Total Quality Management and Organizational Change

This assignment delves into the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) within organizations. It examines how TQM fosters organizational change, highlighting key success factors for its implementation. The role of stakeholders, including employees and suppliers, is emphasized. Using Toyota as a case study, the assignment analyzes how TQM contributes to waste reduction, efficiency enhancement, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, profitability.

Running head: TQM 1
Total quality management (TQM) in improving the performance and efficiency of organizations
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Introduction
Total quality management is an important tool that can guarantee long term success of a
firm. It has been an important aspect of enhancing the efficiency of an organization as it focuses
on continuous improvement of organization processes to provide superior customer value while
simultaneously enhancing efficiency and cost control measures. TQM is an approach used by
management since 1950s and its applications became more popular since 1980s as many
organizations have adopted its principles and applications. Total quality management is an
explanation of the attitude, culture and organization of a firm whose intention is to provide
goods and services that fulfill the customer needs and thus, the management and the employees
have a big responsibility of executing continuous improvement processes .In addition, it is a
combination of managerial tools and quality aimed at reducing losses as a result of wasteful
processes and practices while promoting the business prospects and profitability.
Basic overview of TQM
TQM is defined as a management philosophy that strives to combine all functions of the
organization that entail production, marketing, engineering, finance, customer service and design
to attain the objective of the organization and to meet the needs of the customers(Daft et
al,2010).In this case, it is worth noting that TQM considers an organization as an integration of
processes and holds that an organization should work to continuously make appropriate
improvement by incorporating the experience and knowledge of the employees, which makes it
adaptable and variable. Although the process was mainly applied in the manufacturing sector, it
is currently recognized and accepted as a generic management tool, where it is applied also in the
public and service sector firms (Cumming &Worley, 2015).

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Principle of TQM
There are several key principles of TQM and these are management commitment,
employee empowerment, customer focus, continuous improvement, and fact based decision
making processes. The management commitment involves planning, implementing the plan,
reviewing the plans and strategies and acting or makes the requisite revision. Employees’
empowerment involves training, forming teams for excellence, coming up with suggestion
schemes and measurement and recognition of the services of the staff. The fact based decision
making involves statistical process control, the 7 statistical tools and TOPS .The ongoing
process improvement entails coming up with excellence teams, cross functional process
management, systematic measurement and improving and maintaining good standards. The
customer focus involves adopting customer driven standards, ensuring quality, and supplier
partnership (Child, 2015).
The concept of TQM's continuous improvement
TQM is principally after continuous improvement in all categories of works, from the
high level decision making process and strategic planning to the actual implementation of the
elements of work on the shop floor or functional units of the organization. TQM emanates from
the notion that errors and mistakes can be prevented and promote continuously improving results
in all aspects of jobs through organizational capabilities, processes, machine capabilities,
technology, and people. Basically, continuous improvement must strive to enhance both the
results and improve the ability of the organization to produce excellent results in future. The
primary areas of emphasis on the improvement of capabilities are people capability, generation
of demand, technology, supply generation and operations (Cumming &Worley, 2015).
A chief principle of TQM is that errors and mistakes may be committed by people, but a

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large proportion of them facilitated by processes and systems that are faulty. This indicates that
the main causes of the errors and problems can be detected and eradicated and repeated
occurrence can be barred by improving and changing the process and system. Basically, there are
three main mechanisms that can be used to deal with problems and errors. The first is preventing
the defects or errors from coming up through mistake proofing. In the case where the mistake
cannot be prevented, it is important to detect them early to develop strategies that would assist in
preventing them from being channeled to the value added chain as in the case with inspection at
the source. When mistakes emerge again, the production process can be stopped till when there is
tangible correction of the process to avoid the production of more defects or effects of errors on
the products and services (Child, 2015).
The implementation process and principles
The initial step in total quality management (TQM) implementation is to determine and
analyze the current situation and reality of the organization. These may include the history of the
organization, the existing needs, the events that lead to adoption of TQM, and the quality of
employees' working life . If the reality in the organization does not involve important
preconditions that precipitate change management, then the execution of TQM should be delayed
or postponed till when the firm is in a position that will make TQM successful (Oakland, 2000).
If the entity has a history of responding effectively to the environment and it has been in a
good position to adapt the change process well, it will be easier to execute TQM strategies. In
cases where a firm has been reactive and does not wield the requisite skill for enhancing its
operational systems, there will be skepticism among the employees and the organization will
lack the change agents that are skilled (O'Mahoney & Markham, 2010). If this situation
continues to exist in the organization, a comprehensive leadership development and management

