Evaluation tools of total quality management in business organizations

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And most importantly their feedback needs to be taken into consideration so that they feel organization cares for them, this will make them feel empowered and they will work at their highest productivity. With the advent of modern technology, various tools are available that help measures the levels of improvement and where there is scope for additional development.

But it is also important to identify these causes at the right time so that problems can be nipped in the bud and they are not allowed to culminate into big challenges for the organization, which in turn may take a lot of resources in time and energy to solve them. These are graph diagrams that have 2 axes on which variables that we want to measure are plotted.

Y-axis is generally what we want to predict, for example, it may be cost of a department, or revenue that it is generating, issues cropping up department wise, or goods and services that customers prefer in terms of the highest sale over a period of time.

X-axis generally can be time period, that is we are studying a relation over a period of time and see how is it changing. They set limits within which deviations are allowed within a department or quality of product and service, but if these limits are breached then it becomes a cause of worry. To use control chart and organization needs a lot of data and experience to set the limits if wrong or incorrect limits are set and they breach very often management will have to continuously make changes.

They are generally used to describe the entire production process or operations process, right from manufacturing, to processing, to distribution and ultimately the sale of products and serves. It serves as an overview of the entire business process. It is designed in such a way that even if an outsider sees the process he can understand how the business works. The purpose of the diagram is to relate causes to effects, it helps identify repeated causes of concern for the organization and what is causing them.

The next step is to measure, monitor and report extent of compliance with these performance measures. To achieve a standard the first step is to implement a QMS. Implementing a QMS can help your business to: achieve greater consistency, reduce expensive mistakes, increase efficiency, gain customer satisfaction, effectively market your business, exploit new markets manage growth more effectively and constantly improve your products, processes and systems.

The ISO series of standards is the main set of International Standards applying to the management of quality systems. Achieving ISO certification could mean new business. Slack refers to the ISO series as Slack recognizes that there are four additional principles which ISO stresses upon.

He argues that quality management should be customer focused. In addition he states that quality performance should be measured. Thirdly Slack sees the need for quality management to be improvement driven. Fourthly top management must demonstrate their commitment to maintaining and continually improving management systems.

The actual change to ISO for operations can be very expensive. As is well known in business and industry, it is difficult to change the habits of long-time employees. New ways are usually resisted by everyone. This resistance cuts into profits and also decreases company morale. There are times when companies feel that the existing set of operational procedures is already working well and they do not feel a change is necessary.

Now these companies have the choice of loosing a customer or implementing ISO Either way money is lost in the short term. Six Sigma simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process whether it is from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.

The fundamental objective of the Six Sigma methodology is the implementation of a measurement-based strategy that focuses on process improvement and variation reduction through the application of Six Sigma improvement projects.

Slack explains that Six Sigma processes are executed via belts. Master Black Belts are the experts in the use of Six Sigma tools, techniques and implementations. Six Sigma Black Belts can take a direct hand in organizing improvement teams. Green Belts work within improvement teams; they are not full-time positioned and have normal day-to-day process responsibilities. It is expected that they spend at least twenty per cent of their time in improvement projects.

Improvement activity is generally neglected in most operations and if it is to be taken seriously, it deserves the significant investment required. If operated well, Six Sigma improvement projects controlled by experienced personnel can save more than their cost. It can be too hierarchical in the way it structures its various levels of involvement in the improvement activity.

The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is usedA to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance against strategic goals. It was originated by Drs. The balanced scorecard suggests that we view the organization from four perspectives, and to develop metrics, collect data and analyze it relative to each of these perspectives:. The Business Process Perspective refers to internal business processes.

Metrics based on this perspective allow the managers to know how well their business is running, and whether its products and services conform to customer requirements. The Customer Perspective explains that the realization of the importance of customer focus and customer satisfaction in any business is essential. The Financial Perspective states that often there is more than enough handling and processing of financial data.

With the implementation of a corporate database, it is hoped that more of the processing can be centralized and automated. Quality indeed provides companies with a competitive edge.

Though there are pitfalls to the strategic implication of TQM, compilation of proper initiatives can reduce the occurrence of such pitfalls. TQM initiatives can also result in customer satisfaction, thereby resulting in customer loyalty. Saunders simply defines methodology as Haralambos however goes a bit further by explaining what methodology is concerned with.

