INTEGRATING PEOPLE AND PERFORMANCE THROUGH QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Total Quality Management MGT510

Lesson # 03

INTEGRATING PEOPLE AND PERFORMANCE THROUGH QUALITY MANAGEMENT

VIEWS ON QUALITY

The total quality philosophy introduced a whole new way of looking at performance of a company

through people and managing the quality of products and processes. The traditional view of quality

measured process performance in defective parts per hundred produced. With total quality the same

measurement is thought of I parts per million. The traditional view focused on after-the-fact inspections

of products. With total quality the emphasis is on continuous improvement of products, processes, and

people in order to prevent problems before they occur. The traditional view of quality saw employees as

passive workers who followed orders given by supervisors and managers. It was their labor, not their

brains that was wanted. With total quality, employees are empowered to think and make

recommendations for continual improvement. They are also shown the control boundaries within which

they must work and are given freedom to make decisions within those boundaries.

The traditional view of quality expected one improvement per year per employee. Total quality

organizations expect to make at least 10 or more improvements per employee per year. Organizations

that think traditionally focus on short-term profits. The total quality approach focuses on long-term

profits and continual improvement.

The following statements summarize some of the major differences between the traditional view of

quality and the total quality perspective:

♦ Productivity versus quality. The traditional view is that productivity and quality are always in

conflict. You cannot have both. The total quality view is that lasting productivity gains are

made only as a result of quality improvement.

♦ How quality is defined. The traditional view is that quality is defined solely as meeting

customer specifications. The total quality view is that quality means satisfying customer needs

and exceeding customer expectations.

♦ How quality is measured. The traditional view is that quality is measured by establishing an

acceptable level of nonconformance and measuring against that benchmark. The total quality

view is that quality is measured by establishing high-performance benchmarks for customer

satisfaction and then continually improving performance.

♦ How quality is achieved. The traditional view is that quality is inspected into the product. The

total quality view is that quality is determined by product design and achieved by effective

control techniques.

♦ Attitude toward defects. The traditional view is that defects are an expected part of producing

a product. Measuring defects per hundred is an acceptable standard. The total quality view is

that defects are to be prevented using effective control systems and should be measured in

defects per million (Six Sigma)

♦ Quality as a function. The traditional view is that quality is a separate function. The total

quality view is that quality should be fully integrated throughout the organization it should be

everybody's responsibility.

♦ Responsibility for quality. The traditional view is that employees are blamed for quality. The

total quality view is that 80 percent of quality problems are management's fault.

♦ Supplier relationships. The traditional view is that supplier relationships are short term and

cost driven. The total quality view is that supplier relationships are long term and quality

oriented.

Table of Contents: