Working with External Quality Standards and Awards

The Strategic Implications for Human Resource and Quality Management

Angela Mulvie

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351663083
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Commerce
• Subtopic: Opérations

This book looks at how and where human resources (HR) meets quality management, and the implications of this. Most organizations, whatever their size or sector, struggle with demonstrating the value of continuous improvement (CI) and/or HR initiatives at a time when economic conditions are challenging in the global marketplace. Both within the UK and internationally, organizations will use continuous improvement and business excellence (BE) as a means of not only improving performance internally, but also to secure external recognition of their management practices, including people management, and therefore increase their competitiveness in their market. This text explores the potential overlaps between the two fields by considering how to address the development and implementation of a strategy to integrate CI/BE and human resource management.

Practical and applied, this text provides:

• A brief overview of the concepts of CI and BE
• An analysis of the strategic factors impacting on an organization's decision-making around adopting a CI/BE approach, and the impact this may have on people management and development practices
• A review of some major external CI/BE accreditations and awards, and their value and how they might be used
• An analysis of the possible problems and outcomes which could be achieved by adopting such a CI/BE strategy and integrating it with people management and development activities

This book is ideal for any professional HR or performance improvement practitioner who wants to understand how a CI/BE approach could benefit their organization, as well as postgraduate students of HR or quality management.

1

Approaches to understanding the quality management field

Some definitions and applications

Introduction

One of the key challenges for both the academic researcher and the practitioner is defining and refining the terms of reference to be used in any study. In considering the possible interface between strategic HRM/HRD and QM and the implications of this for managing and developing people when an organization is working with external quality standards and awards, a useful starting point is to present clear definitions of both these fields of study before exploring the practices undertaken within them.

In this chapter, we trace some of the history of, and current thinking around, QM, and consider some of the concepts underpinning CI and BE which have come from that historical development. In looking at how the discipline of QM has developed, we can trace a strong focus on systems and processes which are its cornerstone and have operational implications for any organization, whether or not it is working with external quality standards and awards. In Chapter 2 where we trace comparable developments of HRM (and its associated field of HRD), we can see the strong focus which has emerged in that discipline on the effective management of people resources. In many ways, both these disciplines of QM and HRM/HRD lie at the heart of why organizations might choose to work with external quality standards and seek accreditations of varying kinds. They are also, arguably, the two functional specialisms which are most impacted by pursuing such an agenda.

The way in which the field of QM has progressed over the last fifty years or so reflects the importance of some of the early theories, writing and research undertaken by some key individuals, and how this work has provided a basis of what is now current practice. Indeed, some of the early QM specialists such as Deming and Juran have influenced the approach many organizations take to the way they work with external quality standards today. The creation of external quality awards themselves has also been a key influence on what has followed. By exploring terms, definitions and their applications, it is hoped to provide a basis for this study of some of the external quality standards that exist in the marketplace, why organizations might pursue their achievement, and what are the people implications of approaches taken to working with them. By considering what has influenced the development of what is now a huge field of study and research as well as practice, it is hoped we can provide the reader with a strong context to support his/her understanding. In Chapter 2, we look at the development of HRM (and its associated field of HRD) in terms of how these two disciplines have also evolved, and what they contribute now to the effective management of people resources, their role in strategy development and in supporting organizational effectiveness. In that way it should be possible to find links between HRM with QM and establish a basis on which decisions can be made about the use of external quality awards, as explored in Chapter 3.

A review of QM literature undertaken by Barron some twenty-five years ago for the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPD) (Barron, 1993) suggested that it falls into three main categories: material relating to various QM ‘theorists’; that relating to the actual processes of QM; and literature looking at the HR professional’s role and contribution to the QM field. In this chapter, we look at the first two of these; as already noted, Chapter 2 considers the third element. Barron and her colleagues found that at the time of their research little literature existed exploring these differences. Where it did exist, the material focussed on more general management theory rather than specifically making links between HRM and the QM fields. This lack of focus on the possible interface between the two disciplines continues today in much of the writing about both.

The foundation of QM – some important theorists

Much of our understanding of the field of QM and its applications is grounded in the work of some key writers and theorists who have created a discipline of both continuing study and development, but also one that has real, practical applications. In many ways, as with the discipline of HRM, academic research has influenced greatly the move towards finding best practices to apply in organizations to lead to their commercial/operational success.

