Project Report On Total Quality Management 661h47

PROJECT REPORT ON TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

CONCEPTUALIZATION This is Total Quality Management Project Report. Human resource is the most important factor for any organization and success of any Organization is depending upon its resource .If human resource of organization is not happy with the organization. It will adversely affect the organization. The higher degree of commitment toward work will improve productivity and will decrease rejection cause due to human factor. So to make the people happy is the responsibility of the organization. So this study is helpful to measure the level of commitment toward work and to know the factor affecting the commitment level .

QUALITY:1. Quality means fit ness for use. 2. Quality means productivity, competitive cost, and timely delivery, total customer satisfaction. 3. Quality means conformance to specification and standard. 4. Conformance to requirements. 5. Quality is what the customer says 6. Quality means getting every one to do what they have agreed to do and to do it right the first time and every time.

TOTAL QUALITY :It means all the people of the organization are committed to product quality by doing right things right, first time, every time by employing organization resource to provide value to customer.

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT: It is the process designed to focus external/internal customer expectation preventing problems building ,commitment to quality in the workforce and promoting to open decision making.

TOTAL: Every one associated with the company is involved in continuous improvement, in all functional area, at all level.

QUALITY: Customer express and implied requirement is met fully.

MANAGEMENT: Executive are fully committed Decision in a planned way. To maintain existing lever of quality. To improve existing lever of quality. Effective utilization of resource.

PRINCIPLES OF TQM:1.Delight the customer 2. Management by fact 3. People based management 4. Continuous improvement 5. Strong leadership 6. Quality system measure& record 7. Team work, Team able, correct problem 8. People oriented technology, speed.

FOUR C‟S OF TQM 1. Commitment

2. Comptence

3. Communication

4. Continuous improvement

FACTOR AFFECTED THE COMMITMENT OF THE EMPLOYEES:General worker attitude toward the company. General worker attitude toward the supervisor. Lever of satisfaction toward job standard. The lever of consideration the supervisor shows to his subordination. The workload & work pressure level.

The treatment of individual by the management The lever of worker‟s satisfaction with the salaries The level of worker pride in the company and its activity Worker reaction to the formal communication network in the organization. Intrinsic job satisfaction level of the worker. Worker attitude toward the fellow worker.

OPERATIONALISATION OF THE CONCEPT:I have studied on impact of employee‟s commitment toward. I have explained earlier. In the company, they already have implemented TQM so through this study, I measured the degree of implementation in the organization and what are the factor that are affected the commitment lever and to check how much they are satisfaction with the TQM implement. For this purpose, I have made the questionnaire which consisting of multiple-choice questions. I have collected the data from them and after that I have tabulated them and interpreted them and give the recommendation.

Focus of the problem: The main emphasis will be on to find out quality employee‟s commitment toward their work as a result total quality implementation.

Review of Existing literature: Many people have work on this topic. They sum up various finding. They found that apply TQM has directly increased their morale; increase the satisfaction lever and commitment toward their work. These are the finding of various researchers. Several articles have been published in different journals , magazines and newspaper such as HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,VIKALPA etc. But the effect of TQM on employees commitment in the company has so far not undertaken. This project has been done first time in the company.

LIMITATION ~Employees of the organization may hide the fact. ~The management did not agree to disclose all the confidential data. ~Number of respondents are very less, so clear conclusion can‟t be drawn.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:The objectives of this study are: 1.To find the degree of TQM implemented in the organization. 2.To study the level of commitment of employees toward their work. 3. To find out factor influencing the commitment.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research methodology is a way to solve the research problem in a systematic manner. It may understand as a science of studying how the research is done significantly. The methodology may differ from problem to problem, yet the basic approach towards the research remains the same. The sequence or steps followed have been explained as under:

UNIVERSE AND SURVAY POPULATION The universe is the employee working at mill. I have selected 100 employee 40 FROM THE STAFF,60 FROM THE WORKER for the survey.

RESEARCH DESIGN This research is of EXPLORATARY RESEARCH DESIGN .I have used the questionnaire method for collecting the data.

ANALYSIS PATTERN Data collection: This data is primary data, which I have been collected with the help of questionnaire. I have prepared a questionnaire on the basis of the factors responsible for employee‟s commitment in the organization.

MACRO ANALYSIS (Inferences &Interpretation)

The detailed analyses of the results are explained below: MOST OF EMPLOYEES FEELS THAT: Most of the staff member and worker feel that organization is quality conscious toward the employees. This also increases their commitment toward the work and toward the organization. Some of the employee‟s feel that thy have proper information about the policies, practices followed in the organization. But some of employees feel that there is no proper communication. Most of the facts related with the organization are hided by the management from the employees. Most of the employees feel that they don‟t get rewarded for their good performance.

Most of the staffs member feel that their performance is properly measured in the organization.

RECCOMENDATIONS The suggestions I have given for the betterment are explained below:  It is very important to provide the opportunity to the employees of the organization to express their ideas or whatever they want to express.  Management should clear their vision mission and goals towards the employees in the organization.

 Management should involve the workers representatives in managerial activities so that the transparency could be maintained and through this they can win the confidence of the employees.  Management should give due importance to mental relaxation &social cultural development of an employees who strives hard for the company.  Reward or Praise/appreciation works as magic for an individual and motivates them for work.  Role clarity of each position should be defined and based on that individuals can plan their work accordingly.  Self-potential system should be encouraged.  There are regular review and comparison of current & past performance to detect gradual deterioration in the strategy.  Proper cooperation should be necessary in the company.

