Archive for November 2011
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Total Quality Management has been around for quite some time now. But if we talk about quality, what exactly do we then mean?
A definition that is frequently used to describe it is: The ability to please the customer by fully meeting their expectations and needs. These expectations and needs refer to many aspects, the most common being delivery of products or services, the availability, performance to produce, maintainability of a delivered product, the look and feel or appearance of the goods, price level, reliability as a partner and good cost effectiveness as a result of less overhead.
Common business sense would state that an organization has to understand and measure its capacity to live up to the expectations and needs of their customers. Failure to meet the demands of the internal customer will undoubtedly and unequivocally move through the delivery chain towards the last stage, where it interfaces with the external customer. For a business to be really effective, a quality approach must cover all activities and all people at every level within the organization.
Total Quality Management is centered around a couple of key areas.
It all starts with people. The employees that every day carry out the activities required in the process all have their own customers and suppliers. If not everyone within the company is fully committed to quality, it will not be possible for the organization to excel. And as TQM is a method of continuous improvement, an internal culture will be required that stimulates this continuous improvement, and promotes and rewards effective teamwork.
Any company is built on a set of core processes that produce desired outputs by transforming inputs. For these outputs – or results – to be effective, they will have to meet external and internal customer’s needs. Analysis of every process is required in order to establish areas of improvement which will lead to higher quality.
A Strategic Business Plan will have to be in place that clearly states the key performance indicators. Through performance management, these indicators will be controlled, and continuous monitoring will quickly show any deviations from the plan.
A Quality Management System finally will be used to keep track of all achievements. It is a vital component and will highly contribute to reaching the goals as laid out in the strategic business plan.
The implementation of a TQM program can be quite challenging. Before starting any activities, it is important for an organization to clarify the level of commitment within the management team and the real motivation which supports the decision to introduce it. There are many points that have to be considered, already an early stage.
One should start with establishing a systematic plan which will be used for the implementation of TQM. Barriers to process improvement should be eliminated, and communications and teamwork must be improved. There has to be an urge and recognition that systems must be managed. In analyzing the processes, it is important that only facts are used. Quality has a lot to do with the right mentality, and establishing a culture that inspires to do things right already the first time is required. Up to date methods of supervision is best used in order to remove fear for change among employees. Personnel should be trained and provided with a thorough understanding of the relationship between supplier and the customer. The subject matter experts will have to be educated and trained in order to continuously develop their skills and knowledge. Last but not least, Within the entire organization, long term commitment to continuous quality improvement has to be introduced and eventually established.
Applying Total Quality Management within an organization has many benefits. Managing quality as a way to achieve excellence means that the business has to be managed in such a manner that every job and process that is performed, is carried out right, each and every time, not just the first time. The reputation of any business is built on the excellence and quality of the services and products it delivers. If applied correctly, quality management can be an effective competitive attribute, which leads to more profits because of improved customer satisfaction and increased market share.
What Is Change Management?
Organisational change is something many of us will experience in our careers, often more than once, yet many managers find themselves tasked with managing business continuity whilst change is taking place, yet have received little change management training or have little experience in managing change. This may sound familiar.
Leading and managing change in an organisation is critical if the change is to be achieved within timescales, budget and with a committed and engaged workforce. Often change programmes confuse and distract people from their everyday work; productivity becomes affected with uncertainty regarding the future becoming the preoccupation of many.
Good training for managers is essential. Senior managers must be able to communicate the strategic vision clearly, be able to explain the purpose and gain the commitment of middle managers quickly. Middle managers are often the key to successful change programmes, they face more questions from their colleagues and team members and are under mixed pressures of implementation, dealing with their own uncertainties and emotions, finding solutions to unexpected problems during changes and acting as a conduit between those they manage and those they report to.
Investment in change management training to create leaders with more tools in their managerial and leadership toolbox, goes a long way to improve the quality of the experience many have when going through change in the workplace.
Good change management training should ensure that delegates develop
• A comprehensive understanding of change management strategy
• Be aware of the principles of successful change programmes
• Have knowledge of models of change management
• Strategic vision
• Tactical panning for improved implementation of change
• An exploration of Emotional Intelligence EI and be able to put it into practice
• Increased self awareness of how they cope and deal with change
• Coaching skills for use in the workplace
• Advanced communication skills of effective leadership
The provision of coaching for managers in organisations that are involved in change has long been recognised as being beneficial. All to often a main source of tension and stress for the manager lies in the fact that they feel unable or unwilling to discuss their thoughts and feelings with others whilst coping with the change they have been tasked to manage.
External coaching goes a long way to both relieving that stress and tension. The coachee having the opportunity to verbalise thoughts & feelings, explore and develop strategies, review difficult situations with a coach that is separate from the organisation, in a safe confidential and non judgemental environment.
Change Management – The What, Why, and How
What is Change Management?
“Change management is a structured process and set of tools for leading the people side of change.”(Prosci) Change management is no longer a vague ‘management concept’ – it is a critical leadership competency and strategic capability to manage in these extraordinary times with unanticipated discontinuities.
“Companies must move quickly – make the right decisions and act on them with unwavering conviction. The ability to respond swiftly is a core characteristic of high-performance businesses.”
Why is Change Management Important? Similar to Project Management, which is a discipline that includes a set of tools and practices to manage the ‘technical’ or ‘business’ side of change, change management is targeted at managing the ‘people side of change.’ So, why manage the people side of change?