Reference Federal Express case”. Enumerate applications of Edward Deming’s, Phil Crocsby’s and
Joseph Juran principles of TQM.
OR
Enumerate your learnings?
What would you recommend FedEx as the next phase initiative?
Solution:
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Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive strategy that goes far beyond quality control
and quality assurance.
The process involves customer driven quality, employee involvement, continuous improvement and
decisions based on facts, data and analysis.
The success of TQM demands total commitment from the entire organization.
TQM Vs Traditional Management
Traditional Management
Total Quality Management
The organizational structure is hierarchical and has
The organizational structure becomes more flat and
rigid lines of authority and responsibility.
more flexible and less hierarchical.
The focus is on maintaining the status quo.
The focus shifts to continuous improvement in
system and process.
Workers – superiors relations are characterized by
Workers perceive supervisors as coaches and
dependence, fear and control.
facilitators.
Focus of employee effort is on individual.
The focus of employee effort shifts to team effort.
Management perceives labor and training as cost.
Management perceives labor as asset, training as an
investment.
The primary basis for decision is gut feeling or instinct.
The primary basis for decision shifts to facts and
systems.
Approaches to Implementing TQM
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Debuffering
Scientific styling
Organization transparency
Whole workforce employment
Process engineering
Cognitive competitiveness
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Deming’s principles
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It is impossible to inspect quality into finished goods, stressing the need to prevent mistakes by using
quality control charts all along the production line.
Deming advocates constancy of purpose and control of variance to achieve quality and believes in
releasing worker power by creating joy, pride and happiness in work
Deming says that once you improve quality, your costs go down
Continuous reduction in mistakes and continuous improvement in quality means lower and lower
costs
Invest in training and education
No numerical quotas and targets
No slogans
14 Principles of Management
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Create Constancy Of Purpose For The Improvement Of Product And Service.
Adopt The New Philosophy
Cease Dependence On Mass Inspection
End The Practice Of Awarding Business On Price Tag Alone
Improve Constantly and Forever the System Of Production And Service
Institute Training And Retraining
Institute Leadership
Drive Out Fear
Breakdown Barriers between Staff Areas
Eliminate Slogans, Exhortations and Targets for the Workforce
Eliminate Numerical Quotas
Remove Barriers to Pride of Workmanship
Institute a Vigorous Program of Education and Retraining
Take Action to Accomplish the Transformation
PHILIP CROSBY
The absolutes of Quality Management: Crosby’s four absolutes are as follows:
1. The definition of Quality is ‘conformance to requirements’ of customers, not merely goodness or
luxury or customer satisfaction.
2. The system of quality is through prevention and not inspection.
3. The performance standard is ‘Zero Defects’, and not ‘That’s close enough’.
4. The measurement of cost of quality is the ‘Price of Non Conformance’.
Terms used in the four absolutes
1. Zero Defects - Absence of any non-conformance in any product of process with respect to
requirements and time of checking (inspection / test) for conformance. {Requirements may change
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over time by way of revision of accepted standards / limits. In this case, zero defects should be
interpreted according to revised standards / limits.}
2. Non-conformance - Undesirable non-compliance with respect to a specific product / process,
quality characteristics, requirement of committed deliver time, schedule of product, part, activity
instruction or any other stipulated requirements.
Crosby’s 14-step Quality Improvement Program
1. Management Commitment
2. Quality Improvement Team
3. Quality Measurement
4. Cost of Quality Evaluation
5. Quality Awareness
6. Corrective Action
7. Establish an ad-hoc committee for Zero Defects Planning.
8. Supervisors’ training
9. Zero Defects Day
10. Goal Setting
11. Error Cause Removal
12. Recognition
13. Quality Councils
14. Do it over again
JOSEPH JURAN
Juran defines quality as fitness for use in terms of design, conformance, availability, safety and field use.
His concept closely incorporates the point of view of the customer. The term “fitness of use” applies to a
variety of users.
THE JURAN TRILOGY
The ‘Juran Trilogy’ approach explains that there are three managerial processes used in managing quality:
namely Quality Planning, Quality Control and Quality Improvement. The interaction of the techniques of all
three - not just Quality Control - yields success.
