Implementing Total Quality Management: A Critical Evaluation Essay Using Benchmarking.

Total Quality Management (TQM) can be described to be a management philosophy embracing all activities, through which the needs and expectations of the customer and the objectives, of the organisation are satisfied in the most effective and efficient way. TQM is a holistic approach where all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services, and the culture in which they work. Benchmarking can be a useful tool to make breakthrough changes within an organisation.

Using Benchmarking and a tool of your choice from the list below, critically evaluate how an organisation can successfully implement the TQM tools chosen.

• Six Sigma

• Quality Circles

• Jidoka

• JIT (Just in Time)

• TPC (Total Product Concept)

• Kaizen

Concept of Benchmarking

In middle 1980s, a new concept in in quality management emerged among scholars, practitioners and consulters. The concept was under the name Total Quality Management. The concept’s origin is associated with Japanese manufacturers’ high-quality goods and lesson drawn from these manufacturers in relation to quality thereafter and consequently Japan is taken to be the strongest contributor to the emergence of the concept (Zadin, 2001). Slack (2004) explicates that "there is a growing realization that high-quality goods and services can give an organization a considerable competitive edge. Good quality reduces the costs of rework, scrap and returns and most importantly, generates satisfied customers. Some operations managers believe that, in the long run quality is the most important single factor affecting an organizations' performance relative to its competitors." (Slack, et al., 2004).

Total Quality Management (TQM), a philosophy employed by management that seeks to integrate every organizational functions including marketing, finance, engineering and production, design and customer service, among others. The integration is meant to focus on realizing customers’ needs and organization’s objectives (Hashmi, 2017). To achieve this, TQM looks at an organization as an aggregation of processes and operations and calls for organizations to purpose to relentlessly improve these processes by integrating the knowledge and experiences of employees. The main objective of TQM is to, “Do the right things, right the first time, every time.” (Hashmi, 2017). Unlike earlier days when TQM used to be applied as a generic management tool, TQM is now being employed in service and public sector organizations.  Besides, there have been a number of developments in the sector with some organizations coming up with evolutionary strands; creating their own versions from the ancient one.

In brevity, TQM is an approach for uninterrupted improvement in the quality of goods and services being produced and manufactured through participation of all players in the firm. TQM is more than just a program; it a concept of business management of organizations (Kaynak, 2003). Consequently, TQM is a comprehensive management philosophy which designs a continuous improvement concepts to all functions of an organization which bases on the fact that that al all subjects of total quality are utilized from the acquisition of resources to customer service (Kaynak, 2003). To achieve its objectives, TQM employs a number of benchmarking tools which include six sigma, Quality circles, Kaizen, Total product Concept (TPC), Jidoka and Just in Time (JIT). An organization may employ one or a number of them.

Areas of Benchmarking

The purpose of these paper is to critically benchmark Tesco supermarket against Asda Supermarket using Kaizen benchmarking tool. To achieve this, the paper will explores the meaning and types of benchmarking and how they relate of Tesco. Thereafter, Kaizen theory is be explored and explained. The exploration ranges from definition and theories relating to Kaizen benchmarking tool and how Tesco can successfully implement Kaizen theory.  Generally, the report seeks to evaluate how an organization can successfully implement the kaizen benchmarking strategies.

Benchmarking is the process of making a comparison between cycle time, cost, method and quality of a specific process and another that is widely seen as an industry’s standard or best practice (Reh, 2017). Benchmarking provides a snapshot of the organization’s performance in relation to a particular standard; a standard that generally or mostly accepted as the best.  In the process, an organization that is benchmarking gets an opportunity to make improvement in the areas it notices it is under performing in relation to the other organization.  

Figure 1: Areas of benchmarking

The term benchmarking originated from shoe-making industry. Cobblers used to measure one’s feet for shoes. They would place the foot on a bench and mark it with the pattern for shoes (Anon., 2017). To successfully, carry out benchmarking, benchmarking organization must come up with specific indicators such as cost per unit of measure, cycle time of y per unit of measure, productivity per unit of measure or defects per unit of measure These indicators enables the bench marking organization to come up with metrics of performance that is compared to others and improvement sought. (Anon., 2017).

