Quality Management: Kenya Institute of Management

QUALITY
MANAGEMENT
Kenya Institute of Management
Stanley Cheruiyot
FY 2015
Kenya Institute of Management Quality Management Prepared By: Stanley Cheruiyot
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY MANAGEMENT ......................................................... 6
Introduction to quality management................................................................................................................. 6
The Historical Background ................................................................................................................................. 6
Quality and Quality Management ...................................................................................................................... 7
Total Quality Management History .................................................................................................................10
Defining Quality ...................................................................................................................................................12
Dimensions of Quality .......................................................................................................................................14
Quality in Manufacturing ..........................................................................................................................14
Quality in Services ..............................................................................................................................................14
Importance of Quality ........................................................................................................................................15
Quality & Other functional areas of Management ..............................................................................18
Customer Centrism as a Driver of Quality ..................................................................................................20
PHILOSOPHIES OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT .......................................................... 23
Dr. W. Edwards Deming (1900–1993) ..........................................................................................................23
The Rise of Deming's Influence ...............................................................................................................24
Deming's Fourteen Points ........................................................................................................................25
The Deming Cycle .....................................................................................................................................28
Dr. Joseph Juran (B. 1904) ................................................................................................................................29
Juran's QualityTrilogy. ...............................................................................................................................29
Philip Crosby (1926–2001) ...............................................................................................................................30
Crosby's Cost Of Quality. .......................................................................................................................31
Crosby's Four Absolutes of Quality ......................................................................................................31
Armand V. Feigenbaum ......................................................................................................................................32
Dr. H. James Harrington....................................................................................................................................33
Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa (1915–1989) ....................................................................................................................33
Dr. Walter A. Shewhart (1891–1967)............................................................................................................34
Shigeo Shingo (1919–1990) ...............................................................................................................................34
Frederick Taylor (1856–1915) .........................................................................................................................35
Dr. Genichi Taguchi (B. 1924) ..........................................................................................................................35
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................... 39
Principles of Total Quality Management ........................................................................................................39
The Elements of Total Quality Management ................................................................................................43
TQM frameworks & Models .............................................................................................................................47
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Criticism of TQM ................................................................................................................................................48

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES ................................................................... 51
Benchmarking .......................................................................................................................................................51
The Benchmarking Process ......................................................................................................................51
Types of Benchmarking.............................................................................................................................52
Business Process Re- engineering (BPR) ........................................................................................................53
Lean Six Sigma ......................................................................................................................................................54
Other techniques ................................................................................................................................................56
1. Kaizen ....................................................................................................................................................56
2. Poka-Yoke ............................................................................................................................................57
SERVICE QUALITY............................................................................................................ 60
Quality Services Delivery ..................................................................................................................................62
Design for Quality ...............................................................................................................................................64
The design process .............................................................................................................................................65
Types of process .................................................................................................................................................65
The production process ....................................................................................................................................66
QUALITY TOOLS & MEASUREMENTS ......................................................................... 67
Quality Tools .......................................................................................................................................................67
Cost of Quality ....................................................................................................................................................67
Performance Measurement ...............................................................................................................................68
Quality Circles and Teams ................................................................................................................................70
Quality Teams ......................................................................................................................................................71
The Value of Teams ............................................................................................................................................72
Creating A Quality Improvement Team ........................................................................................................72
QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND AWARDS ............................................... 77
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) .................................................................................77
Benefits of International Standards ........................................................................................................77
ISO 9001 Certification .......................................................................................................................................79
ISO 14001 .............................................................................................................................................................80
Benefits ISO 14001 ....................................................................................................................................80
Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award...................................................................................................81
European Quality Award ...................................................................................................................................82
Company of the Year Award(COYA) ............................................................................................................83
IMPLEMENTING QUALITY MANAGEMENT ............................................................... 85
Quality Management leadership .......................................................................................................................85
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Quality and Competitiveness ...........................................................................................................................86

Systems Approach to Quality...........................................................................................................................88
Organizational capability ....................................................................................................................................88
Organizational culture & quality ......................................................................................................................89
Quality Paradigms/System ........................................................................................................................89
Workplace Culture and Quality .............................................................................................................90
Importance of Culture to Quality Management..................................................................................91
Quality Management and Organizational Productivity. ..............................................................................92
EMERGING ISSUES IN QUALITY MANAGEMENT ..................................................... 94
Enforcement of quality product/ service in Kenya ......................................................................................94
Consumers' Rights and Business Obligations ...............................................................................................94
Quality and Product Liability ...................................................................................................................95
Enforcement of Quality Laws in Kenya ..........................................................................................................97
The Role of Society in Sustaining Quality Practices ...........................................................................98
Impact of media on product/service quality ............................................................................................... 100
The Future of Quality Management ............................................................................................................. 103
Demanding customers ........................................................................................................................... 103
Shifting customer value expectations ................................................................................................. 104
Economic pressures................................................................................................................................ 105
New management approaches ............................................................................................................. 106
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Chance Favors the Prepared Mind- Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867-1934)
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INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Introduction to quality management
The importance of quality, be it in product or service, cannot be overemphasized . Quality is the

buzzword these days and everybody talks about it, the politicians from public platforms, the
company executives from business fora, and of course, the common man on the street.
Nevertheless, few understand the true meaning of the word quality and fewer still are able and
willing to put quality in its true perspective in the changing context of the liberalization and
globalization where the national boundaries for freer trade and commerce are slowly, but surely,
breaking down. In the olden times, quality had a simple definition — a product or service should
fit the purpose for which it was intended. One of the most important issues that businesses have
focused on in the last 20-30 years has been quality. As markets have become much more
competitive - quality has become widely regarded as a key ingredient for success in business
The Historical Background
The concept of quality as we think of it now first emerged out of the Industrial Revolution.
Previously goods had been made from start to finish by the same person or team of people, with
handcrafting and tweaking the product to meet 'quality criteria'. Mass production brought huge
teams of people together to work on specific stages of production where one person would not
necessarily complete a product from start to finish. In the late 19th century pioneers such
as Frederick Winslow Taylor and Henry Ford recognized the limitations of the methods being
used in mass production at the time and the subsequent varying quality of output. Management of
quality was the responsibility of the Quality department and was implemented by Inspection of
product output to 'catch' defects.
Application of statistical control came later as a result of World War production methods.
Quality management systems are the outgrowth of work done by W. Edwards Deming,
a statistician, after whom the Deming Prize for quality is named.
Quality, as a profession and the managerial process associated with the quality function, was
introduced during the second-half of the 20th century, and has evolved since then. Over this
period, few other disciplines have seen as many changes as the quality profession.
The quality profession grew from simple control, to engineering, to systems engineering. Quality
control activities were predominant in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The 1970s were an era of
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quality engineering and the 1990s saw quality systems as an emerging field.
Like medicine, accounting, and engineering, quality has achieved status as a recognized profession
Along with many other modern management practices QM originated and was also developed
within Japanese industry after the Second World War. Japan was a defeated nation with few
natural resources and an inability to feed a population of 90 million, by its self. The future lay in
successfully exporting consumer products across the world market, yet it had a reputation for
shoddy goods and management systems that were described as "feudal" and "despotic".
General Douglas McArthur realized the need for radical change and was responsible for the
regeneration of the Japanese economy. Key to this was the dismissal of the old management and
their systems, replacing them with younger men capable of making the changes needed to develop
their economy.
As a result the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) was formed, one of their first
actions was to invite a well-known American statistician Dr. W. Edwards Deming, to present his
ideas to them. Deming addressed the top business leaders in Japan, including managers from
Companies which are now household names, Sony, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Toyota. They
introduced new management methods, TQM being a key one. This led to Japan being the world
leader in quality and productivity.
Quality and Quality Management
"Quality is not an act. It is a habit." – Aristotle
Although quality and quality management does not have a formal definition, most agree that it is
an integration of all functions of a business to achieve high quality of products through continuous
improvement efforts of all employees. Quality revolves around the concept of meeting or
exceeding customer expectation applied to the product and service. Achieving high quality is
an ever changing, or continuous, process therefore quality management emphasizes
the ideas of working constantly toward improved quality. It involves every aspect of the
company: processes, environment and people. The whole workforce from the CEO to the line
worker must be involved in a shared commitment to improving quality.
QM may also be defined as the act of overseeing all activities and tasks needed to maintain a
desired level of excellence. This includes creating and implementing quality planning and assurance,
as well as quality control and quality improvement.
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Therefore, in brief, quality and quality management in particular can be defined as directing
(managing) the whole (total) production process to produce an excellent (quality)
product or service.
It differs from other management techniques in the attitude of management toward the product
and toward the worker. Older management methods focused on the volume of production and
the cost of the product. Quality was controlled by using a detection method (post production
inspection), problems were solved by management and management's role was defined as
planning, assigning work and controlling the production. Quality management, in contrast, is
focused on the customer and meeting the customer's needs. Quality is controlled by prevention,
i.e., quality is built in at every stage. Teams solve problems and everyone is responsible for the
quality of the product. Management's role is to delegate, coach, facilitate and mentor.
The nature of QM differs from common management practices in many other respects as
summarized below
1. Strategic Planning and Management
In traditional management, financial and marketing issues such as profitability, return on

investments, and market share drive strategic planning. Quality planning activities are delegated to
the "quality control" department. Long-term quality initiatives are viewed as being costly and
not contributing to the ultimate performance measure profit. Quality planning and strategic
business planning are indistinguishable in QM. Quality goals are the cornerstone of the business
plan. Measures such as customer satisfaction, defect rates, and process cycle times receive as
much attention in the strategic plan as financial and marketing objectives.
2. Changing Relationship with Customers and Supplier
In traditional management, quality is defined as adherence to internal specifications and

standards. Quality is defined as adherence to internal specifications and standards. Quality is
measured only bythe absence of defects. Inspection of people's work by others is necessary to
control defects. In QM, quality is defined as products and services beyond present needs and
expectations of customers. Innovation is required to meet and exceed customers' needs.
Traditional management places customers outside of the enterprise and within the domain of
marketing and sales. QM views everyone inside the enterprise as a customer of an internal or
external supplier, and a supplier of an external or internal customer. Marketing concepts and
tools can be used to assess internal customer needs and to communicate internal supplier
capabilities.
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3. Organizational Structure
Traditional management views an enterprise as a collection of separate, highly specialized

individual performers and units, loosely linked by a functional hierarchy. Lateral connections
are made by intermediaries close to the top of the organization. QM views the enterprise as a
system of interdependent processes, linked laterally over time through a network of
collaborating (internal and external) suppliers and customers. Each process is connected to the
enterprise's mission and purpose through a hierarchy of micro-and macro processes. Every
process contains sub processes and is also contained within a higher process. This structure of
processes is repeated throughout the hierarchy.
4. Organizational Change
Management's job is to prevent change, to maintain the status quo. In QM the environment in
which the enterprise interacts is changing constantly. If the enterprise continues to do what it
has done in the past, its future performance relative to the competition will deteriorate.
Management's job, therefore, is to provide the leadership for continual improvement and
innovation in processes and systems, products, and services. External change is inevitable, but a
favorable future can be shaped.
5. Team work
In traditional management, individuals and departments work for themselves. Individuals are
driven by short-term performance measures, have narrowly defined jobs, and rarely see how
they fit into the whole process or system. Little communication and cooperation exists between
design and manufacturing, manufacturing and marketing, and sales / service and design. In QM
individuals cooperate in team structures such as quality circles, steering committees, and self-
directed work teams. Departments work together toward system optimization through cross-
functional teamwork.
The adversarial relationship between union and management is inevitable in traditional
management. The only room for negotiation is in areas such as wages, health, and safety. In QM
the union is a partner and a stakeholder in the success of the enterprise. The areas for
partnership and collaboration are broad, particularly in education, training, and meaningful
involvement of employees in the improvement of processes that they affect and that affect their
work.
6. Motivation and Job Design
Motivation untraditional management is often akin to McGregor's Theory X model of

motivation: worker dislike work and require close supervision and control. QM organizations
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support the premise of Theory Y: workers are self-motivated, seek responsibility, and exhibit a
high degree of imagination and creativity at work. QM managers provide leadership rather than
overt intervention in the processes of their subordinates, who are viewed as process managers
rather than functional specialists. People are motivated to make meaningful contributions to
what they believe is an important and noble cause, of value to the enterprise and society.
In traditional management, competition is inevitable and inherent in human nature. Performance
appraisal, recognition, and reward systems place people in an internally competitive environment.
Individualism is reinforced tothe detriment of teamwork. Competitive behavior -
one person against another or one group against another is not a natural state in quality
management. Quality
Managementreward systems recognize individual as well as team contributions and reinforce coop
eration.
7. Management and Leadership
Traditional management views people as interchangeable commodities, developed to meet the

perceived needs of the enterprise. People are passive contributors with little autonomy-doing
what they are told and nothing more. QM views people as the enterprise's true competitive edge.
Leadership provides people with opportunities for personal growth and development. People are
able to take pride and joy in learning and accomplishment, and the ability of the enterprise to
succeed is enhanced. People are active contributors, valued for their creativity and intelligence.
Every person is a process manager presiding over the transformation of inputs to outputs of
greater value to the enterprise and to the ultimate customer.
Total Quality Management History
The tools and methods comprising TQM are not a new discovery. They have been around since
Frederick Taylor developed the Principles of Scientific Management in 1911. TQM’s key players
and events:
 1918: Dr. Franklin Bobbitt incorporates Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management into
his education model.
 Dr. Walter Shewhart, the Grandfather of TQM, is credited for development of the PDSA
Cycle; Plan, Do, Study, Act, and Statistical Process Control; using statistics to determine
the health of a process (Marshall 176).
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 W. Edwards Deming, the quality guru, was the key to Japan’s economic comeback after
World War II. The Japanese still use his version of the PDSA developed by Shewhart, and
Deming’s 14 Points.
1930s TQM history
The history of TQM starts with Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne experiments from 1927 through 1932.
These experiments showed that workers participation in decision making improves productivity.
In the 1930s, the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company studied lighting levels,
workday lengths, and rest period lengths to maximize productivity. During the lighting level
studies, researchers found that when the lights were brighter, worker productivity increased.
However when lighting level was decreased worker productivity also increased.
This change in behavior from the employees is now called the Hawthorne effect. It basically states
that when workers are involved in studies or decision making, productivity increases.
Also during the 1930s, Walter Shewhart developed control charts. This is a statistical method to
control processes.
1940s TQM History
In the 1940’s US was in World War II. ClHistory of the ISO 9001 standard. WWII pushed
standardization, statistical control, and best manufacturing practices.
1950s History of Total Quality Management
In the 1950s Edward Deming taught statistical methods and Dr Juran taught quality management
techniques to the Japanese. Armand Feigenbaun wrote Total Quality Control. This became the
first work that started many Total Quality Management theories. In 1954 Abraham Maslow
created a pyramid of self actualization needs. In terms of work productivity, the lower levels of
needs must be met prior to employees performing at higher levels. The needs in order are
1. Physiological which is to eat, sleep, and have shelter
2. Safety which is to have economic and physical security
3. Belonging which is to be accepted by family and friends
4. Esteem which is to be held in high regard
1. Self actualization which is to achieves ones best
1960s TQM History

In the 1960s Douglas McGregor formed the Theory X and Theory Y leadership models.
A Theory X leader applies a negative approach to management. They assume most workers really
do not like to work and try to avoid work.
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A Theory Y leader believes workers want to do a good job. They believe workers will offer
solutions to problems and participate in problem solving events. An involved employee is a
productive employee.
1970s History of TQM
In 1968 the Japanese shaped the phrase Total Quality Control. TQC is a companywide quality
control philosophy. This philosophy drove Japan to the world quality leader in the 1970s. For the
most part, Japan remains the quality leader. However the world has significantly closed the gap.
1980s History of TQM

In the 1980 the U.S. Naval Air Systems coined the TQM phrase. The Navy based most of the
principles on the Japanese Total Quality Control philosophy. Many companies adopted TQM
during the 80s. TQM spread like wild fire. Many companies saw significant gains in productivity.
However many companies started the program and failed miserably because they weren't willing
to change.

In the 1990s' TQM evolved. Experts introduce new methods that supported TQM. These include
Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma.

In the 2000s, ISO revised ISO 9001 to focus more on business planning, quality management and
continuous improvement. Other certification standards were created including AS9100 for
aerospace, TS16949 for automotive, ISO 14001 for environmental, TL9000 for electronics, and
ISO 17025 for laboratories. These standards all include the ISO 9001 elements.
Defining Quality
“Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of
it.” – Peter Drucker
The concept and vocabulary of quality is elusive. Different people interpret quality differently. Few can define quality
in measurable terms that can be operationalized. When asked what differentiate their product or service, the
banker will answer “service,” health care worker will answer “quality health care,” the hotel restaurant employee
will answer “customer satisfaction,” and the manufacturer will simply answer “quality product.” When pressed to
provide a specific definition and measurement, few can do so.
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There is an old maxim in management that says, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” and so it is with
quality. If strategic management systems and the competitive advantage are to be based on quality, every member of
the organization should be clear about this concept, definition, and measurement as it applies to his or her job.
Harvard professor David Garvin, in his book Managing Quality summarized five principal approaches to defining
quality: transcendent, product based, user based, manufacturing based, and value based. Let’s discuss each one of
them:
1. Transcendental View of Quality: Those who hold transcendental view would say, “I can’t define it, but I
know when I see it.”
Advertisers are fond of promoting products in these terms. “Where shopping is a pleasure” (supermarket), “We
love to fly and it shows” (airline), and “It means beautiful eyes” (cosmetics) are example.
2. Product-Based View: Product based definitions are different. Quality is viewed as quantifiable and measurable
characteristics or attributes. For example durability or reliability can be measured (e.g. mean time between failure, fit
and finish), and the engineer can design to that benchmark. Quality is determined objectively. Although this
approach has many benefits, it has limitations as well. Where quality is based on individual taste or preference, the
benchmark for measurement may be misleading.
3. User-Based View: User based definitions are based on the idea that quality is an individual matter, and
products that best satisfy their preferences (i.e. perceived quality) are those with the highest quality. This is a rational
approach but leads to two problems. First, consumer preferences vary widely, and it is difficult to aggregate these
preferences into products with wide appeal. This leads to the choice between a niche strategy or a market
aggregation approach which tries to identify those product attributes that meet the needs of the largest number of
consumers.
4. Manufacturing-Based View: Manufacturing-based definitions are concerned primarily with engineering and
manufacturing practices and use the universal definition of “conformance to requirements.” Requirements, or
specifications, are established design, and any deviation implies a reduction in quality. The concept applies to services
as well as products. Excellence in quality is not necessarily in the eye of the beholder but rather in the standards set
by the organization.
This approach has serious weaknesses. The consumer’s perception of quality is equated with conformance and
hence is internally focused. Emphasis on reliability in design and manufacturing tends to address cost reduction as
the objective, and cost reduction is perceived in a limited way–invest in design and manufacturing improvement until
these incremental costs equal the costs of non-quality such as rework or scrap.
5. Value-Based View: Value-based quality is defined in terms of costs and prices as well as a number of other
attributes. Thus, the consumer’s purchase decision is based on quality (however it is defined) at the acceptable price.
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Dimensions of Quality
Quality in Manufacturing
Well-developed quality systems have existed in manufacturing for some time. However, these
systems focused primarily on technical issues such as equipment reliability, inspections, defect
measurement, and process control. The transition to a customer-driven organization has caused
fundamental changes in manufacturing practices, changes that are particularly evident in areas such
as product design, human resource management, and supplier relations. Product design activities,
for example, now closely integrate marketing, engineering, and manufacturing operations. Human
resource practices concentrate on empowering workers to collect and analyze data, make critical
operations decisions, and take responsibility for continuous improvements, thereby moving the
responsibility for quality from the quality control department onto the factory floor. Suppliers
have become partners in product design and manufacturing efforts. Many of these efforts were
stimulated by the automobile industry, which forced their network of suppliers to improve quality.
Manufactured products have several quality dimensions including the following:
 Performance: a product’s primary operating characteristics measured in specific quantitative
terms which allows comparison and ranking e. g speed, power, acceleration etc
 Feature: the “bells and whistles” of a product. The non-operating characteristics of a product
that accompany a product offering. They are nonetheless very important to the customer.
 Reliability: the probability of a product’s surviving over a specified period of time under
stated Conditions of use
 Conformance: the degree to which physical and performance characteristics of a product
match pre-established standards.
 Durability: the amount of use one gets from a product before it physically deteriorates or
until replacement is preferable.
 Serviceability: the ability to repair a product quickly and easily.
 Aesthetics: how a product looks, feels, sounds, tastes, or smells.
 Perceived quality: subjective assessment resulting from image, advertising, or brand names.
Most of these dimensions revolve around the design of the product.
Quality in Services
The most important dimensions of service quality include the following; you may remember the
most important ones by RATTER:
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1. Reliability: How much reliable is the service provider?

