Write a short essay (1 page or less) about the strategy of Total Quality Managem
ID: 3299981 • Letter: W
Question
Write a short essay (1 page or less) about the strategy of Total Quality Management, its history, strengths and weaknesses. You are expected to research the topic and write a clear, well-organized essay. You are not to exceed a page. Reproducing the material presented in the textbook will receive a maximum of 3 points.
2. Write a short essay (1 page or less) about the ISO 9000 series of standards. You are expected to research the topic and write a clear, well-organized essay. Reproducing the material presented in the textbook will receive a maximum of 3 points.
Explanation / Answer
Ans:
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.
Total Quality Management TQM, also known as total productive maintenance, 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.
Total Quality Management Principles: The 8 Primary Elements of TQM
Total quality management 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, upgrading computers or software, or buying new measuring tools—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 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 (again, either 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.
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 major thrust 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.
Advantages and disadvantages:
Production Disruption
Implementing a Total Quality Management system in a company requires extensive training of employees. The employee training includes instruction in problem solving techniques and the tools to evaluate a process and identify weaknesses such as statistical process control, Pareto diagrams and brainstorming techniques. During the initial training period, productivity can decline. Meetings for quality improvement teams also take workers away from their duties, which also reduce productivity. While the improvements do reduce lead time, eliminate waste and improve productivity, the beginning stages of implementing Total Quality Management in an organization can reduce worker output.
Lowers Production Costs
A Total Quality Management program eliminates defects and waste, which reduces production costs in a business. As teams gather to identify and eliminate weaknesses in the business, the company continues to enjoy reduced costs and higher profit. Quality improvement teams can eliminate defects, reduce lead time and identify redundancies in the production process that can significantly add to the profit the company earns.
Employee Resistance
Total Quality Management requires change in mindset, attitude and methods for performing their jobs. When management does not effectively communicate the team approach of Total Quality Management, workers may become fearful, which leads to employee resistance. When workers resist the program, it can lower employee morale and productivity for the business. Total Quality Management uses small incremental improvements to move the business forward. It can take years for a company to enjoy the benefits of the program.
Employee Participation
Once workers understand their participation and involvement in Total Quality Management is essential to its success, morale and productivity improve. Workers become empowered through participation on quality improvement teams. Businesses can improve morale further by recognizing improvement teams that make meaningful changes in the production process to reduce or eliminate waste.
2)
ISO 9000 is a set of international standards on quality management and quality assurance developed to help companies effectively document the quality system elements to be implemented to maintain an efficient quality system. They are not specific to any one industry and can be applied to organizations of any size.
ISO 9000 can help a company satisfy its customers, meet regulatory requirements, and achieve continual improvement. However, it should be considered to be a first step, the base level of a quality system, not a complete guarantee of quality.
ISO 9000 Series standards
The ISO 9000 family contains these standards:
ASQ is the only place to get the American National Standard versions of these standards in the ISO 9000 family.
ISO 9000 certification
Individuals and organizations cannot be certified to ISO 9000. ISO 9001 is the only standard within the ISO 9000 family to which organizations can certify.
ISO 9000 principles of quality management
The ISO 9000:2015 and ISO 9001:2015 standards are based on seven quality management principles that senior management can apply for organizational improvement:
Learn more about the customer experience and customer satisfaction.
Learn more about leadership and find related resources.
Learn more about employee involvement.
Learn more about a process view of work and see process analysis tools.
Learn more about approaches to continual improvement.
See tools for decision making.
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