Quality Management

What is Theory?
Slide 1 of 5


Theory Defined
– Theory is a “coherent group of general
propositions used as principles of explanation for a
class of phenomena.”

Illustration of a Theory
– For example, it might have been observed that
many companies that have implemented quality
improvements have experienced improved worker
morale.
What is Theory?
Slide 2 of 5

Testable Theoretical Model

Independent Dependent
Variable Variable

Causality
Quality Worker
Improvements Morale
What is Theory?
Slide 3 of 5

Four Elements of a Complete Theory

What
What Why
Why

Who-where-
Who-where-
Where
Where when
when
What is Theory?
Slide 4 of 5


Two Ways to Establish a Theory
– Induction
– Deduction

Induction
– The process of induction is useful bus is also
subject to observer bias and misperception.

Deduction
– Using deduction, researchers propose a model
based on prior research and design an experiment
to test the theoretical model.
 What is Theory?
Slide 5 of 5

Inductive Versus Deductive Reasoning

Induction
Data Generalization

Deduction

Supported by
Generalization
Data
A Theory of Quality Management?
Slide of 2


No Unified Theory
– As yet, there is not a unified theory explaining quality
improvement that is widely accepted by the quality
community

Differing Approaches
– The differing approaches to quality improvement
represent competing philosophies that have sought
their places in the marketplace of ideas.
A Theory of Quality Management?
Slide 2 of 2


Managers Must Apply What Fits
– As a result of the availability of competing
philosophies of quality management, practicing quality
managers must become familiar with these
philosophies and apply those that are applicable to
their particular situation.

The Most Successful Companies
– The most successful companies have put their own
stamp on quality campaigns, mounting their own
massive training efforts internally.
Leading Contributors to Quality
Theory

W. Edwards Deming

Joseph M. Juran

Kaoru Ishikawa

Armand Feigenbaum

Philip Crosby

Genichi Taguchi

Tom Peters
W. Edwards Deming
Slide 1 of 5


Preeminent(Most Excellent) Authority
– W. Edwards Deming was widely accepted as the
world’s preeminent authority on quality management
prior to his death on December 24, 1993.
– Deming gained credibility because of his influence on
Japanese and American industry.

Contributions
– Fourteen Points for Management
– The Seven Deadly Diseases
– Emphasized “continual neverending improvement.”
W. Edwards Deming
Slide 2 of 5


Deming’s 14 Points for Management
– While Deming espoused the belief that theory was
important to the understanding of quality
improvement, the closest he ever came to
expounding a theory was in his 14 points for
management.
– Taken as a whole, the 14 points represent many of
the key principles that provide the basis for quality
management in many organizations.
W. Edwards Deming
Slide 3 of 5
Deming’s 14 Points for Management
1. Create constancy of
purpose.
2. Adopt a new philosophy.
3. Cease mass inspection.
4. End awarding business on
the basis of price tag.
5. Constantly improve the
system.
6. Institute training on the job.
7. Improve leadership.
8. Drive out fear.
9. Break down barriers
between departments.
10. Eliminate slogans.
11. Eliminate work
standards.
12. Remove barriers to pride.
13. Institute education and
self-improvement.
14. Put everybody to work.
W. Edwards Deming
Slide 4 of 5

Deming’s 7 Deadly Diseases

1. Lack of constancy of purpose.

2. Emphasis on short-term profits.
3. Evaluation of performance, merit rating, or annual
review.
4. Mobility of management.
5. Running a company on visible figures alone.
6. Excessive medical costs for employee health care.
7. Excessive costs of warrantees.
 W. Edwards Deming
Slide 5 of 5

Theoretical Model Underlying the Deming Method

Internal
Continuous
and external
improvement
cooperation

Visionary Organizational Process Process Customer

leadership System Management Outcomes satisfaction

Employee
Learning
fulfillment

Causal Direction Feedback Mechanisms

 Joseph M. Juran
Slide 1 of 5


Juran’s Approach
– Juran tends to take a more strategic and planning-
based approach to improvement than does Deming.
– Juran promotes the view that organizational quality
problems are largely the result of insufficient and
ineffective planning for quality.

Key Contributions
– Juran Trilogy
– Control versus Breakthrough
– Project-by-Project Improvement
– Pareto Analysis
 Joseph M. Juran
Slide 2 of 5
The Juran Trilogy:
Three basic processes that are essential for
managing to improve quality.