2. Accessibility and convenience: Is the service easy to obtain?
3. Timeliness: Will a service be performed when promised?
4. Completeness: Are all items in the order included?
5. Consistency: Are services delivered in the same fashion for every customer, and every
time for the same customer?
6. Tangibility: after the service is over, is there anything to take home as a reminder of the
service experience?
7. Empathy or Courtesy: Do frontline employees greet each customer cheerfully when
necessary?
8. Responsiveness: Can service personnel react quickly and resolve unexpected problems?
Importance of Quality
As stated earlier, quality is the business of doing business. The race is on to capture a bigger slice
of the market pie with competition hotting up from domestic as well as foreign business. More
and more industries are re-orienting their focus on customers’ needs to make them satisfied and
keep them as their loyal customers. Quality is the bandwagon as we are into the 21st century.
Customers expect a better deal in the coming years. Quality is thus the enchanted mantra for
salvation for both the customers and businesses. It should be clearly understood that quality is an
attitude of mind and a way of life where “excellence is a journey, not a destination.”
The importance of quality in every walk of life cannot be over emphasized in this global economy.
Dr. J.M. Juran, an international expert in quality and management put it succinctly: “We live behind
the dykes of quality”.
It may be recalled Dr. J.M. Juran and Dr. W.E. Deming were responsible for the quality revolution
in Japan, which had the pre-war, dubious distinction of a producer of poor quality and shoddy
goods. All that changed after Dr. Juran and others taught the Japanese the importance of quality in
the goods and services they produced. Dr. Juran’s prediction that one day Japan would surpass the
advanced countries like Germany, UK, and USA, in quality has been proved right. During our daily
life we presume so many things: milk is not adulterated, the food we consume does not contain
harmful substances, vegetables do not have pesticides and herbicides, the transportation is safe
and reliable, we can occupy the seat as indicated in the railway reservation chart and a flight on a
particular day and time would take off as scheduled, our money is safe in the banks we trust so
much, investment.
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Quality is not negotiable

An order, contract or customer which is lost on the grounds of non-conforming product and/or
service quality is much harder to regain than one lost on price or delivery terms. In a number of
cases the customer could be lost forever; in simple terms the organization has been outsold by
the competition. If you have any doubt about the truth of this statement just consider the number
of organizations who have gone out of business or lost a significant share of a market, and
consider the reported reasons for them getting into that position. Quality is one of the factors
which is not negotiable and in today’s business world the penalties for unsatisfactory product
quality and poor service are likely to be punitive.
Quality is all-pervasive
There are a number of single-focus business initiatives which an organization may deploy to
increase profit. However, with the improvements made by companies of their mode of operation,
reduction in monopolies, government legislation, deregulation, changes in market share, mergers,
takeovers, collaborative joint ventures, there is less distinction between companies than there was
some years ago. QM is a much broader concept than previous initiatives, encompassing not only
product, service and process improvements but those relating to costs and productivity and to
people involvement and development. It also has the added advantage that it is totally focused on
satisfying customer needs. A related issue is that organizations are often willing to pay more for
what they perceive as a quality product.
Quality increases productivity

Cost, productivity and quality improvements are complementary and not alternative objectives.
Managers sometimes say that they do not have the time and resources to ensure that product
and/or service quality is done right the first time. They go on to argue that if their people
concentrate on planning for quality then they will be losing valuable operational time, and as a
consequence output will be lost and costs will rise. Despite this argument, management and their
staff will make the time to rework the product and service a second or even a third time, and
spend considerable time and organizational resources on corrective action and placating
customers who have been affected by the non-conformances. Remember ‘Murphy’s Law’ – ‘There
is never time to do it right but always time
to do it once more.’
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Quality leads to better performance in the marketplace

The Profit Impact of Market Strategy (PIMS), conducted under the Strategic Planning Institute in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, have a database which contains over 3,000 records of detailed
business performance. The Institute is a co-operative run by its members. The database allows a
detailed analysis of the parameters which influence business performance. A key PIMS concept is
relative perceived quality (RPQ); this is the product and service offering as perceived by the
customer. PIMS data is often used to model options before adapting a change initiative and to
assess how improvements translate into improved profits and enhanced customer loyalty. It has
been established that the factors having most leverage on return on investment are RPQ and
relative market share, and that companies with large market shares are those whose quality is
relatively high, whereas companies with small market shares are those whose quality is relatively
low. Another key finding is that businesses who know and understand customers’ priorities for
quality improvements can achieve a threefold increase in profitability.
Quality means improved business performance

An examination of 26 companies which won the Deming Application Prize (this is a prize awarded
to companies for their effective implementation of company-wide quality control). They found
that the financial performance of these companies in terms of earning rate, productivity, growth
rate, liquidity, and net worth was above the average for their industries. A report published by the
US General Accounting Office (GAO) (1991) focused on the top 20 scorers of the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) in the period 1988–9. Its purpose was to determine
the importance of TQM practices on the performance of US companies. Using a combination of
questionnaire and interview methods, the companies were asked to provide information on four
broad classes of 20 performance measures – employee-related indicators, operating indicators,
customer satisfaction indicators and business performance indicators. Improvements were claimed
in all these indicators (e.g. market share, sales per employee, return on assets, and return on
sales).
The cost of non-quality is high

Based on a variety of companies, industries and situations, the cost of quality (or to be more
precise the cost of not getting it right the first time) ranges from 5 to 25 per cent of an
organization’s annual sales turnover in manufacturing or annual operating costs in service-type
situations. An organization should compare its profit-to-sales turnover ratio to that of its quality
costs-to-sales turnover ratio in order to gain an indication of the importance of product and
service quality to corporate profitability. A related cost issue is that of product liability, which is
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concerned with the legal liability of a manufacturer or supplier of goods for personal injuries or
damage to property suffered as a result of a product which is defective and unsafe.
Customer is king
In today’s markets, customer requirements are becoming increasingly more rigorous and their
expectations of the product and/or service in terms of conformance, reliability, dependability,
durability, interchangeability, performance, features, appearance, serviceability, user-friendliness,
safety, and environmental friendliness is also increasing. These days many superior-performing
companies talk in terms of being ‘customer-obsessed’. At the same time, it is likely that the
competition will also be improving and, in addition, new and low-cost competitors may emerge in
the marketplace. Consequently there is a need for continuous improvement in all operations of a
business, involving everyone in the company. The organization which claims that it has achieved
QM will be overtaken by the competition. Once the process of continuous improvement has been
halted, under the mistaken belief that QM has been achieved, it is much harder to restart and gain
the initiative on the competition. This is why TQM should always be referred to as a process and
not a programme.
Quality is a way of life

Quality is a way of organizational and everyday life. It is a way of doing business, living and
conducting one’s personal affairs. In whatever each one person does, and in whatever situation,
the task(s) must be undertaken in a quality conscious way. Quality is driven by a person’s own
internal mechanisms – ‘heart and soul’, ‘personal beliefs’. Belief in it can be likened to that of
people who follow a religious faith. An organization committed to quality needs quality of working
life of its people in terms of participation, involvement and development and quality of its systems,
processes and products.
Quality & Other functional areas of Management
Most organizations are made up of individual functional units that are represented as departments
that ultimately provide customer satisfaction in their own unique way. Management of quality
should be performed using systems approach where independent functional areas are unified with
the aim of satisfying both the internal and external customers. In a typical functional area, quality
contributions can be achieved in the following ways;
Manufacturing/production
 Development of quality processes
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 Instituting quality assurance systems in the processes

 Participating in product designs activities
 Instituting process control systems
 Developing quality inspection and measurement systems
Sales and Marketing
 Establishing customer requirements
 Identify product features as determined by the customer
 Establishing the price the customer is willing to pay for a given level quality
 To continuously obtain feedback on product quality for continuous improvement
 Ensuring customer satisfaction by providing quality after sale services
Research and Development
 Develop technical specifications for the products
 Provide measures and specifications on product services required to produce a quality
product.
 To translate information collected from the customer into product requirement
 Develop ways of continuously improving product or service offering
 Develop standards for evaluating product and service quality
Purchasing Department
 Selecting suppliers who are able to deliver quality materials and parts
 Establish products requirements in line with specifications developed by the research
department
 Establish long term supplier relationships based on trust
 Informing supplier of any problems/defects encountered in the use of the product
 Measuring quality of products as they are received from suppliers.
Human Resource
 Recruitment of qualified staff
 Developing training to continuously empower employees
 Initiate a reward and recognition system based on quality performance
 Carry out job design and work measurements to ensure high quality output.
Finance and Accounting
 Allocation of resource to quality management
 Measurement of cost of quality i.e. cost of compliance and cost of non-conformance
 Evaluation of quality investment
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In summary, each functional area therefore has a unique role to play the quality chain. The
ultimate goal is to produce products and services that are of high quality that meet and exceed
customer expectations.
Customer Centrism as a Driver of Quality
A modern definition of quality derives from Juran's "fitness for intended use." This definition
basically says that quality is "meeting or exceeding customer expectations." Deming states that
the customer's definition of quality is the only one that matters.
The evolution of Quality Management (QM) starts with the industrial revolution where
craftsmanship fell from its place and replaced by industrial practices. In literature it is argued that a
customer has five roles: resource, co-producer, buyer, user and product. Of course, not all of
these roles were attributed to the customers at the beginning. As Quality Management evolves
the customers’ contributions to quality are expanded. During the days of craftsman manufacturing,
the role of the customer was simple. The products were made or – at least adjusted – for each
individual customer, charging the customer to act just only as a buyer. This buyer role hasn’t
changed in Inspection stage of managing quality where uniformity in mass production was one of
the most important focuses of QM for uniformity meant profitability in that stage, casting a
shadow on customer satisfaction. Customer oriented service/manufacturing started to gain
importance at further stages of QM as new approaches are embedded in quality measurement.
The increasing variety of options that a customer may choose from also affected quality managers
to consider the importance of customers. As the customers’ needs and expectations increase,
QM shifted from only focusing on product conformity to practicing means and tools to achieve
overall service quality. At this point, the customer is no longer just buyer but also acts as a
resource and a co-producer that starts to orient firms by providing inputs regarding the factors
that affect production. The outcomes of the service may be observed in the latter customer roles.
The buyer role and the user role are the most fundamental roles. But the more the need to
understand the customer is the more the customer acts as a product. Quality management
strategies are designed and performed in order to make a transformation in customer.
Five roles of the customer:
At the beginning of the article, it is mentioned that customers may assume five different roles. We
will try to exemplify these roles by talking about the influence of customers in financial
institutions. For Example, concerning financial institutions such as banks, the contribution of
customers to the organizations is undeniable.
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 Customer as a resource: In human service settings, the customers are the primary
physical resources for the organization. Therefore it is crucial for banks to
successfully manage customer resources. Investigating and studying customers’
behaviors, needs and expectations are vital information that has to be adjusted
throughout the processes in order to survive in competitive quality.
 Customer as a co-producer: The customers’ role as a co-producer is particularly
important in service arena. Applications such as internet banking, telephone
banking, ATMs enable the customers to engage in co-production and enhance
customers’ abilities as co-producers.
 Customer as a buyer: Financial issues may sometimes be too complicated for
certain customers. By giving and sharing adequate information and building a
trustworthy, familiar relationships with customers could help banks to turn
potential buyers into actual buyers.
 Customer as a user: Customers possess the power to measure the gap between
expectations and experience which enables them to determine customer
satisfaction. Again the level of communication, shared information, meeting
customer expectations play a primary role in the quality of service given to the
customer as a user. Even the user-friendliness of ATM machines and internet
banking affects the customers concerning the quality of service.
 Customer as a product: Considering customers as products, transformation or
change has to be initiated through either purchase of a product/service or use
of a product/service. Giving an example of financial institutions, let us assume
that a client with a high investment in a bank would be an outcome as a product
for the services provided by the bank (e.g. portfolio management, investment
analysis) would lead to personal gain or loss most probably affected by the
choices of the client who is influenced by the employee. So the employee’s
personal characteristics such as confidence and flexibility would play an
important role in the customers’ satisfaction.
Customer Link to Quality Management
Up until this point you should have understood that customers will not accept everything that
product and/or service providers shove into their throats. Customers, well most of them, are not
stupid. Indeed they are getting smarter and more demanding. As a result, companies must manage
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their quality by managing their customers well. On a higher level, Quality Management could be
explained through a model which is called “The Cornerstone Model”.
Figure: Quality Cornerstone Model (Bergman and Klefsjö, 2010)
Central in quality management, and hence in the figure, is customer focus. Customer focus further
overlaps, and supports the other parts in the model.
All of the five customer roles could be interpreted using the cornerstone model. For instance,
customer’s role as a resource would be embedded in Base Decisions on Facts cornerstone. The
inputs they provide could help managers and employees manage their processes according to
customers’ needs and expectation. Moreover, the inputs provided by customers as resources and
as co-producers may help organizations to focus on processes as well as to improve continuously.
The influence of customers as outputs (buyer, user, and product) could also be observed in the
cornerstones. The positive transformation that a customer goes through because of a
product/service could make the employees to be more committed to further improvements on
quality. These roles are worth emphasizing because they shape the concept of a customer within
an organization whether it is in manufacturing or service sector and reinforce the organizations to
pursue continuous improvement in overall service quality in order to satisfy all of the five roles of
the customer. Further Reading on Customer driven quality can be found on
 Customer Contributions to Quality: A Different View of the Customer-Oriented Firm. Cynthia A.

Lengnick-Hall. The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jul., 1996), pp. 791-824.
 Bergman, B. and Klefsjö, B. (2010). Quality: From Customer Needs to Customer Satisfaction. 3 Ed. Poland:
Studentlitteratur.
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PHILOSOPHIES OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT
When we are trying to understand QM movement fully, we must look the philosophical concepts
of the masters who have shaped the evolution of QM in management discipline. Although their
qualitative and quantitative philosophies are different and critical in the emergence and
development of contemporary knowledge regarding quality, but no one can understand the entire
gamut of Quality without master’s contribution.
Quality Gurus—Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Dr. Joseph Juran, Philip Crosby, Armand V.
Feigenbaum, Dr. H. James Harrington, Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa, Dr. Walter A. Shewhart, Shigeo
Shingo, Frederick Taylor, and Dr. Genichi Taguchi—have made a significant impact on the world
through their contributions to improving not only businesses, but all organizations including state
and national governments, military organizations, educational institutions, healthcare organizations,
and many other establishments and organizations. A core of quality pioneers shaped current
thinking and practice. The section below describes some of their key contributions to the field of
QM.
Dr. W. Edwards Deming (1900–1993)
Dr. W. Edward Deming is best known for reminding management that most problems are
systemic and that it is management's responsibility to improve the systems so that workers
(management and non-management) can do their jobs more effectively. Deming argued that higher
quality leads to higher productivity, which, in turn, leads to long-term competitive strength. The
theory is that improvements in quality lead to lower costs and higher productivity because they
result in less rework, fewer mistakes, fewer delays, and better use of time and materials. With
better quality and lower prices, a firm can achieve a greater market share and thus stay in
business, providing more and more jobs.
When he died in December 1993 at the age of ninety-three, Deming had taught quality and
productivity improvement for more than fifty years. His Fourteen Points, System of Profound
Knowledge, and teachings on statistical control and process variability are studied by people all
over the world. His books include: Out of the Crisis (1986), The New Economics (1993), and
Statistical Adjustment of Data (1943).
In emphasizing management's responsibility, Deming noted that workers are responsible for 10 to
20 percent of the quality problems in a factory, and that the remaining 80 to 90 percent is under
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management's control. Workers are responsible for communicating to management the

information they possess regarding the system. Deming's approach requires an organization-wide
cultural transformation.
Deming's philosophy is summarized in his famous fourteen points, and it serves as a framework
for quality and productivity improvement. Instead of relying on inspection at the end of the
process to find flaws, Deming advocated a statistical analysis of the manufacturing process and
emphasized cooperation of workers and management to achieve high-quality products.
Deming's quality methods centered on systematically tallying product defects, analyzing their
causes, correcting the causes, and recording the effects of the corrections on subsequent product
quality as defects were prevented. He taught that it is less costly in the long-run to get things done
right the first time then fix them later.
The Rise of Deming's Influence
The son of a small-town lawyer, Deming (a teacher and consultant in statistical studies) attended
the University of Wyoming, University of Colorado, and Yale University, where he earned his
Ph.D. in mathematical physics. He then taught physics at several universities, worked as a
mathematical physicist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was a statistical adviser for the
U.S. Census Bureau.
From 1946 to 1993 he was a professor of statistics at New York University's graduate school of
business administration, and he taught at Columbia University. Deming became interested in the
use of statistical analysis to achieve better quality control in industry in the 1930s.
In 1950 Deming began teaching and consulting with Japanese industrialists through the Union of
Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). In 1960, he received the Second Order Medal of the
Sacred Treasure from the Emperor of Japan for improvement of quality and the Japanese
economy. In 1987 he received the National Medal of Technology from U. S. President Ronald
Reagan because of his impact on quality in the United States.
From 1946 to 1993, he was an international teacher and consultant in the area of quality
improvement based on statistics, leadership, and customer satisfaction. The Deming Prize for
quality was established in 1951 in Japan by JUSE and in 1980 in the United States by the
Metropolitan Section of the American Society for Quality.
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American companies ignored Deming's teachings for years. In 1980, NBC aired the program "If
Japan Can, Why Can't We?" highlighting Deming's contributions in Japan and American companies
began to discover Deming. His ideas were used by major U.S. corporations as they sought to
compete more effectively against foreign manufacturers. As a consultant, Deming continued to
conduct Quality Management seminars until just days before his death in 1993.
Deming's Fourteen Points
Deming formulated the following Fourteen Points to cure (eliminate) the Seven Deadly Diseases
and help organizations to survive and flourish in the long term:
1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service. Develop a plan
to be competitive and stay in business. Everyone in the organization, from top management
to shop floor workers, should learn the new philosophy.
2. Adopt the new philosophy. Commonly accepted levels of delays, mistakes, defective
materials, and defective workmanship are now intolerable. We must prevent mistakes.
3. Cease dependence on mass inspection. Instead, design and build in quality. The purpose of
inspection is not to send the product for rework because it does not add value. Instead of
leaving the problems for someone else down the production line, workers must take
responsibility for their work. Quality has to be designed and built into the product; it
cannot be inspected into it. Inspection should be used as an information-gathering device,
not as a means of "assuring" quality or blaming workers.
4. Don't award business on price tag alone (but also on quality, value, speed and long term
relationship). Minimize total cost. Many companies and organizations award contracts to
the lowest bidder as long as they meet certain requirements. However, low bids do not
guarantee quality; and unless the quality aspect is considered, the effective price per unit
that a company pays its vendors may be understated and, in some cases, unknown. Deming
urged businesses to move toward single-sourcing, to establish long-term relationships with
a few suppliers (one supplier per purchased part, for example) leading to loyalty and
opportunities for mutual improvement. Using multiple suppliers has been long justified for
reasons such as providing protection against strikes or natural disasters or making the
suppliers compete against each other on cost. However, this approach has ignored
"hidden" costs such as increased travel to visit suppliers, loss of volume discounts,
increased set-up charges resulting in higher unit costs, and increased inventory and
administrative expenses. Also constantly changing suppliers solely on the base of price
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increases the variation in the material supplied to production, since each supplier's process
is different.
5. Continuously improve the system of production and service. Management's job is to
continuously improve the system with input from workers and management. Deming was a
disciple of Walter A. Shewhart, the developer of control charts and the continuous cycle
of process improvement known as the Shewhart cycle. Deming popularized the Shewhart
Cycle as the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) or Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle; therefore, it
is also often referred to as the Deming cycle. In the planning stage, opportunities for
improvement are recognized and operationally defined. In the doing stage, the theory and
course of action developed in the previous stage is tested on a small scale through
conducting trial runs in a laboratory or prototype setting. The results of the testing phase
are analyzed in the check/study stage using statistical methods. In the action stage, a
decision is made regarding the implementation of the proposed plan. If the results were
positive in the pilot stage, then the plan will be implemented. Otherwise alternative plans
are developed. After full scale implementation, customer and process feedback will again
be obtained and the process of continuous improvement continues.
6. Institute training on the job. When training is an integral part of the system, operators are
better able to prevent defects. Deming understood that employees are the fundamental
asset of every company, and they must know and buy into a company's goals. Training
enables employees to understand their responsibilities in meeting customers' needs.
7. Institute leadership (modern methods of supervision). The best supervisors are leaders
and coaches, not dictators. Deming high-lighted the key role of supervisors who serve as a
vital link between managers and workers. Supervisors first have to be trained in the quality
management before they can communicate management's commitment to quality
improvement and serve as role models and leaders.
8. Drive out fear. Create a fear-free environment where everyone can contribute and work
effectively. There is an economic loss associated with fear in an organization. Employees
try to please their superiors. Also, because they feel that they might lose their jobs, they
are hesitant to ask questions about their jobs, production methods, and process
parameters. If a supervisor or manager gives the impression that asking such questions is a
waste of time, then employees will be more concerned about pleasing their supervisors
than meeting long-term goals of the organization. Therefore, creating an environment of
trust is a key task of management.
9. Break down barriers between areas. People should work cooperatively with mutual trust,
respect, and appreciation for the needs of others in their work. Internal and external
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organizational barriers impede the flow of information, prevent entities from perceiving
organizational goals, and foster the pursuit of subunit goals that are not necessarily
consistent with the organizational goals. Barriers between organizational levels and
departments are internal barriers. External barriers are between the company and its
suppliers, customers, investors, and community. Barriers can be eliminated through better
communication, cross-functional teams, and changing attitudes and cultures.
10. Eliminate slogans aimed solely at the work force. Most problems are system-related and
require managerial involvement to rectify or change. Slogans don't help. Deming believed
that people want to do work right the first time. It is the system that 80 to 90 percent of
the time prevents people from doing their work right the first time.
11. Eliminate numerical goals, work standards, and quotas. Objectives set for others can force
sub-optimization or defective output in order to achieve them. Instead, learn the
capabilities of processes and how to improve them. Numerical goals set arbitrarily by
management, especially if they are not accompanied by feasible courses of action, have a
demoralizing effect. Goals should be set in a participative style together with methods for
accomplishment. Deming argued that the quota or work standard system is a short-term
solution and that quotas emphasize quantity over quality. They do not provide data about
the process that can be used to meet the quota, and they fail to distinguish between
special and common causes when seeking improvements to the process.
12. Remove barriers that hinder workers (and hinder pride in workmanship). The direct effect
of pride in workmanship is increased motivation and a greater ability for employees to see
themselves as part of the same team. This pride can be diminished by several factors: (1)
management may be insensitive to workers' problems; (2) they may not communicate the
company's goals to all levels; and (3) they may blame employees for failing to meet
company goals when the real fault lies with the management.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self improvement. Deming's philosophy is
based on long-term, continuous process improvement that cannot be carried out without
properly trained and motivated employees. This point addresses the need for ongoing and
continuous education and self-improvement for the entire organization. This educational
investment serves the following objectives: (1) it leads to better motivated employees; (2)
it communicates the company goals to the employees; (3) it keeps the employees up-to-
date on the latest techniques and promotes teamwork; (4) training and retraining provides
a mechanism to ensure adequate performance as the job responsibilities change; and (5)
through increasing job loyalty, it reduces the number of people who "job-hop."
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14. Take action to accomplish the transformation. Create a structure in top management that
will promote the previous thirteen points. It is the top management's responsibility to
create and maintain a structure for the dissemination of the concepts outlined in the first
thirteen points. Deming felt that people at all levels in the organization should learn and
apply his Fourteen Points if statistical process control is to be a successful approach to
process improvement and if organizations are to be transformed. However, he encouraged
top management to learn them first. He believed that these points represent an all-or-
nothing commitment and that they cannot be implemented selectively.
The Deming Cycle
Known as the Deming Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle, this concept was invented by Shewhart
and popularized by Deming. This approach is a cyclic process for planning and testing
improvement activities prior to full-scale implementation and/or prior to formalizing the
improvement. When an improvement idea is identified, it is often wise to test it on a small scale
prior to full implementation to validate its benefit. Additionally, by introducing a change on a small
scale, employees have time to accept it and are more likely to support it. The Deming PDCA
Cycle provides opportunities for continuous evaluation and improvement.
The steps in the Deming PDCA or PDSA Cycle as shown in Figure 1 are as follows:
1. Plan a change or test (P).

