Quality Management
According to Pyzdek, (123;2003) quality management or quality control is the mechanism that is employed in making sure that the processes that are used in the productions of a good or the development of service are working effectively and efficiently. He continues to say that is done by a laid down system and the performance. Jennifer, (96; 1998) asserts that quality management can be viewed from three main perspectives and include quality control, quality improvement, and quality assurance. She continues to argue that quality management is concentrated on both the quality of the final product and also the means through which the final product is achieved. In this respect, she asserts that quality management uses the other two perspectives, that is, quality assurance and quality control to achieve a higher quality product.
Evolution of quality management
According to Godfrey, (205; 1999) quality management is a concept that has been adopted in the world just a few decades ago. He continues to argue that civilizations that dealt with crafts and arts in the past allowed the customers to choose the products which portrayed a higher quality standard over the other products. Godfrey continues to say that in the societies that dealt with art and craft or generally craftsmanship, the artisan had the responsibility was to be the leader in their workplaces. He was also responsible for ensuring that that the workforce was well trained and that the workforce produced quality products. Godfrey asserts that this was achieved through the supervisor supervising various projects and also setting up the standards for which the products had to meet. In this respect, Godfrey argues that the master craftsman was responsible for reviewing all the products and if a product needed improvement he had to assign a revision or a remake of the product. Godfrey, (207; 1999) adds that although the industry produced a limited number of products, the products were made to suit the customer and a great advantage was that the products impressed the clients hence the culture of customer retention.
According to Hagerman, (211; 1984), the era of the industrial revolution came with the need for craftsmen to be phased out by industries that were capable of producing very many goods. According to Hagerman, the goal was to produce many similar goods. One of the pioneers of this trend was Eli Whitney who advocated for parts that were interchangeable in the industry of manufacturing muskets. This led to the production of components that were identical and also produced goods in a more like an assembly way of producing goods. Hagerman continues to say that there are other important facilitators to the modern concept of quality management and one of them was Frederick Winslow Taylor an engineer who embarked on a mission to increase the efficiency of the industries. To this respect, Hagerman says that he is also known as the father of scientific management. Frederick was one of the most influential people in the Efficiency Movement and in his endeavors he laid a strong foundation for modern quality management. He is credited with being one of the pioneers in such fields which range from standardization and improved practices of production. Hagerman also asserts that another important person is Henry Ford who brought the processes of quality management in his various industrial operations which mostly consisted of assembly lines. Hagerman also notes the contribution of Karl Friedrich Benz who is fondly referred to as the motor car inventor and he was also involved in the same lines with Henry Ford. Hagerman notes that these people played a very important role in the industrial revolution era to come up with the quality management concept of modern times. He however argues that this is even though real mass production of products was started after the Second World War by the motor vehicle manufacture Volkswagen. He continues to argue that companies from the United States and Canada took up the task of producing products of high quality with little cost and a lot of efficiencies.
Jennifer (201; 1988) argues that other people were great factors that have led to the modern concept of quality management. She points out that Walter A. Shewhart made a major contribution to the evolution of the quality management concept and he did this by coming up with a system that could control the quality of production and Jennifer continues to say that this was first proposed in the year 1924. Jennifer continues to say that Walter’s work was laid a strong foundation of statistical control of quality. Jennifer continues to say that W. Edwards Deming later came up with the process control methods which were based on the applied statistical methods. According to Jennifer, Edwards was later to apply the processes of statistics in the control methods in various industries in the United States where he played a major role in ensuring that the munitions industry in the United States produced quality products that were very beneficial to the country during the Second World War.
At the international level, quality management did not get sound backing until well after the Second World War. According to Mary (203; 2003), the six decades after the Second War has witnessed this concept being adopted all over the country and Mary cites that a good example is Japan. According to Mary, After Japan conceded defeat in the Second World War, its economy had felt the blow of the war and the country embarked on a project to revive the economy which had suffered a lot during the war and the eventual bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima by the United States of America. According to Godfrey (192; 1999) in its efforts to revive the production industry Japan hired three of the world’s best experts in quality management and these people were Deming, Shewhart, and Juran. Deming improved the ideas of Shewhart in the country from the year 1950. He helped the country to focus on the quality, competitiveness, and quality of its products. Godfrey adds that he came up with more than a dozen management policies which are seen as a focal point for managers. These policies include interdepartmental barriers being broken down, the management taking on their leadership role and learning their responsibilities, constant improvement, and institution of a program for self-improvement and education of the personnel.
