QUALITY MANAGEMENT
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Introduction
In Quality Management the effectiveness of process improvement methodologies is a key success factor for an organization. Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma are the two most common methodologies used by different organizations, among different process improvement strategies. Since the consumer is a king, companies in an age of intense rivalry can only survive if they can meet evolving consumers’ demands. Catering for these diverse demands must reduce manufacturing time and cost to release a product on the market, and deliver better product or service efficiency than the current competitors on the market. The overriding importance, therefore, of ‘customer retention’ in the global market industry, particularly for SMEs ( (Hudnurkar, et al., 2019). The only way of achieving all these is to achieve high customer satisfaction with industries, which in turn is a result of the delivery of high-quality products and services (Alobaidy, 2020). This option is also very important. “Quality costs” are not the expense of producing a high-quality product or service, but the expense of not producing a quality product or service. The difference between the real costs for current goods or services, and the decreased costs of products and services are superior without any production errors or defects. Essentially, the expense of production rises when research is redone. The method is of more strategic and economic significance for businesses who have initially applied the quality cost system to assess their internal output. This paper is going to explore on key areas in the two papers, which were identified as specific problems in TQM and Lean Six Sigma, Strengths and weaknesses of the research methodologies used by TQM and Lean Six sigma, Gaps identified in the literature reviewed and how these gaps were addressed relative to improving the products and processes of the case study organizations, Discussion of key findings of any of the papers, and how these findings can improve TQM and Lean Six Sigma practices.
Discussion of key areas in the two papers, which were identified as specific problems in TQM and Lean Six Sigma to the case study organizations
Definition of quality: Most factory employees don’t have a good understanding of quality and what to do to maintain the expectations of the consumers.
Commitment: Commitment is one of the main success factors for implementing the TQM system. The weak commitment of top management has nevertheless been described as a difficulty and an obstacle to quality improvement. At the same time, the researcher believes that this commitment ought not to be restricted only to top managers; it should be committed to the application of TQM principles by everyone in the organization (Subrata, et al., 2019 )
Culture: Researchers have found that one of the most striking issues faced by the TQM framework is the continuing traditional culture of the organization or factory. All are committed to the current culture and worry about all sorts of decisions.
Communication: Equitable communication among different levels of individuals is essential and has an impact on quality. As the majority of workers in the Bangladeshi apparel factory are local, but the upper management is international, language is the biggest obstacle to enhancing contact between employees on both sides and their superiors.
Cost of poor Quality: The low-quality cost showed the impact of low-quality costs on the company’s total annual sales and is 10–40%; hence this poor quality cost is documented as a yearly monitored loss on the business balance sheet. The cost of poor quality due to poor production and poor standard services appear to result in poor consumer satisfaction and a loss of goodwill. Concurrence costs and customer loyalty pose the biggest obstacle for the company. Thus costs of bad quality have become the most important factor in minimizing them to a minimum and are correlated with zero-defect cultivation (Vinod, et al., 2018)
Strengths and weaknesses of the research methodologies used by both papers relative to the case study organization in TQM and Lean Six sigma.
Strengths
Empirical research has shown that a standardized approach to the improvement of processes is more successful. Methodologies like Six Sigma are sets of operations conducted to reach goal goals in specified ways. Tools are defined as means for statistically or otherwise facilitating data analysis. Six Sigma is described as a revolutionary change in Allied Signal, which is a company with this technique that has successfully implemented it (Oliver, et al., 2019). Six Sigma has proved itself to add value and maintain the consistency of a company’s production by slowly developing a product or service. It can also be used for optimizing supply chain processes and improving client satisfaction. The advantages of Six Sigma go beyond simply solving problems and consider the entire manufacturing process from raw materials to the final product, rather than just the end product. Six Sigma is a constructive approach that detects potential issues and makes suggestions before losses arise. Six Sigma can be enacted within a business in several categories, directly influencing profitability and cost reduction. The Six Sigma standard for quality goods is a trustworthy recommendation for B2B clients (White, 2018).
Weakness
On the other hand, Six Sigma inspects the processes of company minutes by minutes and generates large quantities of analytical knowledge, which contributes to time – consuming procedures and complicated processes. In addition, the implementation of its protocols also leads to a rise in total costs as it is a quality assurance mechanism at its heart.
Often issues occur when an organization uses Six Sigma, as the business focuses only on the Six Sigma measures endorsed and overlooks the own mission or policy statement. This could constrain fresh concepts for small companies that promote innovation and creativity that necessitate risk-taking. Organizations must consider Six Sigma accredited institutes for the employment or in-house training of their staff without a formal qualification. For each case, the costs of implementing Six Sigma by small businesses are too high to be feasible. Even big businesses must provide employees with lots of training to understand the system.
The limitation of TQM is the need and the challenge of achieving this commitment to company-wide participation in quality improvement. In order to succeed, the program must have all layers of leadership on board. Any lack of commitment or money would undermine the effectiveness of the TQM system and cause the whole organization to suffer negative ripples. When a TQM system cannot be enforced entirely by management, its partial attempts would fail. The fact that the initiative is restricted to staff training without using statistical instruments to monitor and compare process changes, for instance, will lead to frustration and poor results. Evaluations and calculated outcomes will be used to execute training programs entirely. One reason some organization focuses on professional development is that something has been done is quantifiable and easy to demonstrate (Gartenstein, 2019). But the skills and skill it offers are unlikely to remain unless preparation is continuously supervised.
Gaps identified in the literature reviewed and how these gaps were addressed relative to improving the products and processes of the case study organizations.
