TQM APPLICATION IN ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
CIS 235 - INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS
WEEK 3
PURPOSE OF DISCUSSION
❖
Explain the philosophy of Total Quality Management (TQM).
❖
Explaining the Pillars of Total Quality Management
❖
Explaining potential constraints of TQM
❖
Explain the relationship between TQM and QWL in the company
❖
Explain the Quality Approach of service companies (service quality)
❖
Describe service improvement efforts in the company
Introduction:
Many people think that Total Quality Management (TQM) is only a business world
affair, even though TQM can be applied in various organizations both business organizations
and non-business organizations. Along with the progress and development of information
technology that is increasingly fast and sophisticated, new concepts and strategies are very
likely to continue to emerge, but only a few concepts are able to get attention and prove to be
a powerful approach to overcoming various managerial problems. One of the few concepts
that managed to grab a lot of attention from academics and practitioners is TQM (Total
Quality Management).
Total Quality Management Philosophy (TQM):
Management Information System:
The term quality contains a variety of different meanings, so Goetsch and Davis
(1994) formulated a holistic concept of quality as a dynamic condition related to products,
services, people, processes and the environment that meet or exceed the expectations of
product/service users.
According to (Tjiptono & Diana, 2006) there are broadly three stages of development of
the concept of quality. First, the Craftmanship Era, where individuals are highly skilled at
doing all the tasks required to produce quality products or services, thus the role of leaders,
operational officers, and quality controllers is stacked on one person. This approach was
abandoned with the development of time and motion studies developed by the father of
scientific management Frederick W Taylor in the 1920s. A fundamental aspect of scientific
management is the need for separation between planning and implementation. Taylor's
approach replaced Craftmanship with division of labor. Management was given the
responsibility of planning, while the operations were handled by the labor force. To maintain
quality, a separate quality department was established.
As the volume and complexity of operations increased, quality also evolved into an
increasingly complicated issue. The traditional "ofter-the-fact" inspection-laden approach is
no longer sufficient. Inspection results in nothing more than the elimination of defective
product components. This did not solve the problem, as the responsibility for quality was
placed solely on the quality department, the causes of defective products remained and the
costs of defective products remained high. On the other hand, a major problem arose
regarding the 3Ks (Communication, Coordination and Cooperation) due to the separation of
think (carried out by management) and act (carried out by field employees). This fact
encouraged the emergence of a total quality approach, which in its development is known as
Total Quality Management.
The concept of Total Qulaity Management was first proposed by Nancy Warren, a
Behavioral Scientist in the United States Navy (Walton in Bounds, et al., 2004). This term
implies every process, every job, and every person (Lewis & Smith, 2004). The definition of
TQM can be divided into two aspects (Goetsch & Davw, 2004). The first aspect describes
what TQM is. TQM is defined as an approach to doing business that seeks to maximize
competitiveness through continuous improvement of the organization's products, services,
people, processes and environment. The second aspect concerns how to achieve it and relates
to the ten characteristics of TQM which consist of: (a) customer focus (internal & external),
(b) quality oriented, (c) scientific approach, (d) long-term commitment, (e) teamwork, (f)
continuous quality improvement, (g) - and training, (h) apply controlled freedom, (i) have
unity of purpose, (I) involve and empower employees.
5.1
Pillars of Total Quality Management (TQM)
Bill Creech, a former four-star general, successfully applied various TQM principles
to the United States Air Force during the Gulf War. The principles he used are known as the
"Five Pillars of TQM" which consist of Product Process, Organization, Leader and
Commitment (Creech, 2006), this is depicted in the following diagram:
According to Creech, products or services are central to the goals and achievements of
an organization. The quality of a product or service cannot exist without quality in the
process. Quality in process cannot exist without the right organization. Organization will
determine the health and vitality of the entire management system, hence it is placed at the
center of the five pillars of TQM Proper organization is meaningless without adequate
leadership. Strong commitment from the bottom up is the supporting pillar for the other
pillars. Each pillar is dependent on the other four pillars, and if any one pillar is weak then all
of them will be weak as well.
Creech further asserts that a TQM program must meet four criteria in order to achieve
success in its implementation. First, the program must be based on "quality awareness and
quality orientation" in its activities, including in every process and product/service. Secondly
the program must have a strong humanitarian nature to translate quality in the way it treats
employees, always being included and inspired. Third, the TQM program must be based on a
decentralized approach that gives authority at all levels, especially at the front line, so that
enthusiastic involvement and common goals become a reality, and not just a slogan. Fourth,
that TQM must be implemented thoroughly so that all principles, policies, and habits reach
every nook and cranny of the organization.