With the help of these experts, Japanese goods improved from cheap and poor quality goods to international standard goods from the 1970s. According to Mary (208; 2003), Japan’s goods improved to such an extent that some of their products like the motor vehicles industry were the country’s leading producer of motor vehicles. She continues to say that the country is also one of the leading producers of electronic goods and this can be attributed to the fact that the country ensured that its products were of the best quality, were competitive in the world market. Mary continues to say that quality management also encompasses a culture of quality management and this is mainly enforced by the people and it is a very important factor in the production of quality and competitive products in the world market.
According to DISC TickIT Office, (98; 2001) the consumers have gained the knowledge of recognizing the importance of quality in any product or service and likewise, the suppliers have also recognized that the quality of their products can spell prosperity or doom for any organization. According to Mary (301; 2003) in the past, there has existed a huge quality gap but in modern times, the levels of the quality gap are diminishing by the day. She continues to say that the last twenty years have witnessed a great reduction of the quality gap and she attributes this to outsourcing to countries like China and India and also globalization which has brought the status of individual country markets to form an international market. She continues to say that the international stands for management of quality production of goods and services have also been boosted by the ISO 9000 series of standards which are the leading international standards of quality assurance by producers and providers of services and products.
Six Sigma
According to Harry, (25; 1988), Six Sigma is viewed by many corporations and organizations as a quality measure that targets the organization to have almost perfect standards. It was initiated by the Motorola Company. He continues to say that it is a disciplined and approach which is data-driven and also a methodology in which defects are recognized and eliminated from the process of production. Joseph (106; 2005) supports Harry’s sentiments and also continues to assert that six sigma is driven in the direction of the six standard deviations which lie between the nearest specification and the mean. He continues to say that it applies in any process and city from the point of manufacturing to the point of transacting and this applies to both services and products. However, Joseph cites that the newly industrialized countries cannot sufficiently adopt this strategy because of limited technology. He also cites that though some companies have adopted this strategy they are still faced with difficulties that arise from the fact that the workforce does not have the needed skill and this has brought about the newly industrialized countries have not been able to produce high-quality products and services which can fully compete in the international market. Harry asserts that the developing economies find it difficult to match up to this standard because of the standards forwarded by the developed economies which only favor the developed markets at the expense of the developing markets.
ISO 9001
According to Inaki (154; 2002), ISO 9000 is a relation of quality management systems standards which are overseen by the International Organization for Standardization and is also administered by various certification and accreditation bodies. Inaki continues to assert that ISO 9001 which is one of the families of ISO 9000 has put on the requirements that organizations must adhere to. These requirements include that the organization must follow some procedures which are set and which cover all the organization’s processes. He says the requirements also include processes being monitored to ensure the effectiveness of the processes. The requirements also state that the organization must keep adequate records. It also requires the organization to check the output for defects and the taking of appropriate and effective action when the defects are noted. Inaki also continues to say that the requirements also state that various processes should be reviewed regularly for effectiveness and he says the other requirement is the organization ensuring that there are adequate facilities for continued improvement.
According to Naveh, (355; 2004) any organization that has been audited and has been certified that it complies with the ISO 9001 requirements has the right to publicly state that it is “ISO 9001 certified or registered.” However, Naveh argues that the certification does not warrant the final products but is only seen as the organization has complied with the requirements and hence the processes are in line with the requirements of the ISO 9001. Naveh argues that the certification of the ISO 9001 is taken by many organizations as a marketing tool. Naveh continues that the word product according to the International Organization of Standardization refers to any physical good, software, or service.
According to Naveh, (358;2004), the International Organization of Standardization in its ISO 9001:2000 summarized the requirements and this include that the quality policy is directed to the management as a formal statement and it applies to all organizations in the world and it is related to any business and marketing plan and also the needs of the customers. He continues to say that the policy is understood and adhered to by all the employees of the organizations. He continues to say that the decisions concerning the system of quality products are related to the recorded data and that the system should be evaluated often to check for its conformity and effectiveness. He continues to say that the International Organization of Standardization requires various organizations to have documented details of how the raw materials were got and how the processing took place to reach the final product or service. Naveh adds that the International Organization of Standardization requires that all organizations have a documented procedure of quality control in the company and that these documents should be accessible to all employees who should be educated on how to use the information held within.
