Page 93 - DMGT206_PRODUCTION_AND_OPERATIONS_MANAGEMENT

Production and Operations Management

Notes (iii) Quality improvement achieved by focusing on projects to work out problems and
securing breakthrough solutions.
4. Kaoru Ishikawa

(i) Promoted use of quality circles
(ii) Developed “Fishbone” diagram
(iii) Emphasized significance of internal customer

5.1.2 Quality Principles

Eight quality management principles have been enunciated by the International Standards
Institute (ISO) on which the quality management system standards are based. We will use these
principles as our framework to discuss the subject.

The principles that have been derived by the ISO, the Technical Committee on quality
management are based on hearings of the committee and from the collective experience and
knowledge of international experts. These are given below:

Principle 1 – Customer focus: Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should
understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive
to exceed customer expectations.
Principle 2 – Leadership: Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization.
They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully
involved in achieving the organization’s objectives.
Principle 3 – Involvement of people: People at all levels are the essence of an organization and
their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization’s benefit.
Principle 4 - Process approach: A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and
related resources are managed as a process.

Principle 5 – System approach to management: Identifying, understanding and managing
interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency
in achieving its objectives.
Principle 6 – Continual improvement: Continual improvement of the organization’s overall
performance should be a permanent objective of the organization.
Principle 7 – Factual approach to decision making: Effective decisions are based on the analysis
of data and information.

Principle 8 – Mutually beneficial supplier relationships: An organization and its suppliers
are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create
value.

These principles give an overview of total quality management and show how, collectively,
they can form a basis for performance improvement and organizational excellence. There are
many different ways of applying these quality management principles. The nature of the
organization and the specific challenges it faces will determine how to implement them. We
will discuss many of these aspects in the succeeding sections.

5.1.3 Customer Focus

Customer focus is more than “putting customers first”, or finding mutually satisfactory solutions
to shared problems, or a dedication to excellence in every sale or service encounter. It also

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