Introduction
Today the prosperity of each enterprise is dependent on the interplay of many rather 5he companies. The analysis of the recent activities of the companies has proved that the successes of companies are the issue that has undergone many changes. The introduction of TOM helped to change the view on how both quality and business management are handled by the companies. The main objective of the paper is to analyze the Total Quality Management Implementation process and its major specifics. The paper will evaluate and analyze TQM in RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) based in Dubai.
Introduction to Quality
Total Quality can be defined in many ways. The free encyclopedia defines the term as the system that is used for optimizing production. The system is based on the ideas that have been widely practiced by the leading Japanese industries from the 1950s. The main peculiarity of the system is its ability to blend Western and Eastern ideas. The concept has begun in quality circles. These circles are comprised of groups of 10–20 workers. These people are given different responsibilities for the quality of the products that are produced by the company. In general, the process involves several techniques (Juran and Gryna 1999). These techniques are based on the diligent work of both workers and managers whose main objective becomes maximization of productivity and quality of the products. In general, the process includes several rather important procedures: (1) monitoring of staff, (2) the improvement of customer service. The idea is based on the successful cultivation of the Kaizen issue. The issue is concerned with the idea of a company’s improvement that is being fulfilled with the involvement of all members of a company (Brown et al 2002).
The other glossary explains Total Quality as a relatively new approach to quality management. The main objective of this process is the improvement of the company’s quality and performance. Traditionally, the process is aimed at meeting and exceeding customer expectations. The final objective can be met by integrating all quality-related functions and processes that have occurred throughout the organization. Usually, the company bases its work on the use of a holistic approach to managing quality design and development (Antony, and Capon 1998). The same thing can be told about quality control and maintenance of the general processes that are projected to improve the overall performance of the company.
Quality Philosophies and Framework
In RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland), the traditional management style of “command and control” is often attributed to the choice of compatibility with total quality control methods. Many of the difficulties that are introduced by the process are concerned with the use of modern management methodologies. These are traditionally used to define the relative differences between styles. It is especially true when we are living in the age of customer-driven total quality management (Antony, Capon, 1998). The issue seems to be the key driver of change (Brown et al 2002).
The major feature of the RBS management structures is their reliance on mechanistic planning and organizing. This process is often associated with the idea of true leadership. This feeling is realized with the help of a charismatic spin control that is often used to control the issue of quality management (Evans & Lindsay, 1996). “Command and control” can be described as the process that is traditionally used to improve the practices of TQC (Deming, 1990). The main specific of TQC is the existence of a structured system that is traditionally used for satisfying the internal and external needs of the customers and suppliers. The final objective is met by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement. The final objective can be using breakthroughs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles. All these processes have a place in the organizational culture of the company. The use of TQC can be regarded as the major implication of change Brown et al 2002).
Operations, Processes and Quality Management
In RBS, TQM can be described as a collection of principles, techniques, processes, and best practices. These are put into practice during the time of the company’s existence. In general, the whole process is based on several effective technologies. Traditionally, the technologies are based on the use of TQM elements. The use of these elements is projected to improve the quality management method model that has been developed by the company. The main objective of the given model is to describe the primary quality management methods that are currently practiced by the company. The combination of these methods is used to assess an organization’s present strengths and weaknesses. Traditionally, the analysis is done with the regard to the use of quality management methods (Crosby, 2005; Royal Bank of Scotland 2009).
Lean Manufacturing and JIT Techniques
Just-In-Time Management
Recent times have brought many approaches to management. Just-in-time (JIT) management principles have become the main principles that are used in modern managerial practices. The major part of the concepts that exist in the RBS have been existing for a relatively long period. The main specifics of JIT program is that it is directed towards ensuring that the right quantities of the people. Many people perceive this program as a material-control system (Crosby, 2005).
In general, RBS’s JIT can be described in the following way:
- A series of operating concepts that are used for conduction a systematic identification of operational problems.
- A series of technology-based tools that are aimed at finding solutions to concrete problems. It is important to note that operating in a vertically disintegrated production organization, the company/department should maintain close links with all suppliers. Every component of JIT should be completely specified planning to control.
Lean Sigma Six
Applied to RBS environment, Lean Sigma Six belongs to the field of standardization and quality control methodology. One of the most well-known and useful management strategies in the business world is Lean Six Sigma which was originally designed by Motorola Company, Schaumburg, Illinois. The strategy appeared at the time when “the greatest pressure for quality and speed were on manufacturing” (Lean Six Sigma, 2009). This strategy is widely used by many modern industries. Lean Six Sigma is a combination of Lean methods and Six Sigma methods which has made such blended strategy more perfect and effective (Lean Six Sigma, 2009).
The primary purpose of the RBS’s strategy was the removal of errors or defects by identification of sources of effects with the aim of their elimination. Although, today the purpose of Lean Six Sigma has widened somewhat and includes variability of business practices as well as manufacturing (Crosby, 2005). Within this strategy, there are special quality control methods that are checked and by experts in this field. The strategy has a special quality control process chart which is designed with the help of four steps that insure alteration and progress, which is called Plan-Do-Check-Act:
- Plan: Identifying and analyzing the problem.
- Do: Developing and implementing solutions.
- Check: Evaluation of the results.
- Act: Standardization of the solution and capitalizing on new opportunities Plan-Do-Check-Act, 2002).
Design for Quality
Experimental Design is not a new technique in the modern manufacturing world as it was firstly introduced in the early 1920s in London, England. And already after World Wart to it, this method was transferred to the United States of America. One of the components of Total Quality Control is Experimental Design, which is also called the Taguchi method. It is widely used by American, Japanese, and European manufacturers in the optimization of product designs as well as production processes. However, this technique is most frequently used by small companies for evaluating customer complaints. It is widely used in services processes too. At RBS, experimental Design is a very strong technique in problem-solving in the field of engineering quality control. However, this technique demands a good knowledge of statistics for its proper usage and application in industrial engineering. It allows identification of defects that affluence working process, thus allowing for the betterment of the quality of products and processes (Crosby, 2005; Royal Bank of Scotland 2009).
According to Antony and Capon (1998), there are many benefits of usage of Experimental Design techniques in modern industries, which are as follows:
- reducing product and process design and development time;
- studying the behavior of a process over a wide range of operating conditions;
- minimizing the effect of variations in manufacturing conditions;
- understanding the process under study and thereby improving its performance;
- increasing process productivity by reducing scrap, rework, etc.;
- improving the process yield and stability of an ongoing manufacturing process;
- making products insensitive to environmental variations such as relative humidity, vibration, shock, and so on;
- studying the relationship between a set of independent process variables (i.e., process parameters) and the output (i.e., response) (p. 336).
At RBS, quality control is measured with the help of statistical methods. A methodology based on the abovementioned strategy has been split into two parts: one aiming at the improvement of already existing processes, the other one aiming at new processes: DMAIC and DMADV correspondingly. Each one consists of several processes. This process chart is very effective in quality control as it helps to meet customer requirements concerting products or services. Lean Six Sigma has over thirty original methods for used for the analysis of manufacturing and engineering with the aim of its perfection. Quality control is developed to measure products and processes, which is made in form of process evaluation to find defects and or inconsistencies (Chase and Aquilano 2003).
A great emphasis is put on training people in tools and techniques knowledge. So, knowledge of safety rules at the working station by workers would eliminate accidents at work, thus making the process more effective and productive. With the help of a quality control process chart, a safety officer can analyze his actions directed onto training people in safety issues. For instance, safety issues are very important in glassmaking plants, where all the working processes can be analyzed with the help of the Plan-Do-Check-Act strategy. The introduction and usage of different safety signs in the plant can be analyzed for the effectiveness and practical value of such a practice. Thus safety issues in a plant can be checked with the help of a fishbone diagram. For example, there is a cause – workers do not know safety rules. The effect is frequent incidents in the plant. The cause can be steaming either from people, or processes, or equipment. If equipment is not working properly, the incidents at the working station could be also an effect. The scheme is divided into cause and effect parts, where the cause can contain such categories as people, methods, machines, materials, environment, measurements, etc. Usually, there would be found a relation between causes and effects in the diagram (Chase and Aquilano 2003).
In RBS, quality and clients satisfaction is driven by the prestige of the organization and its moral principles. Value delivered to clients is a top priority for the organization. While, in the long run, the quality-maximizing organization will emerge as the winning whether evaluated by market, financial, technological, human, or other issues, organizations cannot and do not live on visions and long-range positions alone. At the organization employees are paid, so clients expect a high quality of all services provided to them, administration regulations are to be complied with, and local communities have claims on the resources that may not brook disagreement or even delay. Similar to other organizations, RBS sees quality as its value mission the humdrum necessities of everyday existence call for a mixture of the long and short terms, of detail and plan, so to speak. Other issues that could be considered as principles of performance, besides profitability, include market share, degree of compliance with rules, rate of innovation, and extent of social involvement. In addition to an overall appraisal of consumer value, the input process of value creation must also be tracked and changes made as needed. In the issue of value, minor errors could later cause problems and require the type of radical change that a plan of continuously improving value seeks to avoid. A suitable frame of indicators for the process of leadership is provided by the other issues themselves. The leadership, Integration, Involvement, and Ingraining achieved by the organization are reliable factors of how effectively the organization is pursuing its stated eventual end (Chase and Aquilano 2003; Royal Bank of Scotland 2009).
In all companies, leadership is a core priority that helps these organizations to motive and inspire employees. Manufacturing and service quality improvements are a natural outcome of attaining the time reductions and balance shown above. To be sure, total quality is not simply a matter of putting things together right or serving consumers with speed, accuracy, and courtesy. Leadership in design, service, atmosphere, rides, and assistance is extremely important in the quality built into the product (Chase and Aquilano 2003). RBS which cannot boast the terrifying attractions offered by its nearby competitors, the TQM requires complex procedures to be followed before a plan can be taped, are all struggling against imposing odds. Their services as conceived may be so harshly flawed that the best of efforts at constructing satisfaction (through quality awareness, thorough testing, and instant service) may fall far short of consumers’ expectations. A claim often made (and rarely contested since it is not easy to verify or refute) is that seventy percent of quality is determined at the design stage (Manno and Kehoe 2005).