Questionaire:-

Do you think the organization is quality conscious toward employees? YES

NO

Does the organization have the certification of ISO 9000? YES

NO

Is the organization providing quality assurance system & operation? YES

NO

Does the organization have quality circle? YES

NO

How many people are involved in quality circle? Below 10

above 10

above 15

can‟t say

How frequently the organizations have the meeting of quality circle? Weekly

biweekly

monthly

yearly

Do you about the agenda of information or any other information? YES

NO

Are the organization is going for the quality audit? YES

NO

can‟t say

Does your organization have quality information system? YES

NO

can‟t say

Are the information system is regularly updated? YES

can‟t say

NO

Do you think the organization used bench marking, if any, please tell me the name of the benchmark organization? YES

can‟t say

NO

If yes, then Org.

Area

a. b.

Does the organization is going for the brain storming session? YES

NO

don‟tknow

Are you practicing the 5‟s Japanese philosophy ? YES

NO

Does the organization have the certification of ISO 14000 or any other, if any please mention? YES

NO

don‟tknow

Are you practicing the six sigma for the error control? YES

NO

don‟tknow

A formal career planning process exist in the organization Strongly Agree Don‟t know Agree

Strongly disagree Disagree

There is a shared vision of where your business is growing? Strongly Agree Don‟t know Agree

Strongly disagree Disagree

Employees are kept updated with changes in job skills & job designs? Strongly Agree Don‟t know Agree

Strongly disagree Disagree

Formal or informal method is followed for employees and acting on that ? Strongly Agree Don‟t know Agree

Strongly disagree Disagree

Does the organization provide right environment to apply your knowledge from new programs to the job? Very much

Some whatLittle

Not at all

Do you feel that the organization is a good place to Yes

No

work?

Sometimes

Do you feel comfortable with rules and policy of the organization? Yes

No

Sometimes

What types of relations are you having with your superior, peers and subordinates? Good

Average

Poor

If bad then why it is so?  They are not cooperating.  Their behavior is not good  There is no proper communication.  All above

Do you feel that you can get ahead in the org. if you make an effort? Yes

No

Sometimes

Do you get any reward on your good performance? Yes

No

Sometimes

Do you find that your performance is properly measured in the organization? Yes

No

Sometimes

Do you find that your job makes the best use of your abilities? Yes

No

Some Times

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Total quality management can be summarized as a management system for a customerfocused organization that involves all employees in continual improvement. It uses strategy, data, and effective communications to integrate the quality discipline into the culture and activities of the organization. •Customer-focused. The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, upgrading computers or software, or buying new measuring tools—the customer determines whether the efforts were worthwhile. •Total employee involvement. All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are one form of empowerment. •Process-centered. A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers (again, either internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation. •Integrated system. Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these functions that are the focus of TQM. ◦Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business processes required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the vision, mission, and guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical processes of the organization. Business performance must be monitored and communicated continuously. ◦An integrated business system may be modeled after the Baldrige National Quality Program criteria and/or incorporate the ISO 9000 standards. Every organization has a unique work culture, and it is virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a good quality culture has been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business improvement elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and other stakeholders. •Strategic and systematic approach. A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic planning or strategic management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component. •Continual improvement. A major thrust of TQM is continual process improvement. Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.

• Fact-based decision making. In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history. •Communications. During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness. These elements are considered so essential to TQM that many organizations define them, in some format, as a set of core values and principles on which the organization is to operate. Check out Implementing Total Quality Management to learn how each of these essential Primary Elements come together to form the foundation of a successful TQM implementation.

Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 The Concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) TQM is only one of many approaches to getting work done and accomplishing goals. Several experiences have shown that by using a TQM approach, organizations can increase their capacity to do work, increase the quality of work done and, at the same time, hold staffing levels and budgets at historical levels. This is possible because: ‰ The organization recognizes that the vast majority of problems are caused by people doing the wrong things right: work that should never be done, even though it is done very well. ‰ The organization recognizes that those problems are caused by ineffective systems and procedures. That recognition extends to the belief that the people who do the work are best able to fix these systems and procedures. ‰ The organization recognizes that in order to unleash the talents of everyone in the company, people must be provided with opportunities to learn new skills and to practice those skills. The organization also believes that given the opportunity, people willingly participate in deg the organization of the future.

Philip Crosby (1979 ) argued that quality is neither intangible nor immeasurable. Instead it is a strategic imperative that can be used to improve the bottom line. Quality is defined as "conformance to requirements," not "goodness." such as good, excellent, beautiful,

