Activating cultural change To attempt the implementation of total quality without creating a quality culture is to invite failure.

Organization is in which the prevailing culture is based on traditional management practices are not likely to succeed in the implementation of total quality. Successful total quality requires cultural change. Several primary reasons cultural change must either precede or at least parallel the implementation of total quality are described here. 1. Change cannot occur in a hostile environment. The total quality approach to doing business may be radically different from what management and employees are accustomed to. Managers who are used to sitting in their lonely towers at the top of the pecking order and issuing edicts from on high are likely to reject the concept of employee involvement and empowerment. Employees who are used to competing againts their fellow employees for promotions and wage increases may not be open to mutually supportive internal partnerships and teamwork. Situations such as these can create an environtment that is hostile toward change, no matter how desirable that change is. Change can be difficult, even when people want to do so. It can be impossible in a hostile environtment. 2. Moving to total quality takes time. The nature of total quality is such that the organization may have to go down somewhat before it can turn things around and start to come up. In a conversion to total quality, positive result are rarely achieved in the short run. This characteristic gives nonbelievers and people who just dont want to change (and such people are often in the majority at first) the opportunity to promote the I told you it wouldnt work syndrome. 3. It can bet difficult to overcome the past. Employees who have worked in an organization for any period of time have probably seen a variety of management fads come and go. Promoting the latest management gimmick and then letting it die for lack of interest may be part of the existing organizational culture. If this is the case, it will be difficult to overcome the past. Employees will remember earlier fads and gimmicks and characterize total quality as being just the lattest one; they may take a This too shall pass attitude toward it. The past is not just an important part of an organizations culture; it can also be the most difficult part to leave behind.

Laying the foundation for a quality culture Establishing a quality culture is a lot like constructing a building. The process begin with laying a solid foundations. Like a building, without a solid foundation an organizations corporate culture will quickly crumble. What follows a 10 step model that quality professional can use to establish a solid foundation for a quality culture in any organization. 1. Understand. Quality is at its heart a cultural concept. This commonsense point was validated empirically in a study conducted by naceur jabnoun and khalefa sedrani and reported on in an article in quality management journal titled TQM, Culture, and performance in UAE manufactiring firms. In this article, the authors make the point that the tone for an

organizations culture is set by the CEO and executive managers. Without the buy-in and commitment of executive management, there can be no quality culture. Consequently, the cornerstone or the cultural foundation must be an understanding on the part of executive managers of the concept of a quality culture: 1) align the concept with organizational goals, and get to identify the financial benefits; 2) become the project manager of this challenge, and then measure and mitigate resistence, inertia, and opposition; and 3) prepare a brief but powerfull presentation that can be made for executive managers. 2. Assess. In this step, a comprehensive assessment of the exixting corporate culture as it relates to quality is completed and the result compiled. Figure 6-6, discussed later inthe chapter, is a sample quality culture assessment instrument that can be used as a guide in developing a similar assessment instrument. However, this example is not meant to be comprehensive. Most organizations will want to add other criteria and, perhaps, eliminate, some of those shown. All employees should be allowed to complete the survey instrument without attribution, and the organization-wide average for each criterion should be compiled. 3. Plan. Based on the result of the survey in the previous step, develop a comprehensive plan for establishing a quality culture. For example, if the first criterion in the checklist in figure 66- All employees know the mission of the organization-receives an organization- wide average score that is unacceptably low. Specific actions be planned for correcting this problem. The same is true of all criteria that receive low average ratings. 4. Expect. An organizations corporate culture is one of those phenomena in which you get what expect. Consequently, it is important for executives, managers, and supervisors to make sure that all personnel know that quality-positive attitudes and behavior are expected. This can be achieved by 1) including a corporate value relating to quality in the organizations strategic plan, 2) including quality in the job descriptions of all personnel, 3) including qualtiy in all of the organizations team charters, 4) including quality criteria in all of the organizations performance appraisal instruments. 5) talking about quality at all levels in the organization, 6) recognizing and rewarding quality-positive attitudes and behavior, 7) providing quality-related training for personnel at all levels, and 8) setting quality-related goals for all teams, units, depatments, and divisions in the organization. 5. Model. Executive, managers, and supervisors must be consistently positive role models of the quality-related attitudes and behaviors expected of personnel. Employees are more likely to follow the behavior of management personnel than their words. Consequently, it is important to do more than talk a good game when it comes to quality. Management personnel must walk the talk. 6. Orient. New employee orientations should have a comprehensive quality component. A new employees first exposure to the organization occurs during his initial orientation. Consequently, it is important to begin emphasizing the organizations quality-related expectations from the outset as part of the orientation process.

7. Mentor. Many organizations use mentors to help in the development of employees. Typically, mentors provide technically oriented assistance (e.g helping new personnel learn the necessary job skills). By taking this concept one step further, organizations can help their new personnel develop quality-positive attitudes and behaviors. 8. Train. Providing quality training at all levels is not a new concept to competitive organizations. However, what might be new is the need to expand quality training beyond the typical technical topics to include attitudinal and behavioral topics. In other words, it is important to help personnel understand not just the how of quality but also the why. The why can be summerized in just one word: competition. All personnel need to understand that the organizations survival depends on its ability to compete successfully every day over the long term and that they play a critical role in helping the organization do so. 9. Monitor. Attitudes and behaviors tend to be habitual. If people are allowed to continue inappropriate attitudes and behaviors relating to quality, those attitudes and behaviors can become habitual. When this happens, such attitudes and behaviors can be almost imposible to change . consequently, it is important that supervisor monitor the quality-related attitudes and behaviors of their direct reports continually. When quality-positive attitudes and behaviors are observed, they should be reinforced immediately. Correspondingly, when quality-negative attitudes and behaviors are observed, they should be corrected immadiately. 10. Reinforce and maintain. In order to maintain a quality culture once it has been established. Organizations must reinforce the quality-related attitudes and behaviors they expect of their personnel. This means that recognition and reward system must factor in quality as a key criterion. Quality-related attitudes and behaviors should be factors in all decisions about raises, promotions, and recognition awards.