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National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kangra: Case Study Summary: TQM at Gillette

Gillette implemented a Total Quality Management (TQM) system in Argentina in response to economic crisis and increased competition. The TQM framework focused on customer satisfaction, teamwork, and continuous improvement. Quality action teams received training and worked across departments to solve problems. Customer surveys provided feedback, and a cooperative culture replaced the previous individualistic one. As a result, Gillette experienced increased sales, profits, productivity and customer satisfaction under the new TQM system.

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425 views5 pages

National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kangra: Case Study Summary: TQM at Gillette

Gillette implemented a Total Quality Management (TQM) system in Argentina in response to economic crisis and increased competition. The TQM framework focused on customer satisfaction, teamwork, and continuous improvement. Quality action teams received training and worked across departments to solve problems. Customer surveys provided feedback, and a cooperative culture replaced the previous individualistic one. As a result, Gillette experienced increased sales, profits, productivity and customer satisfaction under the new TQM system.

Uploaded by

Jinny Sebastian
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kangra

CASE STUDY SUMMARY: TQM AT GILLETTE


Introduction

Gillette was founded in 1901 and began its global operations in 1905 after setting up
a manufacturing plant in Germany. Gillette began its operations in shortly after World
War I, and till 1942 it had functioned as an importer and distribution company.
Following the years after the war, the company’s early presence in Argentina allowed
it to remain and grow, while other competitors fled from the country’s political and
economic instability.

However, the economic crisis of 1989 caused businesses to go through a profound


change. Argentina was a potential market after tariffs and business policies were
revised. The company anticipated future competition and decided to create
competitive advantages.

The company’s key figures Carlos Rotundo and Jorge Micozzi suggested better
quality as the solution to the market issues. Micozzi came up with the idea of
total quality management (TQM) that made Gillette Argentina the most
successful affiliate in Latin America.

Quality Framework at Gillette

Organizational Dynamics Inc. (ODI) developed the quality initiative for Gillette. The
initiative was based on customer focus, total participation, systematic support for the
effort, measurement of results, and continuous improvement. The consulting firm
played a central role in preaching the benefits of TQM to the leaders.

Quality action teams (QAT) were formed, and they received specialized training in a
four-phase problem solving process, called FADE-

1. Focus - development of a problem statement


2. Analyze – use of data to understand the magnitude of the problem.
3. Develop – determination of a solution and implementation plan.
4. Execute – implementation of the plan and measurement of its impact.

The training was further extended to management and leadership levels. The
directors, managers and other officials were trained by the ODI as rest of the
organization.
Another way of preparing employees about the TQM process was through workshops.
Workshops were conducted with all personnel to inform them about the new culture
and working style to be achieved through quality action teams. Training was the
backbone of TQM process. Most of the members who got training became experts in
their respective areas and eventually steered the process towards success.

Team Involvement in the TQM Process

Team involvement was important to create competitive advantage. This would create
room for creativity and emergence of new ideas. Team involvement was important to
change the individualistic culture in the organization and work together to attain
organizational goals.

Team involvement was necessary to generate and generate business ideas. When
employees are involved in the decision-making process, better ideas are achieved.
The individualistic culture before the implementation of TQM was a huge obstacle to
this decision-making process.

This also helped in eliminating departmental barriers within the organisation. The lack
of interaction between the design team and manufacturing team in the previous
system had led to low quality products and wastage of materials. The involvement and
interaction between diverse teams helped in understanding how other departments
performed and how they were related to each other.

Customer Focused Approach

For Carlos Rotundo, customer focus was of primary importance. The quality effort had
to be focused on enhancing customer satisfaction. The teams were encouraged to
align their goals with the corporate goals in order to drive sales. Gillette changed the
way it looked at its customers by having a special focus on the sales department.
Gillette conducted continuous surveys on customer satisfaction to ensure that the
teams were delivering good results.

The Work Culture


The work culture went through a change by the implementation of TQM, from an
individualistic approach and lack of interaction between departments, to that of
teamwork. The team formation involved both the employees and management. The
ultimate goal in this new culture was customer satisfaction and all teams worked
together to achieve this goal. The cooperative working culture gave way to
efficiency in the services offered to customers.

The TQM process implemented led to economic benefits that came from
improved performance and waste elimination. The high performance resulted
from increased customer satisfaction which by 1994, the firm topped the list with
8 on a ten-point scale. Some of the economic benefits include growth in sales,
higher profits, inventory turns increase, and ROA (return on assets) increase.
Between 1993 and 1998, sales grew by 19 percent while average profits
increased by 22 percent. Return on assets (ROA) rose by 60 percent between
the years. Profitability attributed to TQM was forecasted at $17.8 million by the
turn of the millennium.

Conclusion

To counter the threat of increased competition in the Argentine market, Gillette took
on the challenge of implementing TQM. The emphasis on teamwork, customer
satisfaction and the overall change in the work culture speeded up the implementation
of TQM. These changes greatly benefitted the firm economically.
References

Donnellon, A. & Engelkemeyer, S. (1999). Quality at Gillette Argentina.


https://fdocuments.in/document/caso-quality-at-gillette-argentina.html

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