1

Lecture 6
Quality Culture
 Understanding What a Quality Culture Is
2

An organizational culture has the following elements:

Business Environment
►in which an organization must operate

Organizational Values
►describes what the organization thinks
 Understanding What a Quality Culture Is
3

 An organizational culture has the following elements:

Cont’d…

Cultural Role Models

►employees who personify the organization’s values
►when cultural role models retire or die, they serve as living
examples of what the organization wants its employees to be

Organizational Rites, Rituals and

Customs
►express the organization’s unwritten rules about how things are
done. How employees dress, interact with each other and
approach their work.
 Understanding What a Quality Culture Is
4

 An organizational culture has the following elements:

Cont’d…

Cultural Transmitters
►are vehicles by which an organization’s culture is
passed down through successive generations of
employees.
►e.g. are organization’s symbols, slogans, and
recognition ceremonies.
 What is Quality Culture?
5

A quality culture is:

An organizational value system that
results in an environment that is
conducive (favorable / encouraging) to
the establishment and continual
improvement of Quality. It consists of
values, traditions, procedures and
expectations that promote quality.
 Characteristics of Quality Culture
6

 Behavior matches slogan

 Customer input is actively sought and used to continually improve
quality
 Work is done in teams
 Executive level managers are both committed and involved;
responsibility for quality is NOT delegated
 Sufficient resources are made available where and when they are
needed to ensure the continuous improvement of quality
 Education and training are provided to ensure that employees at all
levels have the knowledge and skills needed to continuously improve
quality
 Reward and promotion systems are based on contributions to the
continual improvement of quality
 Fellow employees are viewed as internal customers
 Suppliers are treated as partners
 Quality Culture vs. Traditional Cultures
7

Organizations that develop and maintain a quality

culture will differ significantly from those with a
traditional culture in the following areas:
 Operating Philosophy
 Objectives
 Management Approach
 Attitude towards Customers
 Problem-Solving Approach
 Supplier Relationship
 Performance-Improvement Approach
 Activating Cultural Change
8

Reasons why cultural change must either

precede or at least parallel the implementation
of total quality:

Change can not occur in a hostile
environment
►doing business must be different from what
management and employees are used to.
►supportive internal partnership and team work are
lost due to competition for promotions
Activating Cultural Change – Cont’d…
9

Moving to Total Quality takes time

►positive results are rarely achieved in the short run.

Itcan be difficult to overcome the

past
► employees might remember earlier fads (fashion)
and gimmicks (trick).
► promoting the latest management gimmick and
then letting it die for lack of interest may be part of
the existing organizational culture
Changing Leaders to Activate Cultural Change
10

Leadership from the top is essential.

Sometimes, an organization’s
culture simply cannot be changed
without a change in leadership.

Culture change requires support,

ideas, and leadership from
employees at all levels.
Laying the Groundwork for a Quality Culture
11

According to Peter Scholtes,

Management should begin by developing
an understanding of “laws” of
organizational change. They are:
► Understand the History behind the Current
Culture
► Don’t Tamper with Systems – Improve
Them
► Be prepared to Listen and Observe
► Involve Everyone Affected by Change in Making It
 Learning What a Quality Culture looks like
12

Characteristics of a strong quality culture organization:

widely shared philosophy of management

emphasis on the importance of human resources to the
organization

ceremonies to celebrate organizational events

recognition and rewards for successful employees

effective internal network for communicating the culture

informal rules of behavior

strong value system

high standards for performance

definite organizational character
 Countering Resistance to Culture Change - 1
13

 Change is Resisted in any Organization.

 Continuous Improvement means Continuous
Change In order to ensure continuous improvement,
Change.
one must be able to facilitate continuous change.

 Why Change is Difficult?

Juran describes organizational change as
 “Clash between Cultures”

Fig 1. Two separate organizational Cultures relating to change

Countering Resistance to Culture Change - 2
14

 There are different perceptions to the same proposed

change in an organization.

Fig 2. Different Perceptions of Same change

 Countering Resistance to Culture Change - 3
15

 How to Facilitate Change?

1. Begin with a new advocacy (support)
paradigm

2. Understand Concerns of Potential

Resisters
► Understand the concerns of resisters like fear,
loss of control, uncertainty and more work.
3. Implement Change Promoting Strategies
► Involve Potential Resisters, Avoid Surprises,
Move slowly at first, Start Small and be
flexible, create a positive environment,
Incorporate the change, Respond Quickly
and Positively, Work with Established leaders,
Treat people with dignity & Respect, Be Fig 3. Steps in
Constructive. Facilitating Change
 Establishing a Quality Culture - 1
16

 Establishing a quality culture involves specific

planning and activities for business or department.
 Phases of Emotional Transition:
Fig 4. Emotional Transition
 Establishing a Quality Culture - 2
17

Steps in Conversion to Quality:

Identify the Changes needed

Put the Planned Changes in Writing

Develop a Plan for Making the Changes

Understand the Emotional Transition

Process

Identify Key People and Make Them Advocates

Take a Hearts and Minds Approach

Apply Courtship Strategies

Support, Support, Support

 Maintaining a Quality Culture
18

 Establishing Quality Culture is a challenging

undertaking for any organization. It is even more
challenging to maintain it over time.

 In order to maintain Quality Culture, organizations

must foster the following behaviors:

Maintain an awareness of Quality as a key cultural issue.

Make sure that there is plenty of evidence of Management’s
leadership.

Empower Employees and encourage self-development and
self-initiative.

Recognize and reward the behaviors that tend to nurture and
maintain Quality Culture.