5.2
Potential Constraints to Implementation TQM:
The current trend in the business world indicates that competition between companies
in seizing market opportunities is getting tougher. Therefore, every company is required to
continue to strengthen its competition-based building. To have a strong competitive base,
companies need accurate tools, methods, or principles. Many companies have gained success
because of implementing Total Quality Management (TQM). By implementing TQM,
companies are expected to be able to increase customer satisfaction through improving
product quality and increasing employee satisfaction (Wollner: 2002). Evidence shows that
by implementing TQM, certain companies such as; Xerox, Motorola, IBM and others are
able to increase their competitive strength and generate profits (Tatikonda and Tatikonda:
2006). The success of these companies has spurred other companies to adopt and implement
TQM. Because TQM is a structured system with a series of tools, techniques, and
philosophies designed to create a corporate culture that has a focus on consumers, involves
active participation of workers, and conducts continuous quality improvement with the aim of
meeting consumer expectations. TQM provides the tools to respond to any global challenge
and directs companies to continuous quality improvement that supports the achievement of
total and continuous customer satisfaction.
Although TQM promises success for companies that implement it, there are not a few
companies that fail in implementing TQM. The company's failure in implementing TQM is
not caused by the wrong TQM philosophy, but due to errors in the implementation methods
and strategies (Dobbin: 2005). Based on the phenomenon that there are companies that fail to
implement TQM, an overview of the obstacles that cause company failure in implementing
TQM will be presented.
A.
Total Quality Management Study (TQM)
Mears (1993) defines TQM as a system that is implemented in the long term and
continuously to satisfy consumers by improving the quality of the company's products. TQM
aims to improve quality continuously, adapted to changes that involve the needs, desires and
tastes of consumers. According to Lewis and Smith (2004) there are 4 basic pillars of TQM
implementation, namely:
a)
Consumer Satisfaction; to be able to provide satisfaction to consumers, the first step that
must be taken is to identify who the company's customers are, what their needs and
wants are.
b)
Continuous Improvement; consumers will always experience dynamics along with
changes in the business environment. Therefore, companies must be able to keep up with
the changing needs and desires of consumers.
c)
Respect for people. Everyone in the company is an individual who has a contribution to
the achievement of the expected quality. Therefore, everyone in the company must be
treated well and given the opportunity to actively participate in decision making.
d)
Fact-based Management; Every decision taken will provide satisfactory results if it is
based on objective, complete and accurate data and information.
B.
Supporting Elements TQM
According to (Goetsch and Davis: 1994), to support the implementation of TQM, there are
10 supporting elements that must be considered by the company, namely:
a)
Customer Focus; in a TQM organization, internal customers and external customers are
the forces that drive the organization's activities. External customers determine the
quality of the products they receive, while internal customers play a role in determining
the quality of human resources, processes, and the environment related to the products
produced.
b)
Obsession with Quality; in TQM organizations, internal and external customers
determine quality. The organization must have an obsession to meet or exceed the
quality that customers have specified, by actively involving all workers at various levels.
c)
Scientific Approach; all TQM organizational activities, especially regarding job design,
decision-making processes, and problem solving must be based on scientific principles
that can be accounted for and accepted by all parties involved.
d)
Long-term Commitment; TQM is a new paradigm in organizational management that
requires a new culture in its implementation. Long-term commitment from all elements
of the organization is needed to make cultural changes so that the implementation of
TQM can run well. Top management is the driver of the quality development process,
value creation, goals and systems (Ahire, et al: 2006). Goetsch and Davis (2004) assert
that commitment must be realized at least one-third of top management time is used to be
directly involved in TQM implementation efforts. Lack of top management commitment
is one of the causes of TQM implementation failure (Ahire, et al: 2006).
e)
Teamwork; in TQM organizations, success will only be achieved if there is cooperation
from all related elements, both cooperation between internal elements of the organization
and with external parties.
f)
Continuous System Improvement; every product produced by an organization always
goes through certain stages/processes in a system/environment. Therefore, the existing
system needs to be continuously improved so that it always supports efforts to achieve
quality.
g)
Education and Training; In the changing global competition, total quality can only be
achieved if workers have high expertise and skills. Many experts suggest providing
education and training in order to develop quality (Banks: 2002). The training that
should be provided is dynamic, flexible and able to encourage workers' creativity
(Wilson: 2007). With training, workers will always be ready to face various changes,
workers' commitment will increase, and they will have confidence.
h)
Controlled Freedom; in TQM organizations, workers are given extensive opportunities to
participate in the decision-making and problem-solving process. This is done in order to
increase workers' responsibility for all decisions that have been agreed upon together.
