Deming, Juran, and Crosby contributed to the development of total quality management (TQM) practice. Deming focused on the processes, their planning, and execution. The philosophy of Karlee reflects this because the company uses systems approaches to its management. From Deming’s perspective, the plan-do-study-act model ensures the efficiency of operations. Karlee applies this by assessing the current state of the company’s operations, aligning this data with prospects for the future, and manage change.
Juran focused on quality and its constant improvement through reviewing the processes and creating strategies that would help change the existing approaches for better ones. Karlee’s philosophy includes a statement of continual improvement, in which the organization claims that all processes are documented and the steering committee continually receives a status report. In addition, the factual approach that Karlee uses implies that team members analyze data to create strategies that would help improve the production process.
Crosby is well known for his Zero Defects strategy that allows companies to match the quality of their products to customers’ expectations. Karlee adheres to this principle through its strategy of people involvement. More specifically, the establishment states that employees are responsible for the product and should adhere to the client’s requirements.
TQM emphasizes on the entire company quality management strategies
TQM incorporates the entire commodities attributes and the physical characteristics capable of meeting the affirmed customer requirements.
For ADNOC, TQM means designing and implementing corporate culture supporting continuous enhancement of the organization courses of action
TQM implies acting appropriately to generate improved products and services which satisfy the needs of customers.
Total Quality Management refers to the combination of strategically designed management approaches of an organisation centred on quality and the comprehensive participation of all organisation members with an aim of providing long-term success (Deros et al., 2009). In fact, total quality management is the practice of managing the whole organization processes to achieve quality. For instance, total quality management entails the conformity to the requirements including continuous improvement, employee empowerment and quality circles.
Acting appropriately through Total Quality Management
TQM requires an organization to act appropriately. The clients needs can hardly be met without successful accomplishment and proper management of the available resources. Thus, TQM helps organizations to act perfectly in the first instance.
Synopsis of TQM
TQM covers corporate processes that ensure the production of improved commodities
The objectives of TQM are achieved by ensuring total customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction materializes from constant improvement of the organizational processes including the employees welfare and operations
Given its significance, most organizations particularly those situated in the UAE have implemented TQM technique in its totality
ADNOC is amongst the UAE corporations committed to the application of TQM in most business processes
Despite the implementation of TQM, the utilization of the TQM technique has remained shaky, undermined, and underutilised in several UAE corporations (Deros et al., 2009). However, TQM ensures systems improvement and the enhancement of the key stakeholders requirements including customers and suppliers. TQM aims at enhancing quality through doing the right thing.
TQM: Really a simple process
From study literature on TQM, the approaches used in total quality management appear incorporate simple processes. Any organization that is deemed successful in implementing TQM has decisive such as inputs, resources, controls, and processes that generate the desired outputs. Such parameters make up TQM.
The company overview and TQM
Abu Dhabi National OIL Company is amongst the reputed companies in the global oil industry
The company reports constant business achievements emerging from quality management practices
ADNOC is successful given its emphasis on TQM practices in all the undertaken business processes
ADNOC TQM focuses on constant improvement of its products, services, customers, suppliers and employees
Over the years, ADNOC has increased its production and manufacturing efforts towards achieving a greater competitive market share to become the world’s leading oil producing companies. It dominates the marketing, shipping, and production paradigms (ADNOC, 2013). TQM has enabled the company to increase its production capacity, gain significant market share and become the world leading corporation in the oils and shipping industry.
What TQM entails
TQM entails various focal points. Successful corporations such as ADNOC include quality management, continuous improvement, customer focus, inclusion of every worker, and accurate evaluation in their TQM strategies. All these measures such companies to the their stakeholders obligations.
ADNOC’s executive commitment to TQM
Executive commitment to the implementation of TQM is amongst the principles leading to the success of an organization
ADNOC management ensures that TQM objectives are implemented via motivation, leadership, proper planning and continuous innovations
The executive ensures that they fully contributed towards participate in the attainment of the company mission, vision, objectives and goals
ADNOC has emphasized on excellence in the business processes through initiating the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA)
SKEA enhances the company capabilities to increase its competitive advantage and encourage continued existence, success and growth.
Total Quality Management can hardly be achievable by only setting organisational goals, objectives, mission and vision statements without actively participating in their follow up through actions (Al-Shobaki et al., 2010). As such, ADNOC has excellent schemes intended to promote the understanding and awareness of TQM practices that ensure enhanced performance.
Excellence Award Criteria for TQM
The excellence award criteria for TQM highlights the requisite elements needed when implementing TQM. For instance, the criteria highlights the success factors such as apt leadership and training, the involvement and cooperation of all members, as well as comprehensive management methods. Besides, according to the method, it is important to put quality first through satisfying the clients, and realizing the management goals.
The company focus on customer satisfaction
To successfully implement TQM, companies focus on practices that satisfy customer needs
ADNOC has instituted measures that encourage trust and reliability
The company integrates customer services, the quest to improve and achieve customer satisfaction
ADNOC integrates processes that ensure the continuous improvement of commodities aimed at satisfying clients needs
The company responds promptly to the customer claims, enacts customer compensation policies and diligently respond to customer complaints
TQM may typically imply total business focus towards meeting and exceeding customer’s needs and expectations by considering their innermost interests (Deros et al., 2009). ADNOC ensures the customers’ needs are met through improving the quality of products and services that in turn have increased its competitiveness in the market.
Total Quality Model
Basically, TQM is intended to increase and accomplish the clients satisfaction. Any total quality management model necessitates process management, process improvement, planning processes, total participation, and focusing on the needs of the customers.
The company quality planning and culture
Corporations establish cultures that enhance quality of business processes
ADNOC plans and performs quality attainment practices that enhance business performance
Planning involves appropriate preparation and guidance in attaining goals
ADNOC staffs are trained and guided on the principles concerned with quality attainment culture
Quality is paramount at ADNOC and the company has quality assurance departments to ensure quality production
For TQM implementation to remain successful, strategies towards achieving quality planning and having the culture towards quality accomplishment is paramount. Corporate managers and employers must remain intrinsically driven to enhance and maintain quality through strategic planning schemes, which involve training workers on principles concerning quality achievement and quality culture (Shahin, 2011).
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Total quality management integrates leadership, strategic planning, workforce, business results, client and market focus as well as process management. In fact, TQM entails the organizational profile including the environment, challenges and relationships. However, successful management of TQM requires measurement, analysis, and the management of knowledge management.
