TQM Programme, Total Quality Management, Total Quality Managment Programme

TQMis the art of managing all the activities of an organization to achieveexcellence. It is a philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a continuously improving organization, wherein the application ofquantitative methods and human recourses are sought to improve all the processes within the organization so as to meet and exceed the customer needs now andcontinuously with change of time. It is a proven technique to ensure survivalin the era of globalization of trade. TQM can be defined as an integratedorganizational approach in delighting customers (Both Internal and External) bymeeting their expectations on a continuous basis through everyone involved withorganization working on continuous improvement in all products, services and processes along with proper problem solving methodology.

Qualitydefinition and its dimensions

Theexpression Quality has to be understood clearly from the customer point ofview for the success of TQM Programme. One usually thinks about Quality interms of an excellent product or service that fulfills or exceeds theexpectations. These expectations are based on the intended use and the selling prize. If a product or service surpasses the expectations one relate it with the quality. Thusit is more or less an intangible thing based on perception. The Quality can bequantified as follows:

Q = (P / E),

Where,Q- Quality, P- Performance and E- Expectations

IfQ is greater than 1 then the customer has a good feeling about the product orservice. It should be noted that based on perception P is determined by theorganization and E determined by the customer.

Asper ISO 9000:2000, quality is defined as the degree to which a set ofinherent characteristics fulfill requirements. Degree means that qualitycan be used with adjectives such as poor, good and excellent. Inherent isdefined as existing in something, especially as a permanent characteristic.Characteristics can be quantitative or qualitative. Requirement is a need orexpectation that is stated; generally implied by the organization, itscustomers and other interested parties; or obligatory. Quality has differentdimensions as mentioned below:

Quality Dimension

Explanation

1. Performance

Primary Product Characteristics

2. Features

Secondary Product Characteristics

3. Conformance

Meeting specification/ Standards/ Workmanship

4. Reliability

Consistency of Performance over the Time

5. Durability

Useful Life

6. Service

Resolution of Problems and Complaints

7. Response

Human-to-human Interface

8. Aesthetics

Sensory Characteristics

9. Reputation

Past Performance

TQM is an approach to management that can be characterized by itsprinciples, practices, and techniques and emphasized on customer focus, continuousimprovement, and teamwork.

BasicPrinciples and Concepts of TQM:

TheTQM programme is a continual activity that must be entrenched as culture andrequires the following six basics principles and concepts knitted by effectivecommunication:

• Top management Commitment- Leadership

• Focus on customer- Customer Satisfaction

• Effective involvement and utilization of entire employee

• Continuous improvement

• Treating suppliers as partners

• Establishing performance measures for the processes

 

Top
management Commitment:

Top
management participation and complete involvement is essential in the total
quality programme. The management commitment should be clearly visible through
their acts and deeds. A Quality Council must be established to develop a clear
vision, set long term goals and direct the quality programme. The short and
long term business plan shall include the quality goals. An annual quality improvement programme is to be established on the basis of Collection of inputs from every
stakeholders of business. Managers also get involved in quality improvement teams and provide leadership. Leadership is essential during every phase of the
implementation process and particularly at the start.

Leadership

There
is no universal definition of leadership. A leader strengthens and inspires the
followers to accomplish shared goals. Leaders shape the organizations values
and promote, protect and exemplify it.

An
organizations seniors leaders should set directions and create a customer
focus, clear and visible values, and high expectations. The directions, values
and expectations should balance the needs of all the stakeholders. The leaders
should ensure the creation of strategies, systems and methods for achieving
excellence, stimulating innovation and building knowledge and capabilities. The
values and strategies should help in guiding all activities and decisions of
the organization. Senior leaders should inspire, motivate and encourage all
employees to contribute, to develop and learn, to be innovative and to
creative.

Seniors
leaders should serve as role models through their ethical behaviour and their
personal involvement in planning, in communications, coaching, development of
future leaders, review of organizational performance and employee recognition.
As role models, they can reinforce values and expectations while building
leadership, commitment, and initiative throughout the organization.

Characteristics
of quality leaders

Leadership
can be difficult to define. However, successful quality leaders tend to have
certain characteristics. There are many characteristics that successful quality
leaders demonstrate.

• Priority
  attention to external and internal customers and their need

• Empower,
  rather than control, subordinates.

• Emphasize
  improvement rather than maintenance.

• Importance
  to prevention.

• Encourage
  collaboration rather than competition.

• Train
  and coach rather than direct and supervise.

• Learn
  from problems.

• Continually
  try to improve communications.

• Continually
  demonstrate their commitment to quality.

• Select
  suppliers on the basis of quality, not price.

• Establish
  organizational systems to support the quality effort

• Encourage
  and recognize team effort.

Seven
Habits of Highly effective People

Stephen
R. Covey found the following seven habits of Highly Effective People. A habit
is the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire. Knowledge is what to do and
Why; skill is the how to do; and desire is the motivation or want to do. In
order for something to become a habit we have to have all the three.

