Impact of Culture on Total Quality Management

IMPACT OF CULTURE ON TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM)

The effects of employing TQM have been described in such positive and glowing terms that it sounds embarrassing e.g. outstanding, dramatic, tremendous, stunning, staggering, startling, overwhelming, phenomenal etc. TQM combines the "raw" power of scientific management with the refined competencies of humanistic tendencies to bring out a truly natural, effective, and potent management philosophy. In TQM everyone from the top to the lowest employee must be actively involved in the firm's processes to succeed.

1.1 Definitions:

* Management is the process involving effective and efficient utilization of resources to achieve the desired goals / objectives.

* TQM is a set of principles, approaches, methods, and techniques of management that ensures continuous improvement in the quality of all aspects of an organization's processes, services, and products in order to satisfy customers.

* According to Gitosh (2004), TQM is a system of achieving world-class excellence in everything you do whether as an individual, organization, or nation.

* Brian Davis former MD KQ - TQM is the fundamental differentiator between good and bad management.

* Steve Covey- TQM is the process of continuous improvement.

* Culture according to Dunn (2012) is, the sum total of the solutions that a society invents to cope and adapt to their natural and, social environments. Culture helps a group of people to cope with the world and with one another.

TQM is measurable through the 12 principles of the quality paradigm.

1. Leadership- (True and effective leadership is an indispensable catalyst for high level performance).

2. Quality first- (Quality is first everything else is secondary).

3. Customer focus and satisfaction- (Customer is the king).

4. Quality function deployment - (Preach wine drink wine).

5. Benchmarking- (There is no need of reinventing the wheel).

6. Stakeholder symmetry- (Justice, peace, and equity are the best foundations for social peace, progress, and prosperity).

7. Empowerment - (The capacity to find and administer solutions to an organizational problems is widely, NOT narrowly distributed in an organization.)

8. Teamwork synergy- (The whole is better than the sum of its part.)

9. Supplier partnership - (Garbage in garbage out.)

10. Measurement - (If you can't measure it you can't improve it.)

11. Continuous improvement -(Everything can be improved.)

12. Corporate culture power - (Organization's only as good as the people in it.)

The quality gurus emphasized prevention as a means of quality management. E.g. Crosby advocates for "zero defects" that is absolute conformance, while Deming, allows variations within given limits.

1.2 POSITIVE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON TQM

1. Problem solving cultures, who are also "doing" oriented cultures, like the U.S.A. Japan, Singapore, China have a positive impact on culture as they encourage R& D which is useful for continuous improvement to satisfy customers.

2. Small power distance (SPD) societies like Japan, America, most western countries, and Europe, impact positively on TQM. SPD empowers people to think more creatively and innovatively, improves communication, and promotes merit criteria.

3. Culture with strong uncertainty avoidance like Germany, Japan, and France have a positive impact on TQM because;

* They encourage proactive thinking, necessary for innovation