Module III: Leadership

Lesson Proper

3.1 Leadership
Merriam-Webster dictionary defined leadership as the following: (a) the
office or position of a leader, (b) capacity to lead and (c) the act or an instance of
leading. Additionally, Oxford Learner’s dictionary emphasized that leadership is
having the ability to be a leader or the qualities a good leader should have.

“Leadership is the catalyst that transforms potential into reality.”

In Newstrom’s “Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work”, leadership is viewed as
the process of influencing and supporting others to work enthusiastically towards achieving an
objective. It is the critical factor that helps an individual or group identify its goals, and then motivates
and assists in achieving the stated goal.

One word that has been associated with leadership is “management”. The two terms are both
related to governance, but each of them has their own focus. In order to grasp their difference, a
Table 1 is provided for easier comparison.
Table 1. Leadership vs. Management
Leadership Management
“Lead people” “Manage actions”
Leaders: Managers:
 Inspire others to share their vision  Plans and budgets
 Motivate others to act on that vision  Organizes and allocates resources
 Encourage others and help them  Coordinates and solves problems
overcome obstacles in pursuit of
that vision

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Illustration 1. Covey’s 7 Habit of Highly Effective People

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One of the concepts that have been linked with leadership is Franklin Covey’s The 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People. This is an intensive, application-oriented learning experience that focuses on
the fundamentals of great leadership and its execution.

Habit 1– Be Proactive
Being proactive means taking responsibility for your life– the ability to choose the responses to a
situation. Proactive behavior is the outcome of conscious choice based on values whereas reactive
behavior is based on feelings. Proactive people let carefully thought about, selected and
internalized values tell them how to respond.

Habit 2– Begin with the End in Mind

This is the habit of vision, objectives, and mission. If you want to have a successful organization,
you begin with a plan that will produce the appropriate end. Thus, leadership is the first creation
and management is the second. Leadership means doing the right things and management
means doing things right.

Habit 3– Put First Things First

To prioritize your work, focus on what’s important, meaning the things that bring you closer to
your vision of the future. This habit has to do with integrity, discipline, sticking to your
agreements. What is life about, and how do you wish to shape your own life? Knowing this, you
will get to work pro-actively while setting the right priorities. The second big step is that of
independence to (self-selected) interdependence.

Habit 4– Think Win-Win

Win-win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human
interactions. The ideas is to work effectively and efficiently with others to achieve optimal results. A
win-win mentality is a balancing act between courage and consideration that ensures true
collaboration takes place in all conflicts.

Habit 5– Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood

It focuses on learning how the other person sees the world, how they feel etc. The essence of
empathic listening is not that you agree with someone. It is that you fully and deeply understand
the person, emotionally as well as intellectually.

Habit 6– Synergy
Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation and can only be achieved by valuing the diverse
paradigms and opinions of others. In a synergistic environment, true collaboration takes place
because the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.

Habit 7– Sharpen the Saw (Renewal)

The last, seventh habit of the seven habits of highly effective people is maintenance -
continuously improvement and renewal. This is the habit that revitalizes and helps establish
greater capacity for self-improvement.

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3.2 Definition of TQM

Total quality management (TQM) is a structured approach to overall organizational
management. The focus of the process is to improve the quality of an organization's outputs,
including goods and services, through continual improvement of internal practices. Total quality
management aims to hold all parties involved in the production process accountable for the overall
quality of the final product or service. TQM focuses on ensuring that internal guidelines and process
standards reduce errors. Total quality is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a
company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs.

It is a framework based on the belief that an organization can build long-term success by
having all its members, from low-level workers to its highest ranking executives, focus on improving
quality and, thus, delivering customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. TQM requires organizations
to focus on continuous improvement, or kaizen. It focuses on process improvements over the long
term, rather than simply emphasizing short-term financial gains.

W. Edwards Deming, Joseph M. Juran, and Armand V. Feigenbaum jointly developed the
concept of total quality management. Total Quality management originated in the manufacturing
sector, but can be applied to almost all organizations.

