Continuous Improvement of Organizations
Many will agree that a drastic change in culture is necessary to improve the organization of most companies. These changes require a big shift in the way things are done. This is the most difficult part of continuous improvement and takes a long time. A few companies started the transition in the early 1980s, and the end is not in sight, but the rewards so far have exceeded the expectations of everyone. Some believe the end will never be reached, because of the need to adapt constantly to the dynamic world that we operate within.
Formally, culture is made up of the values and beliefs shared by most members of an organization. Beliefs are assumptions about what is true.Values are opinions about what is worthwhile or desirable. To survive, there must be a culture within a company dedicated to quality as viewed by the customer.There also must be a dedication to continuous improvement in everything. This culture must have clear values and beliefs driving its behavior, since behavior is the foundation by which the company is managed and seen by everyone One way to look at the cultural change required is by seeing it as a ladder as per the given below steps:
CUSTOMER FOCUS
CROSS FUNCTIONAL TEAMS
CULTURAL TRAINING
COOPERATION AMONG FUNCTIONS
STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL
INSPECTION AND AUDIT
Though described as a ladder,the changes need not be made one step at a time or in the sequence shown. Stages at each step may be pursued together. Also, all these steps may not be necessary and additional steps may be added to meet the unique needs of each company. To illustrate the cultural change,a hypothetical situation is described. At the bottom rung,a company that relies heavily on inspection and auditing by QC is shown. Little prevention activity to avoid problems is practiced. The company realizes it must change to survive. They know because the companies that they supply told them they must change. At this point, they really have no vision of what they must do. If they did,they would see that they must be customer-driven as shown on the top rung of the ladder.
The company reached the second rung on the ladder when SPC was adopted. The work concerned with SPC was doe by QC. It made their customers happy for a while, but the company could see little improvement to offset the added cost. Adjustments were then made in the approach. The work for SPC was shifted from QC to the operator. Some improvements were obtained, but not enough. The company realized that the operator could only correct perhaps 15% of the problems;the rest were due to things that others in the company controlled.
More adjustments were made. Different functions started working more closely together. The company was now on the third rung of the ladder.Responsibility was matched with control by the shift of inspection to manufacturing. Marketing worked closer with product development to help with the design. Engineers from manufacturing got involved with looking at products early in the design phase.Things were getting better for this company,but it was still struggling to survive.
Then management got interested in changing the culture of the company. Other companies involved in this approach appeared to be making progress.Training was set up for the top people in the organization. The company was now on the fourth rung of the ladder. Top management learned that they must be the innovators of change. They must have a vision of what the company should be like.From this vision, they must prepare plans to get there. The most difficult change is in the area of behavior. This must correlate to the values and beliefs according to what they observe.
Top management learned, during the training, that typical values and beliefs of companies involved in a cultural change include:
- The entire organization must focus on customers and their needs. The judgement of the quality of products is in the eyes of the final customer.
- There must be a strong focus by the organization on each employee. Through serving its own employees well, a like behavior is carried over to its customers. Efforts must be made to develop a work force with high motivation.
- There also must be a strong emphasis on safety in everything the company does. This includes its products and facilities. Also of concern is the safety of the community in which it resides.
- Prevention of problems must be another area of focus for the company. For this, the company needs to continuously improve the ability of its individuals,processes and organization.
- A strong emphasis must be placed on teamwork. Solutions by a team are usually better than those developed separately.
- There must be total involvement of everyone in an organization regularly. Each employee should participate in problem solving and continuous improvement. Decision making should be done on the lowest level by those involved in the process. Those closest to problems can make good solutions.
- Every employee in the company must be able to speak the truth without fear of punishment. Continuous improvement efforts will not succeed without open discussions of the issues.
The changing of any company to these values and beliefs is a difficult task. Much patience and persistence are required. Each process within a company , whether done by blue or white collar workers, must be looked at and improved. barriers and resistance to change must be handled delicately. The pace must be such that it does not overtax the organization.
After training, management of the hypothetical company decided to plan how they would go ahead. They recognized that changes must start with them. Through their behavior,the right values and beliefs will trickle down through the organization. First on the list was a review of the mission statement to see if it matched the desired values and beliefs. Next,the strategic plan was reviewed to adjust it for required changes. Goals were set for achievement of the needed changes.
In the next step, the organization of the company was reviewed. It was decided that a continuous improvement steering committee was required. This would be made up of leaders of various functional areas. In this way,any conflicts in goals could be resolved. Also, those involved could reach a consensus about the focus of improvement efforts. Finding ways of making the identified improvements would be up to improvement teams.
The improvement teams are made up of members from each functional area. The make-up of each team depends upon the project assigned by the steering committee. Implementation of this approach will allow the company to reach the fifth rung of the ladder. This is where cross-functional teams are used to obtain improvements.
The company is now one step from the top rung of the ladder,but it is a giant step. The last rung denotes that the desired belief and value system is in place.This means that the behavior of most people in the organization reflects the new culture. Reaching this point takes dedication from everyone. Management must provide leadership in changing behavior.Resources must be provided,particularly for massive and continuous training.
Cross-functional improvement teams must change and fine-tune various processes to reflect the new value system. Most individuals in the company must see the need for change and reflect new values in their behavior. The way this is done is different for each company. There is no 'canned approach' to be emulated. Much of it depends on the personalities involved.
The change in culture is worth it No company has reported that they have completed the change to a new culture.Those that are close report the following results:
Increased market share
Cost reductions
Lower throughput time
Management is easier
Communications are better
Employees are happier