However, the freedom and involvement of workers must be based on a directed span of
control so that their involvement always refers to the predetermined process standards.
i)
Unity of purpose; all activities of TQM organizational elements must lead to the same
goal. However, this unity of purpose does not mean that there must always be agreement
between management and workers on wages and working conditions.
j)
Worker Involvement and Empowerment: workers are a valuable asset to the
organization. Empowerment of workers can be defined as giving them authority and
power in decision-making, control over their work, and ease in satisfying customers
(Evans and Lindsay: 2006).
Creech (2012) states that in order for the implementation of TQM to be successful, it
must meet the following 4 criteria: (1) TQM must be based on awareness of the importance
of quality, (2) TQM must have a strong human nature that is reflected in the way workers are
treated, included and inspired, (3) TQM must be based on a decentralized approach by
providing empowerment and involvement of workers at all levels, (4) TQM must be
implemented thoroughly involving all elements of the company.
C.
Barriers to Implementation TQM
TQM is a new and comprehensive approach that requires a complete change of traditional
management digmas, long-term commitment, unity of purpose and specialized training.
In Purnama (2012), it is mentioned that Ngai and Cheng (2009) stated that many people
believe that by implementing TQM, a company will succeed in winning the competition. But
many companies implement TQM without trying to estimate the existence of existing
constraints. Assessing the potential constraints of TQM implementation should be an integral
part of the TQM implementation process.
Furthermore, Ngai and Cheng (2009) have conducted research on professional managers
in Hong Kong to determine the potential constraints of TQM implementation. The results
showed that there are 17 factors that become potential obstacles to the implementation of
TQM, and are summarized into 4 groups, namely: (1) people and culture constraints;
including difficulties in changing the quality culture of workers and management, fear and
resistance to change, lack of commitment and involvement of workers in quality
improvement, and workers lack of confidence in quality improvement programs, (2)
infrastructure constraints; include lack of understanding and knowledge of the quality
management system by workers and management, lack of customer/consumer feedback
system, inadequate quality training and education, and lack of quality management expertise,
(3) managerial constraints; include lack of commitment of top managers, no proper vision
and mission, high turnover of key executives, and lack of leadership attitude. and (4)
organizational constraints; including ineffective internal and external communication
networks, lack of interdepartmental cooperation, and inappropriate organizational goal
setting.
Sawarjuwono (2006) mentioned that several studies have been conducted to determine
the causes of failure of TQM implementation, among others, by Shaw, et al (2005) who have
conducted a study on the failure of TQM implementation at Strong Memorial Hospital in
Rochester. They concluded 8 things as the cause of the failure of TQM implementation,
namely: (1) The formation of the wrong team means that the team formed does not have a
commitment to the goal, (2) The purpose of team formation is not clear, (3) Frequent
replacement of team members, even though the replacement has never attended training, (4)
Lack of understanding of TQM, (5) Communication between team members is not smooth,
(6) Problem identification is not done based on TQM principles, (7) TQM principles are not
implemented thoroughly at all levels of management, (8) Top leaders want quick problem
solving without adequate processes. Rust, et al (2004) conducted a study on the failure of
TQM implementation in several companies. The failure factors include; (1) Company
managers neglect the implementation of TQM.
(2) Lack of understanding of TQM.:
From several studies, the implementation of TQM requires high commitment from
managers. The commitment of managers is characterized by the communication of the
company's philosophy into concrete actions. Management must make improvements in all
aspects and demonstrate their active involvement on an ongoing basis. TQM implementation
requires the active involvement of workers. But the involvement of workers will not be able
to support the successful implementation of TQM if there is no adequate training for them.
Companies often fail because management is unable to formulate training objectives clearly.
The role of top management in many companies is often unclear. Responsibility for TQM
implementation is delegated to middle management. This reality often leads to conflict within
the company. Not a few companies apply TQM rigidly/inflexibly, so that the principles of
TQM actually create new bureaucracy for workers.
The implementation of TQM requires companies to have accurate measures and
measurement tools. Companies need measurements that are relevant to quality improvement
efforts. Strategic goals, performance measurement, and rewards/recognition are three things
that support company improvement. But in reality, many companies do not have clear
indicators in measuring employee performance and company performance.
5.3
Linkage of TQM and QWL in the Company :
A company's organizational effectiveness cannot be achieved without people who are
fully capable and committed to the entire organizational hierarchy. Information technology,
new systems and concepts support increased organizational effectiveness and productivity.
