Question

What is TQM? What are the components of TQM? How is TQM implemented? What are the popular TQM initiatives? What are some of the Quality Monitoring/Control Tools?

Answer 1

TQM defination

A core definition of total quality management (TQM) describes a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services, and the culture in which they work.

Customer expectations have been on the rise for some time now. This is a result of many factors, primary of which is the massive advancements that have been made in the technology sector. Modern customers are keenly aware of how powerful today’s technology is and they expect organizations to leverage that power to provide them with the utmost in quality service and products.

This means that companies need to rise to the challenge of meeting these heightened expectations or risk falling by the wayside as their competition pushes ahead. For IT organizations, the need to constantly evolve and improve upon their offerings is even more necessary. This reality gave rise to the utilization of business management methods such as Agile, Lean, and DevOps.

Leveraging modern business best practices and methodologies allows IT organizations to maintain a rapid speed of development that keeps up with customer demand. However, speed can only get an organization so far without the added component of quality. This is where Total Quality Management can help to fill in the gaps and aid organizations in maintaining a grip on quality while pushing their speed throttle to the max.

Components of TQM

TQM can be summarized as a management system for a customer-focused organization that involves all employees in continual improvement. It uses strategy, data, and effective communications to integrate the quality discipline into the culture and activities of the organization. Many of these concepts are present in modern quality management systems, the successor to TQM. Here are the 8 principles of total quality management:

1. Customer-focused: The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, or upgrading computers or software—the customer determines whether the efforts were worthwhile.
2. Total employee involvement: All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and when management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are one form of empowerment.
3. Process-centered: A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers (internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation.
4. Integrated system: Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these functions that are the focus of TQM.
   1. • Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business processes required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the vision, mission, and guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical processes of the organization. Business performance must be monitored and communicated continuously.
      • An integrated business system may be modeled after the Baldrige Award criteria and/or incorporate the ISO 9000 standards. Every organization has a unique work culture, and it is virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a good quality culture has been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business improvement elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
5. Strategic and systematic approach: A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic planning or strategic management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.
6. Continual improvement: A large aspect of TQM is continual process improvement. Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.
7. Fact-based decision making: In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.
8. Communications: During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness.

These elements are considered so essential to TQM that many organizations define them, in some format, as a set of core values and principles on which the organization is to operate

TQM implemented in following manners

A preliminary step in TQM implementation is to assess the organization’s current reality. Relevant preconditions have to do with the organization’s history, its current needs, precipitating events leading to TQM, and the existing employee quality of working life. If the current reality does not include important preconditions, TQM implementation should be delayed until the organization is in a state in which TQM is likely to succeed.

If an organization has a track record of effective responsiveness to the environment, and if it has been able to successfully change the way it operates when needed, TQM will be easier to implement. If an organization has been historically reactive and has no skill at improving its operating systems, there will be both employee skepticism and a lack of skilled change agents. If this condition prevails, a comprehensive program of management and leadership development may be instituted. A management audit is a good assessment tool to identify current levels of organizational functioning and areas in need of change. An organization should be basically healthy before beginning TQM. If it has significant problems such as a very unstable funding base, weak administrative systems, lack of managerial skill, or poor employee morale, TQM would not be appropriate.

However, a certain level of stress is probably desirable to initiate TQM. People need to feel a need for a change. Kanter (1983) addresses this phenomenon be describing building blocks which are present in effective organizational change. These forces include departures from tradition, a crisis or galvanizing event, strategic decisions, individual “prime movers,” and action vehicles. Departures from tradition are activities, usually at lower levels of the organization, which occur when entrepreneurs move outside the normal ways of operating to solve a problem. A crisis, if it is not too disabling, can also help create a sense of urgency which can mobilize people to act. In the case of TQM, this may be a funding cut or threat, or demands from consumers or other stakeholders for improved quality of service. After a crisis, a leader may intervene strategically by articulating a new vision of the future to help the organization deal with it. A plan to implement TQM may be such a strategic decision. Such a leader may then become a prime mover, who takes charge in championing the new idea and showing others how it will help them get where they want to go. Finally, action vehicles are needed and mechanisms or structures to enable the change to occur and become institutionalized.

Steps in Managing the Transition

Beckhard and Pritchard (1992) have outlined the basic steps in managing a transition to a new system such as TQM: identifying tasks to be done, creating necessary management structures, developing strategies for building commitment, designing mechanisms to communicate the change, and assigning resources.

Task identification would include a study of present conditions (assessing current reality, as described above); assessing readiness, such as through a force field analysis; creating a model of the desired state, in this case, implementation of TQM; announcing the change goals to the organization; and assigning responsibilities and resources. This final step would include securing outside consultation and training and assigning someone within the organization to oversee the effort. This should be a responsibility of top management. In fact, the next step, designing transition management structures, is also a responsibility of top management. In fact, Cohen and Brand (1993) and Hyde (1992) assert that management must be heavily involved as leaders rather than relying on a separate staff person or function to shepherd the effort. An organization wide steering committee to oversee the effort may be appropriate. Developing commitment strategies was discussed above in the sections on resistance and on visionary leadership.