Statistical Quality Control and Six Sigma
Elementary statistics: The idea of elementary statistics is based on different things and ideas. One of the ideas that are frequently used in the course of statistic analysis is the idea of variations in data. This idea is frequently used in the process of making statistical estimations and tests. Elementary statistics is based on the use of the concept of TQM. The other basic tools that are used by the research include such tools as QC and control charts (Smith, Blakeslee, 2002, p.3). At RBS, statistical Process Control (SPC) belongs to the first TQM tool. SPC can be described as a statistical tool that is widely used by managers to control both the process of production and service delivery process. The process is introduced to make the important shifts that are aimed at improving the overall success of the issue. According to Feigenbaum (2004), the main objective of SPC is reducing the variation. This deviation is inherent in many processes. SPS is one of these processes. SPC belongs to one of the most well-known management methods (Manno and Kehoe 2005).
The process is concerned with the technical aspect of TQM that are implemented in the form of the ISO 9000 Series. The International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 can be described as one of the most popular quality improvement systems. The organization uses an international set of documents. These documents are widely known as standards. The traditional standards are written by a worldwide organization. One of these organizations is the ISO/Technical Committee 176 (Smith and Blakeslee 2002).
At RBS, the organization functions based on the already present standards. These standards are traditionally used to ensure the quality of a company’s performance. The overall objective of the measure is to improve the specific quality of the issue. The improvement of the process can increase the overall competitiveness of the market. The major-specific of quality improvement policy is a strong accent on increasing the overall competitiveness of the market. The aspect of competitiveness makes ISO 9000 very popular among Greek firms (Smith and Blakeslee 2002).
Performance Improvements
The case of RBS shows that the need for a customer-driven quality is explained as a need to attract a target audience and retain potential buyers. The shifting sands of consumer needs do not invalidate a method of TQM; rather they make it all the more practical, provided the need for change and flexibility is understood and built into its accomplishment. Not only does TQM play a helpful role in the definition and translation of value and quality, but it can also help in adjusting to shifting value perceptions. It is important to note that quality should not become more important than the objective of consumer satisfaction. Problems arising from a too-narrow focus on quality and flexibility are easily overcome by using quality standards and customer surveys. In judging whether TQM or, for that matter, any consumer-to-organization communications are functioning effectively, ask the consumer (Smith and Blakeslee 2002).
Consumers have divergent, changing, and conflicting quality expectations and needs. Feedback helps RBS reduce performance gaps through redesign, improved response time, user data. Though, it is unlikely that RBS will achieve perfection in the eyes of its consumers. Either it damages its reputation by comparison to its competitors or its past ability or its achievements engender a rising tide of expectations. RBS is constantly “pulled” by or drawn in the direction of specific consumer satisfaction, which is the origin of all efforts at constant improvement. To RBS, results provide not only an indicator of quality but also serve as a stimulus to further effort (Smith and Blakeslee 2002). Sales, market share, and productivity are useful criteria of quality achievement when used in conjunction with customer satisfaction. RBS supposes that high sales growth (say, at twice the rate of the other companies in the industry) in an organization whose consumers rate the organization a value leader is reinforcing data. Sales growth without meeting consumer value perception, on the other hand, shows that the market success might be short-lived and could be due to aberrations in the industry such as competitors’ errors. The opposite situation (low growth in sales and superior value received) shows an inability or lack of effort to communicate the product’s inherent value capabilities and deliver the best quality.
Conclusion
Total quality control is an issue that is rather difficult to be summarized in a short definition. The idea of quality management can be retrieved based on careful analysis of quality award models. These models are intended to bring the people several quality management results. Many of these results are associated with the proper representation of TQM. The presence of these elements helps to create a successful TQM model. The objections to thinking are obvious. Customer satisfaction lies not only in what is done at each organization and product development stage but equally in how the stages are linked to each other. Certainly, a poor understanding of customers’ requirements and needs limits the potential of later stages. A poorly-designed service harshly constrains how much quality can be built into it, just as there is only so much promotion one can do with a poorly-made service. Quality is essential to establishing a culture of quality and to focusing attention on customer satisfaction as a basic organizational value. The purpose underlying all quality efforts, of customer satisfaction enhancement efforts in general, is, at one level, to establish both methods and philosophies of working which lead to improved outputs (quality and value) as well as techniques for keeping track of progress toward these output aims. At another, more important and more permanent stage, quality assurance becomes internalized and not continues as an introduced possibility. In three organizations, employee responsibility for quality and the realization that lapses in quality, in effect, break the ties that bind one activity to the other, are the final aims of a successful quality program. Though customer satisfaction is by no means a notion, grounded as it is in specific needs, resources and actions, there is a sense of order underlying it and a sense of responsibility in its achievement that changes physical assessment. Effective application of total quality management techniques and methods will help RBS to attract more customers and deliver exceptional quality services for a diverse population.
List of References
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