BUS4101 Week 5 Project

Implementing Total Quality Management

Quality is a buzzword in today's competitive market. Organizations, big and small, have realized the

importance of quality management and are taking up multiple quality initiatives. However, a

considerable number of these initiatives fail to produce the expected results. Industry experts say

most of these failures happen not because of some inherent error in the quality plans, but because of small mistakes that happen during the implementation. Therefore, it is important to be aware of such

critical mistakes and understand how best to avoid them.

Some of the most critical mistakes that occur in implementing a quality plan occur in the following

areas: 

Fear

Since some people are resistant to change, the need to alter processes and procedures often produces

fear in such people.  Whether the concern is in being unable to perform the new processes and procedures or in being concerned about the loss of one’s position, fear can create obstacles for the

implementation of a quality plan. 

Lack of skills

In some organizations, those who are tasked with analyzing quality may not have the skills to

undertake such efforts.  Training must be provided in such cases. 

A Plan Being Incomplete

If some aspects of a plan are left vague (or not addressed at all), then the quality plan will not proceed

as smoothly as it could.  Obvious omissions should be recti�ed. 

Lack of Understanding

In some quality implementations, the rationale behind changes is never explained.  A person who does not understand the purpose of changes to a process may be less likely to adopt the changes. 

Motivation

As with all work, motivation is needed to get people doing what the organization needs for them to do. 

Understanding the dif�culties in implementing quality plans can be illustrated using real-world

scenarios.  See the Supplemental Media entitled “Implementing Quality Initiatives” to see the issues

faced by one department manager as a quality plan threatened to force changes upon his department. 

Additional Materials

View a PDF transcript of Implementing Quality Initiatives 

(media/week5/SUO_BUS4101%20W5%20L3%20Implementing%20Quality%20Initiatives.pdf?

_&d2lSessionVal=83vkmmrsczcH8ATfvgTLx0emF&ou=90832)

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