The Role of Human Resource Management in Implementation of TQM

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1 The Role of Human Resource Management in Implementation of TQM Chandra Sekhar Patro Department of Management Studies, VITS Group of Institutions, Visakhapatnam, A.P., India Abstract - Human resource management and total quality management having been identified as new approaches have attracted a great deal of practitioners interest. Total quality management has become a frequently used term in discussions concerning quality. The term used for today s new concept of quality is total quality management or TQM. TQM is considered to be an important management philosophy, which supports the organizations in their efforts to obtain satisfied customers. A fundamental aspect of the soft dimensions of TQM is Human Resource Management (HRM). Human resource management is responsible for how people are treated in organizations. It is responsible for bringing people into the organization, helping them perform their work, compensating them for their labors, and solving problems that arise. The TQM approach brings changes in the attitudes and expectations of the managers about the roles of human resource managers. TQM can avoid the dangers of demotivating people but care should be taken to ensure that TQM does not also became a recipe in which certain visible techniques replace the substance of customer focus, team work and decision-making. This paper outlines the basic principles of Total Quality Management. The main idea is to establish a relationship between Human Resource Management and Total Quality Management and the role of the human resource department to an implementation of total quality management. Keywords - Human Resource Management (HRM), Total Quality Management (TQM), Quality, Implementation, Principles, Improvement I. INTRODUCTION Total Quality Management The introduction of total quality management (TQM) has played an important role in the development of contemporary management. Total Quality Management (TQM) is the optimization and integration of all the functions and processes of a business in order to provide for excited customers through a process of continuous improvement. Total Quality is defined as, a people-focused management system that aims at continual increase in customer satisfaction at continually lower cost. Dow et al. (1999) developed a TQM model in order to explore the impact of TQM practices on the firm s quality performance. They indicated that quality practices can be categorized into nine dimensions: workforce commitment, shared vision, customer focus, use of teams, personnel training, cooperative supplier relations, use of benchmarking, advanced manufacturing systems, and use of just-in-time principles. TQM can be defined as a set of techniques and procedures used to reduce or eliminate variation from a production process or service-delivery system in order to improve efficiency, reliability, and quality (Steingrad & Fitzgibbons, 1993). The old concept is reactive, designed to correct quality problems after they occur and the new concept is proactive, designed to build quality into the product and process design. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a continuous process of improvement for individuals, groups of people and the total organization. TQM is about changing the way things are done within the organization s life time. People must know what to do, how to do it, have the right methods to do it and be able to measure the improvement of the process and the current level of achievement in order to improve the process. Human Resource Management Human Resource Management is one of the most essential responsibilities of each and every manager in an organization. It purely involves people for getting things done through them in an organized manner. Human resource management is defined as a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization s most valued assets the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives. According to Edwin B. Flippo, Human resource management is the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the procurement, development, resources to the end that individual and societal objectives are accomplished. HRM is a managerial perspective which argues the need to establish an integrated series of personnel policies to support organizational strategy. Buchanan and Huczynski (2004: 679). HRM is as a set of loosely related ideas, concepts, and techniques held together by the common underlying premise that, within any organization, maximization of the utilization of human resources is crucial to maintain and enhance competitiveness in a world where those who do not compete successfully simply do not survive. The HR department can play a significant role in the change process by establishing a specific programme that is responsible for dealing with the change. HRM is often associated with the introduction of new and innovative forms of work organization. The management interest in quality is not new but using quality as a key element in the battle for competitive advantages is of recent date. 2689

2 II. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The overall aim is to study the challenges, role and the aspects of the human resource department tasks in regard to an implementation of total quality management in an organization. Certain recommendations are made for implementing TQM in any organization. III. PRINCIPLES OF TQM Total Quality Management (TQM) is an approach that seeks to improve quality and performance which will meet or exceed customer expectations. This can be achieved by integrating all quality-related functions and processes throughout the organization. TQM uses strategy, data, and effective communications to integrate the quality discipline into the culture and activities of the organization. Different organizations have different approaches to implement Total Quality Management. The following principles are common to all the organizations which must be adhered for the successful TQM implementation. A. Customer oriented: Total Quality means complying with