Which of the following is/are true about the impact of variation on managing processes?

Quality Glossary Definition: Total quality management

A core definition of total quality management (TQM) describes a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services, and the culture in which they work.

Primary Elements of tqm

TQM can be summarized as a management system for a customer-focused organization that involves all employees in continual improvement. It uses strategy, data, and effective communications to integrate the quality discipline into the culture and activities of the organization. Many of these concepts are present in modern quality management systems, the successor to TQM. Here are the 8 principles of total quality management:

1. Customer-focused: The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, or upgrading computers or software—the customer determines whether the efforts were worthwhile.
2. Total employee involvement: All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and when management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are one form of empowerment.
3. Process-centered: A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers (internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation.
4. Integrated system: Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these functions that are the focus of TQM.
   • Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business processes required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the vision, mission, and guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical processes of the organization. Business performance must be monitored and communicated continuously.
   • An integrated business system may be modeled after the Baldrige Award criteria and/or incorporate the ISO 9000 standards. Every organization has a unique work culture, and it is virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a good quality culture has been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business improvement elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
5. Strategic and systematic approach: A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic planning or strategic management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.
6. Continual improvement: A large aspect of TQM is continual process improvement. Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.
7. Fact-based decision making: In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.
8. Communications: During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness.

These elements are considered so essential to TQM that many organizations define them, in some format, as a set of core values and principles on which the organization is to operate. The methods for implementing this approach come from the teachings of such quality leaders as Philip B. Crosby, W. Edwards Deming, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa, and Joseph M. Juran. 

More TQM Information

TQM Resources

You can also search articles, case studies, and publications for TQM resources.

Books

The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook

From Quality to Business Excellence: A Systems Approach to Management

Insights to Performance Excellence 2021-2022

Juran, Quality, and a Century of Improvement

Articles

Why And How TQM Leads To Performance Improvements (Quality Management Journal) Evidence shows that TQM improves organizational performance, but researchers disagree on why and how such improvements occur and on who really benefits. This study tests hypotheses relating to TQM adoption and the path from wealth creation to wealth appropriation.

The Relationship Between ISO 9000 Certification, TQM Practices, And Organizational Performance (Quality Management Journal) There is no consensus among the research community about the relationship between ISO 9000 certification and TQM, and the effect of each of these quality management practices on organizational performance is still debated. This paper developed a conceptual model to study the relationships between ISO 9000 certification, TQM practices, and organizational performance.

The Role Of Strategic Planning In Implementing A Total Quality Management Framework: An Empirical View (Quality Management Journal) This empirical study examines the significant role of strategic planning as an important dimension in successfully implementing TQM and confirming that strategic planning is likewise extremely important. 

Videos

TQM: The History and the Now (ASQTV) This episode explores total quality management’s beginnings and how it’s used to build and sustain a culture of quality today. 

Certification

Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Certification - CMQ/OE

Courses

Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Certification Preparation

Introduction to Quality Management

Quality 101 

Adapted from The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook, ASQ Quality Press.

One size fits all. It is an attractive notion for those of us who like the idea of a quick fix. In my experience, however, whether it is a cap, a pair of socks, or a business process – the likelihood of one mould suiting everyone is seldom the case.

For some organizations, business processes vary by geography, by industry, or due to legal requirements. And yet, good business practice dictates that process standardization can increase efficiency, clarify expectations and optimize productivity.

While standardized processes have been proven to save time and minimize errors, sometimes a cookie-cutter approach to the execution of tasks can cause more problems than it solves.

Should you expect there to be variations in your processes?

Yes. Increased globalization and advancements in technology see businesses constantly reinventing themselves. With the universal adoption of e-commerce, even the smallest of companies can now do business with customers and vendors in regions that are removed from their headquarters.

Yet those that take advantage of these types of opportunities are required to deal with a range of variables that inherently conflict with process standardization, and can include country-specific product attributes, customer characteristics, regulations and legislations.

To operate effectively despite these challenges, organizations would do well to start by capturing those variations that differ from their core processes — adaptations of the standard processes that take the relevant variables into account, while still aiming for the same outcome.

For example, a U.S. company that produces food products for domestic use as well as for export to Canada will need a standard process that uses the customary system as a weight unit for the U.S. and a process variation that uses the metric system as a weight unit for Canada.

What are the three pitfalls to avoid?

While the need for a flexible approach to managing process variations is obvious, executing on the requirement is often challenging.

Over time I have seen organizations frequently approach process variations in one of the following three ways:

• Create high-level standard processes: Standard processes are defined only at a high level and are not functional as practical guidance. This situation is often found in newly-founded companies.

• Create mega-processes: Often encountered during change initiatives and in technical teams, this scenario involves the meticulous, detailed documenting of every possible process variation. Due to the complexity of the documentation, this system often fails.

• Create individual process variations: In more mature organizations, management often allows this approach, which leads to siloed processes and process sprawl. It compromises the organization’s ability to change and complicates administration.

Clearly, these three methods fail to deliver the efficiency, productivity and visibility organizations are looking to achieve with process standardization.

What are the seven ways to effectively manage process variations?

It is possible for organizations to effectively handle their need for variations outside of their core processes. Here are seven steps to keep in mind:

1. Create a global standard process as a foundation for all variations. With a centralized governance team that consists of global process owners, you can use global processes as benchmarks against which the variations can be measured.

1. Establish local variations where necessary. Local process variations can be created by process variant experts, who must ensure their differences are highlighted against the standard processes.

1. Ensure all process variations are visible. All variations on every process need to be carefully reviewed and compared to standard processes.

1. Make sure teams have easy access to the relevant variations. Leverage a platform that automatically routes teams to those process variations that apply to their business unit, location or other characteristic. Alternatively, provide a list from which they can select the relevant variations.

1. Notify owners of process variations or changes to the standard processes. They can review the changes and either incorporate them into their specific variations or reverse them and keep their variations unchanged.

1. Implement global reporting. Global process owners can review and consequently reject or approve variations.

1. Gather and analyze cost and time data. With this information, you can compare the effectiveness of process variations against standard processes, and determine their efficiency.

Should you let tech do the heavy lifting?

Yes. With the help of a robust process variant management solution, it is possible to manage process variations well. Your software should provide a centralized hub where standard processes are stored and from where variations can be created, and automatic routing points users to the process variations that are most relevant to them.

In addition, a process management platform that has tracking, comparison and reporting capabilities enables you to measure the expense and time associated with process variations. This gives you and your executive decision makers a solid understanding of where you can make improvements and eliminate waste.

As organizations hurtle along the highway of change and globalization, the shortcomings of painting all processes with the same brush become very clear, very quickly. By anticipating and preparing for process variations, business teams can meet operational demands and exceed expectations in an ever-expanding international marketplace.