Environmental Sigma, the European Foundation for Quality Management - Research Paper Example

QUALITY MANAGEMENT al Affiliation) Introduction The issue of quality management has become increasingly crucial in various business activities in the contemporary society. The concept of quality management entails the supervision and control of various activities in any business activity in order to ensure that the overall desired goals and objectives of that particular business is achieved. Myriad tools have been implemented to facilitate quality management, they include; proper budgeting and planning, quality improvement and control. In the modern business world, there are various departments that are usually charged with the responsibility of promoting quality management in a manner that promotes the achievement of a common goal of the business. Specifically, the hospitality and tourism industry have developed the concept of quality control in order to enhance their productivity and service provision. Research Question This research will be basically concerned with quality control measures applied in the hotel industries in Europe in the Rooms Division Management Department. The research question is: What are the impacts of quality management tools applied in the Rooms Division Management Department on customers and managers? Moreover, various universal standardization tools will also be discussed in this research in relation to the research question that is; this discussion will explore the impacts of the benchmarks set by International Standardization Organization on customer values creation and hotel managers in five star hotels in Europe. It will also examine other quality management tools such as Environmental Sigma and the Model set by the European Foundation for Quality Management. Research Methodology This research will explore secondary sources concerning various quality management tools applied in the hotel industry. A variety of internet and documented sources of information on the research question will form the pillar of this research in that: They will act as imperative sources of information as well as for references. Therefore, the fundamental research, methodology in this discussion will be qualitative research conducted to explore various issues ascribed to quality management. Consequently, the research will give various examples of 5 star hotels in Europe, specifically, in Switzerland that have employed the use of quality management tools and their impacts on management processes as well as customer value creation. For instance; Park Hyatt et cetera. The relationship between these quality management tools will also be explored in the discussion; gaps emerging will also be explored in order to determine strengths and weaknesses of the quality management tools. Literature review concerning various quality management tools in the hotel industry will also be discussed in the subsequent chapters. Brief history, impacts, future impacts as well as further development issues will be explicated in this discussion. Finally conclusive information, generally, providing recommendations will be provided. Recommendations will describe ways in which the identified gaps can solved in order to promote further development. LITERATURE REVIEW Organizations, Companies and other business investments have developed and implemented various techniques to facilitate quality management. The issue of business competition has led to the need among business investments to develop, formulate and adopt new quality management tools in order to fit in the competitive business environment. One of the quality management tools that have been in effective for quite a long is the European Foundation for Quality Management Model (Oakland et al 2002). The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) This is a Framework that was developed with a major purpose of promoting the examination of various quality organizational or institutional processes. Basically, this framework is meant for organizational self-assessment which entails the identification of weaknesses and opportunities for change (Oakland et al 2002). Approximately 30,000 organizations and institutions have been using this tool as an imperative framework for managing the quality of their performance. In the year 1999, the European Foundation for Quality Management developed an enhance quality assessment framework, the Excellent Model; this model recognizes that the success and effective performance of any organization is based on the different processes undertaken within the organization. The concept behind this model recognizes the pertinence of organizational processes and activities as key factors by which organizations recognizes and harness various employee capacities (Oakland et al 2002). The Excellence Model also recognizes that by improving the processes in a company or organizations, the performance of the employee involved in such processes are also increased simultaneously. Basically, employee results as well as customer favorable results can be achieved through appropriate partnerships and leadership methodologies. Various institutions and hotels have implemented the Models set by the European Foundation for Quality Management for instance; the Swiss government has developed improved version of quality management in the hospitality industry yet under the umbrella of EFQM. One of these versions that are currently rapidly applied is the Quality Seal for Approval of Swiss Tourism. This tool was developed with an aim of improving service provision in the hotel and tourism industry through provision of a framework that promotes the assessment of issues related to quality (Oakland et al 2002). Practical Impacts EFQM Swiss Hotel Industry Quality issues in the hotel and tourism takes different facets; hotels are major resources that offer tourism services. The Swiss is great tourist destination in the entire Europe; therefore the government has formulated and implemented tools under the European Foundation for Quality Management in order to enhance services provision in the tourism industry. These tools i.e. the Quality Seal for Approval of Swiss Tourism have facilitated the capacity of managers to promote quality management. On the other hand, the framework for quality improvement set by the EFQM, has facilitated the operations of various hotel industries in Switzerland