Where Do We Go From Here?
All worker participation programs, but especially the more elaborate ones like Total Quality Management or High Performance Workplace initiatives, create for both workers and their unions a new responsibility: day-to-day involvement in decisions affecting the organization of work.
Redesign and the union's traditional role
Involvement in joint activities is in addition to and not in place of the traditional union responsibilities to bargain collectively and represent workers over terms and conditions of employment. In addition to the union's traditional role of bargaining to "divide the pie" that was established by management, redesign efforts involve the union in increasing the size of the pie. Even with a bigger pie, though, issues of how to slice it up will still arise.
Traditional union activities and redesign initiatives are like parallel railroad tracks that run side by side into the horizon. Just as a train cannot run on only one track, true quality partnership efforts cannot flourish without the "other track" of a strong union contract and effective representation. In fact, it is possible in today's world that the track of collective bargaining may not long be able to flourish if unions continue to leave managing exclusively to management.
Deming's fourteen points that define TQM:
- Create and publish a statement of the aims and purposes of the organization. Create a radical new definition of the organization's role; rather than to make money, it is to stay in business and provide jobs through innovation, research, constant improvement, and maintenance. Management must constantly demonstrate its commitment to the statement.
- Everybody should strive to understand consumer needs, streamline internal processes, and continuously monitor quality.
- Quality cannot be "inspected into" a process or product.
- End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag alone. Emphasis on seeking the lowest bidder leads to low quality and cost overruns.
- Make quality improvement a constant and permanent effort.
- Provide employees with the proper training and tools to do their jobs well.
- Teach and institute leadership. The job of a supervisor is not to tell people what to do, nor punish them, but to lead. Leading consists of helping people do a better job.
- Drive out fear. Create trust and security. Create a climate for innovation and risk taking.
- Break down barriers between departments. End internal competition and increase communication and teamwork.
- Eliminate slogans and exhortations for the workforce.
- Eliminate numerical quotas and punishment/reward control systems such as merit pay, incentive pay, and management by objectives. These systems generate fear and destroy morale.
- Remove barriers that rob people of pride in workmanship. People are eager to do a good job. Often, misguided managers, faulty equipment, inadequate resources, or poorly designed work processes stand in the way of good performance.
- Encourage education and self-improvement for everyone. Provide training in new work methods, such as teamwork, as well as traditional technical job skill training.
- Accomplish the transformation to the new work system by establishing a visible structure, a future vision, and a positive work environment.
Deming's "Seven Deadly Diseases" associated with traditional management practices:
Lack of constancy of purpose. Organizations without long range plans create insecurity for employees and management.
- Emphasis on short-term results. Looking to increase short-term performance undermines quality and productivity.
- Individual performance evaluation. Individual evaluations destroy teamwork, promote rivalry, and build fear.
- Management turnover. Management turnover undermines long-range planning and the implementation of long-range plans.
- Running an organization on numbers alone. The most important figures are unknown, such as the price of an unhappy customer.
- Excessive medical costs for employee health care, which increase the final costs of goods and services.
- Excessive costs of warranty.
As Identified by Dr. Ray Marshall
The most successful "high performance" workplaces feature the following eight components, all functioning together as an integrated and mutually supportive system.
- Effective use of all organizational resources, especially the insights and experiences of front-line workers, in order to achieve continuous improvements in productivity.
- Acute concern for the quality of products and services in order to satisfy the demands of a consumer-driven marketplace.
- A participative and nonauthoritarian management style in which workers -- both at the point of production and at the point of customer contact -- are empowered to make significant decisions by (a) using their individual discretion, experience, and creativity and (b)cooperation with their peers in a mutually supportive atmosphere.
- Internal and external flexibility in order to (a) rapidly adjust internal production processes to produce a variety of goods and services; and (b) accurately comprehend the external environment and adjust to changing economic and social trends.
- A positive incentive structure that includes: employment security; rewards for effectively working in groups; decent pay and working conditions; and policies that promote an appreciation for how the company functions as an integrated whole.
- Leading edge technology deployed in a manner that extends human capabilities and builds upon the skills, knowledge, and insights of personnel at all levels of the organization.
- A well-trained and well-educated workforce capable of: improving an organization's work organization and production process; adapting existing machine technology and selecting new equipment; developing new and improved products and services; and engaging in continuous learning, both on the job and in the classroom.
- An independent source of power for workers -- a labor union and collective bargaining agreement -- that protects employee interests in the workplace; helps to equalize power relations with management; and provides mechanisms to resolve disagreements that arise because of the inherently adversarial nature of labor-management relations.
[Dr. Marshall is a Professor of Economics at the University of Texas and was Secretary of Labor in the Carter Administration.]
State of Ohio
Quality Services through Partnership
Purpose:
The purpose of QStP is to transform state government into an organization where all employees work together to continuously improve how work is done. This transformation is in partnership with the unions representing state employees. It is accomplished by learning and practicing in collaboration the best known principles, problem solving processes, and tools used to make organizations effective and efficient. The goal is to have our customers, the citizens of Ohio, know they are getting value for their tax dollars.