2. Do it (D). Carry out the change or test, preferably on a small scale.
3. Check it (C). Observe the effects of the change or test. Study it (S).
4. Act on what was learned (A).
5. Repeat Step 1, with new knowledge.
6. Repeat Step 2, and onward. Continuously evaluate and improve.
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Dr. Joseph Juran (B. 1904)
Dr. Juran was born on December 24, 1904 in Braila, Romania. He moved to the United States in
1912 at the age of 8. Juran's teaching and consulting career spanned more than seventy years,
known as one of the foremost experts on quality in the world.
A quality professional from the beginning of his career, Juran joined the inspection branch of the
Hawthorne Co. of Western Electric (a Bell manufacturing company) in 1924, after completing his
B.S. in Electrical Engineering. In 1934, he became a quality manager. He worked with the U. S.
government during World War II and afterward became a quality consultant. In 1952, Dr. Juran
was invited to Japan. Dr. Edward Deming helped arrange the meeting that led to this invitation and
his many years of work with Japanese companies.
Juran founded the Juran Center for Quality Improvement at the University of Minnesota and the
Juran Institute. His third book, Juran's Quality Control Handbook, published in 1951, was translated
into Japanese. Other books include Juran on Planning for Quality (1988), Juran on Leadership for
Quality (1989), Juran on Quality by Design (1992), Quality Planning and Analysis (1993), and A History of
Managing for Quality (1995). Architect of Quality (2004) is his autobiography.
Selected Juran Quality Theories
Juran's concepts can be used to establish a traditional quality system, as well as to support
Strategic Quality Management. Among other things, Juran's philosophy includes the Quality Trilogy
and the Quality Planning Roadmap.
Juran's QualityTrilogy.
The Quality Trilogy emphasizes the roles of quality planning, quality control, and quality
improvement. Quality planning's purpose is to provide operators with the ability to produce
goods and services that can meet customers' needs. In the quality planning stage, an organization
must determine who the customers are and what they need, develop the product or service
features that meet customers' needs, develop processes which are able to deliver those products
and services, and transfer the plans to the operating forces. If quality planning is deficient, then
chronic waste occurs.
Quality control is used to prevent things from getting worse. Quality control is the inspection
part of the Quality Trilogy where operators compare actual performance with plans and resolve
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the differences. Chronic waste should be considered an opportunity for quality improvement, the
third element of the Trilogy. Quality improvement encompasses improvement of fitness-for-use
and error reduction, seeks a new level of performance that is superior to any previous level, and
is attained by applying breakthrough thinking.
While up-front quality planning is what organizations should be doing, it is normal for
organizations to focus their first quality efforts on quality control. In this aspect of the Quality
Trilogy, activities include inspection to determine percent defective (or first pass yield) and
deviations from quality standards. Activities can then focus on another part of the trilogy, quality
improvement, and make it an integral part of daily work for individuals and teams.
Quality planning must be integrated into every aspect of the organization's work, such as strategic
plans; product, service and process designs; operations; and delivery to the customer.
Philip Crosby (1926–2001)
Philip Bayard Crosby was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1926. After Crosby graduated from
high school, he joined the Navy and became a hospital corpsman. In 1946 Crosby entered the
Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in Cleveland. After graduation he returned to Wheeling and
practiced podiatry with his father. He was recalled to military service during the Korean conflict,
this time he served as a Marine Medical Corpsman.
In 1952 Crosby went to work for the Crosley Corp. in Richmond, Indiana, as a junior electronic
test technician. He joined the American Society for Quality, where his early concepts concerning
Quality began to form. In 1955, he went to work for Bendix Corp. as a reliability technician and
quality engineer. He investigated defects found by the test people and inspectors.
In 1957 he became a senior quality engineer with Martin Marietta Co. in Orlando, Florida. During
his eight years with Martin Marietta, Crosby developed his "Zero Defects" concepts, began writing
articles for various journals, and started his speaking career.
In 1965 International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) hired Crosby as vice president in charge of
corporate quality. During his fourteen years with ITT, Crosby worked with many of the world's
largest industrial and service companies, implementing his pragmatic management philosophy, and
found that it worked.
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After a number of years in industry, Crosby established the Crosby Quality College in Winter
Park, Florida. He is well known as an author and consultant and has written many articles and
books. He is probably best known for his book Quality is Free (1979) and concepts such as his
Absolutes of Quality Management, Zero Defects, Quality Management Maturity Grid, 14 Quality
Improvement Steps, Cost of Quality, and Cost of Nonconformance. Other books he has written include
Quality Without Tears (1984) and Completeness (1994).
Attention to customer requirements and preventing defects is evident in Crosby's definitions of

quality and "non-quality" as follows: "Quality is conformance to requirements; non-quality is
nonconformance."
Crosby's Cost Of Quality.
In his book Quality Is Free, Crosby makes the point that it costs money to achieve quality, but it
costs more money when quality is not achieved. When an organization designs and builds an item
right the first time (or provides a service without errors), quality is free. It does not cost anything
above what would have already been spent. When an organization has to rework or scrap an item
because of poor quality, it costs more. Crosby discusses Cost of Quality and Cost of
Nonconformance or Cost of Nonquality. The intention is spend more money on preventing
defects and less on inspection and rework.
Crosby's Four Absolutes of Quality
Crosby espoused his basic theories about quality in four Absolutes of Quality Management as
follows:
1. Quality means conformance to requirements, not goodness.

2. The system for causing quality is prevention, not appraisal.
3. The performance standard must be zero defects, not "that's close enough."
4. The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance, not indexes.
To support his Four Absolutes of Quality Management, Crosby developed the Quality
Management Maturity Grid and Fourteen Steps of Quality Improvement. Crosby sees the Quality
Management Maturity Grid as a first step in moving an organization towards quality management.
After a company has located its position on the grid, it implements a quality improvement system
based on Crosby's Fourteen Steps of Quality Improvement.
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Crosby's Absolutes of Quality Management are further delineated in his Fourteen Steps of Quality
Improvement as shown below:
Step 1. Management Commitment
Step 2. Quality Improvement Teams
Step 3. Quality Measurement
Step 4. Cost of Quality Evaluation
Step 5. Quality Awareness
Step 6. Corrective Action
Step 7. Zero-Defects Planning
Step 8. Supervisory Training
Step 9. Zero Defects
Step 10. Goal Setting
Step 11. Error Cause Removal
Step 12. Recognition
Step 13. Quality Councils
Step 14. Do It All Over Again
Armand V. Feigenbaum
Feigenbaum was still a doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology when he
completed the first edition of Total Quality Control (1951). An engineer at General Electric during
World War II, Feigenbaum used statistical techniques to determine what was wrong with early jet
airplane engines. For ten years he served as manager of worldwide manufacturing operations and
quality control at GE. Feigenbaum serves as president of General Systems Company, Inc.,
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, an international engineering firm that designs and installs integrated
operational systems for major corporations in the United States and abroad.
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Feigenbaum was the founding chairman of the International Academy for Quality and is a past
president of the American Society for Quality Control, which presented him its Edwards Medal
and Lancaster Award for his contributions to quality and productivity. His Total Quality Control
concepts have had a very positive impact on quality and productivity for many organizations
throughout the industrialized world.
Dr. H. James Harrington
An author and consultant in the area of process improvement, Harrington spent forty years with
IBM. His career included serving as Senior Engineer and Project Manager of Quality Assurance for
IBM, San Jose, California. He was President of Harrington, Hurd and Reicker, a well-known
performance improvement consulting firm until Ernst & Young bought the organization. He is the
international quality advisor for Ernst and Young and on the board of directors of various national
and international companies.
Harrington served as president and chairman of the American Society for Quality and the
International Academy for Quality. In addition, he has been elected as an honorary member of six
quality associations outside of North America and was selected for the Singapore Hall of Fame.
His books include The Improvement Process, Business Process Improvement, Total Improvement
Management, ISO 9000 and Beyond, Area Activity Analysis, The Creativity Toolkit, Statistical Analysis
Simplified, The Quality/Profit Connection, and High Performance Benchmarking.
Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa (1915–1989)
A professor of engineering at the University of Tokyo and a student of Dr. W. Edwards Deming,
Ishikawa was active in the quality movement in Japan, and was a member of the Union of Japanese
Scientists and Engineers. He was awarded the Deming Prize, the Nihon Keizai Press Prize, and the
Industrial Standardization Prize for his writings on quality control, and the Grant Award from the
American Society for Quality Control for his educational program on quality control.
Ishikawa's book, Guide to Quality Control (1982), is considered a classic because of its in-depth
explanations of quality tools and related statistics. The tool for which he is best known is the
cause and effect diagram. Ishikawa is considered the Father of the Quality Circle Movement.
Letters of praise from representatives of companies for which he was a consultant were published
in his book What Is Total Quality Control? (1985). Those companies include IBM, Ford, Bridgestone,
Komatsu Manufacturing, and Cummins Engine Co. Ishikawa believed that quality improvement
initiatives must be organization-wide in order to be successful and sustainable over the long term.
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He promoted the use of Quality Circles to: (1) Support improvement; (2) Respect human
relations in the workplace; (3) Increase job satisfaction; and (4) More fully recognize employee
capabilities and utilize their ideas. Quality Circles are effective when management understands
statistical techniques and act on recommendations from members of the Quality Circles.
Dr. Walter A. Shewhart (1891–1967)
A statistician who worked at Western Electric, Bell Laboratories, Dr. Walter A. Shewhart used
statistics to explain process variability. It was Dr. W. Edward Deming who publicized the
usefulness of control charts, as well as the Shewhart Cycle. However, Deming rightfully credited
Shewhart with the development of theories of process control as well as the Shewhart
transformation process on which the Deming PDCA (Plan-Do-Check or Study-Act) Cycle is
based. Shewhart's theories were first published in his book Economic Control of Quality of
Manufactured Product (1931).
Shigeo Shingo (1919–1990)
One of the world's leading experts on improving the manufacturing process, Shigeo Shingo
created, with Taiichi Ohno, many of the features of just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing methods,
systems, and processes, which constitute the Toyota Production System. He has written many
books including A Study of the Toyota Production System From An Industrial Engineering Viewpoint
(1989), Revolution in Manufacturing: The SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) System (1985), and
Zero Quality Control: Source Inspection and the Poka Yoke System (1986).
Shingo's greatness seems to be based on his ability to understand exactly why products are
manufactured the way they are, and then transform that understanding into a workable system for
low-cost, high quality production. Established in 1988, the Shingo Prize is the premier
manufacturing award in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In partnership with the National
Association of Manufacturers, Utah State University administers the Shingo Prize for Excellence in
Manufacturing, which promotes world class manufacturing and recognizes companies that excel in
productivity and process improvement, quality enhancement, and customer satisfaction.
Rather than focusing on theory, Shingo focused on practical concepts that made an immediate
difference. Specific concepts attributed to Shingo are:
 Poka Yoke requires stopping processes as soon as a defect occurs, identifying the source
of the defect, and preventing it from happening again.
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 Mistake Proofing is a component of Poka Yoke. Literally, this means making it impossible
to make mistakes (i.e., preventing errors at the source).
 SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) is a system for quick changeovers between
products. The intent is to simplify materials, machinery, processes and skills in order to
dramatically reduce changeover times from hours to minutes. As a result products could
be produced in small batches or even single units with minimal disruption.
 Just-in-Time (JIT) Production is about supplying customers with what they want when they
want it. The aim of JIT is to minimize inventories by producing only what is required when
it is required. Orders are "pulled" through the system when triggered by customer orders,
not pushed through the system in order to achieve economies of scale with the
production of larger batches.
Frederick Taylor (1856–1915)
An industrial (efficiency) engineer, manager, and consultant, Frederick Taylor is known as the
Father of Scientific Management. In 1911, he published The Principles of Scientific Management.
Taylor believed in task specialization and is noted for his time and motion studies. Some of his
ideas are the predecessors for modern industrial engineering tools and concepts that are used in
cycle time reduction.
While quality experts would agree that Taylor's concepts increase productivity, some argue that
his concepts are focused on productivity, not process improvement and as a result could cause
less emphasis on quality. Dr. Joseph Juran said that Taylor's concepts made the United States the
world leader in productivity. However, the Taylor system required separation of planning work
from executing the work. This separation was based on the idea that engineers should do the
planning because supervisors and workers were not educated. Today, the emphasis is on
transferring planning to the people doing the work.
Dr. Genichi Taguchi (B. 1924)
Dr. Genichi Taguchi was a Japanese engineer and statistician who defined what product
specification means and how this can be translated into cost effective production. He worked in
the Japanese Ministry of Public Health and Welfare, Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Ministry of
Education. He also worked with the Electrical Communications Laboratory of the Nippon
Telephone and Telegraph Co. to increase the productivity of the R&D activities.
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In the mid-1950s Taguchi was Indian Statistical Institute visiting professor, where he met Walter
Shewhart. He was a Visiting Research Associate at Princeton University in 1962, the same year he
received his Ph.D. from Kyushu University. He was a Professor at Tokyo's Aoyama Gakuin
University and Director of the Japanese Academy of Quality.
Taguchi was awarded the Deming Application prize (1960), Deming awards for literature on
quality (1951, 1953, and 1984), Willard F. Rockwell Medal by the International Technologies
Institute (1986).
Taguchi's contributions are in robust design in the area of product development. The Taguchi Loss
Function, The Taguchi Method (Design of Experiments), and other methodologies have made
major contributions in the reduction of variation and greatly improved engineering quality and
productivity. By consciously considering the noise factors (environmental variation during the
product's usage, manufacturing variation, and component deterioration) and the cost of failure in
the field, Taguchi methodologies help ensure customer satisfaction.
Robust Design focuses on improving the fundamental function of the product or process, thus
facilitating flexible designs and concurrent engineering. Taguchi product development includes
three stages: (1) system design (the non-statistical stage for engineering, marketing, customer and
other knowledge); (2) parameter stage (determining how the product should perform against
defined parameters; and (3) tolerance design (finding the balance between manufacturing cost and
loss).
The Use of These Gurus Theories and Principles to an Organization & Examples
The principles and theories of the all the gurus are very useful to every organization today in the
following ways:-
1. It will help Organization Management's function to optimize the whole system, not
just your components.
E.g., Western-style management: Reward-punishment performance appraisal systems

optimize components of the system.
E.g., Deming-style management: A better way is to evaluate an individual long-term virtue,
to know if they are in the system or out of the system, and to understand the performance
issues as special or common cause. According to statistical research by Deming, Ishikawa,
and Juran over 80% of problems are related to common cause or system problem of the
organization
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2. It help Organization to Cooperation - works better than competition
E.g., Western-style management: Internal competition to recognize the top 10% sales
people in an organization creates a system where 90% of the population is labeled
substandard performers or worse yet losers for those on the bottom half.
E.g. In any distribution curve, 50% of the population is going to be below average, and only
10% are going to be top performers. It does not make sense to grow an organization of
malcontents because nobody wants to label a loser. If the system is stable and has good
hiring policies in place, a better way to manage is to have a goal to shift the distribution
curve to the right by continuous improvement and removing common causes of variation.
All employees in the system should be recognized for the accomplishments of the
enterprise rather than just the top 10%.
3. It will help Organization to Manage using both a process and results orientation, not
only a results orientation .E.g., Western-style management: Asking to sell 30% more (by a
MBO goal) without understanding the process that allows that goal to be attained, or
providing a process for goal attainment, creates a fail syndrome (demanding unreasonable
greater results has the opposite effect that contradict the Pygmalion effect).
E.g. A better way is to analyze historical performance using statistics. Then basing sales
growth goals within +/- 3 standard deviations from the mean, where 99% of the sample
population is predicted to attain the goal, and shifting the curve to the right by improving
the sales process. If a stable system is pushed beyond its limits, the system typically breaks
down.
4. Organization will be able to motivated by a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
E.g., Western-style management: Recognizing people solely through extrinsic motivation by

giving plaques, letters of commendation, bonuses, and pats in the back to motivate
employees.
E.g. Joseph Juran styles of management, a better way is for management to combine
extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to increase quality and pride in the work. Intrinsic
motivation is the enthusiasm and positive stimulation an individual experiences from the
sheer joy of an endeavor. Management can release intrinsic motivation by creating a
culture that encourages employee involvement in using process improvement tools such as
the Deming wheel (SDSA and PDSA) to innovate and improve quality.
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Other Usefulness of this Theories and Principles are:-
 It will help an organization to attain total commitment from his management and to form a
quality improvement team and thereby, creating metrics for each quality improvement
activities.
 An organization will be able to set is goals and objective on days schedule and determines
the roots causes of the error and deal/remove that process.
 Help an organization to create a better reward system and to improve and innovate the
condition of the society they operating in.
 To help an organization to create organization where workers will be able to enjoy in their
working place and pride in the outcome of their works.
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TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Principles of Total Quality Management
Quality management is becoming increasingly important to the leadership and management of all
Organizations. It is necessary to identify Quality Management as a distinct discipline of
management and lay down universally understood and accepted rules for this discipline.
The ISO technical committee working on the ISO9000 (QMS) standards had published a
document detailing the quality management principles and application guidelines. The latest
revision (version 2008) of ISO 9000 standards are based on these principles.
Definition of Quality Management Principle:
"A quality management principle is a comprehensive and fundamental rule / belief, for leading and
operating an Organization, aimed at continually improving performance over the long term by
focusing on customers while addressing the needs of all other stake holders".
The eight principles are...
1. Customer-Focused Organization
2. Leadership
3. Involvement of People
4. Process Approach
5. System Approach to Management
6. Continual Improvement
7. Factual Approach to Decision Making and
8. Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships.
Now let us examine the principles in detail.
Principle 1 - Customer-Focused Organization : "Organizations depend on their customers

and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, meet customer
requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations".
Steps in application of this principle are...
 Understand customer needs and expectations for products, delivery, price, dependability,
etc.
 Ensure a balanced approach among customers and other stake holders (owners, people,
suppliers, local communities and society at large) needs and expectations.
 Communicate these needs and expectations throughout the Organization.
 Measure customer satisfaction & act on results, and
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 Manage customer relationships.
Principle 2 - Leadership: "Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the Organization.
They should create and maintain an environment in which people can become fully involved in
achieving the Organization's objectives."
 Be proactive and lead by example.
 Understand and respond to changes in the external environment.
 Consider the needs of all stake holders including customers, owners, people, suppliers,
local communities and society at large.
 Establish a clear vision of the organization’s future.
 Establish shared values and ethical role models at all levels of the organization.
 Build trust and eliminate fear.
 Provide people with the required resources and freedom to act with responsibility and
accountability.
 Inspire, encourage and recognize people's contributions.
 Promote open and honest communication.
 Educate, train and coach people.
 Set challenging goals and targets, and
 Implement a strategy to achieve these goals and targets.
Principle 3 - Involvement of People: ["Quality is everyone's responsibility." - W. Edwards Deming]"People at all

levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be
used for the Organization's benefit".
 Accept ownership and responsibility to solve problems.
 Actively seek opportunities to make improvements, and enhance competencies, knowledge
and experience.
 Freely share knowledge & experience in teams.
 Focus on the creation of value for customers.
 Be innovative in furthering the Organization’s objectives.
 Improve the way of representing the Organization to customers, local communities and
society at large.
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 Help people derive satisfaction from their work, and

