A COMPARITIVE STUDY: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND THE

JAPANESE POKA-YOKE STYLE:

Dr. Tiffany Jordan

Abstract
As competition increases in the global marketplace and organizations seek
ways to increase customer base, quality is a “core-value” in the system of planning, to
improve productivity and reduce error or waste. For many years Total Quality
Management (TQM) has been a hot topic in journals, magazine, and newspapers
(Mescon et al, 2001; Schmidt, 2000; Ghosh, 1996; Knouse, 1995). Then came the
Poka-Yoke style as a measure of quality control and continuous improvement
(Nakajo, 1993). But has TQM given companies who implement it a return on their
investment (ROI). But does TQM really work? How much in time and financial cost
of implementing TQM and Poka Yoke? This study discusses the principles and
applications of TQM and the Poka-Yoke quality style, and how they are (and were)
used in companies in America and Japan. It also discusses theories for organizational
leadership and management, before TQM or Poka Yoke can be successfully
implemented. It takes a look at the TQM process from effectiveness and failure point
of view and attempts to shed some light on this controversial but highly significant
topic. Therefore, the intent is to allow managers to examine these two models and
form their own opinion concerning the benefits or weaknesses.

Keywords: Total Quality Management, TQM, Poka-Yoke, Operations

Management, Production Management, Leadership and Management, Quality
Standards, Quality Control, Japanese Management Style, American Management
Style.

Resume
*Tiffany Jordan, Ph.D./DBA., International Business/Management
Advanced Graduate Business Certification in Management
Teacher Business & Gifted Education Certification, State of Florida
Master of Business Administration
Bachelor of Science
Train the Trainer
Table of Content

Total Quality Management

Introduction 1
What Exactly is TQM 1
History of TQM 3
Companies Using TQM 3
TQM and Return on Investment 4
Consider the Ugly acts from the 70s and 80s 4
Ugly Facts from the 90s 4
Why are so Many Companies Struggling 5
Which Strategy is your Company Pursuing 6
On Community College Renewal
A Renewal Framework 6
Leadership: The TQM Driver 7
Key Leadership Responsibilities 7
The Foundation to Quality 7
Dupree’s Model 8
Deming’s Model 9
Deming System of Profound Knowledge: The New Economy 9
Deming’s 14 Points 10
Quality Standards
Total Quality Management 11
TQM in the Public Eye
Customer Driven vs. Company Driven 12
Long Term vs. Short Term Orientation 12
Data Driven vs. Opinion Driven 12
Elimination of Waste vs. Tolerance of Waste 12
Continuous Improvement vs. Fire Fighting 12
Prevention vs. Inspection 13
Cross Function Teams vs. Fortress Departments 13
High Employee Participation vs. Top Down Hierarchy 13
Problem Solving vs. Blame 13
Systems Thinking vs. Isolation 13
Leadership vs. Management 13
Quality 14
TQM and its Benefits 14
Model of TQM Process 14
TQM Its Benefits and Failures 15
Failures of TQM 15
Continuous Improvement 16
Continuous Improvement and Standardization: Daily Management 17
Individual, Team Roles, and Responsibility 18
Business Reengineering 18
Gurus on Quality Control and Management 19
The Human Side of the Enterprise 19
Tools used in TQM 21
Cause and Effect Diagram 21
Run Chart 21
 Scatter Diagram 21
Flow Chart 22
Pareto Chart 22
Histogram 23
Control Chart 23
Is there a Downside to Performance Management 23
Success or Failure: The Truth About Business 24
TQM and MBO 24
Poka Yoke Japanese Quality Management 24
Introduction 24
Historical Background on Poka Yoke 26
The First Poka Yoke Device 26
General Steps in the Fail Safing Process 27
Zero Quality Control: Source Inspection and the Poka Yoke System 27
The Principles of Fool Proofing and their Application in Manufacturing 28
Developing Poka Yoke Processes 29
The Customer 29
Process 29
Metrics 29
Focus, Urgency, Time Compression 30
The Process (Table 1) 30
Categories and Characteristics of Poka Yoke Devices 31
Examples of Poka Yoke 31
Prevention Devices Examples 31
Detection Devices 32
Characteristics of Poka Yoke Devices 32
Conclusion 32
Definitions 34
References 39
 Total Quality Management
Introduction
While Total Quality Management (TQM) has proven to be an effective
process for improving organizational functioning, its value can only be assured
through a comprehensive and well thought out implementation process. Total Quality
Management (TQM), a form of management that emphasizes continuous quality
improvement processes in institutional operations, represents a major paradigm shift
(Spanbauer, 1992) in management. Under a variety of names such as Continuous
Quality Management, or Responsibility Center Management, TQM type principles
have been successfully implemented, however, they are also critics (Seymour 1991,
Cross, 1993). Many researchers on Total Quality Management (Mansor, 1993;
Hamzah and Ho, 1994; Sohal and Ritter, 1995; McKenna, 1995; Hakim, 1996; Ghosh
and Wee, 1996) examine Productivity Organization, in Japan, as instrumental in
raising productivity. Many TQM activities in Asia were started in private companies
as Total Quality Control (TQC). These were mainly Japanese companies with
investments in manufacturing plants throughout Asia. The principles of TQC were
expounded by Feigenbaum (1961), suggested that high-quality products are more
likely to be produced by total quality control rather than by manufacturing working
alone. These principles gave way to Total Quality Management when management of
companies realized that responsibilities for quality are company-wide, and resided
with the management hierarchy. Japanese writers such as Ishikawa (1985) and Imai
(1986) referred to such involvement of management and the rest of the company as
company-wide quality control (CWQC), or total quality control (TQC), which
Western management practitioners call total quality management (TQM). In the
1980s, America followed suit realizing that Japan was becoming a model in
manufacturing.
Foreign competition from the 1970s has forced companies, particularly US
companies, to realize the importance of quality products and customer satisfaction.
During the last decade or so, management in public and private sectors has sought
ways to improve the bottom line. This brought significant paradigms such as Total
Quality Management (TQM) and the Japanese Poka Yoke style.
The purpose of TQM and Poka Yoke is Customer satisfaction through value-
added products. Accordingly, management must focus on the knowledge, skills and
abilities (KSAs) of each worker to bring continuous improvement through teamwork.
These require management commitment to change from the old traditional
ways of doing things to adopting new concepts. To be effective and efficient,
organizational departments must work cooperatively to accomplish goals and create a
strong organizational culture. But moreso, to implement control feedback
mechanisms, which will ensure the effective quality and productivity as required by
these philosophies.

What Exactly is Total Quality Management?

Certainly TQM can be defined in a number of ways, and the details of
different approaches can vary somewhat. The term Total Quality Management or
TQM has many definitions. Total Quality Management (TQM), a form of
management that emphasizes continuous quality improvement processes in
institutional operations, represents a major shift in academic administrative circles
from hierarchical to collegial management. Under a variety of names such as
Continuous Quality Management, or Responsibility Center Management, TQM type
principles have been successfully implemented. It is defined as a mutual way of doing
business that focuses on relying on the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) of the
laborers as well as the management in order to bring a continuous improvement in the
quality and productivity of the organization by working in the form of teams
(Drucker, 1996, 1994, 1993). Nevertheless, he notes that this concept of quality has
not emerged overnight. According to the founders of TQM, Organizations are systems
of interrelated units and for TQM to succeed; all of the components within the
organizations must be collectively involved. Finally, top management commitment to
the TQM process is absolutely essential for its successful implementation.
Scheer (1994) also notes that total quality management, commonly known as
TQM, is a process ideally suited to being applied in operating breweries where quality
is more than just a word management pays lip service to. TQM is a management
process based on fundamental principles that focus an organization’s energy on
always meeting customers’ expectations. But because it is a process-not simply a
program, it requires long-term commitment to bring into play in every aspect of the
development.
However, a good starting definition, drawn from Capezio & Morehouse
(1995): "Total Quality management refers to a management process and set of
disciplines that are coordinated to ensure that the organization consistently meets and
exceeds customer requirements. TQM engages all divisions, departments and levels of
the organization (Bacal, 1996). Top management organizes all of its strategy and
operations around customer needs and develops a culture with high employee
participation. TQM companies are focused on the systematic management of data of
all processes and practices to eliminate waste and pursue continuous improvement. "
In his book, Bacal further states that perhaps a better way of understanding TQM is to
compare a "TQM organization with what we might call a "traditional organizations to
see the differences. He breaks TQM down into eleven specific areas.
Quality Standards
Total Quality Management (TQM)
TQM can be seen as the summation of distinct patterns of management over
the last century (Cole, 1997). These can be summarized as industrial betterment,
scientific management, human relations, systems approaches and organized culture
(Grint, 1997). In the past each branch of management and quality mechanisms were
aimed at certain spheres of the organizations hierarchy. The principle behind TQM is
to take a vertical approach to quality, one that affects every individual in the
organization from the senior management to the most minor employee (Cole, p237).
What distinguishes TQM from other forms of organizational quality standards
such as Business Process Reengineering or the Japanese Poka Yoke standard is that it
is not a radical management tool that can often completely "pull apart" an
organization. Instead, TQM seeks to permeate an organization through steady quality
improvement throughout all of its current processes rather than create new ones.
The author also notes that another distinction made with TQM is over the
specification of quality (Cole, p238). This means that in traditional quality systems
there is a certain tolerance built into quality measurements to allow for the fact there
will always be some faulty components, etc. TQM however assumes that every item
is already defect-free and this tolerance is not allowed for. This places a large
responsibility on suppliers and is why certified ISO 9000 companies will only accept
suppliers who are certified to the same level.
Total quality management has its roots back to the era of 1970s and 80s when
the US companies were struggling for their survival in an adverse atmosphere of
recession, decline in business, deregulations, increasing competition, growing trade
deficit, low productivity and a more aware and educated customer demanding more
quality products or services. Drucker further mentions that the giants of the American
economy such as Ford motors and Xerox has suffered from huge losses in this period
because of the unfavorable market conditions and increasing competition from the
foreign competitors. This was the time when the true concept of TQM begins to
emerge and companies started realizing the importance of quality.
Many methods have been used over the years to reduce costs and improve
quality and productivity: Concepts such as MBO, TQM, Quality Circles, and the
Japanese Poka-Yoke. Style. Deming (1984, 1964) the father of TQM describes
organizations as composites of systems designed to meet customer needs. Common
systems in organizations are human resources processes such as compensation or
financial ones like accounting. In such systems, processes and tasks are linked
together and affect one another. He mentions for example, status changes for
employees will require interdependent tasks on the part of employees in payroll,
compensation, benefits, training and the relevant supervisor. The basic assumptions of
the Total Quality Control approach include: Work that can be broken down into tasks,
which are a series of related steps. A process groups all related tasks done to
accomplish an outcome (i.e., hiring a new employee or producing a product). People
completing a series of related tasks have interdependent roles in the organization.
TQM at first glance is seen primarily as a change in an organization's
technology from its way of doing work. In the human services, this means the way
clients are processed, the way service is delivered, and organizational processes such
as paperwork, procurement, and other procedures. But TQM is also a change in an
organization's culture, its norms, values, and belief systems about how organizations
function. It is also a change in an organization's political system: decision making
processes and power bases. For significant change to occur, changes in these
dimensions must be aligned: TQM as a technological change will not be successful
unless cultural and political dimensions are attended to as well (Tichey, 1983).