3.3 Elements of TQM

Illustration 2. Elements of TQM

These elements can be divided into four groups according to their function. The groups are:

I. Foundation
TQM is built on a foundation of ethics, integrity and trust. It fosters openness, fairness and
sincerity and allows involvement by everyone. This is the key to unlocking the ultimate
potential of TQM.
 Ethics

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Ethics is an element that is concerned with the understanding of the good and
bad in any situation at the workplace. It is a two-faceted subject represented by
organizational and individual ethics. Ethics of an organization set up the business
code which outlines the guidelines that every employee is expected to follow.
Individual ethics include personal rights or wrongs.

 Integrity
Integrity refers to honesty, values and an individual’s sincerity at workplace. It
involves respecting fellow workers and the policies of the organization. This is one of
the important characteristics for which the customers expect. Avoid spreading
unnecessary rumors about your fellow workers. Total Quality Management does not
work in an environment where employees criticize and backstab each other.

 Trust
The by-product of ethical conduct and integrity is trust. It stimulates complete
participation of all members in the organization. Trust improves relationship among
employees and eventually helps in better decision making which further helps in
implementing total quality management successfully.

II. Building Bricks

Bricks are placed on a strong foundation to reach the roof of recognition. The foundation
needs to be strong enough to hold the bricks and support and reach the roof.

 Training
Training is very important for employees to be highly productive. This
responsibility falls solely on the supervisors who are responsible for implementing
Total Quality Management in their respective departments. Employees must be
trained under decision making, problem-solving, interpersonal skills, technical skills,
and business economics and so on. This is done so that the employees can work
effectively and produce efficient results for the company.

 Teamwork
Rather than working individually, employees need to work in teams. When
individuals work in unison, they are in a position to brainstorm ideas and come up
with various solutions which would improve existing processes and systems. Team
members ought to help each other to find a solution and put into place. It helps the
business to receive effective and efficient solutions to the problems. Teams also
provide a permanent improvement in process and operation. There are mainly three
types of teams that TQM organizations adopt:
a) Quality improvement teams or excellence teams (QITs) – These are
temporary teams with the purpose of dealing with specific problems
that often recur. These teams are set up for period of three to twelve
months.

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b) Problem solving teams (PSTs) – These are temporary teams to solve

certain problems and also to identify and overcome causes of
problems. They generally last from one week to three months.
c) Natural work teams (NWTs) – These teams consist of small groups of
skilled workers who share tasks and responsibilities. These teams use
concepts such as employee involvement teams, self-managing teams
and quality circles. These teams generally work for one to two hours a
week.

 Leadership
It is possibly the most important element in TQM. It appears everywhere in
organization. This is one of the crucial elements which must be constructive, effective
and positive. Leadership provides a direction to the entire process of Total Quality
Management. Total Quality Management needs to have a supervisor who acts as a
strong source of inspiration for other members and can assist them in decision
making. A leader himself needs to believe in the entire process of TQM for others to
believe in the same.
III. Binding Mortar
Binding mortar is an element which binds all the other elements together. The key
element of this category is Communication.

 Communication
It binds everything together. Starting from foundation to roof of the TQM
house, everything is bound by strong mortar of communication. It acts as a vital link
between all elements of TQM. Communication means a common understanding of
ideas between the sender and the receiver. Information needs to be passed on from
the sender to the recipient in its desired form. It is necessary to make sure that all the
levels of communication among the suppliers, member and the customers are kept
open. The communication among employees or the members of the organization is
done in three ways. They are:
a) Downward communication – This is the dominant form of
communication in an organization. Flow of information takes place
from the management to the employees. Presentations and
discussions basically do it. By this the supervisors are able to make the
employees clear about TQM.
b) Upward communication – Flow of information takes place from the
employees to the top level management. By this the lower level of
employees are able to provide suggestions to upper management of
the affects of TQM. As employees provide insight and constructive
criticism, supervisors must listen effectively to correct the situation that
comes about through the use of TQM. This forms a level of trust
between supervisors and employees. This is also similar to
empowering communication, where supervisors keep open ears and
listen to others.

