Session 7: Total Quality Management

Designing Organizations for Quality and TQ Santiago Ibarreche © 2003

Functional Structures Marketing Plant 1 Operations Quality Control President Production Plant 2 Purchasing Finance Accounting Engineering Santiago Ibarreche © 2003

Functional Structures  Advantages:  Clear Chain of Command  Specialization  Clear evaluation because of narrow definition of tasks  Promotes Efficiency  Disadvantages:  Separates employees from customers  Inhibits process improvement  Usually put responsibility of quality improvement as a separate function  No one has complete responsibility for customer satisfaction Santiago Ibarreche © 2003

Redesigning Organizations  Focus on Processes  Recognize Internal Customers  Create Team-Based Organization  Reduce Hierarchy  Use Steering Committees Santiago Ibarreche © 2003

Focus on Processes  Process is how work creates value for customers  Core processes  Support processes Santiago Ibarreche © 2003

Recognize Internal Customers 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Product or service: What work do I do?

Customer: Who uses the products or services I provide?

Supplier: What do I need and from whom do I get it?

Process: What steps or tasks are performed? What are the inputs and outputs for each step?

Mistake-proof the process: How can I eliminate or simplify tasks? What Poka-yoke devices can I use?

Develop measurements and controls, and improvement goals: How do I evaluate the process? How can I improve further?

Santiago Ibarreche © 2003

Team Based Organizations:  Concentric teams  Temporary teams  Project teams  Intra-company  Inter-company Santiago Ibarreche © 2003

Reduce Structure  The role of Middle Management:  Not as a step in the ladder  Not as a department head  Not as subordinate  YES as Advisor Santiago Ibarreche © 2003

Steering Committees  Leadership  Planning  Implementation  Review Santiago Ibarreche © 2003

Comparison with O. D. Theories  Structural Contingency:  Mechanistic (centralized, many rules, strict division of labor, formal coordination)  Organic (decentralized, few rules, loose division of labor, informal coordination)  Institutional Theory:  Structure selected to show legitimacy Santiago Ibarreche © 2003