Every organization's success is determined on the quality of its products and services. Quality management is a practice that assures the consistency of an organization's products and services. Quality planning, quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement are the four primary components of organizational quality management. Organizational quality management focuses not only on service and quality, but also on how quality can be accomplished within the business. To attain quality, the company adopts quality planning, assurance, and control of organizational activities in order to assure consistency in service providing quality (Goetsch & Davis, 2016). In order to ensure quality in the organization, appropriate quality management system needs to be established. A quality management system is a system that is formalized that documents procedures, processes and responsibilities essential in achieving consistency in quality provision. Quality management systems also help an organization to achieve quality objectives and policies. It helps in the coordination and direction of the organizational activities in order to meet the regulatory requirements of the clients and improve the efficiency and effectiveness and efficiency in a consistently continuous basis (Pyzdek & Keller, 2013).
The best possible quality management process that should be adopted by the company is the Total Quality Management (TQM). TQM is a management approach that ensures long-term success by enhancing the productivity of the employees and promoting customer satisfaction (Stankard, 2002).
Rationale for Total Quality Management
Total quality management strategy is an ideal change since it forms systems that are customer focused and involves the continual improvement of the employees. This system uses data, strategy effective communications in quality discipline integration into the activities and culture of the organization (Mukherjee, 2010).
Total Quality Management puts into consideration the following eight principles. These participles mark the foundation for quality planning in the organization. To begin with, TQM is a customer-focused intervention. It is the responsibility of the customer to ascertain the quality of an organization b y accrediting the goods and services being provided by the organization in question. Regardless of all the efforts the organization to foster improvement of quality, such as integrating quality in the design process, training employees, upgrading software or computer or utilizing new tools, the customer still stands a large chance of approving the quality of an organization. The Total Quality Management is therefore the best quality management system that merits adoption in the organization since it is customer focused (Stankard, 2002).
Secondly, TQM is a total employee involvement process. It engages the employees and encourages them to actively participate and work towards achieving the common goals of the organization. This system ensures that the employees are empowered and that management is channeled in the proper environment. It is a high performance works system that integrates efforts for continuous improvement with the normal business operations. TQM promotes work teams that are self-managed and this forms part of the empowerment of the employees in the organization.
Thirdly, TQM is a process-centered management system. Process thinking forms the fundamental part of the TQM. It follows a series of steps from the input by the suppliers and transforms these inputs into outputs that are deliverable to the customers either internally or externally. The processes involved in TQM are clearly defined and the performance measures are often continuously monitored so that unexpected variations can be detected (Mukherjee, 2010).
Fourth, the TQM forms an integrated system. An organization often consists of various functional specialties that are organized into departments that are vertically structured. The TQM therefore focuses on the horizontal organization of the vertical structures in the organization (Goetsch & Davis, 2016)..
The fifth principle of Total Quality Management system is that it offers a systematic and strategic approach. In order to achieve the vision, mission and goals of the organization, strategic and systematic approaches ought to be pursued by the management of the organization in question. TQM helps the managers and employees to ensure the achievement of such essential parameter in the organization.
The sixth rationale of the TQM is that it enables continual improvement in the organization. Continual improvement is essential as it promotes creative and analytical findings in how the organization can become more effective and more competitive at meeting the expectations of the stakeholders of the organization (Stankard, 2002).
Last but not least, TQM is a fact-based decision making process. It helps managers to analyze data on the performance measures of the organization and make decisions from them. Through TQM, the organization is able to continuously collect and analyze data to improve the accuracy of decision-making, come up with favorable consensus and enable predication that is based on the past history of the organization.
Finally, TQM enables effective communication in the organization. Effective communication is paramount for the success of any organization. It is needed during the times of change in the organization and also during the normal day-to-day operations of the organization. Morale and employee motivation is achieved through effective communication in the organization. It ensures that the strategies, timeliness and the methods of the organization are intact and followed to the latter (Stankard, 2002).