exclusive, are subjective and vague. When quality is defined as 3conformance to requirements, subjectivity disappears. Any service, product or process that conforms to its requirements is a quality service, product or process. If requirements are not met, non-conformance results. Requirements define the output, the input or the process itself by providing descriptions of process characteristics in a manner that promotes mutual understanding and agreement between customers and their suppliers. Requirements are based on customer expectations and are integrated into each of the activities of a work process flow. Often, customer expectations are expressed in of convenience, comfort, ease of use, and aesthetics. For example, a customer may want a piece of equipment that is "state of the art" or information that is "up to date." When this happens, the suppliers must use the knowledge of the processes involved to translate those needs or desires into specific requirements. A researcher in the quality literature can experiences bafflement in the meaning of TQM and the differences between TQM and qualityassociated activities such as quality assurance, quality control and quality management. This confusion leads, in many cases, to the use of these expressions interchangeably. Therefore, it is very important to have a clear definition and understanding of each of these concepts. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) defines "quality assurance (QA) in its publication “Quality in the Constructed Project” (1990) as "A program covering activities necessary to provide quality in the work to meet the project's requirements. QA involves establishing project-related policies, procedures, standards, training, guidelines, and systems necessary to produce quality. The design professional and constructor are responsible for developing an appropriate program for each project." On the other hand, ASCE defines quality control (QC) as "The specific implementation of the QA Program and it includes checking and reviewing design and construction related activities. Effective QC reduces 4the possibility of changes, mistakes and omissions, which in turn results in fewer conflicts and disputes." The most common problem with a quality assurance program is that the contractor/vendor assumes that his QA program is not based on 100% assurance. As long as this is the impression of the contractor/vendor, he will never have a working QA program. One element of quality, which the contractor/vendor seems to always forget, is the element that requires him to examine any problem fully and determine the cause of the problem for complete elimination of the same problem in the future. If this element of quality was fulfilled, then eventually the contractor/vendor would have a 100% defect-free quality assurance program. As long as a contractor/vendor aims for anything less than 100%, his quality assurance program will never attain a status of 100%, nor will it ever be a fully implemented quality assurance program. In addition, as long as owners expect less than 100% from the contractor/vendor, they will never be supplied with the quality required, and as long as owners continue to waive the required quality by allowing anything less than the requirements in the specifications, they will continue to receive sub-standard, or sub-specfication materials. QA and QC may be considered as separate sub-elements of TQM. However, QA and QC do not represent the only elements of TQM. TQM is a much more comprehensive and broader concept.

QA and QC are applied during project implementation while TQM is a strategical philosophy adopted by an organization and implemented at all times, even if the organization is waiting to perform a new project. The keywords of the TQM concept are: quality, total, and management. “Quality” has been defined in many different ways. Among these definitions are the following (Flood, 1993): 1. ASCE defines quality as the conformance to predetermined 5requirements. 2. The British Standard defines quality as the totality of features and characteristics of a product, service or process, which bear on its ability to satisfy a given need from the customer's viewpoint. 3. Crosby (1979) defines quality as conformance to requirements. This can be achieved by "doing it right the first time." 4. Deming (1986) defines quality as a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability, at low cost and suited to the market. 5. Taguchi defines quality as the minimum loss imparted by the product to society from the time the product is shipped. 6. Feigenbaum (1991) defines quality as a way of managing the organization. 7. Juran defines quality as fitness for use. 8. Hoshin defines quality as correcting and preventing loss, not living with loss. 9. Flood, (1993) in his book "Beyond TQM," defines quality as "meeting The customer's (agreed) requirements, formal and informal, at the lowest cost, first time, every time." This definition consolidates different definitions of quality in one, more or less, comprehensive statement. The second important term is “total”. The term total quality indicates how TQM is a companywide effort. In fact, TQM involves everyone's effort in the organization in order to improve performance. This makes TQM an instrument that considers quality as a strategic objective for an organization (Burati, 1990). In other words, TQM can be achieved through an integrated effort among personnel at all levels, to increase customer satisfaction by continuously improving performance. The integrated effort among personnel can be achieved by having effective and comprehensive management. This leads to the third keyword “management." The responsibility for management is everyone's, as "total" implies. In other words, everyone 6should be

responsible for managing their own jobs and this integrates managers with their workers and everyone else in the organization. The essence of TQM is to achieve customer satisfaction, cost effectiveness, and defect-free work. TQM does this through focusing on process improvement, customer and supplier involvement, teamwork, training and education. TQM is a culture advocating a total commitment to customer satisfaction, through continuous improvement and innovation in all aspects of the business. The customer, in the TQM culture, does not mean only the final recipient of the organization's end product or services. The customer is also every individual or department within the organization (Logothetis, 1992). The TQM culture varies from one company to another and from one industry to another. However, the TQM culture, regardless of its differences from one company to another, aims to achieve common objectives; namely removal of waste, reduction of costs, improvement of reputation and increased market share. As can be observed, TQM objectives are dynamic in their nature and this dictates continuous updating and upgrading (Logothetis,1992). Benefits of Introducing TQM The most important benefits of introducing TQM into a company are the following (Fox, 1993): 1. It makes the company focus clearly on the needs of its market. This is essential for a company to survive in the competitive market. 2. It helps in achieving a top quality performance in all areas, not only in the final product or service quality. In fact, achieving top quality performance in all areas reflects substantially on the final product or service quality, since quality is a continuous chain. 3. It assists in implementing the simple procedures necessary for the achievement of quality performance. 4. It helps, critically and continuously, in examining all processes to remove non-productive activities and waste. 5. It determines the required improvements and develops a measure of performance. 6. It provides full, detailed understanding of the competition and develops an effective competitive strategy. 7. It develops the team approach to problem solving. 8. It develops good procedures for communication and recognition of outstanding work.

