisfaction (Mukherjee 23). Notably, whenever leaders integrate TQM concepts in their businesses, their organizations do the right things correctly with little to no complications.

Maguad asserts that TQM, like any other management strategy utilizes the people-process- system cycle (181). This is because TQM focuses on consumer-supplier quality relations. However, the efficiency of this relationship is influenced by the level of commitment to quality, communication (as regarding to how the quality message is transmitted) and culture. Culture in this context influences the relationship in the sense that organizations have deep rooted cultures.

As such, if an organization is willing to change its culture such that it promotes improvement in quality, then the organization will have a good consumer-supplier interface. However, if the organization is reluctant to cultural change, the interface will not work as it is expected to in terms of providing total customer satisfaction. This paragraph can best be elaborated by this diagram below.

A diagram elaborating the TQM interface in an organizational setting

This diagram shows how different internal and external factors are interlinked to ensure that the quality of the product meets or exceeds the expectations of the consumer.

It should be noted that in each interface is made up of various processes. As such, they all affect each other and failure in one interface leads to the organizations inability to deliver quality goods and services. According to the Department of Trade and industry (DTI) website, quality in TQM refers to the ability of a product or service to fully satisfy a consumers needs or fully meet them as expected (2).

As such, the author(s) reiterates that quality is measured in term of a product’s or service’s performance, appearance, availability, delivery, reliability, maintainability, cost effectiveness and price (DTI 2).” The author further suggests that an organization should always ensure that its products and services meet these requirements. The only way this can be ascertained is by conducting a market research (DTI 3).

Empirical Research

The rationale for the study and its methodology

Prior to discussing the core tenets of TQM, we need to discuss the empirical survey that was aimed at examining customer’s perceptions of quality. This question is of great importance for modern companies since they need to understand which dimensions of quality are of the greatest value to clients. This information can help them to better develop products as well as services. The main objective of this survey was to determine what aspects affect the customer satisfaction and what factors affect their purchasing decisions.

It should be noted that scholars distinguish different aspects of product quality, in particular, performance, functionality, reliability, serviceable life (Sower, 7). As far as service quality is concerned, researchers speak about such dimensions as reliability, responsiveness, and assurance (Kandampully, Mok & Sparks, 54). In many cases, it is rather difficult to determine which of these dimensions of the greatest importance for customers.

The survey that has been conducted relies on quantitative relied on quantitative research methods, namely on the structured interview. The respondents were asked a series of multiple-choice questions that prompted them to assess different aspects of product and service quality in terms of their importance^[1]. The participants for the study were randomly selected and the sample was divided into two equal groups; male subjects and female subjects.

The total sample size was 30; the participants were recruited in near shops and supermarkets. Each of them was informed about the purposes of this survey. The participants were not required to name themselves or identify their income level and age. This information could made the findings more accurate, in this case, the respondents would have been more reluctant to take part in this survey. In total, this survey lasted for three days.

Analysis of findings

The responses of the participants indicate that customer perceptions and interpretations of quality are not universal. The most important quality dimensions of a product are performance and reliability, 17 respondents out of 30 identified make their purchasing decisions on the basis of these characteristics. Such attributes as serviceable life and design were of lesser priority to the priority. Yet, it should be mentioned that for female respondents design was of higher priority than for male subjects.

Seven out 15 female subjects judged a product by its design. The second issue to be discussed is the quality dimensions of service companies. Judging from the responses of the participants, a large number of customers pay attention to reliability (10 respondents) and time-efficacy (12 respondents). However, one should not assume that politeness and responsiveness do not affect the clients’ decisions.

Approximately 27 percent of customers (8 respondents) evaluate a service company according to the politeness of its workers. Additionally, the results of this survey suggest the manufacturing as well as service companies should involve customers into product development or assessment of performance. 83 percent of respondents (25 participants) agreed with this statement. It has to be admitted that this study has several important limitations.

Perceptions of quality can be dependent on the income level of a respondent. For instance, customers, who are very sensitive about the price, may pay more attention to serviceable life of product. In contrast, customers, who are not price-sensitive, can attach more value to performance and design. During the survey, we could not ask the subjects about their income level since many of them might have refused to participate in the study. Hence, we do not know to what extent this variable affect people’s expectations and perceptions of quality.

Those customers, whom we interviewed, attached more value to the quality of a product rather than its price (20 respondents out of thirty). The second limitation of the research is that the questions of this survey are not applicable to all kinds of products; they are more suitable for manufactured items. They may not be suitable for grocery goods or clothing. Thus, the researchers would have to ask different questions, if they want to focus on these particular goods.

Implications and conclusions

This survey can have several implications for business administrators and practitioners of total quality management. First of all, it shows that customers wish to be more involved in the development of products and services. By acting in such a way, they will be able to strengthen their position in competitive environments.

Most importantly, they will manage to enhance customer loyalty. This argument is quite consistent wit the core principles of TQM, since this approach focuses on customer satisfaction as the major objective of any company. Secondly, this research has shown which quality dimensions of products and services are of the highest priority for modern customers. By using customer surveys, the management can understand the expectations of their target audience and their needs.

Principles of TQM

A principle can be defined as the main belief of the founding concept that makes an action or reasoning valid. Like any other management strategy, Maguad reiterates that the most integral components of TQM are leadership and commitment (185). Leadership in this context refers to a process through which one person uses the help and support of others towards achieving a particular goal or task.

As Maguad suggests, leaders are the people who are taxed with the role of marshalling the human resource in the organization for its growth and expansion (193). They do this by planning, organizing, leading and controlling the organizations activities and resources. Commitment is the level of loyalty, determination and motivation exhibited by members of an organization as they carryout their tasks.

As mentioned earlier, various interfaces often work together to ensure that an organization produces quality products and services. Leadership is very important because a leader’s ability to delegate, make decisions, resolve conflicts and motivate employees determines whether an organization will be successful in its endeavors. On the other hand, commitment affects the performance and motivation levels exhibited by employees.

If employees are committed, an organization is more likely to experience growth and increased profits because at the end of the day, an organization cannot function without the people factor. Considering these two core elements, it would be a worthwhile endeavor to shed some light on the basic principles of TQM. As may have been deduced throughout this research, TQM aims at promoting three main objectives: customer satisfaction, supplier satisfaction and continuous improvement of an organization’s processes.

Customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction often refers to the ability of a product or service to fully satisfy the needs of the intended consumer. This should be the primary concern of any organization willing to survive the aggressive nature of today’s business environment. This is mainly because satisfied clients mean more sales, increased market share and unwavering consumer loyalty.

These elements ensure that an organization makes profits which can be used to research for cheaper and better ways of production, expanding an organization’s market base and expand the business. With these undertones, the question that is left wanting is; how does TQM ensure consumer satisfaction?

Gilmore addresses this question by reiterating that TQM is an effective strategy that can be used to minimize variations in the production process thereby increasing the organization’s chance of producing quality products and services that meet (if not exceed) the needs and expectations of the consumers (207).

The author further states that, in every organization there are various departments and offices that cater for different needs of the consumers. These factions make up quality chains which depend on each other to produce the final product or service.

These quality chains stand at a risk of being broken due to human or technical errors. Such failures often sip through and multiply down the production process and may lead to failure of the organization to meet the requirements of the clients.

As such, Kanji et al state that, TQM presents organizations with an opportunity to train their employees on different factors they should consider when handling tasks in the consumer-supplier interface (52). This in turn ensures that each employee has the necessary skills needed to achieve quality.

Similarly, Gilmore argues that TQM focuses on identifying the potential areas that may cause problems and solve them before a product or service is made available to the market (208). Considering the definition of quality provided herein, we could argue that quality is consumer driven.

This means that an organization must identify the needs of the clients and formulate the best means of meeting them satisfactorily. Gilmore states that a perfectly produced product or service is of no benefit to the organization if it fails to meet the needs of the client (207). As such, the author contends that TQM tools enable organizations to identify such needs by outlining market research methodologies and production processes that enhance accuracy and efficiency in various consumer-supplier interfaces.

In addition, Gilmore asserts that consumer preference and needs vary from one consumer to the other and from season to another (209). As such, the author contends that it is often difficult to determine what consumers need and expect from a product or service.

However, the author states that TQM presents organizations with various tools and strategies which can be implemented to ensure that the products or services produced are always tuned to the needs and expectations of the target market.

Some of the measures of TQM that can be used to address these changes include but are not limited to focus groups that concentrate on the needs of specified consumers, market surveys which gather information on current trends, competition and prices, and customer interviews which provide firsthand information on what consumers need and expect from a product or service.

Such information enables organizations to implement processes that address these needs and expectations thereby guaranteeing consumer satisfaction (Gilmore 209).

Supplier satisfaction

A supplier is the person or organization that has consented to sell you various resources needed to produce your product. This principle of TQM requires organizations to form good relationships with their suppliers. Yong and Wilkinson states that TQM places great emphasis on an organization’s ability to satisfy its suppliers (250).

The authors further contend that it is imperative that organizations provide their suppliers with clear and concise details on what they are supposed to supply and when they are supposed to supply. In addition, the authors suggest that the organization should make an effort to pay the suppliers in a fair and timely manner. In so doing, the supplier delivers quality goods and services which are then used by the organization to produce quality goods or services to its external consumers (Yong and Wilkinson 256).

Failure to do so invariably leads to delays in supply delivery, delivery of poor quality resources or even inconsistencies in deliveries. Such issues affect the quality of the products produced in terms of performance, availability, durability and reliability. These factors may cause consumers great dissatisfaction (Yong and Wilkinson 257).

In addition, Maguad states that TQM also encourages organizational leaders and managers to motivate and boost the performance of their employees (internal suppliers) if quality is to be maintained (184).

The author recommends that this can only be achieved if the people in charge provide the workers with clear and concise instructions, adequate working tools and equipments and favorable working conditions (Maguad 187). According to the TQM principle on supplier satisfaction, these factors combined with a fair reward and remuneration packages promotes commitment and motivation among the workforce, which leads to the efficient and timely execution of tasks within the organization (179).

