Malcolm Baldrige and the Evolution of Total Quality Management Essay

type and productiveness cease be tip overed mutu eachy inclusive. An organization that aims for note imparting in conclusion results to better productivity in the concept of function, goods organism produced, personnel and human imaginations development, not to mention capital gain, increase in competitiveness, and increase in investment opportunities. Though it whitethorn be a good concept, a scorement body should be present to regularise the necessary criteria and set for definitive standards to follow. In the United States, the two governing body in graphic symbol standard award be the Ron brown represent and the Malcolm Baldrige National eccentric portray.Malcolm Baldrige, a U. S. Secretary of Commerce during the sequence of the Reagan Administration, is the one responsible for organizing a conference on productivity in the White House. Apparently, he initiated the conception and blueprint in 1987 of the Malcolm Baldrige National tonus Award which wayes on sha de. The award, with the National reference Improvement encounter of 1987 (Public Law blow-107), gives emphasis on flavour divine functions macrocosm condition by different sectors much(prenominal) as education, wellspringness care, line of products, and non-profit organizations (Marion p. 1).These case forward motions are based on the practices of the bring prize focus form (TQM) principles and contain seven criteria to determine the awardees Leadership, Strategic Planning, Market and Customer accent Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management, Focus on Workforce, Process Management, and Results. These criteria are considered epoch-making to U. S. competitiveness in equipment casualty of improving the capabilities, practices, and results of an organization sharing and facilitating the close to excellent practice among the different sectors and to serve as a tames tool look at for planning and managing.Most of these criteria are taken from the principles and techniques in shade anxiety developed by Philip Crosby, W. Demings, Armand Feigenbaum, and Joseph Juran. Moreover, the award aims to promote probative level of quality consciousness to be able to distinguish the accomplishments of U. S. companies in the context of quality and to make available to the public the thriving strategies on quality. The growth of selecting the winner involves an assessment of the written examination submitted by the applicant, a turn up visit on the guild (provided that the company turn overd a noble score), and a final evaluation.Since the Malcolm Award is based on the principle of Total woodland Management, the system pretend evolved or developed in terms of the factors in performance measurement that includes the following(a) operating or in service measures, employee relationship, gratification of guests, and performance on financial aspects. For instance, based on the data of the 12 Companies that submitted their respective pertinent dat a for evaluation, on an yearly basis product reliability increase by around 11. 3 % the time of performanceing the order is reduced annually by 12% on the six companies product errors and defects decrease by 10.3% on the seven companies and around five companies have reduced personify by 9%. This created a savings of around $1 Million to $ one hundred fifteen Million. Aside from the emolument on the factors on performance measurement, indicators of employee relationship to a fault better. Employee satisfaction purifyd by 1. 4%, employee turnover (voluntary re collect for separation) decreased by around 6%, health and sentry duty measures improved by 1. 8%, and the accumulated total-quality suggestions made by the employees change magnitude by 16. 6%. The total customer satisfaction withal increased by 2. 5% with complaints coming from the customer being reduced by 11.6% and storage of customers also improved by 1%. Market share is increased by 13. 7% and the return of asset s by 1. 3% (Shetty p. 4-6). Thus, Total Quality Management had eventually improved in terms of quality, customer satisfaction, and reduction in cost. Furthermore, the Total Quality Management System had an affirmative uphold on all of the material areas of concerns improvement in product reliability, increased in customer satisfaction and responsiveness, and reduction in cost. Apparently related to to these are the increase in work satisfaction, improvement of health and safety measures, and reduction in employee turnover.This improvement and reduction on specific areas will eventually yield to increase in the market share, profitability, and quality. The result of such(prenominal) will also produced a certain degree of competitive advantage, which is eventually acquired as a result of committing to quality. A firm competitive office will give the company a unique place in the market wherein the consumers are willing to pay for the product, and the established quality will g ive-up the ghost difficult to surmount by the competing companies. Another factor to consider in achieving a competitive advantage is by means of the reduction of cost by improving quality.Reducing cost is synonymous to reduction of the in-process work inventory, handling of materials, capitals on equipment and brinytenance, thus reducing claims on liability. The reduced cost will in-turn lead to a higher profit margin, increase in the sales, and lower prices of the product. Therefore, cost and quality are the most grievous factors to achieve a competitive advantage and these can be realized by means of the implementation of Total Quality Management System. The implementation of the Total Quality Management depends on the need and the nature of the business.Companies that follow a TQM, and after succeeded on all areas described above still have to lapse on developing the system. It is considered a continuous process and development. Different sectors of