He sees methodology as being. The research to be conducted will take a deductive approach. Although the research is a deductive piece of work, the researcher will adopt a mixed approach to data collection. That is the research paradigm will be a mixture of both qualitative and quantitative data. Generally the philosophies used are positivists and phenomenologist.

Triangulation research will be conducted as this will increase validity and reliability. Having formulated the research topic it is essential that the researcher answers the research question. Thus essentially the researcher will undertake many strategies in addressing this question. By conducting structured research via hypothesis testing and analyze of information based on best practices and recommendations the answer to the research question will be attained.

Thus the use of both primary and secondary data collection tools will be profound for this question. In collecting data for objective one the researcher has found it fit to use case studies.

Robson defines case study AS The data collection methods will include questionnaires, interviews, observations and documentary analysis. The researcher will select interviews and documentary analysis in an attempt to collect the data required. Interviews will be conducted by the researcher. This roadmap can help all organizations intending to reach to a high level of institutionalized quality. References Ahire, S. An innovation diffusion model of TQM implementation. Ahire, S. Ahmed, S. Survey and case investigations on application of quality management tools and techniques in SMIs.

Arumugam, V. TQM practices and quality management performance: An investigation of their relationship using data from ISO firms in Malaysia. The TQM Journal, 20 6 , Bunney, H. The implementation of quality management tools and techniques: a study. The TQM Magazine, 9 3 , Byrne, G. Ensuring optimal success with Six Sigma implementations. Journal of Organizational Excellence, 22 2 , Dale, B.

Managing Quality 4th ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Total quality management and theory: An exploratory study of contribution. A measurement instrument for TQM implementation in the Thai manufacturing industry. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, 3 4 , 1— Ehresman, T.

Hammer, M. Putting six sigma in perspective. Quality, 40 10 , Hansson, J. A core value model for implementing total quality management in small organisations.

The TQM Magazine, 15 2 , Hellsten, U. TQM as a management system consisting of values, techniques and tools. The TQM Magazine, 12 4 , Jayaram, J. Contingency relationships of firm size, TQM duration, unionization, and industry context on TQM implementation--A focus on total effects. Journal of Operations Management, 28 4 , JUSE Journal of Operations Management, 27 6 , Prabhu, V.

The TQM Magazine, 12 2 , Prajogo, D. The relationship between TQM practices, quality performance, and innovation performance: An empirical examination. Punnakitikashem, P. Feng compared the experience of organizations in Australia and Singapore with respect to the multidimensionality of TQM and its relationship with quality performance and innovation performance.

They found significant differences of TQM implementation between Australian-owned and Singaporean-owned companies. Chinese small manufacturing firms reported size-related difficulties in implementing TQM Lee, Inefficiency exists in every organization. He also mentioned that activities related to quality were frequently misunderstood, and often the quality was equated with the checking activity of quality control or interpreted in the context of product grade or excellence.

In more detail, Harari states that, after studying all the independent research conducted by consulting firms, the conclusion is that only about one-fifth, or at best one-third, of the TQM programs in the USA and Europe have achieved significant or even tangible improvement in quality, productivity, competitiveness or financial results.

Research by TQM scholars identified low commitment of senior management as a roadblock and major challenges to TQM success Wilkinson et al.

Yui surveyed Japanese companies, 57 out of respondents agreed that they do not understand what is required to introduce and implement TQM, even though they understood its concepts. This reflects the total quality paralysis described by Kanji , where organizations attempting to implement TQM are confused where to start. This is because they are overwhelmed by so many concepts, principles, models and prescriptions Juran,; Oakland, They recognize that currently available approaches to implementation are organizationally and politically naive.

Therefore, a model development explains effective quality management implementation by organizing, synthesizing, and empirically validating the various key quality factors should serve the needs of practitioners Thiagarajan, Conclusion TQM is a continuous process that organizations use to improve the quality and performance which will meet customer expectations. It can be attained when properly planned and implemented quality activities include managing quality design and development, quality control and maintenance, quality improvement, and quality.

Once ingrained as the way of doing things, the organization can obtain substantial benefits of TQM including a healthier bottom line. However, failure to meet the requirements in any part of quality may create problems elsewhere that leads to the situation exacerbated.

In general, organizations should cultivate a long-term comprehensive approach to strategic management, and aimed with a rigor to have an edge in achieving these quality assurance goals that are part of TQM to increase its competitive advantage for better market acceptance.

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