by enhancing their levels of partnerships with important stakeholders for instance; suppliers. The Hyatt Park in Switzerland is one of the most successful hotels in the world with various branches located in other parts of the world. Its success has been ascribed to the proper partnership structure between the hotel management and its suppliers. Hotels in Switzerland, the Hyatt in particular, which have applied the quality management frameworks set by the European Foundation for Quality Management in that: Their level of customer focus has improved tremendously. The Hyatt Park is famously known for provision services that fit the needs of their customers for instance; the hotel has diversified their activities in that they also offer retirement home services. Future Impacts of the European Foundation for Quality Management The European Foundation for Quality Management sets out a comprehensive framework for quality assessment and management (Oakland et al 2002). This framework has promoted managerial activities in relation to quality issues. There is also potential future impacts of this framework that are expected to cause several variation in the ways in which quality management is undertaken in the hotel industry. One of the future impact of this managerial tool emerges from the fact that it promotes efficient quality management strategies that when properly applied will create a fair platform for business competition. However, owing to the fact that the contemporary business environment is characterized by rapid changes, this tool is expected to undergo various changes in order to fit the market needs. This has been proved by some changes and improvements that have been imposed on this quality management tool for example. The Swiss government has developed improved quality management tools i.e. Quality Seal for Approval of Swiss Tourism as a means to manage quality in various tourism hotels. The Quality Seal for Approval of Swiss Tourism was developed comprehensively under the guidance of European Foundation for Quality Management. Further Developments The original stipulations have undergone myriad changes as well as developments which have compelled hotel managers and departments dealing directly with customers i.e. Rooms Division Department, to review their quality management tools with and aim of improving their service provision. To begin with, in the year 1992, an important improvement was made on the European Foundation for quality management with an aim of improving quality. This change entailed the formulation of a new framework, the European Quality Award Framework: It has been greatly used among different hotels and it promotes the systematic examination as well as measurement of activities undertaken in any business facet (Oakland et al 2002). The European Quality Award Framework later led to the development of the Excellence Model in 1999; the concept of this model is based on the importance of processes among companies as a means to gather and release various capacities of their workers in order to promote effective production. This framework also recognizes importance of engaging people or partnerships in undertaking various organization activities as a means to improve quality performance (Oakland et al 2002). Moreover, further developments and improvements have been seen among institutions and governments in regard to provision of quality services and products. Individual organizations and other business sectors have developed their own quality management guidelines applicable at the organization or Company level. The Hyatt Corporations is one of the hotels that have shown provision of quality services by implementing specific operational guidelines: The Hyatt has a unique guideline that directs the provision of accommodation services; this entails provision of a various accommodation services to satisfy the needs of different clients. After many years of studies and analyses, varieties of quality service provision models have been presented to the contemporary business facets for application. The European Center for Business Excellence is among the Institutions that have facilitated this process by formulating an action oriented framework in order to facilitate quality service provision guidelines set by the Excellence model (Oakland et al 2002). Environmental Sigma Historical Development Environmental sigma was formulated in the year 1980; during this time, it was popularly known as the Six Sigma. The purpose of this tool was to create a methodology that could focus on the providing approaches to improving quality by eliminating or reducing the associated production defects. It was initially applied in production industries, however, in the current society it has been applied by various production and service industries i.e. non-profits organizations, hospitality industries, et cetera. The major concept behind the Six Sigma lies in its approach to reduce variations that may hinder production processes, comprehending and providing specific customer needs for quality service provision as well as the application of important data to guide decision making activities (Harry & Schroeder 2000). Persons associated with providing Six Sigma services are usually exposed to intense learning processes that entails: Data assessment, project control and management together with leadership skills. Moreover, they are also provide with fundamental skills in the DMAIC strategy the basically postulates various approaches applied in organizations to guide quality management (Harry & Schroeder 2000). Practical Impact of Environmental Sigma in Quality Management The concept of Six Sigma has created different effects of quality management in various organizations as well as the hotel industry. This has been facilitated by application of the improved versions of the Six Sigma that has taken paradigm shift from production process production defects towards environmental concerns. This shift has been propagated by the need to apply the Six Sigma in service provision industry, specifically the hotel industry, through developed of environmental sigma (Harry & Schroeder 2000). Environmental Six Sigma has been in existence for approximately twenty years; it has had significant effects on service providing industries and organizations. Apart from the application of environmental sigma in hotel industry; it has also been