Important Features of Total Quality Management

As evidences in at SY Microelectronics, Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach aimed at cultivating culture of providing customers with products and goods that satisfy their needs. The approach originated in the 1950s and steadily became popular in the 1980s with companies like Apple Inc. being the pioneers in using the technique. According to the technique, the culture advocates for quality in all areas of a company’s operation with all the processes geared to achieve the best in its initial stage and eradicating waste from the operations. By using the method, a company’s management and employees becomes involved in continuous improvement of goods and services with a combined aim of increasing business and reducing losses by eliminating wastes. As illustrated in ST case study, TQM operates under five key principles. First, management commitment through planning, deploying, participation, reviewing, communication, and revision marks the first principle. The second principle entails employee empowerment through training, measurement, and recognition. Fact based decision making also constitutes a guiding principle in TQM. Such methods include statistical process control and team oriented problem solving. Furthermore, Continuous improvement also forms TQM guiding principle through cross-functional process management and excellence teams. Lastly, customer focus also constitutes TQM guiding principles. However, to implement TQM, having an underlying set of ideas or framework is imperative in facilitating success. Accordingly, the paper evaluates TQM implementation framework as developed in ST Microelectronics and its application in other organizations.

According to the case study, the top management learning about TQM and committing to TQM is the first step in implementation framework. As such, the company defines TQM as one of the company’s strategies. For example, after semiconductor market hit one of its down cycles in 1990, ST lunched TQM the following year. There was a total commitment from the CEO and his staff. For instance, in December 1991, ST CEO, Pasquale Pistorio termed TQM as a mandatory part life in the corporation. In a move to support the strategy, the management quickly identified the key components of successful implementation as organization, common framework, change of organization culture, and policy development.

The second phase in developing an implementation framework entails assessing current culture, quality management system, and customers’ satisfaction. From the assessment results, the top management then identifies core values and principles compatible with TQM and accordingly communicates them. For instances, after ST management that the current corporate mission was not permanent in the minds of its staff and did not reflect the needs of the company, they revised the mission to align in it with TQM. The mission also led to changes in the company’s objectives, strategic guidelines, and future statements. To communicate these values, the company used leaflets containing the shared values and circulated them to its worldwide employees.

After communicating the values, the organization develops a TQM master plan based. For instance, in developing the master plan, ST established a TQM support group, gave it budget allocation, and executive management allocated enough time towards TQM implementation. Thereafter, the company embarked on communicating about TQM and training the staff in order to align them with the company’s short-term and long-term goals. The company then use policy deployment plan as the primary method to make TQM the way the company management was. Moreover, to communicate on the change of management style, the company made use of policy deployment manual to guide all the managers (Pieranunzi, 2001)

After developing ta master plan, mapping of critical process through which the organization meets the customer needs and assigns managers roles in meeting the needs. For instance, for STM, each manger was tasked with continuously improving performance and capabilities in the short terms (Pieranunzi, 2001). In assisting the managers, STM fixed four long-term goals including being number one in service, becoming a three supplier in quality, achieving excellent manufacturing capability, and becoming a TQM leader in western business world. As such, the mangers would be able to improve the company’s strategic capabilities.

Choosing a strategy to develop the TQM process marks the next step in STM TQM implementation framework. The company made use of quality control circles by taking business processes and using TQM tools to foster improvement. As illustrated in the company’s policy deployment tool, such areas included supplier partnership, management approach, customer focus, and teamwork. By working on improving these areas, the quality of the company’s goods and services would significantly improve.

Lastly, the last step in the implementation framework entails defining the approaches needed in managing TQM goals (Pieranunzi, 2001). As witnessed in STM case study, the company did set a yearly plan detailing all the goals and performances to achieve at the end of the year. Such goals were in terms of sales volume, profit or loss, inventories, and expenses. In achieving the goals, a company can make use of ‘how’ and ‘what’ as the main drivers.

In other industries, for example the services industry, TQM has been a great asset for such companies (Kaynak, 2003). For example, companies as google and Starbucks have used the strategy to orient their employees to offering the best services while continuously improving them. The companies score best in employee motivation and training that are inherent characteristics of TQM consequently making their services world’s quality.

TQM fosters joint efforts between general works and managers. As such, it is possible for an organization institutionalize a planned a continuous improvement to their products and services. Accordingly, the company can trend in a path of quality productivity and profitability.