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c) Sideways communication – Communication also takes place between

various departments. This type of communication is important
because it breaks down barriers between departments. It also allows
dealing with customers and suppliers in a more professional manner.
IV. Roof
The roof consists of a final element which tops off all the other elements of TQM. It is
called recognition.

 Recognition
This element involves the suggestions and achievements for the teams and
the individuals including positive feedback and encouragement. Employees strive to
receive recognition for themselves and their teams. As people are recognized, there
can be huge changes in self-esteem, productivity, quality and the amount of effort
exhorted to the task at hand. Recognition comes in its best form when it is
immediately following an action that an employee has performed. Recognition comes
in different ways, places and time such as:
a) Ways – It can be by way of personal letter from top management.
Also by award banquets, plaques, trophies etc.
b) Places – Good performers can be recognized in front of departments,
on performance boards and also in front of top management.
c) Time – Recognition can given at any time like in staff meeting, annual
award banquets, etc.

These elements help an organization to effectively implement total quality and ensure they
meet all the requirements of its customers. This helps them to focus on customer satisfaction and can
help in the growth of the organization. We can conclude that these eight elements are key in
ensuring the success of TQM in an organization and that the supervisor is a huge part in developing
these elements in the work place. Without these elements, the business entities cannot be successful
TQM implementers. It is very clear from the above discussion that TQM without involving integrity,
ethics and trust would be a great remiss, in fact it would be incomplete. Training is the key by which
the organization creates a TQM environment. Leadership and teamwork go hand in hand. Lack of
communication between departments, supervisors and employees create a burden on the whole
TQM process. Last but not the least, recognition should be given to people who contributed to the
overall completed task. Hence, lead by example, train employees to provide a quality product, create
an environment where there is no fear to share knowledge, and give credit where credit is due is the
motto of a successful TQM organization.

3.4 Leadership for TQM

“It is the leader’s responsibility to lead continuous improvement activities – find
ways of doing things a little more better each time”

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award has a more grounded

definition of leaderships in its core values. The said definition integrates the

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characteristics of a quality leader and integrates it to the fulfillment of TQM. As stated in its core
values and concepts, visionary leadership is as follows:

“An organization’s senior leaders should set directions and create a customer focus, clear and
visible values, and high expectations. The directions, values and expectations should balance the needs
of all your stakeholders. Your leaders should ensure the creation of strategies, systems and methods for
achieving excellence, stimulating innovation and building knowledge and capabilities. The values and
strategies should help guide all activities and decisions of your organization. Senior leaders should
inspire and motivate your entire workforce and should encourage all employees to contribute, to
develop and learn, to be innovative and to be creative.

Senior leaders should serve as role models through their ethical behavior and their personal
involvement in planning, communication, coaching, development of future leaders, review of
organizational performance and employee recognition
As role models, they can reinforce values and expectations while building leaderships,
commitment and initiative throughout your organization.”

To easily understand the given definition, these are 12 behaviors or characteristics that
successful quality leaders demonstrate.

1. They give priority attention to external and internal Customers and their needs.
Leaders place themselves in the customers’ shoes and service their needs from that
perspective. They continually evaluate the customers’ changing requirements.
2. They empower, rather than control, subordinates.
Leaders have trust and confidence in the performance of their subordinates. They provide the
resources, training, and work environment to help subordinates do their jobs. However, the
decision to accept responsibility lies with the individual.
3. They emphasize improvement rather than maintenance.
Leaders use the phrase “if it isn’t perfect, improve it” rather than “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”
There is always room for improvement, even if the improvement is small. Major breakthroughs
sometimes happen, but it’s the little ones that keep the continuous process improvement on a
positive track.
4. They emphasize prevention.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is certainly true. It is also true that
perfection can the enemy of creativity. We can’t always wait until we have created the perfect
process or product. There must be a balance between preventing problems and developing
better, but not perfect, processes.
5. They encourage collaboration rather than competition.
When functional areas, departments, or work groups are in competition, they may find subtle
ways of working against each other or withholding information. Instead, there must be
collaboration among and within units.
6. They train and coach, rather than direct and supervise.
Leaders know that the development of the human resource is a necessity. As coaches, they
help their subordinates learn to do a better job.
7. They learn from problems.