Figure 2: Other classification of Benchmarking

There are a number of types benchmarking. These are process, financial, performance, product, strategic and functional:

• Product benchmarking: Targets designing products or upgrading to current ones. The process may involve reverse engineering; exploring competitors’ products to find strengths and weaknesses.
• Performance benchmarking: This kind of benchmarking enables the initiator organization to evaluate their competitive position by performing a comparison of products and services of those target firms.
• Process benchmarking: The initiator organization investigates business process with a goal of identifying and observing good practices that are better.
• Financial benchmarking: It is about financial analysis and comparing results in a bid to assess an organization’s competitiveness.
• Strategic benchmarking: Strategic benchmarking is all about how others compete.
• Functional benchmarking:  This kind of benchmarking entails focusing on a single function of an organization in order to improve the function of that specified operation

An organization may carry out a number of these benchmarking at the same time or choose one based on the need.

Tesco is a great retail brand globally. It is one of the top one hundred world’s most treasured brands  (Anon., 2017). It is well renowned for offering value for money, conveniences and wide range of products (Brand Finance, 2014). On the hand, ASDA Stores Limited is a supermarket based in British retail industry whose headquarters are in Leeds, West Yorkshire. It was founded in 1965 (Anon., 2017). Benchmarking Tesco against Asda, there are number of things that ASDA has must mastered and performs well that Tesco can borrow a leaf. These are areas of ASDA’s strengths that Tesco, being in the same industry, may find very favorable for improvement of their processes and general performance at large. The following are the areas that has worked better for ASDA than Tesco.

Methodology of Benchmarking

First, ASDA has a stronger and more effective and efficient management team. To make the natter better, ASDA’s parent, Walmart, has announced changes in management team to make it better (Ruddick, 2014). The good management of ASDA has been reflected in its balance sheet and debt management this is unlike Tesco whose poor debt management has been reflected in bad debts from credit cards.  Its model of diversifying its areas of operations has resulted into unmanageable lines of operations (Ruddick, 2014). Another area that Tesco is not doing well in relation to the ASDA is creating of economies of scale. ASDA enjoys cost advantages due to economies of scale. ASDA’s economies of scale creates a significant impact on their general performance and is something that could be imitated; this is because economies of scale decreases the cost of operation thus adding value to the profit margins. On the hand, Tesco, in comparison to the ASDA, operates in lesser quantities thus its costs are higher. Consequently, Tesco can carry out strategic benchmarking in these area.

The next important step in implementation of benchmarking process. Thus it is paramount for Tesco to come up with proper strategy to implement the benchmark. The Deming’s 14 points for management provides key principles that can help significantly in improving the effectiveness of the business performance (Anon., 2017). Thus to successfully implement the benchmark, boosting the effectiveness of management, particularly debt management and create economies of scale, Tesco can employ the Deming’s 14 points for management.

For Tesco to successfully implement the benchmark according to the Deming’s 14 points  (Anon., 2017);  