applied in the financial sector where it has developed exponentially for instance in the Credit Suisse and the Royal Bank of Scotland. The management of financial resources in various banks has also been facilitated by the six sigma quality management approach (Harry & Schroeder 2000). Moreover, organizations and institutions that have integrated the Six Sigma quality management approach to their operations have seen tremendous improvements in their operations. Taking the case of the Hyatt Corporation, that has focused its operations towards offering services that meet the needs of its customers. In this concept, the Six Sigma offers an approach that guides hotel managers to offer customer oriented products and services (Harry & Schroeder 2000). The provision of quality services and products by applying the Six Sigma approach; statistical thinking or modes of problem solving are applied: It facilitates holistic problem solving approach to managers through the DMAIC approach. Consequently, the application of environmental Sigma to promote quality management has also been an effective approach to most organizations or institutions seeking to improve the quality of their managerial processes. It focuses on safety issues and protection of the environment in most service and production industries as well as organizations. The Hyatt Corporations for example focuses on provision of quality services while protecting the environment in regard to the guidelines of the Environmental Sigma. Future Impacts on Environmental Sigma in Quality Management The Environmental Sigma and the Six Sigma are expected to have potential impacts the future of quality management. To begin with, application of the Environmental Sigma approach is expected to reduce negative environmental impacts that may arise due to provision of various services: The application of environmental sigma approaches to guide quality management promotes the protection of surrounding environment as well focusing on employee and customer safety issues. Consequently, the Environmental and the Six Sigma approaches are crucial approaches of quality management. They offer guidelines that when applied by different organizations and institutions create a fair platform for competition among these industries in a manner that they all compete for opportunities by application of universal guidelines. Service quality is an important aspect of success in the Hotel and Tourism Industry; the Sigma approach offers proper quality service management guidelines. Rooms Division Department deals directly with customers; this department earns the highest amount of income to most hotels. By applying the guidelines of the Six Sigma, the quality of services provided will be enhanced hence attracting more customers, which will eventually increase the general income. Further Developments There have been developments and improved versions of environmental sigma that are currently rapidly generated. Various organizations and institutions have developed specific guidelines as well as frameworks under the guidance of Environmental Sigma and the Six Sigma: This promotes service quality in any business environment for instance; Institutions like the Black Belt offer various Six Sigma training to persons driven by the motive to achieve quality management skills (Harry & Schroeder 2000). Other institutions like the Aveta Business Institute also offer various quality management skills, majorly through the guidelines of the Six Sigma and the Environmental Sigma. They provide the trainees with certificate of completion in order to depict that they have achieved adequate quality management training. Consequently various governments are also making efforts to develop and formulate quality management skills under the guidance of Six Sigma and Environmental Sigma approaches. They are majorly based on reduction of any challenge that may hinder quality management. Owing to the current high rate of business competition, organizations i.e. hotels are undertaking research activities with an intention of improving the stipulations of the Sigma approaches in the management of their activities. It is imperative to that the guidelines of the Sigma approaches are formulated in a flexible manner hence giving organizations and institutions a platform to facilitate change through the review and assessment of the current quality management guidelines with an intention of promoting change. This change is usually driven by the desire to fit in the current competitive business environment. International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization sets out universal benchmarks that guide quality in provision of services and products. It is made up of various standardization organizations from various countries; it was developed in the year 1926 whereby it was popularly known as the ISA. Its major purpose during this time was to guide industrial processes, specifically Mechanical Engineering Industries (Murphy & Yates 2009). After the Second World War, the organization was renamed ISO after a meeting was held by various delegates and representatives from different countries. It was officially launched in the year 1946 when the number of voluntary members increased. The basic functions undertaken in the International Organization for Standardization is usually executed by the 2700 committee members who have the responsibility of developing universal guidelines through consultation process (Murphy & Yates). Currently, the Headquarters of the International Organization for Standardization is located in Geneva Switzerland. The number of voluntary members for this organization has rapidly increased over the years owing to that fact that the current generation of consumers is interested in quality services and products. It is believed that organizations and institutions that have been certified by the International Organization for Standardization usually provide high quality services hence tend to attract high number of customers. The above factor has seen the number of specific institutions and organizations rapidly adopting the universal standardization benchmarks set by the ISO: These benchmarks are applied to guide various production facets in the current business environment and even the hospitality industry has employed the use of the benchmarks. Practical Impact of the International Organization for Standardization