History of TQM
Total Quality Management (TQM) has become a major social phenomenon in
American society. Many American companies and organizations as well as several
institutions worldwide have planned and implemented TQM principles and processes
over the years. However, the effectiveness of TQM has not been clearly determined
yet and a review of the TQM literature reveals some mixed results. Some studies
show a positive relationship between TQM and high performance suggesting its
effectiveness, whereas others point to the doubts and apparent failures of the method.
This study takes a look at the TQM process from an effectiveness point of view and
attempts to shed some light on this controversial but highly significant topic.
Edward Deming (1986), Joseph Juran (1969), and Kaoru Ishikawa (1985)
were the pioneers of the TQM movement. Their basic assumptions of TQM focused
on quality, people, organizations, and the role of top management. Deming’s
emphasis is not on results but on method, which is familiar territory to those in the
quality movement. Deming was known to have demanded upon more than one
occasion, "By what method?"

Companies using TQM

Why do some companies “breathe” TQM and believe so strongly in it whereas
others criticize it as being dead and doomed to failure? Several companies like
Corning (Shapoff, 1996), AT&T (AT&T, 1992), General Motors, Motorola, IBM,
Kodak, and Westinghouse (Eskildson, 1995) have implemented TQM in their
organizations and have achieved glowing results in terms of performance and
productivity. In fact many of them were successful in winning the prestigious
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for their high quality performances.
Deming speaks of the concept of psychology and use of the theory of variation
(statistical theory) being boundless. For example, the number of defective items that
an inspector finds depends on the size of the workload presented to him (documented
by Harold F. Dodge in the Bell Telephone Laboratories around 1926). An inspector,
careful not to penalize anybody unjustly, may pass an item that is just outside the
borderline (Out of the Crisis, p. 266). Take these examples for instance:
A teacher, not wishing to penalize anyone unjustly, will pass a pupil that is
barely below the requirement for a passing grade. Also, fear invites wrong
figures. Statistical calculations and predictions based on warped figures may
lead to confusion, frustration, and wrong decisions.
A committee appointed by the President of a company will obviously report
what the President wishes to hear (Johnson, 1992).
Transformation leaders and managers need to learn the psychology of
individuals, the psychology of a group, the psychology of society, and the psychology
of change. Some understanding of variation, including appreciation of a stable system,
and some understanding of special causes and common causes of variation, are
essential for management of a system, including management of people (Deming,
1984).

TQM and Return on Investment

For several years quality improvement has been a "hot topic" in many trade
journals, professional societies, and inside numerous companies (Schmidt et al, 2000).
In fact, the acronym "TQM," which stands for Total Quality Management, has in
many circles almost become a "rite of passage." The TQM initiative started with
electronic and automobile manufacturing in the late 70s and early 80s and has now
spread to healthcare, banking, and other service-oriented companies. With all the
excitement about TQM, millions of dollars have been spent on training and
consulting. This huge expenditure has led some companies to loathe the use of the
acronym TQM, because they have not realized the return on investment (ROI) that
they originally expected. Obviously, the question of why the ROI has not been as
expected is one many organizations are pondering. Schmidt et al, continues to point
out some important facts about TQM and ROI as follows:
Consider some ugly facts from the 70s and 80s:
 After researching many periodicals, journals and newspapers on the American
corporations, I found a shift from what was once labeled “made in America” to
products produced elsewhere carrying American label presented some ugly facts on
American corporations:
• In 1970, 17 firms produced televisions in the United States. Today there is
only one. Most televisions sold today are made in Pacific Rim countries.
• Between 1970 and 1988, our share of the USA's consumer electronics market
fell from 100% to under 5%.
• Of the top ten banks in the world (ranked by assets), Japan has seven, France
has two, and the United States has one. Fifteen years ago the United States
dominated that list.
• The 1989 healthcare bill for the U.S. was over $600 billion, more than 11% of
the gross national product. This sum is so large that if the American healthcare
industry were declared a nation it would have the sixth largest gross national
product of all the nations on earth.
Schmidt also mentions “One would think that companies aware of these facts
would immediately be motivated to prevent similar things from happening to them.
For certain, many consultants (internal and external) have sprouted up because of the
unhealthiness of U.S. industry, yet not enough companies have changed for the better.
For example, consider the results of a USA Today literature review over 1992.”
Ugly facts from the 90s:
• Boeing Layoffs: Boeing says it expects to cut about 8,000 jobs this year, both
through layoffs and attrition. (2/20/92)
• Leaner IBM: Thousands of employees must find a job elsewhere in the
company or leave with severance pay. The notices are part of IBM's
announcement in December to cut up to 20,000 jobs worldwide this year. IBM
had about 344,000 employees worldwide at the end of December after cutting
more than 29,000 jobs last year. (4/13/92)
• Exxon Layoffs: Exxon USA will cut its white-collar workforce by at least
1,000, or 10% because of weak demand and low energy prices. (5/18/92)
• Northwest Cuts: Northwest Airlines has announced the elimination of nearly
900 jobs in recent weeks. (7/30/92)
• General Dynamics will lay off 5,800 workers by the end of 1994 at its Fort
Worth division. It has cut 10,000 workers since 1990. (7/30/92)
• More Computer Jobs Cut: Hewlett-Packard says it will trim about 2,700
jobs, Compaq said it will cut 1,000 workers. (10/9/92)
• Digital Equipment Corp. plans to trim its workforce by 25,000 the next few
years to 88,000 worldwide. DEC, which cut 5,300 jobs last quarter, says it will
cut more this quarter. (10/15/92)
• GM Buyouts? GM goal of cutting 54,000 hourly workers by 1995 ... plans
announced in December to close 21 plants and cut 74,000 jobs.
 • Bank Failures: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. expects just over 100
banks to fail this year. About 85 banks have already failed this year. The FDIC
expects 100 to 125 banks to fail next year. (10/19/92)
• United Technologies Cuts: Its Pratt & Whitney unit will lay off 7,500
workers by the middle of next year, 4,800 more layoffs at the jet-engine maker
than previously announced. (10/19/92)
• Pay Freeze at RJR Unit: RJR Nabisco Holdings says it is freezing salaries at
its food group for a year to keep costs down. One-fourth to one-third of the
group's 25,000 North American employees will be affected. (10/20/92)
• L.A. Times Cuts: Economic woes are forcing the Los Angeles Times to close
its 14-year-old San Diego edition and cut jobs, offering voluntary severance to
5,200 of its 7,500 full-time workers, hoping to cut 500 jobs. (11/9/92)
• Kodak Layoffs: Eastman Kodak plans to lay off up to 3,000 workers the next
six months . . . More than 8,000 workers left Kodak the past 18 months after
the company offered a lucrative early retirement plan. (1/8/93)
This list does not include all of the companies that experienced problems in 1992
neither does it contain numerous additional headlines from 1993 through today. With
evidence like this, it is difficult to deny that a major problem exists. USA Today,
August 31, 1993, contains an article, "Bargain prices have a cost: Job cuts." This
article by Gary Strauss indicates that "pressure to keep prices low, maintain market
share and boost corporate earnings has long forced layoffs in hard pressed industries,
such as automobiles and computers." The article goes on to state that IBM will cut
100,000 employees by 1995, and that other companies, such as Proctor and Gamble,
AT&T, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and Sprint, are also announcing layoffs.

The Costs of Poor Quality for Companies

A product or service is driven by profits and total cost to produce. The total
cost to produce can be broken into two categories: (1) the cost associated with doing
only the right things right the first time (theoretical cost), and (2) the waste or non-
value added cost (referred to as the Cost of Poor Quality or COPQ). According to
quality gurus such as Deming (1982), and Juran (1989), the percentage of COPQ in
most companies is 20-40%. Global competition, customer-driven fixed cost, or budget
cuts have mandated a lower and more competitive price.
Unfortunately, this response is typical of many U.S. managed companies who
seem to be more concerned about short-term profitability than they are about long-
term stability. The company that will survive global competition in the 1990s and on
into the twenty-first century, is depicted as a company driven by quality and cost. It
has attacked and cut its COPQ significantly. The key to competitiveness and survival
is tied to reducing the 20-40% waste. This Cost of Poor Quality is due to high cycle
times, long development times, high defect rates (or low yields), poor productivity,
excessive inventories, training without ROI, lack of customer focus, and many other
non-value added activities. Lowering COPQ is a difficult strategy in the short term,
but it is the only way to long-term profitability, competitiveness, and the ability to
weather hard times.
Which strategy is your company pursuing?
These authors challenge managers on how they plan to lower COPQ before or
faster than your competition does. Accordingly, they observations suggest that most
companies do not have the slightest clue as to what their COPQ is. This is probably
due to either time constraints, improper accounting methods to investigate or estimate
their waste, or the fear of having to face reality. However, TQM comes down to
having a plan for measuring ROI.
Another reason for not receiving ROI regardless of how much training (good
or bad) given scientists, engineers, technicians, and operators, is if they don't have
time to implement what they have learned. First, a manager must learn where his/her
people are spending their time, and then develop a way to increase the amount of time
quality improvement and decrease waste management.
A third aspect of the ROI problem is the fact that everyone seems to be talking
quality improvement, but no one is keeping score.

