Qualilty Management
shaori
quality_management2.docxRunning Head: QUALITY MANAGEMENT1
QUALITY MANAGEMENT6
Quality Management
Phase 1 IP 2
Alycia Graham
Jay Chance
CTU ONLINE
1/20/2015
Quality Management
Introduction
The history of quality management can be drawn all the way back to The Middle Ages. In 1911, the concept of quality took a huge leap forward when Frederick W. Taylor published ‘The Principles of Scientific Management’, using statistical theory in order to provide a framework for refining worker productivity in industrial organizations.
Actually, it was during the 1920’s when quality management systems, as it is known today, begun to surface. Product quality control was determined via inspections. Change and growth were then brought forth during the 1940’s by industry leaders and experts like Deming, Dodge, Juran and Roming (Jones, 2014).
During the first international quality management conference in 1969, Feigenbaum would first apply the phrase Total Quality Management. By the 1980’s, the Western culture would recognize Japan’s success and start to set and adhere to higher Total Quality Management guidelines (Boyer, 2009).
The U.S. Government would soon be accountable for making those guidelines and values clear with their development of the Malcolm Baldrige Award. Other countries, such as Europe, would follow in the United States’ track and come up with similar awards.
Specific directions companies are adopting in terms of strategic quality management includes: Creating a structure that upper management will follow and the organization as a whole, instituting several programs of education and training, and Permitting innovation and invention amongst their staff.
Evolution of Deming and Six Sigma program
Six Sigma is a business strategy that tries to find and eliminate causes of errors or defects in business processes by concentrating on outputs that are critical to customers (Antony, 2004).
Advantages of quality management
As indicated byFernandez and Underwood (2006), there are several measurable and non-measurable benefits of quality management. First, it places a strong focus on attaining measurable and quantifiable financial returns to the bottom-line of an organization. Quality management also places an unparalleled significance on strong and passionate leadership and the support needed for its successful deployment. Further, it stresses the significance of data and decision making based on facts and data rather than assumptions and intuitions.
Disadvantages of quality management
Despite its advantages, some of the disadvantages include the challenge of having quality data available. In some cases, there is hindrance as the solutions driven by the data are expensive. In addition, the calculation of defect rates or error rates is based on the assumption of normality.
The role of senior management in quality management improvements programs
Inferring from Goleman (2000), an effective quality management programs encompasses changes in any particular organizations infrastructure and culture to overcome the traditional barriers and put efforts towards a common goal of quality. To achieve this, all the staff should understand and embrace the role of quality improvement philosophy as well as supporting quality improvement organizational wide focus. In all the business organizations, senior management bears the biggest role to establish and manage the organizational strategies towards achieving quality improvement programs.
According to Fernandez and Underwood (2006), senior management has several towards quality improvement programs. First, they have a role of creating a condusive organizational environment and a strategic atmosphere to thrive in quality improvement programs. In such a case, they function as role models, by getting personally involved in spreading the knowledge and benefit of total quality management improvements program. In connection to that, they have to clear any air regarding any misconception regarding the programs to the junior staff and possibly the organizations board.
In addition to this, being the resource managers in their organization, they have a role of ensuring that resources are mobilized and directed towards building a quality program system. They should ensure availability of resources, both human and technical to ensure the success of the program. For instance, the CEO should use the human resource to conduct an accurate reflection of their customers’ expectations and needs, which would enable the organizational to make an improved and informed quality improvement (Goleman, 2000). The accurate reflection could be done through performance measures analysis, such as customers’ returns, customer complaint and surveys unaccepted tenders and failure statistics.
Another significant role for the senior managers is to act as a decision maker. Under this role, they should create an organizations atmosphere, which emphasizes on cooperation, teamwork and participation of all members. Further, senior managers should encourage an effective two-way communication system, which ensure all queries from any level regarding the program are adequately addressed.
As leaders of the quality improvement programs, senior management has a responsibility of assigning duties and responsibilities to its responsible personnel so as to assist them in deployment of improvement program. Further, they bear the burden of informing the employees the reason towards the improvement of quality management program
As indicated by Jones (2014), it is of paramount importance for firms’ senior management to adopt these roles, failure of which may lead to unsuccessful program. They should accept the fact that there is no single or best way of quality improvement implementation, but through consultation and collaboration with the junior managers and subordinates. In addition, the whole program should apply statistical methods in decision-making as well as problem solving, so that the improvement program is achieved, based on data and facts rather than myths and opinions.
References
Boyer, R. C. (2009). Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century.
Fernandez, A. & Underwood, L. (2006). CHINA CEO: Voices of Experience from 20
International Business Leaders.
Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review. Harvard: Harvard
Business School Publishing Corporation, Publication Number R00204.
Jones, E. (2014). Quality Management for Organizations Using Lean Six Sigma Techniques. CRC Press.
Kanji, G. (1995). Total Quality Management. Springer Science & Business Media.