Employee involvement, training and empowerment
Employee involvement, training, and empowerment are imperative when designing, and implementing TQM
Employee commitment incorporates involvement and participation
Empowerment and motivation enable workers to communicate, corporate, and be effectively and professionally responsible
Companies should prioritize training as a TQM principle to handle organizational changes
ADNOC supports workers training on quality measures, improves knowledge, skills, and attitudes of staffs
The department of HRM is responsible for nurturing and developing employee skills for corporate success (Bahri et al., 2012). To win the willingness and corporation of employees in achieving TQM goals, the company might take initiative of motivating and empowering workers for them to be intrinsically and extrinsically responsible. Lack of awareness on the objectivity of TQM generates difficulty in comprehending TQM as a significant strategy.
Who needs to receive quality training?
According to TQM, quality training is supposed to be given to the top management, quality manager, other middle managers, specialists, facilitators, and workforce. The training should incorporate quality awareness, strategic quality management, procurement practices, and advanced statistics training. Besides, the basic concepts of TQM, and motivation should be given to the workforce to help in the implementation of the TQM.
Unity of purpose, cooperation and teamwork
TQM implementation depends on unanimity, organizational corporation, and teamwork principles
The aspect of unity in purpose is imperative when implementing TQM
Cooperation and teamwork illustrate the success in TQM implementation in most organizations
ADNOC promotes unity of purpose, cooperation, and teamwork via TQM
ADNOC management develops performance improvement programs to overcome ADNOC challenges and create opportunities
To encourage functional departmental teamwork, introduction of multilevel discipline, enhancing monitoring of department, and recognition of ADNOC were the main objectives of performance improvement programs. The directors believe that success power rests on team work that remain self motivated to competently undertake organizational duties since ADNOC promotes cohesive approaches in achieving teamwork (Deros et al., 2009).
The implementation of TQM
The implementation of TQM requires the commitment from the workers, focusing on the requirement of the customers, laying down effective control, workforce cooperation, quality improvement culture, as well as continuous process improvement.
Paradigm of shift: Corporate cultural change and TQM
Total Quality Management
Externally focuses on client with open and free communication
Empowering employees and prevention
Incessant improvement, supportive associations and problem solving starts at the roots
Conventional Approach
Internally focuses on the regulation with hindrances to communication
Employees manipulation and control
Seeking for stability via adversarial associations and members allocated blames
There has been a paradigm shift in the traditional approach to quality management to the current TQM strategy. Various components that constituted the customary approach varied significantly with the advent of the TQM. In the context of ADNOC, the company has encourages continuous progression, and relationships that are inclined to support TQM activities. To realize this, the company empowers its workforce and encourage them to avoid shifting blames but rather tackle every problem from the root cause. Besides, ADNOC concentrates on delivering commodities that satisfy the clients needs through facilitating free and undeviating communication between the company staffs and the clients.
Implementation resources
TQM implementation can hardly be realized with deficient resources
The availability of resources enable TQM to increase market competence, productivity, and profitability
Financial and human resources are imperative during TQM implementation
ADNOC is the most developed and financially stable organization in UAE
ADNOC has designed diverse financial support projects to assist in the implementation of TQM
Lack of the implementation resources like financial and human resources lead to failure of TQM implementation. ADNOC successfully implements its TQM projects given that the company has sufficient resources. Apart from the financial and human resources, ADNOC empowers and motivates its workers to communicate, corporate, and be effectively and professionally responsible.
Resource management and TQM
Given that enough resources are needed during TQM implementation, TQM requires its systems to be continuously improved through management responsibility, product realization, and resources management. These call for proper planning, action, assessment, and doing.
Conclusion
TQM is the most anticipated quality based initiative in the present world
Organization must employ many principles and concepts to successfully implement TQM
TQM is successful with resources, cooperation and teamwork, training, empowering, employee involvement, and executive commitment
The adoption of TQM strategies explain why ADNOC is dominant in the UAE transportation, oil and refinery paradigms
From companies reports and study literature, the advent of TQM has helped many organizations to amicably address quality issues. However, for successful implementation of TQM, various theoretical constructs and measures must be incorporated. These include, rewarding staffs, training, discipline, as well as integrating the management and workforce commitments.
References
ADNOC (2013). About ADNOC: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Web.
Al-Shobaki, D., Fouad, H. & Al-Bashir, A. (2010). The implementation of total quality management (TQM) for the banking sector in Jordan. Jordan Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 4(2), 304-313.
Bahri, S., Hamzah, D. & Yusuf, R. M. (2012). Implementation of total quality management and its effect on organisational performance of manufacturing industries through organisational culture in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of Business and Management, 5(1), 10-24.
Deros, B., Rahman, M., Ghani, J., Wahab, D., Hashim, M. & Khamis, K. (2009). Role of senior management in TQM implementation in Malaysian small and medium enterprises. Journal -The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia, 72(3), 15-20.
Shahin, A. & Dabestani, R. (2011). A feasibility study of the implementation of total quality management based on soft factor. Journal of industrial engineering and management, 4(2), 258-280.
Quality management is an essential part of any company’s operations. CRM is a basis for Egyptian market development and its further entrance into the global economy.
Examples: Personal Experience
Means of improving customer relations:
Gathering feedback via online chats
Responding to customers in a timely fashion
Making the communication process personal
Gathering customer feedback is imperative for improving the quality of services;
Promoting staff training is essential for increasing customer satisfaction rates;
Time is of the essence when it comes to satisfying customers’ needs.
Gaining Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty is essential to the overall success of a company’s performance;
Customer loyalty defines the reputation of an organization and, therefore, its further success in the home and global markets;
Expanding the client base is, therefore, the most reasonable course of actions for addressing the lack of customer loyalty.
Maintaining Customer Loyalty
Trading centers development;
Egypt Market development.
Putting Theory to Practice
Numerous experiences in Egypt have shown that customer loyalty can be gained by funding the activities related to the provision of free services;
By offering free services, a company displays the willingness to cater to the needs of clients in a proper manner.
Customer satisfaction rates can be increased with the help of surveys and polls conducted among TA.
Customer Satisfaction and TQM
CRM: Basis for Companies in the Egyptian Market
Identification of the customer’s needs and the creation of added value are two key steps to success in the Egyptian market.
Meeting Clients’ Demands
Using questionnaires and surveys proved to be the most efficient mean of retrieving customer feedback in the environment of an Arabian medium entrepreneurship.
Practical application of the TQM model allowed gaining a twofold increase in the company’s revenues.
CRM, Marketing and TQM
The adoption of a Total Quality Management Model presupposed developing a range of training courses and redesigning the leadership approach to create a sustainable environment for fostering the TQM Model in the Egyptian market.
The Art of CRM and Marketing
The experience in an Egyptian company has shown that customer satisfaction makes the basis for a firm’s success;
Working for the above-mentioned enterprise has proven that CRM is related closely to customer satisfaction.