A Renewal Framework
Demand for accountability in these management principles began with MBO
in the USA government, with President Nixon and TQM in the Reagan and Bush
administrations (www.reseval.net)
Strategies for dealing with uncertainty and change have taken many
forms over the last ten-to-fifteen years. Some of these strategies include terms
and acronyms common to most in community college administration:
management by objectives (MBO), transformational leadership, systems
theory, total quality management (TQM), continuous quality improvement
(CQI), quantum quality (QQ), seven habits, learning organizations,
reengineering, downsizing, and rightsizing. New and interesting alternative
ideas are also advanced by advocates of chaos theory, "the new science of,"
liberation management and knowledge management," and those that tell us to
"lead from the soul." Much to the dismay of the leader who feels comforted by
the number of choices, many of these perspectives seem to discount the others
and at times mock the very tenants of rival theories. Many of these strategies
are time consuming or organizationally traumatic (Hodges and Milliron,
1997).
 Leadership: The TQM Driver

According to Max Dupree, (1989) Chairman of the Board, Herman Miller

Company, “The first job of a leader is to define reality, the last is to say, thank you. In
between, the leader is a servant.” He believes that leadership is people focused, while
management is task focused. Although we need both to succeed, leadership at all
levels is generally in a shorter supply. A major leadership imperative is to create an
organization that is value-based rather than rule-based. People's work in a value-based
organization is guided by direction, values, and accountability rather than relying on
the rulebook, elaborate staff procedures, and compliance behavior.

Key Leadership Responsibilities

Leadership is the engine of transformation required throughout your quality journey.

Leaders in a value-based organization are responsible for the following:

1. Direction — Enlisting the organization in clarifying its vision, mission, and

goals.

2. Culture — Promoting desired organizational values and associated behaviors

by example.

3. System — Creating motivating jobs that provide employees with ownership,

authority for thinking, and accountability for clearly defined results. Processes,
systems, and structure should support the front-line employee.

Although, all efforts rely on leadership, the following responsibilities are particularly
important to help focus your attention at various points of your journey.

The Foundation to Quality

1. Building the senior labor-management team to lead the quality journey — Promote
quality awareness, build from common interests and a customer focus rather than
"managing differences," and develop TQM goals and an action plan that underscores
desired values such as customer focus, employee involvement, and continuous
improvement.

2. Enlisting support of additional managers, supervisors, and union leaders — Senior

leaders should put much of their personal energy into working with those that
demonstrate early leadership for quality, ensuring their early success and recognition.

3.Sponsoring early quality initiatives — The role of a sponsor is one of a supporting

mentor. Acting as a sponsor is an opportunity to model the leadership behaviors you
wish to develop in others.

Dupree’s Model

Consider Dupree’s (1989) model below of the fundamental differences

between old-style, conventional management thinking and TQM thinking:
Conventional
1. Quality costs money and time.
2. Work is a series of events.
3. Quantity is as important as quality
4. Quality means hitting preset goals.
5. Hitting 95 percent is great.
6. Quality comes from better inspection.
7. Suppliers must be kept on their toes.
8. Customers are whom you sell to.
9. To achieve quality, you need
more and better people.
TQM
Quality saves money and time.
Work is an integrated process.
without quality, quantity is irrelevant.
Quality means continuous improvement.
Only 100 percent will do.
Quality is built in from the start.
Suppliers must feel that they are our
Partners.
Customers are really an integral part of
the organization.
Quality can be achieved with the people
we have-imply by leading and training
them differently.

Examples of old-style tools are inspection, sampling and statistical process

control. Past goals have been expressed as “Do it right the first time;” “be quality
minded;” and “reduce scrap and rework.” Most of us have had experience with these
old sayings mentions Dupree. But while they require effort, they do not necessarily
result in improved quality. Quality engineering is typically handled by a specialized
department for quality control (QC) or quality assurance in furniture manufacturing
and brewing. Typically, the QC people are responsible for inspecting produced and
procured products and measuring their quality. Its principle objective is: “Catch bad
quality.”

Deming’s Model
Deming was the founder of the modern Quality movement, and regarded by the
Japanese as the key influence in their postwar economic miracle, his views and
methods are much more widely promoted and known throughout the international
movement by the writings of others (Neave, 1990) who was a believer in Deming’s
theory.

Deming's System of Profound Knowledge: The New Economics

Deming (1993) points out the prevailing style of management must undergo
transformation. A system cannot understand itself. The transformation requires a view
from outside which he calls a system of profound knowledge, a map of theory by
which to understand the organizations that we work in.
The author argues the first step is transformation of the individual, which comes
from understanding of the system of profound knowledge. The individual,
transformed, will perceive new meaning to his life, to events, to numbers, to
interactions between people. Once the individual understands the system of profound
knowledge, he will apply its principles in every kind of relationship with other people.
He will have a basis for judgment of his own decisions and for transformation of the
organization that he belongs to. The individual, once transformed, will:
• Set an example
• Be a good listener, but will not compromise
 • Continually teach other people
• Help people to pull away from their current practice and beliefs and move into
the new philosophy without a feeling of guilt about the past
The layout of profound knowledge appears here in four parts, all related to each other:
• Appreciation for a system
• Knowledge about variation
• Theory of knowledge
• Psychology
Dr. Edward Deming certainly helped influence this method of operating
known by many as the father of total quality. Deming, an American, is credited with
influencing Japan’s rise as an industrial power. Yet, during the1950s unbelievers in
the USA alleged that Deming’s ideas conflicted directly and philosophically with the
dominant American model of operation: management by objectives (MBO) and
management by exception (MBE). In TQM, old-style practices are modified,
supplemented and redirected to produce quality throughout an organization. To
implement TQM into any business, Deming proposed 14 points (Deming, 1984,
1986).
One need not be eminent in any part nor in all four parts in order to understand
it and to apply it. The 14 points for management in industry, education, and
government follow naturally as application of this outside knowledge, for
transformation from the present style of Western management to one of optimization.
Thus, he (1984) suggested the following principles for quality:

Deming’s 14 Points
1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the
aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.
2. Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management
must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership
for change.
3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for
inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place.
4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize
total cost. Move toward a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship
of loyalty and trust.
5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve
quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.

6. Institute training on the job.

7. Institute leadership. The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines
and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of overhaul as
well as supervision of production workers.
8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.
9. Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and
production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that
may be encountered with the product or service.
10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero
defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial
relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to
the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.
11. Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor, including annual
appraisals and Management by Objectives. Substitute leadership.
12. Remove barriers that rob the hourly worker of his right to joy of workmanship.
The responsibility of supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.
13. Institute a vigorous program to encourage education and self-improvement.
14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The
transformation is everybody's job. Define top management's permanent commitment
to ever-improving quality and productivity, and their obligation to implement all these
principles.
The various segments of the system of profound knowledge proposed here
cannot be separated. They interact with each other. Thus, knowledge of psychology is
incomplete without knowledge of variation. A manager of people needs to understand
that all people are different. This is not ranking people. He needs to understand that
the performance of anyone is governed largely by the system that he works in and the
responsibility of management.

TQM In the Public Eye

1. Customer-Driven vs. Company-Driven

(Bacal, 1998, 1997) suggests that a traditional organizations tend to make their
decisions based on what is most convenient for them, rather than what is wanted and
expected by their customers. Hence, being customer-based means gathering
information from customers/clients and modifying services and processes to meet
those needs as well as possible. He notes that in government, this is not always easy,
due to the conflicting responsibilities of a department, and the multiple
customers/stakeholders involved in government situations. However, in many cases
moving to a customer-driven organization can yield many positive results for
government departments.

2. Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation

The traditional organizations tend to think and plan with respect to short-term
outcomes, while the TQM organizations tend to think in much larger time spans. A
typical example might be that a TQM organization would look at downsizing as
having effects over a decade or two, while a traditional organization would look only
at the immediate budgetary issues, letting future chips fall where they may.
Additionally, successful TQM organizations make a long-term commitment to the
principles of TQM, rather than looking at TQM as a program, something with a
beginning and end. Bacal believes this requires patience.

3. Data-Driven vs. Opinion-Driven

Traditional organizations tend to be managed by gut feel, or by opinion. They
guess at what their customers want, and guess at the costs of waste, etc. TQM
organizations base their decisions on data they collect; on customer needs, on waste,
on costs, and on the sources of problems. While judgment is always involved in any
decision, TQM organizations begin with the data, not with the solution.

4. Elimination of Waste vs. Tolerance of Waste

Most organizations operate with a high degree of waste and inefficiency.
Traditional organizations consider waste, whether it is in time, materials, etc, as a
normal part of their operation. TQM organizations are very active in identifying
wasteful activities, and eliminating them.

5. Continuous Improvement vs., Fire Fighting

Bacal states that traditional organizations tend to address problems with the
way they do things only when there is a major problem or crisis. The watchword in
traditional organizations is: "if it isn’t broke, don't fix it", except that often it is
broken, but nobody is paying any attention. TQM organizations are always looking
for improvement, and are constantly engaged in problem-solving to make things
better.

6. Prevention vs. Inspection

In traditional organizations, problems are fixed after the fact. Rather than
trying to prevent problems, they catch them after the fact, which is very costly. TQM
organizations work to prevent problems and errors, rather than simply fixing them.

7. Cross-Function Teams vs. Fortressed Departments

The old traditional organizations tend to have sub-units that work
autonomously and with little communication or involvement with other units. For
example, personnel may have only limited interaction with other departments. Or, on
a local level, administrative staff may have little communication with other staff in a
government branch, and have a different reporting structure (Bacal, 1998). In TQM
organizations, there is more use of cross-functional teams; teams convened for a
particular purpose or purposes, with representation from a number of units or levels in
the organization. The use of cross-functional teams means that input is gained from
parts of the organization that need to be involved.