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programs should be formed. In this case, management audit is a good tool for assessment aimed
at identifying the existing level of the functioning of the organization alongside areas the need to
undergo change process. Basically, it is vital for the organization to be healthy and well
performing in order to implement TQM. If the organization has a weak financial base, lack of the
requisite managerial skills, low morale among the employees, and weak system of the
administration, it would be inappropriate to implement the TQM. However, when implementing
total quality management, there needs to be a certain level of stress such as the needs of the
employees for a change in order to effectively initiate it. The forces for change include strategic
decisions, action plans, a crisis and the departure from the tradition (Daft et al, 2010).
The departure from the tradition entail activities and processes are usually at a lower
level of the firm and involves shifting from the normal way of organizational operations in order
to solve problems or adopt change strategies (Cumming &Worley, 2015).
A crisis, which has not reached a critical level, can assist in developing a sense of
urgency and has a great capability of mobilizing people to take actions. In the case of total
quality management, this may be in the form of demands by customers for improved quality of
the products and services, or funding cuts. After the occurrence of a crisis, a leader or the top
management may strategically intervene by coming up with new vision that would assist the
organization to deal with it and go back to high performance. In this case, it is worth noting that a
TQM implementation plan can be a strategic decision making tool for a firm and the leader or
manager becomes the chief mover who takes the responsibility of championing new ideas and
motivating and influencing others on what to do to handle the situation (Hall & Hord, 2013).
Lastly, the action plan or action vehicle are required and structured in a way that they
enable change to take place and be institutionalized in the organization (Oakland, 2000).

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Steps that can be undertaken to manage the transition basing on total quality improvement
Basically, making transitions to new systems are usually undertaken on a step by step
basis and this applies also with TQM. In this case, it is imperative to determine the task, develop
the requisite management Structures, coming up with vital strategies to build commitment,
designing the mechanism to communicate and channel information about change to the
appropriate individuals and allocating resources to the change process (Cumming &Worley,
2015)
During the task identification, it is important to assess and study the existing conditions
and reality, analyze the organization readiness , and coming up with a model of the desired
result. When implementing the TQM, It is vital to announce the goals for the change or
improvement process and assigning resources and responsibility to the appropriate parties. In
some cases, it is important to secure outside training and consultation and assigning someone
who is knowledgeable from the organization to oversee the whole initiative. Basically, it is the
responsibility of the top management team to attract and mobilize the appropriate skills during
the process improvement. The top management also has a responsibility of designing the
transitional structure calling for the top management to work as a team rather than depending on
the individual staff to undertake the efforts (Hall & Hord, 2013).
When developing a Total quality management strategy, it is vital to communicate the
proposed changes, explaining the mechanisms that will be involved beyond the existing
processes that need to be developed and incorporated into the organization. Dialogue sessions

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and all staff meetings may be used in starting the process (Oakland, 2000).
The management of the resources is vital for the effort for change and continuous
improvement when implementing the total quality management because external consultants and
trainers may be sought to assist in the process. In this case, the choice of the consultants should
be based on the experience that they hold in relation to the implementation of TQM. Whereas
consultants will be important when initiating the TQM system design and training of the
employees, the members of staff should be involved actively in the implementation process and
this should be done after receiving the necessary training from the consultants. Therefore, a
collaborative relationship between the consultants and the employees should be established and
roles of each party clearly defined for apt implementation of the change process (Cumming
&Worley, 2015).
The point that needs to be considered is the implementation of the system may be
difficult, long term and comprehensive calling for sound leadership, employee and management
commitment, should have the necessary support, and must be visible and transparent. Further to
this, it should be kept in mind that total quality management should be driven by purpose and
should act as a powerful technique of exploiting the employees potential and creativity, should
improve services to community and clients and should reduce cost and bureaucracy (Daft et al,
2010).
Theoretic underpinning of TQM