By identifying the essential characteristics of the TA and locating an adequate marketing tool, one is likely to succeed;
The promotion of the firm’s product to the Egyptian population was a success due to gender-based branding.
Conclusion
Managing quality is an essential part of any company’s operations.
Adoption of TQM is crucial for a company operating in the Egyptian market environment.
Customer satisfaction and quality management are related closely to each other; together, they define the efficacy of an organization’s performance.
Gathering feedback from customers and improving the quality standards in a company is the key to developing a sustainable TQM approach.
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a method of quality improvement that outlines methodologies that are client-friendly and are focused on service delivery. TQM first appeared in Japan and then was adopted worldwide. While TQM refers to a set of client-friendly practices aimed at enhancing the quality and promote process improvement, the theory that will be outlined in this work is Deming’s Theory (Bright, 2010). Deming’s Theory relies on the Shewart Cycle called the Plan- Do- Check and Act. According to this theory, quality of work in a company determines the outcome of work efforts used as input over the total costs. If a company concentrates on the company costs, then the issue will be that costs grow while quality deteriorates.
PDCA (plan–do–check–act or plan–do–check–adjust) cycle is used as the company’s planning instrument. The tool is used to solve diverse tasks, for example improving the project through establishing an improved design of process or introducing changes in a company. The PDCA may also be used for continuous improvement. PDCA has such steps as do, check and Act. In the planning phase, the company outlines the strategy that is to be for the change. In the do phase, the company carries out a small-scale study. In the check phase, the company assesses the outcome, and outlines what changes are needed for making changes.
This project looks at how Abu Mansoor Plastic company sets out to improve its specifications for its product to meet the clients’ requirements. Customers in UAE have come across items that don’t meet their specifications and have kept complaining to the firm on the quality of materials used in the production of these plastics.
Objectives
Main Objectives
To determine if the company manufacturing process meets customers’ demands.
To find out what changes the company needs to introduce to meet clients’ specifications.
Scope and Limitation
The main purpose of the study is to determine how Abu Mansoor is able to enhance the processes of manufacturing of these plastic products. The company has to meet the requirements of the clients to continue selling its products. The research looks upon the measurements of the plastics produced. The study is to take like two weeks, and it would use Deming and PDCA theories to find out the changes that are necessary to introduce in the company to resolve this issue. The Geographical location covered for this analysis is Abu Dhabi company in the United Arab Emirates. The company is based on plot 31, ICAD1 within UAE (LinkedIn, 2020). The company is likely to trouble selling its products if it fails to investigate and come up with the right solution to the problem.
Theoretical background
Description of method used in data analysis
The data was collected from an online database on company evaluation. In this case study, the research design of the company is outlined. The research design refers to a plan or blueprint which the project employs. In this case, both qualitative and quantitative data models will be used. Some data taken directly from the company will be used. The methods employed in data collection are interviews, questionnaires, group interviews as well as direct recording. Excel is used in this case for recording and Minitab used in the analysis.
Problem Identification and Data Collection
Brief Company Overview
Abu Mansoor Plastic Factory is a private company that operates in a chemicals producing sector. The company was established in 1985, and by 2017, it had fifty employees. The firm belong to the chemicals industry because it produces plastics. The company is based on plot 31 in Abu Dhabi and has Web. The company is the largest producer of all kinds of polythene sheets and uses one-hundred per cent of the available raw materials. These raw materials fall between 100 gauges and 1200 and also range between ten meters to fifty for every roll. Further, there is the manufacture of the PVC buckets of all weights, light and heavy, and in all colors.
The company is a leader in import of large volumes of quality hardware, construction materials, as well as the plumbing of products (Amp, 2020). More than five hundred items are imported from Thailand, India and other countries. The company’s production is meant for China, Pakistan, Qatar, among other nations.
Problem Description
Abu Mansoor is a company that cares about customer issues. Clients have been complaining that the company has been delivering products that are not up to standards. Some of these products fail to meet the required length. Since the company failed to produce goods of necessary lengths, it was likely to lose multiple clients. This report looks at the problems the company faces and the solutions that can be employed to solve these issues. Some of these solutions include the application of Deming’s Theory and PDCA model to put into life the best options for the firm. The firm applies PDCA model in evaluating and solving the issue above.
Data Description
The data for this analysis came from the company website, where the company outlines the length issue and sets out to find if the lengths fall within the right range. The required range for the data is between 28.40 and 33.10, which are the lower class limit and the upper-class limit. The data encompasses five samples which have thirty-five items in the group. The five samples of the data were recorded during the manufacturing process. The samples are named as the sample one through sample five. The data also represents the type of lengths and circumferences of items that the company keeps producing.
Data Analysis
Result and Discussion
An x-bar chart is a statistical tool utilized in this approach to determine if the company process falls in the range of the limits. The limits shown are for the lower control limit (LCL) and the upper control limit (UCL.) From the results of chart 1 below, the LCL was found to be 27.28, and the UCL was 33.47. The center value is 30.37 as the diagram below shows. The above given values confirm that the process was not in control which led to the production of low-quality products.
From the r-chart, the company’s process is above the upper control limit as can be seen from chart two. The company process UCL for the R-chart is 11.34, and that for the LCL is 0. The center line for the processes lies at 5.36, which is below the values. A process that falls below or above the range shows that the output will not fall in the right dimension. The Deming’s Theory and PDCA model will help the company find out what causes issues with the production that are the main source of complaints from the clients.
Figure 1. Showing the x-bar chart and R-chart from the analysis of the sample data
Data Analysis
From the x-bar chart it can be seen that the x-bar value falls below the lower control limit indicating that the process and results of the company are not in control and helps to determine what items do not meet customers’ expectations. The items that fail to hit the right target lead to the loss of value which, in this case, falls below the LCL level. This is the reason why clients of the company complain about products not meeting the quality standards. From the r-chart it can be seen that the company process does not meet the product specifications. The process is out of control when the chart goes beyond the upper control limit. Considering that the processes are out of control, the company needs to find a way to meet the limits.
The conducted analysis allows to see that the research goals are met. First, it has been established that the company fails to meet customer needs due to the loss of control over production processes. Secondly, it has been found that the company has to act instantly to ensure it corrects the issue using such methods as increasing production inputs, changing the staff, and some others.
Conclusion
The research has found that the company processes have been out of control, and that is why the company’s final products, namely plastics, do meet the customers’ requirements. The company is recommended to use the results of their research and improve their processes by taking relevant steps to ensure the processes remain in control. There are multiple methods through which the company could achieve this aim. Some of them comprise changing some of the process inputs as well replacing some staff. The other recommendation for the company is to learn the exact specifications of the desired objects and work towards meeting these requirements, since, unless the company retakes control over its industrial processes, it would lead to the loss of reputation and its loyal customers.
