Change Management Strategy for Converting to Total Quality Management

Introduction

This post follows the steps needed for a company to transition in a total quality management (TQM) operation as outlined in Goetsch & Davis (2021). We begin by listing some of the factors that determine the success of a TQM conversion, and some alternative implementation plans. Next, the implementation process recommended by Goetsch & Davis – the Goetsch-Davis 20-Step Total Quality Implementation Process – is described. The paper concludes by describing situations and alternatives when management is lacking commitment to TQM.

Success of Implementing TQM

No two implementations of TQM are the same, and the success depends on several factors. Mann & Kehoe (1993) list several factors besides management buy-in. These factors include the employees’ age distribution, their education level, whether the management uses long term planning, and so on. There are also different approaches to implementing TQM, as described in (Yusof & Aspinwall, 2000, p. 642), which range from companies not implementing TQM all at once, to implementing it on a department-by-department basis. The Goetsch-Davis 20-Step Total Quality Implementation Process described next requires a top-down commitment to TQM throughout the entire company. There is room for adjusting the pace of adopting TQM (determined with the choice of projects deemed fit for “TQM-ization”), but the process is meant to be total.

 

Implementation According to the Goetsch-Davis 20-Step Process

Goetsch & Davis (2021) utilize a three-phase process for implementing TQM. These phases are preparation, planning, and implementation. The details of these phases follow the Goetsch-Davis 20-Step Total Quality Implementation Process (Goetsch & Davis, p. 419-423).

Preparation

As the implementation of TQM is a top-down process, preparation begins with the top executive (CEO for example) becoming committed to TQM. He then forms a Total Quality Steering Committee consisting of the CEO’s direct reports and with the CEO chairing the committee. If a union is involved, the senior union member is also included in the steering committee. This committee is a permanent entity and replaces the former executive staff organization. With the help of a consultant, they engage in team building and get training in TQM’s philosophy, tools, and techniques.

Control then moves to the total quality steering committee. They begin by creating statements of “vision” and guiding principles. Based on those documents they set broad strategic objectives. Next, they communicate and publicize the statements and their plans, and this communication is an ongoing activity by the steering committee.

The steering committee then identifies organizational strengths and weaknesses – why wasn’t that done earlier? As part of this, they identify TQM advocates and TQM resisters. One of these groups of employees could be added to project teams created during the planning phase (guess which one?)

The steering committee will then establish baselines for employee satisfaction and attitudes (performed by the HR department), as well as baseline customer satisfaction. For large customer bases, satisfaction can be determined by using sampling. Customer feedback must include both extremal and internal customers.

Planning

At this point, the steering committee can enter the planning phase! The approach they should use follows the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Adjust) cycle, so it may be necessary to return to this step based on the results of what follows. For reference, this is step 12.

The steering committee identifies projects that are amenable (or vulnerable) to adopting TQM. One of the determining factors for the initial choice of projects is the likelihood of success. Teams for each project are appointed. These teams can be cross-departmental, and it is handy to know who the TQM advocates are (Goetsch & Davis, p. 422). The project teams are then trained on TQM principles by members of the steering committee. Finally, teams’ direction is set, and they are activated, each starting their own PDCA cycle.

Implementation or Execution

The project teams then lead the implementation or execution phase. They gather feedback from the team members, the customers, and the employees and report their findings back to the steering committee, perhaps on a monthly basis. (Goetsch & Davis, p. 422) This is the “check” stage of the PDCA loop, and the steering committee makes appropriate adjustments, returning to step 12.

The steering committee modifies organizational structure, procedures, and processes, as necessary. They also implement reward or recognition systems. Finally, union rules are considered.

Conclusion

By following these steps, it should be possible to have a company or organization adopt TQM. If there is no commitment from top management on total quality, then it may be possible to “sell” TQM to them, but…

If enlightenment does not work, it may be time to consider moving on to different employment. That is not always a reasonable option, but long-term prospects for your current employment are not bright either, given top management’s attitude toward total quality. (Goetsch & Davis, p. 423)

Yup, enlightenment.

It also may be possible to implement TQM within a single department. Department total quality is a contradiction since TQM requires commitment from every aspect of the company, but Goetsch & Davis (p. 424) note that this is better than nothing.

For companies with management not committed to adopting TQM, there are other courses of action that can get a company close to using TQM: pursuing ISO 9000 certification and competing for the so-called Baldrige Award.

 

References

Goetsch, D. L. & Davis, S. B. (2021). Quality management for organizational excellence: Introduction to total quality (9^th ed.). Pearson.

Mann, R., & Kehoe, D. (1995). Factors affecting the implementation and success of TQM. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 12(1), 11-23. https://coer.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/D22_Factors_affecting_the_implementation_and_success_of_TQM.pdf

Yusof, S. R. M., & Aspinwall, E. (2000). TQM implementation issues: review and case study. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 20(6), 634-655. https://coer.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/D22_Factors_affecting_the_implementation_and_success_of_TQM.pdf

Cheerful PDCA, OODA, and DOCA Loops

According to Goetsch & Davis, the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle is “a kind of generic, basic format for bringing order and logic to the problem-solving process.” It is not as detailed as a step-by-step process but rather is “a simple cycle that is allowed to continue until a solution’s results match the planned outcome.” (Goetsch & Davis, 2021, p. 274).

