Quality Management:Organising for Quality

Presented by:

Dr. Husam Arman

Concept of TQM

TQM foundation: Any product, process, or service can be improved. A successful organization is one that consciously

seeks and exploits opportunities for improvement at all levels.

The watchword is continuous improvement.

What must organizations do for quality to succeed “Organizations must adopt a cultural change

that appreciates the primary need to meet customer requirements, implements a management philosophy that acknowledges this emphasis, encourages employee involvement, and embraces the ethic of continuous improvement.”

International Economic Conference Board

Transition to quality culture at Xerox

TransitionTeam

TrainingSenior ManagementBehavior

XeroxCultureChange

Tools andProcesses

CommunicationReward andRecognition

IBM’s market driven quality program

LeadershipVisionInvolvementPolicyManagement

SystemsInformationPlanningHuman resourceQuality assurance

Quality ResultsImproved qualityLower costs

Cu

stom

er

Satisfa

ction

MarketSuccess

“Driver” SystemMeasuresof Progress Goal

IBM’s “new” Continuously Ensure Quality (CEQ) initiative“CEQ aims to instill a commitment in

organizations to embrace quality as a guiding principle that touches every phase of the software development and deployment cycle. Organizations must build quality in, not treat it as an afterthought. Every individual in an organization, from the business analyst to the IT operator, can improve application quality through vigilance and a shared sense of responsibility for business and customer success.”

What are some of the steps organizations must take? Effectively develop and communicate

quality policy, procedures and requirements across all company functions.

Mobilize resources to solve quality-related problems.

Effectively coordinate quality requirements with suppliers. (feed forward)

Maintain direct contact with customers (feedback).

Communicating quality requirements Examples of formal communication:

Quality policy statement Quality manuals ISO 9000 quality standards

Examples of informal communication: Word of mouth Management actions

Quality - basic beliefs

Ford Quality is job one; there's a Ford in your future

Chrysler "If you find a better car, buy it!"  (Spoken by Lee Iacocca)

Serta “We make the world's best mattress”

Caterpillar Strong dealer support; 24-hour spare parts support around the world

McDonalds Fast service, consistent quality

Quality policy statement

Most companies today have a written quality policy or mission statement For example, “It is the established policy and

intention of this company to provide its customers with products which conform to customer requirements and are delivered on time. This will be ensured through a defined quality program as detailed in the company quality manual.”

Some companies rely on verbal quality policies. for example, “our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction and

minimize rejects.”

Other examples

Goodyear: “our mission is constant improvement in products and services to meet our customers’ needs. This is the only means to business success for Goodyear and prosperity for its investors and employees.”

Other examples

Motorola – “Doing the right thing.  Every day.  No excuses.”

Organizations must demonstratewhat Deming termed “constancy of purpose”.

Identifying and resolving quality problems Quality problems transcend individual and

functional boundaries. Companies need multi-discipline problem solving.

Organizational approaches for multidiscipline problem solving

Form cross functional teams. Quality improvement teams Quality circles

Adopt matrix versus functional organizational structure.

Co-locate engineering resources to open communication channels. Engineering technical centers/Centers of

expertise

Coordinating quality requirements with suppliers Importance of supply chain management

Many quality problems are caused by defective purchased material.

Suppliers often represent a large % of manufacturing costs.

Strategies for supplier relationships

Criteria Traditional Approach

Long Term Partnership

Philosophy "keep suppliers on their toes" "mutual dependence"

Supply base Large supply base Few suppliers - "single sourcing"

Contract length Often short term contracts Often long term contracts

Awarding contracts

Low cost bid Negotiated

Supplier costs Either company or supplier wins

Share cost savings (win-win)

Cooperation Cooperation as needed; company protects knowledge

Frequent joint problem solving

Managing human resources & TQM Growing research indicates that TQM has not

achieved its objectives due to human resource management (HRM) problems.

Failures occur when management falls short in their efforts to adopt a corporate culture fully embracing TQM.

What makes TQM an HR problem? TQM requires employee development &

employee cooperation. Thus, the task of top management is to:

provide workers with the necessary skills and knowledge.

create a quality-minded culture among employees.

A quality culture that: nurtures high-trust relationships. has a shared sense of commitment. believes that continuous improvement is for

the common good.

Establishing a quality minded culture

Formation of a quality minded culture is a human interaction issue.

Therefore, quality management systems must provide: channels of communication for product-quality

information among all concerned employees. means of participation for employees so

employees feel they’re part of the system

Some HR challenges?

Is company culture a subset of national culture? Should companies encourage TQM participation

via monetary incentives? Do workers want to be involved in the quality

management process - Actually, some want to have input. many others do not want any increased

responsibility.

Quality Improvement Teams

Roles for QI teams

In addition to solving quality problems, QI teams help: provide a means of participation for

employees in quality decision-making. aid employee development: leadership,

problem-solving skills. lead to quality awareness which is essential

for organizational culture change.

Types of quality improvement teams

Project teams

Quality circles

Project team characteristics

Teams address key organizational issues concurrent engineering ISO 9000 implementation

membership - generally mandatory temporary in nature participation is cross-functional team leaders have varying degrees of

authority

Quality circle characteristics

Voluntary groups of 6-8 members Quality circle teams are semi-permanent Teams are from single functional department Members have equal status and select their

own project Minimum pressure to solve problems with a

set timeframe

Implementing quality circles

Quality circles require top management support

Personal characteristics of facilitators are critical

Scope of project needs to be small enough to be capably addressed by the team

Success of other teams has positive peer pressure effect

Teamwork game

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