University of Professional Studies, Accra

Total Quality Management

Philosophical Perspective of Quality Management

At the end of the lecture, students will be able to: Explain the requirements for survival Describe the customer Discuss the categories of customers Analyze the business environmental conditions for

survival and growth Demonstrate understanding by identifying and

differentiating between anti-progressive forces and the forces of change

Learning outcomes

The philosophical question “why do we exist?” provides insights into the relevance of quality management. The reasons why individuals and organisations strive to achieve excellence, the repercussions for not achieving excellence i.e. mediocrity etc are all provided by such a simple but thoughtful question.

Why do we exist? Or what is the purpose of existence?

Philosophical Perspective of TQM

To be useful to ourselves To be useful to others (others here refers to your family,

community and society) Being USEFUL means making a positive impact or

contribution either in your own life or on the society.The value we create is the quality we are talking about.Therefore, our existence is dependent on the value we create and deliver.Once someone or something becomes useful then it creates the condition for ACCEPTANCE.

REASONS FOR EXISTANCE

Acceptance then generates the right condition for SURVIVAL.

This philosophy works for both the individual and the business.

For instance an applicant for a job, setting a new company, in these examples we can illustrate the principle of Usefulness, Acceptance, Survival.

On the business level, society would not accept any business operations that are harmful or detrimental to their wellbeing. That business would certainly not be useful to that society and hence its survival would not be guaranteed. A Story is told of a man who used his pension fund to set up a sawmill plant in a densely populated area only for the residents to report him to EPA who have no choice but to close down the plant, the man had a heart attack and died.

CONTINUATION …..

Identifying and meeting the requirements of customers

Meeting the environmental requirements

Condition for survival

In the context of Total Quality Management, the definition of the customer is not restricted to the end user or consumer but includes all those that are affected by the business processes. It could be an entity or an individual.

Customer

A customer is real or potential individual that is directly or indirectly affected by the processes and activities/actions of the business. Example, customers of UPSA include students, lecturers, management, senior and junior staff, council members, regulatory bodies such as EPA, National Accreditation Board (NAB), National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), Ministry of Education, Community, etc.

Customer defined

For instance, what euro foods suffered before the company actually collapsed.

The regulatory bodies issued an order for their operations to be halted (regulatory bodies)

Buyers of their product were no longer patronising their products (customers who buys the product)

Legal suits were taken against the company (legal bodies) Consumers were not interested in the product ( customers

who used the product) The company was stigmatised by the general public (society) Their operation caught the media lenses (media, journalist)

EURO FOODs Case

All parties that were directly or indirectly affected by the company’s operations were not satisfied and this resulted in the collapse of the company.Customers, therefore, have needs and expectations which every company that seeks to survive must identify and satisfy.

Summary of the Euro food story

Types of customers Internal customers External customers

Categories of customers Elective customers Captive customers Unwilling customers Non-user customers Consumers (End-users)

Typology of Customers

Elective customers have choices and they can decide to switch to any other alternative if a service or product does not meet their expectation. (E. g., choosing to buy either a gino or pomo tomato paste)

Captive customers are those customers who have no choice but to deal with a certain entity usually because that entity is a monopoly. (E.g., Electricity Company of Ghana)

CATEGORIES OF CUSTOMERS

Unwilling customers are those that would have wished not to perform or avoided certain obligations but are unable to do so due to legal regimes in place that compels them to perform those activities. (E.g., paying road tolls and taxes).

Non user customers are those who purchase a service or a product but do not end up using that product or enjoying the service themselves (e.g. the purchase of a baby diaper.)

End-user customers are those who buy and use the product or service directly. They are otherwise known as consumers.

CONTINUATION OF THE CATEGORIES OF CUSTOMERS

Customers have rights to be respected Customers have expectations to be met Customers have needs to be satisfied Customers have requirements to be fulfilled Customers have legs to walk away (have options) Customers have mouth to complain Customers have responsibilities to fulfil

Characteristics of customers

To survive, organisations have to identify, understand and satisfy not only the physical environment requirement but also the business environment requirement. The elements within the business environment include the following;

The PESTLEC factors Political environment(the kind of political system

in place, power dynamics, sources of power) Economic environment (Forces of Demand and

Supply, purchasing power of people, inflation, etc) Social environment (The socio-cultural beliefs of

the people, value system, etc)

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

Technological environment (understanding the technological maturity of the environment, - high or low)

Legal/Legislation environment(legal regimes that governs business operations)

Ecological environments(changing patterns of the weather and physical environment)

Competition (Monopolistic or perfect competitive industry- (cost, quality, price)

CONTINUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

FORCES OF CHANGE Overcome competition Overcome technology Overcome the anti-progressive forces The Anti-Progressive Forces The blame game (failing to take personal responsibility) The dependency syndrome (failed to be creative and

innovative in solving our problems) Ignorance (lack of information and technical know-how)

•BUSINESS GROWTHGrowth is how to master and manipulate the forces of change.

A person’s quality is measured by how much value he/she creates and delivers, value in terms of goods and services.

If we exist to be useful to somebody, the basic condition is acceptability To deliver value we must be acceptable and the product or service should

be acceptable Acceptability is a prerequisite for the survival of an individual, an

organization or a business entity. Conditions for survival: 1. Identifying and satisfying customer needs and

requirement . 2. Identification and satisfying environmental requirements Survival itself is not sustainable , hence the need for growth Growth is how to master and manipulate the forces of change. The requirement for growth are: survival, understanding the

environment and changes in the environment.

SUMMARY