1.

WHAT IS OD?Beckhard (1) defines Organization Development (OD) as "an effort, planned,
organization-wide, and managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health
throughplanned interventions in the organizations processes, using behavioral-science
knowledge."In essence, OD is a planned system of change. Planned. OD takes a long-range
approach to improving organizational performance and efficiency. It avoids the (usual) "quick-fix".
Organization-wide. OD focuses on the total system. Managed from the top. To be effective, OD must
have the support of top- management. They have to model it, not just espouse it. The OD process
also needs the buy-in and ownership of workers throughout the organization. Increase organization
effectiveness and health. OD is tied to the bottom-line. Its goal is to improve the organization, to
make it more efficient and more competitive by aligning the organizations systems with its people.
Planned interventions. After proper preparation, OD uses activities called interventions to make
systemwide, permanent changes in the organization. Using behavioral-science knowledge. OD is a
discipline that combines research and experience to understanding people, business systems, and
their interactions.What is an OD Intervention?The term Intervention refers to a set of sequenced,
planned actions or events intended tohelp an organization to increase its effectiveness. Interventions
purposely disrupt thestatus quo; they are deliberate attempts to change an organization or sub-unit
toward adifferent and more effective state.Criteria for Effective InterventionsIn OD three major criteria
define the effectiveness of an intervention:1. The Extent to Which it (the Intervention) fits the needs
of the organization.2. The degree to which it is based on causal knowledge of intended outcomes3.
The extent to which the OD intervention transfers change-managementcompetence to organization
members.Factors That Impact the Success of OD InterventionsI. Factors relating to Change
Situation: These relate to the environment of theorganization and include the physical and human
environment.1. Readiness for Change: Intervention success depends heavily on the
organizationbeing ready for planned change.2. Capability to Change: Managing planned change
requires particular knowledgeand skills including the ability to motivate change, to lead change, to
developpolitical support, to manage transition, and to sustain momentum.

2.

3. Cultural Context: The national culture within which an organization isembedded can exert
a powerful influence on members reactions to change, and sointervention design must account for
the cultural values and assumptions held byorganization members.4. Capabilities of the Change
Agent (OD Consultant): The success of ODinterventions depend to a great extent on the expertise,
experience and talents oftheconsultant.II. Factors Related to the Target of Change: These relate to
the specific targets atwhich OD interventions are targeted. The targets of change can be different
issues of theorganization and at different levels.A. Organizational Issues1. Strategic Issues: Strategic
issues refer to major decisions of organizations suchas what products or services to offer, which
markets to serve, mergers,acquisitions, expansions, etc.2. Technology and Structure Issues: These
refer to issues relating to howorganizations divide their work amongst departments and how they
coordinatebetween departments.3. Human Resource Issues: These issues are concerned with
attracting competentpeople to the organization, setting goals for them, appraising and rewarding
theirperformance, and ensuring that they develop their careers and manage stress.4. Human
Process Issues: These issues have to do with social processes occurringamong organization
members, such as communication, decision-making,leadership, and group dynamics.B.
Organizational LevelsOD interventions are aimed at different levels of the organization: individual,

group,organization and trans-organization (for example different offices of the organizationaround the
globe; or between organization and its suppliers, customers, etc.)INTERVENTION
CATEGORIESHuman Process InterventionsA. The following interventions deal with interpersonal
relationships and groupdynamics.1. T Groups: The basic T Group brings ten to fifteen strangers
together with a professionaltrainer to examine the social dynamics that emerge from their
interactions.2. Process Consultation: This intervention focuses on interpersonal relations andsocial
dynamics occurring in work groups.3. Third Party Interventions: This change method is a form of
process consultationaimed at dysfunctional interpersonal relations in organizations.4. Team Building:
This intervention helps work groups become more effective inaccomplishing tasks.
3.