Quality Planning:
To achieve a process capable of meeting quality goals
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Identify customers (Internal and External)
Identify customer needs
Develop features that satisfy customer needs
Establish quality goals
Prove process capability
Quality Control:
To achieve conduct of operation according to quality plans
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Choose units of measurement
Establish how to measure
Establish standards of performance
Measure actual performance
Interpret differences (Standards Vs. Actuals)
Take action on the difference
Quality Improvement:
To achieve conduct of operations at levels of quality distinctly superior to planned performance.
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Prove the need for improvement
Build awareness of opportunities to interfere
Organise for diagnosis - discovery of causes
Diagnose
Provide remedies
Prove that remedies are effective.
KEY POINTS OF CASE STUDY ON FEDEX EXPRESS
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The first time you tolerate anything other than a movement toward 100 percent customer satisfaction,
you are on road to mediocrity-----by Fedrick W. Smith, FEDEX chairman n CEO.
In 1990, FedEx faced stiff competition from Emery, Us postal service due to slowdown in overnight
delivery growth rates
Company believes that customer satisfaction begins with employee satisfaction
It puts people first in every action, every planning and business decision. Both management and
employee are committed to this practice.
FEC stands for “For ever changing “nature of company and not FedEx Corporation.
Always strive for employment.
Has put up P-S-P (People-service-profit) philosophy in place.
Set up of stringent standards for self.
Adopted Quality Improvement process (QIP) for establishing two important ideas;
o Correlation between Quality and productivity (Q=P0 by doing things right first time
o Set up of uncompromising goal of 100% customer satisfaction
In face of rapid growth in overnight service, FEDEX decided to impart companywide education program
on quality.
Program focused more on thought processes in quality improvement than in statistical techniques
Goal was to get managers and employees to analyse problems in systematic and uniform ways
Quality action teams (QAT were setup to implement framework of ides in modules
QAT’s used problem solving process known as FADE;
o F- Focus on particular problem or opportunity
o A – Analyse the data
o D – Develop solutions and action plans
o E – Execute the plans for solution
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Extensive training was given to QAT members with tools to augment FADE process e.g. Fish-bone
diagrams, flowcharts, pareto analysis, etc.
Employees were charged with challenge of conctantly changing their systems to increase their
throughput.
Culture of smaller improvements was encouraged as 80% problems are system based.
Customer Satisfaction Measurement
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Customer complaints were taken seriously. Dubbed as “Hierarchy of Honours”
All possibilities where service may go wrong was investigated and complaints were registered against
them.
Weightages for each mistakes were allotted and customer feedback was sought (SQI). The results were
published across all employees .
Put up above method to measure the quality in service delivered.
In addition, Customey satisfaction surveys were carried out through phone every quarter.
On a 5 point scale, only the highest rating was considered as countable thus setting up highest standards
voluntarily. Their goal was 100% complete customer satisfaction.
Conducted targeted Customer satisfaction studies (direct mail survey of customers who has used FEDEX
service)
Customer / Supplier alignment (CSA)
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Concept of Internal customer was a natural extension of FEDEX Q=P philosophy
Concept based on that “Good relationships between customer and suppliers increase productivity”.
CSA was a quality process for internal service.
CSA is applied between inter-departments and also between employees and managers.
Guaranteed Fair treatment practices (GFTP)
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Based on “people first policy”
Under this policy, an employee can appeal any eligible issue througha system of systematic reviews by
progressively higher levels of management.
It’s a 3step process through which employee can reach upper management within 21 working days.
It demonstrates that Management is open any change in policies suggested by employee.
Survey/Feedback/Action (SFA)
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Supported both QIP and people first policy,
It created system that charged workgroups to examine the effectiveness of Management.
The group manager was required to have a feedback meeting to identify the specific concerns or
problems.
Outcome of meeting was a list of clear, concise actions to be taken to address concerns and lead to
improved results
Leadership evaluation Awareness process (LEAP)
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Managers can’t give orders. They need to give direction.
Potential mangers are made to undergo this training informing them about the challenges associated
with leading the people.
Technology and Innovation
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Provides Job secure environment that stimulates risk taking and innovation
Risk taking environment leads o learning and new solution s that will satisfy Customers.
Powership to Customers
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Strengthened ties with its customers by providing a computerized shipping management system
System enabled customer to print air bills, download transactions, track packages.
Belief of management;
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Quality is the best way to reduce the cost
It reduces cost by eliminating rework, repairs n importantly cost of replacing customers for the lack
of quality.
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