Of late, a number of new concepts have emerged in the management field to improve the overall effectiveness of the organizations. The HR manager not only has to know them well but has to prepare himself/herself to implement some of these new ideas.
1. Total Quality Management
The concept of TQM is based on the 14 principles of Deming that deal with this subject. Deming was born and brought up in USA and migrated to Japan in the early 50’s, where he evolved these total quality principles. TQM is a culture based on the realization that the high quality of products and services and associated customer satisfaction are the keys to organizational survival.
At its core, Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction.
In a TQM effort, all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services and the culture in which they work.
The methods for implementing this approach come from the teachings of such quality leaders as Philip B. Crosby, W. Edwards Deming, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa and Joseph M. Juran.4
A core concept in implementing TQM is Deming’s 14 points, a set of management practices to help companies increase their quality and productivity:
1. Create constancy of purpose for improving products and services.
2. Adopt the new philosophy.
3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality.
4. End the practice of awarding business on price alone; instead, minimize total cost by working with a single supplier.
5. Improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production and service.
6. Institute training on the job.
7. Adopt and institute leadership.
8. Drive out fear.
9. Break down barriers between staff areas.
10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets for the workforce.
11. Eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for management.
12. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship, and eliminate the annual rating or merit system.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement for everyone.
14. Put everybody in the company to work accomplishing the transformation.
2. Assessment Centres
An assessment centre is a comprehensive, standardized procedure in which multiple assessment techniques such as situational exercises and job simulation (business games, discussions, reports, and presentations) are used to evaluate employees for a variety of manpower decisions.
“An assessment centre consists of a standardized evaluation of behaviour based on multiple inputs. Several trained observers and techniques are used. Judgments about behaviour are made by these specially trained observers. At the end of the assessment the assessors get together to share their data which is scientifically recorded on a set of evaluation forms. They come to a consensus on the assessments of each candidate. Most frequently the approach has been applied to individuals being considered for selection, promotion, placement, or special training and development in management.
History of Assessment Centres: Assessment centres methodology is known to have been used or recommended at least 1500 years ago in India as mentioned in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Different methods of assessing a candidate for ministerial positions have been spelt out in the Arthashastra including: observation, performance appraisal, assessment by those who knew him, interviewing, and other forms of testing.
Early application of assessment centres can be traced to the German military assessment programme developed for selection of officers for the German Army. Both multiple assessment techniques and multiple assessors to evaluate complex behaviour with special focus on leadership were used. Assessment was based on subjective opinions and very little rating was done
How are Assessment Centres Different Now?: Early assessment centres were used essentially for selection purposes since the traditional methods were thought to be inadequate. The assessment centre method since then has been subjected to scrutiny and research much more than any other personnel practice.5 Because of the high quality research and high reported validity, the methodology finds widespread use in a number of organizations. Besides selection, it is used for early identification of management talent, promotion, and diagnosis of developmental needs.
The basic purpose of Assessment Centre is:
(a) Making selection and promotion decisions; and
(b) Identify the strengths and weaknesses of an individual for development purposes.
The requirements of Assessment Centre are listed below:
1. Multiple assessment techniques must be used like in basket exercises, management games, leaderless group discussions, tests, personality inventories etc.
2. Multiple assessors must be used. They can be line managers who are two to three levels senior to the candidate and or professional psychologists.
3. Judgment should be based on pooling of information among assessors.
4. An overall evaluation of behavior should be made, separate from the observation of behavior.
5. Simulation exercises must be used.
3. Quality Circles
Quality Circles are (informal) groups of employees who voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to identify, define, analyze and solve work related problems.
Usually the members of a particular team (quality circle) should be from the same work area or who do similar work so that the problems they select will be familiar to all of them. In addition, interdepartmental or cross functional quality circles may also be formed.
An ideal size of quality circle is seven to eight members. But the number of members in a quality circle can vary.
The Main Objectives of Quality Circles are
- Promote job involvement
- Create problem solving capability
- Improve communication
- Promote leadership qualities
- Promote personal development
- Develop a greater awareness for cleanliness
- Develop greater awareness for safety
- Improve morale through closer identity of employee objectives with organization’s objectives
- Reduce errors.
- Enhance quality
- Inspire more effective team work
- Build an attitude of problem prevention
- Promote cost reduction
- Develop harmonious manager, supervisor and worker relationship
- Improve productivity
- Reduce downtime of machines and equipment
- Increase employee motivation