 Make people enthusiastic and proud to be part of the Organization.
Principle 4 - Process Approach: "A desired result is achieved more efficiently when related
resources and activities are managed as a process."
 Define the process to achieve the desired result.
 Identify and measure the inputs and outputs of the process.
 Identify the interfaces of the process with the functions of the Organization.
 Evaluate possible risks, consequences and impacts of processes on customers, suppliers
and other stake holders of the process.
 Establish clear responsibility, authority, and accountability for managing the process.
 Identify internal and external customers, suppliers and other stake holders of the process,
and
 When designing processes, consider process steps, activities, flows, control measures,
training needs, equipment, methods, information, materials and other resources to achieve
the desired result.
Principle 5 - System Approach to Management: "Identifying, understanding and managing a

system of interrelated processes for a given objective improves the Organization's effectiveness
and efficiency."
 Define the system by identifying or developing the processes that affect a given objective.
 Structure the system to achieve the objective in the most efficient way.
 Understand the interdependencies among the processes of the system.
 Continually improve the system through measurement and evaluation, and
 Estimate the resource requirements and establish resource constraints prior to action.
Principle 6 - Continual Improvement: "Continual improvement should be a permanent

objective of the Organization."
 Make continual improvement of products, processes and systems an objective for every
individual in the Organization.
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 Apply the basic improvement concepts of incremental improvement and breakthrough

improvement.
 Use periodic assessments against established criteria of excellence to identify areas for
potential improvement.
 Continually improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all processes.
 Promote prevention based activities such as Fail-safe and fail-secure technologies
 Provide every member of the Organization with appropriate education and training, on the
methods and tools of continual improvement such as the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle,
problem solving, process re-engineering, and process innovation.
 Establish measures and goals to guide and track improvements, and
 Recognize improvements.
Principle 7 - Factual Approach to Decision Making: "Effective decisions are based on the
analysis of data and information."
 Take measurements and collect data and information relevant to the objective.
 Ensure that the data and information are sufficiently accurate, reliable and accessible.
 Analyse the data and information using valid methods.
 Understand the value of appropriate statistical techniques, and
 Make decisions and take action based on the results of logical analysis balanced with
experience and intuition.
Principle 8 - Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships: "An Organization and its suppliers
are interdependent, and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create
value."
 Identify and select key suppliers.
 Establish supplier relationships that balance short-term gains with long-term considerations
for the Organization and society at large.
 Create clear and open communications.
 Initiate joint development and improvement of products and processes.
 Jointly establish a clear understanding of customers' needs.
 Share information and future plans, and
 Recognize supplier improvements and achievements.
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The Elements of Total Quality Management
Total Quality Management is a management approach that originated in the 1950's and has steadily
become more popular since the early 1980's. Total Quality is a description of the culture, attitude
and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that
satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality in all aspects of the company's operations, with
processes being done right the first time and defects and waste eradicated from operations.
To be successful implementing TQM, an

organization must concentrate on the eight key
elements:
1. Ethics
2. Integrity
3. Trust
4. Training
5. Teamwork
6. Leadership
7. Recognition
8. Communication
Key Elements
TQM has been coined to describe a philosophy that makes quality the driving force behind
leadership, design, planning, and improvement initiatives. For this, TQM requires the help of those
eight key elements. These elements can be divided into four groups according to their function.
The groups are:
I. Foundation -It includes: Ethics, Integrity and Trust.
II. Building Bricks - It includes: Training, Teamwork and Leadership.
III. Binding Mortar - It includes: Communication.
IV. Roof - It includes: Recognition.
I.Foundation
TQM is built on a foundation of ethics, integrity and trust. It fosters openness, fairness and
sincerity and allows involvement by everyone. This is the key to unlocking the ultimate potential
of TQM. These three elements move together, however, each element offers something different
to the TQM concept.
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1. Ethics - Ethics is the discipline concerned with good and bad in any situation. It is a two-
faceted subject represented by organizational and individual ethics. Organizational ethics establish
a business code of ethics that outlines guidelines that all employees are to adhere to in the
performance of their work. Individual ethics include personal rights or wrongs.
2. Integrity - Integrity implies honesty, morals, values, fairness, and adherence to the facts and
sincerity. The characteristic is what customers (internal or external) expect and deserve to
receive. People see the opposite of integrity as duplicity. TQM will not work in an atmosphere of
duplicity.
3. Trust - Trust is a by-product of integrity and ethical conduct. Without trust, the framework of
TQM cannot be built. Trust fosters full participation of all members. It allows empowerment that
encourages pride ownership and it encourages commitment. It allows decision making at
appropriate levels in the organization, fosters individual risk-taking for continuous improvement
and helps to ensure that measurements focus on improvement of process and are not used to
contend people. Trust is essential to ensure customer satisfaction. So, trust builds the cooperative
environment essential for TQM.
II. Bricks
Basing on the strong foundation of trust, ethics and integrity, bricks are placed to reach the roof
of recognition. It includes:
4. Training - Training is very important for employees to be highly productive. Supervisors are
solely responsible for implementing TQM within their departments, and teaching their employees
the philosophies of TQM. Training that employees require are interpersonal skills, the ability to
function within teams, problem solving, decision making, job management performance analysis
and improvement, business economics and technical skills. During the creation and formation of
TQM, employees are trained so that they can become effective employees for the company.
5. Teamwork - To become successful in business, teamwork is also a key element of TQM.

With the use of teams, the business will receive quicker and better solutions to problems. Teams
also provide more permanent improvements in processes and operations. In teams, people feel
more comfortable bringing up problems that may occur, and can get help from other workers to
find a solution and put into place. There are mainly three types of teams that TQM organizations
adopt:
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 Quality Improvement Teams or Excellence Teams (QITS) - These are temporary teams
with the purpose of dealing with specific problems that often re-occur. These teams are
set up for period of three to twelve months.
 Problem Solving Teams (PSTs) - These are temporary teams to solve certain problems and
also to identify and overcome causes of problems. They generally last from one week to
three months.
 Natural Work Teams (NWTs) - These teams consist of small groups of skilled workers
who share tasks and responsibilities. These teams use concepts such as employee
involvement teams, self-managing teams and quality circles. These teams generally work for
one to two hours a week.
6. Leadership - It is possibly the most important element in TQM. It appears everywhere in

organization. Leadership in TQM requires the manager to provide an inspiring vision, make
strategic directions that are understood by all and to instill values that guide subordinates. For
TQM to be successful in the business, the supervisor must be committed in leading his employees.
A supervisor must understand TQM, believe in it and then demonstrate their belief and
commitment through their daily practices of TQM. The supervisor makes sure that strategies,
philosophies, values and goals are transmitted down throughout the organization to provide focus,
clarity and direction. A key point is that TQM has to be introduced and led by top management.
Commitment and personal involvement is required from top management in creating and
deploying clear quality values and goals consistent with the objectives of the company and in
creating and deploying well defined systems, methods and performance measures for achieving
those goals.
III. Binding Mortar

7. Communication - It binds everything together. Starting from foundation to roof of the TQM
house, everything is bound by strong mortar of communication. It acts as a vital link between all
elements of TQM. Communication means a common understanding of ideas between the sender
and the receiver. The success of TQM demands communication with and among all the
organization members, suppliers and customers. Supervisors must keep open airways where
employees can send and receive information about the TQM process. Communication coupled
with the sharing of correct information is vital. For communication to be credible the message
must be clear and receiver must interpret in the way the sender intended.
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There are different ways of communication such as:

A. Downward communication - This is the dominant form of communication in an organization.
Presentations and discussions basically do it. By this the supervisors are able to make the
employees clear about TQM.
B. Upward communication - By this the lower level of employees are able to provide suggestions
to upper management of the affects of TQM. As employees provide insight and constructive
criticism, supervisors must listen effectively to correct the situation that comes about through the
use of TQM. This forms a level of trust between supervisors and employees. This is also similar to
empowering communication, where supervisors keep open ears and listen to others.
C. Sideways communication - This type of communication is important because it breaks down
barriers between departments. It also allows dealing with customers and suppliers in a more
professional manner.
IV.Roof
8. Recognition - Recognition is the last and final element in the entire system. It should be
provided for both suggestions and achievements for teams as well as individuals. Employees strive
to receive recognition for themselves and their teams. Detecting and recognizing contributors is
the most important job of a supervisor. As people are recognized, there can be huge changes in
self-esteem, productivity, quality and the amount of effort exhorted to the task at hand.
Recognition comes in its best form when it is immediately following an action that an employee
has performed. Recognition comes in different ways, places and time such as,
 Ways - It can be by way of personal letter from top management. Also by award banquets,
plaques, trophies etc.
 Places - Good performers can be recognized in front of departments, on performance
boards and also in front of top management.
 Time - Recognition can given at any time like in staff meeting, annual award banquets, etc.
Conclusion
We can conclude that these eight elements are key in ensuring the success of TQM in an
organization and that the supervisor is a huge part in developing these elements in the work place.
Without these elements, the business entities cannot be successful TQM implementers. It is very
clear from the above discussion that TQM without involving integrity, ethics and trust would be a
great remiss, in fact it would be incomplete. Training is the key by which the organization creates
a TQM environment. Leadership and teamwork go hand in hand. Lack of communication between
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departments, supervisors and employees create a burden on the whole TQM process. Last but
not the least, recognition should be given to people who contributed to the overall completed
task. Hence, lead by example, train employees to provide a quality product, create an
environment where there is no fear to share knowledge, and give credit where credit is due is the
motto of a successful TQM organization.
TQM frameworks & Models
The roots of Total Quality Management (TQM) go back to the teachings of Drucker, Juran,
Deming, Ishikawa, Crosby, Feigenbaum and countless other people that have studied, practiced,
and tried to refine the process of organizational management. TQM is a collection of principles,
techniques, processes, and best practices that over time have been proven effective. Most all
world-class organizations exhibit the majority of behaviors that are typically identified with TQM.
There are many models of total quality management and it is really not necessary that every
organization should select and implement the same model .Following are the various models of
total quality management.
 Deming Application Prize

 Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence
 European Foundation for Quality Management, and
 ISO quality management standards
Any organization that wants to improve its performance would be well served by selecting one of
these models and conducting a self-assessment. The simplest model of TQM is shown in this
diagram. The model begins with understanding customer needs. TQM organizations have
processes that continuously collect, analyze, and act on customer information. Activities are often
extended to understanding competitor's customers. Developing an intimate understanding of
customer needs allows TQM organizations to predict future customer behavior. TQM
organizations integrate customer knowledge with other information and use the planning process
to orchestrate action throughout the organization to manage day to day activities and achieve
future goals. Plans are reviewed at periodic intervals and adjusted as necessary. The planning
process is the glue that holds together all TQM activity. TQM organizations understand that
customers will only be satisfied if they consistently receive products and services that meet their
needs, are delivered when expected, and are priced for value. TQM organizations use the
techniques of process management to develop cost-controlled processes that are stable and
capable of meeting customer expectations. TQM organizations also understand that exceptional
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performance today may be unacceptable performance in the future so they use the concepts of
process improvement to achieve both breakthrough gains and incremental continuous
improvement. Process improvement is even applied to the TQM system itself! The final element
of the TQM model is total participation. TQM organizations understand that all work is
performed through people. This begins with leadership. In TQM organizations, top management
takes personal responsibility for implementing, nurturing, and refining all TQM activities. They
make sure people are properly trained, capable, and actively participate in achieving organizational
success. Management and employees work together to create an empowered environment where
people are valued. All of the TQM model's elements work together to achieve results.
Criticism of TQM
Total Quality Management is a system of continuous improvement that involves all workers in a
business from upper management to production line workers. The focus of the improvement
program is to improve customer service and reduce waste in the business. Quality improvement
teams use problem-solving techniques and analysis to identify and eliminate weaknesses in the
company.
Production Disruption
Implementing a Total Quality Management system in a company requires extensive training of
employees. The employee training includes instruction in problem solving techniques and the tools
to evaluate a process and identify weaknesses such as statistical process control, Pareto diagrams
and brainstorming techniques. During the initial training period, productivity can decline. Meetings
for quality improvement teams also take workers away from their duties, which also reduce
productivity. While the improvements do reduce lead time, eliminate waste and improve
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productivity, the beginning stages of implementing Total Quality Management in an organization

can reduce worker output.
Lowers Production Costs

A Total Quality Management program eliminates defects and waste, which reduces production
costs in a business. As teams gather to identify and eliminate weaknesses in the business, the
company continues to enjoy reduced costs and higher profit. Quality improvement teams can
eliminate defects, reduce lead time and identify redundancies in the production process that can
significantly add to the profit the company earns.
Employee Resistance
Total Quality Management requires change in mindset, attitude and methods for performing their
jobs. When management does not effectively communicate the team approach of Total Quality
Management, workers may become fearful, which leads to employee resistance. When workers
resist the program, it can lower employee morale and productivity for the business. Total Quality
Management uses small incremental improvements to move the business forward. It can take
years for a company to enjoy the benefits of the program.
Employee Participation
Once workers understand their participation and involvement in Total Quality Management is
essential to its success, morale and productivity improve. Workers become empowered through
participation on quality improvement teams. Businesses can improve morale further by
recognizing improvement teams that make meaningful changes in the production process to
reduce or eliminate waste.
Demands a Change in Culture

TQM demands an organizational culture that focuses on continuous process improvement and
customer satisfaction. It requires a change of attitude and a reprioritization of daily operations.
TQM also requires a long-term management commitment and constant employee involvement.
According to Forbes, changing an organization’s culture is a difficult challenge, because culture
amalgamates an interlocking set of values, processes, attitudes, communication practices, roles,
goals and assumptions, and is often met with resistance by employees, who view it as a threat to
their jobs.
Demands Planning, Time and Resources
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A good TQM system often takes years to implement, and that occurs only after significant
planning, time, long-term resource allocation and unwavering management commitment. Lack of
proper planning can cause a TQM system to ultimately fail.
Quality is Expensive
TQM is expensive to implement. Implementation often comes with additional training costs, team-
development costs, infrastructural improvement costs, consultant fees and the like. The system
also requires continuous investment in the form of refresher trainings, process and machine
inspections, and quality measurement. TQM is not suitable for very small companies, because its
implementation, training and execution costs far supersede its financial gains.
Takes Years to Show Results
TQM is a long-term process that shows results only after years have passed. It requires
perseverance, patience, dedication and motivation. Many organizations give up on it after failing to
see tangible results quickly. Organizations that function in highly competitive environments cannot
afford the luxury of time.
Discourages Creativity
TQM’s focus on task standardization to ensure consistency discourages creativity and innovation.
It also discourages new ideas that can possibly improve productivity.
Not a Quick-Fix Solution
Many companies, in their excessive focus on quality, end up losing financially. Both Xerox, the
American document management company, and Federal Express, the cargo airline, suffered
significant financial setbacks after winning the Baldrige Quality Awards -- awards that recognize
quality performance. According to the book, "Corporate Transformation and Restructuring," two-
thirds of companies that embrace TQM fail to experience major performance breakthroughs or
improvements in customer satisfaction. According to an Arthur D. Little survey of 500 companies,
only 36 percent felt that TQM improved their competitiveness.
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QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES

There are many methods for quality improvement. These cover product improvement, process
improvement and people based improvement. The following covers the most commonly used
techniques
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is the process of measuring products, services, and processes against those of
organizations known to be leaders in one or more aspects of their operations. Benchmarking can
also be defined as the the process of identifying "best practice" in relation to both products
(including) and the processes by which those products are created and delivered. The search for
"best practice" can taker place both inside a particular industry, and also in other industries (for
example - are there lessons to be learned from other industries?).
Benchmarking provides necessary insights to help you understand how your organization
compares with similar organizations, even if they are in a different business or have a different
group of customers. Additionally, benchmarking can help you identify areas, systems, or processes
for improvements—either incremental (continuous) improvements or dramatic (business process
reengineering) improvements.
The objective of benchmarking is to understand and evaluate the current position of a

business or organization in relation to "best practice" and to identify areas and means of
performance improvement.
The Benchmarking Process
Benchmarking involves looking outward (outside a particular business, organisation, industry,

region or country) to examine how others achieve their performance levels and to understand
the processes they use. In this way benchmarking helps explain the processes behind excellent
performance. When the lessons learnt from a benchmarking exercise are applied appropriately,
they facilitate improved performance in critical functions within an organisation or in key areas of
the business environment. Application of benchmarking involves four key steps:
1. Understand in detail existing business processes

2. Analyse the business processes of others
3. Compare own business performance with that of others analysed
4. Implement the steps necessary to close the performance gap
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Benchmarking should not be considered a one-off exercise. To be effective, it must become an

ongoing, integral part of an ongoing improvement process with the goal of keeping abreast of
ever-improving best practice.
Types of Benchmarking
There are a number of different types of benchmarking, as summarized below:
Type Description Most Appropriate for the

Following Purposes
Strategic Where businesses need to improve overall performance Re-aligning business strategies
Benchmarking by examining the long-term strategies and general that have become inappropriate
approaches that have enabled high-performers to succeed.
It involves considering high level aspects such as core
competencies, developing new products and services and
improving capabilities for dealing with changes in the
external environment.
Changes resulting from this type of benchmarking may be

difficult to implement and take a long time to materialise
Performance or Businesses consider their position in relation to Assessing relative level of

Competitive performance characteristics of key products and performance in key areas or
Benchmarking services. activities in comparison with
others in the same sector and
Benchmarking partners are drawn from the same sector. finding ways of closing gaps in
This type of analysis is often undertaken through trade performance
associations or third parties to protect confidentiality.
Process Focuses on improving specific critical processes and Achieving improvements in key
Benchmarking operations. Benchmarking partners are sought from best processes to obtain quick benefits
practice organisations that perform similar work or deliver
similar services.
Process benchmarking invariably involves producing

process maps to facilitate comparison and analysis. This
type of benchmarking often results in short term benefits.
Functional Businesses look to benchmark with partners drawn from Improving activities or services
Benchmarking different business sectors or areas of activity to find ways for which counterparts do not
of improving similar functions or work processes. This exist.
sort of benchmarking can lead to innovation and dramatic
improvements.
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Type Description Most Appropriate for the

Following Purposes
Internal Involves benchmarking businesses or operations from Several business units within the
Benchmarking within the same organisation (e.g. business units in same organisation exemplify good
different countries). The main advantages of internal practice and management want to
benchmarking are that access to sensitive data and spread this expertise quickly,
information is easier; standardised data is often readily throughout the organisation
available; and, usually less time and resources are needed.
There may be fewer barriers to implementation as

practices may be relatively easy to transfer across the
same organisation. However, real innovation may be
lacking and best in class performance is more likely to be
found through external benchmarking.
External Involves analysing outside organisations that are known to Where examples of good
Benchmarking be best in class. External benchmarking provides practices can be found in other
opportunities of learning from those who are at the organisations and there is a lack
"leading edge". of good practices within internal
business units
This type of benchmarking can take up significant time and
resource to ensure the comparability of data and
information, the credibility of the findings and the
development of sound recommendations.
International Best practitioners are identified and analysed elsewhere in

Benchmarking the world, perhaps because there are too few
benchmarking partners within the same country to
produce valid results.
Globalisation and advances in information technology are

increasing opportunities for international projects.
However, these can take more time and resources to set
up and implement and the results may need careful analysis
due to national differences
Business Process Re- engineering (BPR)
Business Process Reengineering involves the radical redesign of core business processes to
achieve dramatic improvements in productivity, cycle times and quality. In Business Process
Reengineering, companies start with a blank sheet of paper and rethink existing processes to
deliver more value to the customer. They typically adopt a new value system that places increased
emphasis on customer needs. Companies reduce organizational layers and eliminate unproductive
activities in two key areas. First, they redesign functional organizations into cross-functional teams.
Second, they use technology to improve data dissemination and decision making.
How Business Process Reengineering works:
Business Process Reengineering is a dramatic change initiative that contains five major steps.
Managers should:
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 Refocus company values on customer needs
 Redesign core processes, often using information technology to enable improvements
 Reorganize a business into cross-functional teams with end-to-end responsibility for a

process
 Rethink basic organizational and people issues
 Improve business processes across the organization
Companies use Business Process Reengineering to:

Companies use Business Process Reengineering to improve performance substantially on key
processes that impact customers. Business Process Reengineering can:
 Reduce costs and cycle time. Business Process Reengineering reduces costs and cycle
times by eliminating unproductive activities and the employees who perform them.
Reorganization by teams decreases the need for management layers, accelerates
information flows, and eliminates the errors and rework caused by multiple handoffs.
 Improve quality. Business Process Reengineering improves quality by reducing the

fragmentation of work and establishing clear ownership of processes. Workers gain
responsibility for their output and can measure their performance based on prompt
feedback.
Lean Six Sigma
Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement programme that combines two ideas: Lean - a collection
of techniques for reducing the time needed to provide products or services, and Six Sigma -a
collection of techniques for improving the quality of products and services, substantially
contributing to increased customer satisfaction. By combining the two, Lean Six Sigma is a proven
business management strategy that helps organizations operate more efficiently. According to
many business analysts and quality improvement experts, Lean Six Sigma is the most popular
business performance methodology in the history of corporate development.
Lean
Lean is a set of principles, practices and tools aimed at creating precise customer value originally
developed within the Automotive Industry (derived mostly from the Toyota Production System).It
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can be applied to all aspects of an organisation, from product development and provision through
administration and finance to customer services and support. Lean classifies every activity that we
do into three types:
1. Value Add - activities that a customer would be willing to pay for which help create the
final form or function of the finished article
2. Non Value-Add, but essential - things that need to be done, but that don’t bring any
value to the finished article (e.g. waiting for a document to print, the time it takes for paint
to dry etc.)
3. Waste - actions that bring no value to the article and are therefore unnecessary
Benefits
 Cost reduction
 Shorter cycle times
 Improved customer service
 Greater employee productivity
 Increased profit margins
It is often possible to reduce the unnecessary elements of a process by up to 75% through the
application of Lean.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma was developed by Motorola in 1986 and is a highly disciplined, structured programme
aimed at delivering near perfect products and services by improving processes. It is used to
analyse processes to discover where and how defects occur, measure them and eliminate the
problem areas. The idea is that, if you can measure the number of defects there are in a process,
you can then systematically attempt to eliminate them to get as close to zero defects as possible.
The generally accepted definition of the Six Sigma benchmark is 3.4 defects per million
opportunities for each product or service transaction (sigma is a statistical term used to measure
how far a given process deviates from perfection). Processes that operate with 'six sigma quality'
over the short term are assumed to produce long-term defect levels below that threshold.
Six Sigma principles
 Understand the critical to quality requirements (CTQs) of customers and stakeholders
 Understand processes ensuring they reflect these CTQs
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 Manage by fact
 Involve and equip the people in the process
 Undertake improvement activity in a systematic way
Benefits
 Cost reduction
 Shorter cycle times
 Improved customer service
 Greater employee productivity
 Increased profit margins
Other techniques
1. Kaizen
Kaizen is the practice of continuous improvement. Kaizen was originally introduced to the
West by Masaaki Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success in 1986.
Today Kaizen is recognized worldwide as an important pillar of an organization’s long-term
competitive strategy. Kaizen is continuous improvement that is based on certain guiding
principles:
 Good processes bring good results
 Go see for yourself to grasp the current situation
 Speak with data, manage by facts
 Take action to contain and correct root causes of problems
 Work as a team
 Kaizen is everybody’s business
 And much more!
One of the most notable features of kaizen is that big results come from many small
changes accumulated over time. However this has been misunderstood to mean that
kaizen equals small changes. In fact, kaizen means everyone involved in making
improvements. While the majority of changes may be small, the greatest impact may be
kaizens that are led by senior management as transformational projects, or by cross-
functional teams as kaizen events
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2. Poka-Yoke
Shigeo Shingo introduced the concept of poka-yoke in 1961, when he was an industrial
engineer at Toyota Motor Corporation. The initial term was baka-yoke, which means
‘fool-proofing’. In 1963, a worker at Arakawa Body Company refused to use baka-yoke
mechanisms in her work area, because of the term’s dishonourable and offensive
connotation. Hence, the term was changed to poka-yoke, which means ‘mistake-proofing’.
Poka-yokes are mechanisms used to mistake-proof an entire process. Ideally, poka-yokes

ensure that proper conditions exist before actually executing a process step, preventing
defects from occurring in the first place. Where this is not possible, poka-yokes perform a
detective function, eliminating defects in the process as early as possible.
Many people think of poka-yokes as limit switches, optical inspection systems, guide pins,
or automatic shutoffs that should be implemented by the engineering department. This is a
very narrow view of poka-yoke. These mechanisms can be electrical, mechanical,
procedural, visual, human, or any other form that prevents incorrect execution of a
process step. Poka-yokes can also be implemented in areas other than production such as
sales, order entry, purchasing, or product development where the cost of mistakes is
much higher than on the shop floor. The reality is that defect prevention, or defect
detection and removal, has widespread applications in most organisations.
The Centre for Excellence in Operations (CEO) has developed a poka-yoke framework to
help understand, the various classifications and applications of mistake-proofing
mechanisms. Given below is a brief overview of the framework:
Prevention-Based Poka-Yokes
Prevention-based mechanisms sense an abnormality that is about to happen, and

then signal the occurrence or halt processing, depending on the severity, frequency
or downstream consequences. There are two approaches for prevention-based
poka-yokes:
 Control Method: This method senses a problem and stops a line or

process, so that corrective action can take place immediately, thus avoiding
serial defect generation. An example of this, is an assembly operation
wherein, if one of the components is found to be missing before the actual
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assembly step takes place, then the process shuts down automatically.
Another example is an incomplete sales order, which cannot be released for
production until a true manufacturable configuration is defined.
 Warning Method: This method signals the occurrence of a deviation or
trend of deviations through an escalating series of buzzers, lights or other
warning devices. However, unlike the control method, the warning method
does not shut down the process on every occurrence. This method is used
when a bandwidth of acceptance exists, for a process. An example of this is
pressurising a vessel or a filling operation, in which the results need not be,
exactly the same. Although the process continues to run, the poka-yoke
signals the operator to remove a defect from the line, or make necessary
adjustments to keep the process within control.
Detection-Based Poka-Yokes
In many situations, it is not possible or economically feasible to prevent defects,

particularly where the capital cost of the poka-yoke mechanism, far exceeds the
cost of prevention. For these situations, defects are detected early in the process,
preventing them from flowing to downstream processes and multiplying the cost of
non-conformance. The three categories of detection-based poka-yokes are as
follows:
 Contact Method: This method detects any deviation in shape,

dimensional characteristics or other specific defects, through mechanisms
that are kept in direct contact with the part. A subset of this category is the
non-contact method, which performs the same function through devices
such as photoelectric cells. An example of this, might include a chute that
detects and removes upside-down or reversed parts, or an in-line gauge
that removes dimensional defects and reroutes them to a defect lockbox.
 Fixed Value Method: This method is used in operations, in which a set of
steps is sequentially performed. The fixed value method employs automatic
counters or optical devices and controls the number of moves, rate and
length of movement as well as other critical operating parameters. In this
case, mechanisms are usually built into progressive stamping, welding,
Systems Manufacturing Technology (SMT), and automatic insertion
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equipment. Sometimes this is referred to as odd part out method, in which

parts left over after assembly signal a defect. Fixed value also includes
critical condition detection (pressure, temperature, current, etc.) through
electronic monitoring devices.
 Motion Step Method: This method ensures that a process or operator
does not mistakenly perform a step that is not part of the normal process.
An example of this is colour coding of electronic components on drawings
and totes to prevent using mixed or incorrect parts. Another example is a
visual to assist customer service representatives, in providing the right
literature sets for various products.
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SERVICE QUALITY
Service can be defined as “any primary or complementary activity that does not directly produce a
physical product–that is, the non goods part of the transaction between buyer (customer) and
seller (provider).” A service might be as simple as handling a complaint or as complex as approving
a home mortgage. Service organizations include hotels; health, legal, engineering, and other
professional services; educational institutions; financial services; retailers; transportation; and
public utilities.
Today services account for nearly 80 percent of the U.S., Singapore and Sweden workforce. The
importance of quality in services cannot be underestimated, as statistics from a variety of studies
reveals:
 The average company never hears from more than 90 percent of its unhappy customers.
For every complaint it receives, the company has at least 25 customers with problems,
about one-fourth of which are serious.
 Of the customers who make a complaint, more than half will do business again with that
organization if their complaint is resolved. If the customer feels that the complaint was
resolved quickly, this figure jumps to about 95 percent.
 The average customer who has had a problem will tell nine or ten others about it.
Customers who have had complaints resolved satisfactorily will only tell about five others.
 It costs six times more to get a new customer than to keep a current customer.
So why do many companies treat customers as commodities? In Japan the notion of customer is
equated with “honored guest.” Service clearly should be at the forefront of a firm’s priorities.
The service sector began to recognize the importance of quality several years after manufacturing
had done so. This can be attributed to the fact that service industries had not confronted the
same aggressive foreign competition that faced manufacturing. Another factor is the high turnover
rate in service industry jobs, which typically pay less than manufacturing jobs. Constantly changing
personnel makes establishing a culture for continuous improvement more difficult.
The production of services differs from manufacturing in many ways, and these differences have
important implications for managing quality. The most critical differences are:
1. Customer needs and performance standards are often difficult to identify and measure,
primarily because the customers define what they are, and each customer is different.
2. The production of services typically requires a higher degree of customization than does
manufacturing. Doctors, lawyers, insurance salespeople, and food-service employees must
tailor their services to individual customers. In manufacturing, the goal is uniformity.
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3. The output of many service systems is intangible, whereas manufacturing produces

tangible, visible products. Manufacturing quality can be assessed against firm design
specifications, but service quality can only be assessed against customers’ subjective,
nebulous expectations and past experiences. Manufactured goods can be recalled or
replaced by the manufacturer, but poor service can only be followed up by apologies and
reparations.
4. Customers often are involved in the service process and present while it is being
performed, whereas manufacturing is performed away from the customer. For example,
customers of a quick-service restaurant pace their own orders, carry their food to the
table, and are expected to clear the table when they have finished eating.
5. Services are produced and consumed simultaneously, whereas manufactured goods are
produced prior to consumption. This gives little room for correction of errors as opposed
to the manufacturing sector where corrective action can be taken even before the product
reaches to the customer
Challenges involved in Service offering include the following;
1. Services are generally labor intensive, whereas manufacturing is more capital intensive. The
quality of human interaction is a vital factor for services that involve human contact. For
example, the quality of hospital care depends heavily on interactions among the patients,
nurses, doctors, and other medical staff. Hence, the behavior and morale of service
employees is critical in delivering a quality service experience.
2. Many service organizations must handle very large numbers of customer transactions. For
example, on a given business day, Equity Bank of Kenya might process more than 2 million
transactions for approx. 6 million customer through its branches and cash machines, or
Fed Ex might handle more than 1.5 million shipments across the globe. Such large volumes
increase the opportunity for error.
These differences have made it difficult for many service organizations to apply total quality
principles. Many service organization have well-developed quality assurance systems. Most of
them, however, are based on manufacturing analogies and tend to be more product-oriented than
service-oriented. Many of the key dimensions of product quality apply to services. For instance,
“on time arrival” for an airline is a measure of service performance; frequent flyer awards and
“business class” sections represent features. A typical hotel’s quality assurance systems focus on
technical specifications such as properly made-up rooms. However, service organizations have
special requirements that manufacturing systems cannot fulfill. Service organizations must look
beyond product orientation and pay significant attention to customer transactions and employee
behavior. Several points that service organizations should consider are as follows:
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 The quality characteristics that a firm should control may not be the obvious ones.
Customer perceptions are critical although it may be difficult to define what the customer
wants. For example, speed of service is an important quality characteristic, yet perceptions
of speed may differ significantly among different service organization and customers.
Marketing and consumer research can play a significant role.
 Behavior is a quality characteristic. The quality of human interaction is vital in every
transaction that involves human contact. For example, banks have found that the
friendliness of tellers is a principal factor in retaining depositors.
 Image is a major factor in shaping customer expectations of a service and in setting
standards by which customers evaluate that service.
 Establishing and measuring service levels may be difficult. Service standards, particularly
those relating to human behavior, are often set judgmentally and are hard to measure. In
manufacturing, it is easy to quantify output, scrap, and rework. Customer attitudes and
employee competence are not as easily measured.
 Quality control activity may be required at times or in places where supervision and
control personnel are not present. Often work must be performed at the convenience of
the customer. This calls for more training of employees and self-management.
These issues suggest that the approach to managing quality in services differs from that used in
manufacturing. However, manufacturing can be seen as a set of interrelated services, not only
between the company and the ultimate consumer, but within the organization. Manufacturing is a
customer of product design; assembly is a customer of manufacturing; sales are a customer of
packaging and distribution. If quality is meeting and exceeding customer expectations, then
manufacturing takes on a new meaning, far beyond product orientation. Total quality provides the
umbrella under which everyone in the organization can strive to create customer satisfaction
Quality Services Delivery
Today, our customers are more knowledgeable and demanding than ever; they know what they
want and how they want it delivered. They're quick to criticize poor performance and will use the
ballot box to show their displeasure.
Defining Quality Service
Here are some definitions of quality:
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 Quality is the highest level of care that can be provided to customers within the scope of
the organization.
 Quality management is a process of continuous improvement through which everyone
strives to create and support an environment in which people are committed to serving
and meeting the needs of customers.
 Quality is conformance to standards that meet or exceed customer expectations.
 Quality is being the best individual you can be within a departmental structure.
Requiring Quality from Start to Finish
Implementing quality customer services takes more than just snapping your fingers. Delivering
quality is a long-term, far-reaching and continual process affecting departmental practices in every
area.
 Hiring standards. Hire only people who fully understand that yours is an organization
dedicated to the highest standards in delivering quality services to customers.
 Employee orientation. Educate every employee as to your standards and how you measure
success. Each individual must understand he is accountable for meeting every standard of
quality.
Quality performance can be inculcated in the organization through the implementation of these
points:
 Customer Feedback. We need to have means for our customers to tell us what they want
and why they want it. We then need to be able to digest that information and begin
implementing appropriate changes to help us meet the customers' expectations.
 Improve on the Competition. If we don't change, our competition will swallow us up. We
have to slam the door on anyone getting a foothold in our business by making sure we are
maintaining the highest quality standards and that our customers can recognize we are the
best game in town to meet their needs.
 Evolve Forward. Survival of the fittest is what we're talking about. Positioning ourselves to
be survivors over the next 25 years will require massive changes in the way we do
business. Those who can only maintain the status quo will drop by the wayside. Count on
it!
 Organizational Self-Examination. It's about being honest with ourselves. We know we
aren't doing the very best job we can do in all our practices. We know we need to
improve. We know our customers have high expectations. We know we're not being
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good stewards of taxpayer dollars at all times. We know we're lacking in setting
benchmarks and goals that require a dedicated effort from all personnel. If we know this,
why aren't we changing it?
Design for Quality
Quality by design is a comprehensive program that begins with understanding user needs and
continues through (but does not end with) monitoring customer acceptance. Management tools
and processes such as ISO 9000 standards exist to guide manufacturers in quality practices. The
goal is to deliver products acceptable for their intended use. Quality control begins with defining
attributes ranging from color to accuracy and precision. Failure mode and effects analysis and risk
analysis consider both probability and severity of potential malfunctions and their effects on
patients or operators. Tools used to implement design and production practices include Program
Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) charts and industry-conceived concepts, such as Six
Sigma techniques. Their use varies with manufacturer, depending on product and customer needs
and the manufacturer’s specific quality practices. Verification confirms that input goals are met.
Then, validation assures that intended needs are continually satisfied by establishing adequate
production specifications. Conformance is monitored to verify that stable, consistent processes
are in place, and precise user instructions enable the device to satisfy its intended use. Finally,
complaint tracking can help assess whether needs have been met. Modifications in service,
hardware, or instructions (including quality control) might be required. Therefore, both
manufacturers and users work in partnership for continual improvement. The manufacturer’s
knowledge of design, production, and service needs of its devices enable it to recommend
appropriate quality-control protocols.
Reasons for Product or Service Design
1. Economic-Low demand, excessive warranty claims

2. Social and demographic-Changing tastes, aging population
3. Political, liability, or legal-Safety issues, new regulations, government changes
4. Competitive- New products and services in the market, promotions
5. Cost or availability-Raw materials, components, labor
6. Technological- Components, production processes
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The design process
Processes are a fact of business life, yet many people find great difficulty in recognizing a process, let alone
in defining one. This may come as a surprise, in light of the popularity of business process re-engineering
(BPR) in the 1990s and the growing emphasis on process management in areas such as business process
outsourcing and automation, and in international management standards such as the ISO 9000 series
Processes are how an organization gets things done; how it implements its business strategy, how it makes
and delivers its products and how it meets its objectives. Processes should be planned, and will require
resources, skills and management. Products equally have to be designed, planned and controlled so that
they conform to specification and comply with relevant legislation.
As an alternative to the traditional definition of a process (a set of interrelated or interacting

activities which transforms inputs into outputs), it may help you to design, develop and manage
your own processes if you consider it as a:
process - a sequence of related tasks triggered by an event and intended to achieve an objective.
It> uses resources and is subject to influences. The event can be an action, thought, decision or
diary date - so a process can be reactive (responsive) or proactive. For example:
 responding to a sales enquiry
 recruiting staff
 holding a management review meeting
Types of process
Processes can be:
 continuous (as on a production line/in manufacturing)
 transactional (as in sales order processing)
This difference is also recognised in six sigma methodology (which again originated in
manufacturing, and was then extended to service and administrative activities).
There are two key differences between these types of process. First you can't always see
transactional processes. You can see (and hear) the production line running from the time it starts
up, but if you walk into an accounts office you are likely to see a number of random people
working at computer keyboards or working with pieces of paper. Transactional processes tend to
be discontinuous.
The second difference is that people involved in transactional processes often choose to do bits of
different processes (and different instances of the same process) at different times. Transactional
processes are also selective in the way they are sometimes progressed.
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Some transactional processes commonly run alongside other instances of the same process (eg
dealing with a number of sales enquiries) whilst others are performed maybe once a year (eg
preparation of the annual business plan).
In all cases, however, factors which can influence successful performance (and a compliant
product) must be identified and managed, and the effect that operations will have on the
environment must also be anticipated. This is the essence of risk management.
And once processes are in place and operating, management must review and improve them on
the basis of hard facts - whether or not a process needs to be defined in detail, suitable measures
should be in place to allow management to assess if:
 the process is achieving its objectives
 there are ways to reduce variation in the results of the process
The production process
To ensure that the product (goods or services) which you deliver to your customer meets his
requirements, it is essential that you understand what the customer/end user requires the
product to do. You may be given a specification, but in many cases it is not easy to establish all the
relevant information when the need is identified. The requirements may affect how you design and
operate the relevant process (es). In addition, you need to ensure that the product will not cause
harm, meets applicable legislative requirements and that it can be produced efficiently.
And however good your product, and however efficient your process, the aim must always be to
seek to improve – or risk losing business to the competition.
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QUALITY TOOLS & MEASUREMENTS
Quality Tools
Quality professionals have many names (“The Old Seven.”,“The First Seven ”,“The Basic Seven”)
for these seven basic tools of quality, first emphasized by Kaoru Ishikawa, a professor of
engineering at Tokyo University and the father of “quality circles.”
1. Cause-and-effect diagram (also called Ishikawa or fishbone chart): Identifies many possible
causes for an effect or problem and sorts ideas into useful categories.
2. Check sheet: A structured, prepared form for collecting and analyzing data; a generic tool
that can be adapted for a wide variety of purposes.
3. Control charts: Graphs used to study how a process changes over time.
4. Histogram: The most commonly used graph for showing frequency distributions, or how
often each different value in a set of data occurs.
5. Pareto chart: Shows on a bar graph which factors are more significant.
6. Scatter diagram: Graphs pairs of numerical data, one variable on each axis, to look for a
relationship.
7. Stratification: A technique that separates data gathered from a variety of sources so that
patterns can be seen (some lists replace “stratification” with “flowchart” or “run chart”).
Cost of Quality
The reason quality has gained such prominence is that organizations have gained an understanding
of the high cost of poor quality. Quality affects all aspects of the organization and has dramatic
cost implications. The most obvious consequence occurs when poor quality creates dissatisfied
customers and eventually leads to loss of business. However, quality has many other costs, which
can be divided into two categories. The first category consists of costs necessary for achieving
high quality, which are called quality control costs. These are of two types: prevention costs and
appraisal costs. The second category consists of the cost consequences of poor quality, which are
called quality failure costs. These include external failure costs and internal failure costs. The first two
costs are incurred in the hope of preventing the second two.
Prevention costs are all costs incurred in the process of preventing poor quality from occurring.
They include quality planning costs, such as the costs of developing and implementing a quality
plan. Also included are the costs of product and process design, from collecting customer
information to designing processes that achieve conformance to specifications. Employee training
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in quality measurement is included as part of this cost, as well as the costs of maintaining records
of information and data related to quality.
Appraisal costs are incurred in the process of uncovering defects. They include the cost of quality
inspections, product testing, and performing audits to make sure that quality standards are being
met. Also included in this category are the costs of worker time spent measuring quality and the
cost of equipment used for quality appraisal.
Internal failure costs are associated with discovering poor product quality before the product
reaches the customer site. One type of internal failure cost is rework, which is the cost of
correcting the defective item. Sometimes the item is so defective that it cannot be corrected and
must be thrown away. This is called scrap, and its costs include all the material, labor, and machine
cost spent in producing the defective product. Other types of internal failure costs include the
cost of machine downtime due to failures in the process and the costs of discounting defective
items for salvage value.
External failure costs are associated with quality problems that occur at the customer site. These
costs can be particularly damaging because customer faith and loyalty can be difficult to regain.
They include everything from customer complaints, product returns, and repairs, to warranty
claims, recalls, and even litigation costs resulting from product liability issues. A final component of
this cost is lost sales and lost customers. For example, manufacturers of lunch meats and hot dogs
whose products have been recalled due to bacterial contamination have had to struggle to regain
consumer confidence. Other examples include auto manufacturers whose products have been
recalled due to major malfunctions such as problematic braking systems and airlines that have
experienced a crash with many fatalities. External failure can sometimes put a company out of
business almost overnight. Companies that consider quality important invest heavily in prevention
and appraisal costs in order to prevent internal and external failure costs. The earlier defects are
found, the less costly they are to correct. For example, detecting and correcting defects during
product design and product production is considerably less expensive than when the defects are
found at the customer site. External failure costs tend to be particularly high for service
organizations. The reason is that with a service the customer spends much time in the service
delivery system, and there are fewer opportunities to correct defects than there are in
manufacturing. Examples of external failure in services include an airline that has overbooked
flights, long delays in airline service, and lost luggage.
Performance Measurement
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In today’s highly competitive market, traditional organizational management methods cannot be