Additionally, such measures increase the productivity levels exhibited by employees, all the while enabling management to identify good employees as well as the issues that affect the performance of various employees. In summary, this principle of TQM indicates that, when an organization satisfies its suppliers (internal and external), the quality of the end product is more likely to satisfy the needs of the consumers as well as those of the organization.

Continuous Improvement of the Organization’s Processes

This is the third and equally important principle of TQM. According to Rahman, this principle is founded on the assumption that organizations must always improve their processes, strategies and methodologies if they are to keep up with the dynamic nature of the business environment (203).

Rahman supports this assertion by contending that competition, technology and consumer preferences are improving and growing faster each day (201). As such, it is always wise for an organization to improve its methods if it aims at staying ahead of the game. Similarly, this principle encourages managers and employees to work smart rather than doing hard work.

According to Rahman some organizational leaders are under constant pressure to increase the organization’s productivity (206). As a result, such leaders try to improve the organization’s performance levels by coercing and forcing employees to work harder.

According to the author, this only results to mishaps and poor performance because the workers are in most cases de-motivated and stressed (Rahman 208). These factors may cause them to loose focus and do shoddy jobs so as to finish the tasks on time. This in turn lowers the overall quality of the goods or services produced.

Kanji et al state that this principle of TQM enables leaders to effectively find the source of the problem and device viable means of solving or avoiding them without necessarily pressuring the employees (50). In addition, this principle also recommends leaders to encourage and allow constructive criticism and suggestions from employees. Considering that the employees are often at the forefront in production processes, they are best suited to provide information on how an organization can improve an organizational process.

For example, Barad and Dror state that employees can offer valuable suggestions on whether a process is efficient or not. In addition, workers can suggest on whether a process should be improved or eliminated, and how such changes can best be implemented to avoid further complications (6630).

Some of the process improvement strategies proposed by this principle include but are not limited to just-in time-production which reduces overproduction and production costs and variable reduction tools. These are examples of TQM strategies and tools that can be implemented to improve processes all the while reducing the amount of resources that is wasted.

Similarly, Lynch and Keating II assert that the continuous improvement principle requires organizations to always find improve their productivity and growth by finding better means of carrying out business activities through learning, effective decision making processes and problem solving (353). TQM recommends the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle (PDSA) as being among the most effective models to implement if continuous improvement of organizational processes is to be achieved. Below is a diagram elaborating the cycle.

A diagram illustrating the PDSA cycle

This cycle promotes quality in the sense that the management plans for what needs to be improved and makes decisions on how best such improvements can be implemented. The second step requires the implementation of the improvements that have been recommended. This simply means that the organization does what it has planed to do. Thirdly, after implementing/doing what was planned, the management and other concerned parties monitor how the improvements impact business processes.

In this stage, information can be collected regarding the problems, effectiveness and further improvements (recommendations and suggestions) that need to be addressed. The information collected from the third stage is used to improve the strategy or process such that it remains without any flaws. Jjjhjhjh states that this model has proven to be of great importance in effective decision-making processes, problem solving and risk management in many organizations.

TQM as a Strategy for Human Resource management

Human resource management refers to the strategies and policies that an organization implements so as to plan, control, organize and lead its workforce towards attaining the set organizational goals and objectives (Lammermeyr 175). In most cases, organizational failure is attributed to poor human resource management.

As such, having efficient HRM strategies is not only logical, but a prerequisite for successful and efficient execution of tasks by employees. TQM consists of a range of tools that can be implemented by an organization’s human resource department to ensure that it plays a greater strategic role in an organization. Some of the tools include but are not limited to the following.

Cause-and-effect diagrams

According to Wallace and Stahl, if management is to effectively identify and rectify various problems that affect the quality of the products or services produced, all employees must have the necessary skills needed to handle such problems (37). The authors acknowledge that production of quality goods or services is an organizational concept.

This means that each individual within the organization has a role to play in enhancing quality productions. As such, the authors state that the cause-and-effect diagram enables human resource managers to identify the problem, its causes and effects (Wallace and Stahl 37).

After collecting this information, the managers can develop training programs which equip employees with the skills needed to tackle or avoid these potential problems in a timely and efficient manner. As such, these charts enable the human resource department to design policies that ensures that the workforce performs as expected and meets the client’s needs effectively.

Flowcharts

Flowcharts are schematic diagrams which indicate all the steps that should be followed in order to execute a process or operation efficiently (Wallace and Stahl 37). Wallace and Stahl state that flowcharts are a form of a visual tool that can be easily used and understood (38).

By making these charts available at all operation sites, the human resource ensures that workers know what to do and how to address a problem if it arises. This is mainly due to the fact that flowcharts enable workers to develop clear mental images of how various tasks are supposed to be carried out. The provision of these charts enables human resource managers to promote quality productions because the flowcharts act as a point of reference to employees who do not know what to do in various situations.

Checklists

Checklists are documents which contain a list of all known issues and the frequency of their occurrence. Wallace and Stahl state that these lists look simple at first glance but are quite effective when it comes to gathering information about the quality or defect of certain processes (38).

Checklists may be used by human resource managers to identify and prioritize various potential issues that may affect the quality levels exhibited by an organization. Through this list, the human resource manager can make necessary changes, and decisions relating to which issue is most threatening and delegate qualified people to find a solution before things get out of hand.

Customer Satisfaction Aspect of TQM

As has been revealed within this research, TQM focuses on the strategies that can be implemented by organizations to ensure that they meet or exceed the consumer’s expectations and needs. TQM equips organizations with various tools and strategies that can be implemented to ensure that it meets the needs of its clients. To begin with, Kanji and Wallace reiterate that TQM requires organizations to do extensive research on its client’s needs and expectations.

This can be done by establishing focus groups that gather information about the needs and expectations of a specific group of consumers (Kanji and Wallace 980). In addition, Kanji and Wallace assert that, TQM also enables organizations to collect more relevant information through consumer interviews, research on market trends and behaviors; and acts as a guide to which products or services an organization should produce (983).

Similarly, TQM principles provide organizational employees with guidelines on the questions they should ask themselves and the clients in regards to the quality level they expect from a given product. Some of the questions incorporated within the TQM philosophy as regarding to customer satisfaction aim at finding out: who the customers are, their specific needs and specifications and methods of collecting this data (Lammermeyr 177).

In addition, employees are able to evaluate whether they can meet such requirements and how they can measure their ability to satisfy those needs. On the same note, organizations are able to figure out whether or not, as well as their ability to monitor and continually meet the changing needs of their clients. In summary, TQM enables organizations to research, plan, implement, monitor and improve their processes such that they constantly and continually guarantee consumer satisfaction.

TQM and sustained Organizational Growth

Notably, TQM does not only focus on the quality of the products or services produced by an organization, but also, on the factors that affect the processes and people factor that work in a given organization.

By using TQM tools and strategies such as the PDSA cycle, research methodologies, checklists and flowcharts among others, organizations are able to identify and meet the needs of their clients, pinpoint potential operational problems and defects that may affect the quality of the products or services produced and develop strategies to counter, mitigate or avoid them.

In so doing, organizations implementing such strategies and tools enjoy a large market share, reduced cost of production, increased profits and a reliable consumer base. These are some of the core factors that ensure that an organization enjoys a sustainable growth regardless of the harsh situations presented by today’s business environments.

In addition, TQM educates leaders and managers on the importance of various elements (consumers, suppliers, employee empowerment and organizational visions and cultures) that should be considered during the production of goods and services. By considering these elements, organizations are better placed to handle or avoid potential problems that may hinder the organizations from experiencing sustainable growth.

Similarly, TQM emphasizes on leadership, commitment, culture and communication as the key concepts that should be considered by organizations willing to succeed in their endeavors. If these concepts are efficiently implemented, they provide a recipe for organizational growth, competitive advantage, development and survival amidst changing business environment.

Conclusion

Managing the quality levels exhibited by an organization in terms of products, services and processes is seldom an easy undertaking and in many situations, businesses have failed in this regard due to lack of know-how by the business owners.

As such, it is always important to ensure that the philosophy of TQM is implemented before an organization initiates a project, process or operation before pouring all its investments into it. On this note, this study has provided a detailed and informative guideline as to how business entities can apply TQM concepts in all their activities.

Notably, most businesses aim at increasing their profitability by either sales or profit maximization. These strategies may be effective in the short run but may fail to guarantee the organization its survival in trivial times. However, focusing all efforts towards meeting or exceeding the needs and expectations of the consumers ensures that the organization is on the first row in terms of sustainable growth, marketing and management strategies and supply of quality products and services.

This research paper set out to explore the renowned philosophy of TQM. To this end, the evolutionary history and an overview of the same has been offered.

In addition, the basic principles of TQM have been highlighted and discussed. Similarly, ways in which TQM addresses customer satisfaction, sustainable organizational growth and enhances human resource management as a tool for strategic management have also been addressed.

As has been revealed herein, TQM has proven to be a cornerstone on which businesses can improve their performance and quality levels exhibited by their products and services. As such, business and organizational leaders should strive to ensure that their businesses utilize this viable concept.

Works Cited

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The recent competition in the banking industry has forced the Emirates Islamic Bank in Dubai to re-engineer its processes in order to stay competitive in the banking world.

One of the processes that require re-engineering is the credit card application process which has been signaled out as not being effective as it is supposed to be (Tenat 118).

Process re-engineering involves a complete re-structuring of the process in question to make it fast, effective and customer satisfying. Total quality management is a modern management system that attempts to continuously improve all the processes in an organization to meet customer needs (Tenat 127).

This paper will discuss the six sigma total quality management method to be applied by the Emirates Islamic Bank in improving its operations.

The six sigma method was originally used in the manufacturing industry to improve production processes. These set of practices were designed to completely eliminate the number of defects in the products produced by manufacturing firms.

The success of this approach of total quality improvement led to its use in other organizations apart from manufacturing companies (Keller 8).

