Quality management is all encompassing and consist of laying down standards against which the project quality metrics are defined and need to be measured against. Quality management takes into account

Running head: QUALITY IMPROVEMENT CONTROLS 1

Quality Improvement Controls

Student’s name

Institutional affiliation

Quality Improvement Controls

Attaining quality demands a significant investment in careful and intentional planning as well as hard work. An organization that intends to improve the quality of its service delivery must focus on careful planning for quality management systems, effective implementation of plans to better the quality of service delivery, and efficient monitoring and evaluation of plans to facilitate continuous modifications that champion for more quality improvement.

Quality management is specifically important among service delivery industries like healthcare. In these fields, the customer's experience at the service station is the primary determinant of success, and the business must be careful enough to ensure it effectively meets the customers' needs and expectations (Thai, & Jie, 2018). For example, a hospital must ensure its services are both timely and appropriate. This is because, without timeliness, healthcare interventions may become useless to the patient. Also, without the needed appropriateness, the patient may never respond to the treatment. Thus, the management of a hospital should ensure it trains its staff to deliver services within the time periods stipulated in the service delivery charter. Moreover, the organization should also train the service providers in the best diagnosis and treatment methods to ensure the treatments instituted are directly targeted at a specific disease. Hence, there are two main considerations when developing a quality management plan or a hospital – timelines, and quality. Among other industries, quality may be broad, involving complex aspects like standardization of products and adherence to quality regulations/. Altogether, organizations must ensure they meet the quality needs of their clients.

In executing quality management plans, specific procedures must be observed. At the first step, the management must commit to regular assessment of its departments. Such continuous surveillance ensures the management is vigilant to watch all processes and pinpoint quality-compromising issues before they escalate to major problems. The best approach to this would be to perform regular SWOT analyses. Such analyses allow the leadership to note its strengths while also realizing the present weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. Besides the SWOT analysis, the management may also use the Shewhart Cycle, Six Sigma frameworks, and the 5-Whys Model to analyze its environment and point out problems. The tools also allow the leadership to establish the root causes of quality-limiting issues. Such understanding allows the management to work on creating relevant and effective quality improvement programs. The purpose of this paper, in line with quality management systems, is to discuss approaches to implementing, monitoring, and evaluating quality plans.

Important Considerations during Implementation

The implementation phase follows the planning phase. At the planning phase, the leadership performs assessments that lead to the discovery of the problem and the delineation of the underlying causes. This type of assessment allows the leadership to effectively tackle the underlying root causes and improve quality through rational and effective approaches. At this point, the organization's leadership or department of the organization involved will determine whether the measures to be implemented affect the staff, equipment, leadership, workflow process, or clients. This determination is important because it affects the types of measures that are taken by the organization. Besides, it is also vital to consider whether the staff will accept the change and develop a specific time frame for the implementation.

Acceptance of Change

Yousef (2017), in a study that examined employee acceptance of change process, reported that acceptance of change is based upon the organization's dedication to building a healthy work atmosphere, the unity in the employer-employee relationship, education, and job motivation, positive attitude, and job security. However, acceptance of reform is constrained by union membership, bad working conditions, position disputes, and tenure. Accordingly, an organization should be sure to consider the above considerations when introducing a proposed change plan. In adopting the suggested reforms, good coordination and adherence to quality development should be considered. Otherwise, due to a lack of support from the concerned staff, the quality management strategy could fail.

Information sharing is the first major element in embracing transition. Organizations must, therefore, ensure that the proposed change is conveyed to workers before the implementation stage starts (Král, & Králová, 2016). This contact should come from management and should be channelized by media to ask concerns and request clarity. Often, it can require anonymous feedback from workers. Thus, the management of the involved organization should also seek to disclose the quality improvement strategy to the workers affected early enough to encourage them to express their input anonymously. It is important to consider the employees' recommendations.