B. The following Interventions deal with human processes that are more systemwide than
individualistic or small-group oriented.1. Organization Confrontation Meeting: This change method
mobilizesorganization members to identify problems, set action targets, and begin workingon
problems.2. Intergroup Relations: These interventions are designed to improve interactionsamong
different groups or departments in organizations.3. Large-group Interventions: These interventions
involve getting abroad varietyof stakeholders into a large meeting to clarify important values, to
develop newways of working, to articulate a new vision for the organization, or to solvepressing
organizational problems.4. Grid Organization Development: This normative intervention specifies
aparticular way to manage an organization.Techno-Structural InterventionsThese interventions deal
with an organizations technology (for examples its taskmethods and job design) and structure (for
example, division of labor and hierarchy).These interventions are rooted in the disciplines of
engineering, sociology, andpsychology and in the applied fields of socio-technical systems and
organization design.Consultants place emphasis both on productivity and human fulfillment.1.
Structural Design: This change process concerns the organizations division oflabor how to
specialize task performances. Diagnostic guidelines exist to determine whichstructure is appropriate
for particular organizational environments, technologies, andconditions.2. Downsizing: This
intervention reduces costs and bureaucracy by decreasing thesize of the organization through
personnel layoffs, organization redesign, andoutsourcing.3. Re-engineering: This recent intervention
radically redesigns the organizationscore work processes to create tighter linkage and coordination
among the differenttasks4. Parallel Structures5. High-involvement Organizations (HIOs)6. Total
Quality Management7. Work design: This refers to OD interventions aimed at creating jobs, and
workgroups that generate high levels of employee fulfillment and productivity.Human Resource
Management Interventions1. Goal Setting: This change program involves setting clear and
challenging goals.It attempts to improve organization effectiveness by establishing a better
fitbetween personal and organizational objectives.2. Performance Appraisal: This intervention is a
systematic process of jointlyassessing work-related achievements, strengths and weaknesses,

4.

3. Reward Systems: This intervention involves the design of organizational rewardsto

improve employee satisfaction and performance.4. Career Planning and development: It generally
focuses onmanagers and professional staff and is seen as a way of improving the quality oftheir
work life.5. Managing workforce diversity: Important trends, suchas the increasing number of women,
ethnic minorities, and physically andmentally challenged people in the workforce, require a more
flexible set ofpolicies and practices.6. Employee Wellness: These interventions include employee

assistance programs(EAPs) and stress management.StrategicInterventionsThese interventions link

the internal functioning of the organization to the largerenvironment and transform the organization to
keep pace with changing conditions.1. Integrated Strategic Change: It argues that business
strategies and organizational systemsmust be changed together in response to external and internal
disruptions. A strategicchange plan helps members manage the transition between a current
strategy andorganization design and the desired future strategic orientation.2. Trans organization
development: This intervention helps organizations to enterinto alliances, partnerships and joint
ventures to perform tasks or solve problemsthat are too complex for single organizations to resolve3.
Merger and Acquisition Integration: This intervention describes how ODpractitioners can assist two
or more organizations to form a new entity.4. Culture Change: This intervention helps organizations
to develop cultures(behaviors, values, beliefs and norms) appropriate to their strategies
andenvironments.5. Self-designing organizations: This change program helps organizations gain
thecapacity to alter themselves fundamentally. It is a highly participative process,involving multiple
stakeholders in setting strategic directions and designing andimplementing appropriate structures
and processes.6. Organization learning and knowledge management.To effectively adapt and thrive
in todays business world, organizations need to implementeffective OD interventions aimed at
improving performance at organizational, group andindividual levels. OD interventions involve
respect for people, a climate of trust and support,shared power, open confrontation of issues, and
the active participation of stakeholders. ODinterventions are broader in scope, usually affecting the
whole organization (socio-technicalsystems). OD interventions are sponsored by the CEO and
supported and owned by staff atthe different levels of the organization.OD professionals must have
a solid understanding of the different OD interventions to choosethe most appropriate, or mix and
match them -based on the expected results and a solid
5.

analysis of the organization and its environment.Measuring their impact on organizational

effectiveness and employees well beingOD interventions encompass other change initiatives, that is
why it is difficult to identifytheir impact and effectiveness in isolation, nevertheless, the 2008 ASTD
State of the IndustryReport revealed that organizations achieved important benefits for their
investment inlearning activities Almost all BEST organizations reported improvements in employee
andcustomer satisfaction, quality of products and services, cycle time, productivity,
retention,revenue, and overall profitability. BEST organizations had clearly defined processes to
linklearning strategies and initiatives to increases in both individual and
organizationalperformance".OD interventions require visionary and participative leadershipOD
interventions are initiated at the top and require employee participation and commitment,therefore,
visionary leaders that work as change agents, developing a vision, and providingcontinuous and
sustained support is paramount. Kanter, Stein &Jick (1992) consider that ODinterventions require a
strong leader role. An organization should not undertake somethingas challenging as large-scale
change without a leader to guide, drive and inspire it. Thesechange advocates, play a critical role in
creating a company vision, motivating companyemployees to embrace that vision, and crafting an
organizational structure that consistentlyrewards those who strive toward the realization of the
visionWHY DO OD? Human resources -- our people -- may be a large fraction of our costs of doing
business. They certainly can make the difference between organizational success and failure. We
better know how to manage them. Changing nature of the workplace. Our workers today want