Inaki, (156; 2002) adds that the International Organization for Standardization also requires various companies and organizations to maintain the quality of the product through a system that should also be well maintained. He continues to say that this system should contain an apt infrastructure, information, resources, equipment, and monitoring and measuring devices and should be supported by an environmental condition. Inaki adds that the organization requires that a company should have a well-defined map of all the processes that it indulges in its production of the products and services and these processes should be well controlled to enhance the quality of the results. He continues to say that this can be achieved through the proper analysis and measurements that ensure that the qualities of the products are of high quality. He asserts that since some systems cannot be measured, there is the need to ensure that the processes are well defined and that adjustments are made to ensure the quality of the product or service is high quality. He argues that is intended to satisfy the consumer of the product and the service.
Naven, (360; 2005) also adds that the International Organization of Standardization that organizations need to make quality objectives about the very product that it embarks on production. He continues to say that the organization also requires that the company should make plan processes that should be documented and the results measured which will be very beneficial to the company’s improvement. The company also needs to establish key points where the system needs to be improved and Naven asserts that this is also achieved through measuring and monitoring and ensuring that all measuring apparatus is calibrated and maintained properly. He also adds that the company needs to have requirements that are clear of any product which is purchased.
Inaki (160; 2001) asserts that the organization requires that all companies should strive to satisfy the customer and he adds that this is achieved through the creation of systems that allows the company to communicate easily and freely with the customers on various issues like information about the product, orders, inquiries, feedback, complaints, and contracts. Inaki also asserts that the company needs to document all processes when coming to a new product and to test whether the product meets all requirements and regulations. He also adds that the company needs to invest in internal audits so that the quality of the products can be ascertained. He adds that the company also needs to ensure that all flaws are well documented and the procedures which were followed to be documented and he adds that this is beneficial because the company will revert to the procedure which works well with a certain problem.
Quality management in newly industrialized countries
According to Godfrey, (130; 1999), many of the newly industrialized countries have adopted the requirements of the ISO 9000 and the Six Sigma and this have benefited them to attain the status of industrialized nations. Some of the notable economies that have adopted this are Brazil, South Africa, India, and Thailand among other countries according to Godfrey. One of the countries that have benefited from the integration of quality management in their productivity in Brazil. Brazil has attained its industrialized status and these have been enhanced by the fact that the country has improved greatly on the quality of its products and also its services.
According to Colitt, (2008) the economy of Brazil is based largely on the service industry and this has seen to it that the country is one of the leading countries in the service sector in the world. The country is also one of the most advanced in the industrial perspective in the world and is ranked the third in the Americas. The industrial sector of the country contributes a third percent to the country’s gross domestic product. The industrial sector of the country produces various products which include computers, petrochemicals, steelworks, motor vehicles, airplanes, consumer durables among other products. Due to the improved quality of its products the country is benefiting largely from the sales of these products. It is also one of the most competitive countries in the international market and this is enhanced by the fact that the country has attracted a lot of investors in the country due to its stability and free-market orientation. It has also benefited from purchasing technology from the United States of America.
Colit, (2008) also asserts that quality control and management have played a very important part in the realization of the country’s economic success and this is because the country has adopted one of the best quality control management systems in the world. It is in this respect that the country is also attracting foreign investors and also encouraging local investors. The competitive nature of the country’s products has also played a major role in ensuring that the country is recognized all over the world as one of the best industrial producers in the world.
Colitt, (2008) also adds that apart from the industrial sector, the services sector is also one of the best in the world and this has been achieved through the country ensuring that its services are of great quality. This can be seen by the fact that the country has had one of the best competitive services industries in the world and this is championed by financial services. This competitiveness has also ensured that the country gets a lot of entrants into the market and this furthers its competitive nature. Quality management systems have helped the country in attaining world recognition in the services industry and many people around the world are confident with the services that the country offers to the world.
Conclusion
Many economies in the world have been helped by the quality control measures that have been adopted and furthered by many countries in the world. Such organizations as the International Organization have played a major role in ensuring that the quality of products has been elevated and this means that many countries need to adopt these systems so that the country’s economies can have a competitive edge in the international market. Many of the developed and newly industrialized countries have been helped by the fact that the countries have improved on the quality of their goods. This means that the countries whose economies have not been developed should adopt these measures to ensure that their products are of world-class quality. This will give the countries a chance to have a percentage in the international market.
Many newly industrialized countries have adopted these measures and this has helped the countries to gain industrialized status. This means that the countries have a major share in the international market and this is because the products the countries offer to the international market are of high quality. This means that the countries have a chance to compete with other developed countries and this is also conducted through level conditions. Some of the countries that have benefited include countries like Brazil, South Africa, and India among a contingent of other countries. These countries have played a major role in ensuring that the developing countries learn from them and this has benefited the world in that even the developing countries are now adopting these measures and this helps the world in ensuring that products are of high quality.
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