A common thread running through the work of the main QM theorists is the concept of CI, based on the premise that ‘quality is a never-ending process’ within all working and organizational practices (Barron, 1993, p. 5). To be effective, any QM initiative and its associated practices will need to be supported by enthusiasm and commitment from all the workforce, as well as by senior management. This immediately raises issues of staff motivation towards any projects, and communications shared by managers about why the organization is engaging in such activities. It also raises the question of levels of commitment by senior managers to any initiative, and where and how it might be positioned within an overall business strategy (Soltani, 2005). Soltani suggests that many quality-driven organizations have not considered to any great extent the focus of top management on the success of any quality project. Indeed, the acceptance of the value of QM activities and interventions may depend largely on levels of support from above, as well as the resources provided. Yet earlier research by Soltani et al. (2003) found than many senior people are sceptical about the value of TQM, with some writers indicating that such initiatives may not work because they are perceived as being a ‘fad’.

A number of key theorists have contributed to the ongoing debate about the range and scope of QM activities and why these are important, with much of their work leading to the development of a range of popular models, methods and quality tools. Much of the work of these different specialists has led to the concept of what we know of now as TQM. Goetsch and Davies (2014) differentiate between quality and total quality. The former they see as a ‘dynamic state associated with products, services, people, processes and environments that meets or exceeds expectations and helps produce superior value …’ (p. 2). The latter they suggest refers to the CI of these factors identified above, to enhance competitiveness and place a strong focus on the customer. As we can see in Figure 1.1, three key aspects support this strong focus: the people in the organization producing the goods and services; the processes to support this delivery; and the measures needed to control what goes on. They identify benchmarking as one element of such measures and this is where the application of external standards and their benchmarking opportunity may come into play.

FIGURE 1.1 The influencers of a strong customer focus

Source: Adapted from Goetsch and Davies (2014)

To demonstrate not only their importance, but also their contribution to the development of the field, some of the major influencers of both the debates and developments within QM are highlighted below. However, this list is not exhaustive. Much of the work of these different specialists has led to the concept of what we know of now as TQM.

W. Edwards Deming (1900–1993)

As one of the founders of QM, Deming is credited with influencing much of the thinking and practice in the field in particular through his efforts after the Second World War in supporting the Japanese quality movement. As an engineer and statistician, but also someone who contributed to systems thinking and the psychology of work, Deming’s influence on the field of QM has carried on through the work of the Deming Institute established just before his death is 1993. He moved from his original field of interest and practice, statistical process control, to develop a much broader philosophy of what good management should cover, and his ‘14 Points for Management’ (Deming, 1982) became the cornerstone of much of what was and is still considered to be good leadership and management practice. His plan/do/check/act cycle has become recognized as one of the most simple but effective tools in managing any kind of process or system, including those which aim to enhance organizational effectiveness or deal with transformation and change. For example, the previous IiP Framework, Generation V, was built on a modified Deming model as plan/do/review and has been used by thousands of organizations in preparation for their external accreditation activities against this standard. However, the focus on the revised IiP Generation VI Framework is more to do with being measured on degrees of high performance against a broad range of criteria (see Chapter 6).

To encourage his work on quality enhancement, Deming introduced the Deming Prize in Japan in 1953 as the award for the Japanese industry where the winner had made the most progress on TQM. This award is still held in great esteem and has only infrequently been awarded to a non-Japanese company.

William Shewhart (1891–1967)

Shewhart is sometimes referred to as the ‘father of statistical control’ and the ‘grandfather’ of TQM. To help managers make informed and correct decisions, he developed statistical process control methods He also developed the Shewhart Learning and Improvement cycle, which combined both statistical analysis with creative thinking. This cycle contained four continuous steps – Plan, Do, Study and Act – and became known as the PDSA cycle. Shewhart saw ongoing evaluation of management practices as the key to any successful business. This model was later developed by his mentee Deming, and in turn used as the basis of the RADAR method highlighted in Chapter 4.

Philip Crosby (1926–2001)

Trained as an engineer, Crosby became a respected businessman and author, writing and researching extensively in the quality field promoting the concept of ‘doing it right first time’ as the key to competitive success. He is best known for his zero defects concept whereby he promoted a performance standard that allowed no error, seeing quality as conformance to specifications and requirements. He saw a quality system as one of prevention, and that the measurement of quality was the price of non-conformance.