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When a problem exists, it is treated as an opportunity rather than something to be minimized

or covered up. “What caused it?” and “How can we prevent it in the future?” are the questions
quality leaders ask.
8. They continually try to improve communications.
Leaders continually disseminate information about the TQM effort. They make it evident that
TQM is not just a slogan. Communication is two way–ideas will be generated by people when
leaders encourage them and act upon them. For example, on the eve of Desert Storm, General
Colin Powell solicited enlisted men and women for advice on winning the war. Communication is
the glue that holds a TQM organization together.
9. They continually demonstrate their commitment to quality.
Leaders walk their talk– their actions, rather than their words, communicate their level of
commitment. They let the quality statements be their decision-making guide.
10. They choose suppliers on the basis of quality, not price.
Suppliers are encouraged to participate on project teams and become involved. Leaders
know that quality begins with quality materials and the true measure is the life-cycle cost.
11. They establish organizational systems to support the quality effort.
At the senior management level a quality council is provided, and at the first line supervisor
level, work groups and project teams are organized to improve the process.
12. They encourage and recognize team effort.
They encourage, provide recognition and reward individuals and teams. Leaders know that
people like to know that their contributions are appreciated and important. This action is one of
the leader’s most powerful tools.

There are many sources that explain the theory of the Total Quality Management (TQM)
process of the firm. Leadership puts these principles into action. Without sound leadership, the quality
control process would be likely far less effective. A firm may have all the industry "best practices"
employed, but it takes internal leadership to take quality management to a level that will put the firm
in the best possible position to succeed.

3.5 Deming’s 14 Points for Top Management

Illustration 3. Demings’s 14 Points for Total Quality Management

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Deming’s 14 Points on Quality Management, or the Deming Model of Quality Management, a

core concept on implementing total quality management (TQM), is a set of management practices to
help companies increase their quality and productivity.

Deming's 14 Points for Total Quality Management

1. Create constancy of purpose for improving products and services.
2. Adopt the new philosophy.
3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality.
4. End the practice of awarding business on price alone; instead, minimize total cost by working
with a single supplier.
5. Improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production and service.
6. Institute training on the job.
7. Adopt and institute leadership.
8. Drive out fear.
9. Break down barriers between staff areas.
10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets for the workforce.
11. Eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for management.
12. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship, and eliminate the annual rating or
merit system.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement for everyone.
14. Put everybody in the company to work accomplishing the transformation.

These total quality management principles can be put into place by any organization to more
effectively implement total quality management. As a total quality management philosophy, Dr.
Deming’s work is foundational to TQM and its successor, quality management systems.

How to Use Deming’s 14 Points to Improve Quality

Quality management is a topic that is close to any business owner and manager’s heart.
Whatever business we undertake, we want to do it well – and if we can be the best, outdoing all our
competitors, so much the better. Dr. W. Edwards Deming, a respected academic, engineer, business
consultant, and author also felt that quality was the key to success. He suggested what is today known
as Deming’s 14 points.

Dr. Deming is credited with having a profound influence on Japan’s rise to economic
prominence after the Second World War, and he is still remembered through the Deming Prize for
Total Quality Management. So what were these fourteen points? Let’s take a closer look at each one
of them.

1. “Constancy of Purpose” towards Product and Service Improvement

Deming believed that remaining competitive in the market required “constancy of purpose”
towards quality. He saw this, not as a short-term commitment or a luxury, but as a long-term
philosophy that would ensure business survival. When considering Deming’s 14 points, it’s
important to remember that this one is about planning for long-term delivery of quality.