Planning
Planning Improvement
Improvement

Control
Control
 Joseph M. Juran
Slide 3 of 5


Control versus Breakthrough
– According to Juran, control is a process-related
activity that ensures processes are stable and
provides a relatively consistent outcome.
• Control involves gathering data about a process to ensure
that the process is consistent.
– Breakthrough improvement implies that the process
has been studied and some major improvement has
resulted in large, nonrandom improvement to the
process.
– It is important to understand that control and
breakthrough-related activities should occur
simultaneously.
 Joseph M. Juran
Slide 4 of 5


Project-by-Project Improvement
– Juran teaches that improvement in organizations is
accomplished on a project-by-project basis “and in no
other way.”
– The project-to-project approach advocated by Juran
is a planning-based approach to quality improvement.
– Managers must prioritize which project will be
undertaken first based on financial return.
– This means that analysts must use the language
of management, that is, money, in order to
help determine which projects should be
undertaken.
 Joseph M. Juran
Slide 5 of 5


Pareto Analysis
– Joseph Juran identified an economic concept that
he applied to quality problems.
– The economic concept is called Pareto’s law or
the 80/20 rule.
– Using Pareto’s law, we see that the majority of
quality problems are caused by relatively few
causes.
 Kaoru Ishikawa
Slide 1 of 2


Ishikawa’s Primary Contributions
– Perhaps Ishikawa’s greatest achievement was the
development and dissemination of the basic seven
tools of quality (B7).
– As the developer of these tools, Ishikawa is
credited with democratizing statistics.
– Ishikawa felt that to be successful, firms must
make everyone responsible for statistical analysis
and interpretation.
 Kaoru Ishikawa
Slide 2 of 2


Ishikawa’s Quality Philosophy
– Ishikawa spent his life working to improve quality
in Japan.
– His ideas were synthesized into 11 points that
made up his quality philosophy.
– Ishikawa is often overlooked in the U.S.; however,
every firm that pursues quality improvement will
use his tools.
 Armand Feigenbaum
Slide 1 of 3


Feigenbaum’s primary contribution to quality
thinking in America was his assertion that the
entire organization should be involved in
improving quality.

He was the first in the U.S. to move quality from
the offices of the specialists back to operating
workers. This occurred in the 1950s.

Contributions
– Three-step process to improving quality.
– Four deadly sins that impede quality improvement.
– Nineteen steps for improving quality.
 Armand Feigenbaum
Slide 2 of 3

Feigenbaum proposes a three-step process

to improving quality.

Quality
Quality Quality
Quality Organizational
Organizational
Improvement
Improvement Technology
Technology Commitment
Commitment

Includes statistics Includes everyone

Motivated by leadership
and machinery that in the quality struggle
can improve quality
 Armand Feigenbaum
Slide 3 of 3


Four Deadly Sins (Major Impediments to
Improving Quality)
– Hothouse quality refers to those quality programs that
receive a lot of hoopla and no follow-through.
– Wishful thinking occurs with those who would pursue
protectionism to keep American firms from having to
compete on quality.
– Producing overseas is a panacea(cure) sometimes
undertaken by managers who wish that out of sight, out
of mind could solve quality related problems.
– Confining quality to the factory means that quality has
historically just been viewed as a shop floor concern.
Philip Crosby

Crosby became very well known for his
authorship of the book Quality is Free.
– The primary thesis of this book was that quality, as a
managed process, can be a source of profit for an
organization.

Crosby specifies a quality improvement program
consisting of fourteen steps.
– These steps underlie the Crosby zero defects
approach to quality improvement.
– His approach emphasizes the behavioral and
motivational aspects of quality improvement rather
than statistical approaches.
 Genichi Taguchi
Slide 1 of 3

The Taguchi method was first introduced by Dr.
Genichi Taguchi to AT&T Bell Labs in 1980.

Due to its increased acceptance and utilization, the
Taguchi method for improving quality is now
commonly viewed to be comparable in importance to
the Deming approach, and the Ishikawa concept of
total quality management.

Unique Aspects of the Taguchi Method
– Definition of quality
– Quality loss function
– Robust design
 Genichi Taguchi
Slide 2 of 3

The Taguchi Method Provides

1. A basis for determining the functional relationship

between controllable product or service design
factors and the outcomes of a process.
2. A method for adjusting the mean of a process by
optimizing controllable variables.

3. A procedure for examining the relationship between

random noise in the process and product or service
variability.
 Genichi Taguchi
Slide 3 of 3
 Definition of Quality
– In Taguchi’s terms, “ideal quality” refers to a reference point for
determining the quality level of a product or service.
 Quality Loss Function
– Normally, when specifications are set, a target is specified with
some allowance for variation.
– Taguchi states that any deviation from target specs results in loss
to society produced.
 Robust Design
– Products and services should be designed so that they are
inherently defect free and of high quality.
Tom Peters
Slide 1 of 3


Tom Peters is a noted author, consultant, and speaker
who is widely recognized.

