The specific article that interested me was an article I found in the University of Phoenix Library “Quality Management and Performance: An annotated review”. This particular article interested me as it gave a clear picture on how management, leaders with poor skills can have a great effect on quality. One of the main ideas in the article that stuck out was how competition and the demands of customers have greatly changed the environment of business. Unlike in the past companies can no longer solely rely on their current business operations to survive in the competitive world. In order to stay ahead of competition companies must implement new operation management practices. The article described how quality management has evolved as a paradigm in management used to improve the overall effectiveness of an organization. Quality management has been and is considered to be one of the major drivers of performance drivers in organizations. There have been many studies done to explore quality management and their relationship with performance.
The purpose of these studies were to help managers and organizations implement effective quality management. Although there are contributing factors to quality management no single factor contributes to effective quality management. Also none of these contributing factors will improve or is guaranteed to improve performance in the organization. The TCO’s that identify with my selected topic are A, B, C, D and E. Under TCO A, B, and C the definition of quality is defined and what it is to manage quality. Also under this TCO it details the six different perspectives from which quality is defined which are: transcendent, product, value, user, manufacturing, and customer. Under TCO A, B, C, and D the foundations of quality management were explained and the founding philosophers of quality management.
This TCO also explored the principles, practices, and techniques of quality management which are quality management principles, quality management practices, and quality management techniques. TCO’s C and E identifies the importance of customer satisfaction and engaging with customers. This TCO also identifies understanding the needs of customers and customer segmentation. The evolution of quality management first evolved through the works of six philosophers; Shewhart (1924), Feigenbaum (1951), Crosby (1979), Ishikawa (1972), Deming (1982), and Juran (1986).
Shewhart was most known for his invention the control chart. Feigenbaum is known for having introduced the concept of total quality control. Ishikawa best known for associating quality circles as a way to achieve continuous improvement and using cause and effect diagrams to solve problems.
Crosby is known for defining the 14 steps for quality improvement and introducing the plan-do-check-action cycle. Juran is best known for identifying the three basic functions of the quality management process: quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. The article highlighted several areas on how quality management affects the performance of an organization. Studies done have come back with mixed results. Some studies have proven that implementing quality implementation can have many benefits to an organization. However some studies have shown that organizations that have implemented total quality managements do not necessarily outperform organizations that do not or have not implemented total quality management programs. Of the results that have been published for organizations that had issues with quality management implementation several factors were the root and cause of it.
Causes and problems with implementing quality management are; human resource management, customer focus and satisfaction, top management commitment and leadership, process management, supplier quality management , quality information and analysis, and strategic quality planning, Human resource management is most often times seen as one of the most important requirements in order for total quality management to be a success. The HR department is the one part of the organization that incorporates a variety of organizational practices such as employee training, and teamwork. The role of the human resource department weighs greatly on the outcome of quality. Customer focus and satisfaction of the organization is impacted on whether customers are satisfied or not. Satisfaction of customers plays a role in whether a customer will remain loyal customer or take their business elsewhere. If the quality management program put in place is effective then it will reflect in the satisfaction of the customer.
Top management commitment and leadership is vital to the success of quality management programs. When management is committed to the success of the organization, systems that are developed and put in place to meet the expectation of customers. Lack of commitment from top management means that quality management cannot be successfully implemented. Quality information and analysis for quality management places emphasis on the grounds that managers should be making quality decisions based on relevant data only. Information collected from quality information and analysis also has a great effect on quality performance and firm performance. Strategic quality planning if implemented successfully with quality management programs can improve product quality which increases customer satisfaction.
Reference
Ebrahimi, M., & Sadeghi, M. (2013).
Quality management and performance: An annotated review. International Journal Of Production Research, 51(18), 5625-5643. doi:10.1080/00207543.2013.793426 Retrieved on March 18, 2015 from University of Phoenix Library