considered appropriate strategies. Recent developments in database management systems,
Internet technology and office automation systems encourage managers to apply these methods
to their company in order to survive and compete with their competitors. Performance
measurement is one of the most important decision tools for managers.
A performance measurement system can be defined as a set of metrics used to quantify both the
efficiency and effectiveness of actions. ISO 9001:2008 clearly specifies performance measurement
as part of its requirement .Performance measurement helps to bring more scientific analysis into a
decision-making process. It underlines the change towards management by information and
knowledge, instead of primarily relying on experiences and judgment.
Since 1980s, the focus of performance measures shifted from purely financial factors to a
combination of financial and non-financial ones. The factors affecting performance measurement in
different research studies are based on one, or a combination of some criteria like finance,
operations, quality, safety, personnel and customer satisfaction. Methods like the balanced
scorecard, the performance pyramid, the performance measurement questionnaire, the results
and determinants framework, the performance prism, the economic value added, and the Skandia
navigator have recently been used.
Performance refers to the achievements, in quality and quantity, of an individual or group work.
Employees are critical components of business success and their performances directly influence
company performance. Thus effective strategies to motivate and enhance employee competency
are of urgent need for companies.
Reviewing the performance of an organisation is also an important step when formulating the
direction of the strategic activities. It is important to know where the strengths and weaknesses of
the organisation lie, and as part of the ‘Plan –Do – Check – Act’ cycle, measurement plays a key role
in quality and productivity improvement activities. The main reasons it is needed are:
 To ensure customer requirements have been met
 To be able to set sensible objectives and comply with them
 To provide standards for establishing comparisons
 To provide visibility and a “scoreboard” for people to monitor their own performance
level
 To highlight quality problems and determine areas for priority
Performance measurement systems and information systems receive considerable attention

nowadays; thus it is expected that PMSS, with both characteristics, will provide numerous and
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important advantages for its users. Although PMSS is still running in two construction companies,
and long-term feedback has not yet been received, it is believed, and somehow proved by short-
term feedback results, that some main practical and managerial implications of PMSS are:
 Positive effects on working behavior of employees and managers.

 Creation of a competitive environment among employees to perform their work in the
shortest time, with the lowest cost, and to the highest quality level.
 Provision of a decision tool for managers to have quick and reliable access to employee
performance, and to monitor the overall performance of their organization.
 Motivation of employees for better performance as a human resource management tool.
 To encourage companies seeking ISO 9000 certification or QMS deployment to start and
continue the process, and overcome implementation difficulties.
 Reduction of costs through a reduction in the number of administrative personnel, office
space and equipment, archiving space, etc.
 Assist organizations to make the best use of resources, such as time, cost, manpower,
machinery and materials.
Quality Circles and Teams
A quality circle is a participatory management technique that enlists the help of

employees in solving problems related to their own jobs. Quality circles were originally
associated with Japanese management and manufacturing techniques. The circle is a relatively
autonomous unit (ideally about ten workers), usually led by a supervisor or a senior worker and
organized as a work unit. Employees who participate in quality circles usually receive training in
formal problem-solving methods—such as brainstorming, pareto analysis, and cause-and-effect
diagrams—and then are encouraged to apply these methods to either specific or general company
problems. After completing an analysis, they often present their findings to management and then
handle implementation of approved solutions.
Although most commonly found in manufacturing environments, quality circles are applicable to a
wide variety of business situations and problems. They are based on two ideas: that employees
can often make better suggestions for improving work processes than management; and that
employees are motivated by their participation in making such improvements. Thus, implemented
correctly, quality circles can help a small business reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve
employee morale. Other potential benefits that may be realized by a small business include greater
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operational efficiency, reduced absenteeism, improved employee health and safety, and an overall
better working climate.
Quality Teams
A team is a group of people who perform interdependent tasks to work toward a common
mission. Some teams have a limited life: for example, a design team developing a new product, or
a process improvement team organized to solve a particular problem. Others are ongoing, such as
a department team that meets regularly to review goals, activities and performance.
Understanding the many interrelationships that exist between organizational units and processes,
and the impact of these relationships on quality, productivity and cost, makes the value of teams
apparent.
Types of Teams
Many of today’s team concepts originated in the United States during the 1970s, through the use
of quality circles or employee involvement initiatives. But the initiatives were often seen as
separate from normal work activities, not as integrated with them. Team designs have since
evolved into a broader concept that includes many types of teams formed for different purposes.
Three primary types of teams are typically used within the business environment:
1. Process improvement teams are project teams that focus on improving or developing
specific business processes. These teams come together to achieve a specific goal, are
guided by a well-defined project plan and have a negotiated beginning and end.
2. Work groups, sometimes called “natural teams,” have responsibility for a particular
process (for example, a department, a product line or a stage of a business process) and
work together in a participative environment. The degree of authority and autonomy of
the team can range from relatively limited to full self-management. The participative
approach is based on the belief that employees will be more productive if they have a
higher level of responsibility for their work.
3. Self-managed teams directly manage the day-to-day operation of their particular
process or department. They are authorized to make decisions on a wide range of issues
(for example, safety, quality, maintenance, scheduling and personnel). Their responsibilities
also include processes traditionally held by managers, such as goal-setting, allocation of
assignments and conflict resolution.
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The Value of Teams
Team processes offer the following Individuals can gain the following benefits from teams:
benefits to the organization:
 Enhanced problem-solving skills.
 Synergistic process design or  Increased knowledge of interpersonal dynamics.
problem solving.  Broader knowledge of business processes.
 Objective analysis of problems or  New skills for future leadership roles.
opportunities.  Increased quality of work life.
 Promotion of cross-functional  Feelings of satisfaction and commitment.
understanding.  A sense of being part of something greater than
 Improved quality and productivity. what one could accomplish alone.
 Greater innovation.
 Reduced operating costs.
 Increased commitment to
organizational mission.
 More flexible response to change.
 Increased ownership and
stewardship.
 Reduced turnover and
absenteeism
Creating A Quality Improvement Team
Ideally, a facility will form a quality committee or council consisting of senior leaders to provide a
sustainable focus and appropriate resources for continuous quality improvement. This can be an
existing group such as the quality assurance committee. The primary role of this committee is to:
a) routinely monitor the performance of key processes,
b) select process improvement projects,
c) assign responsibility for the improvement effort,
d) charter a cross-functional or departmental process improvement team when

appropriate,
e) allocate appropriate resources, and
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f) recognize accomplishments.
It is helpful to assign a person to assume the following responsibilities of a quality coordinator:
a) Maintain support and training for process improvement teams.
b) Facilitate the operation of the quality committee by providing data and reports on key
processes.
c) Draft charters for process improvement teams.
d) Train and assigning team facilitators.
Criteria
The quality council or committee should select improvement projects based on data and
information that identifies unacceptable performance related to least one of the following
criterion:
 Will a process improvement increase the satisfaction of customers and potential

customers?
 Will a process improvement bring compliance with internal standards or the Federal
and State regulations?
 Will a process improvement increase employee productivity and customer

responsiveness?
 Will a process improvement reduce operating cost, improve cycle time, or increase
employee/resident safety?
The Chartering Process

The quality committee’s responsibility in chartering a process improvement team is to:
a) select quality improvement projects that meet the criteria,
b) select the team leader and members,
c) assign a facilitator, and
d) prepare and approve the team charter.
When the team has been chartered, a representative of the quality committee will meet with
team leader (and facilitator, if assigned) to:
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a) review and clarify the team’s mission and charter,
b) review and clarify the operating guidelines, and
c) determine the support needed and process to be used to effectively train the team
members.
The expectations of the quality committee are communicated through the charter developed
specifically for each project. The charter establishes the parameters for the team effort. The
team may review the charter and request changes that they believe will clarify their mission or
improve their effectiveness by adjustments to the timeline and resources.
Team Roles and Responsibilities

Leader
The leader of a team is a permanent role for the life of the team. He or she should develop a
preliminary plan for each team meeting. The leader is responsible to coordinate and focus the
meeting activity on the mission of the team. The leader actively participates as a member by
contributing ideas and participating in the team processes and decisions. The leader is usually
responsible for developing the record of the meeting outcomes and actions needed. The team
leader requests assistance from a team facilitator when the team is struggling with its ability to
work together and use effective team meeting skills.
Facilitator
The most effective teams have a trained team facilitator in a permanent role to meet with them
and guide their use of meeting skills and tools. If assigned, the facilitator should be present at
most meetings, especially in the early stages of development when the team is learning how work
together and how to use the improvement tools. If a permanent facilitator is not assigned to the
team, then one should be available to assist the team when they are struggling with team
processes or when they need advice or skill training to effectively use problem-solving tools.
The facilitator functions as a team advisor with expertise in the processes and tools that help
teams be effective. The facilitator works with the team leader to make sure that information is
gathered to study the issue being addressed, that an improvement plan is developed, and that the
meeting record is being completed properly. The facilitator is the team’s liaison with the steering
committee for resources and time. The facilitator must exercise personal discipline to not
contribute ideas or participate in decisions regarding the process being studied.
The facilitator coaches the team in the use of team meeting skills and tools and gives impartial
feedback to the members to improve their communication and meeting process. The
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involvement of the facilitator normally diminishes as the team members and team leader gain
more knowledge and skills about team processes and tools.
Member
Effective teams usually have 4 to 6 members, including the team leader. The team may be larger,
but the time commitment usually increases and the speed with which the team begins to perform
is slower. Team members are normally selected because they represent a part of the cross-
functional process that is being improved. Sometimes, a team member from outside of the
process is included to give the process “fresh eyes.” All members have a responsibility to
participate and share their knowledge with mutual respect for other team members. Team
members will also rotate to fulfill the roles or recorder or timekeeper at each meeting..
Recorder
The recorder is a rotated position selected at the beginning of each team meeting based on the
ground rules. The primary role of the recorder is to record content from brainstorming,
consensus building, and other tools and processes on a flip-chart or white board that is visible to
the team. It is important that the recorder write down what each team member says rather than
their interpretation of what was said. Sometimes it is helpful to select two recorders when a lot
of information needs to be logged.
Team members agree up front that they will not criticize the spelling or writing of the recorder.
Every team member should be encouraged to fill this role, and be applauded for the patience and
listening skills it requires. The recorder is a full participant in the team process while they are
recording. Sometimes the team leader and other members need to make sure that the recorder
is participating.
Timekeeper
The timekeeper is also a rotated position selected at the beginning of each team meeting based on
the ground rules. The primary role of the timekeeper is to call out the time remaining on each
agenda item at intervals the team determines is appropriate when developing their ground rules.
In this way, the timekeeper assists the team in staying on task and managing its time effectively.
Improvement Methodology
It is important for all members of the team to understand the methodology that will be used to
improve the process or system that has been assigned to the team. Sometimes the project
assigned is to improve a system that consists of many processes. In this case, it is important for
the team to identify which of the processes would provide the greatest impact if improved, and
start working on that process first.
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The following methodology identifies all of the key steps to improvement. Some of the steps may
be completed simultaneously in some projects. However, it is very important that the team
recognize that they must gather information to study and identify the root cause of the problem
rather than just jump to solutions.
The key steps to process improvement are:
1. Define the need for the improvement based on the internal or external customer’s
expectations or the benefits to be gained by the organization.
2. Describe the current process or situation in specific terms so that the problem with the
greatest impact can be identified and analyzed.
3. Collect and analyze data and information that measures the process performance and
identifies the root causes of the variation and gaps. In investigating root cause, keep asking
“why” to each result until you move past the symptoms and apparent causes to the root
cause.
4. Develop potential solutions that remove the root cause and barriers to improvement and
develop consensus on the best solution.
5. Plan how to most effectively implement the improvements with performance measures,
tools, training, and policies to hold the gains.
6. Improve the process, study the results, and make changes to achieve the desired results.
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QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND AWARDS
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental

membership organization and the world's largest developer of voluntary International Standards. It
is made up of our 166 member countries and 3 368 technical bodies to take care of standard
development who are the national standards bodies around the world, with a Central
Secretariat that is based in Geneva, Switzerland
The ISO story began in 1946 when delegates from 25 countries met at the Institute of Civil
Engineers in London and decided to create a new international organization ‘to facilitate the
international coordination and unification of industrial standards’. In February 1947 the new
organization, ISO, officially began operations. Since then it has published over 19,500 International
Standards covering almost all aspects of technology and manufacturing.
Because 'International Organization for Standardization' would have different acronyms in

different languages (IOS in English, OIN in French for Organisation internationale de normalisation),
the founders decided to give it the short form ISO. ISO is derived from the Greek isos, meaning
equal.
Benefits of International Standards
International Standards give world-class specifications for products, services and systems, to
ensure quality, safety and efficiency. They are instrumental in facilitating international trade.
International Standards bring technological, economic and societal benefits. They help to
harmonize technical specifications of products and services making industry more efficient and
breaking down barriers to international trade. Conformity to International Standards helps
reassure consumers that products are safe, efficient and good for the environment.
Business
International Standards are strategic tools and guidelines to help companies tackle some of the
most demanding challenges of modern business. They ensure that business operations are as
efficient as possible, increase productivity and help companies access new markets. Benefits include:
 Cost savings - International Standards help optimise operations and therefore improve the
bottom line
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 Enhanced customer satisfaction - International Standards help improve quality, enhance

customer satisfaction and increase sales
 Access to new markets - International Standards help prevent trade barriers and open up
global markets
 Increased market share - International Standards help increase productivity and
competitive advantage
 Environmental benefits - International Standards help reduce negative impacts on the
environment
Society
When products and services conform to International Standards consumers can have confidence
that they are safe, reliable and of good quality. For example, ISO's standards on road safety, toy
safety and secure medical packaging are just a selection of those that help make the world a safer
place. To make sure that the benefits of ISO International Standards are as broad as possible, ISO
supports the involvement of consumers in standard development work with its Committee on
consumer policy (COPOLCO). International Standards on air, water and soil quality, on emissions
of gases and radiation and environmental aspects of products contribute to efforts to preserve the
environment and the health of citizens.
Government
ISO standards draw on international expertise and experience and are therefore a vital resource
for governments when developing public policy. National governments can use ISO standards to
support public policy, for example, by referencing ISO standards in regulations. This has a number
of benefits, including:
 Expert opinion - ISO standards are developed by experts. By integrating an ISO standard
into national regulation, governments can benefit from the opinion of experts without having
to call on their services directly.
 Opening up world trade - ISO standards are international and adopted by many
governments. By integrating ISO standards into national regulation, governments help to
ensure that requirements for imports and exports are the same the world over, therefore
facilitating the movement of goods, services and technologies from country to country.
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ISO 9001 Certification
The most widely recognised standard is ISO 9001, a basic quality management system that can be
used in industries of any size, anywhere in the world. Registration to ISO 9001 (or other
quality/management standards) provides objective proof that a business has implemented an
effective quality management system, and that it satisfies all of the requirements of the applicable
standard. An external, impartial expert called a registrar or CB (Certification Body) conducts an
on-site audit to determine whether or not a company is in conformance to the standard. If they
are found to be in conformance, they will be issued a certificate showing their address, scope of
operations and the seals of the accreditation bodies that give the registrar its legitimacy.
Benefits of ISO 9001
ISO 9001 certificate will provide maximum benefit to the organisation if it approaches ISO
9001 implementation in a practical way. This will ensure that the quality management systems
that are adopted work to improve the business and are not just a set of procedures that
employees will find hard to manage. By adopting an approach that starts out to implement
more efficient working practices and focuses on the business objectives of the organisation,
the organization will achieve a system that will help and support staff, and improve customer
satisfaction. ISO 9001 certification is not just suitable for large organisations but also small
businesses that will benefit from adopting efficient quality management systems that will save time
and cost, improve efficiency and ultimately improve customer relationships.
Some of the benefits to organisation:
 Provides senior management with an efficient management process
 Sets out areas of responsibility across the organization
 Mandatory if you want to tender for some public sector work
 Communicates a positive message to staff and customers
 Identifies and encourages more efficient and time saving processes
 Highlights deficiencies
 Reduces your costs
 Provides continuous assessment and improvement
 Marketing opportunities
Some of the benefits to customers:
 Improved quality and service
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 Delivery on time
 Right first time attitude
 Fewer returned products and complaints
 Independent audit demonstrates commitment to quality
ISO 14001
Like ISO 9000, ISO 14001 is a product of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).
ISO 14001 is the world's first generic, internationally recognised standard for environmental
management. Of the group of ISO 14000 standards, ISO 14001 is the actual standard to which
companies get registered. Experts are predicting that the impacts of this dynamic standard will
transcend the vast popularity of the world-renowned ISO 9001 quality standard. ISO 14001
measures the conformance of an organisation's Energy Management System (EMS) to the specified
requirements.
ISO 14001 was developed to provide a management system to help organisations reduce their
environmental impact. The standard provides the framework for organisations to demonstrate
their commitment to the environmental by:
 Reducing harmful effects on the environment

 Providing evidence of continual improvement of Environmental Management
The standard is generic and does not apply to any particular industry or business sector. It
provides a strategic framework that can be used to meet internal and external objectives for
Environmental Management. Because of its generic nature and universal acceptance, the ISO
14001 standard has the potential to affect the environmental management practices of virtually
every manufacturing company in the world. It can also be used by charities, voluntary
organisations and trade associations. Any organisation whose products, services or day-to-day
activities have an impact on the environment needs to be aware of ISO 14001.
Benefits ISO 14001
It is becoming more and more important to demonstrate that organisations are thinking about
their environmental impact and putting in place systems that will not only benefit the environment
but will also reduce costs and improve efficiency within the organisation.
The benefits of showing conformance to the ISO 14001 standard are numerous:
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 Cost savings in waste, recycling and consumption