feedback on their performance, a sense of accomplishment, feelings of value and worth, and
commitment to social responsibility. They need to be more efficient, to improve their time
management. And, of course, if we are to continue doing more work with less people, we need to
make our processes more efficient. Global markets. Our environments are changing, and our
organizations must also change to survive and prosper. We need to be more responsible to and
develop closer partnerships with our customers. We must change to survive, and we argue that we
should attack the problems, not the symptoms, in a systematic, planned, humane manner.
Accelerated rate of change. Taking an open-systems approach, we can easily identify the
competitions on an international scale for people, capital, physical resources, and information.WHO
DOES OD?
6.

To be successful, OD must have the buy-in, ownership, and involvement of all

stakeholders,not just of the employees throughout the organization. OD is usually facilitated by
changeagents -- people or teams that have the responsibility for initiating and managing the
changeeffort. These change agents may be either employees of the organization
(internalconsultants) or people from outside the organization (external consultants.)Effective change
requires leadership with knowledge, and experience in change management.We strongly
recommend that external or internal consultants be used, preferably acombination of both. ("These
people are professionals; dont try this at home.")Bennis (2) notes that "external consultants can
manage to affect ... the power structure in away that most internal change agents cannot." Since
experts from outside are less subject tothe politics and motivations found within the organization,
they can be more effective infacilitating significant and meaningful changes.WHEN IS AN
ORGANIZATION READY FOR OD?There is a formula, attributed to David Gleicher (3, 4), which we
can use to decide if anorganization is ready for change: Dissatisfaction x Vision x First Steps >
Resistance to ChangeThis means that three components must all be present to overcome the
resistance to change inan organization: Dissatisfaction with the present situation, a vision of what is
possible in thefuture, and achievable first steps towards reaching this vision. If any of the three is
zero ornear zero, the product will also be zero or near zero and the resistance to change
willdominate.We use this model as an easy, quick diagnostic aid to decide if change is possible. OD
canbring approaches to the organization that will enable these three components to surface, sowe
can begin the process of change. Implication Total Quality Management2. TARGET LEVEL OF
ANALYSIS:TQM programs are directed at the entire organization including the suppliers and
itscustomers. Although quality at the individual level is important, the successful TQMprogram calls
for quality from every person, at every level of the organization, in everycapacity within the
organization. In short, TQM programs require a change in theorganizational philosophy and
culture.3. PURPOSE OF THE INTERVENTION:

7.

The purpose of Total Quality Management is to increase customer satisfaction by

improvingthe quality of the goods or services offered by the organization. This improvement
iscentered on the product or services, and the processes involved in making or delivering theproduct
or service to the customer. Ultimately the goal of TQM is to make quality the way ofdoing things
within the organization.4. EFFECTIVENESS CRITERIA:In all Total Quality Management programs
the ultimate effectiveness criterion is customersatisfaction. According to the research, to reach this

