Quality-Centered Management

Basic Business Cents

There is no great secret to success; it is simply the supply of quality products and services at a reasonable cost that consumers will buy. Successful companies have a quality-oriented management approach which results in survival and growth in a competitive world full of problems. Without a systematic approach, fatal problems will invariably arise. As stated by Dr. W. Edward Deming in his famous four-day seminars, we are in a new age of economic competition. Those who cannot continuously improve their quality and productivity will fall by the wayside.

A quality-centered management approach encompasses a customer-oriented management philosophy and a set of specific objectives, systematic methodologies, and management practices.

Management has the responsibility of clearly stating the aim of the organization and setting specific objectives. They need to understand the true needs of the customers, not just their wants, and to anticipate future needs.

Internally, management needs to understand quality tools and methods in order to lead the way to quality improvement throughout the organization. They are the role model for quality improvement and should lead the improvement activities. Managers also have processes of their own and can demonstrate their achievements with their own work.

Many systematic methodologies exist to improve work processes like Company Wide Quality Control, Total Quality Control, Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, Reengineering, and Lean Thinking. Toyota refers to their methodology as, “Just the way we do business.” These application methods are useful in advanced situations, but it is best to start with the basics.

The first step is to understand the work processes. Just follow the trail from the time the supplies are received to the time the product is handed off to the customers and chart or list the activities step by step. The more detailed you make the list or chart, the better. Then, take a close look at the chart and opportunities will invariably jump out at you to simplify your processes. The goal is to reduce waste, rework, and redundancy in your system.

A seven-step system, The Improvement Journal, is useful to solve problems or improve processes. The steps are to identify the process or problem, examine the current situation, analyze the causes, take a corrective action, check the results, standardize the changes, and draw conclusions.

All employees have experience and knowledge and play a role in quality-centered management. They need to be enabled to take quality improvement action, which means training in not only their job skills but also in the quality tools and methods. They need to be enabled to take action because they are closest to the work and also want to perform better. Some organizations use methods like Quality Circles or Improvement Teams to allow workers work as a team to solve problems or improve their work processes. This might sound like extra work for all involved but it will eventually result in simpler and easier work.

Quality-centered management will, in the long term, lead to lower cost, better on-time delivery, higher productivity, more business and a higher standard of living.