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1-3 Short Paper: Leadership and Commitment to Quality
HRM 630
SNHU
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Leaders play an instrumental role in quality management. Verma (2014) has identified that
ineffective leadership can hamper the quality and tear down the efforts for implementing total
quality management in the organizational setting (Verma, 2014). On the other hand, effective
leadership can enhance quality and ensure that there exists a unity of purpose in the organizational
setting, which can help in achieving and sustaining improved quality.
Steps taken by a leader for quality change
In order to ensure that high quality is maintained, a leader would have to take several steps.
By adopting a syntactic approach, it will be possible to effectively implement change so that the
quality aspect is positively influenced. Bugdol has argued that a leader can influence quality by
focusing on commitment (Bugdol, 2020). Some of the main steps that leaders need to take in an
organization setting so that quality can be improved include identifying the quality gap that
currently exists, involving a broad range of participants throughout the quality improvement
process, ensuring commitment by the employees, level of supervision, and the selection of a
suitable authority and implementation of change. Each of these steps will play an instrumental role
in bringing about a positive change in the quality dimension.
Identification of poor quality
One of the fundamental steps that a leader must focus upon revolves around the
identification of loopholes or gaps in terms of quality. Hart has stated that awareness of a problem
acts as a first step that can drive action (Hart et al., 2015). Thus, in an organization, a leader has the
responsibility to identify not only poor quality but also the associated factors. For example, some of
the common elements that may lead to poor quality include resource constraints, limited training of
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professionals, and shortage of time. By identifying the reasons that lead to poor quality, a leader can
take a suitable step to address the problem (Vadivel et al., 2021).
Participants involved in the improvement process
After the identification of the problem pertaining to the quality issue, it is imperative for the
leader to involve suitable stakeholders in the change process. Some of the main parties that must be
included are the management team, consultants, customers, and employees. The management must
be aware of the existing quality issue and the improvement process so that it can provide strategic
direction, if necessary. The involvement of consultants is also of paramount importance as they can
make suitable suggestions to address the quality problem. Similarly, the customers must also be
involved in the improvement process because they could provide valuable feedback and opinions
about how the current quality can be improved and their experience can be improved. By involving
the employees in the change process relating to quality, it will be possible to identify the exact
challenges and restraints that they encounter, which may have a negative impact on the quality
dimension. The participation of diverse stakeholders in the improvement process is crucial as it can
help to get an exhaustive view about how the quality can be enhanced in the future. Assen has
argued that employee involvement can act as a crucial mechanism that can support continuous
improvement (van Assen, 2021).
Getting employee buy-in
While implementing change to improve the overall quality, it is very important for a leader
to involve employees in the change process and ensure that they are committed to the improvement
process. In quality management, getting employee buy-in is a fundamental necessity. Without the
support and involvement of employees, it is almost impossible to effectively implement change
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extremely to improve quality. In order to ensure that employee buy-in does not act as a hindrance, a
leader has to make sure that a transparent and effective communication network is in place. It can
serve as a vital mechanism that can keep the organizational personnel updated about the need for
change. Similarly, it is also necessary to constantly engage with the employees so that they can
have the opportunity to actively get involved in the improvement process and share their
suggestions and opinions. Vance has identified that employee engagement is crucial to increase
their level of commitment in an organizational setting.
Supervision
While working on the quality improvement process, it is vital for a leader to determine the
level of supervision so that real-time monitoring will be possible. The monitoring of the process is
vital as it can help in identifying any kind of variance. The insight can be used to take corrective
actions to effectively carry out the improvement process. The supervision can be done at the team
or departmental level by the team leaders or departmental heads, respectively.
Implementation
A systematic approach must be adopted by a leader for implementing the quality
improvement process in an undertaking. High flexibility must be in place so that valuable input can
be taken from diverse participants to improve the quality aspect.
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References
Bugdol, M. (2020). The problem of fear in TQM–causes, consequences and reduction methods–a
literature review. The TQM Journal.
Hart, C. K., Dykes, C., Thienprayoon, R., & Schmit, J. (2015). Change management in quality
improvement: the softer skills. Current Treatment Options in Paediatrics, 1(4), 372-379.
Verma, M. K. (2014). Importance of leadership in total quality management. Vistas of Education,
61-77.
Vadivel, T. S., Doddurani, M., Shobana, K. S., & Kalidhass, B. (2021) Analysing the Factors
Affecting Quality in Construction.
van Assen, M. F. (2021). Training, employee involvement and continuous improvement–the
moderating effect of a common improvement method. Production Planning & Control,
32(2), 132-144.
