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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 professionals, and shortage of time. By identifying the reasons that
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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
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effectively implement change 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 Pediatrics, 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) Analyzing 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.