Authors of the article – Angel R. Martinez, Lorente Frank Dewhurst, and Barrie G. Date. The article was written in 1998. The article’s central concern and its relation to International Business Course
The broad area covered in this article is the origins of the term Total Quality Management (TQM) and a clarification on the divergent definitions of the term TQM offered by business academics and practitioners, highlighting the specific contributions made by the key proponents towards the development of the term TQM.
The main dimensions, components, practices and mechanisms of TQM are also explored with a comparative analogy on how they have been integrated in different business cultures.
This relates TQM to quality management tools and techniques, in that it has erected a standardized quality assurance platform upon which both national and international business corporations and institutions can be gauged, to ensure customer satisfaction, employee motivation at optimal production cost.
This article talks about the origins, development and applications of both conventional and upcoming quality management dimensions to guarantee customer satisfaction and optimal production cost. I like this article; this is due to the fact that it embraces a holistic approach to management practices which provide an avenue for quality assurance and business proficiency.
Key learning points
Origins of TQM
Components of TQM
Benchmarking
Quality control
development of TQM
Cultural differences
TQM gurus
As a corollary in the analysis of the origins and evolution of the term total quality management, the central concern is the incorporation of quality management components in every corporate institute for quality assurance.
The relevant statements to the article
In the global marketplace increased levels of competition have resulted in quality becoming of increasing importance to organizations and consequently total quality management (TQM) has become a key management issue.
This highlights the strategic utility value of TQM in perfecting corporate efficiency, competitiveness and survival in the business arena.
It can be argued that many of the TQM dimensions outlined in Table 1 were being applied by organizations before the TQM movement appeared; consequently, it is not easy to establish the exact date of birth of the term TQM.
Perhaps, the main reason for the origin of the term TQM could be a substitution ion the previously used tern of total quality control (TQC), the word “control” by “management” with the reasoning that quality is not just a matter of control, it has to be managed.
These two statements describe the progressive and sequential historical development of TQM, from the informal deliberative stage of 1960s to the current concrete TQM concept.
In the USA the development of quality management resulted from the penetration of its markets by Japanese products which started in the 1970s, together with the impact of the writings of Crosby, Deming, Feigenbaum and Juran.
Japanese companies have developed their own approach to TQC, based on the teachings of Deming and Juran, shaping it to suit their own culture and operating environment along with the development of a new set of tools, techniques and operating systems.
A brief comparison of the ideas of these five quality gurus (Crosby, Deming, Feigenbaum, Ishikawa and Juran) in relation to the TQM dimensions that were introduced in table (I) is made in table (IV).
It can be seen that the need of top management support and the importance of management support and the importance of customer relationship is shared by all. Bench-marking is not considered by any of them, perhaps because this technique came to the fore when they already had a well-proven approach to quality management.
The three preceding statements point at the collaborative role of quality gurus facilitating cultural transfer of quality management concepts around the globe.
This paper has considered the evolution of the elements, practices and mechanisms that define TQM. It has been shown that, while the term TQM only began to be popularized in the second half of the 1980s, many of the elements that have shaped it were developed early, during the 1950s to 1970s.
Most theoretical developments in the advancement of the concept have been made in the USA whereas Japan has held the initiative in terms of application.
The paper also indicated a lack of a total agreement about how to apply TQM, as supported by the differences in the views of the leading quality management gurus. For example, the need for focus on workforce management is widely accepted but the proposed ways in which to apply this form of management are different.
Other elements of TQM, such as benchmarking and supply chain management, are not considered in any detail by the shapers of the TQM concept.
Differences in the application TQM amongst different countries also appear to exist. Since the culture of the company influences the approach to the application of TQM, different countries with different cultures apply TQM in different ways. However as we approach the end of the century economies and societies are becoming increasingly inter-related and these differences are diminishing.
These three preceding statements sum up the historical evolution in the development of TQM.
Critical analysis
Yes, I am happy about what I have read. This is because, this seminal work is comprehensive in its exposition on the; origins, stages of development, components, practices and cultural transfer of top quality management (TQM) in the business fraternity.
TQM has proved to be a fitting tool of leverage between corporate profit maximization drive and the inherent consumer satisfaction desires, by ensuring that every corporation meets certain threshold quality assurance standards. The elucidation of the components of top quality management, embraces a holistic approach- universally acclaimed- to institutional and business quality checks and balances.
Nonetheless, the paper does not highlight the current noble areas of achievement upon the implementation of TQM in business and corporate entities, thus the taste of authenticity and applicability in the business platform is missing to a certain measure.
Applying the subject of the article to a real life business case
TQM can be employed by business managers and executives in providing a leading role quality assurance; whereby strategic and effective decisions would be made concerning employee motivation, customer satisfaction and the central aim of optimized business profit gains.
Employing the statistical tools in the product design process, quality data sampling and reporting in businesses ensure mistake proof process flow and an informed awareness on the viability of business ventures- cushioning the business against unforeseen risks.
The establishment of a quality assurance department in any business does provide the necessary; link between the executive and employees, cross-cutting monitory services for all the departments of the business, thus, ensuring quality service delivery to all the stakeholders of the business.
What I have learned
I have established the origin, development and the various components of TQM from this article. The article has opened my horizons on the cultural impact and collaboration on the development of TQM as a global concept in managerial practices.
Practicing executives can harness the seminal propositions advanced in this TQM article by taking the market advantage through offering quality services to their clients.
A Framework for TQM to Achieve Business Excellence
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a set of quality and management tools employed in order to increase the performance of a business by reducing losses and increasing turnover. It aims at continually improving the quality of delivery of goods, services and all the functions of a business venture. This includes the interaction between all the sections of a firm as well as the individual sections themselves.
Generally, the objective of TQM is to achieve an overall efficiency that is higher than the individual productivity from the components, such as design, planning, production, customer service approaches, and staff participation. Customer satisfaction and incessant improvement are the fundamental beliefs of the TQM strategy.
TQM cannot function effectively without the necessary changes being taken on the structure and functioning of the organization by its top management. Such changes include adherence to quality in planning, control and improvement, these can be achieved through numerous channels, for example, continuous improvement can be achieved by undertaking work-based training on a regular basis.
Quality management is involved with the prevention of problems happening by putting in place attitudes and controls that may make such prevention a success.
The core aspect of quality is to get it right the first time, and to meet the needs of the customer every time, by engaging everyone in the firm. TQM is therefore a conception of management that utilizes the resources and opportunities in an organization in the way possible through continuous improvement.