9. It reviews continuously the processes to develop the strategy of never ending improvement 10. Management objectives, such as customer satisfaction, meeting specifications, larger market share, higher productivity, zero defects, increase in sale and decrease in costs, can be achieved by embodying TQM ethics in all aspects of the organization. The Difficulties of Implementing TQM The implementation of TQM into an organization requires fundamental organizational culture change. Changing an organization's culture is a very difficult task, which often faces resistance. The challenge of implementing TQM is due to the fact that TQM is not a slogan, nor a tool, nor a program; it is an organization paradigm. The concept of TQM is broad enough to be the framework or foundation of an organization's culture. Therefore, implementing TQM might be dealing with replacing, rather than 8modifying, the organization's culture. Furthermore, the transformation from the traditional Western paradigm to the TQM paradigm is a radical change. Glover, (1992) showed the significant differences between the two management approaches. A study conducted by Longenecker and Scazzero, (1993) revealed that managers and supervisors in the organization that they surveyed were reluctant to change their behavior to the critical organizational endeavor of implementing TQM. The reason for this is that it is difficult, even in normal times, for managers in any organization to change their management style and behavior. The main reasons for their reluctance to change include the following: 1. senior management's lack of commitment to the process, as evidenced by their failure to practice TQM. 2. too many changes in too short a time. 3. mixed signals in of the pressure to get immediate results without reduced production output. 4. too little assistance in redefining roles. 5. little positive on individual performance, while criticism and negative are plentiful.

Among the other difficulties in implementing TQM is the failure to have some means of monitoring and managing the overall progress of TQM implementation, and the failure to provide skills training immediately before TQM is applied. Finally, regarding TQM as only an

internal process and thus failing to involve suppliers, subcontractors, and others in the process chain creates a major difficulty in implementing TQM. Brown, et al., (1994) identified what they believe are the reasons for TQM implementation failure. Organizations go through three identifiable phases during the pursuit of TQM. These phases are: 1. Start-up: This is the initial stage where workers at all levels get themselves acquainted with the basic principles of TQM. This phase involves, also, implementing quality improvement projects using the tools and techniques of TQM. 2. Alignment: In this phase, the organization realizes that it must align its organizational systems and practices to quality and team work. 3. Integration: In the third phase, the organization integrates TQM principles into every aspect of the organization's operations. Each phase has its own challenges and common mistakes. Table 1 lists the common reasons for TQM failure in each phase. Table 1. Reasons for TQM failure (Brown, et al 1994) No. Phase Reasons for TQM failure I. Start-up 1. Lack of management commitment 2. Poor training and pacing 3. Wasted education and training 4. Lack of short-term, bottom line result. II. Alignment 1. Divergent strategies 2. Inappropriate measures 3. Outdated appraisal methods 4. Inappropriate rewards

III. Integration 1. Failing to transfer true power to employees

2. Maintaining outmoded management practices 3. Poor organization and job design 4. Outdated business systems Lakhe and Mohanty (1994a) discussed a case study of TQM implementation. The major obstacles of implementation were: a. inadequate knowledge and information about TQM; b. doubts of employees about management's intentions; c. failure of management to maintain interest and commitment over a long period of time; d. difficulty in measuring the effectiveness of TQM; e. poor internal communication; f. difficulty in assessing customer expectations and satisfaction; g. insufficient training resources.

INTRODUCTION Total Quality Management (TQM) is a strategy that embodies the belief that the management process must focus on integrating the customer – driven quality throughout an organisation (Stah, 2002). It stresses continuous improvement of product quality and service delivery while taking into cognisance the reality that in order to achieve this goal, employee relations needs to be equally addressed, as the customer cannot get the satisfactory service delivery from illmotivated employees (Lewis, 2004) The philosophy underlying the implementation of a TQM strategy is to see organisational customers and clients as the vital key to organisational success. Organisations with TQM strategy see their business through the eyes of their customers and clients and then measure their organisations performance against customer/client expectations (Fran, 2002). It therefore follows that organisations that want to be successful with the implementation of TQM strategy must evaluate its operations through the eyes of its customers b y strengthening and exploring all avenues including the people (employees)that make up the organisational structure(Stah,2002). According to Balogun and Hope-Hailey (2008), strategy should be seen as a system/process, that should be able to engender in the employees a culture of total commitment to the vision and mission of the organisation, and thus, a functional strategy that embodies the collective contribution of various components that make up the organisational hierarchy should be such that compliment each other in the implementation of a strategy. For a strategy to accomplish the desired goals and objectives of an organisation, effective strategy implementation mechanisms should be put in place and one of the most potent ways for achieving this is by exploiting the internal capabilities of the organisation in the form of its employees as a veritable asset while encoming various HRM initiatives, such as recruitment and selection, training and development, reward systems, performance appraisal , the need for enhanced employee voice systems , employee engagement and greater line manager involvement with management ,because they should be seen as a bridge between the employees and management for enhanced psychological contract, which will in turn facilitate greater employee commitment (Murphy et al, 2001). Quality products or services need not only to conform to consumers requirements; the product/service must be acceptable. Effective TQM strategy entails that the product/service must go beyond acceptability for a given price range. For example, rather leaving customers/clients satisfied that nothing went wrong with the product or service, a product/service should give the customers/clients some delightful surprises, or provide unexpected benefits (Collard, 2001). This means, therefore, that product/service quality assurance requires more than just meeting customers/clients minimum standards. The level of product quality is the degree, to which a product/service is equal to or greater than customers/clients expectations, That is LPQ > CE Where LPQ = Level of Product Quality, and CE = customer/client expectation. Thus, for organisations who desire to have TQM strategy in place and make it work effectively, should as a matter of principle endeavour to be positively disposed to the idea of quality management philosophy in their organisation. According to Haigh and Morris (2002), quality management is an ingredient towards adequate quality delivery to customers .Quality management involves: management systems, delivery, quality, cost, technology and of course the employees, because according to Donaldson, (2001), no matter how perfect a strategy might be, it depends on people for implementation. All these various components of quality management when effectively harnessed will result in customer satisfaction; where the intention