The original objective of the six sigma method is to improve the quality of services and products and at the same time reduce the cost of production. Six sigma can be referred to as a management system or methodology meant to make process results predictable and stable.

The six sigma methodology is supposed to help the organization have a customer focus through consideration of their feedback and input in improving company processes. Six sigma tries to minimize the variations in processes as much as possible through a thorough data analysis of the existing processes (Keller 8).

The improvements made to business processes should be rapid and sustainable. Total quality management tries to achieve this objective by creating an environment for a thorough scrutiny of all the processes to find out the various ways of improving them for customer satisfaction (George 19).

According to our case, the Emirates Islamic Bank is planning to improve its application processes for various services and products.

Since a credit card is a very essential product in the banking industry, all banks have to make sure the application process of this key product meets the customer requirements.

How the customer feels determines how successful an organization is. The Emirates Islamic Bank conducted an analysis of its operations and identified some weaknesses in its processes that need improvement. The six sigma process is an appropriate managerial approach to be used to improve the process.

The six sigma methodology is normally implemented in six phases (George 19). The process is very strict and aims for perfection in processes and products. The first weakness at the Emirates Islamic Bank is in the company’s turnaround time.

It was noted that the bank took too long to respond to customer complains on very fundamental issues like credit cards. The process of defining the problem or area of concern is the first phase of the six sigma process (George 19).

The next phase is the collection of key data on the current process and systems in place my measurement. Accurately collected data ensures that process improvement is done based on real facts. In this case, the bank should collect accurate data about the credit card application process.

The next phase is data analysis of the collected process data to find the cause and affect relationships. The root cause of the problem is easily identified from data analysis of the collected data. The inputs and outputs are thoroughly analyzed to find out the various causes of delay in credit card application process (Akpolat 42).

The fourth phase of the six sigma process is the improvement phase. The information gathered from data analysis is normally used to optimize and improve the current processes to suit customer requirements. Techniques such as mistake proofing and design of experiments are used to improve the current processes.

According to our case, one of the causes of the delay in credit card application process is the fact that all the processes are done at the headquarters. The idea of relying on the main office to process all the cards ends up wasting a lot of time because of the many logistics involved (Akpolat 42).

The processing of the credit cards at the branch level would reduce the waiting time and hence satisfy the customer. After process improvement has been done, it is then tested to establish its capability.

The final phase in the six sigma process is the control phase. After improving the current process, a control system is put in place to correct any deviations that might occur in the process. The most commonly used control systems are production boards and statistical control processes.

Those in charge of the process should continuously monitor it to ensure it meets the set standards and goals. The other weakness identified by the Emirates Islamic Bank was the long duration in the application of various bank services and products (Akpolat 42).

The five steps of the sigma process should be followed to improve the process and solve the problem of delays.

The sigma methodology is also used in the design of products and services.

The first three phases of definition, measurement and analysis is similar but the last two are a bit different from the normal six sigma process.

The design goals are defined inline with customer needs and the overall strategy of the organization.

The measurement phase identifies the critical characteristics of the product.

At the analysis stage, alternative designs are developed and their capability evaluated. The best design is then chosen from the rest (Akpolat 42).

The fourth stage is the design stage where simulations are done on the selected design.

The final phase in the design for sigma process is the verification phase where the production process is established and the pilot runs done.

In conclusion, the six sigma managerial approach is very useful in improving process and product quality in an organization. This total quality management technique aims at improving customer service for the general benefit of the organization.

The six sigma is a five phase process that eliminates all the defects in processes and products through a systematic problem identification and process improvement. The Emirates Islamic Bank has some weaknesses in its operations that can be effectively improved by the six sigma process.

The total quality management system has strict procedures that need to be followed for its benefits to be fully seen.

The six sigma process is also used in the product design process to ensure the designed product meet the customer requirements and the organization’s overall strategies. Both manufacturing and service industries are currently using the six sigma methodology to improve their operations.

Works Cited

Akpolat, Hasan. Six Sigma in Transactional and Service Environments. Gower Publishing Ltd., 2004. Print.

George, Michael L. Lean Six Sigma: Combining Lean Sigma Quality with Speed. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2002. Print.

Keller, Paul A. Six Sigma Demystified. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2010. Print.

Tenat, Geof. SPC and TQM in Manufacturing and Services. Gower Publishing Ltd., 2001. Print.

Introduction and Company Description

The modern business environment is highly competitive. The high tempos of the markets’ development make a great number of various companies and organizations face a problem connected with the increase in the demand for certain high-quality services. In those situations when businessmen focus on satisfying the demands while decreasing the quality of services and increasing the quantity, the competitiveness of the firm also decreases.

This situation has the negative impact on the functioning of various organizations. Under these conditions, the issue of Total Quality Management (TQM) obtains the great significance as it is helpful to address drawbacks and align the mechanism of the company’s functioning with standards to improve its services and reputation. The framework of TQM can be applied to different departments of organizations to enhance their operations.

For the case of Bahrain Development Bank, the TQM framework should be applied to the Administration Department of the organization that is responsible for managing the departments’ work and coordinating the contacts with clients. The purpose of this paper is to provide the discussion of the elements of the TQM framework in the context of the activities of the Administration Department in Bahrain Development Bank.

Bahrain Development Bank was founded in 1992 as the country’s leading financial institution (Bahrain Development Bank Profile, 2015). The main reason for the foundation of the bank was the promotion of investments in Bahrain and the attempt to diversify the economic base of the state (Bahrain Development Bank Profile, 2015). Moreover, the given financial institution was also aimed at the development of the financial sector of the Kingdom by providing more freedom to its businessmen and citizens.

Nowadays, Bahrain Development Bank suggests various services that can meet demands of a great number of clients. In the course of its development, Bahrain Development Bank enlarged the sphere of its influence on various sectors, such as tourism, health, education, and agriculture among others (Bahrain Development Bank Profile, 2015).

Committed Leadership

The Administration Department in Bahrain Development Bank coordinates the work of the rest of departments, creating conditions and supplying them with all required resources. Leaders of the Administration Department are only at the first stages of implementing the TQM principles in their work. In spite of the fact that TQM ideas are implemented in other departments of the bank, the Administration Department only starts implementing the framework to improve the operations and activities of the department. At this stage, the pattern of committed leadership is adopted from the work of other departments that implemented TQM (Klement & Michael, 2010).

The main principles of TQM for the Administration Department are formulated by the leaders and shared in the form of a vision among the employees of the department to achieve the higher results while adapting the TQM concept to practice. The committed leadership can also be demonstrated in planning the activities of the Administration Department according to the adopted principles of TQM.

Adoption and Communication of TQM

According to Powell’s (1995) model of TQM, the next process after the formation of the committed leadership in the organization is the adoption of TQM with its further communication. In the Administration Department, the clear mission statement was formulated by the leaders in order to explain the main aim of the implemented changes. The mission statement associated with the implementation of TQM principles pointed at the necessity of improving the level of the Administration Department’s performance with the focus on enhancing the managerial, monitoring, coordinating, and assessment procedures. The TQM goals and objectives were communicated amongst the employees of the Administration Department with the help of face-to-face meetings and e-mails. The TQM principles were also presented as written instructions used to evaluate the procedures in the department.

Closer Customer Relationship

The next step in Powell’s (1995) model of TQM is the development of close relationships with customers. In the context of the Administration Department of Bahrain Development Bank, this element of the framework is correlated with the idea of cooperation of employees in the organization. The main task completed at this stage is the process of determining customers’ requirements. Thus, implementing the TQM framework in the Administration Department, the leaders should discuss the employees of Bahrain Development Bank’s departments as change receivers.

As a result, the leaders need to ensure that all quality expectations of the department’s employees are taken into account and that all guidelines regarding the coordination of the other departments’ work are considered. At this stage, it is important to guarantee that all employees in the department are ready to cooperate and interact with the employees from other departments while performing the activities at the highest level of quality.

Closer Supplier Relationship

In the context of the Administration Department, the development of the relationship with suppliers means the development of the effective interaction with the Human Resource Management Department. While implementing the TQM framework in the organization, it is important for the leaders to rely on the human resources and their developed skills in order to improve the overall quality of activities performed by the Administration Department.

Therefore, if the Human Resource Management Department as a ‘supplier’ proposes the high-class professionals for working in the Administration Department, it is possible to expect the high outcomes of the TQM. From this perspective, it is almost impossible to apply this principle in the context of only one department of the organization, but leaders need to re-think the process in order to make it advantageous during the implementation of TQM in the Administration Department.

Benchmarking

It is important to state that benchmarking is one of the most effective strategies and tools in TQM because it enables the organization to compare its outcomes with the best results and practices demonstrated within the market or industry (Talib, Rahman, & Qureshi, 2013). In the context of the Administration Department, benchmarking means comparing the practices and outcomes in the work of the Department in Bahrain Development Bank with the similar practices used in the other banks of Bahrain, as well as reputable banks from other countries. It is important for the leaders of the Administration Department to choose and implement the most effective practices and approaches serving to improve the quality of the department’s work (Bahrain Development Bank Profile, 2015).

Having compared their outcomes and approaches with the practices adopted in other banks, the leaders of the department receive the opportunity to implement the best strategies regarding the work monitoring, coordinating strategies, evaluation approaches, and communication tools. For instance, having found that banks of Qatar apply more beneficial procedures for the administration, the leaders of the Administration Department of Bahrain Development Bank can adapt these processes to their operations.

Increased Training

Application of the main principles of TQM will obviously lead to the process of change in the Administration Department of the bank, and the workers of the department should be ready to work under new conditions (Klement & Michael, 2010).

That is why, another important aspect of TQM to discuss is the increased training. All workers in the department should have the same knowledge regarding the TQM implementation to achieve the positive impact on the department’s operations (Gherbal, Shibani, Saidani, & Sagoo, 2012). Managers of the Administration Department should be explained the main aim of the program and outlined the purpose of training in order to provide the other employees with the necessary knowledge and skills. During seminars and workshops, the employees of the Administration Department are expected to develop their knowledge of TQM principles and strategies and skills in problem solving.