Elements of TQM
The implementation of a TQM is influenced by a range of indicators, both financial and non-financial. These affect the various aspects of TQM such as a reduction in defect frequencies, increased client satisfaction, increased output, and reduced order cycle time.
Fiscal indicators of a TQM include market share, profits, defect percentage, performance and stock turnover etc, while the non-fiscal indicators are customer satisfaction, innovation, skill improvement, reliability, and talent development, among others.
These parameters are vital to adjust the infrastructure, (firm and systems), reward and acknowledgment system or hygiene aspects (human components) in place to set up and nourish the TQM characteristics.
TQM elements are grouped into three main categories: Technologies (tools), Organization (systems), and People, these affect the financial and non-financial performance of the organization.
Technologies and Tools
Measures of technology and tools include benchmarking, data management, continuous improvement, problem solving, and continuous improvement, among others. Of these, TQM studies suggest that the most important is continuous improvement.
Organization (systems)
Organizational aspects of a TQM strategy include culture, organizational structure, communication, shared vision, and performance management. Again, TQM studies suggest that culture is the most important factor in achieving a TQM.
People
Factors relating to people include leadership, management responsibility, empowerment, training and education, and team learning. Team learning is the most vital TQM element among these.
An efficient application of the TQM elements results into increased productivity of the organization indicated by financial performances such as increased stock turnover, increased market share and profits, and a reduction in defect rates and non-financial performances.
Non-financial performances include customer satisfaction, delivery reliability, innovation, reduced order cycle time, and workflow improvement as some of the non-financial performances.
The mentioned elements of TQM have been successfully by Apple, the company has encouraged innovation and continues to a market leader in the smartphone and PC market.
Apart from technology, Apple has a clear sense of the customer needs and continues to ensure that customer satisfaction is its core aim. This has enabled it to attain the position of the world’s second largest company despite being in danger going out of business a few years ago.
Total quality management from theory to practice: a case study
Manufacturing firms across the world are currently spending a substantial amount of time and money to improve the quality of their products, this has been brought by an increase in the expectation of consumers and has led to an increase in the quality of goods supplied in domestic markets.
A number of manufacturers have acted on these challenges by trying to employ some approaches of quality improvement procedure on a systems-wide basis. These approaches differ to some level but they share a fundamental set of features that represent the core of any quality improvement method.
The process of ‘total quality’ commonly includes:
Plainly defining the notion of quality and coming up with its measurement standards;
Carrying out quality training for the whole organization;
Coming up with meaningful parameters of quality for both the work processes and for each employee;
Coming up with a system to take corrective measures whenever there are problems with product quality;
Implementing efficient management practices to increase employee participation; and
Establishing an organizational culture and reward scheme that enforces the principle that quality should be everyone’s core concern.
When a firm implements a quality improvement process, it commonly does so with the help of an external party. The first part of this process involves quality training, explaining the standards and expectations, establishing parameters for quality improvement, and establishing procedures to do away with threats to quality after their identification.
The second part is the implementation phase since the organization starts the use of training, standards, taking corrective measures and management practices to continuing daily processes. To achieve success in a quality improvement process, an organization needs to institutionalize the process into the firm’s practice, many organizations struggle or fail to realize their goals in this area, hence failure in quality improvement.
In order to improve a firm’s products, it must require, motivate, and effect change in all of its sectors. For management to start a TQM, the procedure is comparatively straightforward. The first step is for the organization to underline the reason for quality improvement; the second stage is to come up with a strategy for the quality improvement.
Thirdly-, management needs to employ a quality improvement process that is in tow with the firm’s needs. The quality improvement process can be developed internally or contracted from external sources and in order to ensure that the plan is successful, the management must note the following
Leadership must lead by example;
The more rapid and complicated the changes are, the greater the help needed;
Managers must give continuous feedback to their seniors;
Messages given to staff must be devoid of any ambiguities;
The management and workers must show openness when handling problems; and
Meetings and paperwork must be minimized so that management has ample time to exhibit quality conduct to their workforce.
Failure to implement sound TQM policies can lead to a decline in performance by an organization, this has been proved by a number of companies.
For example, Enron, a US energy company that was a market leader and was named ‘America’s Most Innovative Company’ for six years and with revenues of more than $100 billion in 2001, however, the company wound up operations in 2006 as a result of accounting frauds that were planned and executed by its managers, a fraud that became to be known as the Enron scandal.
Critical implementation issues in total quality management
The main idea of the article under consideration is whether the Total Quality Management (TQM) is an opportunity to improve business or it is a strategy which provides only theoretical knowledge and may never be use in practice.
TQM key principles may be failing only in case when the company managers failed to apply those in complex or did not understand the main idea of those. The main points which each company should remember if it wants to apply TQM principles are the lessons.
In order to achieve the results promised by the proponents of the TQM approach, it is important to have knowledge of the key TQM principles, these are: efficient top management and commitment, client satisfaction, staff participation and motivation, continuous improvement, collaboration with suppliers, and recognition of the importance of quality in realizing TQM goals.
For a successful implementation of TQM, the organization needs to have the following lessons:
It is important that organizations clearly understand the meaning and implications of TQM before implementing it. Before implementing a TQM, the management needs to identify its targets and the mode of implementation;
Establish a culture that can sustain and support the implementation of a TQM. Many firms succeed in committing to total quality by employing the principles mentioned earlier, but fail in cultivating a culture that promotes quality improvement;
TQM implementation should be matched with the firm’s strategic priorities, competitiveness, and objectives;
Take note of the most important things- time and effort. Management should target achievable, practical, and real goals instead of trying to cover many elements at a time;
TQM implementation should be aligned to the needs of the individual organizations and these are normally unique to each organization;
Take a holistic approach as TQM is a complex process that requires an effective strategy to succeed. TQM is so wide and incorporates many disciplines and an approach that encourages interaction between these disciplines must be adopted;
Remember that the term ‘Total Quality Management’ communicates the concept of quality improvement activities with stress on the word ‘total’ and a wide definition of ‘quality’;
There is need to understand that TQM is not a solution for all aspects of quality, the organization must understand the extent to which this strategy will improve quality and improve productivity.
The TQM strategy is a good advisor in the company management. A manager should just correctly understand TQM principles and properly apply those. It is also important to remember that the principles should be integratable. Those who fail to understand the main principles of the TQM framework and the lessons are unable to use this strategy. Even if they try, they are not sure to succeed with it.
There are a lot of examples when a company managed to succeed with the help of the TQM and its principles. For example, the Coca Cola Company strongly commits leadership, focuses on customers, involves and empowers employees, provides continuous improvements in different spheres, increases and supports partnerships, and considers quality as a strategic point in planning business.