Also, an approach that encourages continual improvement should be considered by management. It should not be believed that the present strategy is final (Harvey, & Lynch, 2017). Instead, management should reassure workers that the transition would be closely managed and changed in the future if appropriate. The leadership often has to recognize the involvement of all involved persons while contributing to quality improvement. This generates inclusion and participation and markets the strategy to the workers.

Implementation Time Frame

The time period in which the quality program should be implemented is also a vital consideration. When a quality improvement plan is designed, it is always made considering the amount of time that should be invested in implementing the changes (Whittle, 2016). If the time frame is not strictly adhered to, management may fall short and miss to achieve the intended programs. A quality improvement program, in essence, is only relevant when implemented within the stipulated time.

However, when implementing a quality strategy, the leadership should never forget to consider the time needed for infrastructural changes, employee training, and change assessment. These are also part of the quality betterment process and should be given equal consideration. If this is not done, the leadership may implement the change but fail to obtain the results. Hence, before the plan implementation journey begins, the involved parties must break down the plan and outline the necessary changes. From this digested form of the plan, they should make a priority matrix and begun with the first things first.

Data Collection and Analysis

To ensure that they are meeting the desired targets, new proposals need to be controlled. Quality plan analysis and assessment help the initiating organization influence the course of the transition and lead the enterprise to the expected direction. Through gathering and reviewing pertinent data, tracking is better done.

Data Collection

The focus of the quality management strategy developed determines the methods of data collection used. However, in most cases, staff and departmental leaders are the centers of attention. Considering the experience of the impacted parties under the new protocol and adjusted workplace climate is therefore important. Thus, data for monitoring and controlling the new strategies may best be obtained by using questionnaires. Employees are asked in the questionnaires to score their experience serving in their work stations on a predetermined scale ( for instance, a scale of 1 to 10). The first assessment should be carried out before the initiation of the quality improvement program. Subsequent assessment may be done at a specified interval after the quality improvement plan is implemented (average two or three-month intervals). The questionnaires should also ask the staff to recommend further modifications that could be made.

Data Analysis

The data obtained needs to be evaluated by calculating basic measures of core inclination like mean. Because employees are asked to give scores on a scale, the values received bay be averaged to give the overall impression of how employees feel. These assessments are contrasted with future tests to provide insight into how the plan is progressing. An upward trend in employee ratings is taken as a development, while a downward trend is taken as an aggravation of the condition. The required changes are then made to the quality strategy based on the statistical findings. Besides, the workers' recommendations on developing the quality improvement program need to be evaluated thematically and considered for potential development by management.

Desired Outcomes

The goals of all quality improvement programs are to foster quality betterment. Thus, when an organization develops and implements a quality betterment strategy, it anticipates that the overall quality of service delivery or product manufacturing should improve. Among service industries, timeliness and improved customer experience are the primary determinants of the success of a quality plan. On the other hand, manufacturing industries base primarily on the assessment of quality control organizations like ISO.

Conclusion

Quality improvement is central to the delivery of services in any field. In recognition of the central role of continuous quality improvement in facilitating organizational success, organizational leaders must commit to regular quality checks. From the quality assessments, any issues noted should e handled as though they are urgent. When this is done, services will be delivered on a timely basis, and the experience f customers will improve.

References

Harvey, G., & Lynch, E. (2017). Enabling continuous quality improvement in practice: The role and contribution of facilitation. Frontiers in public health, 5, 27.

Král, P., & Králová, V. (2016). Approaches to changing organizational structure: The effect of drivers and communication. Journal of Business Research, 69(11), 5169-5174.

Thai, V., & Jie, F. (2018). The impact of total quality management and supply chain integration on container shipping companies' firm performance in Singapore. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics.

Whittle, S. R. (2016). Quick, quick, slow: time, and timing in organizational change. In Changing Organizations from Within (pp. 113-126). Routledge.

Yousef, D. A. (2017). Organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and attitudes toward organizational change: A study in the local government. International Journal of Public Administration, 40(1), 77-88.