Just as business must change in order to respond to the demand of a global information economy, so must government become more flexible, adaptable, innovative, and responsive to the needs of its citizenry. The bureaucratic "way we have always done it before" methods will neither carry us forward nor prepare us for the future. We must unleash each employee's creativity, and identify new ways to do our jobs more effectively. QStP supplies us with the knowledge and tools that will enable us to streamline bureaucracy, analyze problems and improve our ability to respond to customer needs. QStP is a principle-driven process for the continuous improvement of government services.
Principles:
- Sustained improvement efforts require a full partnership with unions and management.
- Continuous improvement requires continuous learning.
- Most fundamental lasting changes are accomplished by implementing many small improvements over time. Quality is an evolutionary process. It is not a quick fix.
- Teams of employees are supported by management to examine and improve how work is done. The role of the supervisor is to develop people and to remove barriers to productivity.
- Specific problem solving tools are used to analyze work processes so that plans are based on relevant data and decisions are based on facts rather than feelings.
- A structured problem solving process is used to focus efforts on improving systems rather than on finding blame for poor results.
- Because quality can only be defined by the customer, improvements must be based on customer needs. Customers can be both external, the users of government's products and services, and internal, the people within the government who rely on their co-workers to do their jobs and serve the public.
Hypothetical Case Study
Redesign in Action
After considering suggestions offered by a number of facilities, the AFSCME Local 9222 -- Blue Sky County School District Joint Quality Council selected the FDR High School cafeteria as a quality improvement project. The Quality Council selected the FDR cafeteria as its initial target because it presented a great opportunity for improvement. An important factor in the Council's decision was the long history of constructive labor-management dealings at the FDR cafeteria.
The FDR cafeteria is one of 73 operated by the school district. On an average school day, the cafeteria serves 700 meals to students and faculty. Over the past threee years, the school district has received an increasing number of complaints concerning the quality of the centrally-prepared meals served at all cafeterias throughout the district, including FDR. The FDR cafeteria manager and the Local 9222 steward jointly submitted a proposal to improve "customer" satisfaction to the Quality Council. After being selected as a quality improvement project, they formed a quality imrpovement team. They agreed to serve on the team themselves and to involve two other union members to be selected by the steward, on the condition that he selected one individual from the food preparation section and one from food service.
The team received instruction in TQM techniques, how to gather and analyze data, how to manage their meetings and how to reach group consensus decisions. They concluded the two-day training by formally writing a "problem statement" which they were charged with solving.
The team decided to assess the current situation by gathering data on how many customers were satisfied with the food service and also the sources of dissatisfation. The team used written surveys as well as meetings (focus groups) with representatives of the faculty and student body.
The surveys found that just 27% of their customers were "usually" satisfied with the cafeteria's quality. This compares unfavorably with the 70% satisfaction rate achieved at the state college, which has a reputation for high quality food service. The team further discovered that FDR customers were generally satisfied with service and waiting times. The two primary sources of dissatisfaction were with the "alternative lunches" which were served when they ran out of the scheduled lunch, and the general lack of choices available. Focus group discussions confirmed the survey results.
The "alternative lunches" are frozen, institutional food of low quality. The team needed to find an alternative to the current "alternative lunch." The cost of storing the foods in the freezer, combined with the processing costs and profit margin of the supplier, made it impossible to obtain higher quality frozen meals within budget. The team then investigated whether they could eliminate the need for the "alternative lunches." They discovered that alternative lunches were always necessary on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays but were rarely needed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. In fact on Wednesdays and Thursdays, FDR threw away excess fresh food.
The problem occurred because the district supplied the same number of meals each day to FDR. Because FDR averaged 700 meals a day, the district provided 700 meals each day. But FDR served 900 meals on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and just 400 meals on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Ultimately, the team recommended allowing FDR to order variable quantities of meals each day. In this way, supply would more closely equal demand. There would be less waste and less need for "alternative lunches."
This solution also resolved complaints about lack of variety. Because there was no longer a need for a large freezer, room became available for a refrigerator and dry storage area, allowing FDR to offer cold cut lunches. After doing away with "alternative lunches", if FDR ran short of the centrally provided meals, the cold cut lunches would be available. The team also developed a procedure to track the number of cold cut lunches ordered so they could scale back centrally prepared meal orders accordingly.
The team calculated that the reduction in waste of fresh food on Wednesdays and Thursdays, combined with the savings from cancelling the contract for frozen meals, resulted in lower food costs. In addition, the cost of the large refrigerator could be paid with the proceeds from selling the freezer combined with a decrease in the cost of electricity to operate a refriegrator rather than a freezer. Savings generated from the new process will be used to upgrade the caliber of the food.
The Quality Council agreed to pilot the new process at FDR. After three months, customer satisfaction with quality increased to 68%. Of those surveyed, 76% indicated that the cold cut lunch was a good idea.
The Quality Council decided to implement quality improvment projects at all middle schools and high schools in the district.