ultimate goal of effectiveness requiresthat the organization measure several other criteria on a
continual basis (Weaver, 1991;Hackman&Wageman, 1995; Dahlgaard, 1999; Clark, 2000). The
appropriate criteria tomeasure depends on the type of organization, and whether they deliver a
product or a service.In a production-based organization, the effectiveness criteria are divided into
productmeasures and employee measures. The possible measures for the product include:
increasesin production, increases in sales, increases in market share, increases in stock
prices,reductions in the product cycle time, reductions in the number of reworks, reductions in
theinventories, and reductions in customer returns. The employee measures include: satisfactionwith
the company, commitment, performance, turnover, absenteeism, and grievance activity(Clark, 2000).
In service organizations the measures of effectiveness may include reductionsin customer
complaints, increases in return customers, increase in customer referrals, highercustomer volume,
higher employee satisfaction and commitment.5. EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS:Research into
the effectiveness of TQM programs focuses mainly on the increase in marketshares, and the
increase in stock prices. Many organizations measure the success of theirprograms in the reduction
in cycle time and product failures. The success of qualityprograms are most often related to percent
increases in the market share, and overall capitalof the organization. (Creech, 1994). Successful
organizations like Harley-Davidson, FordMotor Company, Johnson & Johnson, Motorola, Xerox, and
others, tell of a long, arduousjourney and complete re-organization of their companies from
centralized, out-put focused, tode-centralized customer focused before they were capable of
reaching their goals of Qualityat all levels of the organizations.6. HOW/WHEN WILL OUTCOMES BE
ASSESSED:
8.

In order for TQM to be successful, outcomes should be measured frequently and on

anongoing basis throughout the entire organization (Cartin, 1993). The main idea behind
thisintervention is to increase and maintain customers through the ongoing improvement of
theproducts or services offered by the organization. To follow this ideology requires that allphases of
the manufacturing be monitored and evaluated on a continual basis. According toCartin (1993), most
TQM programs ultimately fail because management mistakenly assumesthat the first successes are
the end results of the program. When this happens, theorganization cries victory, and the TQM
program eventually fails in the absence of continualmonitoring. Cartin argues that TQM is an
ongoing intervention with no end, thereforeassessment of outcomes must also be ongoing and
continuous if the TQM program is goingto succeed.7. CHARACTERISTICS OF TYPICAL
PARTICIPANTS:The participants involved in TQM programs are many and varied in their education
andexperience. According to Deming (1986) TQM involves the leaders, the employees,suppliers,
and the customers of the organization. Once the organization has decided toimplement the
principles of TQM into the organization culture every person in theorganization is affected. The key to
participation within the organization is a willingness toembrace quality and as noted by Creech
(1994), a willingness to live quality. Key tosuccessful TQM programs, is the attitude of upper
management. It is through uppermanagement that the ideas of total quality take root and grow within
the organization.Without the total commitment of upper management TQM programs lack the role
modelscentral to changing the employees.8. TIME FRAME OF THE INTERVENTION:The time
frame of implementing a TQM program is dependent on several factors. Theorganizational structure,
the resources available to change from out-put based to quality-based operations, the actual

structure of the facilities, the processes, the product, thesuppliers, the employees and finally
customer acceptance of the end product. The actualorganizational change may occur in a relatively
short period, however, the ongoing revisionsin the process and the ultimate goal of winning back
customers, or acquiring new customers,may take years to complete. It is important to keep in mind
that a successful TQM programis an ongoing program, which involves all phases of the organization
at all times until theorganization is no longer viable. If a TQM program is to succeed quality has to
become theculture for the organization (Deming, 1986; Weaver, 1991; Cartin, 1993; Creech,
1994;Reylito, 1999; Clark, 2000).9. TIME FRAME OF THE ANTICIPATED CHANGE:
9.

The time frame for TQM programs are in theory endless. According to proponents of
theintervention, the intervention by nature requires that the organization change in such a waythat
rather than being a quick fix with immediate results, it becomes the way to solve allproblems with
beneficial long-term outcomes. According to Robert Heller (1995), the keyword is long. You can win
quick and great benefits from TQM, but establishing a lastingculture takes several years. Most
successful TQM programs see documented results withinthe first few years after implementing the
programs. However, for some organizations themarket climate may be such that immediate results
are virtually nonexistent and success canonly be measured in the continual survival of the company.
This is not to imply that TQM isan all or nothing intervention, throughout implementation of the
program it is necessary to setsmall obtainable goals, which have to be achieved before the entire
organization iscompletely quality oriented. The most common short term goals achieved are
reductions inoperating cost, reduction in inventories, decreases in product cycle time and decreases
in thenumber of reworks (Hakes, 1991).10. RESOURCES TO CONDUCT THE
INTERVENTION:Implementation of TQM programs may require tremendous resources, including
capital,people, and mostly time. In some organizations implementation of a TQM program
requiredthe total restructuring of the organization toward a more de-centralized structure.
Resourcesmay also be required if the physical structure of the organization (i.e. facilities) need to
bechanged in order to facilitate the necessary process changes. Training programs are also keyto
the success of quality programs. There is little argument that to successfully implementTQM
programs, requires a huge investment of time, indeed time is the one resource that allorganizations
will require if they are going to be successful at implementing a TQM program(Creech, 1994).11.
EXPERTISE OF CONSULTANTS:Many organizations attempt to implement TQM programs without
assistance from outsideconsultants, with mixed results. Many organizations bring in technical
consultants to identifyproblems with the processes, and the product. In addition to technical
assistants managersoften seek out consultants to assist in the empowerment and training of
employees. Althoughthere is no research to indicate specific consulting needs, it is important for the
leadership toseek advice from qualified individuals. Ideally, consultants should have experience
inguiding the organization away from out-put production techniques to team based
qualityprograms.12. DO PARTICIPANTS NEED TO PREPARE:

