Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research VoI.S9, May 2000, pp 362-372
Total Quality Management - A Tool for Business Development in an R&D Organization
D Bheemeswar
Regional Research Labora tory, Trivandrum 695 019 , India
A three tier approach has been suggestcd for improving the performance of an R& D organization from the ini tial stage to fully developed ones. Anyone of the technique or a combination of these technique may be cmployed to achieve a constructive R&D business development. The more the cross inter-di sciplinary activities the more the success of thc R&D organi zation .
Introduction In the context of globalization and liberalization, and
also implementation of ISO 9000 and ISO 13000 series, respectively, in Indian industries and R&D organizations, it is imperative to improve the respective organization's performance by a Total Quality Management (TQM) concept. Especially, R&D organizations face the problems ofcredibility, accountability and acceptability, whose performance is mediocre, basically because of meddling of the management, and may be lack of understanding towards greater perspective. Probably these organizations may face closure sooner are later, if they do not change their attitude, aptitude, and commitment towards innovation and creativity. Innovation is an attempt to go beyond existing technical practices; it is more than replication, however expert; it entails a nontrivial expansion of technical knowledge and deliberate encounter with previously untried approaches. Whereas, creativity work is undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, and the use of this stock of knowledge is to device a new application. Even though we have well educated manpower, who are performing well elsewhere. Who-so-ever has joined these R & D organizations has lost his aptitude and appeti te for science and technology (S&T), because of ineffective and indifferent attitude of management. This type of management leads towards character assassination , which is finally reflected in the R&D organization's di smal performance. For improving the perfomlance qualitatively and quantitati vely, in these R&D organizations, a generic T Q M approach is presented here.
The paper is described in three phases, the initial phase I , Building of a foundation to understand facility attitudes and priorities towards R&D - a process in order to identify
opportunities for improvement. Improvement's would ultimately be evident by more efficient, timely, accurate, reliable, accessible or inexpensive processes that may accommodate the faculty - defined objectives and contractual obligations for R&D. Secondly, phase 2 designed customer feed back system and thirdly, phase 3 controlmechanism by project phase and corrective measures shall improve accountability, acceptability of R&D achievements and thus in tum improves the marketability and business.
Phase 1 - Building of R&D Organization
Achieving productivity in an R&D organization can be a by-product of appropriate implementation of quality principles, provided that the design for the admini strative infrastructure is appropriate for the task at hand. This can be achieved by redesigning the research administrative and support areas along with recommendations for diagnosing problems and understanding the elements from effective productivity improvement strategy point of view. The conditions that must be addressed for improvement efforts are: (i) Resource constraints, (ii) Individual and group empowerment, (i ii) Incenti ves, recognition, and rewards, and (iv) Strategic thinking, perceptions, priorities, problem solving contributions and tactical inference.
TQM generally addresses change programs as part of larger holi stic system and this system should be developed from grass-root level, although it was based on participation from across several units within the R&D organization. Although there is not a single definition or blue print for T Q M the leadersh ip sets the environment for deployment through the system while repl ying on the empowerment of employees and fact-based manage-
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BHEEMESWAR : TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT 363
ment practices. The understanding of customer's needs and environment is paramount for the construction of strategy and tactics. Management's main role is to specify a general direction to move without insisting upon specific solutions . The five steps to effective change are : (i) Mobilize commitment to change through joint diagnosis of problems, (ii) Develop a shared vision, (iii) Foster consensus for the new vision , (iv) Institutionalize revitalization through fonnal policies, systems, and structures, and (v) Monitor and adjust strategies in response.
This shall help research group to continue its crossdiscipline project and focus on developing an understanding of faculty perceptions about research administration process that could help identify improvement opportunities .
Quality is not a new term for R&D organization and it is part and parcel of regular responsibility of R&D organization analysis and testing of different materials as per the national/international standards applied for that particular variety of product / process . Also, R&D organization attempts to improve the existing techniques for analysis and testing of newer and new material s. For these goals to achieve each and every faculty / discipline has to be established and well supported by the top leadership. The responsibility for leading the drive to improve quality is that of management. That is management support is the genesis without which little else will happen. Figure 1 illustrates the importance of management support.