customer requirements i.e. both internal and external customers, and quality oriented management will need to meet customer requirements. Different customers would be having different needs, preferences and expectations. Customer expectations for a design or specifications must be transformed in order that the organization may adapt these expectations to activities required for production. Design and specifications are equally important. An organization may provide the right design quality, a product which customers would want to buy but could lose out by not having the right specifications required. Similarly, a product providing the right specifications only may not meet customer design requirements. B. Total employee involvement: All employees in the organization should participate in working towards the common goals. Total employee commitment and responsibility towards work can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and management has provided the proper environment. The involvement of the employees in the organization will deliver high performance work systems and integrate continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. C. Continuous Improvement: To comply with customer needs and requirements it involves continuous improvements of products and processes. The most efficient method to create improvement is to let the staff performing the particular work identify and implement the particular improvement in their daily work. Continuous improvement in the working environment helps the employees to take the responsibility for the development and a change in the organization. D. Process oriented: A fundamental concept of TQM is to 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 as per their expectations. The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance measures should be continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation by the management. E. Fact-based decision making: Decision making is an important element in TQM. 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 the past data or facts. The facts that are effecting the organization are to be considered while taking any kind of decisions by the HR manager. F. Organizational Communication: During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications plays an important role in maintaining morale and in motivating the employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness. Open communication should be administered because without this, the informal grapevine would then be the ultimate source of the company. G. Organization 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 includes implementation of groups, commitment to quality, planning of cross functional workgroups, changing staff role towards a customer oriented role, teamwork and an extended cooperation with suppliers about continuous quality improvements. The management of the organization needs quality planning as a component in their strategic planning. H. Measuring/Preventing: Measuring or monitoring the cost of quantity and customer satisfaction denotes a recent effort in total quality management. The cost of quantity is a financial measure of the quality performance and it can be monitored by preventing the expenses like checking and testing incoming components, inspecting products prior to their leaving the organization, routine inspection maintenance; failure expenses waste, scrap, double work; inspection, and estimate activities. 2690

3 IV. HRM CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH IMPLEMENTING TQM Implementation of total quality management may sound like a well executed strategy in organisations, but it was not an uncomplicated experience on the part of the human resource department. The HR Department has to face certain challenges during the implementation of TQM in an organization: Globalization: Globalization requires organizations to move people, ideas, products and information around the world to meet customer needs. New and important ingredients must be added to the mix when making strategy: volatile political situations, contentious global trade issues, fluctuating exchange rates and unfamiliar cultures. Globalization is one of the important challenges faced by the HR manager during the implementation of TQM. Motivating knowledge workers: Motivating workers with high recognition needs in the direction of total quality management required an extraordinary effort on the part of human resource department. The performance of the workers could be improved and increased by proper motivation. It is however, necessary to create an environment in which all the employees can contribute to the limits of their ability. Subordinates must be encouraged to participate in the process of decision making, continuously broadening their self-direction and self-control. These would not only lead to direct improvement in operating efficiency but would also ensure them to groom for higher responsibilities. Employee satisfaction: Satisfaction of employees is imperative to achieve total quality management. In the organizations staff satisfaction is elevated through various measures such as reward and recognition schemes, a fair grievance handling scheme, suggestion schemes, incentive schemes, group incentives, maintenance of good working and environmental conditions, etc. Some attempts are to be made by the human resource department to build up confidence and generate optimism in every employee so as to recognize that the job they are doing will be worth the effort and will lead to the achievement of total quality management. Communication barriers: In large organizations with an extremely wide network of offices across the world, the success of implementation of total quality management will critically depend on a successful communication exercise. The HR department has to take this as a serious challenge, and consequently developed some communication exercises to communicate the total quality management message to the organization network. So that the issues related to the communication can be resolved. Vastness of organization: Total quality management is the responsibility of