Total quality management implementation in oil refining industry
Total quality management implementation in oil refining industry
Firstly I will give a brief summary of what quality management is. Quality management is an ongoing process within a business to continually improve quality and meet the needs and requirements of its customers. Quality management is not a procedure or something that can be installed by manual. It is an ongoing process, which involves every level of employee in the organisation, from the cleaners to the senior management. The most popular quality management process is known as TQM (Total Quality Management) and was popularised by the Japanese. This is a process where all employees are encouraged to help out in the continued race for quality and efficiency. TQM also emphasises that quality become part of the underlying philosophy of management, rather than just another process to be followed.
Applying TQM in industry
In this section I will look at literature that has looked at how TQM can be implemented into the everyday day life of an organisation. My main focus will be on the industry of oil refining.A recent paper by Prajogo and Sohal (2006) looked at how TQM has affected operational strategy of organizations. They looked at empirical evidence gathered from 194 Australian companies. They found that TQM by itself does not have much impact; it needs to be complemented with other tools. This quote sums up their findings, ‘The implication is that TQM needs to be complemented by other resources to more effectively realize the strategy in achieving a high level of performance, particularly innovation.’ Also, a paper by Lee and Whang (2003) has emphasized the need for continued improvement. They say that, ‘By using the right management approach, new technology, and re-engineered operational processes, we can also achieve higher supply chain security at lower cost.’ This paper focuses on improving supply chain security in the wake of the September 11th attacks in New York. However, ideas from this
Firstly I will give a brief summary of what quality management is. Quality management is an ongoing process within a business to continually improve quality and meet the needs and requirements of its customers. Quality management is not a procedure or something that can be installed by manual. It is an ongoing process, which involves every level of employee in the organisation, from the cleaners to the senior management. The most popular quality management process is known as TQM (Total Quality Management) and was popularised by the Japanese. This is a process where all employees are encouraged to help out in the continued race for quality and efficiency. TQM also emphasises that quality become part of the underlying philosophy of management, rather than just another process to be followed.
Applying TQM in industry
In this section I will look at literature that has looked at how TQM can be implemented into the everyday day life of an organisation. My main focus will be on the industry of oil refining.A recent paper by Prajogo and Sohal (2006) looked at how TQM has affected operational strategy of organizations. They looked at empirical evidence gathered from 194 Australian companies. They found that TQM by itself does not have much impact; it needs to be complemented with other tools. This quote sums up their findings, ‘The implication is that TQM needs to be complemented by other resources to more effectively realize the strategy in achieving a high level of performance, particularly innovation.’ Also, a paper by Lee and Whang (2003) has emphasized the need for continued improvement. They say that, ‘By using the right management approach, new technology, and re-engineered operational processes, we can also achieve higher supply chain security at lower cost.’ This paper focuses on improving supply chain security in the wake of the September 11th attacks in New York. However, ideas from this