 Advantage over competitors when tendering for business
 Management of environmental risks
 Compliance with individual countries environmental regulations
 Demonstrates your commitment to improving the environment
 Shows you are a responsible future focused organisation
 Can reduce insurance cover costs
 Can increase employee engagement in the knowledge that they are working in an
environmentally friendly organisation
Having a well-defined Energy Management System (EMS) framework will provide an organisation
with a systematic approach to compliance. In some cases regulatory bodies are more flexible with
companies with performance and public accountability records.
In addition, there are indications that certification may lead to a reduction in the number of
government inspections required for obtaining permits. In unique circumstances, environmental
protection bodies like NEMA can reduce fines on the condition that financial resources are put
into better practices, including compliance to ISO 14001.
Through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), ISO 14001 is expected to become
a prerequisite for doing business worldwide. Experts say that it is the market forces, which will
drive acceptance of the new global environmental standards. ISO 14001 is also compatible with
other management standards such as ISO 9001, OHSAS18001and ISO 27001
Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award
An award established by the U.S. Congress in 1987 to raise awareness of quality management and
recognize U.S. companies that have implemented successful quality management systems. Awards
can be given annually in six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education,
healthcare and nonprofit. The award is named after the late Secretary of Commerce Malcolm
Baldrige, a proponent of quality management. The U.S. Commerce Department’s National
Institute of Standards and Technology manages the award, and ASQ administers it.
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) is presented annually by the President of
the United States to organizations that demonstrate quality and performance excellence. Three
awards may be given annually in each of six categories:
 Manufacturing
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 Service company
 Small business
 Education
 Healthcare
 Nonprofit
Established by Congress in 1987 for manufacturers, service businesses and small businesses, the
Baldrige Award was designed to raise awareness of quality management and recognize U.S.
companies that have implemented successful quality-management systems.
The education and healthcare categories were added in 1999. A government and nonprofit
category was added in 2007. The Baldrige Award is named after the late Secretary of Commerce
Malcolm Baldrige, a proponent of quality management.
Organizations that apply for the Baldrige Award are judged by an independent board of
examiners. Recipients are selected based on achievement and improvement in seven areas, known
as the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence:
 Leadership: How upper management leads the organization, and how the organization
leads within the community.
 Strategic planning: How the organization establishes and plans to implement strategic
directions.
 Customer and market focus: How the organization builds and maintains strong, lasting
relationships with customers.
 Measurement, analysis, and knowledge management: How the organization uses data to
support key processes and manage performance.
 Human resource focus: How the organization empowers and involves its workforce.
 Process management: How the organization designs, manages and improves key processes.
 Business/organizational performance results: How the organization performs in terms of
customer satisfaction, finances, human resources, supplier and partner performance,
operations, governance and social responsibility, and how the organization compares to its
competitors.
European Quality Award
The European Quality Award is now referred to as the EFQM - The European Foundation for
Quality Management Excellence Award. EFQM was founded in October 1989 when the
CEO/Presidents of 67 European companies declared their commitment to achieving EFQM
mission and vision. The Foundation set up a team of experts, from industry and academia, to
develop the EFQM Excellence Model, a holistic framework than can be applied to any
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organisation, regardless of size or sector.This was first used to support the assessment of
organisations in the European Quality Award in 1992. Over the last 25 years,the model has
adapted and evolved over time to reflect changes in the global market place. Hundreds of
organisations, from both the public and private sector, have participated in the EFQM Excellence
Awards, including Robert Bosch, BMW, VW, Xerox, Ricoh, Grundfos, Philips, EDF, as well as
small less known organisations. The main objective of the award is: to increase the
competitiveness of European organisations and support the sustainable development of the
European economies.
Company of the Year Award(COYA)
The Company of the Year Awards or COYA, as they are popularly known were conceptualised
between 1997 and 1999 by the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM); one of only four national
management institutes in Africa.
KIM introduced an assessment and reward program for organisational performance in the year
2000 dubbed the COYA, to position KIM as the pioneer of performance and management
excellence assessments and awards in Kenya. The idea for COYA was inspired by the critical
need to celebrate the achievements being made and to enhance organisations’ management
capabilities and performance excellence - to give them the right tools to win in the tough
operating environment enforced by the previous political regime. This was in the spirit of KIM’s
mission to promote excellence and integrity in management practices, in order to increase local
competitiveness and performance in an increasingly global world.
Since its inception in the year 2000, the number of participating organisations has grown steadily
year on year and the COYA process has evolved as the business environment has become more
sophisticated. Key milestones include incorporating SMEs into COYA from 2006 and a
partnership with IFC in 2008 to launch the KIM Business Awards (KABA). This was in recognition
of the vital role played by SMEs as the lifeblood of the economy and the consequent need to
assess the performance of SMEs separately from larger organisations, in order to ensure fair and
equitable comparison with peers.
Recent milestones in the COYA journey
 2005 – Review of the assessment tool to include supply chain management

 2006 – Launch of SME of the Year and Runner Up categories
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 2007 – Awards in each category given to companies in Manufacturing, Service and SME
sectors
 2008 – Launch of KIM Business Awards (KABA) for SMEs
 2009 – Strategic review to improve the value added to participating companies
Feedback from participating organisations over the years has informed the drive for continuous
improvement to ensure that COYA remains relevant in a fast evolving corporate environment.
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IMPLEMENTING QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Quality Management leadership
What defines and differentiates leadership in quality management? What is 'Quality Leadership'?
The fundamental foundations of Quality, the teachings of the Gurus, are all based on
organizational leadership with an ethical core focusing on people, social responsibility and quality
of work life. Leadership is fundamental to management and organizational behavior and is on just
about everyone’s short list of prerequisites for organizational success. Thus it is not surprising
that leadership plays a crucial role in the total quality organization. Virtually every article and book
written about quality emphasizes leadership. “Teach and institute leadership” is one of W.E.
Deming’s 14 Points. Leadership is recognized as the “driver” of successful quality systems. In
practice, the notion of leadership can be as elusive as the notion of quality itself. Most definitions
of leadership reflect an assortment of behaviors, for example:
• Vision that stimulates hope and mission that transforms hope into reality;
• Radical servant hood that saturates the organization;
• Stewardship that shepherds its resources;
• Integration that drives its economy;
• The courage to sacrifice personal or team goals for the greater community good;
• Communication that coordinates its efforts;
• Consensus that drives unity of purpose;
• Empowerment that grants permission to make mistakes, encourages the honesty to admit them,
and gives the opportunity to learn from them; and
• Conviction that provides the stamina to continually strive toward business excellence.
The roles of a Quality Leader
Underlying the concept of quality leadership are some clear imperatives for managers who aspire
to quality leadership. First, they must establish a vision. Second, they must live the values. Third,
they must lead the improvement efforts. Let’ examine each of these in turn.
Establish a Vision
A vision is a vivid concept of what an organization could be. It is a striking depiction of
possibilities, of potential. It is a dream, both in the sense of being desirable and in the sense of
being a long way from the current reality, but it is not an “impossible dream.” A vision should be
clear and exciting to an organization’s employees. It should be linked to customers’ needs and
convey a general strategy for achieving the mission.
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Live the Values.

Pursuing the quality vision commits the organization to living by a set of values such as devotion to
customers, continuous improvement, and teamwork. A manager who hopes the organization will
embrace and live by these values must live them to the utmost.
Manager’s actions can symbolize their commitment to quality-oriented values in many concrete
ways. For example, they can attend training programs on various aspects of quality, instead of just
sending others. They can practice continuous improvement in processes that they control, such as
strategic planning and capital budgeting. Perhaps most importantly, they can provide adequate
funding for quality efforts. So that QM will not be the “poor cousin” to other business issues.
Lead Continuous Improvement.
Beyond establishing vision for the organization and expressing quality values through their
decisions and actions, quality-oriented leaders must lead the continuous process improvement
efforts that are the meat and potatoes of total quality management. All of the vision and values in
the world are worthless if the organization is not continuously making strides to improve its
performance in the eyes of customers.
Visions of world-class quality and competitiveness can only be achieved if an organization keeps
finding ways to do things a little better and a little faster. Leaders must be at the center of these
efforts.
Quality and Competitiveness
Attaining quality is all areas of business is difficult task. To make things even more difficult, consumers change their
perceptions of quality. For instance, changes in consumer life-styles and in economic conditions have drastically
altered customer perceptions of automobile quality. In general, a business’s success depends on the accuracy of its
perceptions of customer expectations and its ability to bridge the gap between consumer expectation and
operating capabilities. Consumers are much more quality-minded now than in the past and in many cases prefer to
spend more for a product that lasts longer or a service that is delivered promptly and thoroughly. Several studies
have concluded that a high-quality product has a better chance of gaining market share than does a low-quality
product. Moreover, perception plays as important role as performance: A product or service that is perceived by
customers to be of higher quality stands as much better chance of gaining market share than does one perceived to
be of low quality, even if the actual level of quality are the same.
Good quality can also pay off in higher profits. High-quality products and services can be priced higher than
comparable lower quality ones and yield a greater return for the same sales dollar. Poor quality erodes the firm’s
ability to compete in marketplace and increases the costs of producing its product or service. For example, by
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improving conformance to specifications, a firm can increase its market share and reduce the cost of its products or
services, which in turn increases profits. Management is more able to compete on prices as well as on quality.
The fundamentals of quality still exist and are important despite the tremendous changes in
product, processes environment and customer management. All industries face competition for
customers and resources and as such a company must remain competitive. Quality is now taking
precedent over price, reliability and availability and organization must now realize that quality can
be utilized as a competitive tool. Currently quality is considered a key instrument in creating
competitive advantage in the following ways:
 Being used as a strategic weapon together with reliability and price
 It takes a great deal of effort to rectify any poor reputation arising from competition.
 Quality is an attribute that can be learned and used in turn to improve performance of the
organization
 Reputation on quality can spread very quickly and can make or break an organization
 It cost less to retain customers than to acquire new ones as a result damage due to poor
quality
 Long term relationship is based on quality which is associated with profitability
 Loyal customers are likely to spend more time and money on an organization offering
quality products and services
 A good proportion of customers come through referrals
 High quality is usually accompanied by premium prices.
Competitiveness denotes the ability of an organization to achieve market superiority and
leadership .Competitiveness in quality is defined by the following characteristics
1. Its quality must be driven by customer needs and wants
2. The quality offering provides value that competitors cannot imitate
3. The quality has a significant contribution to the success of the organization
4. It allows the organization to match its unique resources and opportunities in the
environment
5. It is durable and long lasting and difficult for competitors to achieve it.
6. It provides a basis for further improvements
7. It provides motivation for the entire organization
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Systems Approach to Quality
An organization is a complex relationship involving people, physical assets, funds and processes, all
aligned to achieving predetermined goals and objectives. An organization takes the inputs and adds
value to them by means of processes and procedures, which transforms them into outputs. The
effectiveness of this transformation is measured by the outcomes.
Diagram depicting an organization as a system

Systems theory and continuous improvement
Systems theory holds that an organization can get better outputs, and as a result, better
outcomes, by controlling the quality of both inputs and the transformation process (the first two
columns in the diagram). Therefore, emphasis should be on continually improving the inputs and
transformation process, which are under the control of the organization. These efforts usually
result in incremental improvement over time although there can be breakthrough improvements.
Organizational capability
This refers to the organization’s ability to perform using the available resources (the inputs on the
diagram above). Three dimensions that must be aligned and support each other to build
organizational capability that will deliver results are:
 Human capital: people skills and knowledge
 Social capital: relationships between people
 Organizational capital: organization’s processes
Defining a quality system
A quality system is a structured and documented approach that covers the structure, procedures,
processes, responsibilities and resources needed to implement a system wide approach to
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ensuring quality in work processes, products and services. It usually consists of a philosophy, a
framework, a methodology and a set of tools.
Organizational culture & quality
Organizational culture is the behavior of humans who are part of an organization and the
meanings that the people attach to their actions. Culture includes the organization values, visions,
norms, working language, systems, symbols, beliefs, and habits. It is also the pattern of such
collective behaviors and assumptions that are taught to new organizational members as a way of
perceiving, and even thinking and feeling. Organizational culture affects the way people and groups
interact with each other, with clients, and with stakeholders. Formal policies, procedures,
behaviors and habits operate as the ground rules and guidelines. Vision, mission, values, goals and
strategy are the guiding principles of a corporation and culture culminates from them. Corporate
culture is changing fast. Everyone is expected to move at much faster speed. Operational
principles for the corporations are ‘Slim, Speed and Simple’. Corporate culture is people in action.
Quality culture refers to the degree of awareness, commitment, collective attitude,
and behavior of the organization with respect to quality. Quality culture is basically
incorporation of quality in the overall system of an organization which leads to a positive internal
environment and creation of delighted customers. A changed mindset at all the levels of
management is the basic tool for implementation of such a culture. As the process of initiating
quality culture starts with managers who understand the value of the system's view and also
believe in its implications. So in order to create such a culture a changed mindset is important. It
can be achieved either through self-realization at the top level or through trainings and workshops
or following of benchmark organizations.
Quality Paradigms/System
Quality System or paradigms may be defined as a culture (concepts, beliefs, knowledge,

thoughts, skills, and practices) of people who function as a unit or team to define, design, develop,
produce, deliver, sell, service, support, use, and dispose of products that meet customer needs
and expectations.
Quality Paradigms may be categorized as follows
1. Custom-Craft Paradigm: The custom-craft paradigm focuses on the product and

product performance relative to customer demands. Each product unit is designed and
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built exactly the way the customer wants it. Requirements: Skilled craftsperson, basic
hand tools, demands for unique product.
2. Mass Production and Sorting Paradigm: The focus in the mass production and
sorting paradigm is on production rates. Products are designed and built, then customers
generated. Requirements: Interchangeable parts, factory power, unskilled labor pool,
large customer pool, hard-selling.
3. Statistical Quality Control Paradigm: The statistical quality control paradigm is
similar to the mass production and sorting paradigm with the difference that more
attention is given to production processes. Products are designed and built, statistical
process control and statistical sampling are used, and then customers are generated.
Requirements: Interchangeable parts, factory power, unskilled labor pool, large
customer pool, hard-selling, statistical methods.
4. Total Quality Management Paradigm: The total quality management paradigm
involves customers and suppliers in addition to mass production and statistical methods.
Potential customers tell the producer what to design and build. Using proactive and
reactive quality strategies and tools the producer delivers a product the customers want.
Requirements: Interchangeable parts, factory power, statistical methods, empowered
employees, supplier partnerships, customer relationships.
5. Techno-craft Paradigm: The techno-craft paradigm is the sociotechnical counterpart to
the custom-craft paradigm. Each unit is designed and build exactly the way the customer
wants it built. Requirements: Interchangeable parts, factory power, statistical methods,
empowered employees, supplier partnerships, customer relationships, customer aided
design, customer aided manufacturing.
Workplace Culture and Quality
In order to inculcate quality culture at the workplace:

1. Effective Communication: People in organizations typically spend over 75% of their time in
an interpersonal situation; thus it is no surprise to find that at the root of a large number
of organizational problems is poor communications. Effective communication is an essential
component of organizational success whether it is at the interpersonal, intergroup,
intragroup, organizational, or external levels.
2. Customer Focus
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3. Better to better: Always endeavor to make thing better through Continuous

Improvement.” Chinese proverb, “Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing
still.”
4. Process Orientation
5. Management Commitment.
6. Empowerment and Teamwork
7. Management by Fact
8. Leadership and Strategic Planning
Importance of Culture to Quality Management
Supportive work culture has been associated with a variety of benefits most of which are
associated with the final products/service:
 High level of commitment to the organization
 High level of job satisfaction
 Low level of industrial stress
 Less conflict between employees and management
 High level of output and efficiency
 Ease of embracing new technologies and minimal resistance to change
A quality culture which is important to any serious organization will be manifested in the following
ways:
 Customer driven excellence

 Valuing employees and partners
 Management by facts
 Clear and focused leadership
 Preventive/pro-active approach
 Continuous improvement
 Team approach
 Quality based recognition systems
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Quality Management and Organizational Productivity.
There is a close relationship between quality levels and productivity of processes and employees.
Improved quality has a positive effect on overall productivity while poor quality reduces the level
of productivity. Poor quality leads to
1. Stoppage of processes to make corrections
2. Extra time is wasted on re-works
3. Handling of sub -standard products leading to additional costs.
4. Wasted time on corrections rather than innovations
5. Low capacity utilization
6. Loss of customers leading to loss of sales
7. High economies of scale
8. Low employee motivation
9. High operating cost
10. Litigation and compensation costs increases Injuries and accidents hampering employee
performance.
Organizational Implementation Advice
Customer Service is the New Marketing: Let’s face it, if you successfully implement
customer service, your customer service organization will be engaged with your customer more
often and more frequently than traditional marketing channels. Doesn’t that mean customer
service is now as if not more important to shaping customer perceptions, brand preference and
purchase activity? If you started your organization from scratch, I bet customer service and
marketing would be the same thing, and in the same organization. Treat it that way now and
things work better, more smoothly and more successfully.
Executive Support is Key: They don’t need to be involved every day (although their active
presence in your channels can accelerate credibility & humanity), but your executive team needs
to strongly and publicly endorse what you’re doing. Many others are likely to want to slow down
or limit how transparent and pervasive channels are executed in your customer service plan.
Active executive sponsorship can nip that in the bud, quickly.
Choose & Train Participants: Don’t assume everyone in your customer service organization
will know how to best engage customers in these open channels. Don’t go overboard with rules
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and brand restrictions, but give participants some training, guidelines and even some role-playing
to show what’s expected and what’s possible.
Reward Engagement & Behavior: This applies both to your internal staff as well as your loyal
customers. Encourage, recognize and reward positive interactions, speedy responses to issues,
and success stories where your newly-leverage customer service channels have won over a
skeptic, saved a fading customer, or created a new brand loyalist for life. An organization can
shape public opinion on quality issues by implementing the following strategies;
 Using integrity and fairness as criteria for all business decisions;

 Maintaining an emphasis on quality of products or services;
 Openly sharing truthful information with all publics;
 Actively seeking input from publics and being responsive to concerns;
 Renewing a commitment to local communities; and
 Creating forums to encourage dialogue with constituencies.
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EMERGING ISSUES IN QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Enforcement of quality product/ service in Kenya
Purchase/sale of goods and services are governed by the legal system. It is important that
managers understand features of the law that govern the goods and services in a country. Most
organizations however consider consulting a legal expert in matters relating to law. In Kenya, the
following laws are closely associated to quality,
 Sale of goods Act(Cap 31,Laws of Kenya)
 The law of Contract
 Insurance law
 The law relating to carriage of goods
 The Negotiable Instruments Act
 The law of Tort
 Maritime Law
These laws are further detailed and explained in your Business Law course. Rapid increase in
liability suits in business has made the knowledge of legal services an important aspect of quality
Management and assurance. An organization must attempt to fully guarantee that it complies with
the laws and regulation pertaining to quality.
Consumers' Rights and Business Obligations
1. Manufacturers and service providers are required to indicate on their products, goods, and
service in English and Kiswahili language the ingredients, composition, users’ guidelines,
manufacturing date, and expiration date along with other requirements which guarantee
the safety and health of consumers prior to their commercialization.
2. Manufacturers and services providers must comply with the general requirements of
providing accurate information of their composition or configuration of the products,
goods, or services so as to prevent confusion by consumers or damage competition.
3. Merchants, traders and services providers responsible for products, goods, or services first
placed in the stream of commerce in Kenya will be required to ensure that their products
or services are in compliance with the provisions of the law.
4. Importation of products or goods not found in compliance with the custom laws can be
authorized provided they are ONLY transited for re-exportation e.g. the ‘everpower’
brand of batteries from China to Uganda.
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5. Importation of products and goods which are of humanitarian status or non-

commercialized purposes can be allowed provided there is a special prior authorization
from the Ministry of trade on behalf of the Kenya Government.
6. Presentation of proper compliance certificate, for exportation and importation, will be
required for certain products which may be harmful to the health or safety of consumers,
may affect fair commercial practices, may preserve and enhance the quality of locally
manufactured products, are required by international trade or international conventions.
7. A quality label is a separate mark to identify the quality of a product, good, or service that
the manufacturers or service providers affix to their products or services. The affixing of
the quality label is done for the purpose of meeting the consumers’ demand for
information, to improve the manufacturer’s and service provider's production
performance, and to enhance the quality products. Manufacturers and service
providers must affix the quality label in strict compliance with the conditions stipulated by
law.
8. It is prohibited to put in the stream of commerce food products which are known to be
contaminated or toxic or do not meet bacteriological or sanitary requirement as stipulated
by regulations of the ministries concerned.
9. It is prohibited to put into the stream of commerce products and instruments used for
falsifying and counterfeiting products.
10. All forms of commercial advertising is prohibited if they are deceitful, misleading, false, or
likely to cause confusion on the quality and safety of products, goods, and services
.Advertisers placing commercial advertisements for their own account shall be held
principally accountable in their capacity as an initiator.
11. For manufacturing, processing, and commercialization of products, goods, and services
which can cause grave or imminent danger to consumers' health or safety, the competent
ministries and departments can take the following actions: temporarily or permanently
banning from sale; temporarily or permanently closing down the manufacturing facilities; or
if necessary, withholding, confiscating, or destroying the products in question.
Quality and Product Liability
This refers to the responsibility of a manufacturer or vendor of goods to compensate

for injury caused by defective merchandise that it has provided for sale.
Products liability refers to the liability of any or all parties along the chain of manufacture of any
product for damage caused by that product. This includes the manufacturer of component parts
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(at the top of the chain), an assembling manufacturer, the wholesaler, and the retail store owner
(at the bottom of the chain). Products containing inherent defects that cause harm to a consumer
of the product, or someone to whom the product was loaned, given, etc., are the subjects of
products liability suits. While products are generally thought of as tangible personal property,
products liability has stretched that definition to include intangibles (gas), naturals (pets), real
estate (house), and writings (navigational charts).
Products liability claims can be based on negligence, strict liability, or breach of warranty of fitness
depending on the jurisdiction within which the claim is based. Many countries have enacted
comprehensive products liability statutes.
In any jurisdiction one must prove that the product is defective. There are three types of product
defects that incur liability in manufacturers and suppliers: design defects, manufacturing defects,
and defects in marketing. Design defects are inherent; they exist before the product is
manufactured. While the item might serve its purpose well, it can be unreasonably dangerous to
use due to a design flaw. On the other hand, manufacturing defects occur during the construction
or production of the item. Only a few out of many products of the same type are flawed in this
case. Defects in marketing deal with improper instructions and failures to warn consumers of
latent dangers in the product.
Products Liability is generally considered a strict liability offense. Strict liability wrongs do not
depend on the degree of carefulness by the defendant. Translated to products liability terms, a
defendant is liable when it is shown that the product is defective. It is irrelevant whether the
manufacturer or supplier exercised great care; if there is a defect in the product that causes harm,
he or she will be liable for it.
Remedies to Product Liability
1. Attention to design to reduce the possibility of defects and errors

