Approaches to Managing Quality

Once an organization makes a decision to enhance the quality of its products and services, there are a number of areas to be addressed.

STRATEGIC COMMITMENT. The starting point for quality is a strategic commitment by top management. This general commitment is often referred to as total quality control - a real and meaningful effort by an organization to change its whole approach to business to make quality a guiding factor in everything the organization does. Such commitment is actual for several reasons. First, the organizational culture must change to recognize that quality is not just an ideal but is instead an objective goal that must be pursued. Second, a decision to pursue the goal of quality carries with it some real costs - for new equipment, facilities and so forth. Thus, without a commitment from top management, quality improvement will prove to be just a slogan or gimmick, with little or no real change.

EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT. We noted earlier the importance involvement in enhancing productivity. It is no less important here. Virtually all successful quality enhancement programs involve making the person responsible for doing the job, responsible for making sure it is done right. By definition then, employee involvement is a critical component in improving quality. A common method for focusing involvement directly on quality is the use of quality circles.

TECHNOLOGY. New forms of technology are also useful in improving quality. Automation and robots, for example, can often make products with higher precision and better consistency than can people. CAD/CAM systems in particular have been shown to enhance quality. Individual machines used by workers are also a frequent source of quality improvements. Investing in higher-grade machines capable of doing jobs more precisely and reliably often improves quality. For example, AT& T has achieved significant improvements in product quality by replacing many of its machines with new equipment.

MATERIALS. Another effective way organizations can improve quality is to improve the quality of the materials they use. Suppose that a company that assembles stereos buys chips and circuits from another company. If the chips have a high failure rate, consumers will be returning defective stereos to the company whose nameplate appears on them, not to the company that made the chips. Thus, many firms have increased the quality requirements they impose on their suppliers as a way of improving the quality of their own products and services.

METHODS. Improved methods can improve product and service quality. Methods are operating systems used by the organization during the actual transformation process. Shearson Lehman Hutton, a large brokerage firm owned by American Express, recently found that its offices were late in redeeming customers' bonds 80 percent of the time and that the amount of the redemption was wrong 20 percent of the time. Basic operating methods were studied and improved. The results have been impressive. The time needed to redeem customers' bonds has been cut in half, and the accuracy of the redemptions has increased to 98 percent. Statistical quality control is another way to improve methods.

B) Work in pairs andthink of 3-4 questions based on the subject of the text.

Try to discuss in small groups the problem of total quality control within

organization.

Task 5.A) Read more about Total Quality Management.

What is TQM /Total Quality Management/?

Experts on the subject offered this definition of total quality management:

TQM means that the organization’ culture is defined by and supports the constant attainment of customer satisfaction through an integrated system of tools, techniques and training. This involves the continuous improvement of organizational processes, resulting in high-quality products and services.

Total quality management is an organizational culture dedicated to training, continuous improvement and consumer satisfaction.

The Deming Legacy TQM is firmly established today thanks in large part to thepioneering work of Edwards Deming. Regarding the human side of quality improvement, Deming called for the following:

· Formal training in statistical process control techniques and teamwork.

· Helpful leadership, rather than order giving and punishment.

· Elimination of fear so employees will free to ask questions.

· Emphasis on continuous process improvements rather than on numerical quotas.

· Teamwork.

· Elimination of barriers to good workmanship.

One of Deming’s most enduring lessons for managers is his 85-15 rule. Specifically, when things go wrong, there is roughly an 85% chance the system (including management, machinery and rules) is at fault. Only about 15% of the time is the individual employee at fault. Unfortunately, as Deming observed, the typical manager spends most of his/her time wrongly blaming and punishing individuals for system failures. Statistical analysis is required to uncover system failures.

Principles of TQM:

1. Do it right the first time to eliminate costly rework and product recalls.

2. Listen and learn from customers and employees.

3. Make continuous improvement an everyday matter.

4. Build teamwork, trust and mutual respect.

Once again we see people as the key factor in organizational success.

B)Comment on 1) Deming’s TQM system

2) Deming’s 85-15 rule