Tqm Essay, Research Paper
TQM in Foodservice Introduction One of the most important industries overall
is the food industry. The food industry consists of everything from food processing
plants to fast food restaurants. The food industry affects nearly every living
person. Most people don’t realize how important this industry is and how it
affects their everyday lives. That is why it is so critical that the products
of this industry are at their highest quality, are free of bacteria and ensure
that the consumer will not face any detrimental consequences. Total Quality
Management (TQM) plays a big role in promising these results. Total Quality
Management seems to be a confusing term for the layman. TQM is a philosophy
advocated by Dr. Edward Deming, a world renowned quality guru. It was widely
accepted by Japan from 1950 onward. They used this principle for continuous
refinement of an organization-wide quality system. Since then many organizations
around the world have adopted TQM or similar methodologies. There have been
many successes and many reported failures. Success of the system depends on
the total commitment of the people to quality from top to bottom within the
organization. TQM implementation is based on team work and the philosophy of
continuous improvement. Statistics need to be used extensively to analyze and
reduce the variation in the process. In the food industry, continuous improvement
is vital to the survival of a specific company or restaurant. The customer is
constantly purchasing the products of competitors and any decline in quality
will equal a decrease in gross profits. There are several areas that a restaurant
may focus on for quality improvement such as menu offerings, hospitality, service,
cleanliness, and over all food quality. All of these aspects will be covered
in this paper concerning Total Quality Management. Summary Employee & Product
Quality Various well known companies such as Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Taco Bell
have implemented Total Quality Management programs in an effort to increase
quality and market share. Ritz-Carlton of Kansas City, Missouri, recently revamped
menu selections for its rooftop-level restaurant and bar operation. This came
about through customer surveys, focus-group studies of local restaurant patrons,
employee opinions, and market analysis. This began with the general manager,
Norm Howard, as TQM must start at the top to be successful. He states that “It
[TQM] is about listening to your customers and empowering your employees to
participate in important business decisions” (Stephenson, 1993). Taco Bell,
with the implementation of a Total Quality Management system, has improved its
speed of service, friendliness of service, and value for money ratings. This
company has done this by empowering employees and seeking customer input. By
integrating their employees into the system, Taco Bell has also decreased employee
turnover by 63% (Stephenson, 1993). According to the article “TQM: Making it
Work for You,” there are six areas that need to be focused on (Stephenson, 1993).
The first area is measuring quantitative results of various surveys and studies
and basing future decisions strictly on these outcomes. This information could
come from something as simple as a comment card, but these cards must tell the
business more than what was good and bad, but why. The second area to be focused
on is empowering the employees. Allowing the employees to be involved in the
team effort. Make the employees feel responsible for their actions and allow
the employees to fix their problems. This is where many franchises lack, making
it the manager’s responsibility to fix the problems that the employees create.
If management treats employees in a respectable manner, the employee will turn
around and treat the customer with respect also. Avoiding errors is the third
area that needs to be focused on. The main focus of a Total Quality Management
program is to eliminate errors before they can occur. Systems cause about 80%
of all errors, so if the system is error free, then the employee has a lesser
chance of making mistakes. Next comes the integration of management into the
process. Total Quality Management implies that management must be 100% in favor
of the program, or else the employees will not respond properly. Employees will
follow the lead of the management team. Last is to do what the customer want,
as tells the aphorism “The customer is always right.” This is the same principle.