the application such as in the health care, manufacturing, services, and small businesses are sightly more aware of the affirmatory impact of adopting TQM, and the aspiration of being know as one of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awardees set forth the purview to a strong commitment towards excellence in management quality and company performance.The Award started at 1988 and after 20 years, around 79 companies are recognized. The impact of adopting the criteria of Malcolm Baldrige through the implementation of TQM had significantly produced quality and productivity to several companies such as The ADAC Laboratories, Custom Research Inc. , Dana commercialized realisation Corp. , and Trident Position Manufacturing Inc. (Malcolm Baldrige recipients of 1996). Of these four, Trident and Custom Research belongs to the small business category, ADAC in the manufacturing sector, and Dana Commercial on services.The ADAC Laboratories, founded in 1970, have its product line in the design, manufacturing , marketing, and clog up intended for customers belonging in the health care sector such as in radiation therapy, information system in health care, and nuclear medicines. These services and products are sold to universities, hospitals, and clinics worldwide. The impact of adopting the criteria of Malcolm Baldrige has significantly improved the companys market share (12% in 1990 to 50% in 1996), and customer satisfaction (no. 1 ranking).Before, the company was only focused on short-term financial goals, and not totally oriented towards attaining a quality firm for investors and customers satisfaction, and employee development. Determined to over-turn the current situation, the company adopted the criteria of Malcolm Baldrige. In 1994, ADAC employ for the Malcolm Baldrige getting up to the 2nd level (site visit). The site visit consequently gave the company a feedback assessment with around 148 areas of concerns that require improvement. The company then utilized the feedback repo rt as an outer resource to eliminate the gaps.The management team attended the Center for Quality of Management, a consortium of experts in the playing area of Total Quality Management. The intensive two-day preparation made all employees understands the four applicable thoughts shared learning, total booking, focus on customer, and continuous development. Consequently, the turn-around of the company to focus on customer satisfaction had lead to a strong rate of retention with 94% as compared to the previous 50% market share increased by 50% as compared to 12% six years ago and the revenue per player increased by around 75% (Marion p.1). The results by adopting the criteria verified the motley of quality management the company had developed with emphasis on quality and excellence. Dana Commercial Credit Corporation, a subsidiary of Dana Corp. , provides financing and leasing services to a wide range of businesses and specific markets. Located at different offices such as in C anada, United Kingdom, and Ohio the company have activities that includes management of assets services, combined-venture leasing consortium, and leasing of equipment for even offrs and dealers.The company decided to apply for the Malcolm Baldrige Award for two compelling reasons after receiving the Dana Quality Leadership award, the company intended to benchmark it alongside the Malcolm Baldrige and the challenge of engage the Baldrige award will provide a significant push towards a fast improvement in quality for the company. Making through the process of the Baldrige criteria eventually created a strong culture with emphasis on service quality and customer satisfaction.In return, the morale of the employees is high as well as the profit. Custom Research Inc. is one of the small firms that received the Baldrige Award that clearly shows that no matter what the size of the company, better quality management can also be achieved just like those of multinational companies. conventio nal in 1974 by Jeff Pope and Corson, CRI caters big companies in designing and conducting projects that can provide relevant information to make effective decisions in business.The main office is located at Minneapolis with several offices in Ridgewood and San Francisco, and New Jersey. In 1998, the company had reduced its client from 138 to 67, primarily to provide better service as well as establish partnership with their biggest clients. From 1992 to 1994, the company had applied for an assessment to Baldrige and reached the site visit level three times. After receiving the manganese Award for Quality in 1995, CRI decided to re-apply again for the Baldrige since the award was imitate to it.Winning the state award had helped the company achieving its goal to be awarded by Baldrige in 1996. Since the employees are less, all took part during the application and assessment process wherein each employee knows the whole process, the criteria, and how it is should be implemented in the ir respective field of work. Thus, the Baldrige Award had greatly influenced all employees towards achieving quality and productivity creating a absolute atmosphere to the company.In return, the employees are all motivated that results to better business opportunities and results. Trident Precision Manufacturing Inc. is a private company that manufactures various components of sheet alloy (precision), customized products, and assemblies (electromechanical). With its lone manufacturing plant in New York, the Company developed processes and tooling to manufacture and assemble components intended for the different sectors of the industry such as in equipment used in office, banks, health care, and even defense.Trident began to exploit the criteria of Baldrige in their quest for quality in 1989. The criteria had served as an open window to know the areas of weaknesses and forte of the company. April Lusk, Tridents administrator for quality, emphasized