1. Be
   proactive

2. Begin
   with the end in mind

3. Put
   first thing first

4. Think
   win-win

5. Seek
   first to understand, then to be understood

6. Synergy

7. Sharpen
   the saw ( Renewal)

 

The
seven habits are a highly integrated approach that moves from dependency (you
take care of me) to independence (I take care of myself) and to interdependence
(we can do something better together). The first three habits deal with
independence-the essence of character growth. The habits 4, 5 and 6 are dealing
with interdependenceteamwork, cooperation, and communication. Habit 7 is the
habit of renewal. The seven habits are in harmony with a natural law that Covey
calls the P/PC Balance, where P stands for Production of desired result and
PC stand for Production Capacity, the ability or asset.

Focus
on customer – Customer Satisfaction:

The
key to effective TQM Programme is to focus on Internal/ external customer needs
and satisfaction. The organization should listen to the voice of the customer
and give greater importance to the customer perception and satisfaction.

Manufacturing
and service organization are using customer satisfaction as the measure of
quality. The Total quality management implies an organizational obsession with
meeting or exceeding customer expectations, so that customer is delighted.
Understanding the customers needs and expectations is essential to win new
business and retain the existing one. An organization must give its customers a
quality product or service that meets their needs at a reasonable price, which
include on-time delivery and out standing service. To attain these levels, the
organization needs to continually examine their quality system to see if it is
responsive to ever-changing customer requirements and expectations.

Customer
perception of Quality

The
most successful TQM programs begin by defining quality from the customers
perspective. An American Society for Quality survey on end user perceptions of
important factors that influence purchases showed the following ranking

1. Performance

2. Features

3. Service

4. Warranty

5. Price

6. Reputations

The
factors such as Performance, Features, Service and Warranty are part of the
product or service quality; therefore it is evident that product quality and
service is more important than price.

Using
Customer Feedback

Customer
feedback must be continually solicited and monitored. It is not a one time
effort; it is an ongoing and active probing of the customer mind. Feed back
enable the organization to

• Discover
  customer dissatisfaction

• Discover
  relative priorities of quality

• Compare
  performance with the competition

• Identify
  Customers need.

• Determine
  opportunity for improvement

Using
Customer Complaint

Feedback
is proactive and the complaints are reactive in nature. Even then they are very
vital in gathering data on customer perceptions. A dissatisfied customer can
easily become a lost customer. Many organization uses customer dissatisfaction
as the primary measures to assess their process improvement effort. A positive
approach towards complaint creates opportunity to obtain information and a better
service level can be assured.

 

Service
Quality

Customer
service is the set of activities an organization uses to win and retain
customers satisfaction. It can be provided before, during, or after the sale
of product. Following are the dimensions of service quality.

1. Tangibles-
   physical evidence of service

2. Reliability-
   Consistency in providing the service

3. Responsiveness
   – Readiness and Willingness of the employees

4. Assurance
   Ability of employee to convey trust and confidence

5. The
   ability of the employees to put themselves in the customer shoes

Customer
retention

Customer
retention is more powerful and effective than customer satisfaction. Customer
retention represents the activities that produce the necessary customer
satisfaction that creates customer loyalty, which actually improves the bottom line.

Effective
involvement and utilization of entire employee

As
the TQM is the organization wide challenge, every employees involvement is
essential. All personnel must be must be trained in TQM, Statistical Process
Control and other appropriate quality improvement skills so that they can
effectively participate in the quality teams.

Motivation

Motivation
means a process of stimulating people to accomplish desired goals. Motivation
could be explained in terms of hierarchy of need and that there were five
levels as explained by Abraham
Maslow. These levels are survival,
security, social, esteem and self-actualization. Frederick Herzberg found that
people were motivated by recognition, responsibility, achievement, advancement
and the work itself. While management thinks that good pay is the number one need
of the employee. Survey results show that this factor is usually in the middle
of the ranking. Employee tends to follow the theories of Maslow and Herzberg.
By involving employees through the use of teams in meaningful work and by providing the proper reward and recognition, mangers can reap the advantages of greater quality
and productivity along with employee satisfaction.

Empowerment

Empowerment
is an environment in which people have the ability, the confidence and the
commitment to take the responsibility and ownership to improve the process and
initiate the necessary step to satisfy customer requirement within well defined
boundaries in order to achieve organizational values and goals. Employee
empowerment requires that the individual is held responsible for accomplishing
whole task. The employee becomes the process owner- thus the individual is not
only responsible but also accountable. In order to create empowered environment
three conditions are necessary.

• Every
  one must understand the need for change

• The
  system needs to change to the new paradigm

• The
  organization must enable its employee

 

Teams

Employee
involvement is optimized by the use team. In most instances they are effective
because many heads are more knowledgeable than one. Each members of the team
has special abilities that can be used to solve complex problems. The
interactions within the team produce the results that exceed the contributions
of each member. There are various types of teams, namely Process improvement
team, cross-functional team, natural work team, self-directed team. But
people need to be trained to work as a team. There are mainly three types of
teams that TQM organizations adopt:

1. Quality Improvement Teams or Excellence Teams
   (QITS)

   – These are temporary
   teams with the purpose of dealing with specific problems that often
   re-occur. These teams are set up for period of three to twelve months.