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Reactive, short-term solutions can only have a short-term effect. According to Deming, a
more farsighted approach is needed. Doing the same things better is all very well, but Deming
believed that businesses should also innovate, conduct research, and continually improve product
design.
Most importantly of all, he reminds businesses that the results of their activities are for the
benefit of the customer, and therefore, the customer’s needs should come first when making
business decisions. After all, without customers, no business can survive.
Since customer needs change over time, it’s up to businesses to prepare for new challenges,
and whatever we do, the goal of continually doing it better should be foremost in our minds.

2. Adopt a New Philosophy

Producing quality requires much more than lip-service. The constancy of purpose must be
supported by a buy-in to quality that runs right through the organization. Achieving this requires
more than traditional management. It requires leadership. That means that staff should be inspired
to support quality rather than needing to be forced to do so.
In other words, Deming’s 14 points support building a culture of quality with a commitment
from every person in your business. At the time, Deming predicted that moving from a traditional
management focus to a leadership focus would be a change in the way we do business. That was
back in 1982. Today, we see the truth of his prediction taking shape in the business world.
Just as we have a vision for the future of our businesses, we should have a vision for the
quality we want to deliver. Once this is in place, we can strategize so that we can realize our vision.
Reactive changes made because of competitive pressure don’t necessarily result in improvements
that put the customer first. Deming encourages us to treat quality management as a strategic
priority that leads to the fulfillment of customer needs.
Deming suggested practical interventions including proper training for staff, full
management support when help is needed, proper supervision, and planning for management
continuity.

3. Build Quality In – You Can’t Inspect it In

Deming wasn’t impressed by the idea of after-the-fact quality control. He encouraged
businesses to stop depending on inspections to get quality. He pointed out that inspections can
miss defects, that they are costly, and that they don’t improve quality because all they can do is find
poor quality.
Instead, he recommended building quality into every process a business undertakes. Finding
faults may prevent harm to a business, but it’s not good enough. Instead, we should track them
down and change processes so that similar faults can’t happen ever again.
Those of us who aren’t fond of math might balk at Deming’s insistence on using statistical
controls on processes and not only physical ones, but numbers don’t lie. If you aren’t that keen on
learning how to generate valid statistics, don’t worry. Smart software can do the number-crunching
for you; Tallyfy’s built-in analytics are an example of this.
What are you aiming for will all this? We can sum it up by saying that improving processes
to eliminate errors is far better and less costly than trying to correct errors after they have already
occurred.

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4. Use Single Suppliers for Any Item

How often have you heard that a supplier is to blame for poor quality? Perhaps you’ve
experienced it yourself. You found a cheaper supplier only to find that the quality or reliability of the
materials or services you received was lacking. You can blame your suppliers all you like, but at the
end of the day, it’s your business’s reputation that suffers.
Deming points out that the relationship between a business and its suppliers should be a
mutually beneficial one. The business should be willing to pay more for quality. When this happens,
the supplier can meet the business’s needs because it has the resources to do so. Nobody is trying
to drive prices down while still expecting the best for less.
Instead, Deming suggests that businesses should build long-term relationships with
suppliers. Focus on one supplier for each input, and there is greater motivation for the supplier to
meet your business’s needs and even go the extra mile.
You can also expect greater consistency. Perhaps there will still be variations in supply that
you need to deal with, but the more suppliers you work with, the more variation there will be and
the harder it will be to manage quality.
Suppliers can become part of your never-ending drive towards improvement, but to do so,
there must be a stable relationship characterized by trust.

5. Improve Processes Constantly. Improve Them Forever

In this point, Deming encourages businesses to continuously analyze and improve the way
they perform processes. He points out that by improving productivity and training its staff so that
they’re able to deliver their best, a business also improves its profits.
For many busy managers and business owners, this may seem like a daunting prospect. Just
when you thought everything was perfect, it turns out that something could be done better. The
temptation to adopt a short-term fix is great. But Deming points out that we can fix flaws in our
business processes permanently. Once we’ve done that, we can move on to the next process
improvement secure in the knowledge that the last issue we uncovered won’t be a problem ever
again.
Back in the eighties, it would probably have been very difficult for businesses, especially
small ones, to constantly keep tabs on every process. Today, Business Process
Management software makes your task a whole lot easier. And when you need to tweak a process,
doing so is as simple as editing the business process you set up. The workflow automatically adjusts
to the change.