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TQM may involve several customer based and process improvement processes and
therefore, it can be defined and explained by a number of theories. The best theories that can
expound on total quality management are Dunning’s theory, Crosby's theory, Ishikawa's theory,
and Joseph Juran's theory.
Dunning's theory of total quality management is based on the system of profound
knowledge, the fourteen point management that he came up with and the Shewart cycle that
consist of the plan-do-check -act. For example, if an organization focuses on cost, the major
problem is that cost might arise while the quality of the products might go down (Hall & Hord,
2013).
Crosbys theory was proposed by Philip Crosby and is accredited with initiating the TQM
Movement. According to the theory, when an organization spends money on quality products,
that money will have been utilized wisely (Oakland, 2000).
Joseph Juran's theory is also referred to as quality trilogy which is made up of quality
control, improvement and planning. For a quality improvement to succeed, there must be a
careful plan for the quality improvement and should be controlled well (Robbin & Barnwell,
2006).
Shikawa's theory, which was created by Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa is usually considered on
seven stand points and looks at quality from the human perspective. The basic tools for quality
improvement as stipulated by the model are cause and effect diagram, the pareto analysis, the
check sheets, the process control charts, histograms, stratification and scatter charts (Oakland,
2000).
A case analysis involving TQM
Toyota is one of the organizations that have attained tremendous growth as a result of

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total quality management. Toyota introduced total quality management in 1961 and used the
Kaizen model to implement the notion of continuous improvement. The concept of TQM is
utilized in every aspect of the company's operations including its information systems. At the
moment, Toyota has been successful and famous throughout the world in the automobile industry
and has been linking quality with profitability. One of the most important aims of the company's
quality management is to satisfy the customers, which automatically result in more sales and
increased market share to enhance its competitive advantage. Toyota has become a leading car
maker in the world and its success is premised on the reputation for producing highly quality cars
at relatively low cost, which is an end result of its adoption of total quality management (TQM).
At first, the company incurred high cost in the process of continuous process and production
improvement but with time, the cost decreased while the production errors were detected early
and handled before they could affect the quality of the end products (Hall & Hord, 2013).
There are several ways in which other companies especially those in the automobile
industry can learn from Toyota. One of the lessons is investing in the individual drive by
investing in people in return for loyal and commitment that is vital for continuous improvement
and innovation. In this case, organizations can develop exceptional teams and persons capable of
adhering to the TQM philosophy and implement the system dynamics of firms when enhancing
quality, efficiency and cost reduction. Organizations in the motor vehicle industry can enhance
the quality of their products by searching for dependable and reliable partners such as suppliers
to form a mutual beneficial relationship that is vital in enhancing improvement on a continuous
basis as each will strive to ensure quality products at a cost effectively method(Green,2007).
Recommendations
At the moment, technology has become a cornerstone for improvement and operations of

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organizations. Technology has played a crucial role in enhancing accuracy in production and
service delivery, has reduced the cost and enhanced the efficiency of organizations. In this case,
organizations such consider flexibility when adopting continuous process improvement strategy
such as TQM. Flexibility does not indicate adopting the most recent technology but utilizing only
the thou roughly testes and verified methodology and technology to serve both processes and
people. In this case, organizations have a responsibility of adopting functional quality
improvement processes and can attain this effectively by seeking the services of high qualified
consultants (Oakland,2000).
At the moment, customers have become the most important aspect for the success of
many organizations that operate in the contemporary business sphere that is characterized by
high competition, call for organizations to adhere to their corporate social responsibility, and the
changed consumer trends who seek for more information about the goods and services
offered(Markham,2004).In this case, organizations should focus the current and future needs of
their customers when developing total quality management in relation to the quality of the
products and services offered in the market, the pricing system which calls for organizations to
effectively manage their costs and efficiency, and the need to address the needs and preferences
of the demographic shifts of many market especially with increased diversity. In this case,
organizations need to continuously undertake research and development to understand the
changing needs of the customers in order to come up with apt strategies on how to implement
total quality management (Green, 2007).
Leadership is a vital component for the success of any organization. It promotes the unity
of purpose and strives to integrate all resources such as human resources, financial resources and
technological resources with an aim of attaining organizational goals. Therefore, the leadership