Open Organization

In his TQM model, Powell (1995) states that to achieve the better results, the company and its departments should work as an open organization, and they should be ready to change some traditional patterns in order to reach the goals. In the Administration Department, the activities and responsibilities are distributed according to a certain pattern, and the high reliance on the hierarchy is observed. These aspects can be discussed as barriers to the effective implementation of TQM in terms of developing the idea of the open organization. Therefore, it is important to adapt the principles of open horizontal communication in the department.

Officers, managers, and other employees working in the Administration Department of Bahrain Development Bank should have more opportunities for discussing openly ideas and giving assessments (Bahrain Development Bank Profile, 2015). The problem is in the fact that communication between employees in the department can be complicated because of hierarchical issues (Islam & Haque, 2012). The department leaders should create the pattern according to which the communication can become fast and efficient.

Employee Empowerment

The next step in implementing the TQM principles is the provision of the employee empowerment. In spite of the importance of hierarchy in the Administration Department, the leaders should enable employees to make some important decisions and suggest their own ideas about problem-solving. This step can help increase the level of the workers’ professionalism and help them obtain more autonomy in decision making. Additionally, while realizing the level of responsibility, employees of the Administration Department will work with the great attention to standards and much devotion. Moreover, this strategy is helpful to train the staff and support the promotion in the department (Klement & Michael, 2010).

In the Administration Department of the bank, the rewards and promotion system is developed, but it needs to be revised in order to guarantee the active involvement of employees in the decision-making process with the further rewarding for achieving positive results.

Zero-Defects Mentality

The leaders of the Administration Department should also admit the fact that no one can predict all possible problems and complications that can appear in the process of the work and different operations. As a result, applying the TQM principles, the leaders of the department should implement the system which will be able to determine various defects in the processes at the early stages (Klement & Michael, 2010).

At the current stage, the assessments and the processes evaluations are the part of the department’s activities, but these processes indicate drawbacks and problems at the final stage when the correction actions can be ineffective. Thus, the implementation of the zero-defects mentality in the Administration Department is more than the traditional inspection, as it turns out to be inefficient and expensive under new conditions (Bahrain Development Bank Profile, 2015).

Currently, the reports on the work of the department regarding the coordination, monitoring, and assessment procedures in Bahrain Development Bank are provided only monthly. The approach to the procedure should be changed to control the functioning of the department and provide reports daily. Additionally, in the case of emergency, the responsible evaluators should be given the authority to act independently and accept important decisions.

Flexible Manufacturing

In his work, Powell (1995) also mentions the issue of flexible manufacturing as the important part of TQM. It is important to state that the given notion could be applied only to the work and operations performed by manufacturers. That is why, this element is not discussed in the context of improving the work of the Administration Department in Bahrain Development Bank (Bahrain Development Bank Profile, 2015).

Process Improvement

The issue of the process improvement can be directly related to the functioning of Bahrain Development Bank’s Administration Department. This element of TQM is helpful to reduce the time needed for the accomplishment of a certain procedure within the department, as well as the whole daily, weekly, or monthly cycle. Although the activities of the Administration Department are based on the schedule of monitoring and assessment, as well as on the necessity to address the emergency tasks and coordinate the work of employees from other departments, it is possible to improve some of strategies used in the department in order to enhance the whole process (Klement & Michael, 2010).

For instance, in order to reduce the time required for deciding on the activities or plan of actions and the actual implementation of steps, it is possible to apply the improved system of communication, information exchange, and notifications in order to make the process quicker and based on the active use of electronic resources.

Measurement

It is also important to measure the final results while focusing on the previously stated goals and objectives. In the Administration Department, the qualitative approaches to measuring the outcomes and performance of employees are actively used. However, according to the evidence regarding the implementation of TQM in organizations, statistical methods can be suggested to compare the previous results with the new ones in order to see the progress and identify the areas for the further improvement (Wang, Chen, & Chen, 2012). Moreover, the reliance of numbers as a result of measurement allows the leaders of the Administration Department to assess the concrete outcomes of the implemented processes and propose certain steps to change the situation for better.

Conclusion

Total Quality Management framework is usually implemented in different departments of organizations in order to improve the performance and the overall outcomes of processes and operations. While implementing the TQM framework in the Administration Department of Bahrain Development Bank, it is important to pay attention to the fact that not elements can be easily adopted, and the task of managers is to adapt the system to the needs of the department in order to achieve the higher results. From this point, the provided analysis of the TQM implementation in the Administration Department of the bank discusses the areas where the framework can work effectively and when it can be adapted.

References

Bahrain Development Bank Profile. (2015). Web.

Gherbal, N., Shibani, A., Saidani, M., & Sagoo, A. (2012). Critical success factors of implementing Total Quality Management in Libyan organisations. Web.

Islam, A., & Haque, A. (2012). Key aspects of TQM implementation in manufacturing organization: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Research in Management & Technology, 2(3), 268-277. Web.

Klement, K., & Michael, M. (2010). Factors that lead to a successful TQM implementation: A Case study on the Zambian tourism industry. Web.

Powell, C. (1995). Total quality management as competitive advantage: A review and empirical study. Strategic Management Journal, 16(1), 15-37. Web.

Talib, F., Rahman, Z., & Qureshi, M. N. (2013). An empirical investigation of relationship between total quality management practices and quality performance in Indian service companies. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 30(3), 280-318. Web.

Wang, C. H., Chen, K. Y., & Chen, S. C. (2012). Total quality management, market orientation and hotel performance: The moderating effects of external environmental factors. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(1), 119-129. Web.

This paper is a case study of Total Quality Management at Alliant Health System. It explains Alliant’s TQM strategy, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the actions Alliant took in implementing this strategy. A key component of Alliant’s TQM strategy is the creation of Patients Care Centers (PCCs). The paper suggests ways that could help Alliant successfully create PCCs.

It further highlights some strengths and weaknesses of Alliant’s TQM, including a comparison of Alliant’s TQM system with that of Recline Healthcare. The paper is concluded by drawing important lessons from Alliant’s TQM system that could help other organizations effectively implement TQM.

Alliant’s Strategy for TQM

Alliant understood that it had to change its mode of operation to meet the rising demand for quality healthcare. It, therefore, decided to focus on delivering quality services to its clients, based on the philosophy of TQM. Its TQM strategy focused on improving efficiency. It achieved this by continuously improving the quality of services while reducing costs.

Alliant developed a comprehensive TQM action plan within its strategy, which underscored teamwork and planning as fundamental features required in advancing the quality aspirations of the organization. However, teamwork started deteriorating, and in March 1993, the company had to take corrective actions. The company assigned some management roles to the teams to enhance their effectiveness.

As a result, an environment that allowed feedback, personal growth, and variety bolstered the performance of the employees. This quickened the turnaround of Alliant into a client-oriented institution due to increased “job involvement” by the employees.

Strengths and Weaknesses in Alliant’s TQM System

The steps were taken by Alliant to implement its TQM strategy exposed several strengths and weakness of the company. The TQM strategy, exemplified in the PCCs approach, took most of the functions and services closer to the clients. As a result, the PCC teams were able to respond more effectively to client needs.

The customers got the quality they demanded easily, as opposed to the previously centralized system. About employees, the PCCs approach increased their involvement and appreciation of the organization’s quality vision. The introduction of the PCCs also resulted in reduced labor costs because the organization was now using a linear management structure.

In as much as Alliant’s goal was to achieve efficiency by instituting a TQM system, some negative effects arose. The shift to PCCs as centers of operations required more money to construct ten additional admission areas for these centers. This increased Alliant’s expenses and reduced its short-term profitability. Alliant also witnessed high employee turnover after the implementation of the TQM system.

The restructuring came with additional responsibilities for team leaders. For instance, in the Women’s Pavilion PCC, the number of team leaders reduced from nine to six after three of them had resigned. The team leaders resigned because of role ambiguity and work overload.

The establishment of the PCCs reduced Alliant’s administrative efficiency. For instance, the first established PCC took almost all the staff from the centralized departments. There was also evidence of a lack of support from the low-level employees during the transition to the PCCs. These employees never understood how PCCs would improve service delivery to clients.

Suggestions on Implementing Patient Care Centers (PCC)Successfully

A review of Alliant’s strategy of establishing PCCs as centers of operation revealed some gaps in the implementation of TQM. In order to implement the PCC strategy effectively, it was important for Alliant to clarify the strategy’s significance to its employees at all levels. The process of establishing the PCCs should have equally been gradual in order to address cost concerns resulting from the construction of new structures.

Alliant could have avoided the high employee turnover if the introduction of the PCC system of management was gradual. Therefore, it was necessary to retrain team leaders and to clarify their roles within the organization before fully rolling out the new system. This would accord them ample time to comprehend and readjust to its new demands.

The administrative inefficiencies occasioned by the introduction of the PCCs were avoidable if the organization retained some functions in a centralized department. The centralization of functions such as transportation of goods and dietary services could reduce the organization’s expenses while enabling the specific PCCs to focus on their core businesses.

Comparison of Alliant’s TQM with That of Recline Healthcare

The TQM system adopted by Alliant was slightly different from that of Recline Healthcare. However, some components were similar. The table below compares Alliant’s TQM system with that of Recline Healthcare.

Table 1: Comparison of the TQM system of Alliant Health Services and that of Recline Healthcare

Important Lessons for Organizations on How to Implement TQM by Addressing Organizational Culture and Structure

TQM is all about the quality demanded by customers. Reid and Sanders (2012) called it “customer-defined quality” (p. 137). While implementing TQM, companies must take organizational culture and their internal structures into consideration. Organizations can draw vital lessons on TQM from how Alliant implemented change.

Organizational restructuring should be incremental. The rapid organizational culture change instituted by Alliant resulted in high employee turnover. When introducing change, it is important to note that change is often a new thing to long-serving employees in the organization. Organizational culture and structure usually shape employee’s work routine and habitual assumptions on how to work (Higgins, 2005).

