Planning.
Strategy planning for TQM
In previous lessons, we described the virtues that adopting TQM may grant to organizations. We have mentioned that it would depend on our environment, our organization, and our strategy. We have also anticipated problems that may emerge from adopting TQM, benchmarking, as well as a change in mentality, the way we work and even the way in which employee retribution should be designed. We have tried to manifest that integrating TQM is not easy. TQM has global dimensions. We must be able to count with the participation of every employee. If after taking all this into consideration you still believe it has a positive outcome (as the authors of this work believe), we must move forward into planning this total quality management.
According to Juran (1993) “Planning for quality is the process of establishing long reach quality objectives and defining a focus to satisfy objectives."
James (1997) adds that quality planning goes beyond strategic planning since it adds an improvement requirement to this concept. The important point is that management and personnel work together to ensure a constant improvement using this plan as vessel.
Organizations oriented towards quality generally develop and apply decentralized planning mechanisms. This means that the upper level of management reserves the right to develop the mission and the departments and groups develop quality objectives and their application.
Quality plans differ in terms of reach, detail, time and application. There are three types of plans: strategic, tactics and operatives. They may be done as indicated in the following image.
Analysis and Planning for TQM
The process of quality planning according to James (1997) counts with seven points which the authors of this piece of work have reduced to six.