that the biggest significant ass et of the Baldrige Quality Award process was the feedback report, which stands for an unbiased assessment of a companys intensity and weaknesses.Trident then utilized those feedback reports to narrow the gaps and eventually achieved better results due to a strong focus in customer satisfaction, the company has been able to defend its position as the main supplier to chief customers even though it reduced their supplier percentage to 65% the focus on employee involvement also played a major agency achieving a 100% employee participation on departmental occupation team, around 95% of the improvement on processes have been established, the recognitions and rewards for the employees increased, employee turnover decreased, and the company have invested 4.6% of the paysheet towards education and training (Marion p. 1). The continuous improvement of the employee, their commitment to the internal and international clientele, and the eventual control of their processes have made Trident to stand out and establish a dedication towards excellence and quality. More so, Tridents strong statement towards an environment that is family oriented, continuous effort for improvement, and teamwork are the main factors the Baldrige Award considered.Responsibilities are shared, suggestions considered and implemented so as to create an environment where the employees are satisfactory and their morale is high, resulting to a stronger and a healthier business. The background discussed on the four companies clearly illustrated the impact of implementing the principles of Total Quality Management System through the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Awards. These companies aspired to achieve the Baldrige Award and the results improved the companys general quality and productivity program, as well as their business spot and competitiveness.By analyzing the stories behind each success of a company towards achieving the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Awards, several key pointers should be emphasiz e such as the following Leadership also plays an important role towards attaining quality. Top management should use effort in terms of leadership and support since the adherence to quality usually accompanies changes in the companys operating systems or philosophy. subject goals should be determined as well as a positive atmosphere or culture to encourage the employees to attain such goals. The battlefront of a highly motivated staff or employees also has significant contributions towards attaining quality. Quality depends on the employees efficiency, and subsequently to the employees work motivation. It also encompasses all the aspect of human resources such as employee training and recruitment program, job descriptions, and rewarding as well as empowering employees.Employee involvement are considered an important aspect, and also the encouragement of a corporate imagination towards quality-related improvement activities and programs may require several major adjustments or cha nges the way the employees are being managed (Shetty p. 6) Another factor that is significant is the aim for a total customer satisfaction. Realizing this vision will create an effort towards improving quality. Exceptional external and internal systems are necessary to supervise customer satisfaction through the use of surveys, evaluation of services and products, and investigation of complaints (Reiman p.11)Analysis of information is also critical since this will serve as a basis on making corporate decisions and adjustments. Efficient and complete data gathering serves as a powerful tool for the company since these will reflect the strengths, weaknesses, goals, quality, and service standards, to name a few. Suppliers also have a significant role in the pursuit of quality. Usually, successful companies develop long-lasting relationships with suppliers having a vision for quality.The company relatively engages the suppliers to become an integral part of the firms TQM. Consultations, trainings, and continuing contracts are some of the ways the company engages the suppliers on its TQM program. Thus, the suppliers become a partner in administering quality efforts, which in turn have major effects on how the suppliers are conventionally managed. The commitment to quality is a boundless process therefore, a continuous program for improvement and development should be implemented.The results on the companies that implemented the Total Quality Management System in pursuit of achieving the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards proved to be a success. The end-results created better customers satisfaction, high morale of employees, reduced cost, decreased on employee turn-over, good competitive advantage, improved health and safety measures, better labor processes, increased in market share and profits, quality and productivity.The Malcolm Baldrige Award provides a vast range of quality concerns. The feedbacks made by the Award delegation can be use by the company t o narrow the relevant gaps, which are based on the findings. The award served as an effective guide with respect on streamlining the business and management practices. The criteria set forth by Baldrige, based on the principles of Total Quality Management, provided the significant standards of excellence to achieve quality and productivity.The award served as an effective catalyst to strengthen and improve the companys competitiveness.Works Cited Shetty, Y. K. The Quest for Quality Excellence Lessons from the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award. Sam Advanced Management Journal. 22 March 1993 1-14 Harmon, Marion. www. qualitydigest. com. Jan. 1997. Retrieved April 23, 2009. http//www. qualitydigest. com/jan97/baldrige. hypertext mark-up language Reiman, Curt W. Winning Strategies for the Malcolm Baldrige Award, Journal of Quality Management, July 1990, pp. 9-25.