Implementing a Quality Management Process
Establishment and implementation of a quality management system and process in an organization enables its effective running. The management needs to identify and handle the various connected and multifunctional processes in the organization before implementing a quality management process. This helps the company to ensure that customer satisfaction is achieved (MBP/Hoshin Planning Team, 1990).
Before the implementation of a quality management process, the strategic choice that is influenced by the varying objectives, needs, products and services ought to be considered. This will ensure that a room is created for continuous improvement to both the Quality Management System and the products of the organization.
The basic steps in the establishment and implementation of the quality management process are as follows.
Design and Build: These portions serves in developing the desired structure of the quality management process, the processes it involves and plans for it implementation.
Deploy: deployment of the quality management system is achieved by breaking down each management process into sub processes. It is also achieved by educating the employees on documentation, metrics, education and training tools. This move can be achieved by the use of company intranet to help in the deployment of the quality management systems and processes in the organization.
Control and Measure is another way of establishing and implementing a quality management process. These measures are accomplished through routine and systematic audits of the quality management processes and systems.
Finally, the quality management process ought to be reviewed and improved. This final process of implementation deals with the results of the above conducted audit. The goal of reviews is to help the management to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of every process in achieving the set objectives. These finding are thereafter communicated to the employees for them to develop new processes and practices based in the data obtained during the audit.
The core assumptions needed in order to implement the strategy is that the employees would be in a position to effective transit from the old quality management system to the new quality management process. Also, the new system will favor the management and help it in ensuring customer satisfaction. It is also assumed that the implemented strategy would adequately benefit employees; improve their performance ad productivity in the organization.
Specific tools and techniques to be used by the company for quality management
The following basic tools and techniques should be used by the organization to ensure quality management.
Cause-and-effect diagram. This tool helps the organization to identify various possible causes for an effect or a problem and puts the ideas into categories that are useful.
Check sheet. This is a structured and prepared tool useful for collecting and analyzing data. It can also be adapted for a variety of uses.
Control charts. These are graphical tools used in studying how a process changes over a period of time.
Histograms. These are the most commonly used graphical representations to show frequency distributions and how a different value of data set occurs.
Pereto charts. This tool shows the factors that are more significant through bar graphs representations.
Scatter diagrams. This tool helps in looking for a relationship of variables through graph pairs of numerical representations (Pyzdek & Keller, 2013).
Usefulness of Charting and Statistical Quality Metrics
The above tools are essential to the management as they help to build and organizational structures that meet the objectives of the business. They also give guidance to the employees and help them know their rights and responsibilities. Also, these tools divide the functions of a company department or enterprise and show the relationships in the organization. Chartings and statistical metrics enable the organization to improve the performance of its employees and establish channels for the promotion of the employees (Pyzdek & Keller, 2013).
Both statistical quality metric and charting systems should be used in the organization to enhance performance and quality (Goestsh & Davis, 2006).
Communication Memorandum for the Workers
To: All Workers
From: Quality Manager
Date:
Re: Quality Management Planning Strategy Changes
Dear colleagues, I would like to keep you informed of the certain changes we have made to ensure that the quality of our organization is improved. From today, the organization has decided to implement a Total Quality Management System to replace the old one. This system has been deemed significantly useful as it will help better our employees, improve quality of management and ensure adequate customer satisfaction.
I hope that these changes will improve the quality of operations in our organization.
References
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2016). Quality management for organizational excellence: Introduction to total quality.
Goetsch, D. L., Davis, S., & Goetsch, D. L. (2006). Quality management: Introduction to total quality management for production, processing, and services. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
MBP/Hoshin Planning Team. (1990). Hoshin planning: A planning system for implementing total quality management (TQM). Methuen, MA: GOAL/QPC.
Mukherjee, P. N. (2010). Total quality management. New Delhi: PHI Learning.
Pyzdek, T., & Keller, P. A. (2013). The handbook for quality management: A complete guide to operational excellence. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Stankard, M. F. (2002). Management systems and organizational performance: The quest for excellence beyond ISO9000. Westport, Conn: Quorum Books.