6. Use On-The-Job Training

As business people, we’re inclined to view training as being costly. Apart from the expense
of sending people on courses, there’s the productive time lost while they return. And unless you
choose the training carefully, you aren’t necessarily going to get tangible results from it.
Deming’s 14 points return to the training theme on several occasions, but his emphasis is
on-the-job training. The aim of training should be quality improvement, and that means reducing
variation and getting consistent, predictable results.
You also don’t want all the knowledge of a process, or even part of it, to rest with only one
or two people. If you do so, your business is at risk. Deming encourages knowledge-sharing, and he

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exhorts managers to let their staff see how they fit into a process rather than just giving them work
to do.
In practice, there are several ways we can do this, beginning with the employee
onboarding process. If people know where they fit into a team, and how the team’s results depend
on their work, they are far more likely to care about the results they achieve.
The concept of training extends to management. Although you don’t need to know all the
details of how to do every job, you do need to understand what people do, and what obstacles to
quality your team members face. Armed with this knowledge, you can work to eliminate obstacles
to quality.

7. Use Leadership Skill

According to Deming, managers and supervisors should focus on leadership rather than the
traditional management style that calls for tight supervision and a very formal organizational
structure.
Instead, Deming encourages understanding, collaboration, and a coaching approach to
management. You will always need a certain level of supervision in a business, but working to help
people deliver their best is more effective than taking punitive action when you don’t see the results
you wanted.
A well-lead team will do more than just keep their heads down and work. They become part
of your quality management team. They ask for help, make suggestions, and point out stumbling-
blocks you may not have noticed.
Setting and meeting targets and quotas is all very well, but is your team meeting its
potential? As a leader, you empower them to do so. You don’t just talk and expect others to “do,”
you listen, you understand, and you act. You create an environment in which people can realize
their potential. You motivate them to want to do their best, and they deliver their best.

8. Drive out Fear

Were you ever a junior employee who was scared of the boss? Perhaps you had a teacher
at school who terrified you. Could you deliver your best under these conditions?
There were probably times when you had questions you were too afraid to ask and
opinions you kept to yourself. And the more that boss or teacher reacted to your mistakes, the
more mistakes you made. Then you’d try to cover up those mistakes, hoping against hope that they
wouldn’t be picked up. That’s what fear does. Fear is not conducive to quality.
You, your managers, and your supervisors need to share an understanding of the need to
drive out fear. Your employees should feel free to report problems, own up to their mistakes
without being asked about them first, and know that you’re there to make things better without
resorting to punitive measures.
As a manager, always address the problem, not the person. Work with employees to find
solutions, and share your quality goals so that they know what you’re trying to achieve. Remember,
some of your best quality and process improvement suggestions come from the coalface – but if
you don’t have open lines of communication, you’re never going to hear those suggestions.

9. Break Down the Barriers Between Departments

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When people work as a team, they can achieve more than they would on their own.
Although your company will have departments, they can’t work in isolation. If product designers
never work with production, and if production doesn’t work with sales, your organization is never
going to reach its potential.
True, your designer isn’t about to become a salesperson, but without input from the
product’s designer, your salesperson won’t be able to sell effectively.
What are the product’s special features? How do they meet customer needs? And since
your sales team is in direct contact with customers all day, every day, shouldn’t product designers
talk to the sales team before they even begin work on a new product design?
Meanwhile, the production also needs to be part of the loop. Does the production team
foresee any problems in producing the new design? By working together, departments can spot
possible problems and eliminate them before they ever occur.
Deming recommends that departments recognize, communicate with, and serve the
departments that are the “clients” of their work as well as keeping end-users of products or services
in mind.