The benchmarks set by ISO provide operational guidelines that are applicable in different business environment (Murphy & Yates 2009). Specifically, various hotels and other hospitality industries have applied the ISO certification guidelines with an intention of facilitating quality management. To begin with, ISO benchmarks ensure that services and products offered in Five Star hotels i.e. the Hyatt are reliable and safe to the customers. Moreover, they also ensure that such hotels offer services and products that suit the need of their customers and are provided in compliance with the applicable law. In most hotels, the benchmarks set by the International Organization for Standardization are basically strategies that ensure their costs of production are minimized. This occurs in the sense that service provision errors and associated wastage of resources is reduced by following the guidelines to the latter hence eliminating such factors. Moreover, the application of the ISO certification guidelines is imperative to most businesses such as hotels in the sense that they assist the managerial team to identify new markets through research: The research is usually undertaken through the directions set by the ISO; an instance of one successful hotel that has benefited from this action is the Hyatt Park. Through the Hyatt Corporations, the company has undertaken researches that have seen its success through extension of its services not only in Switzerland but also to the rest of the world. In relation to quality management, the ISO 9000 sets out crucial guidelines that is applicable to any organization and institution regardless of the size and location. The ISO 9000 family offers directions to companies and organizations to ensure that their services and products meet the requirements of different customers (Murphy & Yates 2009). The various standardization guidelines under the ISO 9000 family are inclusive of: The ISO 19011: 2011 which sets out directions meant to govern external as well as internal audits on quality management; the ISO 9001:2008 provides a comprehensive guideline on issues ascribed to the pre-requisites of quality management frameworks. Consequently, the ISO 9004:2009 provides various guidelines that are directed towards ensuring that quality management efforts are effective and characteristically efficient (Murphy & Yates 2009). Organizations that have applied the quality management principles set by ISO have experienced great success; the Hyatt Corporations is among the most successful organizations in the world. This Organization as a hospitality industry, has been rapidly developing overtime owing to the fact the management incorporates ISO standards into their quality operational guidelines. Future Impacts of ISO The ISO 9000 is seen a rapid increase in the rate of its popularity among different businesses and organizations, hospitality industries inclusive. Majority of hospitality industry have seen the benefits of ISO certification in relation to quality management hence higher customer attraction. Therefore is expected that as more organizations adopt the procedures of ISO guidelines, specifically for quality management, it reach a point where a fair competition environment is created for all businesses in future (Murphy & Yates 2009). Despite the fact that ISO 9000 sets out quality management guidelines, there are various changes that occur on a daily basis in relation to customer needs and services. This entails that there might be changes needed in future that might affect the applicability of ISO just in case it is not updated to fit in the future business environment. Studies have shown that the high rates of International rate of political facets are among the factors that have facilitated the application of ISO benchmarks among various organizations. This means that in the near future almost all organizations in the entire globe may be compelled to adopt the ISO guidelines due to pressure from international politics. It will not only increase their productivity but also the quality of their services hence attracting higher income. Among the imperative features of the ISO 9000 is its quick implementation process that is based on planning, implementation, monitoring and action (Murphy & Yates 2009). This entails that businesses interested to use ISO as a guideline to quality management will need to undertake assessments on how they are currently doing in order to facilitate the implementation of appropriate quality management processes. Therefore, future organizations will have a facilitated operational approach due to the fact that their planning will be guided by the ISO 9000 benchmarks. Further Development In the contemporary society, various developments and improvement of laws is a common activity; most organizations and companies may decide to improve specific aspects of operational laws in order to ensure that they fit the directions and needs of their customers. The use of ISO benchmarks has spread all over the world; however, the dimension of applications of these benchmarks may vary from region to region or organization to organization. Governments and other stakeholders concerned have taken the initiative to create minimal changes to the guidelines of the International Organization for Standardization benchmarks in order to fit the requirements and the needs of various organizations. This has been propagated by the fact that the needs of customers are usually vary from time to time; additionally, there are rapid changes in production and service provision techniques that may require changes to production guidelines. It is imperative to note that the changes exhibited by such laws do not affect the original guidelines of the initial benchmarks. These changes are usually undertaken in consultation with the associated stakeholders to ensure that instances of conflicts that may occur in the future are minimized. Strengths Quality management guidelines are imperative in any business investments; hotel managers are usually responsible for implementing quality management guidelines. These guidelines create a platform for organizations to experience a fair competition in the current business environment. Moreover, the application of such guidelines has been effective owing to the fact that they are usually supported by the relevant authorizes. Most quality management guidelines