10.

In order for TQM programs to work they must be accepted and taken into the very core of
theorganization. This involves communicating the need for change to every person in
theorganization. The success of the program depends on its acceptance by the
employeesandmanagement as the right method to remain competitive. It is important that

employeesareprepared to assume the role of managers within the organization, because TQM
requires thatall employees be able to recognize and correct problems in the process. In
addition,employees must be prepared to accept the possibility of job loss, and the need for
additionaltraining. Empowerment of the employee means that each employee be prepared to
assumeresponsibility for their own work and the work of others in order to guarantee success.
Theentire focus of the organization shifts from focusing on the individual to focusing on thesystem as
a whole. The emphases of TQM is on group performance, it focuses on changingthe system and the
total work process not the individual workers productivity.13. HOW IS THE INTERVENTION
CONDUCTED:o According to Deming (1994) to succeed in implementing a quality program a
companymust adopt a 14-point system at all levels of the organization. These points are: 1. Drive out
Fear: The organization must communicate the plan of action to every employee, supplier, including
short term and long-term goals. If the program is to be totally accepted management must
communicate to the employees their vision for the future. 2. Eliminate quotas and numerical goals:
According to Deming, quotas and numerical goals force employees into an out-put frame of mind,
leaving little chance of quality thinking. 3. Break down all barriers between departments: In most
centralized organizations there are definite lines of communications that must be followed and a
division of labor according to departments. In order to implement a TQM program requires that the
organization move toward a de-centralized system in which communication between departments is
frequent and ongoing. In many organizations, this meant the creation of work teams and quality
circles in which each employees inputs were actively sought and followed up on. 4. Eliminate
inspection. Learn to build products right the first time: This is perhaps the hardest point in the
implementation of TQM. According to Creech, (1994), inspection of products is necessary until that
point in time when the processes and the product is at the highest possible quality. Only
11.

when the product is quality can inspection be eliminated. The idea that one can learn to
make a product right the first time is great in theory, but often it takes many prototypes and revisions
before the product is superior in quality. In addition to the need to design and try the products for
production, improvements may be needed and the easiest way to measure if the improve- ments are
effective is to inspect the product before releasing it to market.5. Institute a vigorous program of
education: This means that the company must educate all people involved in the implementation of
the program as to the purposes, the ultimate goal of the program, and the anticipated benefits for
everyone involved with the organization. This education may involve training managers and
employees to work together to achieve quality. Often management must be educated in the workings
of team based production systems, and employees must be educated on how to work effectively in
teams. Without education as to the purpose, and benefits of the program, employees and managers
alike are likely to sabotage the entire program before it is fully implemented (Hakes, 1991; Kanji,
1990; Maccoby, 1992; Wilkinson &Witcher, 1993).6. Remove barriers that rob workers of their right to
pride of workmanship: According to Deming, organizations often fail to recognize employee
contributions to the bottom line. If TQM is to be successful employees must have a sense of
accomplishment and pride in the product they are producing. In order to foster this sense of pride the
organization must empower the employees. Empowerment means that each individual employee has
the knowledge and training to inspect his or her own contributions and make necessary
improvements (Blake & Mouton, 1981). Managements job is to recognize each employees unique

contributions to the process and to recognize employees for their contributions to the overall quality
of the product. (Hall, 1987). In Demings program, performance appraisal systems are inappropriate
measures of employee contributions. Performance appraisals should be used to measure product
performance not individual employees. In order for TQM to succeed management must instill a
sense of pride in their employees. This sense of pride can be realized by creating a vision of the
future to which employees can strive. Harley Davidson created such a vision for their employees,
Well made in America meant that employees were rewarded for reducing the overall number of
reworks and scrap components, while working toward making a Harley Davidson the best made
motorcycle in the world. This quality focused incentive program led to a greater commitment and
pride in producing quality above quantity (Reid, 1990).
12.