10. Ditch Slogans and Communicate With Individuals

Slogans sound so nifty, but do they have any real effect? “We put the customer first” is a
typical example. It sounds great, but what is its practical meaning? How does it apply to every
worker in your internal value chain?
How about “Let’s try harder”? If you’re already doing your level best, you aren’t going to be
happy about being told to make some mysterious change to the way you work.
Deming is alive to the resentments that generalized catch-phrases and exhortations to ever
better performance can cause. He points out that any productivity or quality problems you face
won’t be fixed with a slogan. Instead, you need to look into business process improvement. If your
processes work well, then your business is already delivering good quality and working productively.
We also can’t expect generalized goals to become personal ones. Deming recommends
setting individualized goals for every person, and along with the new goals, there needs to be a
roadmap that shows them how to achieve them.
Simply put, reducing defects means finding out where they occur and how the process
allows them to occur. Increasing productivity means identifying obstacles to productivity and
removing them. Use tools like Fishbone Diagrams to help you get down to root causes before you
suggest solutions.

11. Quotas are Incompatible With Quality in Production

It’s true that you need to have some numerical targets, but for too many companies, setting
a quota becomes a replacement for good leadership. In Deming’s opinion, high production targets
make quality suffer. For instance, if you are production line worker and you get paid per piece, you
will finish as many pieces as possible. You are working as fast as you can, but are you working as
well as you can?
Again, Deming urges us to focus on processes. A well-designed process should deliver the
results we want. If it doesn’t, then the process needs attention. He reminds us that good leadership
will encourage people to feel proud of their work. They already want to perform well. It’s up to
management to create an environment in which they can do so.

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Do numbers go out the window? They do not. But instead of measuring the people who do
the work with quotas, the numbers should be used to evaluate the process.
Some thinkers point out that numbers can serve as a motivating factor, particularly in sales
environments, but Management by Objectives should be approached with caution. When you set a
numerical target, are you encouraging people to take shortcuts that will affect quality? What
behavior would you prefer to motivate? Remember, what you measure is what you get.
Finally, if you want to set a numerical goal, be very sure you know how your business can
reach it. Without a plan and a method, numbers are meaningless.

12. Remove Barriers that Prevent Teams from Feeling Proud of Their Work
Deming believed that taking pride in one’s work is essential to quality and process
improvement. You’ve probably experienced this yourself. When you love what you do, you do it
better, and you feel good about the results. But if people are constantly criticizing you and
comparing you to others, you stop enjoying what you previously loved.
It’s natural that some workers will acquire skills faster than others, and it’s natural that they
will get better results than their counterparts. While it’s great to recognize achievements, the rest of
the team should never feel judged or be made to feel that they are valued less than others are.
Deming says that the quality system will ultimately get everyone working according to the same
standard.
Process problems also cause workplace frustration. You’re expected to deliver X output, but
to do so, you need Y input, and Z tools would help you to get your job done more easily. If you
don’t have the right inputs and the right tools, delivering X becomes a daily nightmare. Are you to
blame? No, the process needs fixing so that you have the tools and inputs you need.
Let’s take the analogy further. You’ve been struggling with your job for the last year
because the process you’re working in is flawed. When it comes to your performance appraisal, the
numbers show that your work is barely acceptable. How much do you love what you do right now?
Meanwhile, a colleague who constantly makes mistakes gets praised because the numbers look
good.
Deming makes a tough call on managers. As a leader, your job is to help other people do
their jobs by creating systems that work. If someone falls outside of the system, you have to correct
that, but if they’re working inside the system, you need to work with them to figure out where the
system fails.

13. Encourage Education and Self-Improvement

While Deming talks about on-the-job training first, he also advocates personal growth
through continued education. When people are learning things that are relevant to their jobs or
your business, their skills improve, and they are better able to face the challenges your business
faces in the present and the future.
Just as exercise makes a body more agile, education helps us to improve our thinking
processes. It’s up to you what kind of educational programs you’re willing to sponsor in full, but if
your employees want to improve themselves in other areas, it’s great if you can find ways to
support them. Remember, your business isn’t always going to stay the same, and the new skills your
employees gain could prove helpful in the longer-term.