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is not to stop at a point in the process of implementation, but rather a continuous improvement of the mechanism for a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA), through the use of employees as organisations effective internal assets for a successful implementation (Haigh and Morris, 2002).This can be further understood with the diagram below People Dedication and commitment from the employees, by means of well established voice systems and employee engagement. Adequate tools to do the work effectively and efficiently, an enabling environment, and training. Team approach to management policies and procedures for strategic implementation. Quality No compromise alternative when aiming at quality because the outcome will definitely tell , „the customer knows it when he sees it‟ Delivery Customers should be able to receive products/service, when they want it. Management systems Understanding variation and effective development of human resource capacity utilisation. Constancy of purpose and direction Preventing error margin rather than detecting errors in quality delivery Pride of workmanship Problem solving Technology This involves research and continuous development in of product/service design. Up to date with contemporary manufacturing and service capabilities. Cost Efficient and competitive production system for good products/services Continuous cost improvement for the benefit of the customers (customer loyalty) as well as other associated costs like overhead costs associated with running the organisation. Thus, from the foregoing, a number of issues can be associated with the implementation of an effective TQM strategy, but as stated by Stanford, (2005) succour lies in the ability of managers to adhere to these under mentioned twelve elements: Quality awareness Effective management leadership style Organising for quality improvement Creating a participative environment by means of employee involvement and participation and employee engagement. Problem prevention and solving. Training for quality improvement Involvement of every function(e.g. front line leaders) at levels Customer (employees as internal customers) and supplier involvement within and around the organisation. Measurement of Quality performance Continuous appraisal of measurement system for sustainability. Recognition for achievement/excellence. Continuous improvement.

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Although all these twelve elements may seem too tasking at the beginning, a committed manager will appreciate how mutually important and inter-related all these elements and their recognition is vital for a successful implementation of TQM strategy. Various proponents of TQM strategy see it from different angles, right from the early works of Crosby(1979,1984,1989), Deming(1986,1994), Feigenbaum(1991), Juran(1988), Juran and Gryna(1993)and Ishikawa(1985), but central to their beliefs and working methods, is providing quality delivery through people .TQM begins with education and ends with education, and so crucial is the role of the employee in seeing to its successful implementation, because, when employees are aware of what is required of them in the process through effective voice system and engagement, they become highly motivated and committed to its actualization, (Dale, 1994). TQM should go farther than production operations/activities and involve every employee in the organisation. More often than not, companies that have failed in the implementation of TQM strategy fail not because they desire to fail in strategy implementation but rather, because of the emphasis laid at the door step of the „hard‟ aspect of the organisation such as costs and production performance, thus living little or no significant room for the „soft‟ people centred values of an organisation which encomes employee involvement, participation, commitment and engagement (Slerming, 2007). For TQM to be effective, managers have to take into proper perspective the relevance of the workforce that make up the organisational structure, as no organisation exists to carry out business operations/activities without employees (Carol et al.2006). People are the effective tools management can readily use in transforming /implementing strategic choices(Edwards, 2005) and as Guest (1987) puts it “because they are the most variable, and the least easy to understand and control of all management resources, effective utilisation of human resources is likely to give organisations a significant competitive advantage. The human resources dimension must therefore be fully integrated into the strategic planning process”. The above quote by Guest (1987) is aptly correct and relevant, if organisations are to attain the goals and objectives required of them, so as to justify the huge financial commitment by owners of business like the investors (shareholders) and even t stakeholders in the operations of the business, for example the suppliers, regulators, customers, employees and communities they operate, because apart from justifying what is expected of them, TQM as a strategy allows and build in the employees the following: A decentralisation of decision-making responsibility to well trained problem solving labour force, that is , it provides an avenue for the employees of an organisation to participate in decision- making about how the business operates, and this can further improve relationships, develop trust and confidence as well as facilitate co-operative activity (Druker, 2008). Methodologically improving the quality of all organisational processes and strategies from an internal and external customer perspective, because with TQM, it helps with building collective responsibility, aid personal development and build confidence, develop problem solving skills and also facilitate employees awareness of quality improvement potential, leading to behavioural and attitudinal changes(Farnham, 2000). A combined emphasis on both incremental continuous total quality improvement and break through strategies, because TQM as a strategy encourages the employees to improve operating effectiveness as employees work in a common direction and thus, foster a change in management style and culture(Fullan,2003). A reasonable focus on the customer, both in setting strategic objectives and in building organisational routines that link as many units and levels in the firms as possible to identifying