To communicate the change, mechanisms beyond existing processes will need to be developed. Special all-staff meetings attended by executives, sometimes designed as input or dialog sessions, may be used to kick off the process, and TQM newsletters may be an effective ongoing communication tool to keep employees aware of activities and accomplishments.

Management of resources for the change effort is important with TQM because outside consultants will almost always be required. Choose consultants based on their prior relevant experience and their commitment to adapting the process to fit unique organizational needs. While consultants will be invaluable with initial training of staff and TQM system design, employees (management and others) should be actively involved in TQM implementation, perhaps after receiving training in change management which they can then pass on to other employees. A collaborative relationship with consultants and clear role definitions and specification of activities must be established.

In summary, first assess preconditions and the current state of the organization to make sure the need for change is clear and that TQM is an appropriate strategy. Leadership styles and organizational culture must be congruent with TQM. If they are not, this should be worked on or TQM implementation should be avoided or delayed until favorable conditions exist.

Remember that this will be a difficult, comprehensive, and long-term process. Leaders will need to maintain their commitment, keep the process visible, provide necessary support, and hold people accountable for results. Use input from stakeholder (clients, referring agencies, funding sources, etc.) as possible; and, of course, maximize employee involvement in design of the system.⁷

Always keep in mind that TQM should be purpose driven. Be clear on the organization’s vision for the future and stay focused on it. TQM can be a powerful technique for unleashing employee creativity and potential, reducing bureaucracy and costs, and improving service to clients and the community.

Conclusion

TQM encoureges participation amongst shop floor workers and managers. There is no single theoretical formalization of total quality, but Deming, Juran and Ishikawa provide the core assumptions, as a “…discipline and philosophy of management which institutionalizes planned and continuous… improvement … and assumes that quality is the outcome of all activities that take place within an organization; that all functions and all employees have to participate in the improvement process; that organizations need both quality systems and a quality culture.”

Popular TQM initiatives

To start, we gather every bit of performance data we can find, comb through it to identify the quality pieces of information, and analyze it for opportunities to improve. Once we lock onto improvement opportunities, we build a plan to implement changes, and track those changes to make sure they’re benefitting us and our customers. The question we ask throughout this process is “Did we obtain the results we wanted to achieve?” If not, we head back to the drawing board.

While TQM originated in the manufacturing sector, its principles can be applied to a variety of industries. With a focus on long-term change over short-term goals, it is designed to provide a cohesive vision for systemic change. With this in mind, TQM is used in many industries, including, but not limited to, manufacturing, banking and finance, and medicine.

These techniques can be applied to all departments within an individual organization as well. This helps ensure all employees are working toward the goals set forth for the company, improving function in each area. Involved departments can include administration, marketing, production, and employee training.

Total Quality Management in Aviation Industry

Aviation industry has managed to provide efficient services with quality, which is not only affordable but also safe. As a way to attain top-notch efficiency, the organization must adhere to the international practices and should implement an information system for maintaining the service quality. TQM principles are very useful for bringing the processes of the company under a sustainable infrastructure for implementing the TQM. There are various aviation industries that implement TQM principles with information system strategy for attaining the organization’s goal. TQM tool is considered as a system that is capable of attaining significant business performance. There are various effective TQM tools that improve the process and aid in product variation. This in turn increases operational efficiency.

Implementation of TQM in Royal Jet Airways

Royal Jet Airways focuses on implementing TQM by focusing on the training of employees, managerial effectiveness, and organizational productivity. The top management of Royal Jet Airways believes that excellence in service quality is a philosophy and it is important to have the right corporate culture for attaining good service quality which is made possible through effective internal communication. This is because, through communication, employees can be motivated to understand the aspirations of the organization in a better way. Similarly, external communication also plays significant role, through which the customer gets benefited. One key strategy of Royal Jet is to provide services of high quality. This is made possible by embedding quality in decision-making process, work processes, environment, and teamwork.

There is also a supplier management team with the aim of improving performance of suppliers and purchasing productivity. This team establishes the framework for managing supplier performance designs and coordinates the Supplier Quality Conference and initiates and communicates improvements to the supplier management process.

As a service organization, Royal Jet Airways strives to maintain the quality of services it has been offering. It has a customized supplier performance management approach model, where it allows buying units for ascertaining which suppliers deliver the requirements consistently. In addition, Royal Jet Airways supplier performance management process involves measures and feedback to assist suppliers in understanding what they need to perform so as to earn more business.

Further, top management strongly believes in the need to deliver quality service. They also believe in continuous improvement. During the previous three years, Royal Jet has been focusing on redefining the quality standards intending to be one of the leading airlines with regard to service and safety.

Some of the Quality Monitoring/Control Tools

1) Flowchart

We all are familiar with “Flowchart” since our school or college days. A flowchart is a diagram which represents a workflow process, algorithm, or a step by step process connected by arrows in different directions.

These flowcharts are used for the representation of organizational structures, Login System, document work process flow, billing transaction flow etc.

Flowchart allows identifying the actual flow of events in a system. It is the step of the process that will provide information or picture of what the process looks like and throw some light on the quality issues. Flowchart helps in identifying where exactly the quality issue is in the process.