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The better the quality of the skills-sets your business has its disposal, says Deming, the
better the overall product and service quality you can deliver.

14. Make Transformation Everybody’s Job

Dr. Deming points out that if you want to improve quality or productivity, you need to look
to your systems rather than your people. But when it comes to finding solutions, he advocates
getting as much input as possible from the people who carry out the process.
He suggests using business process notation such as a flowchart to capture processes as
they are. Next, we can ask people to help us think about how we can change processes to improve
the quality of their outputs. And since each step in a process impacts on subsequent ones,
preparing for transformation becomes everybody’s job.
Finally, when the time comes to implement change, your team is ready to make it happen.
Perhaps members will spot a few extras that could work better, and they won’t be afraid to share
their observations. You now have the beginnings of a culture of excellence where improvement is
ongoing, and the sky’s the limit!

Putting Deming’s 14 Points into Action

Deming doesn’t go into detail about how to effect change, but his philosophies have had a
profound influence on the world of business. From a practical perspective, using Deming’s 14 points
as an overarching philosophy will result in change – and it will be a change for the better.

With modern workflow software, implementing the process changes that stem from adopting
Deming’s thinking becomes easier. There’s no need for staff to remember every change and every
tweak when they receive full instructions for process tasks through. And when the team decides that
this or that detail could work more efficiently, making the change part of the way the team always
work is as simple as changing, removing, or adjusting a process step.

3.5 Ten Strategies for Top Management

1. Proactive Management
They have to foresee what will happen in the future and take advance action. It also
deals with “Proper management needs proper system”

2. Adventurous and Bold Change Management

Nobody like change. Humans by nature resist change even that change is going to
make them much for comfortable. But in order to have progress, an organization must be
subject to changes to further improve. Successful people are those who have taken
challenges beyond expectation. The adventurous and bold change management depends on
the personal qualities of the CEO. The CEO should motivate and encourage his colleagues to
change the unproductive ways of an organization.

3. DIRFT (Do It Right First Time)

CEO’s should carry out the following sequence of activities:
a. Plan

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b. Foresee the impact

c. Take others opinion
d. Involve everyone concerned
e. Implement
f. Persist
• Why people don’t do it right first time?
a. People doesn’t know what to do clearly.
b. He is not motivated to do It right.
c. Doesn’t have necessary education or training to do it
right.
d. Senior trained him the wrong way.
e. He is not proud.
f. He doesn’t get appreciated.
• Basic requirements for DIRFT
a. Right the first time and every time.
b. Set right goals.
c. Select right personnel.
d. Establish right processes, Choose durability.
e. Choose right machinery.

4. Continuous Preventive Action

Prevention is better than cure. When a product or service is delivered and found
some defects, the customer is not satisfied. Like other TQM principle, prevented actions have
to be continuous.

5. Care for Little Things and Accumulate Gains

TQM is a continuous process improvement program and aims one step at a time.
Every employee should take care or maintain every tool whatever may be its cost or
importance. Also, the management should find times to communicate with junior employees.

6. Ensure Economic Performances

Focusing on the importance of economic performance quality should increase
productivity.

7. Management by Walking Around.

Getting direct and first-hand information from the customers, employees and the
suppliers.

8. Measures for success.

The three Ps stand for
➤ people
➤ product
➤ process

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 When implementing total quality management (TQM), all three parameters should be
improved.

9. Never Rest on Past Laurels.

As a leader you are effectively an agent for change. You must:
 Constantly review everything (including procedures, systems and policies) to anticipate
what needs changing
 Involve your team in this position, both in identifying areas for change and in
promoting ideas about how change should be made
 Always be open-minded, and create a culture of open-mindedness amongst your
team.

10. Build Virtual Organization.

The ultimate goal of the virtual organization is to provide innovative, high-quality
products or services instantaneously in response to customer demands.
Requirements for Virtual Enterprise.
a. Identify the most critical parts.
b. Identify other parts.
c. Develop vendors for other parts.
d. Continuously increase sub-contracting.