Total quality management (TQM) “is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility of an organization for the benefit of all stakeholders, If combined with effective leadership, results in an organization doing the right things right, first time (Chandra, 2013 p 440). Total quality management does increase the competitive advantage and edge of organizations, but it is also is conclusive of the concept of strategic planning. Strategic planning focuses on the development of an organized method or theme that is geared towards efficient goal attainment. “Strategic planning system involves a systematic structure of measures, methods of analysis and process of evaluation that form the core of sustained planning and control practice which are specific to an organization”(Manzor & Tayib, 2012 p 22). The role that total quality management plays in strategic planning is the promotion of innovation, and strategies that increase organizational performance and are attractive to consumers. A key way of attracting and establishing a loyal consumer population is by developing a creative and comprehensive plan that is beneficial to all employees, stakeholders, managers, and suppliers within an organization; and is based on strategic objectives and goals that align the goals of the workforce with the organizational goals. Both total quality management and strategic planning have been evaluated through an immense about of literature and have been applied to organizational improvement and productivity, but there are still areas related to the establishment of creative processing and the influence that it has on employee and organizational productivity that needs to be assessed. More specifically, this paper will conduct a thorough analysis of the effects that total quality management has on strategic planning in regards to the creation of innovative strategies that promote a creative process that solves organizational issues, and assess the ways that a creative total quality management and strategic process had on motivating employees to be creative in their organization that they work for.
The Effects of Total Quality Management on Innovative Strategic Planning
Total quality management is a complex system that organizations either adopt or create in an effort to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors, and to sustain against threats in the market in which the organization operates in. Two ways to accomplish a competitive advantage and sustainability are strategic management and quality and innovative performance.
Strategic Management
The foundation for adequate and innovative strategic management that is strongly influenced by the total quality management is decision making which ultimately impacts an organizations competitive positioning and productivity. When organizations engage in strategic planning one of the main purposes for doing so is to devise a plan that differentiates them from their competitor, while concurrently gaining a stronger and more attractive position in their designated market. Through the process of decision making total quality management and strategic management compliment one another because the implementation of a well design strategic plan illustrates if the total quality management has an effective change on the organization. For this reason it is very significant for organizations to already have an established mission that is complimented by the strategies that will or are implemented. Cited by Kantardjieva (2015), Popovski (2001) stated, “ TQM is both a driving force to competitive strategy selection and an important dynamic resource that competitive strategies support, allocate, and enhance in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage”(p 538). Total quality management is the collection of business qualities and strategies that plays a significant role in creative strategic planning. Total quality management is also a vital component that drives the achievement of short, and long-term organizational goals that ameliorate the increase of an organization’s productivity. Hence, to promote innovative and effective strategic plan, organization must adopt a total quality management process that compliments the management of its strategies.
The Effect of Total Quality Management on Quality and Innovative Performance
Empirical studies have shown diverse correlation and the effect that total quality management has on quality and innovative performance. Some of the concepts of total quality management that have had a great impact on organizational performance and creative processes are leadership, process management and customer focus. In Zehir, Ertosun, Zehir, and Müceldilli (2012) research study, total quality management qualities were evaluated to determine the effect that these activities have on organizational performance. It was hypothesized that total quality management would have a positive influence on quality performance, and total quality management would have a positive influence on innovation. Results indicated that “two of performance indicators (quality and innovative) system approach to management dimension is found to be an important TQM component so firms should overrate that it is the most important activity for performance improving according to this study’s findings.”(P 279). An organization must strategically plan to comprise a total quality management system that encourages quality and innovative performance. Hence, total management innovative processes have a direct impact on organizational performance and productivity.
Creative Total Quality Management and Strategic Planning Process Effects on Employee Innovation
Creative total quality management in an organization and a creative strategic process can have detrimental effects on employee motivation and productivity.