The top management may give incentives for applying TQM, which should be non-monetary and should
Precipitating TQM team share Event sufficient resources
\ / \
be based on groups rather than individuals . If governments of the developing countries, want to have more and more competitive economics, they should help R&D organizations and small industrial units in their TQM interventions, and provide a better employee education and also training to their personnel, these are some of the methods to do this, since it has been shown that this factor positively affects TQM development and effectively improves the economy and hence growth of the country. Hence, priority should be given for human resource development, along with necessary training and re-deployment. A timely investment in TQM to generate a return can result in the form of reduced rework costs, increased productivity, an increased acceptability and a greater market share.
Phase 2 - Customer Feedback A Tool for TQM Customer feedback is an important element of T Q
M, particularly in service and R&D organizations. Designing customer feedback systems that are tied to real business needs is a must. Concurrent with defining where feedback will be used is specifying what the goal s and objectives for the feedback are. This will identify how the information will benefit the designated functional areas - how it will help them to do their jobs better. There are various goals and objectives to which feedback can contribute?
(i) Design - Those who are responsible for determining what sort of services or products or processes will be offered and what systems will be for production and delivery.
Job satisfaction satisfaction with TQM Quality out put
t Top management Process measurement Data based decision support & participatiol .. and total feed back making ...
~
I Greater marketlbusiness I
Figure I - Management 's position in an R&D organi zati on TQM for marketability and business
364 J SCIIND RES VOL 59 MAY 2000
Infonnation
Li brarie:;-----. PL(s)-----II~~
Multimedia.a __ .~~ Funding agencies ________ ..
www R&D stafrf ---II~~
Materials Research TQM
Plans---II~ Lab---~
Feedback Org. access ___ ~,/ Applicability_----i~
Reviews Eqpt. &Inf. Significance __ ~
Resources Pedagogical ---i~
Value
Goal achievemen
Publications -----i~
Patents ----,
Tech. transfers~
Figure 2 - A fishbone scheme for TQM in an R&D organization
(ii) Marketing - Those who are responsible for attracting new or previous customers and providing them pre-purchase information.
(iii) Operations - Those who are responsible for actually producing and delivering either service or product or process .
(iv) Customer Support - Those who are responsible for providing support to customers. Generally, this support comes after they have purchased the service or product or process . This support function should arguably involve design, marketing and
operations; however, it may be assigned to a specific group of employees .
Of course, there are other departments where customer feedback can provide a return to total quality management effort. Figure 2 shows some of the other service sections. Concurrent with defining where feedback will be used is specifying what the goals and objectives for the feedback are. This will, however, identify how the information will benefit the designated functional area(s) - how it will help them do their jobs better? There are various goals and objectives to which feedback can contribute.
BHEEMESWAR : TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Table I - Major issues in designing a customer feedback system for TQM in an R&D organi zation
Items to determine (from the first five co lumns of Table 2 on aim , des ign, and objecti ves):
Functional target Where will the feedback be used in the R&D organi zation( e.g., des ign, marketing, operations, customer support)?
Feedback goal
Objective frame
What is the ultimate purpose(s) of gathering feedback? (thi s based on needs of the R&D organi zati on)
Is the objective to serve on immediate need short(S) or 10ng-term(L) objecti ve?
Which then specifies ... ( from las t four columns of Table 2 on questions, uses, and bias) Questi oning The type of questi ons to ask customers,
including wording
Response type
Data use
The format of the question responses (dichotumous, scale, li st, fill -in-the-blank, open-ended)
How the collected feedback can be appropriately used (quantitati ve, analysis, qualitative analysis seed ideas, etc .)
Bias sensiti vity Wether the data uses are sensitive to response bias
Response bias sensitivity then guides ... Solicitation type How the feedback should be solicited ;
response bias sensiti vity usuall y requires "acti ve" solic itation; otherwise "pass ive" solic itation is inexpensive
Ex tent o f questi oning How intense to make the ques ti oning; the response rate will be in versely re lated to the extent of questi oning
Feedback incentive What incentives are given to customers for feedback; incentives may be tangible(such as a drawing for prizes) or intangible (such as promise for response, if desired)
Visibility What percent o f customers "see" a passive feedback solicitati on, and perceive that it is directed at them '?
