06-05-2014, 10:37 AM
Dissertation Progress Report
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Progress Report
At the start of the year my dissertation topic was ‘How to implement Total Quality Management and the effect it has on the construction industry. I felt that after a detailed research that this would give me a lot of information and a strong basis to build my dissertation over. However, after meeting with my supervisor he explained to me although what I had done was a good idea I could take a different route and try and show the effect TQM has on the Construction Industry as well as make it apparent that this method of management has a positive effect on construction companies, I will then follow this on by showing how this method can be implemented. This now enables me to create a suitable title for my dissertation; therefore the title of my dissertation is now: - ‘The effect Total Quality Management has on the Construction Industry’.
The aims of the dissertation are still similar the only difference is that the main focus was the implementation of TQM and the effect was the background study, this has now changed so that the effect of TQM is the main focus and proving this point is the ultimate factor.
At this moment in time, a vast detailed literature review has been undertaken to try and find as much evidence as possible to back up the main focus of the dissertation, this research has been done in numerous ways for example, web sites, books, contacting companies and talking to people within the industry. I have completed a study into which construction companies that would be best to gather information from, I am looking for small and large companies that may or may not implement TQM as their management strategy. Once I have companies of different sizes and of different management strategies a study into whether TQM has a positive outcome can be defined.
Regarding the literature review, after consulting with my dissertation tutor he advised me to start broad and the look at the structure of organisations enabling me to get background knowledge into the structure that companies use. Once this has been researched the literature review goes into further detail about TQM itself and the aims of TQM. From this research it will give me an understanding of what companies will need to do in order to implement it as well as see where other companies can improve on their implementation if they already have it in place.
Structure of an Organisation
One structure that was found was from www.scribd.com which shows the structure of a certain organisation where they have a Chief Executive followed by a Board of Directors, under these are the following: - Production, Marketing, Accounts and Personnel. This organisation is split up into three levels; top, middle, and lower.
Total Quality Management – Background information
All information from this section is extracted from Patsy Paxton from Vista University, Port Elizabeth Campus, South Africa. The document is called – ‘Total Quality Management and Invitational Theory: Common Ground.’
Total Quality Management is a leadership approach that conceptualizes organisations and bringing new roles to their staff. Deming (1986) worked in Japan after World War II and his aim was to boost Japan’s economy by teaching them different styles of management. Total Quality Management process is more of a philosophy than a model. Total Quality Management rejects the concept of competition, production ranking, performance evaluations, and promotes cooperation and a team approach which encourages team input a philosophy that is the foundation for customer satisfaction. In management the top of the company always look at statistics to see how their company is getting on compared to others etc whereas with TQM the only time statistics are used is to provide data for decision making within the company to help promote their product alongside customer satisfaction.
This approach has sometimes been criticised as Myron Tribus in 1987 stated that sometimes people work better and harder under competition and he felt that these negative approaches was not a healthy way for working. As well as this he also stated that to be a team worker you also need to be an independent learner and that quality experience makes independent people and if everything is done in teams some members of staff can hide behind others. He feels that independent learners in turn become motivated to steadfastly seek quality for themselves; this process also creates increased self esteem and confidence whereas TQM does not.
Link between Total Quality Management and Corporate Financial Performance
There are two ways in which to measure the relationship between TQM and a companies’ financial turn over, these approaches are; 1. Multiple regressions 2. Structural equation models. According to the book Perspectives in Total Quality edited by Michael J. Stahl in 1999. ‘The second approach the performances of TQM firms are compared to those who do not implement TQM, this approach has three problems: The first firms that implement TQM are to be virtually certain to be systemically different from firms that do not implement TQM in ways that are related to performance. The second problems with cross sectional studies is that the performance differences observed represent a snap shot in time and are not closely associated in time with changes in the management system. The third problem is that cross sectional research cannot give a comprehensive study of the causes of what the problems are.’ This extract taken from the Perspectives in Total Quality demonstrates that various research methods are needed in order to establish the effect TQM has on companies compared to companies that do not implement it. It continues to say that using the structural equation model researchers will not get a persuasive result.
Attitudinal Research
Attitudinal research is used to find out people’s opinions and perceptions of a certain point, therefore this method is ideal to the dissertation. It gives the opportunity to contact different companies within the construction sector to find out how TQM has helped or could help evolve a company. For this dissertation 10 companies have been contacted to try and get some information that will provide results that will determine whether TQM has a positive or negative outcome.