As with Deming before him, Crosby’s work has been carried on through the company he established, Philip Crosby Associates, which continues to promote his philosophy and his four ‘absolutes of management’: quality means conformance to requirements not goodness; it is achieved through prevention not appraisal; it has a performance standard of zero defects, not acceptable quality levels; and it is measured by the price of non-conformance not indexes. Indeed, this concept of non-conformance resides in most if not all QM systems in use today, and external accreditations of whatever kind will measure the degree of conformance within an organization as part of the accreditation process.

Joseph M. Juran (1904–2008)

A Romanian born American engineer and management consultant, Juran suggested that quality improvement would be achieved through changes in management attitudes as much as anything else. His view was that making the ‘management breakthrough’ could only be done well by focussing on the human side of things as well as the technical side, in terms of making performance changes and improvements. He is known for creating the ‘Pareto’ principle, the 80–20 principle which suggests that managers can and should separate the vital things (the 20%) from the useful many things (80%) they get involved in. Applying the rule to focus on that 20% as a means of maximizing business efficiency has become well established. Interestingly, Juran implied that only 20% of quality problems could be attributed to the workforce, the rest being the result of poor management. Much of his work and career, therefore, was spent in trying to find improvements to management practices by emphasizing the need for strong and competent leadership, whatever the nature of the organization. As with Deming, Juran had a great influence on Japanese companies, both in Japan and the USA.

Some writers (e.g. Dale et al., 2007) have suggested that Juran’s work led him to be considered to be the ‘father of quality management’ as he made a greater contribution to both QM thinking and practice than anyone else. Juran argued strongly that quality control had to be made a mainstream management function and practised throughout an organization, not just at the top. He felt that quality professionals should design and deliver quality programmes, almost working in a consultancy capacity to do so. He also emphasized the cost of quality, suggesting that a quality cost dashboard be used to manage this.

Armand V. Fiegenbaum (1922–2014)

Fiegenbaum was an American quality control expert whose total quality control approach looked at not only the role of the different parties involved in this control, but also the overall cost to be managed. He felt that a real return on investment (ROI) should be possible from the installation of a sound quality improvement process, and that these costs: appraisal costs, prevention costs and failure costs, should be categorized to ensure their good management. He considered that the goal of quality improvement is to reduce the total cost of quality from as much as 30% of sales to as low a percentage as possible. As with others before him, he argued that the whole workforce needs to participate in any quality improvement programmes, and that senior management have an important role to play in motivating everyone towards that end.

In his work he developed the concept of the ‘hidden plant’, whereby in every factory he suggested that up to 40% of capacity is wasted through not getting things right first time. Such a figure can then be given a monetary value. In 1988, Fiegenbaum and his brother established the Fiegenbaum Foundation which provides financial assistance to a range of programmes and activities, not just in the quality field, but also in other areas.

Genichi Taguchi (1924–2012)

Taguchi is known for his work on developing statistical methods (the Taguchi Methods) to measure quality in terms of loss factors, including customer dissatisfaction, reputation loss, loss of competitiveness and loss of market share. He also developed a system of experimental design to improve quality process and reduce costs. His approach located design as a key part of a product.

Malcolm Baldridge (1922–1987)

Malcom Baldrige began his career in industry, and later as a successful businessman became the US Secretary of Commerce in 1981 under the Reagan administration. At that time there were major concerns that the USA was lagging behind in the global marketplace in terms of productivity, innovation, and so on, in particular when compared with Japan whose economy had been helped so much in earlier years by American quality gurus such as Deming and Juran. It was recognized that what was needed was a much greater commitment to excellence in manufacturing and services in order to grow competitive advantage, and that this could only be done through sound strategic planning and the introduction of quality improvement programmes. Baldridge was concerned not only with finding ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of figures
• Acknowledgements
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. Approaches to understanding the quality management field Some definitions and applications
• 2. Approaches to understanding the human resource management field Some definitions and applications
• 3. Why work with external quality standards?
• 4. The European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model
• 5. Working with international standards The role of the International Organization for Standardization
• 6. Working with Investors in People
• 7. Some other quality standards and awards
• 8. Employee engagement Some key employer surveys
• 9. Some people management and development implications of working with external quality standards and awards
• 10. Some final considerations
• Appendix 1 Membership of the GEM Council
• Appendix 2 Current partners of EFQM
• Index