• It needs to create a constant purpose to improve its product and services. This is part of the management team strengthening. Thus its management needs to create a constancy of purpose that will enable creation of greater economies of scale and more effective and efficient management
• Adoption of New Philosophy: For Tesco to adopt the new techniques learnt, it must adopt wave of change in its leadership so that it can take up the challenge of competing with ASDA; thus Tesco must adopt a philosophy change.
• Cessation of dependence on inspection to ensure quality: Tesco must purpose to eliminate depending on mass inspection and depend on ensuring quality of products in the first place.
• Creating loyalty: The business should purpose to move towards one supplier for specific products and avoid awarding business based on the price.
• Constancy in improvement: Tesco must purpose to only improve effectiveness and efficiency of its management team and strive to expand its economies of scale but also continuously improve the quality of services and products offered.
• Enhancement of Training: Employees and relevant stakeholders should be trained on the job to be done in order to enhance the skills and create awareness of the purpose of Tesco to implement the benchmark.
• Institution of right leadership: Right and effective supervision and entire management should be instituted. Besides, machines and gadgets should be provided to ensure workers carry out tasks better.
• Drive out Fear: All players in the activities of Tesco should be made comfortable so that they can effectively to increase productivity.
• Break down of barriers: Workers in various departments must be encouraged and made to work hand in hand with each so that there is smooth flow of activities and processes.
• Elimination of exhortation, targets and slogans: Exhortations create antagonisms hence lowering productivities.
• Elimination of Numerical quotas for the staff and numerical goals management: That is, in order to replace quantity with quality, numerical measures in supervision should be replaced with quality measurement in supervision.
• Elimination of barriers that deny management their pride of workmanship
• Rigorous Education program: Self-improvement programs for everyone should be designed to refine people’s skills and knowledge.
• Involve in everyone: Hold everyone in Tesco responsible and involved in the performance of the organization.

Kaizen is a management theory that outline continuous improvement. It was introduced by Masaaki Imai as revealed in his book Kaizen: The key to Japan’s Competitive Success in 1986.  The practice is recognized as a pillar for organizations’ long term strategy (Kaizen Institute, 2017). Basically Kaizen is improving productivity and minimizing waste through small incremental changes.

Figure 3: Elements of Kaizen Theory (Kaizen Institute, 2017)

Figure 4: Features of Kaizen 

So the secret behind Kaizen’s success in TQM is continuous of improvement of ‘wastes’ after identification. To achieve this, Kaizen employs a number of principles which when followed achieve the main objective of the Kaizen strategy. These principles are:

Figure 4: principles of Kaizen

PDCA, Plan-do-Check-Act, is a four stage model used repetitively in management to create continuous improvement (Rouse, 2017). The model works hand in hand with Kaizen because they both rally for small changes that contribute to continuity in improvement. In Total quality management, PDCA is broken down in the following ways (Rouse, 2017):

• Plan: At this stage, the organization concerned, this case Tesco, should define the problem at hand, have the needed data and find out the root cause of the problem.
• Do: This stage of the model involves development and implementation of the solution and coming up with measurement to gauge the effectiveness of the solution. In this case, Tesco should critically implement the strategies designed to improve effectiveness and efficiency of its management team and thereafter track the success.
• Check: Tesco should confirm the results of the new management strategies before and during the implementation.  
• Act: At this point, the results of the implementation is documented to inform others and create awareness of the same.

Tesco against Asda Benchmarking

Figure 5: Summary Stages of PDCA Cycle.

To successfully implement Kaizen, it is paramount for Tesco to stakeholders to understand that Kaizen is not a project to be completed but it is a way of thinking to be implemented (Woods, 2017). Thus for Tesco to successfully implement Kaizen, all employees should be trained on the concepts of Kaizen as discusses above and be given comprehensive guidelines before assuming the Kaizen model. In this case, for example, improvement in management and supervision approach and strategies, in the process of aligning Tesco’s management with that of ASDA, should involve proper training and communication to all players in the firm (Woods, 2017).

Conclusion and Recommendations

In this paper, comprehensive and critical concept of benchmarking tools and kaizen theory was addressed. The concepts and tools employed in these Total Quality Management tools were related to the deficiencies of Tesco in relation to ASDA in order to bring out the areas Tesco needs to improve and how well Kaizen concepts can be of importance to the firm. In the paper, it is seen clearly that its areas of deficiencies can be solved through employment of Kaizen concepts. However, proper awareness and training should be created among the stakeholders for the processes to be successful.

Inasmuch as the paper has tried to comprehensively cover major objectives of the paper, much research and summary should be done on disadvantages or weaknesses of Kaizen and the related tool. The information is important for the organizations using the model.  

References

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