Human Resource Development: Problems in Total Quality within the Healthcare Industry - Literature review Example

Human Resource Development: Problems in Total Quality within the Healthcare industry Abstract Current consumers are more aware of the importance of the quality of a product or service rather than brand value of the company. It should be noted that the reputation of a company no more attract the consumers. Current consumers have many options and they will go for the quality product even if it comes from a non-reputable company. Since competition is getting stiffer in the global market, organizations are doing everything possible to satisfy the customers. Total quality management is one area in which organizations spend a considerable amount of time. Healthcare is one industry in which total quality management (TQM) is most important. Since healthcare industry is dealing with the most valuable thing in this world (Human life), it is inevitable for this industry to implement TQM solutions as much as possible. This paper analyses the problems in the management of total quality related to performance improvement in the healthcare sector. Problems in Total Quality within the Healthcare industry Total Quality Management (TQM) is a concept originated in the Japanese industry in the 1950's. It should not be forgotten that Japanese products are famous for quality unlike Chinese products which are famous for quantity. Japanese products conquered global markets during the second half of twentieth century, and westerners realized that quality is the much needed entity for a product to excel in the global market. Thus, TQM solutions and strategies started to get popularity in the Western industrial world also in the 80’s and 90’s. It is difficult to define total quality management in few words since plenty of complex parameters are involved in it. Talib & Rahman (2012) defined Total quality management (TQM) as “the best ways in which organizations and their employees undertake business activities in all key processes. These practices have a positive impact on business results in manufacturing and service industries”(p.155). The requirements of the consumers are changing day by day because of the huge developments in science and technology and the subsequent improvements in living standards. TQM helps organizations to meet or exceed the expectations of the consumers. Human life is the most important thing in this world and hence any activities in healthcare sector should be error free as much as possible. It should be noted that human life is nonrenewable in nature and once it is lost, nobody can recover it. Therefore, medical negligence or mistakes should be avoided as much as possible and TQM helps healthcare organizations to improve their performance standards considerably. TQM in healthcare sector Customers Satisfaction, Customer Perception of Quality, Customer Complaint Service Quality, Customer Retention, Employee Involvement, Motivation & Empowerment, Team Work, Performance Appraisal, and Continuous Process Improvement are some of the major elements of a well-defined TQM system. Organizations implement different strategies to achieve the objectives of TQM as much as possible. Six Sigma is a major quality improvement strategy developed by Motorola to reduce the manufacturing defects as much as possible. Revere (2003) pointed out that Six Sigma can be implemented successfully in healthcare industry. “Six sigma is a non- management philosophy that seeks a nonexistent error rate. It is ripe for healthcare because many healthcare processes require s near zero tolerance for mistakes” (p.377). It should be noted that tolerance of mistake should be almost zero in most of the processes in healthcare sector to safeguard the human life as much as possible. Imagine, a laboratory technician wrongly documents the blood sample of patient A with that of patient B. Suppose patient B is a cancer patient and patient A is a diabetes patient. After getting the laboratory results, the doctor might wrongly treat patient A for cancer and patient B for diabetes. Thus, both of them might lose their lives. If TQM solutions are implemented carefully, the chances of such medical errors can be reduced considerably. Total Quality Management (TQM) is about people and their attitudes to work in the process of creating and managing change in the organization. To ensure quality in services rendered to the public one must be assured of the quality of management of people providing these services. The concept of TQM when applied to human resource management (HRM) ensures that people become aware of their roles and responsibilities in the provision of quality services to consumers. The way people are managed affects the performance of the organization (Okoronkwo, 2004, p.110) The cooperation of employees and managers is essential for the successful implementation of TQM in a healthcare organization. It should be noted that the mistakes of one employee may cost a valuable life in a hospital even if all the other employees in the same hospital perform excellently. Even though team work is essential for the in healthcare industry, unlike other industries, all the members of a team has equal responsibilities in the success of the project. In other industries, the failure of one team member can be compensated by other team members and hence individual performances of members of a team are immaterial. However, in healthcare industry, individual performances are as important as the team performances and hence TQM policies should target for individual rather than groups or teams. HR managers in healthcare industry have the responsibility of empowering all the employees with respect to the necessities of TQM. Gregori et al. (2009) pointed out that “The implementation of a quick and simple instrument to monitor the TQM in healthcare sector highlighted several critical areas for intervention. In their opinion, direct exposure to public, job role and time spent working within the same structure have been proved related to the penetration of TQM principles” (p.69). No two individuals are alike. If that is true, no two patients with same disease, might not be alike. In other words, healthcare professionals should manage different patients differently. The needs of one patient might not be the same as that of another patient. Individualized care is necessary for the successful management of the diseases. TQM solutions would definitely help healthcare professionals in delivering individual care to the patients and thereby improving the quality of healthcare delivery. TQM would help each healthcare professional to recognize their duties perfectly. There will not be any confusion about what is to be done on critical situations, if TQM is implemented in healthcare organizations. HR professionals in healthcare organizations are responsible for empowering the employees with respect to their duties and responsibilities. The success and failures of TQM depends on how well the HR managers are motivating the employees to perform their duties well. Committed and well trained workforce is vital in determining the successful implementation of TQM solutions in healthcare sector. Healthcare professionals should have enough motivation to perform well in their duties. For that purpose, HR managers should make sure that the employees are getting decent salaries as well as better work conditions. Moreover, they should be able to meet work-life balancing in their profession. It should be noted that a simple negligence may cost the life of a patient. Healthcare professionals should be vigilant all the time to avoid such mistakes. In order to focus more on duties, healthcare professionals should get enough rest to revitalize their body with energy. In short, work life balancing should be recognized as an important element of every TQM solutions in healthcare sector. Conclusions Total quality management is necessary for the organizations to stay competitive in the heavily competitive global market. Healthcare is one sector in which the importance of TQM is extremely important. Since healthcare professionals are dealing with the lives of people, it is necessary to reduce mistakes as much as possible in this sector to deliver quality are to the patients. HR professionals have a prominent role in implementing TQM solutions in healthcare industries. They should make sure that the employees in this sector have enough motivation and positive work environments to perform their duties. Moreover, they should be able to meet work life balancing so that they can stay focus on their work all the time. References Gregori, D., Scarinzi, C., Semeraro, A., Rosato, R., Pagano, E., Zigon, G., & Gabassi, P (2009), Knowledge, practice and faith on Total Quality Management principles among workers in the Health Care System: Evidence from an Italian investigation. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, Vol 15(1), Feb, 2009. pp. 69-75. Okoronkwo I. (2004). The application of total quality management to human resources management in nursing West African Journal of Nursing (WEST AFR J NURS), 2004 Nov; 15 (2): 110-4. Revere, L. (2003). Six sigma can be incorporated to current TQM efforts in healthcare management Integrating six sigm a with Total quality management: a case example for measuring medication errors. Journal of healthcare management. 48:6 November/December 2003. Talib, F& Rahman, Z. (2012) Total quality management practices in manufacturing and service industries: a comparative study. International Journal of Advanced Operations Management, Volume 4, Number 3, July 2012 , pp. 155-176. Read More