2. Documentation of design processes to provide supportive evidence in case of any liability
claims
3. Record evidence of all tests and procedures of critical product characteristics
4. Examination of all possible areas of defects and errors so as to eliminate and reduce their
chances of occurrences
5. Attach all relevant warning and instructions labels in all products at all times.
6. Testing the products in all extreme and possible scenarios to identify and rectify problems
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7. Designing for environmental considerations during the design of the product
Enforcement of Quality Laws in Kenya
Quality policies in Kenya are mainly established through the legislature creating Acts of
Parliament. Several institutions have been created to engage in management of quality in the
Kenya.
They include;
1. Kenya Bureau of Standards
The aims and objectives of KEBS include preparation of standards relating to products,
measurements, materials, processes, etc. and their promotion at national, regional and
international levels; certification of industrial products; assistance in the production of
quality goods; quality inspection of imports at ports of entry; improvement of
measurement accuracies and dissemination of information relating to standards.
2. National Environment Management Authority
NEMA is mandated to exercise general supervision and coordination over all matters
relating to the environment and to be the principal instrument of the Government of
Kenya in the implementation of all policies relating to the environment.
The Authority is a Semi Autonomous Government Agency (SAGA) in the Ministry of
Environment, Water and Natural Resources and has been in operation since 1st July 2002.
The Authority works closely with lead agencies and development partners, the latter who
include UNEP, UNDP and DANIDA.
3. Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS)
KEPHIS is a regulatory agency for quality control of agricultural input and produce in
Kenya. KEPHIS coordinates all matters relating to crop pests and disease control, advises
on appropriate seeds and planting materials for export and import. Their Mission is to
provide an effective and efficient science-based regulatory service for assurance on quality
of agricultural inputs and produce thereby promoting sustainable economic growth and
development.
4. Kenya legal System and other Acts of Parliament such as Public Procurement and
regulation Act.
All entities formed through the Acts of parliament will enforce and execute their mandate through
the Kenyan Court system in case of violations. The challenges faced in enforcing quality practices
in Kenya include;
1. Corruption
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2. Lack of adequate resources

3. Lack of awareness on legal quality issues
4. Capacity challenges
5. Political challenges
6. Poor policies from the government
The Role of Society in Sustaining Quality Practices
Quality should always be everybody’s responsibility within the society. Each institution therefore
should be an agent that advocate for better quality goods and services in order to create better
living standards. Each group within the society has a distinct role in developing and sustaining a
quality system. Some of the specific institutions include:
Government
Being the appointed authority to provide services to citizens, the business of the government of
the day is having the interest of citizens at heart. Their main role include
 Providing legislative framework that creates a system providing quality services
 Establish and empower institutions that are to enforce quality improvements/Protection
efforts e.g. N.E.M.A ( National Environment Management Authority)
 To promote the use of quality practices in production of goods and services in an
economy e.g. developing a public health policy that encourages fortification technologies in
the food industry that aims to reduce numbers of people with dietary deficiencies in a
population.
 To set up institutions that monitors and promotes the development of new technologies in
product /service provision.
 To encourage the use of quality oriented technologies by setting up special entities that
promotes such practices.
 To enforce rules and regulations that advocates for quality utilization of natural resources.
Citizens/Consumers
Being the biggest entity in the society and the consumer of goods and services produced in an
economy, they are entrusted with the following roles
 To demand for better quality goods and services at all times.
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 To provide the necessary information about their quality preference to the government
and producers of goods and services.
 To propose new approaches to the government and producers on quality improvement
and value enhancement
 To make informed quality based decisions regarding the product and services that they
consume e.g. low cholesterol diet foods, avoiding smoking etc
Civil Society
This is a social entity that advocates for the vulnerable in the society. Being an advocate, they are
required to mobilize social interest so as to fight for their rights. Their role includes
 To act on behalf of the vulnerable group to protect their interest and rights e.g. The
Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek)
 Organize for effective representation at the various levels of decision making
 To educate the public on the importance of quality products and services and the use of
quality practices.
 To mobilize resources in order to support programs directed towards better quality
Employees
Being members of a business entity, employees are required to play the following roles:
 To act at all times with full interest to provide quality products and services.
 To work with the management towards improving their work environments
 To support the organization by contributing ideas and creativity that leads to production
of better quality goods and services.
 To endeavor to improve their skills by acquiring the necessary knowledge and expertise
through continuous training and empowerment.
 To inhibit any unethical practices used by the organization and always advocate for quality
practices.
Management
Based on the authority entrusted on the management, they are required to play the following
roles:
 To adopt management practices that advocate for quality systems and procedures e.g.
Adoption of ISO certification such ISO 14000 for Environment Management System
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(E.M.S),ISO 9000 for Quality Management System or ISO 22000 for food safety
Management.
 To provide the necessary leadership that is quality focused.
 Allocate resources towards the development and enhancement of practices that support
quality.
 To be a leader of change by setting roles that are quality oriented and improvement
focused.
 To develop and enhance quality culture within the organization by providing the necessary
cultural framework that is built on quality.
Stakeholders (Anybody who has interest)

Being the group that has direct/indirect interest in the entity, their role in quality enhancement
will include the following
 To impose on the entity the need to use ethical and quality practices
 To provide ideas and information to the management board that promotes the use of
quality practices
 To ensure that quality sustainability interest are put ahead of financial gains
 To demand for accountability in quality services by business organization.
Media
Being an information provider and source of knowledge, the media should play the following roles
 Disseminate information that supports quality systems
 To provide information on new technologies
 To educate the public on their rights regarding quality of products/services they consume
 To provide adequate and unbiased information about quality issues
To expose any non-quality/non-ethical practices.
Impact of media on product/service quality
The pressure to maintain quality in product or service quality has become a milestone around the
neck of organizations? Quality management has become crucial more than ever especially in an era
where outsourcing of product production has spread everywhere like a wide fire. Consumer
products now travel across multiple strands of logistics outlet before getting to final consumers.
The battle of the will is now the struggle to seal the preferred supplier status because of
consumer perception on services or product quality is unpredictable. We now live in an
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increasingly complex society where consumer’s needs, priorities as well as perception are
integrated in to product and service process.
With wide array of reduced amount of distinguishable products, expectation and power of
consumer rose. Consumers are now loyal to quality product and superior performance. Product
failure and defect does not only result to negative perception, it can lead to loss of customer and
lawsuit. Furthermore, repeated failure can lead to damage to organizational reputation and
position in the market place. David Aaker author of the book “Managing brand equity” defined
perceived quality as the customer’s perception of the overall quality and superiority of a product
or service with respect to its intended purpose, relative to alternative.
'Media' is the plural of the Latin word medium, which means "middle ". It is a medium for
disseminating information; this constitutes both, as a means of expression and an intermediary who
transmits a message to a group. The media may include radio, television, print media, books
or the Internet.
Business must offer quality service to customers and clients if they want to maintain a positive
public image. Setting customer service standards help to ensure that companies reach, and
exceed, customers' expectations. When it comes to customer satisfaction, it all comes down to
public perception: How the customer sees and experiences the product and service provided by a
company. It's not what you believe or think, not what your studies or focus groups tell you, but
what your actual customers feel, experience and say.
The following are some of the ways a company can use the media to shape favorable public
opinion;
The Benefits of favorable public opinions on Quality

1. Transparency: This is exactly what consumers and buyers want in their partners and
brands. They don’t expect you to be perfect, but they expect you to tell it like it is.
Accept your weaknesses, admit to your faults, say you’re sorry when you do something
wrong. Do that in real-time (have the courage to do so!) and not only will your current
customers be more loyal to you, but you’ll be surprised how quickly transparency will
convert the cautious and skeptical to your side.
2. Credibility: By exposing yourself to the good, bad and ugly of the marketplace, you make
everything else you do more sincere and credible. By enabling and embracing
transparency, you by definition create credibility for yourself and your brand. Even those
who still don’t completely accept you, or prefer your competitors, can’t help but admire
your position and openness. And credibility (a close cousin of trust) is the foundation of
any strong, long-term relationship.
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3. Humanity: Behind every strong company, every brand, every building – are people. Real
people build the product, provide the service, and innovate what you see today into the
products, services and solutions of tomorrow. Show the humanity of the people behind
your brand through your media outlets – directly in front of and in exchanges with your
customers – and they’ll be attracted to you all the more.
4. Community: Perhaps the best part of media’s opportunity for customer service is that
we’re no longer talking at our customers. Every interaction is an opportunity to not only
facilitate a two-way conversation, but open that conversation to other customers to foster
and enhance the feeling of community. Combine transparency and humanity with
community, and the bonds get stronger.
How to shape favorable public opinion on Quality
1. 24-7 Monitoring: You have to watch, all the time. If something blows up on a Friday
night, it’s not OK to wait to respond until Monday morning. This mentality worked when
communication was both interruptive and one-way, and when the call center shut down in
the evening hours. But media doesn’t work that way. Your customers (and detractors)
will talk whenever they feel like it (Via facebook, tweeter etc). You (and your team,
and your fans) need to pay closer and wider attention to what’s going on and what’s being
said so you can address, correct and/or amplify messages as appropriate.
2. Fast Response Time: Even if you’re just saying “let me check & I’ll get back to you”,
respond quickly. Don’t let open-ended questions and opinions hang out there without a
response.
3. Customers Helping Customers: You (and your team) don’t need to be the only
respondent when someone asks a question. Your customers can help each other as well.
Give customers access to your media channels, and encourage them to self-support each
other with answers, best practices, usage tips and more.
4. Empower Customers as Community Leaders: If you know who your most active,
supportive customers are, why not “promote” them to community leaders? Give them a
discount or special consideration with your product, service or brand in exchange for
actively participating in forums on your behalf. Customers helping customers will always
work more credibly than brands helping customers, plus it takes more of the load off of
your shoulders (particularly important for resource-constricted companies).
5. Welcome New Customers: Do your new customers feel welcome, or are they
intimidated by their lack of experience and knowledge? Make them feel welcome in your
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community. Invite them to introduce themselves, and share a story (or two) about what
they’re doing and how they’re using what you’re selling. This sharing alone will make them
feel a part of the community, will immediately help you (and your community leaders)
understand how they might be able to help, and will increase their likelihood to come back
to you first if they have questions, concerns or complaints.
6. Publicize Availability in All Channels: Do your customers know where your

communities are? Do they know how to find you at 1:00 in the morning? How are you
helping brand new customers discover these channels & resources? The more customers
discover and engage these customer service opportunities, the more likely they’ll engage
with the community and accelerate their satisfaction and loyalty (not to mention decrease
cost of your more traditional, resource-intensive customer service options).
7. Use Social Media: Know your customers, and know which channels they’re more likely
to engage with. Twitter is valuable, sure, but so is Facebook, LinkedIn, discussion forums,
wikis, blogs and more. Find out where your customers are more likely to engage, and put
your focus there (at least initially).
The Future of Quality Management
The quality movement provided a solid foundation on which many companies managed their
return to strong growth following the difficult 1980s and early 1990s. These quality systems and
processes have subsequently become major influences in businesses throughout Asia, Europe,
Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. At the same time; however, powerful new global
economic forces are radically changing the concepts of quality and how it was managed. These
forces now make it essential that quality managers face the future with quality-based management
programs that fit the new business era, rather than continuing with systems that may have worked
in the recent past. Several trends will impact quality management future namely.
Demanding customers
By 2020, well over 1.5 billion men and women, and the companies that provide products and
services to them, will make up an increasingly demanding customer base in common markets or
regional trade alliances throughout the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa. Moreover, this figure
probably will increase as we proceed into the mid 21st century, now almost within the practical
time horizon for realistic corporate business planning.
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At the heart of accelerating sales and market shares that pacesetter international companies enjoy
today is an unflagging responsiveness to the demanding global customer. Surveys conducted by
General Systems Co. indicate that when a global market consumer is satisfied with quality, he or
she tells six others about the product or service; if that person is dissatisfied, 22 others hear
about it. When it comes to transactions within industries, data show that a satisfied industrial
customer is seven to eight times more likely to buy again from the same supplier than from its
competitors. That is the power of complete quality satisfaction in today’s markets.
As this global economy reaches out to world businesses, it becomes clear that quality is becoming
not only the international business language for worldwide trade networks but also that
worldwide economic and social forces are fundamentally changing quality concepts and
management. Improved quality now means an increase in value as well as right performance,
service, design and economy for global customers. This differs from quality controls former focus
on defect reduction alone. Understanding and speaking this new quality language -- and
transforming quality processes accordingly -- is a principal goal of successful companies that are
becoming sales growth and earnings profitability leaders in the new global economy. A closer look
at the global economic, social and trade forces upon which these companies have been built can
offer some insight into their success.
Shifting customer value expectations
Perhaps most important is the fundamental shift in customer value expectations in the global
marketplace. Ongoing surveys of customer buying patterns throughout major international
markets indicate that nine out of 10 buyers make quality their primary purchasing standard, as
compared with three or four out of 10 two decades ago. As customers, they increasingly
approach quality as a buying discipline, which they measure by their total-value perception of the
product as well as the organization that produces it. This means that the quality of the steel or the
merchandising service customers receive is an important part -- but just a part -- of the complete
support, billing accuracy and delivery reliability package they expect to buy.
For example, routinely and properly washing automobiles as part of a dealer service call is a
simple but nonetheless expected service that many customers identify as a value differentiator.
The service shows that the dealer cares, and customers appreciate saving the time and effort.
They assume, correctly or incorrectly, that a responsible dealer can accomplish any technical
action. Similarly, the voluntary elimination by a mobile communications company of a few dead
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spots on a main trucking route is one of the primary buyer-value reasons customers cite for their
return sales with that company rather than with its competitors.
For consumers, this attitude is driven by a need to improve their standard of living. For business
buyers, its driven by economic pressures that demand reliable, predictable equipment and services
without time-consuming failures or other hidden costs. These buyers expect a level of quality that
is essentially perfect for their needs, affordable and user-determined.
This demand for complete customer satisfaction indicates a profound social shift for both global
consumers and business buyers. Organizations that continue to concentrate solely on defect
reduction overlook their customer’s new buyer-value expectations. This is most evident in the
disparity between many companies’ quality satisfaction measurements. Some companies point
proudly to their quality improvement data -- i.e., defect reduction -- even as customer surveys
indicate that buyers believe quality has not improved -- i.e., increased in quality value -- and they
are therefore curtailing their business with these companies.
Economic pressures
Another force is the overwhelming economic pressure on organizations. Like a giant pair of
scissors, the pressure closes in on many of them from opposing directions. One is the strong
upward pressure due to increasing costs despite concerted containment efforts; the other is a
severe downward pressure on the price of goods due to market changes. To compound matters,
even after years of cost accounting, many organizations still don’t know what things really cost as
a foundation for true cost reduction.
For example, some companies have adopted a slash-and-burn cost-reduction approach. However,
unless its synchronized with specific improvements in process, cost reduction produces the same
results as weight reduction without a change in lifestyle: It does not stick. Instead, it leads to more
cost reduction, more restructuring and corporate-navel contemplating. As a result, these
companies become out of touch with rapid changes in new markets, new employee attitudes and
new management approaches.
The key is to directly link customer value enhancement with cost. Improving quality also improves
an organization overall -- from marketing and design to operations and distribution. Therefore,
cost must include not only operations and sales but also delivering customer satisfaction. General
Systems survey data show that, at many companies, this accounts for as much as 25 percent of
sales, much of it for quality failures. For companies in which total quality has been correctly
105
managed, the figure is 10 percent or less. Total quality initiatives have established teamwork
processes that, by improving quality for customers, have greatly reduced the costs accrued from
failing to deliver customer satisfaction. These reductions help support quality value-enhancement
programs as well as bottom-line net operating income. Shareholders and investors can understand
such reductions.
New management approaches
These two forces -- the shift in customer value expectations and new economic pressures -- lead
to a third force: innovative management approaches to human leadership.
These approaches reject the notion that good management and successful improvement means
getting the ideas out of the boss’s head and into the worker’s hands. Organizations that embrace
this approach to business improvement become increasingly estranged from their customers,
employees and suppliers. Top-down planning only serves to isolate organizations from their
customers buying habits. It encourages an atmosphere of intimidation with suppliers rather than a
partnership.
Under the old-school management regime, human resource improvement programs hardly fare
better. They are keyed to flashy motivational seminars, combined with regular doses of
management speech making. But when employees return to their jobs to apply what they have
heard, they face the same old ambiguous management practices and continue to thread their way
through autonomous departmental islands without any bridges between them. A very different
foundation for business success will characterize competitive organizations in the future. These
quality leadership companies will:
 Make quality the epicenter of increasing revenue growth and competitive leadership.
 Achieve complete customer satisfaction by offering essentially perfect goods and services
whose quality the customer determines.
 Accelerate sales and earnings growth through quality failure reduction.
 Innovate in product and service leadership and cycle-time management.
 Restore jobs by using tools and resources to encourage employee participation in quality
improvement.
 Develop effective supplier partnerships.
 Create a seamless quality value network among customer, producer and supplier
relationships.
106
 Provide environmental and safety leadership.

 Ensure that quality remains the company’s international business language.
Companies that can’t implement these processes won’t travel under any single national passport
nor any particular cultural or social identity. But they will share certain quality management
characteristics. In particular, they will:
 Consider their basic objective as continuously accelerating value for customers, investors
and employees.
 Emphasize that a market-driven means quality according to what their customers, not the
company, say it is.
 Lead by a combination of passion, discipline and populism, with a bias for improvement and
an emphasis on communication.
 Recognize that sustained growth demands increasing customer satisfaction, cost
leadership, human resource effectiveness and integration with their supplier base -- all
four, all the time.
 Foster a deep commitment to fundamental business improvement through knowledge,
skills, democratic problem solving and teamwork.
 These characteristics will provide improved quality to customers and help organizations
successfully face the social and economic changes that are ushering in a new global
business climate.
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QUALITY

Criticism of TQM ................................................................................................................................................48

Quality and Competitiveness ...........................................................................................................................86

Chance Favors the Prepared Mind- Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867-1934)

INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Introduction to quality management

The importance of quality, be it in product or service, cannot be overemphasized . Quality is the

The Historical Background

Quality and Quality Management

"Quality is not an act. It is a habit." – Aristotle

In traditional management, financial and marketing issues such as profitability, return on

2. Changing Relationship with Customers and Supplier

In traditional management, quality is defined as adherence to internal specifications and

Traditional management views an enterprise as a collection of separate, highly specialized

Motivation untraditional management is often akin to McGregor's Theory X model of

Traditional management views people as interchangeable commodities, developed to meet the

Total Quality Management History

1960s TQM History

1980s History of TQM

1990s History of Total Quality Management

2000s History of Total Quality Management

1. Reliability: How much reliable is the service provider?

Quality is not negotiable

Quality increases productivity

Quality leads to better performance in the marketplace

Quality means improved business performance

The cost of non-quality is high

Quality is a way of life

Quality & Other functional areas of Management

 Instituting quality assurance systems in the processes

Customer Centrism as a Driver of Quality

Five roles of the customer:

Customer Link to Quality Management

Figure: Quality Cornerstone Model (Bergman and Klefsjö, 2010)

 Customer Contributions to Quality: A Different View of the Customer-Oriented Firm. Cynthia A.

PHILOSOPHIES OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Dr. W. Edwards Deming (1900–1993)

management's control. Workers are responsible for communicating to management the

The Rise of Deming's Influence

Deming's Fourteen Points

The Deming Cycle

1. Plan a change or test (P).

Dr. Joseph Juran (B. 1904)

Selected Juran Quality Theories

Philip Crosby (1926–2001)

Attention to customer requirements and preventing defects is evident in Crosby's definitions of

Crosby's Cost Of Quality.

Crosby's Four Absolutes of Quality

1. Quality means conformance to requirements, not goodness.

Step 1. Management Commitment

Step 2. Quality Improvement Teams

Step 3. Quality Measurement

Step 4. Cost of Quality Evaluation

Step 5. Quality Awareness

Step 6. Corrective Action

Step 7. Zero-Defects Planning

Step 8. Supervisory Training

Step 9. Zero Defects

Step 10. Goal Setting

Step 11. Error Cause Removal

Step 12. Recognition

Step 13. Quality Councils

Step 14. Do It All Over Again