8. High Employee Participation vs. Top-Down Hierarchy

Traditional organizations tend to have very restricted communication and
decision- making patterns. Employees are told what to do, rather than being included
in figuring out what to do. Information tends to flow from top to bottom. In TQM
organizations, employees are much more actively involved in both the decision-
making and communication processes. Information flows both top to bottom and
bottom to top. For that matter, information also flows sideways.
9. Problem-Solving vs., Blame
Traditional organizations tend to look to affix blame for things that go wrong.
TQM organizations attack the problems in their organizations rather than the people.
They fix things.

10. Systems Thinking vs. Isolation

Traditional organizations tend to see the parts and processes of their
organization as single things, unrelated to other part of the organization. TQM
organizations tend to recognize that most often, problems arise as a result of multiple
causes, and that sub- units are interdependent. TQM organizations tend to see
problems as a result of the entire system Bacal, 1998).

11. Leadership vs. Management

Traditional organizations tend to see people as objects to be managed and told
what to do, disciplined, tracked, etc. TQM organizations exhibit more confidence in
staff and more trust, and expect MORE from them, not less. That's a good starting
point. There are probably a number of other comparisons to be made, but that gives us
some common ground for discussion.

Quality

Quality perhaps is the most significant element of a product and service

therefore also of a company in order to keep customers pleased and so is a direct link
to customer satisfaction. If a customer’s expectations were not reached because for
instance they feel they spent too much money comparing to the satisfaction they
obtained from the good or service it would mean they probably not purchase the
product again. High quality standards are there to ensure that customers will stay
with your products and trust the company because after all without customers
companies would no longer exist so companies have to do their utmost best to satisfy
their customers. Product quality has two dimensions, which are level and consistency.
First of all, the company has to decide the level or quality that would support the
product’s position in the target market. What is meant here with product quality is the
performance quality meaning how the product is able to perform its functions. An
example is the Rolex watch, it would have better performance quality comparing to a
Swatch watch in the sense that the battery would probably last longer, less likely to
break etc. Most companies will not always provide the highest quality (exclusive
item) performance, as they know a few customers would want or can purchase it
(Armstrong, et al, 2000, p226). High quality means free from defects. In this case, a
swatch watch can have as high a quality as a Rolex watch but the cost will not be the
same. It can consistency deliver the quality that customers expected and would pay
for (p 226).
Total Quality Management and its Benefits:
Model of the TQM Process

Inputs Process Outputs

Customers Total
Wants Quality
Satisfied
Needs Management customer
Expectations
 www.deliveri.com

Over the past 10 years, a renewed importance of quality has created a global quality
movement. Many companies implemented a major strategy for achieving high quality
standards, which was Total Quality Management or TQM, programs, “efforts to
constantly improve product and process quality in every phase or their operations”
(www.americanquality.com). With this quality, it is not so much an outcome as a
never-ending process of continually improving the quality of what the company
produces.

TQM has a variety of benefits that encourages many firms to implement the
program. TQM emphasizes on cooperating with suppliers of products and services
and focusing on customer satisfaction (see diagram above). Many companies treat the
suppliers with coldness and even often with hostility. But companies that implement
TQM have a different relationship with the suppliers. They treat their suppliers like
business partners and both sides, focusing on delivering a quality product to its
customers. A two-way communication path is established and any problems that may
arise between the supplier and the firm can be solved together, each using their
expertise to explain how the problem occurred and how to resolve it. This benefit of
TQM leads to the prevention of waste through returned good from the supplier
(www.organizedchange.com).

TQM also emphasizes on detecting possible problems in a product before they

actually occur because if it is not detected before the problem occurs, the company
will have to hire extra people to inspect. Someone will have to fix the defect, causing
extra time and of course, finding the major problem. If a customer finds the defect,
this could mean the loss of a customer and the spread of bad news to many other
customers through bad publicity. TQM, therefore, makes sure that when a company
designs a product or service, they provide maximum quality. They ask for input of
customers, the marketing department, and those that assemble and produce the
product. This is to ensure the best standard or quality for the product or service being
made, and that the employees are continuously inspecting while working
(www.Organizedchange.com).

Another benefit or TQM is continuous improvement. Quality is constantly

changing and it is the task of TQM to keep up with it. For example, a car that
consumers considered reliable in the past is now of average quality. An unusual
feature that only your organization once produced, will suddenly be producing by
other companies, so consumers are no longer fascinated by it. Hence, companies have
to stay creative and continually think of ways to improve the product in order to
satisfy the growing modern customer (www.educesoft.com).

TQM also requires the management to empower its employees and encourage
them to work hard, be creative, and stay focus so that they will be innovative, and can
be trusted with pointing out the errors that may occur. This will cause the managers
to become more like leaders and move from an autocratic way of interacting with
employees. This entails a more democratic way of managing for motivation. In order
for all the other benefits to occur, the empowerment and motivation of employees will
firstly have to exist so that there will be an atmosphere of trust and innovation
(www.organizedchange.com).
 Total Quality Management: Its Benefits and Failures
The Atlanta Business Chronicle (June 4, 2002) reprinted an article published
by Mescon and Mescon, that Total Quality Management or TQM is a program
designed to constantly improve the quality of products, services or marketing
processes. It is vital to continuously improve quality has a direct impact on product or
service performance and therefore closely linked to customer satisfaction, values and
expectations. The American Society for Quality Control defines quality as the “Total
benefits, features and characteristics of a product or service that bears on its ability
to satisfy the customer needs” (Armstrong et al, 2000). Though the term quality has
no universally accepted definition, this definition does create a summary efficiently
enough.

Failures of Total Quality Management:

“TQM is a risk venture, and the failure to implement it correctly can leave a
company much worse off than it was before it even considered the process”
(www.decpoint.com).
TQM arrived from Japan in the 1970´s and was greeted with a roar of
welcome. American business leaders raced to adopt these methods for improving
customer satisfaction, operations efficiency and employee productivity, hoping to
regain American supremacy of product and service quality on the world market. “So
contagious was this enthusiasm that Newsweek dubbed TQM the American business
cult of the 1980´s” (Total Quality…).
However, today the hopes and optimism has decreased as TQM has been reported to
decline. A study by Ernst and Young showed that TQM was “not consistently
providing the results anticipated by American companies, and many may have wasted
million of dollars each year on quality improvement strategies that do not improve.”
(Total Quality…).
Nonetheless, what should not be forgotten is that it took the Japanese ten to
fifteen years before they actually saw any improvements done by TQM. This is
perhaps the first weakness of TQM as a process, which takes a lot of time, and
patience that companies do not have. Most companies wait for about six months and
if they do not see enough positive results, they drop the program and try something
else (www.americanquality.com).
Another reason why TQM is failing is because it is not aligned with the
organizational culture, and is sometimes implemented in a culture where it is not
accepted. For instance, a country like the United Arab Emirates or an Arabian or
Latin American country where the firms focus mainly on a top-down management
(pyramid style of authoritative control), individual employees opinions and ideas are
not valued. Therefore, TQM would not be implemented successfully. Since TQM
requires teamwork, collaboration and the creative ideas of employees, the
communication flow needs to exist smoothly from top-down and down top and
bottom up.
TQM also tends to fail as companies seem to see the program as a quick-cure-
to-all the company’s problems, as management seem to think it is a simple process
and implement it without putting any thought into it. It should be implemented for the
primary reason of improving the quality of the product or service and to gain
customers, or it will lead to a failure (www.americanquality.com)
 Continuous Improvement
Total Quality is the most important, thought-provoking revolution in the world
of modern management. Many Fortune 500 firms such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard,
Motorola, Ford, GM, Wal-Mart, FedEx, Southwest Airlines, GE, and Disney to name
a few have committed themselves to Total Quality Management. A sense of quality
awareness now exists in many organizations, owing to the international adoption of
ISO 9000 as the Quality Standard for the purchase of goods and services. There is,
therefore, a huge demand for quality professionals in Asia and overseas, to cope with
the needs of both the private and public sectors.
Companies in Asian countries that exported their products to Europe were
among the first to adopt ISO 9000 quality management standards, which were the
required standards for products to be admitted into Europe in the late 1980s (Heng,
2000). When companies realized that successful certification of their goods could be
used as a marketing tool, widespread adoption of ISO 9000 started to take place
among the manufacturing companies. Additionally, ISO 9000 standards became an
external checklist for companies embarking on quality management as the standards
gave companies a systematic way to implement TQM.
The compliance with ISO 9000 standards was not easy for the service
environment as the ISO 9000 was written from a manufacturing viewpoint. Initial
implementers of ISO 9000 for both the service and manufacturing industries met with
difficulties in maintaining the quality management system. The ISO 9000
implementation required much documentation and was laborious, costly and complex,
where there were many changes to the systems and documents in the company
(Prajogo, 1999). Later implementations of ISO 9000 was made easier as more
companies, certifiers and consultants learned from their early mistakes. Now, ISO
9000 is useful for companies intending to implement TQM for the first time or
planning to go for the Malcolm Balrige quality system in the company.
For instance, (D’Silva, 1998) argues that the larger and more "universal" is
QS9000, a wonderful, team oriented, system of profound knowledge extension of the
basic checkpoint standards of ISO 9000. Ford applies Deming more thoroughly than
the other automotive companies. Their "QOS" (Quality Operating System) had
many of the elements of QS9000 prior to the emergence of the standard. The elements
of the automotive quality system (read operating system for manufacturers of
automotive parts) begin with advanced quality planning and end with continuous
improvement by cross-functional teams. He states that companies should invest in
documents that deal with QS9000 Standard, Advanced Product Quality Planning
Reference Manual, Quality Systems Assessment, Measurement Systems Analysis
Statistical Process Control, and Production Part Approval Process, which is a small
price to pay to achieve standards. However, this is not "TQM", but, it is management,
good management; management which uses both technology and the theory of
knowledge to gain insights into systems and psychology. The understanding of
variation is a given.

