Introduction
The work of any organization and its ability to achieve existing goals depend on the approach used by management to address current issues and resolve them. At the same time, every unit might have problems with the quality of provided services and products, impacting client satisfaction. Under these conditions, quality management acquires the top priority as the method to ensure these aspects are considered and resolved. Total quality management is a framework based on the principle that every employee must maintain high work standards to improve all aspects of companies’ operations (Oakland et al. 23). The framework was developed by various thinkers who contributed to its evolution.
Phillip Crosby
Philip Crosby was one of the investigators who contributed to the evolution of the given field of knowledge. His first contribution was the introduction of the 14 steps to quality improvement, such as:
- Management commitment
- Quality improvement team
- Quality measurement
- Cost of quality evaluation
- Quality awareness
- Corrective action
- Introduce zero defects program
- Supervisor training
- Zero defects day
- Goal setting
- Error cause removal
- Recognition
- Quality councils
- Repetition (Crosby 56)
He also introduced the idea of quality as the ability to meet current requirements. From this perspective, good, bad, or high quality are meaningless as they are irrelevant (Crosby 44). Instead, it is vital to ensure that client needs are satisfied.
The concepts offered by Crosby can be used in real-life practice to resolve critical issues. For instance, the care delivery in health units might be enhanced by using 14 steps of quality improvement. By aligning the process following the model, it is possible to reduce the number of medical errors and improve patient satisfaction. The corrective actions and quality awareness will help to create a culture of quality control and engagement (Oakland et al. 88). As a result, medical workers and patients will benefit from applying the TQM concepts.
The framework outlined above can also be used to enhance business operations. For instance, the financial aspect is usually viewed as a problematic one in healthcare. Using the 14 steps offered by Crosby and the idea of quality meeting current requirements, it is possible to cultivate the idea of excellence peculiar to all business operations performed within a unit (76). A manager should focus on possessing the necessary level of awareness and competence to avoid defects and ensure clients are satisfied. Under these conditions, TQM approaches offered by Crosby remain effective nowadays.
Edwards Deming
Edward Deming is another thinker who worked on the ideas of total quality management. He focused on developing a management philosophy, emphasizing quality and continuous improvement. His first contribution is the creation of 14 points for developing knowledge in the workplace:
- Create consistency
- Adopt the new vision
- Create dependence on inspection
- Minimize total cost
- Improve the production system
- Institute training
- Cultivate leadership
- Eliminate fear
- Eliminate barriers between departments
- Eliminate slogans
- Avoid numerical quotas
- Remove obstacles to the pride of workmanship
- Introduce education
- Promote transformation (Deming 107).
These points are central to cultivating a new paradigm within an organization aimed at attaining higher quality levels. Moreover, Deming introduced the PDCA cycle of quality:
It implies that quality is linked to planning, introducing new practices, checking their effectiveness, and engaging in action (Deming 165). The cycle can be applied to organizations’ work to improve their current work and resolve problems.
Thus, Deming’s ideas in TQM can be applied to managing the healthcare unit and attaining better outcomes. Thus, 14 points can be used to restructure the approach to current business operations. For instance, the institution of training and leadership will contribute to raising better managers and preparing them to resolve the issues emerging when providing care to clients. Moreover, continuous education will help to minimize mistake rates and ensure there increased quality of business and financial operations.
The PDCA model can be used as the primary approach to medical operations. Planning all interventions is central to their success (Deming 151). At the same time, it is vital to test the newest solutions using recent advances in evidence-based practice (Deming 151). Checking the efficiency of these practices will help to determine the difference between existing approaches and use the most potent ones. The repetition of the cycle is the guarantee of successful improvement and enhanced quality of care.
Dr. Joseph M. Juran
Joseph Juran is known as another contributor to the development of quality management. He introduced a set of quality management techniques used in numerous organizations nowadays. His first known contribution is the creation of Juran’s trilogy, consisting of quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement (DeFeo and Juran 173). These imply establishing clear goals, monitoring performance, and creating a quality improvement infrastructure (DeFeo and Juran 173). Juran also reconsidered the Pareto principle and introduced the idea that 80% of all problems are created by 20% of causes (DeFeo and Juran 154). It means that quality management should focus on eliminating these factors to ensure the organization evolves.
Juran’s ideas can be applied to the work of modern healthcare units to increase patients’ satisfaction levels. For instance, the Pareto principle can be used in business operations to guarantee their increased effectiveness. Thus, following this concept, most operations mistakes emerge due to planning failures and the inability to consider 20% of causes (DeFeo and Juran 154). It means that business managers should focus on determining the most problematic issues that impact outcomes and eliminating them. It would contribute to the better work of the unit and its better work.
Furthermore, Juran’s ideas can be used to reconsider the approach to providing care to patients. Its trilogy consisting of quality planning, control, and improvement is essential for the work of medical units. Thus, specialists should recognize the existing goals and patients’ needs as it is the key to controlling their performance and avoiding mistakes. Moreover, all teams should recognize their responsibilities and the current improvement opportunities (Oakland et al. 89). It would help to eliminate the uncertainty regarding the expected goals and guarantee that specialists will deliver high-quality care to patients.
Conclusion
Altogether, the TQM is the framework helping organizations to attain success and evolve. This field of knowledge offers numerous tools that can be used by managers to eliminate existing issues and ensure that services and products meet clients’ expectations. Crosby, Deming, and Juran are essential contributors to the given framework. They offered specific concepts, such as the 14 steps of quality improvement, the PDCA cycle, or Juran’s trilogy. They can be used in actual practice to enhance the work of medical units and reconsider their primary operations linked to business and medical spheres. The employment of TQM practices is a key to attaining better outcomes and increasing client satisfaction levels.
Works Cited
Crosby, Phillip. Quality is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain. Mentor, 1980.
DeFeo, Joseph, and Joseph Juran. Juran’s Quality Essentials: For Leaders. McGraw Hill, 2014.
Deming, Edwards. The Essential Deming: Leadership Principles from the Father of Quality. McGraw Hill, 2012.
Oakland, John, et al. Total Quality Management and Operational Excellence. 5th ed., Routledge, 2020.