7. Institute leadership: The aim of leadership should be to help people do a better job: This is
perhaps the most vital part of any TQM program. Leadership serves as the role model for the rest of
the organization. If the leadership is not fully committed to quality, the program will fail (Juran, 1989).
According to Cartin (1993), the critical role of managers is to understand the TQM philosophies,
tools, and techniques, and regularly participate in their application at every level of the organization.
The old analogy of a company leader being the captain of the ship is no longer appropriate. The
leader of an organization cannot just set the course and bark orders when corrections are needed.
He or She must set the objectives but solicit the employees on the best methods of reaching the
objectives. This willingness to lead instead of manage is key to the success of the program.8.
Eliminate slogans, exhortations and production targets: In order to do this the leadership must be
willing to let the quality process take hold regardless of the time constraints. Deming and others
argue that in successful TQM programs the production will surpass any possible production targets
the leadership might set. The idea that quality is worth the wait is central to the success of the
program, production targets shift employees attention away from quality and toward out-puts thus
reducing the overall quality of the product.9. Adopt a new philosophy: According to Deming, the
organization must adopt a new philosophy, which has quality at its core. This new philosophy should
provide the vision and direction of the company and its employees. Failure to make quality a
philosophy of business means that the whole system will crumble upon itself. The philosophy of the
organization is the center pillar on which the TQM program is built upon, without which the entire
system falls to ruin (Creech, 1984).10. End the practice of awarding business based on the price
tag. Move toward a single supplier for any one item. Base this long-term relationship on loyalty and
trust: One of the keys to successful implementation of TQM programs is identifying your suppliers,
and communicating your philosophy and visions to them. According to Deming organizations must
end the practice of selecting suppliers based on price. The organization must seek out suppliers that
share their vision of quality and build a relationship with these suppliers built on loyalty and trust.
This is a crucial

13.

step in insuring that the implementation of a quality program succeeds. The structure of
organizations is such that often completion of a single product may involve the utilizing the products
of several different organizations. This dependence on others for the necessary parts or services
means that organizations must actively seek out suppliers who are willing to meet the quality
standards required, and abandon those suppliers whose products are sub-standard (Burt, 1989).

Often the failure of TQM programs can be traced back to poor quality parts of services from
suppliers (Gurnani, 1999).11. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service:
This is perhaps the heart of any successful TQM program. Improving the quality of the product or
service is key to remaining successful. The implementation of quality programs means that the
processes and products are constantly measured against the products of competitors. If an
organization is to remain competitive they must implement improvements in the entire production
system. Quality must encompass all phases of production, including improving technology,
processes, machinery, and communication throughout the entire system (Hill & Collins, 1999).12.
Put everyone to work to accomplish this transformation: As mentioned earlier, the implementation of
a TQM program involves every person in the organization. Leaders must work to ensure that every
person is contributing to the success of the program, from the janitor to the CEO (Savolainen, 2000).
The implementation of a successful TQM program hinges on the willingness of all involved parties to
actively pursue quality.13. Institute job training: Training new employees in quality production is
central to a successful TQM program. When instituting a training program, management must
determine, when to train and what to teach their employees. There are two general approaches that
identify when to train. One is to determine the kind of TQM training appropriate for the various
classifications of employees and then to train all employees. Every employee is then equipped to be
effective in the analysis of his or her own job and is prepared when he or she becomes a team
member. This approach is somewhat mechanistic and, for large organizations, less effective. It has
been the experience of organizations that used this approach, that if skills are not applied a short
time after training they are lost. A more effective approach is what the Northrop Corporation calls
just-in-time training. After each team is formed, it is trained in the skills needed to begin, and then
during its operation, it is trained further as specific new skills are needed. The learning is then
14.