Six Sigma represents a fresh wave of evolution in quality management (followed by TQM evolution). The TQM interpretation varies from the Six-Sigma interpretation, but the purposes are equivalent.
Six Sigma provides new resources for data processing and a more economical emphasis than TQM. TQM has an all-round approach involving and engaging everybody, while Six Sigma has a team-associated project management methodology. (Psomas, 2016)indicated that Six Sigma could be traced all the way back to TQM for a number of components. This explains why Six Sigma is a TQM extension, and both have similar values.
In terms of common relation, Six Sigma and TQM are distinct (Six Sigma can be seen in the integrated TQM. TQM will provide support to Six Sigma and Six Sigma, expands the TQM; financial emphasis and scope; job opportunities and development; strategic links; the approach to project selection; emphasis and intensity training; team strategy; structure; tracking progress; motivational bases; tools; success goals; contractor focus; and results reporting. Nonetheless, the shortcomings of the one complement the power of the other as external powers to incorporate TQM & Six Sigma.
The lean Six Sigma theory is capable of reducing costs. Thanks to waste management through the manufacturing systems and enhanced goods and procedures, productivity, and market share are increased. This can be accomplished through two DMAIC and DMADV strategies. The cost of poor quality is deemed to be a loss to society when the manufacturer ships the product. The goal is to reduce waste in a manufacturing system as part of a lean, while Six Sigma is based on the elimination of process defects. The removal of waste has shown that the Lean and Six Sigma explicitly relate to it as waste is a product of inefficient procedures, such as long cycle times and processing times, that Lean focuses on or over-rework or shredding, as investigated by the Six Sigma.
Lean and six sigma strategies successfully tackle waste reduction, removal of additional work from non-value, and reduction in the process of output. Although the reduction of production cycles has been a central priority of lean, variability within the value adds transition, and process design productivity gains are also important. Six Sigma, on the other hand, decreases production cycle time reductions in order to achieve reliable process efficiency that results in a production cycle reduction of time by waste like distance traveled and non-value added activities (Ertürk, et al., 2016).
Discussion of key findings of any of the papers, and how these findings can improve TQM and Lean Six Sigma practices.
The incorporation of Six Sigma to TQ M companies would assist them in their financial performance and customer service to achieve incremental benefits. Six Sigma can contribute to strengthening TQM values in an organization. In several ways, TQM and Six Sigma are also close and mutually compatible. We share similar principles and priorities and can also benefit from the benefits that each can offer, where TQM can be the central and full system that serves all stakeholders. Six Sigma could provide a clear structure to enhance operation. The foundations of Six Sigma are based on the TQM. Six Sigma concepts are incorporated into TQM and can be viewed as a definition that promotes TQM goals (Sunder M., 2016)
Six Sigma and TQM are linked to corporate main building blocks. Improvement of the process, as well as management, is the key element in the center, compared to all other blocks. Operational excellence, as well as customer loyalty, is a core focus of the business. Management, including strategic management, project management, change management, organizational management, daily administration, information management, human capital performance, and process management, are closely connected with the process improvement chain (Lande, et al., 2016) (Rashid, et al., 2016). By incorporating different projects, programs, and behavioral approaches, KM promotes effective and rapid, achieving the goals of organizations. When it is achieved for the first time, it saves innovative information and can be obtained as required in the future that prevents reinvention. This also facilitates the seamless and efficient exchange of information. The ultimate goal of KM is to promote the channeling of information from a knowledge base to where it is necessary to accomplish the goals of an organization (i.e., where it can be implemented or used). Four factors to determine whether an organization produces worthy and lasting outcomes are identified as leadership, employees, and culture; KM appropriate for business; KM calculation and coherent KM processes and technology. Only if all these variables are found together, will KM yield sustainable results (Psomas, 2016)
The quality of a product can be considerably improved for manufacturing companies that adopt an information management / qualitative management (KM / QM) strategy than comparable companies without a KM / QM strategy. The research also shows that the implementation of the QM / KM Strategy will lead to a positive and powerful improvement in product quality over time. An improvement over time of product quality. Performance meets consumer needs and requirements (Rashid, et al., 2016). It does not only provide the customer with the deliverables it needs; it is more valuable than what is needed to deliver a full range of tasks. In order to accomplish this goal, the business must develop its processes constantly in order to ensure the highest quality of every product and resolution. Integrating principles, techniques, procedures, and quality management (QM) into information management has a substantially higher quality of the product.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Six Sigma and TQM share similar grounds for achieving value with customers. They are also mutually complementary and integrated to build a strong methodology. This work has expanded the previous work on these techniques and introduced new subjects and concepts in new ways. TQM and Six Sigma are effective continuous improvement methods with shared grounds for concepts, goals, consumer and process orientation, management support dependence, design strategy, strategy to change, and complexity. These can also be combined and complement each other in order to create a stronger approach under Six Sigma’s TQM framework. TQM, Lean Six Sigma, and the principle of knowledge management are equally essential for cost reduction and organizational performance excellence. The use of powerful resources by KM is successful in implementing and supporting Six Sigma initiatives and their promotion of effectiveness, according to these studies. It is necessary to carry out these activities that continually improve the organization and achieve the objective of excellence in results.
References
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Ertürk, M., Tuerdi, M. & Wujiabudula. A., 2016. The Effects of Six Sigma Approach on Business Performance: A Study of White Goods (Home Appliances) Sector in Turkey. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 229, p. pp.444–452.
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