Based on Alliant’s experience, teamwork can help in bolstering the performance of individuals. However, it is always important to reinforce teamwork with incentive mechanisms, team training, and peer reviews. The case of Alliant shows that teamwork without institutionalized motivation leads to failure. Therefore, a comprehensive plan on how to sustain teamwork is necessary.

It is also important to note that organizations need to involve all employees in the process of restructuring their operations. The case of Alliant shows that the low-level staff often can be a barrier to organizational restructuring if they are not involved. On the other hand, top-level managers can also sabotage the process if they feel that it threatens their existence.

In spite of everything, the restructuring of Alliant’s management style into a linear one resulted in more participation from the staff. The linear management structure reduced bureaucracy and improved the quality of services. There was greater involvement of the teams in management roles after the institution of the PCCs, which hastened the delivery of services to the clients.

References

Higgins, M. C. (2005). Career Imprints: Creating Leaders Across an Industry (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Reid, R. D., & Sanders, N. R. (2012). Operations Management: An Integrated Approach (5th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Total quality management is a very important concept in the success of any organization. Managers and supervisors need to ensure that they employ the concept in every aspect of the organization and involve all the employees in the process of implementing it. Imperatively, the mood and tone that the managers and supervisors set regarding total quality management is very critical in determining success or failure of a subject organization. The high dependency that is associated with the concept is because employees get the motivation and drive to work hard or relax from the tone that their leaders set using the concept. Therefore, the study examines a scenario that took place in a hotel and explains the solutions used to address the situation and the importance of using total quality management to set the tone of an organization.

My involvement in an effort that was half-hearted occurred in a hotel where our manager was not very enthusiastic about the operations undertaken in the establishment. From our observation, it was evident that the manager paid attention to other factors and did not care to check on the progress of the hotel. The main concern of the manager was on other businesses that concerned his personal engagements. According to Kaynak and Rogers (2013), leaders should determine the mood of an organization. As a result, the mood of the establishment became relaxed and employees no longer worked hard to achieve the best. Instead, majority of the employees started engaging in unproductive discussions and ventures that had very little impact on the development and success of the hotel. Although, I tried to work hard and deliver the best, my efforts diminished, since other employees did not support the initiatives. As a result, I became discouraged because the mood of the establishment was not rewarding.

What happened after the tone of the hotel became relaxed and employees no longer delivered the best was substandard quality of service and increased complaints from consumers. The high number of employees, who engaged in unproductive discussions and reluctance from the manager in charge, led to a drastic reduction of service quality and a simultaneous decline in the number of consumers. Ashley (2008) asserts that poor supervision and encouragement from managers leads to reduced drive and low performance from employees in a company. In essence, the effects occasioned because the manager had set the tone of the hotel after expressing lack of enthusiasm in his operations and total quality management.

The solution transpired after the managing director discovered the problem and dismissed the manager. Principally, the dismissal saw an introduction of a new manager, who was very vibrant and enthusiastic on matters that concerned hotel operations and service quality. When the employees realized that the new manager was enthusiastic on hotel matters, they quickly changed their focus and started working hard to produce the best. I was very encouraged because they started working together as teams focused on improving service quality and client satisfaction. Morfaw (2009) explains that leaders and managers have to act in a manner that creates positive attitude from the human resources towards achievement of the objectives of a particular organization. Therefore, the challenges related to complaints and substandard quality diminished in a pronounced manner.

Leaders need to understand that their employees use their level of enthusiasm to deliver the best or substandard products in an establishment. The leaders need to act as role models and show the way by behaving in manner that demonstrates interest in the activities of the establishment. Moreover, the leaders need to involve their employees in operations and some decision-making initiatives aimed at increasing their participation in product quality and high performance. By setting a good tone, the managers or supervisors determine the success of the company by influencing the behavior, mood, and creating an atmosphere, which favors success and outstanding product delivery.

References

Ashley, R. (2008). Total Quality Management (TQM). Indiana: Author House. Web.

Kaynak, E., & Rogers, R. (2013). Implementation of Total Quality Management: A Comprehensive Training Program. New York: Routledge. Web.

Morfaw, J. (2009). Total Quality Management (TQM): A Model for the Sustainability of Projects and Programs in Africa. New York: University Press of America. Web.

EFQM

This was initially known as the European Foundation for Quality Management. It is widely used in Europe and beyond it in both private and public organizations. It is majorly used in organizations than individuals (Ewy 2002, p. 12).

This model is mainly recommended for organizations with ISO Standards of Certification and constitutes the following eight basic principles namely:

1. customer orientation
2. partnership with suppliers
3. coworker development and participation
4. process and facts
5. continuous improvement
6. result orientation
7. leading and target consequence
8. Social responsibility and evaluation

MBNQA

This stands for Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and was established in 1987, with the main aim of promoting quality awareness, enabling understanding of quality excellence requirements, and allowing sharing of information on beneficial strategies of quality and benefits (Hubbard 2001, p. 67).

In this model, neither public nor private organizations are qualified. There is also no recognition of applicants satisfying a given level of performance. Its major principles are good governance, stewardship, accountability, communication, and respect (Arcaro 2005, p. 4).

Deming Prize

Deming prize is based in Japan and is often used as a quality-awarding tool nationwide for industries. Its establishment was in 1951 and was founded by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). This model was however named after W. Edwards Deming, which led to the existence of statistical quality control methodology for Japan after the II World War (Ettorre 2006, p. 16). Its major principle is to ensure national competition whereby organizations doing better in terms of quality are annually identified and would be commended for the good work (Cornesky 2002, p. 17). The awards are usually in three categories namely awards for an individual person, the Deming Application Prizes (awarded to private or public organizations), and Quality Control Award for Factories (Cornesky 2003, p. 45).

Similarity among the three models

1. All of them are related to quality as they deal with the performance of the organization as a whole.
2. Nearly all of them are concerned with the significance of leadership, commitment, and involvement of employees. They both consider the management that is based on process and facts (Spangehl 2000).
3. They all deal with the significance of all stakeholders in the organization
4. MBNQA and EFQM both share the principle of social responsibility.
5. The three models are related in such a way that they all consider continuity in improvement as an important aspect in achieving sustainable excellence. They build a learning organization in the end. The three models revolve around total quality management (Clark 2002, p. 28).

Difference between EFQM and MBNQA

MBNQA is stronger on systems perspectives while EFQM is stronger on managing by process (Bolman & Deal 2007, p. 4).

Differences among the three models

Their ideas are based on different countries and have different origins.

List of References

Arcaro, JS 2005, The Baldrige award for education: How to measure and document quality improvement, Lucie Press, Delray Beach.

Bolman, LG. & Deal, TE 2007, Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice and leadership, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco.

Clark, GJ 2002, Quality Matters the 2002 Decade of Quality 1989 – 2000, Spire City Publishing, London.

Cornesky, R 2002, Using Deming to improve quality in colleges and universities, Magna Publications, Madison.

Cornesky, R 2003, The quality professor: Implementing TQM in the classroom, Magna Publications, Madison.

Ettorre, B 2006, “Is the Baldrige still meaningful?”Management Review, Vol. 85, no. 3, pp 28-31.

Ewy, R 2002, “The Lincoln Foundation for Business Excellence Application,” Journal of Business excellence, Vol. 4, no. 2, pp 15-28.

Hubbard, DL 2001, “Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Education 2001 Application,” National award application, Vol. 3, no. 4, pp 113-124.

Spangehl, SD 2000, “Academic quality improvement project”, Journal of Quality Assurance, Vol. 5, no. 1, pp 37-89.

Using the right analysis tool will compensate for inexperienced managers

I disagree with the statement that usage of right tools do compensate for inexperienced managers. The assumption that success in project management is fully dependent on the usage of appropriate software rather than individual’s qualities, skills and experience is incorrect. Laying emphasis on desk based developed software, algorithms and software engineering is a futile exercise in the absence of cumulative qualities and skills of a manager (Rose, Pederson and Hosbond, 2007).

Analysis tools and operation management

Technological advancement is primarily focused on enhancement of faster and accurate managerial operations. Software and machines cannot operate independently. Human intervention is required. For example, consider a tractor cultivator, even if it is the latest model, without an experienced driver it would be of no use to the farmer. This applies to usage of right analysis tools in business management. Tools and techniques are not solutions in themselves. Mastering the techniques is also not enough. Financial and economic analysis is both an analytical and a judgemental process that gives solutions to subjects that have been developed in managerial context.

Management is the art of developing significant analytical problems and is targeted towards finding appropriate solutions to the problems. The process is only successful when the manager focuses on ways of structuring the problems and using the analysis tools only as a secondary manipulation step (Helfert, 2001). Therefore, analysis tools are only partially helpful in certain routine operations, but when it comes to financial and economic analysis, an experienced and strategic leader will be required. It is also crucial to maintain balanced relationship between managerial competences with the right analysis tools (McGovern, 1996).

Analysis tools in finance and accounting

Variety of analysis tools used in finance and accounting has been developed. The tools should be chosen in accordance to the organization requirement. They range from simple Ms Office tools to complex Mapping and integration tools. Other software programmes can process bills, calculate income tax returns and many other processes such as data storage and investment (Bangemann, 2005). However, software programmes that facilitate planning have been poorly explored and have not gained much popularity (Jackson, 1996).

Analysis tools are only an extension of managerial practice not a replacement for inexperienced managers. An experienced manager is capable of interpreting and analyzing an occurrence that require significant initiative with the ultimate decision maker (Helfert, 2001). An analysis tool cannot provide the adequate solution.

Computers and their impacts in management

Computers only facilitate interpretation of information that has been keyed into them by humans. They only perform according to the way they have been programmed (Tague, 2005). They do not provide answers to strategic problems that require critical evaluation, such as market accessibility of a commodity, the targeted group for the commodity or even forecasting market trends. Such issues can only be solved by experienced managerial analytical brains.

