Quality Culture: changing hearts, minds, and attitudesShatha ZaidanPrincess Nora UniversityFaculty of Business and Administration 2013

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Organization’s Culture ElementsTo understand quality culture, it’s necessary to understand organizational culture.An organization’s culture is the everyday manifestation of its underlying values and traditions.

Organization’s Culture Elements• Business environment • Organizational values• Cultural role models• Organizational rites, rituals, and customers • Cultural transmitters 3

Quality Culture

• An organizational value system that results in an environment that is conductive to the establishment and continual improvement of quality. It consists of values, traditions, procedures, and expectations that promote quality.

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Quality Culture vs. Traditional Culture • Operating philosophy• Objectives• Management approach• Attitudes towards customers• Problem solving approach• Supplier relationships• Performance important approach

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Traditional culture organizations Quality Culture organizations

Focus on return on investment and short-term profit

The core of it’s philosophy is customer's satisfaction and it’s the key for long-term survival and prosperity.

Adopt short-term objectives and focus on goals for the coming weeks or months.

Adopt a quality plan strategically and develop a short-term and long-term objectives.

Managers think and enforce policies, employee do what they are told.

Managers are the coach of the teams and they communicate the vision, mission, and goals.

Tend to look inward and they are concerned about their needs more than their customers'.

Customer focused and customers’ satisfaction is their priority.

Concentrate on who is to blame instead of focusing on the problems.

Focus on identifying the roots of the problem and follow a systematic process undertaken by teams.

The relationship is adversarial mostly that often includes prices and delivery.

Suppliers are partners.

Performance improvement is an erratic, reacting triggered by problems.

Continual Improvement of process, people, products, and working environment is essential in the operation philosophy.

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Laying the Foundation for a Quality Culture

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1. Understand2. Assess3. Plan4. Expect5. Model6. Orient7. Mentor8. Train9. Monitor10. Reinforce and maintain quality See page 120-122

Characteristics of Strong Quality Culture Organizations • Widely shared philosophy of management• Emphasis on the importance of human resources to the

organization • Ceremonies to celebrate organizational events• Recognition and rewards for successful employees• Effective internal network for communication the culture • Informal rule of behavior• Strong value system• High standards for performance• Definite organizational character

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Establishing a Quality Culture

Steps in the conversion to quality 1. Identify the change needed2. Put the planned changes in writing 3. Develop a plan for making the change4. Understand the emotional transition process (shock, denial,

realization, acceptance, rebuilding, understanding, and recovery)

5. Identify key people and make them advocates6. Take a heart and mind approach7. Apply courtship strategies8. Support, support, support.9. See page 128-131

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