i.e. the European Foundation for Quality Management, the Environmental Sigma as well as the International Organization for Standardization are usually implemented on a voluntary basis. The aspect ensures that only those organizations with an interest to ensure operational quality take the initiative to implement such guidelines. Actions that are usually performed on a voluntary basis, achieve higher levels of success that actions that may be imposed on people forcefully or by law. Thus, this has ensured effectiveness of the application of such laws. Some of the quality management guidelines are formulated in a manner that allows for flexibility; this enables hotel managers to undertake improvements of various aspects of the quality management guidelines. One of the quality management guidelines that are formulated in a flexible manner is the guidelines under that European Foundation for Quality Management, the Business Excellence Model. Quality Management guidelines are also efficient when they are applied to various departments instead of using a single approach to govern various activities of an organization. According to the above study, it is apparent that there are various quality management guidelines that can be sued to facilitate quality production in the different departments of hotels. For example, there is the EFQM, Environmental Sigma and the ISO. Weaknesses From the research, it is evident that most of the quality management standards do not set out the future impacts of their quality management guidelines. Therefore most hotel managers tend to implement such guidelines without the proper knowledge of associated future impacts. This may later result in to future operational challenges in the case of any change or unexpected negative impacts. The application of universal benchmarks i.e. the International Organization for Standardization guidelines do not provide opportunities for innovation and research among most hotel workers of stakeholders. The guidelines are set by a specific committee that undertakes all the formulation processes; on the other hand hotel managers are only left with the option to implement such laws. This could be disastrous in a scenario where the hotel managers do not possess the capacity to manipulate or improve such laws to suit their needs or the needs of the customers. The other weakness of quality management guidelines is the rapid changes occur on a daily basis; such changes may not be noted by various hotel managers hence may affect the provision of quality services. It may also be hectic and quite expensive for hotel managers to undertake constant researches with an objective of keep themselves updated with the current quality management tools. It is also imperative to note that most of the quality management guidelines do not state their weaknesses; this is a greater threat to the hotel managers in the sense that: When they apply such guidelines, they may not be aware of their weaknesses of the guidelines to their businesses; hence, it may be quite challenging for managers to tackle any challenge that may arise in the case of unexpected weaknesses. Recommendations The persons responsible for the formulation of universal quality management guidelines have made efforts to ensure that they are flexible in nature. However, most of these guidelines are not flexible and in some cases create operational challenges to the hospitality industry that usually experience rapid changes. It is therefore crucial to ensure that a greater consideration of flexibility in is undertaken when formulating and implementing such laws. In order to facilitate quality management in all aspects of service producing industries i.e. hotel industry, it is imperative that greater sense of awareness in created among small service providing industries. Some of these industries may not be aware of the existing universal benchmarks that guide quality management. The other important issue in the hospitality industry is to undertake various research and innovation activities. This will ensure that there are improvements made in relation to quality management in the hospitality industry. Research may also ensure that associated weaknesses of the laid down guidelines are identified and measures taken to ensure that any operational challenge that may occur is prevented. Conclusion The three quality management tools discussed in this document are different nature and the ways in which they are applied or implemented. However, they may be very effective when they are applied at the same time by service providing organizations such as hotels with proper and effective operational methods. That is, businesses with proper implementation plans may have the best quality management techniques especially when they incorporate the guidelines of the EFQM, Environmental Sigma and the ISO standards. The Six Sigma focuses on improving quality service provision by enabling stakeholders to eliminate defects and barriers of effective operations. This is very crucial in the current hospitality industry that requires high levels of effectiveness. On the other hand, the Six Sigma and the Environmental Sigma focus on the use of statistical approaches to evaluate certain facets of organizational performance with an intention of creation appropriate changes that will facilitate quality management in the current hotel industry. Moreover, the ISO standards which are mostly used in the current global business facilitate quality management through provision of guidelines as stipulated in the ISO 9000 family. It is applicable to different business facets i.e. commercial businesses, industries as well as the hospitality industry where it plays a crucial. Appendices ISO- International Organization for Standardization ISA- International Standardizing Association EFQM- European Foundation for Quality Management DMAIC- Define, Measure, Analyze, Control and Improve, Hyatt Park- One of the hotels under the Hyatt Corporations located in Switzerland References Oakland. J et al. (2002). Best Practice in Business Excellence. Leeds: Routledge. Harry, M. J., & Schroeder, R. (2000). Six sigma: the breakthrough management strategy revolutionizing the worlds top corporations. New York: Currency. Murphy, C., & Yates, J. (2009). The International Organization for Standardization (ISO): global governance through voluntary consensus. London: Routledge. Read More