Computers are only machines. They never learn from mistakes. On this note, we view the bigger picture of the organisation management and ignore minor programs such as spelling and grammar check on Ms Word. However, people do learn form the erroneous information retrieved from the computer and fix the problems accordingly to prevent such mistakes from occurring again (Wilson, 1993).

Computers have brought a great change to entrepreneurial environment. There has been great impact brought about by new technologies, information revolution and internet on the business managerial practices world wide. For instance, the ability to access inventory status at both the customer and manufacturer/supplier levels, creative linkages through order processing and outsourcing that have guided companies on the actual demands patterns in the market.

Internet technology has been effectively used to manage, process, and store data throughout the world. Internet has facilitated instant sharing of information, linking entities with common interests and needs. Internet technology has been preferred for a number of services that include accounting, storage application, analysis software and allowing instant access to these services from all over the world (Helfert, 2001).

Consequences wrong data entry

Analysis tools require two things to perform efficiently, good data and result interpretation (Tague, 2005). For any wrong data entry, it causes enormous loss in terms of finance, time and other resources (Johnson and Kaplan1991). An inexperienced manager may fail to use the tool as required if his interpretation and data collection is poor. This may result to distorted, aggregated and delayed financial reports and decision making (Johnson and Kaplan, 1991).

However, in the view that the data gathered is correct, analysis system would be beneficial even to the inexperienced manager provided he or she consults with the more experienced staff. The final analysis outcome should correspond to the manager’s intuition. To sum it up, the only equivalent replacement of an experienced manager is costly loss in terms of finances, high turnover rate and loss of customers because it is the brains of these managers that fully interpret and analyze the outcomes of the reports and reach the ultimate decision.

References

Bangemann, T. (2005). Shared services in finance and accounting: Burlington: Gower publishing.

Johnson, T., and Kaplan, R. (1991). Relevance lost: the rise and fall of management accounting: Harvard: Harvard Business Press.

Helfert, Erich. (2001). financial analysis: tools and techniques: a guide for mangers: New York: McGraw hill companies, Inc.

Rose, J., Pederson, K., and Hosbond, J. (2007). Management competences, not tools and techniques: A grounded examination of software project management wm-data.

Tague, N. (2005). The quality toolbox: NY: ASQ Quality press.

Wilson, P., (1993). Root cause analysis. A tool for total quality management: NY: ASQ Quality press.

Summary

The article covers Continuous Improvement (CI) implementation in organizations which is one way of organization reengineering. The process involves various steps to be undertaken and this includes behavior innovation which must go together with reforms in organizational practices and change in ideological thinking. Moreover, it is acknowledged in the article that for CI to be effectively implemented, creativeness and innovativeness of new ideas should be part and parcel of the organization.

Nonetheless, the article covers CI using a longitudinal approach, and the research done was based on qualitative methods. However, the study covered in the article establishes that a competitive advantage can be achieved through the application of CI. On the other hand, the article also acknowledges that there are several factors that can determine the implementation of CI but the spirit of entrepreneurship in the organization helps it to be sustained.

Nevertheless, the paper applies the theoretical application of CI. For instance, organizational renewal and change were applied in CI development. To sum up, the paper covered the dynamics of implementing CI by putting emphasis on the organizations’ renewal and by incorporating quality management ideology. However, the paper acknowledges that there is no universal way of CI implementation since it is environment and company-specific.

Key Learning Points

To begin with, the paper provides several learning points. For instance, it is opined in the article that organizational renewal and change forms the major theoretical base for the implementation of CI. Moreover, it is also a learning fact that change can either be incremental or transformative and must be directed by a particular focal actor in the organization. Nonetheless, these mechanisms of implementing change are all effective depending on the available situation in the organization.

In addition, it is also a learning fact that there can be several ways of implementing CI in the organization. For example, with respect to the change process, change can be collaboratively embraced, sometimes it can be enforced coercively and at some point, it can also be passively resisted. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that for change to be successfully implemented in the organization, there must be some formal procedure of change management. For that matter, planning of change must be procedural which must be guided by visionary leadership. However, change implementation must be inducted through some learning process to ensure that it is adopted in the entire organization.

Additionally, another learning fact is that there are several ideological viewpoints on the implementation of CI. These ideologies are usually tied to the operation of organizations since they are embedded as the management ideology. As a result, the management ideology forms the guiding principles for CI implementation. This management ideology serves as a mental weapon that the management uses to influence the desired change.

Furthermore, it is also worthy to acknowledge that management ideology that relates to quality is paramount in the implementation of CI in the organization. However, ideology in quality management entails both product quality and the process of obtaining these products. Nonetheless, the leadership, management, and employees of the organization must be committed through teamwork cooperation in order to attain the desired quality standards.

Relevant Statements to the Session

The paper provides several relevant statements that can be constructively used to bring forth a revolution in organization continuous improvement. For instance, it is stated in the paper that incomparable competitive advantage is feasible in the organization through the implementation of CI. Furthermore, it is well stated that for this competitive advantage to be achieved, it is important that management ideologies that are adopted should create behavior routines that should not be stolen by perceived competitors. For that matter, the statements are relevant in the context of CI implementation since whatever ideology adopted by the organization should remain unique to give it the desired advantage in the operating environment.

Moreover, it is a relevant statement in the session that the change process is effectively directed by a focal group, team, or an actor. This is relatively important since the change in the organization is usually met with various resistance forces. Therefore, a focal leader must be in place to ensure that the desired CI is implemented by ensuring that change is made possible. In addition, the focal leader also acts as an inspirational pillar in the implementation process.

Furthermore, it is relevantly stated that there is no single way of implementing change in the process of continuous improvement. This is so since appropriate strategies for change implementation depends on the organization’s stage of development. For that matter, it is important to put in mind that no predefined strategies of change management are available for CI but the strategies must be crafted that should be inclined to the organization’s operating environment and its unique features.

Critical Analysis

It can be critically analyzed that strategies in continuous improvement are dynamic rather than static as earlier perceived. For instance, from the case study, it is provided that initially strategies were seller dominated in the early 1980s but it is now clients’ centered. As a result, new strategies are being outsourced and now quality issues have become the guiding principles in product production. Therefore, it can be critically opined that continuous improvement in the organization can emanate from within or from without. However, the top management in the organization must play a central role in ensuring the implementation of continuous improvement. For instance, they need to be motivational pillars towards the attainment of the set qualities.

Moreover, it can be critically analyzed that after a successful long period of continuous improvement, a positive culture to support and sustain quality standards is usually achieved. For instance, after ten years of sustained improvement, the Construction Company developed a cultural pattern that guided its business operations which resulted in long term quality standards in its products.

Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that continuous improvement in the organization is heavily determined by environmental factors. For example, the quality implementation may be necessitated by financial conditions of the environment since the improvement in the national economy facilitates continuous improvement while recessions in national economies are backward drivers of continuous improvement.

Additionally, it is prudent to embrace management ideologies in organizations that are geared towards supporting continuous improvement. These help since they act as inspirational factors in the implementation process. Nonetheless, these management ideologies must be in line with the broader organizational strategic plans to ensure that there is conformity in operations.

Practical Implications

Implementation of continuous improvement in the organization brings forth the desired revolution by achieving the set goals. However, for the set goals to be achieved in a real business case, several things need to be instituted. First and foremost, it is important to have long-term strategic plans that span for a long period of time. For instance, the plans might for a ten or twenty-year period. Moreover, in the set plans, short and long term goals must be well stipulated in order to act standards to which results should be measured against.

Thereafter, implementation strategies must be crafted to provide a defined layout of how the implementation process will be done. Since continuous improvement is an organization-wide activity, every level of management in the organization must be assigned specific implementation tasks and activities in order to make every stakeholder accountable and responsible in the entire implementation process.

In addition, the organization’s leadership must come up with an organizational ideology that must serve as a mental weapon for inspirational function. However, the top management must come out as a focal factor in the implementation process. The management must act as a regulator in the process to ensure that the entire process of the CI process stays on course. Lastly, there must be regular reviews of the implementation process.

Learning Reflections

There are several lessons learned from CI. One of the central lessons is that in the CI process, there is no universally accepted strategy to apply but it all depends on the specific company and the environment of operation. Moreover, it also evident that the implementation process follows a nonstraightforward process that is gradual and cyclical.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that various environmental forces also come to the fore in the implementation process of CI. Therefore, it is important to consider these factors in the planning process.

Lastly, it is also a lesson that the implementation exercise of CI is heavily embedded in the management influence. The top management of the organization plays a pertinent role in the implementation process since they serve as inspirational leaders. They are also responsible for crafting management ideologies that serve as mental weapons in the implementation process.

Summary

This article compares the ideas of W. Edward Deming with modern Total Quality Management (TQM) approaches. In this paper, Peter Peterson discusses how Deming’s theories evolved and how he applied them. Furthermore, the author speaks about the views of such quality experts as Joseph Juran and Phillip Crosby.

One of the arguments expressed in this work is that Deming’s methods and principles can and should be applied in their entirety to any organization, whereas TQM methods are usually adjusted to the needs of a particular company. Moreover, TQM methods are often used only temporarily in order to solve a certain organizational problem, although such application contradicts the very goal of TQM.

In addition, Peter Peterson believes that many TQM initiatives fail because they lack philosophy or guiding principles. The article briefly describes the main strategies and concepts introduced by W. Edward Deming, for instance, 14 points for the management or the deadly diseases of Western management. Overall, the author argues that the theories of this quality expert are still viable and that they are still applicable to the needs of modern companies.

Key Learning Points

It is possible to single out several learning points in this article. First, it clearly describes a set of specific strategies that can be adopted in order to transform many modern businesses and make them more competitive and agile. For example, the author identifies the main obstacles which prevent many companies from growing, in particular, orientation toward short-term objectives, focus on quantitative rather than qualitative results, or excessive mobility of the management, or lack of cooperation between senior management and employees.

