Leadership and Commitment

(Summary & Chapter Highlights)

I. Definition
 Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can
enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”.[Chemers MM
2002]
 Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something
extraordinary happen- Allan Keith
 Commitment involves dedicating yourself to something, or the act of binding yourself
(intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action.

II. Importance of Leadership & Commitment in TQM

 Globalization in the business is driving companies toward a new view of quality as a
necessary tool to compete successfully in worldwide markets. A direct outcome of this new
emphasis is the philosophy of total quality management (TQM). In essence, TQM is a
company-wide perspective that strives for customer satisfaction by seeking zero defects in
products and services. Quality experts state that ineffective leadership can hinder and even
destroy efforts to implement total quality management (TQM).
 Leaders establish unity of purpose, direction, and internal environment of the organization.
They create the environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the
organization´s objectives.
 A predominant requirement for quality management is that strong commitment from top
management is vital.
 Lack of top management commitment is one of the reasons for the failure of TQM efforts
 The ability of top management to establish, practice, and lead a long-term vision for the firm,
driven by changing customer requirements is important in TQM.

III. Leadership as a Major Component of TQM

A. Leaders must have (Yoshio Kondo):
 a dream (vision and shared goals)
 strength of will and tenacity of purpose
 ability to win the support of followers
 ability to do more than their followers, without interfering when they can do it
alone
 ability to give the right advice

B. Commitments Leaders Must Make:

 Commitment to Yourself
 Commitment to the Organization and its Mission
 Commitment to Your Team

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 C. Role of TQM Leaders
 All are responsible for quality improvement especially the senior management &
CEO’s
 Ensure that the team’s decision is in harmony with the quality statements of the
organization
 Senior TQM leaders must read TQM literature and attend conferences to be aware
of TQM tools and methods
 Senior managers must take part in award and recognition ceremonies for
celebrating the quality successes of the organization
 Coaching others and teaching in TQM seminars
 Senior managers must cooperate with internal ,external and suppliers through
visits, focus groups, surveys
 They must live and communicate TQM.

IV. The Total Quality Management Approach

 TQM requires a comprehensive approach that must first be recognized and then implemented.
 TQM is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility of a
whole organization.
 The methods and techniques used in TQM can be applied throughout any organization
(manufacturing, public service, health care, education and hospitality industries).
 TQM ensures that management adopts a strategic overview of quality and focuses on
prevention, not detection of problems.

V. Commitment and Policy

 TQM must start at the top, where serious obsession and commitment to quality and leadership
must be demonstrated.
 Every chief executive must accept the responsibility for commitment to a quality policy that
deals with the organization for quality, the customer needs, the ability of the organization,
supplied materials and services, education and training and review of the management
systems for never ending improvement.

VI. Effective Leadership

 Effective leadership starts with the chief executive’s vision and develops into a strategy for
implementation.
 Requirements for effective leadership:
 Developing and publishing clear documented corporate beliefs and objectives – a
mission statement
 Developing clear and effective strategies and supporting plans for achieving the mission
and objectives.
 Identifying the critical success factors and critical processes.
 Reviewing the management structure
 Empowerment – encouraging effective employee participation

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VII. Excellence in Leadership
 The vehicle for achieving excellence in leadership is TQM. Using the construct of the
Oakland TQM Model, the 4 Ps and 4 Cs provide a framework for this: Planning,
Performance, Processes, People, Customers, Commitment, Culture, and Communications.