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should develop an optimal internal environment so that employees become focused on the
continuous improvement processes while at the same time to provide guidance on the actual
steps that the employees need to adhere to the plans developed in enhancing customers relations
and satisfaction through quality and effective production of goods and services. Furthermore,
leadership is important in fostering teamwork among the interdisciplinary team and this is vital
in promoting sharing of ideas in developing a superb system that can meet the goals of the
organization and one that can easily adopt to changes if change strategies are introduced in the
organization (Robbin & Barnwell, 2006).
Systems approach to the implementation of TQM model should be implemented by
management of organizations. In this case, the management should understand, identify, and
manage interrelated systems of interrelated activities and processes for a specific objective set to
enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. Furthermore, the management team
should be in a position of liaising with the consultants to develop elaborate system that can
withstand the test of time and one that can adopt changes in the business environment Once the
system has been developed, the management should facilitate the training of the employees on
the requirement of the continuous improvement system as they are the actual implementers and
hence their input is vital for its success (Cumming &Worley, 2015).
The employees, who are the driving force in the organization quest of attaining its goals
are vital component of improved quality, enhanced efficiency, high profitability, reduction of
waste and cutting down of cost. In this case, the employees should be motivated enough, both
financially and psychologically to effectively implement the change management strategies.
Failure to do so will create room for inefficiency, sabotage and deviant acts that may be
counterproductive to the noble goal for continuous quality improvement (Child, 2015).

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For any organization to Succeed, It must involve all the stakeholders especially the
external ones to ensure that the system for continuous quality improvement need the interest of
each. In this case, it is imperative for organizations to form positive relationship with the suppers
to make the supply chain effective and easily monitor the quality of the supplies and thus, the
suppliers should be informed of the change strategies and their opinion sought when developing
the system. In addition, the interest of the stakeholders and opinion must be sought as they are
the source of finance and expect systems that enable them to gain value from their investment
(Seow, 2003).
Conclusion
Total quality management offers organizations with immense opportunity of enhancing
their competitiveness and has been proven to be an effective tool that enhances profitability.
TQM has come out as a major strategic tool that promotes change and hence, organizations that
intend to use it must involve different departments and employees in order to effectively initiate
change and implement all the proposed changes into long term goals of the organization. Toyota
is one of the companies that have effectively used the TQM model to reduce waste, promote
efficiency, to ensure that the customers’ needs and preferences are satisfied and eventual
profitability.

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References
Child, J. (2015). Organization: Contemporary Principles and Practice. Second Edition.
Chicester: Wiley.
Cummings, T.C. & Worley, C.G. (2015). Organization Development and Change. International
Student Edition. Tenth Edition. London: South-Western, Cengage Learning.
Daft, R.L., Murphy, J. & Willmott, H. (2010). Organization Theory and Design. Ninth Edition.
London : South-Western, Cengage Learning.
Green, M. (2007). Change management masterclass: A step by step guide to successful change
management. London: Kogan Page.
Hall, G. E., & Hord, S. M. (2013). Implementing change: Patterns, principles, and potholes.
Markham, C. (2004). The Top Consultant: Developing your Skills for Greater Effectiveness.
Fourth Edition: Kogan Page.
Oakland, J. S. (2000). Total quality management: Text with cases. Oxford: Butterworth-
Heinemann.
O'Mahoney, J. & Markham, C. (2010). Management Consultancy. Oxford: Oxford University
Press

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Robbins, S.P. & Barnwell, N. (2006). Organisation Theory: Concepts and Cases. Frenchs Forest,
NSW: Pearson Education Australia.
Seow, C. (2003). The TQM magazine: Vol. 15, No. 3. Bradford, England: Emerald Group Pub.