Total Quality Management, continuous improvement, and quality circles

Total Quality Management

The Importance of Total Quality Management

Continuous Quality Improvement and Quality Circles

The concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM), continuous quality improvement and Quality Circles (QC) form the foundation of many company's efforts to continually improve their internal processes, procedures, systems and organizational structures so that customers' expectations are met or exceeded. The common thread that unifies each of these techniques is the modifying or augmenting of organizational processes and procedures so that over time the organizational culture becomes more attuned to customers' needs. In aligning a corporate culture to customers' needs, continuous improvement becomes possible and increases in importance over time. These three quality initiatives of TQM, continuous quality improvement and QC circles are all critical for companies to improve their enterprise-wide quality management programs over time. Each of these concepts is discussed and analyzed from the context of their value to business.

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)

Like TQM, Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is heavily dependent on measuring the performance of a company from the perspective of its customers or clients; this approach to quality management is based on the premise that meeting or exceeding customer requirements is essential for profitable growth. CQI varies from TQM however in that the frameworks, techniques and programs assume that improvement must be iterative and continual, and that there is no endpoint or culmination to the improvement process as the changes are eventually integrated into the system or process itself (Sanders, 2010).

CQI follows a methodology of first defining the specific areas for improvement most needed in a company. This is often done through Six Sigma-based analysis including an analysis of variations against preliminary metrics of performance. The next phase of the analysis also relies on Six Sigma as it looks to define all areas of known variation or possible causes of aberrations in performance over time of a given process (Highfill, Mcasey, 2010). Once this has been completed, business analysts work to define a CQI Action Plan, which defines how the processes can be permanently improved to meet or exceed customer requirements. The action plan also includes intensive levels of variance analysis of existing processes against industry best practices including cost, performance, and customer satisfaction-level benchmarks as well. All of these metrics are taken into account to define the optimal level of process re-engineering efforts and strategies to ensure each process that is re-engineered has the highest potential for success. The organizations who are best at CQI also concentrate their efforts on change management initiatives and programs during this third step in the process. Companies who excel at their CQI-based programs and initiatives make the necessary investments in change management strategies and programs early so their employees and management teams have the opportunity to share ownership in this key process area (Parast, 2010). Studies of CQI programs critical success factors point to change management as being the single most important element in achieving the original goals of any quality management program, as without employees' support any program will fail over time (Parast, 2010).

Once change management strategies have been put into place the senior management teams often works with the business analysts and quality improvement teams to define an action plan for accomplishing the goals of the program (Parast, 2010). During this step it is best to also include the key employees most affected by the change, as they will be called upon to manage the process-related modifications and improvements to the systems and procedures over time. This step is also critical to include the employees most affected by the CQI-based change to ensure they also buy into and support the measurement plan, with the next phase of a successful CQI initiative. Once measurement has been done, the senior management, process re-engineering experts and analysts and employees most affected by the change often meet to define the change management strategies to keeping the quality initiatives in place (Parast, 2010). This is a critical step as it begins to engrain the quality initiatives throughout the company and makes the process of change must easier to accomplish over time. These steps taken together are what are required for any CQI initiative to succeed over the long-term, as they must include change management principles in addition to permanent change to key process areas to succeed (Highfill, Mcasey, 2010).

Quality Circles

One of the recurring foundational elements throughout all quality improvement concepts and frameworks is the need for having employee involvement and buy-in for each to be successful (Parast, 2010). The concept of quality circles is predicated on this concept of employee involvement and the ownership it enables throughout an organization over time (Glassop, 2002). Quality circles concentrate on taking on difficult, complex problems within organizations and through the input and creativity of key members of the circle team, reach a series of potential solutions. QC frameworks are especially prevalent in industries where there is a high level of compliance, quality management and quality auditing integral to the production and services processes of the company. There is also a heavy reliance on QC frameworks and programs to also support safety and manufacturing programs throughout many industries, as the brainstorming and creativity they generate are often representative of what the broader employee base is also thinking about and considering as solutions (Pereira, Osburn, 2007). QC circles are also prevalent in highly regulated industries where employees are producing products or delivering services that governments monitor the quality of. The role of QC programs in these areas concentrates on how best to accomplish company goals and stay in compliance.