Secondly, this article is beneficial to the extent that it shows how these problems can be overcome, for example, by eliminating barriers between various departments of the organization or by simplifying workplace hierarchy. Additionally, this article demonstrates how the causes of poor quality can be identified and analyzed. It should be noted that Deming regarded organizational inefficiencies as the root cause of defects. Therefore, the management should not overemphasize the mistakes of individual workers. This failure to pinpoint the factors leading to poor performance or quality is the main reason why so many companies become less competitive.

Another important learning point is that modern managers should not believe that TQM approaches and Deming’s ideas are interchangeable. Despite the fact that the name of W. Edward Deming is often associated with TQM, his methods and theories are much more consistent and specific. Certainly, the author does not fully explain why TQM initiatives can be unsuccessful. Nevertheless, he shows the common pitfalls that should be avoided, for instance, lack of constant purpose and principles or failure to gain the commitment of senior management.

If these problems are not properly addressed, many TQM techniques will not yield the expected results. Overall, these issues can be of great importance for quality managers and administrators.

Relevant Statements to the Session

There are several statements that are quite relevant to the session. It is acknowledged in the article TQM is often misunderstood, especially when it is not applied to the entire organization and each of its business processes. The students and practicing quality managers should do everything possible to overcome this pitfall. In this way, they will not transform the culture of the company or the values of its workers.

The second argument, which is of crucial importance, is that the ultimate goal of quality management is the prevention of problems rather than their elimination. Nonetheless, this is a very common misconception that runs contrary to the ideas of W. Edwards Deming and other prominent experts in quality management. Quality management techniques should not be applied only when a specific problem arises; only continuous use of these methods can bring significant improvement.

It is also worth noting that quality management practices have to be guided by some overarching principles and rules. Without some guiding idea or philosophy, these strategies lack focus and purpose. In other words, many managers fail to formulate the main objectives that their companies are supposed to achieve. These are the main statements that are relevant to this session.

Critical Analysis

The efficiency of different quality management techniques has been discussed by many scholars. This question is the subject of heated debates because many approaches, including TQM, do not bring the expected improvements. In part, it can be explained by the fact that these methods are not applied to every organizational activity. As it has been said before, these initiatives are often temporary and narrow. In contrast, W. Edward Deming’s theories proved to be successful in many Japanese and American companies. However, it was normally applied to manufacturing enterprises rather than service companies.

More importantly, Deming’s applied his theories to less globalized companies. The thing is that modern businesses have to operate in different cultural environments, and it might be difficult for quality managers to establish the same principles throughout the organization. Therefore, one should not overlook hypothetical challenges that can hinder the practical implementation of Deming’s theories or any other quality management techniques.

The author of this article points out that W. Deming’s theories are premised on certain principles that should not be modified or adjusted to the needs of a specific company. This is one of the requirements that Deming, himself, set when he consulted the managers. Nonetheless, one should not forget that this lack of flexibility can be unacceptable for many modern businesses. Modern organizations can differ in terms of structure, business model, products, target audience, supply chain, and many other aspects. Thus, it may be difficult to find a certain universal model or approach that would fit every organization. Still, despite these hypothetical limitations, the conceptual tools introduced by Deming, such as Shewhart or PDSA cycles or 14 points for the management, appear to be quite feasible.

Practical Implications

The ideas discussed in this article can be successfully applied to various companies. First of all, they are quite suitable for manufacturing companies, especially if they want to improve the quality of the production process or eliminate internal inefficiencies such as the slow flow of information within the organization. Furthermore, these techniques can be suitable for the needs of the service industry. These enterprises often fail to address the needs of their clients because there are too many organizational barriers within them. Admittedly, Deming’s ideas can be applied to the solution of separate problems. Nonetheless, their real purpose is to create such an organization in which employees take pride in their work. Hence, these theories do have many practical implications.

The strategies that can be adopted in many modern businesses are analysis of variation causes, elimination of the so-called “deadly diseases,” or the development of a knowledge management system within the organization. Such methods can serve different purposes.

For instance, they can identify the drawbacks of the organizational structure and its components. Moreover, on the basis of this analysis, the managers will be able to take specific actions related to quality improvement. As it has been said before, the organizational environment can vary, but there are several indispensable conditions for success, namely long-term commitment of every senior manager, long-term planning, and employee engagement. These are some of the objectives that quality managers must attain in order to succeed.

Learning Reflections

The ideas discussed by Peter Peterson were not entirely new to me, but this article attracted my attention to some very important concepts and principles. There are several distinct lessons that one can learn from this article and from some of Deming’s ideas. First, quality management has to encompass every organizational activity; it should not be related only to one specific problem. In this way, the managers will be able to only mitigate the symptoms of a certain organizational disease without actually curing it. However, many modern companies choose to act just in this way. Thereafter, this narrow focus partially explains why TQM does not always yield positive results.

The second and probably more important lesson is that managers must be able to critically evaluate different approaches to quality control or improvement. The problem is that many quality management strategies lack specificity or a sense of purpose. As Peter Peterson points out, some of the existing theories are dominated by buzzwords and abstract concepts which do not actually help people develop proper organizational strategies. Lastly, the success of an enterprise cannot be measured only by quantitative measurements such as the profitability of production rates. Such assessment contradicts the very principles of quality management.

Executive Summary

Summary Statement

The benefits and key steps of implementing TQM in Smart Pack Ltd.

Key Elements

Commitment, employees, quality control, stakeholders, top management, PDCA

The focus of the Report

The report presents an overview of the Total Quality Management approach. By reviewing the literature, it attempts to summarise the information on its relevance, functionality, common implementation strategies, and possible barriers.

Findings

The report concludes the practical validity of TQM in the case of Smart Pack Ltd., its applicability, and points out the range of benefits resulting from the process. However, at least one important step is expected to cause difficulties unless it is addressed early in the process.

Discussion

Given the successful record and an abundance of case studies that confirm the validity of the approach, TQM would be beneficial to our company regardless of the contract suggested by LEGO.

Conclusion

Except for one particular aspect, all of the main steps are possible to complete within the designated time frame and conclusively assess the progress.

Recommendations

The main concern is the possible rigidity of the workplace culture, which is known to require more time than we have at our disposal. For this reason, it is recommended to thoroughly review the company’s records which may provide additional insights into the flexibility of the employees and their readiness to change based on the prior instances of similar processes. It is also recommended to search for culture-specific literature since the overwhelming majority of TQM cases describe Asian, European, and American companies and will likely require adjustments when applied to the Australian market.

Purpose of the Report

The following report is aimed at illustrating the importance and relevance of the Total Quality Management approach, describing its benefits, outlining its target groups, and predicting the possible barriers in the course of its implementation. The report also suggests a possible action plan for the TQM process and briefly describes each step to create a more concise image. The report is primarily introductory. Thus the present version of the plan is subject to change once the required data and background are obtained.

Background

LEGO is one of the biggest and most recognizable toy manufacturers in the world. We recently received a proposition to become a subcontractor from the company. Cooperation with an entity of such magnitude puts great responsibilities on Smart Pack Ltd. Thus, the TQM implementation is desirable regardless of the demands presented by LEGO.

Method

The current version of the report focuses on the existing knowledge in the literature, primarily the credible scholarly journals.

Scope

The report is a broad overview of the expected actions rather than a set of detailed instructions.

What is Total Quality Management?

Total Quality Management (TQM) is an approach aimed at improving the quality of the company’s operations. It is a long-term action rather than a quick fix solution and is implemented through maintaining a workplace environment that maximizes the efficiency of operations on all stages and constantly improves quality. While the quality improvement process is commonly attributed to the products and services, in reality, it involves the enhancement of the corporate culture as well.

TQM was initially conceived as a set of established practices in the early 1980s when both the European and US market suffered severe competition from Japan. In response to this fact, several government institutions, along with independent scholars, reviewed the quality control approaches used by the Japanese management and conceived what is now known as TQM.

Total Quality Management is not a unified system – instead, it encompasses several common concepts and principles which are shared across variations. First, the level of quality is determined primarily by the consumer. All of the data which can be interpreted as customer’s reaction to the change is used to measure the success of the TQM process on every level of the company’s functioning, including those which have no direct impact on consumers.

For this reason, total involvement of stakeholders is required, with an understandable emphasis on employees. Naturally, to establish such total involvement, the staff must be ready to accept changes, make independent decisions, face responsibilities, and be committed to the shared vision. Such effect is usually produced by top management and, if properly organized, sustained within the self-managed working teams. Second, the practices are for the most part focused on the process: most often, it is broken down into fundamental elements, after which each one is assigned an expected quality standard and monitored to maintain it.

However, the TQM does not separate the processes – instead, the common approach is uniting the previously disparate entities into a horizontal hierarchy. This is achieved by establishing the communication channels and making sure that the staff shares a common mission and vision, understands the objectives, and views their work as an important part of a complete picture. Finally, the responsibilities on the implementation usually rest on a top management segment, with a specially formed committee taking the role of a controlling entity. Every aspect of the TQM, including planning, is either continuous or recurring which guarantees constant improvement and maintenance.

Implementing TQM

Before the implementation is initiated, several important measures must be taken. First, we need to review the current state of the company, most importantly, the conditions which are responsible for the need for change and the capability of the company to accept it. The former is relatively simple since we already know that the primary reason is the request from LEGO. This fact implies that no visible issues were detected that demanded addressing. However, this does not mean that the company in its current state is compatible with LEGO requirements and the reasons for TQM implementations are purely formal.

Thus, we need to collect information on the quality and working culture of other firms in Australia which are expected to compete with Smart Pack Ltd. and those which operate under the same conditions in other countries. Such an approach is consistent with the organization model approach (Jiménez-Jiménez, Martinez-Costa, Martínez-Lorente, & Rabeh, 2015) and will give us a better understanding of the expected level of quality and provide us with some insights on the techniques we can utilize. Next, we need to review the history of the company to determine its readiness to accept change. We must locate the most prominent changes and assess the amount of resistance both from the employees directly involved in operations and the management segment. This will give us an idea of the pace, scope, and intensity of the planned TQM process (Mosadeghrad, 2014).