Continuous Improvement and Standardization (Daily Management)

Standardization was given a major boost in the early 1990's when ISO
9000 became widely accepted as a basic minimum that companies needed to
do to sell products in the European Union. Because it required a
documentation of key processes and provided a regular audit to see that
processes were followed as documented, it was a major boost to
standardization. AT&T initially undertook ISO compliance as a way to keep
and grow business in Europe. When AT&T realized how ISO improved its
own processes, it began to encourage all its suppliers to become ISO certified.
In 1995, AT&T discovered that its ISO certified suppliers had half as many
defects as non-ISO certified suppliers. This led AT&T to giving preference to
suppliers that were ISO certified (ATT, 1991 1992).
The continuous improvement uses a process that follows the plan-do
check-act cycle. The situation is analyzed and the improvement is planned
(Plan). The improvement is tried (Do). Then data is gathered to see how the
new approach works (Check or study) and then the improvement is either
implemented or a decision is made to try something else (Act). This process of
continuous improvement makes it possible to reduce variations and lower
defects to near zero. The processes that produce good results are standardized
and documented. The documented processes are followed. If the process is
changed the documentation is changed. If an organization lacks this
standardization, then improvements tend to slip. Without standardization',
variation is increased rather than reduced. An important part of improvement
is the teamwork. Good team activity includes a clear definition of project.
Individual and Teams Roles and responsibilities
Teamwork is critical to effective continuous improvement and
standardization. Individuals can support the team by taking responsibility for
the success of the team following through on commitments, contributing to
discussions, actively listening to others, getting your message across clearly,
giving useful feedback, accepting feedback easily. In getting the team off to a
good start, you need to agree on a purpose, identify people who will be
effected by the work of the team (stake holders), identify limits and
expectations of team's work, agree on roles and responsibilities, ground rules
and logistics of when and where to meet. The work of the team is
accomplished by creating work plans, having productive meetings, using data,
making good decisions, evaluating potential solutions, implementing changes
and documenting its work.
A team must know when its work is done: it has accomplished its
purpose; took steps to maintain the gains (improvement and profits);
completed documentation of actions, results, and ideas for future
improvements; evaluated work, shared results with others; recognized
everyone's contributions and celebrated achievements. Successful teams also
must master potential problems: 1, the area of conflict - some people fight
over everything; 2, power - the boss is on the team and people don't speak
openly; 3, correct use of experts - who speak clearly and don't dominate; 4,
focus - people stay on the subject; 5, participation - all participate in an equal
fashion; 6, follow-through - everyone does his or her assignments.

Business Reengineering
 The installations of information technology and computer systems are often
associated with changes in organizations. Hammer and Champy (1993) are the main
proponents of the concept that businesses can be reviewed afresh and changed
drastically by linking it with the strategic vision and mission of the company. This
change is what they called re-engineering. For a while, this relatively “new” concept
was popularized by stories of successful implementation at Ford Motor Company. In
this company, there were many examples where time and costs were saved when
businesses were reviewed in totality. The key difference in business reengineering
was to view the business situation and formulate solutions by breaking away from
established paradigms, old mental and physical constraints that management used to
work with. Hammer and Champy (1993) decided that the mental and physical
paradigms could be shifted and reconfigured.
Gurus on Quality Control and Management
The Human Side of the Enterprise
The way an organization runs (McGregor, 1960) depends on the beliefs of its
managers: Behind every managerial decision or action are assumptions about human
nature and human behavior'; "Theory X" and "Theory Y"
• Motivation research and its practical implementation is key to successful
management practice
• Pyramid of human needs (see also Abraham Maslow's similar hierarchy of
needs in motivation), from:

1. basic physiological needs, to

2. workplace, family income etc.
3. safety and security needs, including sense of economic security
4. `social needs': acceptance by one's peers, self-respect, and finally, at
the highest level:
5. self-confidence, the giving and receiving of affection egoistic needs':
self-fulfillment and self-development
• Theory X assumes most people are basically immature, need direction and
control, and are incapable of taking responsibility. They are viewed as lazy,
dislike work and need mixture of financial inducements and threat of loss of
their job to make them work (carrot and stick' mentality) This theory has a
negative view of human behavior linked to management.
• Theory Y: the opposite of Theory X – believes that people want to fulfill
themselves and seek self-respect, self-development and self-fulfillment at
work as in life in general.
Organization theory, including arguing for radical decentralization within
organizations, and privatization of public services was Drucker (1994) theory on
management. He believes that a corporation should:
• Scientific management needed
 • Decentralization as the principle of effectiveness and the key to productivity
and effectiveness
• Emphasis on high quality personnel management
• Education, training and development of the manager for future needs
• High quality information (especially managerial accounting) as the key to
successful decision-making
• Emphasis on marketing (in both for-profit and non-profit sectors)
• Need for long-range planning
• Management based on objective-setting
• Management by results
• Even "for-profit" business organizations should be viewed as human and
social structures - even moral phenomena - rather than economic ones

• "One cannot manage change. One can only be ahead of it"

• In the "new information revolution", focus on the information, not the
technology that collects it
• Knowledge workers must be seen as capital assets, not costs, while knowledge
workers must manage themselves and their careers
Mintzberg (1983, 1975) studies of the nature of management work, and of
strategic management and planning - of which he has become increasingly critical
over the years

Three key roles for any manager within any organization or unit of it:

1. Interpersonal:
2. Informational:
3. Decisional:
Always somewhat skeptical about heavy-handed strategic corporate planning, he
has recently produced a substantial and devastating critique of the failure of the type
of the strategic management currently being heavily promoted in the UK government
and its agencies, including those in the cultural sector.
Taylor (1964) principal object of management is to secure maximum prosperity
for the employer, coupled with maximum prosperity for the employee. He believes
that management and workforce are interdependent and workers are inherently
capable of hard work, good will, and ingenuity but under even the best of the older
type of management, show these qualities only spasmodically and somewhat
irregularly. He proposed four great underlying principles of scientific management:
o There is a need to develop a `science of work to replace old rule-of-
thumb methods: pay and other rewards linked to achievement of
 optimum goals - measures of work performance and output; failure to
achieve these would in contrast result in loss of earnings;
o Workers to be scientifically selected and developed: training each to be
first-class at some specific task
o The science of work to be brought together with scientifically selected
and trained to achieve the best results
o Work and responsibility to be divided equally between workers and
management cooperating together in close interdependence
Hence, this report has led me to research the many strategies and principles
used in quality management. Many experts and gurus on quality control recommend
methods and techniques for TQM.
For example, King (1989) suggests seven quality control tools for continuous
improvement and effective planning as illustrated below.

Tools used in TQM

1. Causes and Effect Diagram
The cause and effect diagram is also called the fishbone chart because
of its appearance and the Ishakowa chart after the man who popularized its use
in Japan. Its most frequent use is to list the cause of particular problems. The
lines coming off the core horizontal line are the main causes and the lines
coming off those are sub causes.

2. Run Chart
The run chart shows the history and pattern of variation. It is helpful to
indicate on the chart whether up is good or down is good. This tool is used at
the beginning of the change process to see what the problems are. It is used at
the end (check) part of the change process to see whether the change has
resulted in a permanent improvement.
3. Scatter Diagram
The scatter diagram shows the pattern of relationship between two
variables that are thought to be related. For example, is there a relationship
between outside temperature and cases of the common cold? As temperatures
drop, do colds increase? The closer the points hug a diagonal line the more
closely there is a one to one relationship.

4. Flow Chart
The flowchart lists the order of activities. The circle symbol indicates
the beginning or end of the process. The box indicates action items and the
diamond indicates decision points. A beneficial technique is to map the ideal
process and the actual process and identify the differences as targets for
improvements.
5. Pareto Chart

The Pareto shows the distribution of items and arranges them from the
most frequent to the least frequent with the final bar being misc. The tool is
named after Wilfredo Pareto, the Italian economist who determined that
wealth is not evenly distributed. Some of the people have most of the money.
This tool is a graphical picture of the most frequent causes of a particular
problem. It shows where to put your initial effort to get the most gain.

6. Histogram
The histogram is a bar chart showing a distribution of variables. An
example would be to line up by height a group of people in a course. Normally
one would be the tallest and one would be the shortest and there would be a
cluster of people around an average height. Hence, the phrase "normal
distribution." This tool helps identify the cause of problems in a process by the
shape of the distribution as well as the width of the distribution.

7. Control Chart
The control chart is a line chart with control limits. It is based on the
work of Shewhart and Deming. By mathematically constructing control limits
at 3 standard deviations above and below the average, one can determine what
variation is due to normal ongoing causes (common causes) and what
variation is produced by unique events (special causes). Eliminating the
special causes first and then reducing common causes can improve quality.
 (http://www.goalqpc.com)

Is There A Downside to Performance Management?

Is it possible that traditional performance management programs cause
problems for an organization? The answer is a resounding yes (Bacal, 1993, p14). The
performance management system conveys to people in an organization how work is to
be performed, and communicates, often unintentionally, values and organizational
culture. More specifically traditional performance management systems can foster a
lack of collective responsibility for the achievement of organizational goals,
encourage competition rather than cooperation, and can impede the development of
effective teamwork. Just as important is that traditional performance management
purports to empower employees, allow self-control and self-evaluation, allow
participation and involvement, and increase the meaningfulness of work. More often
than not these results do NOT occur, resulting in a reduction of the credibility of the
manager, and subversion of the manager' s ability to lead.

Success or failure: The truth about business

“ The Atlanta Business Chronicle wrote, “Recently, we were soundly
whacked by a reader for a potpourri of evils almost too numerous to mention. They
included comparing big business with smaller endeavors, oversimplification,
denigrating concepts such as TQM and MBO, i.e., total quality management and
management by objectives, the use of real-life illustrations, rotten grammar and bad
breathe. We will plead guilty to some, but not all, of the charges and thought it might
be helpful to restate certain of our beliefs (Mescon and Mescon, 2002).
“Just as management is a universal process, i.e., all managers perform the
same essential functions, organizations are far more similar than dissimilar,
regardless of size. Critical elements in all organizations, large or small, profit
or not-for-profit, private or public, include goals, structure and people. More
and more students of management, entrepreneurship and organizational theory
-- as well as their practitioners -- agree that this is the case. We are soundly
guilty of oversimplification. As a matter of fact, we have a passion for
oversimplification. Frankly, we are disappointed and frustrated when we
cannot "get to the bottom of things." Not so incidentally, our students feel the
same way.” (Atlanta Business Chronicle, June 4, 2002).
The article continue to argue that, “It should be clearly understood that we've
never shortchanged concepts such as TQM or MBO. They are theoretically sound.
Our quarrel is with those who fail to implement, fail to execute properly. How well
we recall George Odiorne, one of the prime advocates of MBO along with Peter
Drucker and Douglas McGregor, who lamented, "Many practitioners were ruining a
great organizational tool by attempting to talk quality into place. Properly
implemented, tools such as MBO and TQM have made organizations more effective,
efficient and profitable. When misused, not only has none of the aforementioned been
accomplished, but in the process employees have been alienated and management
creditability has been strained.”