Here, every step is an action and result of it produces an output which is again used as an input to the next step.

2) Check Sheet

The Check sheet is used to collect data and information in an easy format. It increases accuracy in the data collection process with easy method and format. It significantly reduces efforts for data collection as well. This data collection is based on actual facts and figures rather than any imaginary numbers and item.

This data collection methodology produces some sort of output and this output is in a different data format that is always easy for analysis.

The Check Sheet is typically a list of questions or problems, in a document or spreadsheet. Check sheet helps the organization to identify the problems that prevent to deliver a quality product. This list of problems or question needs to be resolved.

The Check sheet is used during the review process, before production validation or in any other project management activity. It is used to ensure that the necessary pre-requisite has been completed and all the required steps have been carried out before committing to the business user about the document or deliverable.

The check sheet is updated by recording “marks” or “checks” on it. In the below Example, the Human Resource Department tracks the number of questions raised on each day under different categories.

3) Cause-Effect Diagram

Cause-Effect is also known as Fish-bone diagram as the shape is somewhat similar to the side view of a fish skeleton. During problem-solving, everyone in the team has a different opinion about the root cause of the issue or problem.

Fish-bone diagram captures all causes, ideas and uses brainstorming method to identify the strongest root cause. Cause-Effect diagram records causes of specific problems or issues related to the processor system. You will get many different causes for a specific problem.

To start with the fishbone, you need to state your problem as a question, that too in terms of “why”. This will help in brainstorming as each question should have an answer. In the end, the entire team should agree on the problem statement and then place this question at the “head” of the fish-bone.

The rest of the fishbone then consists of one line that is drawn horizontally across the page attaching the problem statement at the head and a vertical line drawn as branches or bone.

These branches cover different categories as mentioned below:

1. People
2. Process
3. Material
4. Equipment
5. Procedure
6. Policies

4) Pareto Chart

A Pareto Chart is a Bar graph as well as a Line graph that graphically summarizes the group of data. The data may be related to cost, time, defects etc. Here, bars in a graph represent the values in descending order i.e. the longest bar at the left side and the shortest bar is on the right side and the cumulative total is represented by Lines.

The left vertical line or axis represents the frequency of occurrences; this occurrence may be related to cost, defects or any other unit of measure. The right vertical axis represents the cumulative percentage of the total number of occurrences.

To construct a Pareto Chart, a different range of data is divided into groups and called a segment or categories. Consider the below sample Pareto Chart that is drawn for credit card application.

Assume that the credit card application has been delayed and you want to investigate the process associated with it and identify the root cause of the delay.

To draw the Pareto Chart, you need to categorize a group of data as shown below:

• No signature
• Address not updated.
• Non-legible handwriting.
• Already a registered customer.
• Any other reason

5) Control Charts

Control charts that are also known as Statistical Process Control are used to determine if the business processes are in a state of control. The Control Chart is a graph that shows how the process changes over time.

If the analysis of the control chart indicates that the processes are stable and there is a little variation and is under control then there are no changes required for the process control parameter.

If the processes are not under control then control chart helps to determine the sources of variation. It means that corrective action is necessary for the process control parameter.

Control Charts is also known as Run Charts. It is a graph that use to plot your process data in a time order sequence. As given in the below graph, Control Chart has one central line, one upper control limit, and one lower control limit. The central line always used for an average of processes.

The upper and lower control limit indicates the variation and it is determined using historical data.

6) Histogram

A histogram is a graphical representation in a bar chart that shows pattern falls within different conditions. It is a distribution of numerical data and it provides necessary information about shape and dispersion or spread of a set of sample data.

The numerical information can be of any type such as marks received during the exam, the number of new employees joined within a particular month, the number of complaints received per category etc. The Histogram shows the intensity of a particular problem and displays data in a visual format.

In order to construct Histogram, it is necessary to divide the range of values into specific intervals such as an interval of 5, 10, 15 etc. Such interval is called as “bin” and these bins are consecutive, adjacent. The size of each interval is equal and these intervals are not overlapping with each other.

Now, count how many values, points etc., fall within each interval and plot a bar chart accordingly.

In the below sample Histogram, horizontal X-axis represents “points” obtained by the students in a class and Y-axis represents the “number of students”. The points or marks received by the students are divided into an equal interval of 10 points and are obtained at a total of 10 intervals on the graph.

7) Scatter Diagram

Scatter Diagram is a graphical representation which shows the relation between two variables. It is a quality management tool, in which data is represented as a point and each point plotted on the graph indicates the value on the horizontal and vertical axis.

Out of these two variables, one variable is independent and the second variable is dependent on the first variable. It is also known as a “Scatter Plot” or “Scatter Graph”.

Scatter Diagram helps to identify the cause and effect in the system and the variable usually represents all possible cause and effect. Scatter Diagram is also used to identify the correlation between these two variables.

If the variables are correlated, then the points will fall along a line or small curve. Correlation may be positive which means, the points are plotted as a rising, it may be negative i.e. the points are falling or there may be no correlation between those points or variables.