every employee, and it has to be accomplished in all aspects of action and work in the organization. If any employee fails to achieve total quality, or total quality has not been achieved in any activity or process, it has to be substantiated that total quality management is a failure in the organization. This would become a challenge to the managers, including those of the human resource department. Competitive markets: A competitive market is a driving force behind many of the other obstacles to quality. The HR manager has to face this challenge while implementing the TQM in an organization. One of the effects of a competitive market is to lower quality standards to a minimally acceptable level. All the organizational functions have an element of quality. If the quality of works performed is poor, unnecessary cost is incurred by the company. TQM should work by inspiring employees at every level to continuously improve what they do, thus rooting out unnecessary costs. Lack of proper authority and leadership: Leadership quality is an essential element in implementing the TQM in any organization. Excess layers of management in the organization would quite often lead to duplication of duty and responsibility. This would make the employees of an organization to leave the quality implementation to be a management s job. In addition, quality has not been taken as a joint responsibility by the management and the employees. As a result the employees who are directly involved in the production of goods or delivery of services are not motivated enough to incorporate quality issues that have been raised by the customers they serve since they do not feel as part of the continuous process of quality improvement. Inadequate resources: Many of the organizations do not involve quality in their strategic plan. A little attention is paid to TQM in terms of human and financial resources. Much of the attention is drawn to increasing profit margins of the organization and little attention on whether the expected quality is supplied to the customer. A small budget allocation is made towards employee training and development which is critical for total quality management implementation. Employee training is often viewed as unnecessary cost which belittles the profits margins which is the primary objective for the existence of businesses and as a result TQM has been neglected as its implementation may not necessarily bring gains to the organization in the short term. Lack of customer focus: Most strategic plans of organizations do not focus on the customer needs. They tend to concentrate much on profitoriented objectives within a given time frame. A little market research is done to ascertain the product or service performance in the market relative to its quality, as such 2691

4 surveys are regarded as costly by the organizations and thus little concern is shown to quality improvement for consumer satisfaction. Lack of proper planning: The absence of a sound strategic plan has often contributed to ineffective quality improvement. It is observed that a large number of organizations are either unable or unwilling to plan effectively for quality improvement. Poor planning and specifications lead to a project that costs more, takes longer to complete, and causes more frustration than it should. Companies using TQM should always strive towards impressing upon the management the need to spend money and time on planning. If management took reasonable time to plan projects thoroughly the quality can be achieved. Lack of management commitment: A quality implementation program will succeed only if top management is fully committed towards the customer expectations. Lack of commitment in quality management may stem from various reasons. Major obstacles include the preoccupation with short-term profits and the limited experience and training of many executives. Top management should, therefore, embrace quality improvement programs no matter how far reaching the programs may appear the monetary implications therein. Competition alone should not HRM Challenges be considered as the single factor that drives managers into implementing quality initiatives. Deficiency of cultural dynamism: Every organization has its own unique way of doing things. This is defined in terms of culture of the organization. The processes, the philosophy, the procedures and the traditions define how the employees and management contribute to the achievement of goals and meeting of organizational objectives. Indeed, sticking to organizational culture is integral in delivery of the mission of the organization. However, culture has to be reviewed and for that matter re-adjustments have to be done in tune with the prevailing economic, political, social and technological realities so as to improve on efficiency. In adequate cultural dynamism has made total quality implementation difficult because most of the top level management of many organizations are rigid in their ways of doing things. V. FRAMEWORK TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF HRM IN IMPLEMENTING TQM A Framework to meet the challenges associated with human resource management in implementing TQM is as follows: Strategic Role of HRM Globalization Motivating knowledge workers Employee satisfaction Communication barriers Vastness of organization Competitive markets Lack of proper authority and leadership Inadequate resources Lack of customer focus Lack of proper planning Lack of management commitment Deficiency of cultural dynamism Recruitment and Selection Process Training and Development Employee Involvement Recognition and Rewards Leadership and Top Management commitment Education and Communication Development of Total Quality People Maintain employee relations Performance Appraisal Accredited quality management system Measuring customer wants and satisfaction Quality control techniques VI. STRATEGIC ROLE OF HRM IN IMPLEMENTING TQM To implement TQM in the organization it needs support from the top management and all staff members. The first thing which the HR department should realise from the outset is that TQM is a long-term business strategy. The role of the