Poka-Yoke Japanese Quality Management

Introduction:
Customers in general expect a certain quality when they are spending
money. A company will never do well if the customers are unsatisfied. This is why
various quality control systems have been created. One of them is the Poka-Yoke
Japanese quality control management. Poka Yoke (pronounced poh- kah yoh kay)
fundamentally means, “mistake proofing” in Japanese. It is essentially a set of rules
and techniques designed to mistake proof a process or a product, and eradicating
flaws is the ultimate goal. Poka-Yoke is a Japanese term that means, “Avoid errors”.
Poka-Yoke is usually a set of techniques and procedures that prevent mistakes from
happening or warn when mistakes happen. It is not possible to prevent all the possible
ways of failure, this is why this technique is in use very commonly and new fail-proof
devices are still invented (“A Tutorial on ....”, 2)

Poka Yoke has resulted in substantial improvement to quality and cycle time
in many manufacturing industries and other businesses. Moreover, this mistake-
proofing objective is accomplished by following two vital principles:
1. A product or process designed and carefully planned in a way that an
error cannot be possibly made.
2. A product designed so well planned, that any possible defect becomes
obvious to the user and is immediately corrected.
Furthermore, the application of Poka yoke principally relies on the initial process of
identifying errors or defects. There are varieties of factors, which eventually cause
defects such as:

*Cultural factors: awareness, attitude, incentives, reward systems, and the level of
dedication that individuals and organizations attach to their work.
Applicable Tools: Formation of teams, managing commitment and driving out fear

*Complexity factors such as the number of separate parts and lack of commonality,
etc.
Applicable Tool: Design for manufacturability (DFX).

*Mistakes or human errors caused by incorrect intentions or unintended outcomes

from execution of correct intentions.
Applicable Tool: Poka Yoke!

Hence, it is now undoubtedly evident that errors cause certain defects

possible during the course of production and these are by and large human errors.
Accordingly, a manager has mainly two options: 1. Introduce an incentive system to
encourage worker to be more careful and observant, and 2. Plan the operation in such
a way that an error does not arise in the first place. But Poka yoke is really all about
preventing errors before they turn into defects. Therefore, in a Poka yoke system, the
prime objective is to constantly thwart errors right from the beginning or core (“A
Tutorial on …”, 2).

Historical Background of Poka Yoke

Shigeo Shingo invented poka-yoke in the 1960s. The term poka yoke comes
from the Japanese work “Poka” which mean unintentional mistake and “Yoke”
which means to prevent. Shingo, an industrial engineer at Toyota, was a leading
advocate of the Japanese manufacturing industry’s statistical process control. Shingo
came up with the idea of poka yoke when he realized that statistical control
procedures would never reduce product defects to zero, because some products which
remained untested, will always reach the customer and would have a certain number
of defects.

The First Poka Yoke Device:

On a visit to the Yamada Electric plant in 1961, Shingo was told of a problem
that the factory had with one of its products. Shingo’s solution to the problem became
the first poka yoke device (Process Improvement …, 1). To give clarity, this was the
problem:

The Product: Part of the product that had the problem was a small switch with two
push buttons supported by two springs.
The Problem: Once in a while, a worker in the assembly section used to make the
mistake of forgetting to fit a spring under each of the two buttons. At times, the error
used to remain undetected until it reached the customer. This problem was turning out
to be expensive and awkward for the factory.
Shingo’s Solution: He suggested that each worker should have a dish in front on him
with two springs already in it so that there is no possibility of forgetting to insert the
spring under the push button. It worked!

When using Poka-Yoke, the desired results become inevitable. In addition,

mistake proofing is a low-cost option for any company who wants to ensure end-
quality products. The invention of Poka-Yoke is accredited to the late industrial
engineer for Toyota, Shigeo Shingo. He writes, “The causes of defects lie in worker
errors, and defects are the results of neglecting those errors. It follows that mistakes
will not turn into defects if worker errors are discovered and eliminated
beforehand"(Shingo 1986, p.50). He even says that "Defects arise because errors are
made; the two have a cause-and-effect relationship. ... Yet errors will not turn into
defects if feedback and action take place at the error stage" (p. 82). Poka-Yoke is
about finding mistakes at a glance and avoids them.

Shingo recognized three types of inspection: judgment inspection, informative

inspection, and source inspection.
Judgment inspection is referred to as “inspecting in quality,” and identifying
the defect out of the acceptable product. This type of inspection is done to identify
defective products before they are released for distribution. In addition, this is a
traditional and expensive way of maintaining quality. Shingo cautioned against
“judgment inspection” and did not consider it a quality management approach.
Secondly, informative inspection also called “after the event” inspection, uses
data gained from previous inspection to modify the production process and prevent
the defect from reoccurring. At each stage of the process, inspections are conducted.
This way, quality is ensured at each step and the final product is defect free.
Moreover, having the workers to check the quality of their own work ensures much
better quality, the feedback is quicker, and changes can be made on the spot.
Finally, source inspection called “before the event” determines whether the
conditions for high quality product exist. Devices are made that ensure that all the
conditions are met before beginning production. Fundamentally, the entire concept of
source inspection is based on determining whether the necessary conditions for
quality production exist. Hence, Shingo remarks: “It had dawned on me that the
occurrence of a defect was the result of some condition or action, and that it would be
possible to eliminate defects entirely by pursuing the cause.” It became clearly
evident, that the elimination of defects from the production process will be more
effective if the operating and working conditions are checked before hand.
Consequently, most poka yoke devices are designed to ensure proper conditions
before the commencement of production (Process Improvement …1).
Shingo believed that source inspection is the ideal method of quality control
since quality feedback about conditions for quality production is obtained before the
process step is performed. Source inspection is intended to keep defects from
occurring. Self-checks and successive checks provide feedback about the outcomes of
the process. Self-checks and successive checks should be used when source inspection
cannot be done or when the process is not advanced enough to develop source
inspection techniques. Again, Poka-Yoke is a process for which the desired outcome
is inevitable.

General Steps in the Fail-Safing Process

First of all, the first step would be to review each stage of the service
process and identify where and when failure occur. Two places are more likely to
contain problems. One is during a one-on-one service and the other place is when the
customer is handed off to another person or stage of the service. For any service, a
map or plan of the service is necessary so mistakes can be identified and corrected
easily. The chart should include information like the directions the customers receive,
the customer’s service request, and the nature of customer feedback. Once a mistake
is detected, the next step is to trace through the process to find its source. In addition,
the final step would be to set up a fail-safe system that stops each mistake from
reoccurring. This may call for source inspection, self-inspection, or both customer and
server should inspect the production together. For example, the order could be
repeated to ensure that the correct information was accessed, exchanged, and
understood.

Zero Quality Control: Source Inspection and the Poka-Yoke System

Shingo et al (1989) describes the process by which he developed mistake

proofing or "zero quality control" (ZQC) as seminal. Shingo places inspection
techniques in three categories: 1. source, 2. informative, and 3. judgment. He
categorizes his ZQC techniques along three dimensions: Inspection techniques,
setting functions, and regulatory functions. The inspection method determines
when the inspection occurs and what is inspected, the product or the process. A
setting function checks a process parameter or a product attribute. The setting
function is linked to a regulatory function, which is a warning, notification, or cue to
the worker that a process parameter or a product attribute is incorrect.
Shingo identified three setting functions: contact, fixed-value, and motion-
step. The contact method checks to insure the physical attributes of the product or
process are correct and error-free. The motion-step method checks the precedence
relationship of the process to insure steps are conducted in the correct order. The fixed
value method facilitates checking that matched sets of resources are available when
needed or that the correct number of repetitions has occurred. A Regulatory function
is any cue or attention-getting signal about the status of the product or process.
Regulatory functions that control the process and keep it from proceeding (control
methods) are more powerful than those that simply provide a warning (warning
methods) are.

Example: Shingo’s ZQC Plotted costs of devices

The Principles of Fool Proofing and their Application in Manufacturing

Nakajo et al. (1985) study 1014 mistake-proofing devices on assembly lines.
They divide mistake proofing into prevention of occurrence and minimization of
effects. Each is further subdivided. Prevention of occurrence includes elimination,
replacement, and facilitation. Minimization of effects includes detection, and
mitigation. They manipulate and probe the data in a series of lengthy detailed tables.
For example:
Elimination: remove the possibility of error
Replacement: replacing an error-prone process with a mistake-proof process
Facilitation: making correct actions easier through mechanisms like color-coding
Detection: inspect product for agreement with standard, successive or self-check
Mitigation: allowing the mistake to occur but minimize the consequences (Tsuda’s
preventing the influence of mistakes).

Developing Poka-Yoke Processes

Maintaining a good “alignment” is difficult because both the customers’
demands and the firms’ capabilities are continuously changing. These changes can be
due because of technological advancement, competition, or changes in the customers’
taste.

The Customer
At the end, the customer is all that matters, because he or she is going to
decide whether the product or service meets their need, expectation or desires. Every
firm and every process deals with numerous customers. Two sorts of customers are
present, internal and external. The internal customer uses the outputs of the process as
inputs for the firm. External customers are positioned outside the firm. They can be
further classified as either intermediate customers or consumers. An intermediate
customer is one who uses the output of the process and does not totally consuming the
product or service. On the other hand, the consumer uses or consumes the product or
service. Each of these has their own demands and needs towards the firm. It is
impossible to satisfy everyone, but the critical customers should be identified and at
least their needs should be met.