Similar cyclic processes are also used in military and local-defense contexts.

One of them is the so-called OODA loop (Boyd, 1995), which stands for observe-orient-decide-act. This is a decision-making framework that consists of the following stages:

• Observe – gather information from the environment
• Orient – analyze this collected information and determine its relevance to one’s mission
• Decide – Choose a course of action based on the orientation
• Act – the chosen action is then executed

So, for example, suppose you see a group of fighters (observe). You analyze the situation to consider whether those fighters are friends or foes (orient). If they’re foes, you decide whether and how to act based on their size, position, and resources and your own size, position, and resources. If you decide to attack, do so with extreme aggression! Wash, rinse, and repeat.

The OODA loop is fundamental to all military action. Defeating the enemy requires either running your OODA loop faster than the bad guy’s loop or obstructing his OODA loop such as through misdirection.

In principle, the PCDA loop is similar to the OODA loop, except that observation happens earlier in the OODA loop than it does in the PCDA loop.

Cheerfully Executing a DOCA Loop
From Reuter's Training with America's Militias

Another loop, performed mostly by local-defense groups and other groups practicing irregular or so-called “4^th Generation” warfare (Lind & Thiele, 2015), is the DOCA loop, which stands for Disperse-Orient-Concentrate-Act. The idea is that in the context of irregular warfare, dispersed groups of fighters are hard to kill because they are… dispersed, and they only become combat-effective when they are close together. The stages are as follows:

• Disperse – spread out
• Orient – analyze the situation and determine its relevance to the mission
• Concentrate – move close to each other (or otherwise work in some coordinated manner)
• Act – execute the previously agreed-upon plan

Because this is a loop, the next stage after the act is to disperse. The neat thing is that the group of fighters is at risk only during the “concentrate” stage when they are close together.

For example, suppose the fighters’ mission is to destroy an enemy’s railroad line. They start out as dispersed. They make observations (orient) about the location of the railway line and how heavily it is defended. If they decide to complete their mission, they converge on the railroad line (concentrate) and sabotage it in some way (act). The loop starts over, so they disperse. Again, wash-rinse-repeat.

The OODA loop is the more fundamental of the two types of loops and works everywhere, even in business situations (D. Brown Management, 2024). Besides explicitly calling-out the “observe” stage, the primary difference between the OODA and DOCA loops is the way they repeat. With OODA, fighters would then return to home base and report their results. With the DOCA loops, the fighters have the option of building upon their success and continue with the mayhem!

Fun stuff!

References

Boyd, J. (1995). The Essence of Winning and Losing. https://web.archive.org/web/20110324054054/http://www.danford.net/boyd/essence.htm

D. Brown Management. (2024). Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (The OODA Loop). https://dbmteam.com/insights/observe-orient-decide-and-act-the-ooda-loop

Goetsch, D. L. & Davis, S. B. (2021). Quality management for organizational excellence: Introduction to total quality (9^th ed.). Pearson.

Lind, W. S. & Thiele, G. A. (2015). 4^th Generation Warfare Handbook. Castalia House. https://ia802901.us.archive.org/27/items/4thGenerationWarfareHandbookWilliamS.Lind28129/4th_Generation_Warfare_Handbook_-_William_S._Lind%25281%2529.pdf

ISO 9000 Standards

Introduction

Why would a company choose to implement ISO 9000 standards versus a quality management concept? This post attempts to answer that question, We start by first describing the ISO 9000 family of standards. Next, ISO-9000 standards will be compared and contrasted with the total quality management (TQM) philosophy. One of the differences between ISO 9000 and TQM is that the former has costs associated with certification, and the costs are (roughly) described. Finally, the question is answered considering this information.

What are the ISO 9000 Standards?

The International Standard Organization (ISO) maintains numerous formalized standards of which ISO 9000 is meant to standardize the approach organizations use to manage and improve processes. Some of these are industry-specific whereas others, like the ISO-9000 family of standards are quality related, but are limited to internal measures of quality. Indeed, “ISO 9000 does not specify a level of quality or performance for any product or service provided by an organization. That is left to the organization to determine with its customers” (Goetsch & Davis, p. 226). This latter part is a good thing, otherwise every single change or improvement in a product or service will have to be evaluated by a committee external to the organization.

ISO 9000 has gone through several versions, with varying amounts of bureaucracy in each version (Goetsch & Davis, p. 235). Besides reducing bureaucracy, the advancing iterations brought ISO 9000 (specifically ISO 9001:2000) standards closer to TQM (Goetsch & Davis, p. 235). Seddon (2000) claims that ISO 9000:2000 represents “an admission of failure – failure of the Standard to make a positive contribution to economic performance” (Seddon, p. vii).