Peters co-authored the book In Search Of Excellence.
– The research for the book involved a case study of several
firms and resulted in eight basic practices found in excellent
firms.

The eight practices identified with excellent firms include a
bias for action, getting close to the customer, promoting
entrepreneurship, productivity through people, value-
driven management, sticking to the core competencies,
lean staff, and implementing appropriate amounts of
supervision and empowerment.
 Tom Peters
Slide 1 of 3

 Actively create a quality revolution

 Put the customer first in everything you do
 Listen actively to all stakeholders
 Invest in people, training, education and
recruitment
 Openly reward, recognize and support
productivity innovation
 Openly support failures where people have tried
to improve
 Involve everyone in everything at all times
 Tom Peters
Slide 1 of 3

 Setup simple and understandable measures

 Fight against bureaucracy and inflexibility
 Look through a different mirror: step outside the
company and look at it from a different perspective
 Teamwork and trust: develop strong interpersonal
and team skills
 Work on attitudes and attention to detail: get things
done
 Be consistent and strive for improvements in all
areas
Viewing Quality From a Contingency
Perspective
 There is a great deal of contradictory information about how
firms should improve quality.
 A variety of approaches can work to improve quality.
 The successful firms adopt aspects of each of the various
approaches that help them improve.
 The keys to the contingency approach are an understanding
of quality approaches, an understanding of the business,
and the creative application of these approaches to the
business.
Resolving the Differences in Quality
Approaches, An Integrative View


Resolving the Differences
– There are many differences between the
approaches to quality management proposed by
the “Gurus”
– However, rather than focusing on differences, it is
instructional to review the literature to identify
common themes and messages.
A Categorization of Quality
Management Content Variables
Outer Ring
Environmental characteristics
Quality breakthrough
Inner Ring
Data gathering
Strategic planning

Core
Leadership
Employee improvement
Quality assurance
Customer role
Philosophy

Quality department focus

Team Approach
Quality Management Content Variables
Slide 1 of 5


Core Variables  Inner and Outer
– Leadership Ring Variables
– Employee – Information Analysis
Improvement – Strategic Planning
– Quality Assurance – Environment or
Infrastructure
– Customer Focus
– Team Approach
– Quality Philosophy
– Focus of the Quality
– Breakthrough Department
Quality Management Content Variables
Slide 2 of 5


Leadership
– The role of the leader in being the champion and
major force behind quality improvement is critical.

Employee Improvement
– Once the leader is enlightened and motivated to go
forward in the quality effort, employees must be
trained and developed.

Quality Assurance
– Quality experts agree that quality can be assured only
during the design phase. Therefore, effort must be
invested in designing products, services, and
processes so that they are consistently of high quality.
Quality Management Content Variables
Slide 3 of 5


Customer Focus
– An understanding of the customer is key to quality
management efforts.

Quality Philosophy
– Adoption of a philosophy toward quality improvement
is also important. Establishing a clear message
provides a company with a map to follow during their
quest for improvement.
Quality Management Content Variables
Slide 4 of 5

Information Analysis
– Fact-based improvement refers to an approach that
favors information gathering and analysis

Strategic Planning
– This provides a framework for a rational quality strategy
that will provide alignment with key business factors.

Environment or Infrastructure
– Quality environment or infrastructure must be created
that supports quality management efforts.

Team Approach
– One of the contemporary approaches to quality
management learned from the Japanese is teamwork.
Quality Management Content Variables
Slide 5 of 5


Role of the Quality Department
– As a result of the dispersion of responsibility for
quality, the role of the quality department has changed
significantly.
– Rather than performing the policing function, these
departments are filling more of a coaching role.

Breakthrough
– The need to make large improvements is not
precluded by continuous improvement.
– Firms must find ways to achieve radical
improvements.
Theoretical Framework for Quality
Management

Quality management begins with leadership.

The quality philosophy influences decision making
concerning quality strategy, quality assurance, and
employee improvement.

The customer is the focus of all activities of the firm.

Major activities forming the quality system
– Breakthrough improvement
– Team building
– Data gathering
– Strategic planning
– Quality department coaching
 Theoretical Framework for Quality
Management
Figure 2.8

Information Customer Focus

Team
Analysis
Building
Employee
Quality Improvement
Assurance

Leadership

Breakthrough

Philosophy Strategic
Development Planning
Quality
Dept. Role