Process
A process is a “collection of activities that transforms inputs into an output
that offers value to the customer” (Hammer et al , 1993, P35). First, a process is a
collection of activities. Secondly, a process transforms inputs into outputs like goods,
services, information, knowledge, third, structure and capacity determine the
resources that the process requires to accomplish its transformation, making issues
such as bottlenecks important. Fourth, processes are linked to other processes both
vertically and horizontally, making them interdependent (P35).
Processes are critical because they define the products and services the firm produces;
they determine what the firm can do and cannot do. To change the product, the
management has to change the responsible processes.

Metrics
Metrics play an essential role in processes, but they are often overlooked.
They are critical because they help measure progress, bring out problems,
communicate expectations, and define operational value for the customer. Metrics
must be verifiable, that is, you should be able to calculate the measure and arrive at
the same result. Moreover, metrics tell you about the performance of the process. For
example, benchmarking is a way of evaluating the company’s performance.

Focus, Urgency, Time Compression

Focus means that boundaries of the problem need to be established and that
one should not go beyond these boundaries. How much of the system is going to be
studied is an example of boundary, or under what conditions should the problems be
studied. Items outside the boundaries are left for other people to focus on. Focus is
necessary to ensure that people have well-defined, specific problems that they can
address. Urgency demands that people should be assigned to a specific area with
reoccurring problems during the “life” of the project.
Finally, there is time compression. Most projects require that specific deadlines be set
if the project is to succeed. Moreover, the deadline should not be too far in the future,
and secondly, all requests for extension should be refused.

The Process (Table 1)

1. Identify the customers and determine the critical customers.
2. Pay attention to these customers and prioritize the different attributes into
three categories: winners, qualifiers, and losers.
3. Convert those attributes into correct metrics.
4. Identify the critical aspects of the product.
5. Identify critical processes.
6. Document the process.
7. Evaluate the process using previous set of metrics.
8. Determine how improve the process.
9. Implement changes.
10. Generate an action list.
11. Repeat the process.
This procedure is a cycle that begins with the customer at the start and keeps
refining the process so it fulfills the needs of the customer.
The table below, how the four building blocks are incorporated in this 11-step
procedure.

(Hammer at al, Reengineering the Corporation).

Categories and Characteristics of Poka Yoke Devices

Poka-Yoke Examples
Now that you have discovered what Poka-Yoke quality management is about,
let us look at some examples that we see in our daily lives.
Hospitals use Poka-Yoke very widely because they cannot afford any
mistakes. For example, the trays for surgical instruments have indentations for each
instrument. This way the surgeon knows that all the instruments are out before he
closes the incision. On the medication cart, each patient’s medication is prepackaged
with the correct dosage before it is placed on the cart. If the nurse has medication left
after her round, she knows that she has missed a patient or the doctor has made a
mistake.
Since the customer comes first, eye contact, acknowledgment, treats are
necessary in certain cases. A bank ensures that the teller has eye contact with the
customers by asking the teller to note down the eye color of each customer. In
restaurants and other places, smiling makes the customer feel welcomed and more
comfortable. Some of the employees are asked to note if the customer is smiling back
and to use opening lines ranging from information to customer preferences.
Sometimes fail-safing the customer is a better option. A yes or no
questionnaire is a good example; the customer is led through simple questions. Dental
surgeons send reminders to their patients about their meetings. Invitations include a
dress code on them. Airline and other lavatories have an “occupied” sign preventing
the person to enter when someone else is in.
We encounter Poka-yokes in our daily lives because they are so common and
do not require too much time to put in place.

We encounter this fail-safe type of control in our daily lives, should it be when
we refuel our cars, go to the supermarket and even when we check-in a hotel. Using a
Poka-Yoke method in a product or a service is the best way to ensure quality. Poka-
Yoke is widely used around the world because it needs a little bit of ingenuity; it is
cost effective and simple to put in place.

Prevention Devices Examples:

This type of device is designed in such a way that mistakes cannot possibly be made.

The fueling area of car has three mistake-

proofing devices:
1. Filling pipe insert keeps larger,
leaded-fuel nozzle from being inserted.
2. Gas cap tether does not allow the
motorist to drive off without the cap.
3. Gas cap is fitted with a ratchet that
signals proper tightness and prevents over-
tightening.

www.Chrysler.com
A floppy disk will not enter the disk drive in any other direction than the correct way.
This is as far as a disk can be inserted upside-down.

The beveled corner of the diskette

pushes a stop in the disk drive out
of the way allowing the diskette to
be inserted. This feature, along
with the fact that the diskette is not
square, prohibits incorrect
orientation.

A microwave does not work if the door is open.

Detection Devices
This type of device is designed in such a way, that it signals the user when a mistake
occurs, so that the problem can be solved in time. An example would be:
The small dish used in the Yamada Plant.
A signal or warning signs in the car if a door is not properly closed.

Characteristic of Poka Yoke Devices

Poka yoke devices have the following characteristics:
• Cheap, simple, specific, re-usable and cost-effective.
• They are always a part of the process.
• They are placed close to where the mistake is done.
(Using Poka Yoke …3).

Conclusion
In conclusion, continuous change must be a norm if your business is to survive
in today's rapidly changing environment, you should either manage change or change
management. Companies, like any living organism, must become learning
organizations that change and adapt to suit their changing business environment. The
constant formation of new units within a corporation is one means of gearing up to
change.

According to Bill Gates, if you don't practice the change management that
looks after the future, the future will not look after you. "...The tendency for
successful companies to fail to innovate is just that: a tendency. If you're too focused
on your current business, it's hard to look ahead..." To determine the improvements to
make in response to the change, you should continuously: listen to customer feedback,
and study new technology opportunities. It is a continuous improvement that Japanese
call Kaizen.

In today's knowledge-driven world, new technologies appear at shorter and

shorter intervals. "Knowledge constantly makes itself obsolete, with the result that
today's advanced knowledge is tomorrow's ignorance", stressed Drucker (1993, 1994).
Innovation thus, should be not a one-off event, but a continuous response to changing
circumstances. Sustainable innovation system doesn't just help to solve a problem but
creates a new capacity, opening up opportunities for further innovation. Do not
confuse innovation with novelty. Novelty, says Drucker, "only creates amusement",
and will not last into the future. He believes that innovation should not be limited to a
new product only – be creative and modify where necessary. New processes and
methods can be more powerful in helping you to win a lasting competitive advantage.
A great deal of knowledge work will require high manual skill and substantial
work with one’s hands such as surgeons and automobile workers. In fact, the
knowledge society is which we have come to call the Age of Capitalism (Drucker,
1994). The twentieth century brought knowledge management and intellectual capital
as fundamental and core value to management.
It can be noted that if Total Quality Management is introduced and applied
well, and therefore implemented for the right reasons, and following the process from
the beginning until the end without rushing, it will have great benefits towards a
company. The process will go as follows: the improvement of quality will satisfy the
customers and satisfied customers lead to profit for the company. However, if is not
employed well, it will lead to failure. Therefore, a company has to plan well before
implementing TQM as a program and should decide whether they are ready or not for
the challenge, which to the quick eye may seem simple, but in actual fact is not.
In comparison, to the Japanese Poka-Yoke, reducing costs, improve quality,
reduce time, and improve flexibility are the main concerns today for a good
production. Poka-Yoke is a method that ensures that the desired results are inevitable.
It is a method that is widely used today; it is low in cost to put in place, needs a little
bit of ingenuity and prevents mistakes from occurring. Designing Poka-Yoke is part
art and part science. Using Poka-Yoke processes leads to quality, which is exactly
what managers are looking for. Mistake proofing does not need to be expensive,
complicated, hard to put in place or time consuming. Simple and inexpensive fixes are
what managers should look for. Sometimes, mistake proofing can itself be a mistake.
The workers can be offended thinking that the management is treating them like
idiots, that is why the process should involve everyone concerned and the steps taken
should be explained. Poka-yoke can also be misapplied. If the system gets more
complicated, costs will increase, difficulty increases and problems that were not
anticipated can be created. Finally, Poka-Yoke processes are very widely used but
other types of quality control can become necessary to supplement it and to give the
firm an edge over the others.
Hence, the Poka yoke has proved o be very effective and flexible. Because it is
easy to understand, it became very popular in manufacturing industries outside Japan.
Today big, well-known and highly esteemed companies like Chrysler Corporation and
United Electric Control Ins are also using poka yoke devices in their manufacturing
process. It has not only helped in the manufacturing process, but also in sales,
marketing, warehousing, billing, customer service, and research and development
(R&D). Undoubtedly, poka yoke has provided manufacturing industries with a
simple, reliable way of detecting errors that were previously difficult to detect through
traditional methods of quality control.

The researcher also suggests that organization perform a SWOT analysis

(strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats). Conduct a business audit from time
to time to track specific objectives in your strategic plan. Examine internal and
external sources, such as demographics, changes in perception, and new knowledge.
Develop your company into a learning organization that "is continuously expanding
its capacity to create its future. And most of all, look for new ways to do things,
anticipate changes in this constantly changing global environment.