HR manager in improving quality can be considerable as it is a primary internal change. In developing TQM the management should make a commitment to measure the performance of a product relative to its quality through customer surveys, which can help managers to identify design, manufacturing or any other process that has a bearing on the quality of a product or service, and therefore provide an opportunity for continuous improvement. Recruitment and Selection Process The first step in implementation of TQM in an organization is it necessary to create a clear and concise recruitment policy, which helps to ensure a sound recruitment process. In today s rapidly changing business environment, a well defined recruitment process helps the organizations to respond to its human resource requirements in time. A recruitment and selection process of an organization should focus on recruiting the best potential people at the right place and ensure that every employee is treated equally with dignity and respect. The selection should be transparent, task oriented and merit based and approved by the competent authority. Optimization of manpower at the time of selection process is essential. 2692

5 Training and Development HR Department has to undertake intensive training of personnel in understanding the application of TQM methods & its tools at all levels of the management. The organizations have to realize the need and importance of corporate training and development process. The principal objective of training and development is to make sure the availability of a skilled and willing workforce to an organization. The HR department has to focus on analyzing the training needs and preparing the budget for each department. The manger has to evaluate effectiveness of training programs, providing recommendations for improvement. Planning, developing, and provide training and staff development programs, using knowledge of the effectiveness of methods such as classroom training, demonstrations, on-the-job training, meetings, conferences, and workshops will help in increasing the efficiency of the employees in the organization. Employee Involvement The HR department has to initiate that each and every employee involve in TQM activity. It is very important that the employee understands the quality requirements of his job and the customer. This is possible provided his involvement in the job is very high and he is a very committed and empowered employee. HR has to facilitate the culture of team work either in the form of quality circles, quality teams, task force, suggestion schemes or any such others innovative employee involvement schemes for TQM activity. Employees are more likely to show commitment when jobs are meaningful and involve significant responsibility and where employees are able to get direct feedback on their performance. TQM emphasis on flexibility and teamwork may also require a move away from detailed fixed job descriptions. Recognition and Rewards The HR manager has to place much emphasis on giving rewards and recognizing the employees who perform well. The manager of the organization has to communicate regularly with employees about the developmental opportunities being offered. They serve as a means of worker recognition, which the company has to take seriously. Recognition of individual employees and teams publicly for their accomplishments, providing financial incentives or gifts or awards for excellence performance beyond normal duties, and seniority recognition programs would help in achieving the quality in the management of an organization. Leadership and Top Management commitment The HR manager should have good leadership quality while implementing the TQM in any organization. The top management should also show commitment towards the application of quality standards and techniques. The top management s job has to take the responsibility and organize all the employees to maintain the quality in the organization and motivate them in providing quality goods and services. The HR manager has to continuously monitor the process of quality improvement and fully committed towards the customer expectations. The management should take certain initiatives such as proper training facilities, compensation and rewards, performance appraisals, proper communication during the implementation of TQM. Education and Communication Communication should definitely be one of the focus points during the implementation of TQM. The organizations place great emphasis on educating the employees about maintaining the quality standards through a variety of elements such as videos, magazines, newsletters, notice boards, story boards and so on, so as to promulgate and reinforce the quality. Open communication will help in maintaining good relations with the employees and achieve better quality. However it is inadequate for senior management to express their commitment solely through communicating vision and mission statements. Through continuous communication and educating the HR department can achieve the customer expectations. Development of Total Quality People Another important role of HR department is to see the internal customer satisfaction. All the departments and the people are to be oriented towards achieving total quality and the attitude of "Help us to help you better" must be developed on the philosophy of internal customers. Here lies the importance of HR in developing total quality people i.e. people with positive attitude, values in consonance with organizational mission and change the mindset so that the foundation becomes very strong. The HR initiative in TQM activity should be oriented to demonstrate the efficacy of Win- Win relationships as contrasted to Win-Lose or Lose-Lose relationships and thereby enabling effective spirit of team work. Maintain employee relations One of the distinctive features of human resources program in implementing TQM is that the management makes no distinctions between exempt and nonexempt employees. Employee Relations involves the body of work concerned with maintaining employer-employee relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, and morale. Employee s relations can be encouraged to improve the quality and reduce the overall cost of the organization by involving employees. The organization can survey the union members about their opinions regardless of whether or not they have any supervisory responsibility. It is important that how HR manages the relation with employees so that employee should feel proud and gain a sense of ownership. Performance Appraisal Performance appraisal is seen playing an important role as a tool to communicate to managers whether quality standards are being met, given the importance of the customer evaluation of managerial performance in the overall appraisal. Evaluating and rating the performance of the employees is essential, as the management can focus more on their 2693