TQM will have difficulties in dealing with the problems that must be solved, especially in its
development and maintenance. TQM is a process transition controlled by external control
through adherence to procedures in the process of improving habits embedded in the
organizational culture. TQM is customer-oriented and continuously improves quality. This
view shows that TQM is a far-reaching concept and contains two interdependent elements:
organizational culture and a number of new concepts.
The relationship between TQM and QWL (Quality of Working Life) can be explained as
follows: TQM is essentially QWL. QWL is thus an engagement-based culture. In QWL lies
the main source of difficulty in implementing TQM. According to Plowman's (1990) opinion,
management behavior - indicating that the institution - is experiencing problems in the
implementation of TQM developing total quality, as it faces various problems. Of these
problems, cultural change was identified as the main problem. Cultural barriers are
misaligned functional relationships, poor communication between organizational functions,
and management attitudes towards staff that treat staff as if they are incapable of thinking.
A.
QWL as an Essential Culture for Success TQM:
QWL (Quality of Working Life) can be defined as a way of thinking about people,
work and organizations with elements including; First, there is concern about the impact of
work on people/employees and organizational activities. Second, the idea of participation in
organizational problem solving and decision making. The focus of QWL efforts is not only
on how people can do a better job, but how work can cause workers to be better. A key aspect
of QWL is involvement or participation in the process of making some organizational
decisions. This does not mean that everyone is involved in the process of making some
organizational decisions that affect them. QWL operationally describes activities that workers
can perceive as leading to a better quality of work life.
QWL is the essential culture and pillar of success for TQM strategy. The goal of QWL
culture is to create an organization that is free from fear and demands the involvement of all
elements of the organization. QWL culture creates a high degree of mutual commitment
between the individual and the company's goals and between the company and the
development needs of the individuals involved. The involvement of individuals in a fear-free
organization is essential as a basis for the development of TQM concepts. Engagement is
necessary to capitalize on emerging insights and concepts. QWL can be viewed as an
organizational goal, process and philosophy. QWL as a goal aims at work improvement,
employee engagement, individual satisfaction within the company, and organizational
effectiveness. As a process QWL requires effort to achieve organizational goals.
With the involvement of all elements of the company's organization is expected to
contribute to the company, they gain higher satisfaction, pride and personal growth. QWL
integrates organizational development interests with organizational development goals. QWL
views all members of the organization as assets that must be nurtured, developed, increased
in knowledge, experience, skills and commitment as members of the organization.
A Work culture with an organization-wide engagement strategy has 5 characteristics,
namely:
1.
There is delegation that gives responsibility for decision-making actions to individuals
who have relevant and timely information and skills.
2.
There is teamwork that crosses functional boundaries and involves the right people.
Every individual in the organization must be integrated in the process of operation and
service to customers. In conventional organizations, staff functions keep them separate
and isolated by organizational boundaries.
3.
Empowerment of human resources, which means providing opportunities and valuing the
contribution of human resources. Organizations need to empower all elements of the
organization regardless of class, gender, or minority/majority groups.
4.
There is integration between human resources and information technology, so that
members of the organization must be able to provide initiative and creativity in the fields
of operations, administration and mastery of information technology.
A sense of togetherness in achieving goals that means every individual in the
organization has a vision based on a set of clearly stated values, is able to describe the
mission of the organization and has methods to realize it. The vision should provide direction
and energy, and be a beacon so that each individual can orient themselves towards the
common goal.
In a workplace that has the above characteristics, there is an energy of learning and
quality. Thus the company's customers/consumers will receive quality satisfactorily and on
time.
B.
QWL as an Organizational Model
Organizations with characteristics of delegation, teamwork that crosses functional
boundaries, involves the right people, and empowerment of human resources, integrates
individuals with information technology, and has a common goal. Commitment, performance
and involvement of organizational elements can provide satisfaction to customers. The
company's organization must build a continuous learning environment that can create new
innovations and build a culture in supporting human resource capabilities. The quality of the
company must be continuously improved, the necessary information must continue to flow
freely between functions so that there is cooperation as a team. Organizations with high
individual involvement require leaders who have managerial and leadership values. Company
leaders must have the necessary skills to build understanding and support for individual
involvement in the organization.
The QWL organizational model begins and ends with the quality circle. In this case, the
involvement of individuals in the company does not forget the rewards that each individual
receives, because this will realize their work stability and will build quality effective QWL
(high engagement organization) organizational model. The career system in the QWL
organizational model will involve a large amount of learning, career development, and skill-
based concepts.