2. Problem Solving Teams (PSTs)

   – These are temporary teams to solve certain problems and also to identify and overcome causes of problems. They generally last from one week
   to three months.

3. Natural Work Teams (NWTs)

   – These teams consist of small groups of
   skilled workers who share tasks and responsibilities. These teams use
   concepts such as employee involvement teams, self-managing teams and
   quality circles. These teams generally work for one to two hours a week.

Recognition
and Reward

Recognition
is a form of employee motivation in which the organization acknowledges the
positive contributions an individual or team has made to the success of the
organization. Reward is something tangible. Recognition and reward go together
to form a system for letting people know that they are valuable members of the
organization. As people are recognized, there can be huge changes in
self-esteem, productivity, quality and the amount of effort exhorted to the
task at hand. Recognition comes in its best form when it is immediately
following an action that an employee has performed. Recognition comes in
different ways, places and time such as,

• Ways

  – It can be by way of personal letter from top management. Also by award
  banquets, plaques, trophies etc.

• Places

  – Good performers can be recognized in front of departments, on
  performance boards and also in front of top management.

• Time

  – Recognition can be given at any time like in staff meeting, annual award
  banquets, etc.

Performance
appraisal

The
purpose of performance appraisal is to let employees know how they are doing
and provide a basis for promotions, salary increase, counseling and other
purposes related to an employees future. Performance appraisal may be for the
team or individuals. Regardless of the system a key factor in a successful
performance appraisal is employee involvement.

Continuous
improvements

There
must be a continual striving to improve all business and production processes.
Quality improvement projects, such as on-time delivery, customer satisfaction,
waste reduction, product realization and inventory are good places to begin
Tools. Thus, techniques such as Juran Trilogy, PDSA Cycle, 5S,
Benchmarking, Quality function deployment, TQC, Kaizen etc.
are excellent for problem solving at various activities.

Treating
suppliers as partners

As
the significant quantity of business activity is the purchased product or
service, their performance quality is contributing lot to the companys quality.
Therefore partnership relationship with suppliers must be developed. Both
parties have as much gain or lose based on the success or failure of the
product or service. Focus should be on quality and life cycle costs rather than
price.

 

Establishing
performance measures for the processes

For
each functional area performance measures should be determined and posted for
everyone to see. Quantitative data are necessary to measure the continuous
quality improvement activity.

The
purpose of TQM is to provide a quality product and/or Service to customers,
which will, in turn, increase productivity and lower cost. With a higher
quality product and lower price, competitive position in the marketplace will
be enhanced. This series of events will allow the organization to achieve the
objectives of profit and growth with greater ease. In addition, the work force
will have job security, which shall create a satisfying place to work.

The
TQM require a cultural change and this change being substantial can not be accomplished
in short period of time. The following changes are expected due to TQM
implementation.

Elements

Before TQM Implementation

After TQM implementation

Definition

Product
oriented

Customer
oriented

Priorities

Second
to Service and cost

First
among equals of service and cost

Decisions

Short
term

Long-term

Emphasis

Detection

Prevention

Errors

Operations

System

Responsibility

Quality
Control

Everyone

Problem
solving

Managers

Teams

Procurement

Price

Life-cycle
costs, Partnership

Managers
Role

Plan,
assign, Control and enforce

Delegate,
coach, facilitate and mentors

Communication

It
is a vital link between all elements of TQM. Communication means a common
understanding of ideas between the sender and the receiver. The success of TQM
demands communication with and among all the organization members, suppliers
and customers. Supervisors must keep open airways where employees can send and
receive information about the TQM process. Communication coupled with the
sharing of correct information is vital. For communication to be credible the
message must be clear and receiver must interpret in the way the sender
intended.

Downward
communication

This
is the dominant form of communication in an organization. Presentations and
discussions basically do it. Supervisors are able to make the employees aware
about the basic features of total quality management and its importance.

Upward
communication

By
this the lower level of employees are able to provide suggestions to upper
management of the affects of TQM. As employees provide insight and constructive
criticism, supervisors must listen effectively to correct the situation that
comes about through the use of TQM. This forms a level of trust between
supervisors and employees. This is also similar to empowering communication,
where supervisors keep open ears and listen to others.

 

Sideways
communication

This
type of communication is important because it breaks down barriers between
departments. It also allows dealing with customers and suppliers in a more
professional manner.

References:

1. Dale
   H Besterfield et al, Total Quality Management, Pearson Education.

2. Stephen
   R. Covey et al, First Thing First, Simon & Schuster.

3. V. Jayakumar et al, Total Quality Management, Lakshmi
   Publications.

4. Besterfiled,
   Dale H., Quality control, Prentice Hall.

5. Bossert,
   James L., Quality Function Deployment: A Practioners Approach, ASQ Quality Press.

6. Camp,
   Robert C., Bench Marking: The Search for Industry Best Practices that
   Lead to Superior Practice, ASQ Quality Press.

7. http://www.iSixSigma.com
   

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