Managing Quality (3rd ed.)

Citation

Narasimhan, K. (2000), "Managing Quality (3rd ed.)", The TQM Magazine, Vol. 12 No. 5, pp. 355-356. https://doi.org/10.1108/tqmm.2000.12.5.355.1

Barrie G. Dale has been carrying out research into quality management since the early 1980s and is gaining quite a good reputation as a researcher and an author on quality of products and services. The first edition of this book was published in 1990 and the second in 1994. As a proof of his commitment to practising what he preaches, Barrie has taken on the onerous task of completely revising the contents of the book. Ten leading proponents of quality management (six practitioners and four academics) have contributed chapters either by themselves or jointly with Barrie. The book comprises 23 chapters and Barrie has contributed to 21 chapters: 11 chapters by himself and 10 as a joint author. The book is a comprehensive text on TQM (total quality management) that covers the main concepts and principles involved, and issues currently being considered and debated by both practitioners and academics. The authors have succeeded in keeping the technical jargon and details to a minimum.

The 23 chapters are arranged into five parts. Part one consisting of four chapters deals with the development of TQM. Part two comprising three chapters is devoted to introducing the reader to some key activities that have an influence on TQM in a business context. In part three the focus is on the factors to be considered in the introduction of TQM into an organisation, which is covered in five chapters. Part four, the largest part with ten chapters, deals with the application of quality management systems, tools and techniques. In the final part/chapter Barrie draws together some of the common themes from the previous chapters and identifies and describes a number of TQM issues that have to be given due consideration by organisations in their quest to achieve world class quality status.

In the first chapter Barrie provides an overview of TQM, in which he examines the evolution of quality management from inspection to TQM through quality control and quality assurance. The key ideas of the four American Gurus on quality Crosby, Deming, Feigenbaum and Juran and how their wisdom can be applied are dealt with very briefly. He devotes the second chapter to examining the role and commitment of senior management, middle and first‐line management in the introduction of TQM. He briefly summarises what senior management should know and do to make the introduction of TQM a success. A number of issues are explored in the third chapter that deals with the Japanese approach to TQM. Some of the key issues briefly explored are customer satisfaction, long‐term planning, organising and planning for quality, management of quality improvement, education and training. In chapter four he describes the underpinning principles of the six levels of TQM adoption (from uncommitted to world‐class), that were first identified in 1992 from research work carried out world‐wide by the UMIST Quality Management Centre.

In chapters five, six and seven, which form part two, the reader is introduced to three key activities (policy deployment, designing for quality and quality costing) that have influence on TQM in a business context. The content of chapter six would improve with the inclusion of an explanation of the notion of attractive and must‐be features, and its application in the design of products and services, popularised by Professor Noriaki Kano.

In part three a framework that can be used for introducing TQM is presented first. This is followed by a detailed exploration of issues of service quality, by B.R. Lewis. This chapter has undergone complete revision as evidenced by the inclusion of work published in 1999, and the comprehensive list of references. In the next chapter (chapter 10) Adrian Wilkinson reviews the need for closer alignment between the HR (human resources) issues and the “hard” issues of TQM ideas and practices and argues that the neglect of “soft” issues is the reason for TQM not achieving its objectives or full potential. In chapter 11 Burnes and Dale examine the principal issues involved in developing sustainable supplier partnerships and conclude the chapter with a list of dos and don’ts. In chapter 12, Barrie describes the main issues that impact on maintaining a process of continuous improvement (that is sustaining) of TQM. Also described is TQMSAT, a TQM sustaining audit tool, and its development.

Part four deals with the use and application of the various quality‐management systems, tools and techniques that form fundamental parts of approaches to TQM. The first chapter (chapter 13) of this part presents an overview of ISO‐9000 system, including implementation guidelines, a model for registration for small companies, and benefits and limitations of the series of standards. In the next chapter an overview of the seven quality improvement tools and the seven management tools (relations diagrams, affinity diagrams, systematic or tree diagrams, matrix diagram, matrix data analysis, process decision programme chart, and the arrow diagram). Also outlined briefly is mistake‐proofing technique. Quality function deployment (QFD), which provides a powerful structure for matching customer needs and an organisation’s technical capabilities in product and process development, is covered in some depth in the next chapter. Chapter 16 is devoted to a series of techniques used in the design of experiments aimed at building quality by understanding the effect of various controllable factors, at the design stage itself, and minimising variation. Failure mode effects analysis (FMEA) and statistical process control (SPC) are covered in the next two chapters. FMEA is the systematic and analytical planning tool for identifying all the ways in which potential failures can occur and the causes for the failure, estimating the seriousness of the effects of a failure and finding ways of overcoming them at the initial stages of product/process design. This technique is explained with the aid of a real case from the automotive industry and some dos and don’ts are summarised to warn the reader of the difficulties and traps typically encountered in the use of FMEA. In the chapter on SPC it is pointed out that the techniques can be used to identify and eliminate special causes of variation as well as for reducing “common” causes of variation. Also provided is the research evidence that indicates that the main stumbling block in the introduction and application of SPC are a lack of knowledge/expertise on SPC, a poor understanding and awareness within the company of the purpose of SPC, and a lack of action from senior management.

The next four chapters deal respectively with benchmarking, business process re‐engineering (BPR), teams and teamwork, and quality awards, models, and self‐assessment. In each of the chapters the principles underpinning the concepts, the benefits that would accrue and the factors that lead to successful use of the practices are dealt with. The chapter on teams and teamwork includes a “team fitness check” questionnaire developed by UMIST, in conjunction with Chesterfield Cylinders Ltd. Guidance in the use of this questionnaire would have been useful to readers new to this field.

In the concluding chapter to the book Barrie asserts that the lack of success of some of the TQM initiatives is related to the way that TQM has been introduced. The following quote from a senior production executive of a British company, who reviewed the manuscript, that is cited in the conclusion to the final chapter succinctly summarises my views too:

“I have found that reading the manuscript has helped me to reflect on:

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  the things that we could have done better;

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  areas that have been well managed;

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  the topics that we need to concentrate on in the immediate future;

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  the longer term issues.”