QWL is thus an essential culture and the main pillar of TQM success. QWL culture aims
to create an organization free from fear, and create involvement of all elements of the
company's organization. QWL culture creates mutual commitment between individuals and
organizational goals and between the organization and individual development needs. QWL
as an organizational model, delegation, teamwork across functional boundaries,
empowerment of human resources, integrating human resources with information technology,
and achieving common goals. Organizational effectiveness will not be achieved without the
involvement of individuals as elements of a mature organization and have a full commitment
to the organization.
5.4
Service Company Quality Approach ( Service Quality).
Evaluating the quality of services requires a comprehensive approach, because services have
quite complex characteristics compared to tangible products. Because services are capital
intensive, investment in quality services that have value from service users, currently requires
a very large capital in addition to labor intensive (requires human resources) that have
dedication, capability, and specific skills.
There are two approaches to providing quality service to service users, namely:
1.
The Service Triangle approach is an interactive model of service management that reflects
the relationship between companies and service users. The model consists of 3 elements,
namely Service Strategy (service strategy), Service People (Human Resources who provide
services and Service System (service system) with service users as the center point (Albrecht
& Zemke, 1990).
a)
Service strategy; a strategy to provide the best quality service to service users. An
effective service strategy must be based on a concept or mission that can be easily
understood by all individuals within the company and followed by concrete actions that
benefit service customers, and are able to differentiate companies that implement these
strategies with their competitors, so that the company is able to retain existing
customers and even be able to win new customers. To be able to formulate and
implement an effective service strategy, companies need to have what is called a
service package, which is a service framework to satisfy customer wants and
expectations which includes main services and supporting services.
b)
Human resources that provide services (people), in this case there are three groups of
human resources that provide services, namely human resources that interact directly
with customers, human resources that provide services to customers but only
temporarily, and supporting human resources. In a restaurant, for example, the first
group of human resources are food servers who deal directly with restaurant customers,
the second group of human resources are those who prepare food (cooks) and the third
group of human resources are restaurant security guards (security). Regardless of the
group, human resources are still needed to focus on customers by knowing who the
company's customers are, what the needs of customers are and find out how to
meet/satisfy their needs. This requires an organizational culture that focuses on service
to customers, a conducive work environment, a sense of security at work, a
motivational reward system, broad career opportunities, high morale, energy and
optimism, an effective selection process so as to obtain human resources who have the
instinct to provide services, training programs that are able to provide opportunities to
learn how to provide good service, and a performance appraisal system that is able to
motivate every existing human resource.
c)
Service system, which is a procedure or procedure for providing services to customers
involving all physical facilities owned and existing human resources. This system must
be consistent with the service package provided and designed simply, so that it is easily
understood by customers. An effective service system is easy to provide services with a
system that is almost invisible to customers. This service quality approach can be
illustrated as follows:
2.
The second approach is Total Quality service (TQS) or integrated quality service, which is a
situation where a company has the ability to provide quality services to customers as well as
company owners and employees. TQS has 5 elements that are interrelated with each other
(Albrecht, 1992):
a)
Market and Customer Research. Market research is a research activity on the structure
and dynamics of the market where the company is located, which includes identifying
market segments, demographic analysis, and analyzing the forces that exist within the
market itself. Customer research goes further, finding out the expectations, desires and
feelings of individual customers towards the services offered by the company. The
results of both researches are a reference for the company in providing quality services
to its customers.
b)
Strategy formulation; a process of designing strategies to retain existing customers and
gain new customers. In order to formulate an effective strategy, several things are
needed such as knowledge that supports the process of presenting and delivering
services, company mission, professional code of ethics, strategic approaches needed to
win the competition, information technology knowledge, service operations, and
organizational structure to meet customer demand. Unlike the results of market and
customer research, strategy is a navigator for the company in providing quality services
to its customers.
c)
Education, Training and Communication. Education, Training and Communication are
very important in developing and improving the quality of services (knowledge and
abilities) of human resources so that they are able to provide quality services to their
customers, while communication plays a role in distributing information to every
individual involved in the company. Therefore, education and training and
communication are the driving force of the company that is able to provide quality
services to its customers.
d)
Process Improvement is a variety of efforts at every hierarchy of company management
to continuously improve service delivery processes and actively provide new ways of
improving services. Process improvement requires study and testing necessary for the
improvement of all procedures, policies, regulations and work methods contained in the
company, because no procedures, policies, regulations or work methods are valid
forever and can be revised at any time if they are no longer in accordance with the
company's mission. Continuously improved processes are a control tool for companies
so that the services provided to their customers can lead to better quality levels.
