Management commitment is the single most important requirement for successful implementation of quality management. There is no precedent of successful quality improvement without executive management and the management team leading the effort. Having management commitment does not guarantee quality management success; it only improves the odds for successful implementation. The entire organization must eventually become committed to quality management.
Managers need to set the tone for the organization by driving the process and incorporating the philosophy of quality management into their management styles. They must be prepared for an environmental change, making quality a key responsibility. The top-down implementation model (waterfall effect), starting with executive management, then middle management, line management, and, finally, employees, has proven successful in many organizations.
Committing to quality management implementation means that all management must be willing to: • Understand the concept of quality management
• Adopt behaviors required to show commitment • Accept the need to change to participative leadership
• Lead in the development of a quality management implementation plan • Lead the formation of the implementation organization
• Lead the planning for process improvement teams • Provide funds for training
• Provide time for training and meetings • Identify quality standards and measures • Publicize and reward results
• Monitor and measure progress
• Provide personnel and other resources
Commitment can take many forms. First, it is action that can be measured in time, effort, and money. It is a full-time commitment that is not delegated. Commitment begins by putting quality at the top of every agenda. Looking at management’s calendars is a way to measure their current commitment to quality. Another method of finding out where they stand is to survey them before implementation starts. At a minimum, the survey should cover the areas of job satisfaction, organization satisfaction, management satisfaction, quality productivity, and the work environment. The currently perceived relative priorities of cost, schedule, and quality should be determined as well as the actual values. The survey results should be fed back to the managers of the organizations that are surveyed and used to develop the quality management implementation
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strategy and plan. Possible candidates for the quality management champion may be identified based on the results.
Willingness to participate in the implementation of quality management can also be analyzed by reviewing these key questions:
• Are you willing to change your organization? • Will you create the environment for change?
• Will you train others and commit resources for that purpose? • Will you demonstrate commitment by your actions?
• Will you positively reinforce progress?
• Will you commit resources to promote quality management in your organization? • Do you discuss quality in daily conversations and include it in presentations? • Do you require quality as part of performance appraisals and reviews? • Do you review quality in the various aspects of your job?
Starting at the top, management must sincerely believe that the organization can, and must, do better. Employees measure management’s commitment by observing their actions. Eventually, everyone in the organization makes a commitment to the perfection of goods and services. Commitment brings the following changes:
Quality comes first among equals of quality, schedule and cost. “How good?” must precede “How many?” and “How much?” Having a product developed on schedule, which meets cost, will not do well in the marketplace if it performs poorly.
Satisfying internal customers as well as external customers becomes a new priority for management and a main objective for the organization. Internal customer-supplier relationships are established if they are not currently recognized. Top management leads this effort by personally maintaining close contact with customers. Knowledge of customers’ needs and expectations is a prerequisite to satisfying them.
Management must acquire new skills and perspectives, including the language of statistics. The use of quantitative techniques becomes second nature to the entire organization. Statistical analysis instead of opinion and “gut feelings,” becomes the basis for decision-making. This quantitative based management approach will be one of the long-term effects of Quality.
Continuous process improvement techniques are applied to all processes in the organization. The focus of problem solving changes from people to processes, which stresses the need to find and fix root-causes of problems.
Management becomes more active in recognizing success. Implementing quality management is difficult for everyone. By looking for every opportunity to thank people for their contributions,
2-4 Version 6.2 management helps maintain the momentum required for the long haul. Employees are recognized in their work areas, instead of management’s office.
Implementing quality management is a long-term effort, requiring a long-term commitment. Management will need to sustain its interest until quality management becomes the way of life in the organization. This change can take a minimum of five to eight years to start and may take decades to complete. Such a long-term commitment will be difficult because management will most likely change during this period of time. New managers must accept and continue the cause of quality management as soon as possible after they enter the organization. A change in executive management causes the implementation efforts of many organizations to fail. Attempting to implement quality management at the bottom of the organization before securing executive management commitment almost always results in frustration. Ideally, quality management should proceed through the rest of the organization after executive management commitment is obtained.
Executive Management Commitment
While overall management commitment is necessary to the success of quality management, commitment from the organization’s executives is vital. Executive management sets the tone for the whole effort by visibly supporting quality management. Every employee, including other managers, will wait to see where executives prioritize quality management. If quality improvement is not "number one" with executive management, it will not be with anyone else.
After receiving their initial quality management training, executive managers should operate as a Process Improvement Team (PIT) to improve at least one management process before moving quality management down the organization. (See Skill Category 6 for a discussion of PITs and an eight-step improvement process.) This is a visible sign of commitment and the best way for management to understand what quality management means. Ideally, each layer of management will do the same thing. A challenging process to study is the preparation of the annual budget, but starting with a simpler process may be more appropriate.
Executive management should develop a quality policy and mission, vision, goals, and values statements. (See “Quality Management Infrastructure” on page 15 for more information.) They also show commitment to quality management by establishing new quality standards calling for error-free performance. This goal will not be pursued or achieved, if executive management does not establish the need. The standard must be applied to management before it is deployed to the rest of the organization. Executive management must personally strive for perfection, measure progress, and recognize those who contribute to error-free performance. Employees strive to meet expectations established for them, and model their behavior after management's actions.
Middle Management Commitment
As the slowest group to accept the process, middle management is the weakest link in most quality management efforts. Special effort is required to assure them they have a role as important players. They should have input to the statements that executive management prepares, and be included in all aspects of quality management planning and implementation. One way to assure their support is
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to assign them the task of determining their own role. How to include middle management is an important consideration for executive management, because obtaining quality management support from first-line managers and employees is relatively easy.