Data requirements and use determine .. . Temporal frame When the feedback should be collected
(in-process or ex-post) Channeling Where the feedback goes in the R&D or
gani zati on, and who responds
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366 J SCI IND RES VOL 59 MAY 2000
Table 2a - Customer feed back system options for TQM in R&D organizations
Functional aim of Feedback Short-or long-te'rm Question response type* Sensitive to Design
C"' response bias?
Goal Objective Description of Sm"y q""tioo l How 10 ud, 1 objective examples feedback
Ascertains Assess Determine the How important are Means and histograms. customer strength of vruious each of the Use. to help prioritize need customer needs being following product service product
met features? Improvement efforts
Probe L. Determine important What features are F Use as a discussion N needs potentially important for this 0 topic for focus groups addressed by the type of service with customer groups. service product product? What
might other needs we serve?
Develop Check S Assure that the How would you S Means and histograms Y service product service products is rate us according to identify service product
meeting the objectives the following weakness or fail points it was designed to objective? meet
Prescribe L Identify ideas for Suggestions? S Use as seed ideas in the N future features or Possible design process service products improvements?
competition
Benchmark Compare S Determine how our How would you S Means and histograms N competition company is viewed rate us relative to Can help identify where
relative to the, the competition? we need to study the competition competition
Borrow L Determine ways in What do you 0 Use as guidance for N which the competition particularly like 'studying competitors provides a superior about our service products service product. competitors?
* Question response types: Dichtomus (e.g., Yes/l'l'o) , Scale (e.g., I to 7), List to check, * Field (Name/address/phone), Open ended, Any
Table I describes, designing a customer feedback systems and Table 2 describes the four functional areas for customer feedback system options for T Q M .
Phase 3 - Project Base A Tool for TQM For a TQM in R&D it should start right from the
project proposal stage whether they are short- or longterm objectives up to the post-project phase, as shown in the Table 3. A project proposal phase is nothing but a subjective matter. A proposal evaluation form might assess the potential significance of research and the creativity and originality of the approach. During the project, attention will shift to how well the researchers have adapted their work to take into account recommenda-
tions from customer, gathered at the annual site reviews. At the end of the project, retrospective questions can again assess how well the researchers adapted to recommended goals and changes, how significant is the final result, and how much creativity and originality were displayed throughout the research process. In the months and years that follow the project's completion, significance in trade and popular publications, in addition to academic journal is assessed.
For each control element in Table 3, there should be a corrective action in the event of feedback from the negative. The response is intended to help check improper quality when the control mechani sms indicate it is not being achieved. Table 4 short-lists the corrective
BHEEMESWAR : TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT 367
Table 2b - Customer feed back system options for TQM in R&D organizations
Functional aim offeedback Short-or long-term Question response type* Sensitive to marketing an objective response bias?
Goal Objective r Description of Sor;ey q",,,tioo l How to ore the feedb'~ objective examples
Identify Describe S Determine what type Age? Income? L Means and histograms Y customers of people our ( other customers F Assist in targeting
customers are demographic . and advertising questions)
Trace L Discover why/how How did you select L Analyze effectiveness of Y our customers came to us? What features or various advertising and be our customers were major selling 0 sales efforts
points?
Promote Impress S Give the perception (Any questions about A Respond to feedback, N service product that the company percived quality and when possible (i.e., have
cares about customers meeting customer name and address or and quality needs) phone number)
Publicize · L Collect exceptional Comments about our 0 Publish excerpts in N service product company? Anything company and other reviews for future you consider publications publicizing exceptional?
Generate sales Push S Invite customers to Which of these Forward to sales N
leads repurchase (Service products) department can we send you more information about?
Enroll L Encourage customers Would you like to Forward to sales to join a frequent join our membership department purchase club or club or mailing lists? mailing List
*Question responsetypes: Dichtomus (e.g.,Yes/No), Scale(e.g.,l to 7),List to check, Field (Name/address/phone), Open ended, Any.
actions suggested for each type of negative feedback and how overall improvement can be made in R&D management by project base tool.
Examples or references for further reading :
(i) IImer el a/., have described the Phase I, which is particularly applicable at the initial stages of and R&D organization , by identifying initiatives that apply continuous improvement and the methods targeted at cri tical research process.