e)
Assessment, measurement and feedback play a role in informing service providers how
far they are able to meet the desires and expectations of their customers. The results of
performance assessment and feedback can be used as a basis for rewarding them, as
well as providing cues to the company about what still needs to be improved, when it
needs to be improved, and how to improve it. The five elements of TQS are described
as follows:
The next approach was developed by A. Parasuraman, Leonard L. Berry and Valeric A
Zeithaml (1990) known as the PBZ approach, introducing a model, namely the Conceptual
Model of Service Quality. According to this model, there are 5 gaps that can make an
institution - unable to provide quality service to its customers, the five gaps are depicted in
the diagram as follows:
a)
Gap 1: The gap between customer expectations, and company management perceptions.
The gap is formed due to the company's management, misunderstanding what the
company's customers expect.
b)
Gap 2: The gap between company management's perception of customer expectations
and service quality specifications. The gap occurs due to an error in translating the
company management's correct perception of the expectations of its customers into the
form of service quality benchmarks.
c)
Gap 3: The gap between service quality specifications and service delivery to customers.
The gap is more due to the inability of the company's human resources to meet the
established service quality standards.
d)
Gap 4: The gap between service delivery to customers and the company's external
communication. This gap is created because the company is unable to fulfill its
externally communicated promises through various forms of promotion.
e)
Gap 5: The gap between customer expectations and the reality of the service received.
The gap is as a result of not fulfilling the expectations of the customers.
Among the five gaps, the most important gap is the fifth gap, and to eliminate this gap
by eliminating gaps 1 to gap 4. To eliminate gaps 1 to gap 4 Zeithaml proposes several ways:
1.
Eliminating gap 1: giving customers the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction to
the company, finding out the wishes and expectations of customers of similar companies,
conducting in-depth research on customers, forming customer panels, conducting
research on the company's customers comprehensive study of customer expectations,
improving the quality of communication between human resources within the company
and reducing bureaucracy within the company.
2.
Eliminating Gap 2: improving the quality of company leadership, increasing human
resource commitment to service quality, encouraging human resources to be more
innovative and responsive to new ideas, standardizing work to be achieved effectively.
3.
Eliminating gap 3: Clarifying job descriptions, improving the fit between human
resources, technology and work, measuring performance and rewards according to
performance, building cooperation between human resources and treating customers like
part of the company's extended family.
4.
Eliminating gap 4: Streamline the flow of communication between units in the
company's organization, provide consistent service, pay greater attention to vital aspects
of service quality, keep external messages from forming customer expectations that
exceed the company's capabilities and encourage customers to become good and loyal
customers.
From the picture above, Step One; Berry puts leadership as a top priority because it
assumes that leadership is the driving force for service reform. Without effective leadership
means without a clear vision and direction and without guidance from company leaders,
efforts to provide quality services will be difficult to realize, therefore in this service
framework Berry further proposes 4 ways to foster effective leadership, namely encouraging
the smooth learning process among company leaders, promoting the right people to support
the company's leaders, emphasizing individual participation and developing a climate of trust.
Second Step\ Effective leadership alone is not enough to support quality service, so it
needs to be followed by the existence of a Service Information System that provides relevant
and timely data and information for decision making related to service quality. Effective
service information systems will be able to convey the wishes and expectations of customers,
identify various deficiencies in the services provided by the company, guide the allocation of
company resources for the benefit of service quality, allow companies to monitor the quality
of competitor services, provide feedback on efforts to improve service quality, and provide
alternative benchmarks of service quality (Berry, 1995: 34). To obtain and expand data and
service information, it is necessary to use more than 1 research method so as to escape
dependence on one method alone.
The third step is to formulate a Service Strategy; Service strategy for an institution - is
the glue of human resources so that they can move together towards the same goal of
providing quality service to its customers. Therefore, the service strategy must be understood
by every individual in the company. The service strategy must also be able to provide
indications to company management regarding services that are less pleasing to customers so
that corrective measures can be taken.
Step Four The service strategy will only be aphorisms if it cannot be implemented.
Effective implementation of service strategies requires several supporting factors, namely:
1.
The company's Organizational Structure that can be a medium for the development of a
corporate culture that focuses on continuous improvement, guides efforts to improve
service quality, improve the technical capabilities of resources to support efforts to
improve service quality, and provide solutions to various problems related to service
quality.
2.
Tang technology can be applied to improve resources, work methods and information
systems, all of which support the success of efforts to improve service quality.
3.
Human resources that have the attitudes, behaviors, knowledge and abilities that support
the effective realization of service strategies.
