Three Experts on Quality Management
Read this article to better understand the history of quality management and the impact of these three men on the approaches to quality management. You might call these men the founders of the quality process. Their contribution to this organizational focus on quality needs to be understood.
Quality in the Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy (DON) approach to
quality improvement is called Total Quality Leadership,
or TQL. TQL has been defined as the application of
quantitative methods and people to assess and improve:
- materials and services supplied to the organization,
- all significant processes within the organization,
- meeting the needs of the end user, now and in the
future.
TQL was developed by the Department of the Navy
for the Department of the Navy. DON leaders examined
various approaches and concluded from their studies that
Deming's philosophy and methods best suited the unique
requirements of the organization. Deming emphasizes
leadership responsibility and offers a systems approach to
managing work and leading people. In the view of the
Department, his approach is the most comprehensive-
driven from the top, focused on the user, with decisions
based on hard data.
The Deming approach makes clear the relationship between quality and productivity. His emphasis on process improvement-on improving the quality of the product or service-is one that ultimately leads to reduced costs and higher productivity. Deming also provides a clear way to pursue continuous quality improvement, based on the user's definition of quality and the use of statistical theory.
The Deming philosophy emphasizes teamwork and cooperation, important to the Department's Sailors and Marines and to those who support them in their mission. Deming also places great value on people and the knowledge they possess. Finally, Deming stresses that leaders have the prime responsibility for making system changes, an essential component of military operational commands.
The Department of the Navy's approach to total quality evolved over a decade. Aviation depots and naval shipyards in the Department of the Navy have been involved in quality initiatives since the early 1980s. In 1989, the Naval Air Systems Command was the first recipient of the President's Award for Quality, testimony to its long-term efforts to improve organizational performance.
In the past 3 years, tremendous strides have been made at the highest levels within the Department, largely through the initiatives of the Secretary of the Navy who then recognized that the Department of the Navy faced a crisis. It would have to meet mission requirements in the future with drastically reduced funding. Toremain operationally ready, the organization would have to go through a fundamental change, a "transformation".
In response to this challenge, he chartered an Executive S tee ring Group (ESG) in 1989 that was made up of the
Department's top civilian and military leaders "to lead and
guide the TQL transformation" (Garrett, 1991). Members
include the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, the Assistant
Commandant of the Marine Corps, the assistant secretaries, the systems commanders, and leaders from other
selected Navy and Marine Corps commands. The ESG is
chaired by Under Secretary of the Navy Dan Howard.
In September 1990, the ESG members traveled to
Naval Air S tation Pensacola for a4-day off-site to develop
the Department's vision statement, guiding principles,
and strategic goals. On 10 February 1992, the Secretary
of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the
Commandant of the Marine Corps signed astrategic goals
document that represents the culmination of work that
began 22 months ago in Pensacola.
The goals represent one of three documents prepared
by the ESG. The first, a vision statement, states that the
support establishment of the DON exists to sustain the
Navy-Marine Corps team in its mission. It goes on to say
that all services to the force will be of a uniform high
quality. Processes and systems affecting those services
will be continuously improved.
The second document lists the guiding principles developed to achieve that vision. It begins: "The purpose of the DON support establishment is to provide our Sailors and Marines with the ability to go anywhere, anytime, to defend the nation's interests successfully and survive". It makes reference to "Total Quality Leadership" (TQL) as the approach to be used to describe total quality efforts within the Department.
The strategic goals themselves address five areas:
- Integration, which refers to the fully integrated Navy-Marine Corps team and the development of strategies and tactical doctrines that will maximize its combat effectiveness;
- Human Resources, Education, and Training, which addresses improving the quality of the work force through innovative changes affecting recruitment, training, and quality of life;
- Acquisition, which is concerned with
improving the process by which maritime
weapon systems are designed, developed, tested,
and manufactured;
- Innovation and Technology, which looks at ways to improve the identification and introduction of new technologies and to create a climate that fosters innovation and invention; and
- Facilities, which calls for operating shore
facilities that are properly sized and maintained
and that result in improved living and working
conditions.