Employee Motivation
A firm’s total management quality practices and strategic process have a direct correlation to employee’s motivation to achieve organization goals and increases in performance as well. When leadership, training, employee management, supplier management and other total quality management concepts are innovative this motivates employees to also be creative when striving for organizational goal attainment. The strategic planning process is a key contributor to a creative management total management quality because it helps to create an organizational culture and environment that inspire employees to mimic and incorporate organizational strategies into their performance efforts. In Sadikoglu and Zehir(2010) research study it was discovered that total quality management synergy, and “ successful TQM efforts improve employees’ (internal customer) motivation, satisfaction, pride-of-work, absenteeism, and turnover, since the employees are treated as valuable assets in a total quality setting” (p 22). The more innovative and organized the total management quality practices are that exist in an organization the greater the chance that employee motivation will increased. Increased employee motivation can have a domino effect that displays improvement in employee and organizational performance. Hence, well developed total quality management development, organizational cohesiveness, and the strategic planning process are all components that can motivate employee to add value to the organization through increased contributory performance.
Employee Productivity
A key component to employee productivity is having a thorough strategic planning process. In this process it is imperative to identify and align the needs of the organization with the needs its workforce to be capable of creating adequate strategies that accomplish organizational goals and increase productivity. In regards to employee productivity the challenge of managing human resources must be strategically devise by a human resources component to the organization. A beneficial strategy that is commonly used in various organization’s human resources is human resource and workforce analytics. Both types of analytics are part of an integral monitoring system that tracks employee performance and productivity. This is significant to the total quality management and its innovative strategic process because analytics help to identify areas in an organization that are the weakness and that are the potential cause of organizational issues. Key components of human resource analytics that examine employee productivity, among other avenues within an organization are “recruitment and selection; succession planning; performance management; training and development; and turnover rate”( Momin &Mishra, 2015 p 259). Employee productivity is a reflection of the total quality management and the strategic process that exist in an organization. When both of the aforementioned systems do not make the necessary efforts to implement creative and strategic measures that align all organizational components, then the employee and firm performance is minimized and goal attainment is challenged. Planning and implementation of a strategic planning process should reflect the principles of the innovative total management quality management to promote and increase employee and organizational performance
Conclusion
Total quality management in a collective and systematic process that utilizes strategic planning to create short and long term goals that promote sustainability, increase organizational performance, motivate employee to achieve organizational goals and encourage employee to be more innovate in the strategic process. Total quality management is a complex system that organizations either adopt or create in an effort to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors, and to sustain against threats in the market in which the organization operates in. Generally this is accomplished strategic management and quality and innovative performance. The foundation for adequate and innovative strategic management that is strongly influenced by the total quality management is decision making which ultimately impacts an organizations competitive positioning and productivity. Empirical studies have shown diverse correlation and the effect that total quality management has on quality and innovative performance. Total quality management is a motivator of strategic planning because total quality management components such as an organization’s mission, values, short and long term goals, etc. serve as the foundation to the business and corporate level strategies that are created and implemented into an organization. Creative total quality management in an organization and a creative strategic process can have detrimental effects on employee motivation and productivity. A firm’s total management quality practices and strategic process have a direct correlation to employee’s motivation to achieve organization goals and increases in performance as well. If total quality management practices and the strategic planning process exhibit a strong organizational culture and goal development both aspects play a vital role in organizational cohesion. Furthermore, they are both A key component to employee productivity is having a thorough strategic planning process. In this process it is imperative to identify and align the needs of the organization with the needs its workforce to be capable of creating adequate strategies that accomplish organizational goals and increase productivity motivational factors that encourage employee innovation and performance. Overall, total quality management is the dominant counterpart that directs the strategic planning process because an organization’s mission, values, culture, structure, and workforce need to be acclimated to the strategies used to increase an organization’s competitive advantage and performance.
References
Chandra, P. V. (2013). A Study on Implementation of Total Quality Management in Businesses. International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology (IJESIT) , 2 (3), 440-446.
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Manzor, M., & Tayib, M. (2012). Strategic Planning in Public Organization: The Case of a Tax Administration in a Developing Country. Business Management Dynamics , 1 (8), 20-33.
Momin, W. Y., & Mishra, K. (2015). HR Analytics as a Strategic Workforce Planning. Journal of Applied Research , 1 (4), 258-260.
Sadikoglu, E., & Zehir, C. (2010). Investigating the effects of innovation and employee performance on the relationship between total quality management practices and firm performance: An empirical study of Turkish firms. Int. J. Production Economics , 13-26.
Zehira, C., Ertosunb, Ö. G., Zehirc, S., & Müceldilli, B. (2012). Total Quality Management Practices’ Effects on Quality Performance and Innovative Performance. Social and Behavioral Sciences , 273-280.