5.5
Service Improvement Efforts at Company
Service improvement efforts at the company are not as simple as one might think, because
visible service problems are not necessarily the real problem, it could be that visible problems
are only symptoms of other problems that are not visible. To identify and facilitate the search
for quality problems
Based on this concept, the real issue of external service quality in general is internal
service quality. Internal service quality with external service quality is very different, the
form of internal service quality in the form of satisfaction for company employees, corporate
work culture, conducive work environment, motivational reward system, broad career
opportunities and training programs that focus on aspects of service quality, while external
service quality will foster satisfaction for customers, then they become loyal customers will
subsequently generate profits for the company and the increasing number of customers who
are sustainable because of the quality of service provided to them.(Usahawan, January,
1997).
Customer satisfaction is a very important factor in TQM. Therefore, the identification of
customers and their needs is a crucial aspect (Ivancevich & Ivancevich (1992), that the first
step in implementing TQM is to view society as a customer who must be served well. This
view is widely recognized, but not universally accepted. A comprehensive view is put
forward by Lewis & Simth (1994) they propose a customer identification framework that is
viewed from three perspectives, namely internal customers of leaders and all company
employees, direct external customers, namely employees and customers of other companies
as competitors.
Indirect external customers include the general public, alumni and funders. Attention to these
customers should be prioritized in order of direct internal and external customers, as well as
indirect external customers.
Awareness of quality in the company depends on intangibles, especially the attitude of
top-level management of the company's leadership towards the quality of the company's
products/services. Achieving quality levels is not the result of short-term applications to
increase competitiveness, but through the implementation of TQM which requires continuous
leadership. (Puffer & McCarthy, 1996) have developed a framework of transformational or
visionary leadership, total quality leadership behavior of all leadership elements, and the
influence of external stakeholders on determining leadership requirements.
In the context of TQM, leaders need to have personal characteristics that include: drive,
motivation to lead, honesty and integrity, confidence, initiative, creativity/originality,
adaptability/flexibility, cognitive ability, knowledge and charisma. The managerial quality of
the leader must be able to inspire all levels of management to be able to demonstrate the same
leadership qualities needed to develop a TQM culture. Therefore, the direct involvement of
company leaders is very important.
With the foundation of various personal characteristics, company leaders need to create a
vision to direct the company and its employees. In the context of TQM, the creation of a clear
vision will foster employee commitment to quality, focus all company efforts on satisfying
customer needs, foster a sense of teamwork at work, foster standards of excellence, and
bridge the current and future state of the company (Handoko & Tjiptono, 1997). The vision is
formulated, articulated and communicated to all levels of employees in a company, to
promote change, innovation, and decision-making. Then the leadership takes various steps to
translate the vision into specific activities, which can be achieved with the support and
assistance of company employees. Ongoing support requires company leaders to apply
transformational leadership, through
(a) Inspirational delivery in communicating high expectations, focusing efforts and
expressing goals in a simple way, (b) Intellectual stimulation to promote intelligence,
rationality and scientific problem solving,
(c) Providing individualized consideration to pay personal attention and empower company
employees (Handoko & Tjiptono, 1996).
Transformational leadership developed at the leadership level is then disseminated to the
rest of the company. Only through this diffusion can the company instill TQM values that
permeate across traditional boundaries with external stakeholders. TQM leadership needs to
realize that external stakeholders are an integral element of the company. Four behavioral
components leadership that can be applied in the context of TQM includes: Sharing
Information, namely relationship development, empowerment of company employees and
decision making (Handoko & Tjiptono, 1997). Participative leadership style and empowering
all levels of company employees are vital organizational infrastructure for the development
of TQM culture.
Continuous improvement is related to commitment (Continuous Quality Improvement or
CQT) and process (Continuous Process Improvement). Commitment to quality begins with a
statement of dedication to a shared mission and vision, and empowerment of all participants
to incrementally realize that vision (Lewis & Simth, 1994). Continuous improvement depends
on two elements; First, Learning the right processes, tools and skills. Second, applying the
new skills to small achievable projects. The continuous improvement process is based on the
PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Action). This cycle is a never-ending improvement cycle that
applies to all phases of the organization, such as administration, registration, student affairs,
programming, maintenance and others. Human resources are not only the most vital asset of
an organization, but also the internal customers who determine the final quality of a service
and its company. Therefore, the success or failure of TQM implementation is largely
determined by the readiness, willingness, and competence of human resources in the
company concerned to realize it seriously. The transition from traditional management
demands a paradigm shift in HRM practices. Traditional HRM policies that adhere to the 2C
culture (command and control) must be replaced with new policies based on the 3C culture
(Employee Commitment, Cooperation and Control).