If the records also allow us to indicate the reasons behind the slowdown, we can adjust the techniques accordingly in the planning phase. It is worth pointing out that the resistance to change is not a purely negative effect – it also provides a necessary amount of challenge which will highlight the inconsistencies in the process and help with the assessment to some degree. Thus, it should be integrated into the planning rather than avoided at all costs.

Next, we need to identify the critical success factors (CSF) (Hietschold, Reinhardt, & Gurtner, 2014). Since we are a company which produces material goods, it is possible to outline the most likely factors: for Smart Pack Ltd., they are product quality, customer satisfaction, and financial performance. Nevertheless, it is recommended to assess the matters more thoroughly to locate other possibly relevant factors and, more importantly, to assign a weight to the existing ones. This will help to prioritize the processes and activities to achieve the best results.

The next step is developing a meaningful and streamlined system of metrics to assess the progress made in the selected CSFs. For instance, customer satisfaction can be measured through surveys and other communication channels to produce feedback. Naturally, a certain level needs to be set as “satisfactory” in the initial phase to establish a goal. Once established, the system can also be used to prove successful TQM implementation.

The next phase involves fostering the commitment of the employees. Since the main responsibilities of the success of TQM are on the top management segment (Burkert & Lueg, 2013), it is important first to persuade the managers who will then convey the message to the other workers. The most obvious way of doing it is by describing the benefits of the quality improvement process and backing the claims with hard data and cases of successful implementation by other firms.

In our case, the lucrative contract with LEGO is the most obvious and direct consequence of the implementation. At the same time, the company will also likely experience financial growth thanks to the higher customer satisfaction and improving working conditions. At this point, visits to the award-winning business organizations can also come in handy, both as an illustration and as a way to gain useful information (Lee & Ooi, 2015).

Another important point is the honest and unequivocal acceptance of the difficulties which will likely accompany the process. The barriers for implementation will occur regardless of the fact of prior acknowledgment, but the initial recognition will improve the efficiency of mitigation and create a more robust environment among workers. In other words, the employees will not be shaken by the adverse effects of the change process and will show readiness to accept the challenge if its details are known, and the ultimate reward is convincing.

Once the staff is informed about the transition, is prepared to accept the challenges of the process, and is committed to contributing to the successful implementation, we can proceed to the allocation of responsibilities (Netland, Schloetzer, & Ferdows, 2015). At this step, the majority of roles of the existing hierarchy may be already consistent with the new vision and mission. Thus, the changes may not be necessary on a large scale.

However, two new entities associated with TQM implementation need to be assigned. First, a steering committee must be formed. The responsibilities of the committee include overseeing the implementation process, accepting and analyzing the reports, determining the reasons for deviations from the planned course, and introduce the corrections into subsequent versions. Second, a consultant must be appointed to provide an independent opinion.

The consultant needs to be an outside specialist rather than an affiliate of the company to assure the necessary level of integrity and provide a fresh view on the matters. On the other hand, the committee is formed from the existing managerial personnel to establish a connection between the chosen practices and the previous knowledge of the company (Tavares de Aquino & Maciel de Melo, 2016). The collaboration between an outside specialist and a team familiar with the setting will result in better adaptability and maximize the efficiency of change.

The next step is establishing the relation between certain processes and the objectives determined by our mission. The best way to do that is to construct a quality policy that will reflect the key points of our vision and motives clearly and transparently.

Once everything is done, we may proceed to the execution phase, followed by evaluation and restatement. However, it is important to recognize possible barriers.

Action Plan

• Evaluation of the current conditions
  • Reasons
  • Capabilities
• Research of the contemporary market conditions
• Identifying critical success factors
  • Assigning weight
  • Setting milestones
• Communicating vision and mission
• Establishing horizontal hierarchy
• Allocating responsibilities
  • Acquiring a consultant
  • Forming a steering committee
• Conceiving a quality policy
• Overseeing change process
  • Reviewing feedback
  • Re-establishing faulty or ineffective parts of the plan (if necessary) (Tomic et al., 2016)

Things to Avoid

One of the common barriers to TQM implementation is the cost. Smart Pack Ltd. is a niche company, which means it is tight on resources. The TQM implementation and the changes introduced to the process are expected to require financing, which may be difficult if the investors do not share the vision of the management. Thus, it is important to explain that these are investments rather than losses and will subsequently lead to growth (Jiménez-Jiménez et al., 2015).

Another common difficulty is the poor understanding of accountability. The employees often perceive empowerment in a one-sided fashion – accepting the decision-making but ignoring the responsibilities which come with them (Talib & Rahman, 2015). It is thus important for the management to clearly and concisely communicate all aspects of the process and actively monitor for inconsistencies. Time restrictions may also be a problem.

LEGO demands the TQM implementation within a year. Most of the steps of the action plan can be fitted into this time frame. However, some inherent aspects of the process, such as the change of the working culture, are known to be much more time-consuming, sometimes requiring several years to be fully adjusted. These limitations need to be acknowledged on a planning stage, and possible mitigation strategies need to be developed. Finally, education and training are often overlooked in the process, especially when no major reallocation of responsibilities is made. The knowledge and skill set of employees thus must be included in the list of factors that influence the outcome and regularly measured to timely detect and eliminate gaps.

Measuring Success of TQM Implementation

Method 1: PDCA

One possible way of maintaining and improving quality is through a plan-do-check-act cycle or PDCA. It is a simple and approachable technique that, when properly implemented, benefits both the management and the workers (Tomic et al., 2016). The planning phase involves assessing the current situation and searching for inconsistencies with the established norms. Once found, these issues are addressed by developing appropriate solutions in the “do” phase.

The solutions then undergo an evaluation and are tested. This phase is preliminary and is necessary to verify the solutions which were defined as the most promising. After the pilot run the check phase begins, where the feedback and data which illustrates the success of the intervention is gathered and analyzed. If the results are consistent with the set objectives and goals, the suggested strategy is then fully implemented into the production cycle.

If it yields inadequate results, the data is reviewed to determine the possible reason for failure. After this, the cycle is reinitiated, i.e. the planning phase is initiated again to adjust the existing strategy or develop a new one. Importantly, since the TQM is an ongoing process that aims at constant improvement, the cycle is repeated regardless of the result. Once the set milestone of quality is reached, a new one is established, and in the meantime, minor improvements can be introduced which further improve the workplace culture.

Method 2: ISO 9000

In some cases, ISO 9000 is utilized to measure the effectiveness of the TQM. The reason for this is several similarities between the two systems which cover the importance of quality, its impact on the customers, the communication between departments of an organization, and the cultural and social influences. However, it should be pointed out that these systems also have several important differences.

ISO does not recognize customer satisfaction as a measure of success, requires replicability as a component (not included in TQM), prioritizes individual responsibilities over the group and team ones, and, most importantly, prefers strict regulations over shared decision-making and empowerment (Prajogo, Huo, & Han, 2012). Thus, to apply to TQM evaluation, the latter needs to be heavily modified.

Conclusion

Total Quality Management is a well-established and trusted the concept. While it lacks concrete definitions and varies substantially throughout the literature, it is flexible and versatile enough to be successfully implemented and adjusted for a wide variety of uses. The action plan, developed and detailed in this paper, combined with the PDCA monitoring tool, will provide Smart Pack Ltd. with a necessary understanding. The metrics system detailed in step 3 can be used to illustrate the fact of successful implementation. The plan is intended to serve as a preliminary guide to communicate the necessity of such change as well as outline the main points to consider. It is recommended to further expand the plan to avoid the possible difficulties mentioned above.

Recommendations

First, the TQM is a highly acclaimed system with an impressive success record. However, it must be acknowledged that the overwhelming majority of evidence is based on the European, Asian, and American experience. Thus, it is recommended to approach the cases and strategies which depend on the cultural aspect with caution. Case studies that account for the Australian market should also be prioritized to better understand the conditions. This second recommendation is especially relevant since the cultural segment of the TQM is known to be more time-consuming and, according to common understanding, does not fit well into the time frame allocated by LEGO. Third, the plan in its current state pays little attention to staff education and training. This aspect requires both time and resources and should be expanded in the extended version once the preliminary assessment is done.

References

Burkert, M., & Lueg, R. (2013). Differences in the sophistication of Value-based Management–The role of top executives. Management Accounting Research, 24(1), 3-22.

Hietschold, N., Reinhardt, R., & Gurtner, S. (2014). Measuring critical success factors of TQM implementation successfully–a systematic literature review. International Journal of Production Research, 52(21), 6254-6272.

Jiménez-Jiménez, D., Martinez-Costa, M., Martínez-Lorente, A. R., & Rabeh, H. A. D. (2015). Total quality management performance in multinational companies: A learning perspective. The TQM Journal, 27(3), 328-340.

Lee, V. H., & Ooi, K. B. (2015). Applying the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria: an approach to strengthening organisational memory and process innovation. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 26(11-12), 1373-1386.

Mosadeghrad, A. M. (2014). Why TQM programmes fail? A pathology approach. The TQM Journal, 26(2), 160-187.

Netland, T. H., Schloetzer, J. D., & Ferdows, K. (2015). Implementing corporate lean programs: the effect of management control practices. Journal of Operations Management, 36(4), 90-102.

Prajogo, D., Huo, B., & Han, Z. (2012). The effects of different aspects of ISO 9000 implementation on key supply chain management practices and operational performance. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 17(3), 306-322.

Talib, F., & Rahman, Z. (2015). Identification and prioritization of barriers to total quality management implementation in service industry: an analytic hierarchy process approach. The TQM Journal, 27(5), 591-615.

Tavares de Aquino, A., & Maciel de Melo, R. (2016). Multicriteria model for selecting TQM consultancy and certification services. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 23(7), 311-324.

Tomic, B., Brkić, V. S., Karapetrovic, S., Pokrajac, S., Milanović, D. D., Babić, B., & Djurdjevic, T. (2016). Organizational culture, quality improvement tools and methodologies, and business performance of a supply chain. Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 27(2), 559-564.