With the help of the TQM use the company is a leader in the beverage drinks production all over the world.
Achieving the organizational change necessary for successful TQM
Implementation of a TQM is one of the most challenging tasks in an organization. It is not rare to find organizations failing in their attempts to improve the quality of goods and services, these failed companies are being pushed out of the market. Companies are using quality to gain a competitive advantage over the others.
Often, the reason for the failure of implementation of TQM is in the fact that their approach bears little similarity to the conventions. An example of such cause of failure is in the development of standards, standards are usually control-oriented methods controlled by the top-level management with little involvement of the employees.
The management uses these standards to control their staff. Training changes to a corrective activity whenever the set standards are not followed. Conceptual weakness is one of the main mistakes provided by the companies which want to apply TQM principles. The failure to understand properly control-oriented methods, training and motivation results in bad consequences for the company implementation.
Another type for failure is s design failure, this occurs when the TQM concept is convincing but the plan and/or implementation is not carried out in the right manner. When TQM systems are not designed with the organizational needs in mind, chances of failure are higher. Design failures are an earlier warning that the implementation will fail too.
The third form of failure is an implementation failure. This occurs when the concept and design are convincing, but the change agent and/or the top-level management do not comprehend the intricacy of organizational change and innovation required. Similarly, it may be caused by the failure to allocate funds for supporting the realization of the TQM strategy.
The main failures mentioned above should be considered by any company which desires to apply TQM principles in practice. Before considering TQM principles the managers of the company should check the most commonly occurred mistakes. It is obvious that it is impossible to run a successful business without standards and control. Furthermore, motivation should be properly stated.
Employees should be encouraged to do something new. The communication should not be organized from top to bottom only. One of the most frequently occurred failures connected with the TQM applying is an implementation failure. The main reason is when conceptual and design elements are correct, but the organizational and cultural change is not understood in a proper way.
One of the best examples of failure to understand the implantation of the TQM principles and the organizational change may be considered via the Boeing Company. It failed to provide the organizational change properly which made it possible for the Airbus Company come to the fore.
This company lost its market share in 2006 because the organizational and cultural changes were not properly considered and the company had to review its positions to return to the previous positions.
The TQM Approach of Asset Management
This approach recognizes that apart buildings, land, machines or funds in the bank, an organization’s assets include its workforce, customers, community, corporate culture, etc. A sound management of these assets will increase the productivity. An example is Delta Airline’s that supports its employees to give satisfactory services to customers and this has led to an excellent financial record.
If one recalls over the condition of quality management and philosophy, they would be inattentive if they did not pay attention to the two of the 20th centuries’ most noteworthy and valued contributors: William Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran. Deming elaborated a novel and wide-ranging theory for supervising organizations and human initiatives. His explanation of manufacture as a structure of interrelationships between customer research, strategy, contractors, resources, creation, assembly, examination, delivery, and clients is a fundamental contribution.
Deming supposed that a system must have an objective and that for a company to be managed effectually (as a system), the objective must be understood by all staff members (Zairi 2013). Juran utilized a systematic tactic to quality management. He dwelled more on quality development, quality control, and quality enhancement, and he supported definite management methods to reassure and adopt enhancements in product and service (Zairi 2013). Despite the fact that Deming designated a methodical understanding of the organization, Juran prearranged how to manage quality roles (an assortment of such events as market investigation, merchandise design, product expansion, manufacturing, examination, and sales).
The comparison
Deming
Juran
Definitions of quality
Deming covertly outlines quality as zero flaws or condensed variation.
Juran outlines quality as aptness for use. It can be regarded in terms of strategy, conformance, accessibility, safety, and field use. Compared to Deming, Juran’s definition integrates the customer’s attitude more directly.
Cost, Productivity, and Competitive success
For Deming, the quest for quality ends up in lower expenses, enhanced productivity, and competitive accomplishments.
Juran has elaborated diagnostic tools which trigger enhanced productivity and competitive accomplishments. But his price-of-quality accounting organization recommends that the search of quality recompenses itself only up to a definite point and beyond that point results in increasing costs.
Major Contrasts
Deming counts on the SPC as the problem-solving instrument which parts universal causes from the distinct ones but is reluctant to establishing quantifiable objectives for the staff members. Deming emphasizes the worth of the employee/ management relationship and thinks that employees themselves should be accountable for problem-solving, once they are appropriately qualified.
Juran envisions the key role belonging to the quality experts who support top management in scheduling and problem-solving activities. Juran is ready to assess and measure everything from conformance to risk of damage as a result of product risks, to the quality expenses.
Underlying Management Philosophies
Even though Deming believes that quality directions should come from the senior management, he also thinks it is the employee who will ultimately manufacture quality goods (Mandru et al. 2012). His emphasis on worker pride and consummation recommends a theory-Y approach to the organization, with the involvement of all the vital elements. His inclusive tactic concentrates on process perfection.
Crosby banks on offering goals for employees (Deming does not). He also dwells on the significance of training, inspiration, and rewards. Crosby appears to view attitude transformation as the key aspect of quality improvement, with administration leading and the employees following rather submissively. His general approach concentrates on people.
Key Tools
Deming’s SPC prototype is tremendously beneficial in certain circumstances. For instance, when procedural data can be collected on products manufactured in large volumes. It is not so suitable for low-volume goods, or those that are personalized.
Calculating the price of quality is reasonable. But there are some absent aspects in Juran’s table of measurements. The cost of quality disregards the worth of predetermined sales – either for the reason of mediocre quality or superior quality offered by the competitors (Bendell, Penson, & Carr 1995). It rarely takes into observance such concealed expenses as supplementary capacity held in expectation of defects or extra inventory. Juran’s measurements fail to take into consideration the organizational influence and condensed motivation owing to the establishment of a satisfactory level of flaws at the point where the cost of quality is minimalized.
Tools vs. Philosophy
Owing to the fact that Deming visualizes quality as a continuing quest, with zero flaws as the objective, he realizes that there is a necessity to introduce an ending point for quality initiatives.
In terms of philosophy, Juran mostly relies on the same aspects that may be found in Deming’s works. Moreover, his tools of quantifying the cost of quality are rather similar to those that Deming uses.
Measures of Improvement
Deming measures enhancements utilizing the regulating charts produced by SPC. Rarer deviations over a certain period of regulation would designate improvement (Rokke & Prakash 2012). Therefore, a novel strategy that produces interpretations that fall within a smaller group would be thought of as an enhancement.
Juran’s approach relies on the procedures that permit a business to project enhancements in all stages of its business. This relates to the client and industry relations as well as to strategy and retailer relations. These contain flaw rates, measures of field consistency, and client consummation ratings.