Communication).
Based on a study of Baldrige Quality Award-winning HR professionals, Blackburn &
Rosen (1993) proposed 14 components of human resource strategies that can facilitate the
implementation of TQM, namely:
1. Top management is responsible for initiating and supporting the vision of the TQM
culture.
2. The vision is clarified and communicated to everyone in the organization.
3. Systems that enable upward communication are developed, implemented and
strengthened.
4. TQM training is provided to all employees, and top management actively supports the
training.
5. Employee engagement or participation programs are in place,
6. Organizations must develop processes that involve multiple perspectives to address
quality issues.
7. Employees are empowered to make quality decisions at their discretion and the job
design should clearly state this.
8. Performance appraisals are refocused from simply evaluating past performance, to
emphasizing what management can do to help employees make quality efforts related to
future work.
9. The compensation system reflects the contribution of team-related qualities, including
the acquisition of additional skills.
10. Non-financial recognition systems (for individuals or work groups) to support the pursuit
of total quality.
11. Various systems are in place to allow employees at all levels of the organization to
express their concerns, ideas and reactions to quality initiatives.
12. Health and security issues are developed proactively rather than reactively.
13. Various employee recruitment, selection, promotion and career development programs
reflect the new reality of managing and working in a TQM environment.
14. While helping others to implement processes that support TQM, human resource
professionals do not forget the importance of managing the human resource function
with the same guidelines.
Decision making must be based on real facts about quality obtained from various sources
throughout the organization. It is not based solely on intuition, prejudice or organizational
politics. Various tools have been designed and developed to support data collection and
analysis, and fact-based decision making. Among them are the 7 main statistical tools that
underlie Statistical Process Control (SPC), namely: Cause and effect diagram, check sheet,
Pareto diagram, Run Chart, Control Chart, Histogram and Scatter Diagram.
Total quality creation is easier said than done. TQM implementation is both alluring and
binding, as it demands fundamental changes and overhauls of traditional organizational
culture. In addition, the commitment and totality demanded in the implementation of TQM
must be fully realized. Human resources as a vital component in the institution - deserve
attention and treatment as demanded in TQM. (Usahawan, November 1999).
From a number of aspects mentioned above, one of the most decisive things is how to
run the company's quality management itself. According to W. Edward Deming, 80% of
quality problems are caused by management, and the remaining 20% are caused by human
resources. This means that less than optimal quality starts from unprofessional management
and unprofessional management means reflecting unprofessional leadership and policies as
well.
The main responsibility in company management lies with the leader. As stated by J.A.
Lipham and J.A. Hoeh Jr (1974), leaders must understand the main foundations or basic
principles of work, which includes an understanding of organizational theory: role theory,
decision theory and leadership theory.
With the support of insight into the four theories, company leaders are expected to be
able to become effective managers, and try to create a work climate that is oriented towards a
culture of quality by leading to the achievement of quality profits as well. In such conditions,
all individuals involved will consciously try to cooperate harmoniously, and jointly try to
resolve various conflicts that may arise.
Corporate quality management basically aims to seek change, from short-term feasibility
towards long-term quality improvement, as well as its impact on changes in corporate
cultural values. Edward Sallis (1993:36) argues that "quality management is a circle of
continuous improvement and places great emphasis on improvement and change". As seen in
the following picture:
Furthermore, in reality, it turns out that the implementation of corporate quality
management does not always run smoothly and smoothly, often various obstacles arise.
Deming categorized the factors causing the company's quality failure into two criteria,
namely: General causes; namely, company failures related to poor product design,
inadequate infrastructure, unsupportive work environment, unsuitable work systems and
procedures, insufficient time management, lack of resources and inadequate employee
development. Specific causes; failures arise because procedures and regulations are not
followed; staff do not have skills knowledge and proper work attitudes, lack of motivation,
communication failures and inadequate equipment.
To overcome the obstacles that exist in the implementation of quality management
above, it must be based on changes in attitudes and ways of working of all personnel. Leaders
must motivate their employees to work better, for example by creating a pleasant work
climate, providing adequate facilities (both quantity and quality), establishing simple work
systems and procedures, and rewarding employees for their success and achievements. This
is not an easy job, because it requires hard work, high discipline, and sacrifice from all
parties, especially changing the mindset and work paradigm, which was originally oriented
towards the quantity of task implementation to be more oriented towards the quality of task
implementation. Thus the need for the presence of professional leaders and employees is
important, because they are the ones who are expected to achieve quality output.