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and meeting customer needs, wants, desires and expectations, and this can only be achievable with the enhancement of employees morale within and around the organisation ,(Simons, 2000). A linkage of reward and measurement systems, both formal and informal, to these new directions, because TQM builds in the employee the ability to solve problems to be able to align his/her personal needs, wants and desires with that of the organisation (Green et al, 2003). TQM AND EMPLOYEES: THE USE OF HRM PRACTICES AND INITIATIVES Every employee in an organisation should contribute reasonably to quality improvement and satisfaction of customers‟/clients‟ needs and wants (Collard, 2001). For organisations that practice TQM strategy, the manufacturing department orientation, for example, towards lowestcost productivity should synchronise with the marketing commitment to market quality products at acceptable prices. The idea that quality improvement is every employees responsibility should permeate throughout the organisation, so that advertising, human resource, order-processing, production, delivery, and other organic functional areas of the organisations‟ business will be in harmony. This will eliminate or reduce the problem of sub-optimisation associated with departmental excellence at the detriment of organisational excellence (Aluko et al, 2000). The idea should be top-down and bottom-up approach policy by management so as to allow for open line of communication within employees and between management. One way of achieving this, is by means of HRM practices and initiatives in the implementation of the strategy through training, learning and continuous development of the employee, recruitment and selection, reward system, succession planning and engendering employee voice culture, where they will be allowed to air their opinion on ways of moving the organisation forward for better growth and development (Lewis, 2004),because according to Murphy et al,( 2001), an engaged employee is the satisfied employee ,and a satisfied employee, is happy and able to deliver and meet set targets. Professional development is particularly crucial for employees of any modern organisation that aims to be competitive in business, by satisfying the customers through quality delivery of products and services (Kremetik, 2004). Practices and initiatives of HRM is by no means, an invaluable instrument in achieving a successful implementation of TQM strategy. In order to be abreast with the current trends in the ever dynamic business environment, it is pertinent that organisations invest in their workforce who will see to the implementation of TQM as a strategy that allow employees the opportunity to be aware of new trends and development in their fields (Collinson et al, 2003). Purcell et al. (2003) research, established the link between people and organizational performance. According to Purcell et al. (2003), by providing employees with the necessary training, their skill and motivation levels will increase, thus leading to enhanced performance within the organization. There is the need for line managers to be actively involved and committed to the development of employees, to enhance a strategic development, say in the area of training, learning and development (TL&D) Garavan (2007). This is because, line managers are better placed to understand the needs of both organizations and employees, so, it is ideal for line managers to have greater involvement, by aligning individual needs to organizational needs, so as to ensure that TL&D is more strategic, helping to encourage vertical integration (Kremetik, 2004). For organizations to fulfill their vision and mission, front line leaders have to ensure that employees are clear about their roles and how it fits with the overall organizational objective. This can be done by reinforcing the concept of the golden thread, Martin and Jackson, (2005) ensuring the strategic link is maintained. According to Morgan, (2000), organizations have to take into cognisance, the employee aspect of the enterprise, because, they enable it to thrive financially, through the services that they render. Hence, there is the need for open line of

communication, at all levels within the organisation. For TQM to take firm root in an organization as a strategy that can contribute to improving performance of an organization through quality delivery of products and services, it has to be backed up with Ability, Motivation and Opportunity(AMO) as postulated by Purcell et al,2003; because when employees are equipped with the skills and knowledge to do their jobs, the result is commitment and discretionary behaviour which are necessary ingredients to achieve high performance and turn skills into effective action. TQM strategy can be enhanced when using the AMO model (Purcell et al. 2003) and here, employees must have the ability, opportunity and motivation required to enable them do their work effectively and efficiently. However it relies heavily on the role of line managers, and in this case, since line managers are responsible for people management, they have to get more involved with their employees‟ development and provide them with the three important aspects of the AMO model. Trust and confidence, resulting from psychological contract are ingredients that are needed for a greater involvement of employees in the implementation of TQM processes. From the diagram above, it highlights some of the main domains of HRM practice which are in the areas of training and development, performance appraisal, recruitment and selection amongst others. The link between these domains, when harmonized, will ultimately result in better optimization of human resources (employees) in an organisation. When the employees are given the necessary motivation and skills which they will acquire through the training and management development programmes by management of organisations, the staff will in turn be motivated and committed to give in their utmost best while seizing every opportunity to demonstrate to the management as well as customers of the organisation that a strategy that is people oriented and participative to employees will promote growth and development in an organization, Purcell et al.,(2003),this of course will only be possible with effective collaboration with a functional line management. What this model tend to demonstrate, is that teamwork, opportunity to participate, pay satisfaction, open communication between management and employees, enhanced career development will give the employees a sense of organisational commitment, well motivated staff strength and job satisfaction which ultimately will lead to greater performance outcomes and effective human resources capacity utilization(Grant, 2008). Organizational characteristics such as transformational leadership, job design, social interaction and organizational culture are identified as potential predictors of ability, motivation and opportunity (Simons, 2000).Organizations that allow their employees to practice their profession to the point of attaining the highest position available in the organization, will certainly get the best out of their employees, knowing fully well that climbing up to the highest position in of hierarchy will not be compromised as this practice is also embedded in TQM strategy (Donaldson, 2001).The psychological contract is the bond existing between the employer and the employees; it says much about the trust and cordiality that exist between both parties i.e. the employer on one hand and the employee at the other side (Druker, 2008).The psychological contract “both fill the perceptual gaps in the employment relationship and shapes day-to-day employee behaviour in ways that cannot necessarily be discerned from a written contract”, (Rousseau and Ho 2000 pp 476). According to Gyelan and Waldman, (2005), embedded in psychological contract is the inevitable reward of use of discretionary behaviour by the employees. Confidence building and trust in the management by the employees will bring about this development, in order for the workforce of an organization to be whole heartedly involved in the day to day operations of an organization.