6 weaknesses and work to strengthen those areas. The management should make the policy to issue performance reviews while providing employees with the feedback that they needs to perform better at their jobs. This will help in motivating the employees and attain the quality at the workplace. Accredited quality management system Many organizations consider ISO 9000 certification as the first step in the implementation process of TQM. The ISO 9000 series certification can be defined as the starting point for entering the competition; the ongoing journey towards TQM must deliver the competitive advantage. A documented quality system as part of a TQM strategy can contribute to TQM by managing the organization s processes in a consistent manner. When an organization maintains the ISO certified standards, it means it delivers quality products or services according to the customer needs and expectations. Measuring customer wants and satisfaction Customers are an economic asset. Customer satisfaction plays a central role in the company s TQM. The implementation of quality management in any organization requires listening to the customers and trying to satisfy their needs. The emphasis on customer satisfaction or customerdriven quality is considered by many gurus and writers as a major success of the quality management effort. A strategic concept, customer satisfaction is concerned with such achievements as customer retention and market penetration. The main aim of the HR manager should be to retain the customer and this is possible when the customer wants are satisfied. Quality control techniques The HR department can use several statistical quality control tools and techniques in achieving quality management in the organization. Statistical process control is one of the cornerstones of the model for TQM developed by the European Centre for Total Quality Management. Statistical Process Control is not only a tool kit; it is a strategy for reducing variability, part of never-ending improvement. The aim of statistical process control and control charts is first to achieve a stable process and then to reduce successively process variation. By using these tools the manager can maintain quality in managing the organization. VII. RECOMMENDATIONS During the implementation of TQM the HR manager has to act as a democratic leader. The HR department should try to achieve the quality based on the customer expectations, and at the same time the employees interest also. The managers should adopt situational leadership style as well as humanistic approach for leading the employees to achieve the organization goals. Based on the several case studies the following are few recommendations for HR department while implementing the TQM policies: 1. The HR department can create awareness about TQM by arranging workshops, seminars and conducting training classes. 2. The managers should focus on the succession and contingency plans. 3. Create a clear and concise recruitment and selection policy. 4. Develop and implement policies and activities consistent with the culture. 5. Emphasis on customer satisfaction or customer-driven quality should be made. 6. Ensure that the quality improvement process is consistent with the other human resource activities. 7. Maintain employer-employee relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation and morale. 8. Rewards and recognition is one of the best tools to motivate employees and achieve quality. 9. Flow of Communication should be from top to down that will help in making conducive atmosphere within the organization. 10. Establish a senior HR council and executive operating committee. 11. Develop a leadership programme that ensures that the change clearly includes the top management. 12. Maintain the quality control techniques and ensure it is quality accredited system. VIII. CONCLUSION The theoretical analysis reveals the implications there are in building a quality culture. The analyze implies that building a quality culture would require a matching human resource strategy, which would involve the human resource management, the organizations way of working as well as the human resource policies and practices. There are certain studies which reveal the different roles of the human resource management and shows that the implementation of total quality management has posed quite a lot of human resource challenges to human resource employees such as, motivating knowledge workers, obtaining employees satisfaction, overcoming communication barriers, solving problems associated with vastness of the organization. A successful TQM program is unique, and it should motivate middle management to focus on long-term strategies rather than short-term goals. From the above study it is clear that to implement TQM in the organization it needs support from the top management and all staff members. Different organizations can adopt different approaches to implement Total Quality Management. By adopting certain strategies the HR manager can overcome the barriers while implementing the TQM in an organization. REFERENCES [1] Michael Armstrong, (2006). Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 10th Ed. [2] Bennett, L.M. and Kerr, M.A. (1996). A systems approach to the implementation of Total Quality Management, Total Quality Management, 7(6), pp

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