Conclusion
The reviewed TQM gurus are the two of the main contributors to the TQM study. I believe that both of them provided great insight into the cost of quality measurement and presented an extensive array of evidence for their theories. Both Deming and Juran are reasonable in their decisions, assessments, and calculations. Nonetheless, Deming’s theory and tools used to calculate the costs are much more complex. If were asked to choose one of the two authors, I would pick Deming for the reason that the key objective of his approach is the perfection of the production process. To my mind, to concentrate on the human resources instead of production eminence is somewhat of a drawback.
References
Bendell, T, Penson, R, & Carr, S 1995, ’The quality gurus – their approaches described and considered’, Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 44-48. Web.
Mandru, L, Patrascu, L, Carstea, C, Popescu, A, & Birsan, O 2012, ‘Paradigms of Total Quality Management’, Manufacturing Engineering, vol. 2, no. 32, pp. 121-126.
Rokke, C, & Prakash, Y 2012, ‘Challenges and Barriers to Total Quality Management: An Overview’, International Journal of Performability Engineering, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 653-665.
Zairi, M 2013, ‘The TQM legacy – gurus’ contributions and theoretical impact’, The TQM Journal, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 659-676. Web.
The central idea of lean production is to maximize benefits using fewer resources. This concept sounds as simple as ‘get more from less’. Lean production centers on eliminating waste in order to decrease the volume of necessary labor, space, resources, materials, equipment, and time necessary for production and distribution. Therefore it focuses on reducing costs. In some cases, eliminated wastes and saved costs are passed to customers in the form of value for money, i.e. superior quality for lower than common market prices.
List the efficiency concepts that underpin lean production
Such efficiency concepts as continuous improvement, just-in-time production, time based management, and total quality management are the basics of lean production. Continuous improvement refers to establishing the working environment and creating culture motivating workers to constant self-development and building up new skills, which would benefit an organization improving the quality of its products. Just-in-time production implies the delivery of materials and equipment when they are required for production.
That said, the waste is eliminated because there is no need to maintain large stocks as well as only the required amount of resources is used. Time-based management aims at reducing wastes pertaining to time by involving flexible and multi-skilled employees able to carry out several functions preserving the highest quality of work. Finally, total quality management refers to making all employees responsible for the superior quality of products and completing their tasks right from the first attempt.
Explain why having a multi-skilled workforce helps increase Aldi’s efficiency
Having a multi-skilled workforce is one of the determinants of lean production – time based management. It benefits Aldi because it is more efficient to invest in providing the employees with comprehensive training programs and making them flexible and multi-skilled as well as paying them market-leading salaries instead of involving those responsible for numerous different functions. That said, in Aldi, one person can be responsible for cashier operations, then switch to packing products or scanning them. The primary idea is that staff performs tasks needed throughout the working day and open hours instead of waiting for specially trained employees to come and finish the job.
Analyze why lean production is particularly important for Aldi
There are several arguments for proving that lean production is particularly important for Aldi. First of all, lean thinking is the foundation of the company’s business strategy because the reduced costs are passed to its customers in the form of lower prices and the same quality compared to those offered by competitors. Second, Aldi is involved in the grocery industry. Because fresh food products such as fruit and vegetable are among the firm’s assortment, Aldi is interested in finding the ways to reduce the time necessary for distributing and selling them in order to minimize the risks related to products freshness and shelf life expiration.
In addition to it, Aldi’s open hours are not 24 hours. Even though it was a strategic decision aimed at reducing waste related to time deriving from lower customer demand during night hours, the company’s senior management should still be seeking ways for maximizing benefits over shorter periods of operation. Finally, Aldi wants to differentiate it from other businesses operating in the same industry. Achieving the objectives mentioned above is possible only in the case of developing a reliable system of distribution, ordering the volumes of products that is possible to sell, and involving multi-skilled and flexible workforce. That is why lean production principles make sense for Aldi and are efficient for maintaining its positions in the grocery market.
Companies can use the strategies of Total Quality Management (TQM) to enhance their performance and raise the levels of customer satisfaction. It is an approach with long-term goals, which is focused on the process of operations. According to Kakuro (2004), TQM’s practices require teamwork to improve the performance of each department as a separate entity and as a part of the company. The author finds that one underperforming department can significantly affect the efficiency of the whole organization. Therefore, Kakuro (2004) proposes a way to improve collaboration by creating “strategic stratified task teams” (p. 3694). These groups of employees can have different skills and abilities to solve problems occurring in all departments of a company.
Their collaboration should also extend to other workers, groups, and parts of the supply chain. The researcher notes that Science TQM should become the central principle for companies to increase their productivity and level of satisfaction of all participants, including workers and clients. By using statistical quality control (SQC), firms can encourage collaboration and connect the organization on all its levels. The strategic team that deals with problems and tasks should be diverse in characteristics, including people with various beneficial qualities. The example of Toyota given in the study shows that task teams can successfully use this strategy to boost performance and detect mistakes in a short period.
The Future of ITM
The future of information technology management (ITM) depends on the development and successful implementation of innovative technology. The process of incorporating new software and systems can drastically change that way managers collect and interpret data. The analytic element of ITM depends on the ability of computers to gather information and predict future scenarios based on statistics. Here, the incorporation of big data and cloud computing can play a significant role in the business processes. As big data cannot be stored using traditional technologies and databases, access to it can be granted through cloud computing services (Hashem et al., 2015).
The use of large volumes of valuable information can bring the accuracy of calculations to a new level and help firms make successful predictions and set more realistic goals for the future. Furthermore, its value also should be noted, as large sets of data may reveal more hidden aspects and elements of certain processes that may not be accessible with smaller datasets.
Bid data cannot be accessed in full without cloud computing, a technology that allows companies to avoid paying for expensive local servers and provides them with a fast way to complete tasks fast. Moreover, cloud computing services can work with complex analyses without putting a strain on the business’ internal systems. Thus, this technology can save the company’s money and time. The incorporation of cloud computing into ITM brings many benefits to managers including increased storage capacity, access to data, and outsourcing of tasks. For the delegation of operations, ITM can also utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to perform the analysis of data amounts that are hard for the human mind to comprehend (Sharma & Srivastava, 2017). AI is an essential part of many industries as it solves many challenging problems that require advanced calculations and the analysis of massive datasets.
References
Hashem, I. A. T., Yaqoob, I., Anuar, N. B., Mokhtar, S., Gani, A., & Khan, S. U. (2015). The rise of “big data” on cloud computing: Review and open research issues. Information Systems, 47, 98-115.