(ii) Sampson has discussed the design of customer feedback systems, Phase 2 for quality improvement, concurrent with defining where feedback will be used and specifying the goals and objecti ves for the feedback. This, in tum, identifies how the information benefits the designated functional areas - how it helps them do their jobs better.
(iii) Baily et a/., have applied Phase 3 technique to an industry-research and academic organization, in
368 1 SCIIND RES VOL 59 MAY 2000
Table 2c - Customer feed back system options for TQM in R&D organizations
Functional aim of feed back Short"or long-term Question response type* Sensitive to operations objective response bias?
Goal Objective r Description of Survey question l How to 000"" f""b'~ objective examples
Measure Inspect S Determine if the Did (such - and-such D Feedfailureinformation N specification service product service product back to employees conformance performed to formal feature) occur? responsible for providing
specifications that feature Track L Track areas of Rate the following S Use standard control Y
potential variance to features we provide chart analysis to identify assure the process if and when the process remains in control goes of our control over time
Compare across Focus S Help focus Whatdepartmentl F Summarize data by N organization management on location did you 0 departmentllocation
company sites or visit? Comments? S looking for patterns, departments in need (look for problems) outlines, and high of attention How do they rate?
variance
Baseline L Develop performance What department I F Summarize data and Y standards based on location did you S distribute to each best practices visit? How did they departmentllocation occurring in the do in these areas? highlighting top results organization
Increase Motivate S Provide the basis for Ratings for .. S Recognize or reward N employee rewarding or punishing (employees or their F employees for top involvement employees for the work) Employee to 0 ratings or significam
service product they nominate for nomination by customers provide recongnition ? Why
Empower S Direct employees in How might we Direct the feed back to the development of improve (Specific employees, who then their area of aspect of the service report how it is handled responsibility product)?
* Question response types: Dichtomus (e.g., Yes/No), Scale (e.g., Ito 7), List to check, Field (Name/address/phone), Open ended, Any.
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Table 2d - Customer feed back system options for TQM in R&D organizations ~
Functional aim of feedback Short-or long-tenn Question response type· Sensitive to Customer support objective
S~'Y qoo",oo l response biasL-
Goal Objective r Description of How to use the feedback 1 objective examples
EVALUATE REASSURE S RECEIVE ASSURANCE DID WE MEET YOUR S MEANS AND fllSTOGRAMS . Y Customer that customers are expectations? How Compare with target Satisfaction generally satisfied do we rate overall? rating values
Protect L Watch for customer Complaints? 0 Investigate complaints. N problems that could Comments? (Focus especially recurring potentially become on complaint ones . Resolve serious (such as responses) problems before legalliablity) they run serious
Assure Recover S Attempt to reconcile Any problems D Contact customers N Repeat and reclaim with ... ?Were you S when possible and business dissatisfied satisfied with .. . ? ...... N offer apology and
customers What is your name/ remuneration address / phone number?
Retain L Determine reasons What might cause 0 Build checks into the N customers defect to you to choose the service prevent product future defections competition? How to assure defection
likely is that to -inducing problems occur? are avoided
Provide Hear. S Allow customers the Comments? 0 When possible. thank N soupding apportunity to speak customer for feedback board their minds Apply other objectives
as appropriate
Communicate L Provide the Questions or Tell the customer how apport unity to interact comments? Would 0 you acted on the with customers you like a response? D feedback. and possibly
Name and address? N ask for more feedback
* Question response types: Dichtomus (e.g .• Yes/No), Scale (e.g .• lto 7), List to check. Field (Name/address/phone) . Open ended. Any.
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. Table 3 - Lontrol mechanisms by project phase for TQM in R&D organizations
QualityR &D sponsored research is that research which
I Is applicable industry specificallyR&D organisations
2 Tackels a significant problem in an original way
3 Provides pediagogical value to students who may later be hired by industry
41s well-do-. cumented its
goals and purposes,and meets expectations
5 Results in
Proposal submission
Assess project's potential applicability
Assess significance and originality
Assess adequacy of plans for student involvement and examine past record of student hiring
Check plan for dissemination of results, determine if goals are measurable
refereed publications
Project Phase
During project
Assess projcct's potential applicability
Determine if recommended changes have been made,if proje-ct is able to adapt to change, if project retains its significance and originality
Judge quality of student presentations and note the student's progress through the degree program
Judge the appearance, clarity, and content of written and verbal reports,measure progress agaist deadlines , note specificity of results
Count publications and patents
End of project
Examine evidence of industry interest in the work, evaluate plans for implementation
Ask two questions (i).Did the researchers respond to recommendations from industry to if make relevant, significant, and (ii) Were novel approaches taken in the completion of the of the work?