Definitions

acceptable quality level (AQL)

A concept used with sampling procedures applied to arms-and-ammunition suppliers
during World War II, AQL is the poorest quality that a supplier can provide and still
be considered "acceptable" or satisfactory. The concept—that some errors or defects
are normal—is the antithesis of "zero defects," which holds that the only allowable
standard for quality is error-free work.
benchmarking
The practice of setting operating targets for a particular function by selecting the top
performance levels, either within or outside a company's own industry. In a broader
sense, benchmarking involves searching around the world for new ideas and best
practices for the improvement of processes, products, and services.
company wide quality control (CWQC)
An expression used widely in Japan, CWQC means the application of quality
principles to all processes in a company and the involvement of all employees at all
levels in the quality-improvement process. The concepts of continuous improvement
and customer satisfaction are also embedded in the approach. CWQC is the equivalent
of "total quality management (TQM)" in the United States, where the term
"management" has roughly the same meaning as the word "control" in Japan.
continuous quality improvement (CQI),
cross-functional teams
Teams similar to quality teams but whose members are from several work units that
interface with one another. These teams are particularly useful when work units are
dependent upon one another for materials, information, etc.
cycle time
The amount of time it takes to complete a particular task. Shortening the cycle times
of critical functions within a company is usually a source of competitive advantage
and a key quality-improvement objective.
defect
Any state of nonconformance to requirements.
feedback
Information from a customer about how process output meets the needs of process
customers.
fishbone diagrams
A diagram that depicts the characteristics of a problem or process, and the factors or
root causes that contribute to them.
indicators
Measurable characteristics of products, services, and processes that best represent
quality and customer satisfaction.
input
Materials, energy, or information required completing the activities necessary to
produce a specified output (work product).
ISO 9000
International Organization for Standardization 9000 series standards. Supplier of
quality system standards representing a consensus within the international quality
community.
external customer
The purchaser of a product or service.
Internal customer
A downstream internal operation that depends on outputs or results of a given process,
or an employee of the business who depends on these outputs or results.
internal failure costs
The costs generated by defects found within the enterprise prior to the product
reaching the external customer.
just-in-time (JIT) inventory management
Approach to achieving and maintaining minimal in-process inventory. The approach
includes application of total quality control to eliminate quality problems as in-
process inventory is being reduced.
kaizen
A Japanese expression referring to continuous improvement in all phases of business.
. Kaizen means gradual, unending improvement, doing "little things" better; setting —
and achieving — ever-higher standards. In this classic book, Masaki Imai describes
how a process-oriented, customer-driven strategy of involving everyone — both
managers and workers — in the continuous improvement of products and services
will lead to improved quality and productivity.
management by objective (MBO)
A business planning approach in which each employee works with his or her manager
to set annual objectives. Employee performance is evaluated based on the extent to
which objectives are met.
measurement
The act or process of measuring to compare results to requirements. A quantitative
estimate of performance.
normative performance measurement technique
Incorporates structured group processes so that work groups can design measurement
systems suited for their own needs. This approach considers behavioral consequences
of measurement to foster acceptance of measurement effort.
objective
A statement of the desired result to be achieved within a specified time. By definition,
an objective always has an associated schedule. Verifiable improvement targets for
processes, suppliers, organizations, and people. An objective is simply a statement of
what is to done and should be stated in terms of [measurable] results."
output
The specified end result. Required by the recipient. Materials or information provided
to others (internal or external customers).
perceived quality
A firm's market reputation for continuing excellence of products and services and for
customersatisfaction; the firm's good will among customers.
Pareto analysis
A system of analysis based on the principle that, in any phenomenon, relatively few
factors account for the majority of effects. Juran uses the phrase "vital few" to suggest
that it is more efficient and less costly to concentrate on the most important sources or
types of failures, customers, and so on.
performance
A term used both as an attribute of the work product itself and as a general process
characteristic. The broad performance characteristics that are of interest to
management are quality (effectiveness), cost (efficiency), and schedule. Performance
is the highly effective common measurement that links the quality of the work
product to efficiency and productivity.
policy
A statement of principles and beliefs, or a settled course, adopted to guide the overall
management of affairs in support of a stated aim or goal. It is mostly related to
fundamental conduct and usually defines a general framework within which other
business and management actions are carried out.
process
The system of tasks, workflows, information flows, and other interdependencies that
produce some specific outputs or results. How work is done, how outputs or results
are achieved, and how value is provided to the business or customer.
process capability
The ability of a process to meet operating goals or internal- or external-customer
requirements. "Capability" may differ from actual performance due to "special
causes" — conditions or events resulting purely from chance and not the production
system itself.
process control
Activities undertaken to acquire and use information during process execution to
ensure — with a reasonable degree of confidence — that the process will meet its
requirements and that these requirements will continue to reflect the needs of process
customers.
process improvement
The set of activities employed to detect and remove common causes of variation in
order to improve process capability. Process improvement leads to quality
improvement.
process management
Activities aimed at process planning, process control, identifying improvement
opportunities, and initiating improvement. Planning involves setting process
requirements, characterizing the process, establishing in-process and supplier
requirements, and planning for control.
process optimization
The major aspect of process management that concerns itself with the efficiency and
productivity of the process, that is, with economic factors.
process review
An objective assessment of how well the methodology has been applied to your
process.
Emphasizes the potential for long-term process results rather than the actual results
achieved.
productivity
Refers both to the efficiency of tasks or operations and to their effectiveness in
meeting the needs of other internal operations; some productivity-related measures
include cost of poor quality and unit output costs.
project
A process executed over time, rather than repeatedly.
quality
The extent to which products and services produced meets or exceeds customer
requirements. Customers can be internal as well as external to the organizational
system (e.g., products or services may flow to the person at the next desk or work area
rather than to people outside of the immediate organization). The Federal Quality
Institute defines quality as meeting the customer requirements the first time, every
time. The Department of Defense (DOD) defines quality as conformance to a set of
customer requirements that, if met, result in a product that is fit for its intended use.
quality approach
Overall strategy for managing quality in an organization.
quality assurance (QA)
A phase in the evolution of the quality discipline, QA differed from statistical quality
control, its predecessor, in that all functional groups, not just engineers and workers
on the shop floor, were involved in the quality effort. However, QA is more narrowly
focused than its successor, total quality management (TQM), which emphasizes
senior-executive involvement, the management of quality for competitive advantage,
and a strong customer orientation.
quality circles
A group of workers and their supervisors who voluntarily meet to identify and solve
job-related problems. Structured processes are used by the group to accomplish the
task.
QOS an operating systems
reliability
The probability that a product entity will perform its specified function under
specified conditions, without failure, for a specified period of time.
reliability engineering
A broad-based discipline for ensuring better product performance by predicting more
accurately when and under what conditions a product can fail. Based on the results of
such an analysis, engineers can improve designs, set operating limits for equipment,
and create backups in case of system failure. Reliability programs also incorporate
feedback loops for analyzing product performance in the field and, in particular,
product failures.
root cause (cause-and-effect) analysis
A deductive approach to analyzing problems by working backward from the "effect"
to the cause or causes. One of so-called "Seven Quality Tools," root-cause analysis is
often facilitated using a "fishbone diagram" in which all the inputs to the process are
arrayed in visual format like the bones of a fish.
sample
A finite number of items taken from a population.
simulation
The technique of observing and manipulating an artificial mechanism (model) that
represents a real-world process that, for technical or economical reasons, is not
suitable or available for direct experimentation.
six-sigma
A statistical way of measuring quality, six-sigma is equivalent to 3.4 defects per
million units of output — a virtually defect-free level of performance. The ambitious,
company wide Motorola, a 1988 Baldrige Award winner, has adopted goal of “six-
sigma quality”, most notably.
specification
A document containing a detailed description or enumeration of particulars. Formal
description of a work product and the intended manner of providing it (the provider's
view of the work product).
standard deviation
A parameter describing the spread of the process output, denoted by the Greek letter
sigma. The positive square root of the variance.
statistical process control (SPC)
Based on the principle that no two units of output of a process are likely to have the
exact same specifications, SPC involves the mathematical determination of acceptable
limits of variation. Graphs are used by workers to plot output variables and visually
determine when a process is "in" or "out of" control.
statistical methods
The application of the theory of probability to problems of variation. There are two
groups of statistical methods. Basic statistical methods are relatively simple problem-
solving tools and techniques, such as control charts, capability analysis, data
summarization and analysis, and statistical inference. Advanced statistical methods
are more sophisticated specialized techniques of statistical analysis, such as the design
of experiments, regression and correlation analysis, and the analyses of variance.
statistical quality control (SQC)
A relatively early development in the evolution of the quality discipline, SQC relies
on statistical concepts and tools (e.g., sampling techniques) to control production
quality. SQC techniques are used in total quality management, although the emphasis
in TQM is on "building quality in," rather than error detection.
total quality control (TQC)
An expression coined by Armand Feigenbaum, TQC involves the application of
quality principles in all processes and at all levels of a company.
total quality control (TQC)
An expression coined by Armand Feigenbaum, TQC involves the application of
quality principles in all processes and at all levels of a company.
total quality management (TQM)
TQM, represents the latest phase in the evolution of the quality discipline. Distinctive
features are a strong and pervasive customer orientation and a view toward managing
quality for competitive advantage. The term "TQM" is roughly equivalent to TQC and
CWQC in Japan, where the word "control" has the same connotations as
"management" in this country. "Total Quality management refers to a management
process and set of disciplines that are coordinated to ensure that the organization
consistently meets and exceeds customer requirements. TQM engages all divisions,
departments and levels of the organization. Top management organizes all of its
strategy and operations around customer needs and develops a culture with high
employee participation
transactional analysis
A process that helps people change to be more effective on the job and can also help
organizations to change. The process involves several exercises that help identify
organizational scripts and games that people may be playing. The results help point
the way toward change.
variable
A data item that takes on values within some range with a certain frequency or
pattern. Variables may be discrete, that is, limited in value to integer quantities (for
example, the number of bolts produced in a manufacturing process). Discrete
variables relate to attribute data. Variables may also be continuous, that is, measured
to any desired degree of accuracy (for example, the diameter of a shaft). Continuous
variables relate to variables data.
variance
In quality management terminology, any nonconformance to specifications. In
statistics, it is the square of the standard deviation.
vision
The desired future state of business
zero defects
An approach to quality improvement, based primarily upon increasing worker
motivation and attentiveness, in which the only acceptable quality standard is defect-
free output or service execution.

Works Cited

Aguayo, R. (1991). Dr. Deming, Simon & Shuster.

American Society for Quality Control, Science in Management, Washington, 5 March

1959, pp.89-96

Armstrong, Gary, and Philip Kotler, Marketing An Introduction, New Jersey:

Prentice Hall, 2000.

AT&T. AT&T’s Total Quality Approach, Issue 1.1. 1992.

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http:://www.chrysler.com. Poka Yoke Devices

A COMPARITIVE STUDY: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND THE
JAPANESE POKA-YOKE STYLE MANAGEMENT

By: Dr. Tiffany Jordan

Professor and Researcher
International Business and Management

And

Aura Pimiento, BA
Universidad Autonoma de Bucaramanga
School of Business Administration
Bucaramanga, Colombia
Email: doctor_Jordan@excite.com

August 2002
A COMPARITIVE STUDY: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND THE
JAPANESE POKA-YOKE STYLE:

© Copyright 2001 by Dr. Tiffany L. Jordan

Acknowledgement: I would like to acknowledge the faculty and staff of the College
of Business Administrations for their support.