It is only in an atmosphere of camaraderie that trust and confidence can be established, Geary,( 2003); thus, for organizations to succeed with the implementation of TQM strategy, HRM practices and initiatives, that allow for an atmosphere of psychological contract to be entrenched in its body of policies, should be allowed to flourish, so as to facilitate the linkage between psychological contract and the use of discretionary behaviour.An employee that is allowed freedom of choice in using his/her discretionary behaviour as encouraged by the implementation of TQM by seeing the employee as the internal customer, and not necessarily adhering to all rules as directed by management hook-line and sinker, will definitely give his/her best to an organization, because the phobia of high handedness which inevitably leads to human resource capacity under utilization of employees and poor performance from above management when eliminated, will allow for greater performance from employees, Grant,( 2008) and thus, the idea behind AMO(Ability, Motivation and Opportunity) as postulated by Purcell et al.,(2003) would have been achieved, because, within the AMO model lies the desire to see employees not being bossed into a tight corner of having to implement all that management of organisations have to say to their employees but having the freedom to exercise their innate knowledge, which of course can only be demonstrated and made manifest, when given the necessarily opportunity and motivation to do so. EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT IN TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND NEW RESEARCH EVIDENCE Recent research by authors on TQM sees the participative involvement of the employee during the conceptualization stage to the implementation stage of the strategy as crucial. In a survey carried out in six named organizations(British Steel ,Shotton Works, in North Wales); the Halifax Building Society; the London Borough of Lewisham; Philips Domestic Appliances (Hastings site, in Sussex); Severn Trent Water; and South Warwickshire NHS Trust. It was based on interviews with managers and trade union representatives and a detailed survey of employee opinions; a total of 280 employee responses was obtained by Collinson, Edwards, and Rees, (2003).Result of the research shows (a) that employees welcome some but not all features of TQM, (b) that existing s have an unduly strict benchmark for the effects of TQM, and (c) that success depends on certain conditions. More than four-fifths of the sample survey revealed that employees saw quality as the crucial issue for their organisations‟ success, growth and development in order to sustain competitive advantage over competitors and as such, welcome the need for the implementation of TQM. Almost two-thirds of the same sample survey felt that employees had a "great deal" or a "fair amount" of influence over quality, and over 70 per cent of the sample survey acknowledge that their own involvement in problem-solving had increased enormously. Five employees in six identified the presence of meetings designed for problemsolving. Of the sample survey, 72 per cent acknowledge that there had been an increase in communication activity recently. The most favourably evaluated method was team briefing, followed by informal communication with individual managers. It was direct, face-to-face, communication, where the worker is allowed to air his mind, as regards operations and how things are done in the organization they work for, thus giving them that sense of „belonging‟ to an organization who cares for their input in the day to day running of the organization (internal customers) and this open line of communication was most valued by this segment of employees during the research sample survey. Many proponents of TQM claim that it "empowers" workers. Critics equate it with work intensification and stress. The research sample survey result shows that neither picture is accurate. Managements in the organisations surveyed, did not use the

language of empowerment and had more pragmatic goals, as one of the managers summarily puts it as "empowerment is not a word used at local level; we can and do involve people more but we need to have constraints". Employees reported greater effort outputs, but most liked the pace at which they worked. Those who were working harder and who were most subject to the measurement of their performance were also the most likely to favour quality strategies like the TQM. According to the research, acceptance of TQM was greatest where several conditions prevailed: 

Better feeling of job security was a key element in encouraging acceptance of quality initiatives.

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Training was very crucial; it was the pivot upon which quality strategies was built, as it involves educating the employee on what is expected of them in the implementation of quality delivery strategies, invariably suggesting that, it is not the overall amount which mattered, but the extent to which quality delivery strategies were specifically linked to quality or teamwork.

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Cooperative interactions with employee representatives were an important element in easing the acceptance of TQM. All the organizations during the research were unionized, and it was found that organizations which maintained working relationships with their unions were also the most likely to maintain their quality delivery strategies effectively, but does not claim that a trade union role was too essential. It quotes related research as showing that TQM can work well in non-union cases, but even in these, there was a system of employee representation in place.

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It was also evident from the result of the research that ad hoc measures tended to undermine TQM implementation. They were of two kinds: production measures, which made it hard for quality activities to be maintained; and financial measures, which could result in human resource capacity under utilization and commitment to TQM. Quality delivery strategies like TQM can", the study says, "be seen as catalysts", bringing out workers' willingness to take responsibility and providing a focus and rationale for efforts at involvement. TQM strategy seem to promote a narrowly focused but real sense of discipline and purpose, rather than being a means to make workers work harder, the report concludes. THE ROLE OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TEAMS IN TQM STRATEGY One of the major obstacles that have bedeviled the successful implementation of TQM is the non – recognition of quality teams in organizations in the quest for a successful strategy that will lift the organization above its competitors (Stanford, 2005). Team effectiveness is crucial to the implementation of TQM because the development of people and their involvement in the operations of an organization through teamwork is very essential ,and for it not to be seen as such ,will only ruin the collective effort of inputs towards the actualization of a functional quality delivery strategy like the TQM(Lewis,2004) Quality improvement teams cuts across employees of organizations, representatives of customers and suppliers with a major objective of meeting the set target of achieving quality. In doing this, it is pertinent to note that certain criteria have to be fulfilled in order to get the desired result from a quality improvement team, since it embraces almost all the stakeholders that lay claim to a business, and these criteria, according to Geirhybein (2004) include choosing the leader and of the team. In doing this, the team leader must:

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Possess effective Leadership Behaviour Possess the attributes of effective conflict management

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Should have the ability of encouraging innovation

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Have adequate knowledge of effective meeting management

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Manage and send out schedule of events and activities.