Examine evidence of employment offers to students, count number of students hired, note the students progress through the degree program
Judge the appearance, clarity, and content of written and verbal reports, measure progress agai st deadlines , note specificity of results
Count publications and patents
Post-project
Survey member company. for their implementation of the results, count the number of requests for technical reports rel ated to the work, count the number. of hits on project web pages
Assess if the work led to other worthwhile research project the topic appeared in the popular press or industry pu bliccations
Count the number of students hired, note time-ta-degree for involved students
Count publicati refereed ons and perhaps publications citations and number of technology transfers
Phasc
Proposal submission
During project
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Table 4 - ·Reactive improvement measures for TQM in R&D organizations
Negative feedback
Potential application is low
Significance and originality
Student plans/past hiring are poor
Goals are not measurable
Dissemination plans are poor
Potential application is low
Project fails to make changes
Significance and originality are low
Student presentations are poor
Student academic progress is low
Reports are poorly prepared
Deadlines are not met
Corrective action
Suggest researcher contact industry or R&D expert in this area for future submissions
Perhaps little can be done, but suggest researcher attend R&D conferences and contact industry experts
Suggest proposal modifications for better inclusion and preparation of student~
Ask industry reviewers to suggest how to make work more concrete
Provide guidelines for desired dissemin.ation
Assign an industry mentor or otherwise increase industrylR&D oversight
Note the reasons, discuss alternatives
Assign an industry mentor or otherwise increase industrylR&D oversight
Provide guidelines, suggest students enroll in technical communication courses
Query professor and student as to reasons? emphasize the need for reasonable progress
Provide guidelineS and examples of good reports Note reasons why, adjust schedule, and make sure that all resources are available to achieve the new schedule
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.. .. Contd
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Table 4 - Reactive improvement measures for TQM in an R&D organizations Contd ...
Phase
End of project
Post project
No follow-up research undertaken
Negative feedback
Work is too general
Industry is not inteTe.~ted .
no implementation plan~
Ch an ges were not made
Work was not significant or original
Few students were hired! received offers
Student's academic progress was slow
Reports were poorly prepared
Deadlines were not met
Work was too gencral
No implementation or member company intercst evolved
Little popular interest exhibited
Few students were hired
Students spent long ti me to get degree
Corrective action
Remind professor of need to reach specific goals. get industry advice on how t6 proceed
Publicize the work. look for application potential. and diagnose what went wrong for future reference?
Note reasons why
Note why
Provide resume service. query interviewers and professor as to why students not selected
Ask professor and student why. note reasons
Provide guidelines for future reference. if funds remain. suggest rewriting
Note why not. provide Extensions. if feasible
Note problems encountered Survey member companies R&D units to find out why?
Find out why: were proposals submitted and denied. or was the area or the research abandoned
Distribute press releases
Query interviewers and professor as to why students not selected
Ask student. researcher. and department chair what happened
which research quality is first defined, based on input from industry representatives and academic researchers. Second step concerns with both parties combined to arrive at five part definition that it covers, as described in Table 3 and 4 .
2 Sampson Scott E, An Empirically Defined Framework for Designing Customer Feedback Systems ' , Qual Manag e .I, 6(3) ( 1999) 64-80.
3 Baily Dane E el ai, Applying Continuous Quality Improvement Techniques to-a Research Environment , Qual Manage .I, 6(2)
(1999) 62-77.
References 4 Kannan V R el al .• Tools and Techniques of Quality Manage
ment: An Empiri cal Investigation of Their Impact on Performance'. Qual Manage J, 6(3) (1999) 34-50. Steven Ilmer el al • A TQM Study of Faculty Perceptions of
Research Administration Process. Qual Manage J, 6(2) ( 1999) 41-6 1.
5 Lorente ARM el al. , TQM and Company Characteristi cs : An Examination, Qual Manage J, 5(4) (1998) 59-71.