Kakuro, A. (2004). Development of ‘science TQM’, a new principle of quality management: Effectiveness of strategic stratified task team at Toyota. International Journal of Production Research, 42(17), 3691-3706.
Sharma, L., & Srivastava, V. (2017). Performance enhancement of information retrieval via artificial intelligence. International Journal of Scientific Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 3(1), 187-192.
Total quality management refers to the approach used by the management to improve the quality of production and the organization’s performance in tandem with the needs of its goals.
In this case, quality management combines various elements of the organization connected with the improvement, development and maintenance of operations. Thus, these include factors such as cost control, employee performance, revenue accrual and management functions. These factors should be balanced to assure the success of the organization.
Advantages of TQM
TQM is important to organizations. It assists them attain efficiency in production and processing by preventing errors before they happen during work in process. Oakland (2001) notes that TQM addresses fundamental problem extents such as redundant processes, identical efforts, work processes and unnecessary tasks.
Besides, TQM intervention plays a key role in predicting errors and providing appropriate measures to pre-empt them before they actually occur. This aspect encouraged efficiency and enables an organization to save on time and costs.
Guasch (2007) points out that TQM enhances customer satisfaction. TQM intentions are tailored towards improving product or service through value addition. It attains this aspect by embracing a suitable strategy to correlate with the customer’s expectations.
For instance, Oakland (2001) explains that to guarantee customer satisfaction, TQM reduces waiting time by changing how a customer is handled. It also makes changes in the delivery process to ensure a product/service reaches the customer on time and improves on the quality of products eliminating the needs of repair improving customers’ loyalty.
Also, TQM is important in improving the organization’s development. TQM builds the culture of change in the organization by championing for education of all employees on quality practices. This helps to make quality a concern for all and not just for Total Quality Assurance department. Focusing on quality contributes to a culture of proactive work tailored towards preventing errors.
For instance, Guasch (2007) demonstrates that by focusing on teamwork, TQM succeeds in enhancing cross-departmental cooperation, thereby facilitating knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing benefits an organization because it contributes to improved communication among employees and simplifies the organization’s communication hierarchy.
Besides, knowledge sharing leads to widening of knowledge and skill-set of employees and breeds a culture of flexibility when an organization is deploying personnel in various epartments. This ensures cost competitiveness is achieved in the organization.
Pfeifer (2002) explains that TQM improves human management in an organization. In human resources management, TQM spreads the rights of the business process to employees involved by empowering them to correct errors on the spot without waiting for directions from their superiors.
This characteristic provides a total fulfillment environment and fixes an intrinsic enthusiasm among employees. Similarly, the TQM emphasizes improving productivity by eliminating mistakes and fixes the completion of objectives much faster. The employees may use the available free time to gain more knowledge aimed at improving existing products or services or coming up with new ones.
TQM fixes an all round benefits enabling an organization achieve competitive advantage. In contemporary business, where borders are decreasing and barriers eliminated, there is free flow of information and products; an organization may embrace TQM to preserves its efficiency by creating new products, redesigning old ones and lowering prices. Hence, TQM strategy enables organizations to achieve all these benefits more easily.
Disadvantages of TQM
Although many organizations have accrued tangible benefits by embracing TQM, there are various disadvantages associated with the practice. Oakland (2001) points out that TQM calls for a new approach in the organization focused on process improvement and continuous customer fulfillment.
Thus, for these aspects to take place, an organization should aim at changing its attitude and embrace prioritization of its daily daily operations. Additionally, TQM needs assurance and calls for all employee participation.
However, Guasch (2007) notes that there are challenges involved in changing an organization’s culture because the aspect integrates an intertwining array of roles, values and processes. These aspects receive some resistance from employees who term them as a danger to their jobs.
Also, TQM calls for planning, resources and time. Implementing a TQM system may take years of planning and resources of the organization. This is also coupled with management commitment. Where there is no support from management in terms of availing resources, TQM may fail.
Seaver (2003) points out that quality is expensive to implement. Implementation requires additional costs such as consulting fees, training, infrastructure improvement and team development fees. In the long-run, the investment may be costly to an organization.
TQM takes years to yield results. Hence, an organization opting to get instant result is disadvantaged. It calls for dedication, patience, motivation and perseverance during the whole process. However, many organizations have given up when results are not forthcoming. Besides, organizations operating in a stiff competitive environment have seen it a waste of time.
TQM is tailored towards standardization. Standardization weakens creativity because it, discourages new skills and innovation in an organization which could have increased productivity.
Benefits
TQM improves the organizational performance. The performance of an organization is tied to how its processes are efficiently executed. Thus, TQM ensures that the organization’s processes are consistent with its quality standards; thus increasing its performance. Pfeifer (2002) carried out an investigation in Malaysia to determine the effectiveness of TQM in improving performance in an organization.
About 400 hundred organizations were evaluated. After analyzing the data collected, it was found out that a strong relationship existed between TQM and commitment to customers, sales and profit, product quality and development, communication between divisions, marketing and respect for management (Pfeifer, 2002)).
TQM is an approach taken by organizations to keep aligned to the goal of striving to give the best of service by constantly improving the services offered. TQM systems are put in place to constantly continuously watch and evaluate the organization’s determination to quality.
For instance, the Ford Company, since its inception, has continuously aimed at sustaining TQM in its production line of Ford Vehicles. Ford has formulated and implemented the quality management philosophy, where more emphasis is particularly integrated in designing and coming up with a finished product that met the requirements of the customers.
Similarly, in order to avoid wasteful production, Ford arranges for the production system, which entailed reducing the finished product immediately, in order to detect any element of malfunctioning. In case a default is detected, the product is rechecked to clarify the amount of damage. In case the damage is huge, the product is redesigned to facilitate construction of another default- less product.
Conclusion
TQM is an important component that organizations should deploy in order to attain efficiency, streamline processes and improve customer satisfaction, among others. Due to the present competitiveness of firms, TQM assures business has a competitive advantage over others in terms of service delivery, quality, operations and reduced costs.
However, despite the efficiency of TQM in businesses, organizations should be aware of the challenges posed by embracing the TQM system. They should understand that TQM might call for a change in an organization’s culture. The results also take longer to be visible and it encourages standardization which weakens creativity and innovation.
References List
Guasch, L. (2007). Quality Systems and Standards for a Competitive Edge.Washington: World Bank
Oakland, J. (2001). Total organizational excellence: achieving world-class performance. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Publishers
Pfeifer, T. (2002). Quality management: strategies, methods, techniques; with 3 tables. Cincinnati: HanserGardner.
Seaver, M. (2003). Gower Handbook of Quality Management. Aldershort: Gower Publishing, Ltd.