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Make certain that the team are conversant with the modus operandi of team meetings/activities.

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Endeavour to make certain that meeting venues are secured well ahead of time. Engage in meeting with front line managers on favourable times for team meetings.

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Should be prompt and alert to time.

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Ability to record activities of team meetings in minutes as well as collation of data.

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Sets an agreed time for the next meeting as well as communicates minutes and ensure that action is taken for matters raised.

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Ability to identify training needs of the quality team in addition to be a good contributor and listener, and this can be achieved by being dedicated to the intended purpose of the team through effective commitment.

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Similarly, Geirhybein (2004) suggested what need to have in order to be effective in quality delivery teams:

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must be willing, not forced or coerced to a quality team for the fun of it. need to be ionate about what the quality team sets out to achieve at all times as the direct result of such commitment is the outright benefit of quality service.

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should be prepared to share their experiences with the team leader as well as among themselves, for the overall benefit of the team.

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should be able to buy into shared team vision

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Present in the should be the spirit of natural collaboration

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Need to respect the views of other when they speak, listen to them when they have issues to raise as well as, be able to communicate effectively with both the team leader and .

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should equally be ready to take down minutes at the request of the team leader, be prepared to follow up actions when directed and never be afraid to say „I don‟t understand‟ when situations arise .

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need also to be able to contribute meaningfully to discussions on the floor during meetings as well as being effective listeners. Quality improvement initiatives typically involve the directed efforts of quality improvement teams. Making adequate use of quality improvement teams and empowering employees to solve quality-related issues using such tools as AMO(Ability, Motivation and Opportunity) as exemplified in the work of Purcell et al.( 2003) can serve as a leverage for the implementation of a TQM system. The effective use of quality improvement teams, and the TQM system as a whole, can be strengthened by the basic application of principles of motivation, especially the the recognition of team achievements as against those of individual employees, and the effective use of goal setting for team efforts, are crucial in driving the process of TQM. The HRM department is in a vantage position to help institutionalize team approaches to TQM by deg appraisal and reward systems that focus on team performance, Fran, (2002).

INSTITUTING TQM CULTURE IN ORGANISATIONS: EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT People can be better managed to embrace TQM by institutionalizing TQM organizational culture in the employees, so as to be able to deliver quality products and services to customers, Collinson et al, (2003). Human resource management can play a crucial role in the i mplementation of TQM strategy. HR managers or practitioners are responsible for recruiting and selecting high-quality employees, the continuous training and development of these employees, and the creation and sustenance of reward systems. Therefore, TQM sees to the control of processes that are pivotal to the accomplishment of cultural changes often required for TQM to be successfully implemented, Haigh and Morris, (2002). Directing the TQM cultural development initiatives to the organisations‟ conditions is important in subduing opposition to change and moving beyond simple compliance toward a total commitment to TQM processes. According to De Wit and Mayers, (2005), holding a significant connecting role between top management and employees, HRM has many avenues to institute communication channels between top management and other of the organization. Using these channels, HRM practitioners can ensure that employees realize that they are the organization's number one priority in implementing TQM. Engendering trust and confidence through an open interchange of purposeful ideas can help eliminate fears regarding the work-role changes that TQM needs. This can provide the building block for all employees to be trained to see their colleagues in other divisions as equal internal customers to the organisation. This is another avenue for HRM to highlight this new outlook by example. Through this means, that is, focusing on satisfying the needs and wants of the customer first and foremost, HRM can institute a departmental view of service throughout the entire hierarchy of an organization. A major function of HRM‟s expertise is its capability to scrutinize and provide assessment for employee attitudes. This expertise can be significantly essential in driving the process for a proper implementation of TQM, since getting it right from the onset (conceptualization stage) entails having adequate data/information about current performance level. Therefore, a preliminary action is to implement an employee assessment, targeting two prime areas. One requires the identification of the difficult parts of organizations‟ current operations, where innovations in quality can have the most significant impact on an organizations‟ performance level. The other part, targets the perceptions and attitudes of employees towards quality as a fundamental issue, so as to ensure that, the implementation of TQM can be revitalized, for better effectiveness and efficiency, Collinson et al.,( 2003). Achieving assistance from other divisions in an organization in the use of surveys to a great extent depends largely on their perception of HRM's position in the survey process. The challenge is to ensure that HRM is not having an over bearing influence on other departmental functions, but rather, to be seen as an important ally in making their own quality improvements. Achieving this status, can be accomplished in the participative nature of the TQM philosophy by involving other divisions in the organization, towards the development of the survey instrument to be used. This involvement begins the process of carrying each division in the organization along, so as to see TQM as a strategy to be embraced by all employees of an organization (Haigh and Morris, 2002).