immediately reinforced through application (Cartin, 1993). In order to be successful a team or

individual must know how to solve problems, know the processes, know the work rules, how to plan,
conduct good meetings, manage logistics and details, gather useful data, measure process
performance, analyze data, implement change, and measure its effectiveness. The ability to do
these things effectively is called having the soft skills of decision-making and problem solving. This is
compared to the many hard skills of various job specialties, which are traditionally all that are taught.
Implementing TQM involves a planned change form one management system to another that is quite
different. It is a management process improvement. Everyone in the organization from the top down
must understand its scope direction objectives and methodologies. It requires extensive ongoing
training, this training must be planned so that all the required skills are identified and scheduled. The
plan must also be able to identify the resources required. . If employees are not trained to think in
terms of quality, they cannot recognize the need for changes within the process. Training employees
to be aware of the process and what the end result should be is crucial. Too often organizations fail
to realize that employees can be taught how to make the product, but they may not b able to move
form making the product to improving the product. Training is necessary and should be ongoing if the
organization is to maintain a quality driven production. 14. Create constancy of purpose toward
improvement of product and service to become competitive and to stay in business and to provide
jobs: Although the implementation of TQM programs often means the loss of jobs, the key success is
to communicate the purposes of the lay-offs and to emphasize that layoffs may be a necessary part

of the program. The ultimate goal of TQM is to increase the quality of the product in the hopes of
remaining in business and to become competitive in the market.**Note: In practice most
organizations tailor their TQM programs to meet their ownorganizational needs and goals. Demings
original fourteen points serve as a basis fordesigning these programs. As noted by Creech (1994),
Although, the name Total QualityManagement now covers a very broad tent encompassing all sorts
of management practicesand has become the buzz phrase to describe a new type of quality-oriented
management,there are no bad TQM programs, only incomplete programs that lack in the total
involvementof all employees and all processes within the organizations. According to Creech, all
TQMprograms must meet four criteria if they are to be successful: first they must be based on
aquality mindset and quality in all activities at all times (every process and every product),second,
they must be strongly humanistic to bring quality to the way employees are treated,included, and
inspired; third, TQM must be based on a de-centralized approach that provides
15.

empowerment at all levels especially at the frontline, so the enthusiastic involvement

andcommon realities are realities and not slogans. Finally, TQM programs must be appliedholistically
so that its principles, policies, and practices reach every nook and cranny of theorganization.14.
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE:Employees generally resist TQM programs for two major reasons-they
believe that is willcause job loss and that management would refuse to share the fruits of such
programs. If theemployees (union members or not) are not consulted or involved, it will likely
reinforce thesame perception-that TQM is a threat to their well being, or the union organization, or
both.It is only through greater level of employee involvement and commitment that managementcan
ensure the success of TQM. This resistance to change may be minimized by empoweringthe
employees to act independently or in groups to implement changes needed to insure thesuccess of
the program.15. MAINTAINING CHANGE:As previously noted TQM programs are not quick fixes that
disappear after the organizationhas regained its original standing; successful TQM programs change
the entire organizationalculture, to one of quality. Given this fact, maintaining change is relatively
simple. Duringthe reorganization phase of the program, the organization has either dismissed or
retrainedemployees who insisted on the old way of doing business, with this new mindset,
andcontinuous improvement at the core of the program, TQM programs become the way thingsare
done at the organization, therefore maintaining change is not difficult to achieve.16. FOLLOWUP:TQM programs by nature dependent on constant follow up. Following the productthroughout the
entire production process is crucial to maintaining the quality of the product.If changes are
implemented in the process, follow up must also be implemented to ensure thatthe change leads to
improvement of the product. Failure to follow up on product changes canlead to substandard
products and less customer satisfaction. To implement follow up on theeffectiveness of TQM
programs, management must facilitate feedback from within theorganizations and create
opportunities for customers to provide feedback to the company.Harley Davidson sponsors Bike
Weeks, through which they actively seek follow upinformation from their customers (Reid, 1990).17.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS/CRITIQUE:

16.

Although many organizations utilize TQM programs, they are often modified versions
ofDemings original concept. Since it conception Total Quality Management has become
thebuzzword in business, however, few organizations embrace the philosophies of TQM fully.In most

organizations, TQM principles are applied to the processes and product, but not theemployees.
Many spin-offs of Demings original principles abound in organizationsworldwide, examples of which
include ISO-9000, Sigma-Six, a Taughchi systems.