There is no sense in serving only fried chicken if the customers demand a more
health conscious baked or grilled chicken. “Customers are not only the people
who walk through the doors looking for a meal but also your suppliers and employees”
(Stephenson, 1993). Health & Safety Quality Total Quality Management does not
just deal with product quality, but all around, or total quality. Another area
that quality needs to be continuously improved in is health and safety. Sky
Chefs, an airline caterer recently came to the conclusion that their workers’
comp. Costs were skyrocketing, so they incorporated their Total Quality Management
program to help solve these health and safety problems (Kay, Murphy, Harris,
1994). The main reason for business is profit, and if workers’ comp. Costs are
at unacceptable levels, that cuts out profit. Initially, the program focused
on injury prevention and set a goal of reducing workers’ compensation costs
by 50% in three years. Task teams were initiated to collect data on estimated
future loss, loss sources and medical treatment patterns which would be evaluated
and used to eliminate hazardous areas of operation. They also gathered qualitative
data on employee and management attitudes and beliefs, current policies which
focus on potential hazards, and the physical environment. With this data, changes
were made and continuously updated with Sky Chef reaching their goal of a 50%
decline in less than 18 months (Kay, Murphy, Harris, 1994). The teams developed
several guidelines for improvements as follows: Incorporate safe work practices
into standard work processes; Involve line workers in all aspects of process
improvement, particularly safe work practices; Integrate and continuously improve
post-injury management processes; Communicate concern for employees; Create
a unified data base that could deliver timely, useful information to line managers;
Review vendors objectively and thoroughly; Institute criteria and time-based
medical care and disability management; Implement a comprehensive modified duty
program; Create a single managerial focus for loss prevention and work-related
injury management (Kay, Murphy, Harris, 1994). By following these directives,
a company could efficiently reduce workers’ compensation costs. They have earmarked
this as the Concern, Awareness, Responsibility, and Excellence program (C.A.R.E)
which is a safety communications program which involves and rewards the line
employees for committing safe acts (Kay, Murphy, Harris, 1994). One aspect that
these articles seem to have left out is the actual quality of the product, the
food. In food service classes and in the real world, one form of Total Quality
Management is known as the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, or the HACCP
system. This system was developed to ensure zero defects during food handling
by monitoring the whole preparation process. Its purpose is to identify and
correct errors before they happen. The old method of quality assurance was to
test the final product (TechniCAL 1996). If the product was not sufficient,
it was either held, reprocessed, or ultimately destroyed (TechniCAL 1996). This
method was costly, not only in an economic sense, but also timely. The HACCP
system monitors the food from the delivery point through-out storage and preparation
until consumption. It analyzes critical control points where extra precaution
may be needed with potentially hazardous foods. A flow chart is established
to determine which foods need to be analyzed at which times. Management and
employees alike must take this system very seriously and follow all steps which
includes assessing hazards, identifying critical control points, setting up
procedures for critical control points, monitoring critical control points,
taking corrective action, setting up a record-keeping system, and verifying
that the system is working (Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant
Foundation [EFNRA], 1992). This system is necessary to maintain a quality food
product and I feel is a part of Total Quality Management. According to Russell
Cross, industry guru on HACCP, the foundation between Total Quality Management
and HACCP are the same: “do it right the first time and every time and you get
a good final product” (1994). He also goes on to state that it is necessary
to check each step “along the process to make sure the product is safe and the
process is in control – instead of relying on the end product when it’s too
late to correct the problem” (1994). Conclusion The food industry is an industry
where it is a necessity that health and safety are given a number one priority,
and with a Total Quality Management system in place, it becomes much easier
to facilitate these needs. If any food product becomes contaminated it could
mean illness for any customer which consumes this product, which could bring
about lawsuits and even an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
investigation which could result in the closing of the business. I was part
of a management team at a local fast food restaurant and I feel that our employee
turnover rate was extremely high compared to other businesses in town. By implementing
a Total Quality Management system such as the one used by Taco Bell, these turnover
problems could subside to acceptable levels, along with increased customer satisfaction.
The three most important factors in any food service business are cleanliness
quality, and service. A Total Quality Management program, if implemented properly
from the top down, with everyone involved in the program believing in it, would
ensure the three factors are met and will constantly continue to improve. I
feel that this is a very important factor in an industry that is so diverse
and ever-changing.
Cross, Russell. (1994). What HACCP Really Means Available: http://ifse.tamu.edu/ifse/haccp.htm
pp. 1-4.
Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association, (1992). Applied
Foodservice Sanitation, (4th ed.). Kendall/Hund Publishing Company.
Kay, Michael Z., Murphy, J. William, and Harris, Jeffrey S. (1994 January/February).
How to Zap Your Workers’ Comp Costs Financial Executive, pp. 44-48.
Stephenson, Susie. (1993, October 1). TQM: Making it Work for You Restaurants
& Institutions, pp. 109-111.
TechniCAL. HACCP: A Principle Whose Time has Come Available: http://www.tcal.com/haccp.htm
p 1.