The ISO 9000 series uses seven quality management principles: customer focus, leadership, personnel engagement, process approach, improvement, evidence-based decision making, and relationship management (Goetsch & Davis, p. 227).

The operating principle of the ISO 9000 management system is described as “Plan-Do-Check-Act.” “Plan” involves setting objectives and determining plans to achieve them. “Do” means setting those plans in motion. “Check” means to verify whether the objectives are achieved using those plans. Finally, “Act” (or “Adjust”) means that the organization makes necessary changes to the plans to correct any shortfalls, then wash-rinse-repeat. (p. 227). The text states that repeating these steps results in “continual improvement for products/services, processes, and systems of processes.” (Goetsch & Davis, p. 227). The ongoing improvement of products or services is (supposedly) a byproduct of the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.

Part of obtaining ISO 9000 certification involves creating and using a quality management system (QMS). This is not necessarily a software system but it certainly a process designed to maintain quality and customer satisfaction. The certification and annual verification can be thought of as a check that the QMS is used and is well-functioning.

Comparing ISO 9000 with TQM

Both TQM and ISO 9000 aim to enhance the quality of the products and services an organization offers to meet or exceed customer expectations. Both emphasize customer satisfaction by ensuring consistent quality and meeting their requirements.

Both require commitment from management and employees to implement the quality practices, and both encourage ongoing efforts to refine processes and enhance quality over time.

Contrasting ISO 9000 and TQM

TQM is a management philosophy that integrates quality into all processes within an organization. It emphasizes continual improvement and customer satisfaction and requires cultural change. Meanwhile, ISO 9000 is a family of international standards for quality management systems (QMS) that focus on documented processes and certification.

As mentioned above, TQM is concerned with continually improving the quality of an organization’s products or services. ISO 9000 focuses on the quality of internal processes.

One of the differences between ISO 9000 and TQM is that ISO’s process approach involves risk-based thinking, and tools like the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle are meant to reveal such risks.

TQM is broader than ISO 9000 and it covers all aspects of an organization including culture, employee engagement, and leadership. ISO 9000 focuses on establishing a standard QMS to ensure consistency in processes.

There is no timeframe of implementing TQM in an organization because its mandates are not only process-related but also cultural. There is no fixed endpoint since continual improvement is a never-ending process. In contrast, ISO 9000 has some sort of deadline since the organization is seeking certification.

TQM are informal standards, so the cost of adopting it within an organization usually involves training and process redesign costs, but there are no formal certification expenses. With ISO 9000, there are costs for certification, audits, and recertification. These are discussed in the next section.

Cost of ISO 9000 Certification

A quick review of the ISO 9000 family website (International Standard Organization, n/d) does not list prices for the certification processes. Indeed, ISO charges for much of its documentation.

The phases of ISO 9000 or 9001 certification are as follows: initial certification, annual surveillance audits, and re-certification audits performed every three years. There are numerous ISO consultants or, as one consultant website (BRP Hub, n/d) calls them, “accredited certification bodies” and presumably their prices vary.

For small businesses, BPR Hub quotes prices for certification body fees for small businesses in the range from $3,000 to $6,000. Consultant fees are from $300 to $1,000 per hour. The annual audit costs are at $500 to $1300 per day. For the annual surveillance audit, the price is from $1,000 to $2,500 per year. For the re-certification process that occurs every three years, no prices are given. Another consultant site (9000 Store, n/d) also doesn’t list re-certification costs; that website does have similar quotes broken-down by company size as well as the current state of the organization’s QMS.

Conclusion

TQM and ISO 9000 are not mutually exclusive, and ISO 9000 is a formalization of some parts of TQM standards. TQM is focused on maintaining and improving the quality of products and services a company provides, whereas ISO 9000 is concerned with standardizing internal processes.

They are both bureaucratic layers, and one of the differences between them is that companies seeking ISO certification pay money for their own bureaucratic self-strangulation. It makes sense for a company to achieve ISO 9000 certification if and only if its customers or potential customers (such as government bodies) require that certification. The decision to seek ISO 9000 certification comes down to a cost-benefit analysis, and the annual surveillance audits are a good opportunity to reconsider that decision.

References

9000 Store. (n/d). Cost of ISO 9001 certification. https://the9000store.com/articles/iso-9000-cost/

BRP Hub. (n/d). ISO 9001 certification cost for small businesses. https://www.bprhub.com/blogs/iso-9001-certification-cost-for-small-businesses

Goetsch, D. L. & Davis, S. B. (2021). Quality management for organizational excellence: Introduction to total quality (9^th ed.). Pearson.

International Standard Organization. (n/d). ISO 9000 family. https://www.iso.org/standards/popular/iso-9000-family

Seddon, J. (2000). The case against ISO 9000. Oak Tree Press. https://archive.org/details/caseagainstiso900000sedd