Strategic Human Resource Management - Essay Example

The Effects of TQM on Human Resource Management Introduction Total Quality Management, one of its many definitions goes, is a way of managing people and business processes to ensure complete customer satisfaction at every stage, within and outside an organization. The basic foundations of TQM are people, first and foremost, followed by processes and systems. People are the most crucial element in TQM because the quality of people in an organization will decide the success or failure of any endeavor to perfect a process. Under this equation, it is only people who can make a success of TQM and this they can do with the right processes to work on, supported by appropriate management and performance systems. Wilkinson, Marchington & Daleuman believe that "TQM is unlikely to achieve its objectives unless there is greater awareness of the people factor in quality management." Even if a strategy and the tools employed may be considered fool-proof, nothing will happen if the people side of the equation is not properly addressed. Most management experts share the same thoughts. Strategic planning, which is a prerequisite in TQM, takes WHAT IS and develops ideas on WHAT SHOULD BE along with plans for HOW TO GET THERE. Since such planning provides the road map for GETTING THERE, it is important to incorporate the people or human resource factor in this effort. Strategic planning is therefore nothing but human resource planning, which is another name for Human Resource Management. Perry & Mesch (1997) This paper will attempt to chronicle how HRM evolved from its simple screening-and-hiring role in the past into its more critical and multi-faceted functions of today, an expanded role imposed on it by necessity because of the advent of TQM. At the outset, this has been the most visible effect of TQM on human resource management. HRM in TQM In the past, human resource management went no farther than classifying job positions, recruitment and hiring as well as ensuring proper employee benefits, discipline and seeing to the organization's compliance with employment laws. This role has expanded to include duties on building a more stable, better qualified workforce as required by the TQM approach, which calls for a team effort, assistance in developing it and objectives-based performance appraisal systems. To be able to contribute to an organization's success under a TQM approach, human resource development now covers the following: Internal career ladder system - this is done to focus individual attention on strategic issues facing the organization over the long term. Formal training - continuous training is held for everyone to fit in the organization and become a valuable contributor to the team. Result-oriented performance appraisal - this is conducted as basis for promotion, demotion, retention, transfer and pay scale. Employment security - this is put in place for employees to devote their attention to the job at hand rather than worry about their possible dismissal. Employee voice/participation - active participation in the effort to achieve the organization's goals raises the employees' morale and sense of duty. Broadly defined jobs - employees are given more challenging and meaningful job assignments to keep them on their toes. Performance-based compensation - rewards for a job well done inspire employees to do better. TQM calls for the involvement of top management and all levels of the organization and this in turn requires a more strategic approach to the management of human resources which is HRM. There is a "hard" type of TQM which pays little attention to the people element in the drive for continuous quality improvement. This TQM type is largely production-oriented such that emphasis is given to systems, processes and procedures. The criteria for the granting of ISO-9000 and British Standards-5750 are based mostly on this type which disappoint HRM professionals who feel that greater emphasis must be placed on the human aspects of TQM. Wilkinson, Marchington & Daleuman (1994) As for the "soft" TQM approach, it puts weight on the management of human resources in the organization, with particular attention to the need for culture change. This is considered the better TQM approach since it emphasizes employee commitment instead of compliance. Compliance invokes an attitude of "making do" or "going along" while commitment connotes a whole-hearted effort. To resolve this issue, the US Institute of Personnel Management commissioned a project to analyze "Quality Management and the Human Dimension" in 1992. The study, involving HR and personnel managers in 15 organizations from different manufacturing sectors, found that TQM worked when it was carried out through the "soft" approach. At Photochem, for example, a people-oriented TQM program started in 1989 succeeded in improving the company's competitive edge, the quality of products and services and its market share. Cases of defects were also reduced. The company believed that the human resource function played a big role in the quality process, with HRM "helping create an organization culture and framework in which TQM is possible." Carcom, the supplier of car safety devices, expressed the same sentiment when the quality improvement program it started also in 1989 resulted in such cost-cutting measures as reduction in the management structure by one layer, in its shopfloor layout as well as in its scrap rates, stocks, work-in-progress operations, inspection frequency and in the number of inspectors. The company's managing director declared: "We cannot separate human resources from TQM, and without HRM the quality improvement program would not have worked effectively." The TQM Approach TQM, it is said, is the offspring of the union between quality control and quality assurance. Quality control applies only to an operational process and at the post-process stage, involving only containment and inspection. Quality assurance, on the other hand, is mostly problem-solving and prevention directed at the causes of quality deficiency. Total quality refers to the application of quality assurance and control to every company activity so that zero defects are achieved. Total quality describes the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. This culture requires quality in all aspects of the company's operations, with processes being done right the first time and defects and waste totally eradicated. Padhi, N. With TQM, the overriding goal is quality as a result of leadership, design, planning and improvement initiatives. Toward this end, there are eight key elements that must be present. These are: ethics, integrity, trust, training, teamwork, leadership, recognition and communication. All refer to people's attitudes and activities. Conclusion TQM essentially departs from the old ways when leaders do not provide clear directions and ignore competitive positioning. Each department works for itself, people are controlled through systems and quality is often confused with grade. Without TQM, defects are accepted as something that cannot be helped and the it-is-not-my-problem attitude prevails. Worse, no effort is exerted on human resource development. Wilkinson points out that TQM cannot achieve its objectives without a more explicit contribution from the HR functions. Human resource managers play a creative role in all the TQM stages - from giving shaping to it to introducing and disseminating it and in producing mission statements with the board. They should assist in reinforcing and maintaining TQM by a reward system on achievements, in reviewing it with attitude surveys and analyzing their results. The question is how the HR function can continually improve its contribution to quality management initiatives and organizational success. In the North Carolina DHHS study, it was noted that HRM practices enhance employee productivity and the ability of organizations to achieve their goals, especially when the use of personnel practices are integrated into the strategic planning process. This can be done through the use of TQM at the group level, and Management by Objectives at the individual level. References: Cosby, P (1979). "Quality is Free." McGraw-Hill, New York. Delaney, J. &Huselid, M. (1996). "The Impact of Human Resource Management on Perceptions of Organizational Performance." Academy of Management Journal 39-4 (August): 949-969 Navantara, Padhi (2000). "The 8 Elements of TQM." iSixSigma LLC. Available from: Http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c021230a.asp [accessed on 26 April 2006] Perry, J. & Mesch, D. (1997). "Strategic Human Resource Management." Public Personnel Management: Current Concerns, Future Challenges. New York: Longman, pp. 21-34 "Quality Management and the Human Resource Dimension." Study commissioned by the US Institute of Personnel Management (1992). "The Impact of Strategic HRM on Organizational Success: The Public Sector and Multiple Goals." Study commissioned by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on the effectiveness of country employees, US (2000). "Total Quality Management." From Quality to Excellence. UK Department of Trade and Industry. Available from: Http://www.dti.gov.uk/quality/tqm [accessed on 26 April 2006] Wilkinson, Adrian, Marchington, Mick & Daleuman, Barrie. "Manufacturing More Effective TQM: Implications for the Management of Human Resources." Research and Practice in HRM, 2(1), 69-88 Read More