Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs

Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Objectives 1. Introduction In todays consumer driven world, companies are forced to offer quality products and at the same time also keep the pricing competitive to fight the competition. Todays consumer is not only aware but also smart to evaluate similar products for its quality. This smart and knowledgeable consumer is pushing the companies to the edge in providing quality products at competitive prices. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when many large Japanese companies set up manufacturing operations in North America they suffered from a competitive environment that caused people to think that North American goods were better in quality than Japanese goods. To fight this general consumer perception, Japanese companies sought manufacturing methods to produce goods with a high level of quality so they could penetrate the market at a competitive price. The Japanese management gurus come up with a concept that integrates all functions of an organisation such as finance, marketing, engineering and production so that the company can meet the customer requirements and achieve their desired goals. This was termed as Total Quality Management and till date widely practised by organisation across the globe [TQM, 2007]. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? TQM is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility throughout the company; it is essentially a way of planning and understanding each activity, depends on each individual at each level (Oakland, John 2005). TQM helps in improving the organisational efficiency. As we all know most of the companies in the small business sector act as a source of raw-material to large organisations so its important to adopt TQM approach in their company, it is extremely difficult for SMEs to accept TQM as whole in their company as compared to large organisation as they always have the problem of finance resources, lack of technical expertise, manpower and some other related issues so it is important for them to revised the TQM approach adopted by large organisations which will help them to be more flexible and move quickly with a change so that they can meet the needs of their customers with good quality products with effective cost. 1.1 Aim of the investigation: This research paper aims to locate the effectiveness of TQM practices in SMEs-specially in manufacturing sector and to discuss the benefits of TQM practices to SMEs. 1.2 Research Objectives Rationale: This research will look into TQM and its practices and its involvement in SMEs industry. Nowadays, competitiveness is based on quality for many organisations; hence it will look into ways of integrating organisation activities with TQM practices in SMEs-working within manufacturing sector. On the other hand, this study will explore the link between the SMEs and TQM practice and evaluating the benefits of TQM to SMEs with special reference to the TMD technologies Ltd UK. 1.3 Structure of the Study: The entire research is designed in five distinct chapters. The following are the key ingredients of each chapter providing a birds eye view of the research: Chapter 1: Firstly, as outlined above, the research objectives and the rationale of the research are outlaid. Chapter 2: The literature surrounding total quality management is discussed and related with the real examples focusing on works carried out by Deming, Juran, and the models of ISO-9001 and Six Sigma. Chapter 3: The Research Methodologies are studied in this chapter concluding with the qualitative research process carrying out through semi-structured interviews. Chapter 4: The data collected from interviews in the manufacturing company TMD Technologies Ltd is discussed in relation to the concepts and literature of TQM. Chapter 5: Researcher has discussed about his Personal Development Plan. Chapter 6: The project is concluded in this chapter with recommendations and the scope of further research being discussed. In addition, the research limitations and data analysis are outlaid. 1.4 Chapter Summary: The research objectives along with the rationale for the research are presented at the outset followed by the structure in which the entire dissertation is constructed. After going through customer requirements, company can focus on producing better quality products within the budget so the improvement in business can be achieved. CHAPTER 2 Total Quality Management Small Medium-Sized Enterprises 2. Literature Review: Quality is vital for organisation success; specially require for SMEs to compete with large competitors. It has become inevitable for SMEs to work on enhancing quality within their functions, product and services and the way they manage their organisations. Manufacturing industry within SMEs framework is the main area of this research where the importance of TQM is needed and has been highlighted by many authors and practitioners. Quality has been defined differently by different authors and professionals; Crosby (Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) defines it as conformance to requirement; whereas (Sadgrove In Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) comments on quality as the product which should be fit for its intended purpose. Quality is the term which drives productivity of the company in the manufacturing sector, if there is an increase in productivity of the organization then it will lead to the increase in revenues and job opportunities. It is a continuous process, which helps the employees to learn from their past and using it to develop the organisation so that they can satisfy their customers. In some manufacturing firms quality used to indicate that a piece of material conforms to certain physical dimensional characteristics often set down in the form of particularly tight specification. (Oakland, S. John, 2005) To be more specific and clear about the different concepts i.e. Quality, Total Quality Management and others which I will be looking at this chapter, I am using an example of Dadoos Foodstore based in South East London who are engaged in retail business i.e. buying few products like bread, fruit drinks, juices, milk, butter, crisps and some other various products in wholesale from suppliers and manufacturing few products like lentils, rice and spices and selling them in this competitive market to earn profit. Their views is to render their services in the most effective manner and customer satisfaction is their main propriety and I am using this example just to explain my knowledge and understanding of different concepts which I have laid down in this part of my research paper and I will use some more real examples but they do not have any link with Chapter 4 later. In Dadoos Foodstore their quality lies in their work as well as their location, which adds to their quality of service as it on the main road i.e. easy to access. They believe they rendering their service in the right way, their quality of work shows when a person walks out happily. They also believe this a continuous process, as they have to change with the latest demands in the market and keep on assessing the change in customer requirements, as customer satisfaction is most important factor in any business. (Appendix A- Case Study of Dadoos Foodstore) 2.1 Total Quality Management (TQM): What is TQM? Word itself gave you the answer; total quality management i.e. quality of the product and successful running of this system lies throughout the company. Total quality management is a structured system for satisfying internal and external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture'(Legge, K. 1994). Small businesses like Dadoos Foodstore; they have to monitor external suppliers quality. Obviously if the quality is not good they are likely to change their supplier until they find a supplier which can meet their needs and a relationship is likely to form. In this quality process the issues are therefore cleanliness and control of the shop, efficiency and friendly staff, competence and storage in warehouse, understanding the customer demands and management commitment which altogether can satisfy their customers and enables them in achievement of the organisational goals. In the figure below we can see that TQM system is divided in three stages i.e. planning, implementing and then results. It is the process that moves around all over the business internally as well as externally, from top to lower level. It seeks to develop and manage organisational culture in line with organisations strategic objectives. It is an approach that includes several contents or aspects that may or may not exist in the business. American Federal Office of Management Budget Circular (Milakovich, 1995), TQM is a total organizational approach for meeting customer needs and expectations that involves all managers and employees in using quantitative methods to improve continuously the organizations processes, products and services. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore lets take a look on one of their business activity for which TQM is important. In their manufacturing unit, they produce different kinds of products like rice, lentils and spices e.g. if they producing 100 bags of rice of 20 kg, now its very important for the quality department to make sure that the quality of the rice should be of the required standards and all the bags produced should exactly be in same shape, colour, weight and size. After the production of these rice bags, quality manager was assessing the results and he finds that there was no difference between the bags, all the bags look exactly same, nobody can see the difference, equa l in size, same colour, in short manager was happy and satisfied. How did the production team manage such consistency, they know their job, they got right vision, everything was strategically planned, they know what they are doing, by using right tools and system, right temperament and same procedure so that they can get the same result. This shows an existence of good quality system where employees working are properly trained and know what they are doing, working to the required level of standards and customer satisfaction makes them happy, which will leads to growth and attaining the required goals. In the manufacturing sector TQM has taken by nearly each kind of organization like hotels, government, military and education (Jurow Barnard, 1993). It is an ongoing process which helps in improving all business activities, from top to bottom at all levels doesnt matter its from high level strategic planning and decision-making, to detailed execution of work elements on the shop floor. Continuous improvements with TQM not only deal with improving results but also more importantly with improving capabilities to produce better result in the future. TQM follows a rule that people make mistakes but changing the process can prevent most of the times the causes of such mistakes are faulty systems and processes so it believes that the root cause of such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition. It is a combination of quality and management tools that aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. Some of the companies who have implemented TQM i nclude Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company. According to Ho and Fung (1994), TQM is a way of managing to improve the effectiveness, flexibility, and competitiveness of a business as a whole. It is also a method of removing waste; by involving everyone in improving the way things are done. Dean and Bowen (1994) defined TQM as a philosophy or approach to management that can be characterized by its principles, practices, and techniques. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore there can be some quality issues like cleanliness and control of shop, efficiency and friendly shop staff, stock control and communication with the suppliers. TQM helps the store manager in getting better in their day-to-day business activities, which in return not only helps them in surviving in this competitive market but also helps them in moving towards their desired goals. After discussing about TQM lets go further towards its principles i.e. customer focus, continuous improvement, and management commitment: These are the one of the most important principles that a company should follow in terms of total quality management. TQM ensures the management to lead the organisation in strategic overview of quality. To be successful in todays world each and every person of the company should contribute, it must start from the top to bottom. TQM focuses on prevention not detention of problems. Its the duty at the top level management to show their seriousness and commitment towards the quality of the products and then middle management should demonstrate and communicate the principle and strategies to the people under their authority, then only there will be right attitude of work throughout the company, which will lead to continuous improvement. Management should take the responsibility for preparing and monitoring all the policies of the company for continuous improvement and to make sure each employee of all the departments should understand all the required information. For example, a small business firm named Paperco started in 1971 and engaged in the supplying and distribution of all kinds of paper to public and specialist printers. This firm has 14 employees with the annual turnover of 500,000. Paperco judges the quality in terms of giving the customers what it wants. According to the Director of the company, he strongly believes in supplying the right quality of goods to the customer without compromising on anything if that is related to meeting the customer needs i.e. the correct paper, paper size, colour, delivery of goods, customer feedback in short follow up until the customer is satisfied. As we can see there is strong management commitment in this company (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J.1998). Hashmi (2007) comments on combining TQM with effective commitment from senior management with a clear goal, followed by a strategic plan, which is spread as an action plan throughout the company results in good quality products and services with satisfied customers. TQM always focuses on improving the effectiveness of the company that in turn leads to the benefits for their stakeholders. TQM is an ongoing process and aims in continuous improvement so it is an activity which involves planning and organising of all the activities and tasks in advance and to make sure that all the actual activities are matched with the planned ones and to concentrate on not to waste any effort and energy that is routinely spent in the company For continuous improvement a leader should make sure to develop the values and objectives of the company as its mission statement and to act as a role model for others by personal involvement for quality of the products. Senior management is a continuous process for them to develop the strategic plans and keep on reviewing and improving the management system and should always motivate their subordinates and encourage them for effective employee participation [Introduction and Implementation of Quality Management Systems, 2007] In Paperco company, they do not have formal system for maintaining quality then one of the directors suggested to implement a total quality system which enable them to take advantage over their competitors and improve their quality of products and service. For implementation process they decided to hire a specialist, as it would be difficult to interpret the initial stages of the quality process and cost was the least issue as the problem was related to quality of the product that is important. Company director believes in continuous improvement worked with the specialist to develop the plans and procedure and finally the quality manual and was eager to engage all the employees and staff in this process so they can also learn about the change in business activities and suggested them to get rid of all those things which are useless for the company and squeeze all the plans and procedure in the best possible manner, this helps in motivating employees and they were happy as they were i nvolved in such a important procedure. By implementing proper quality system and all the changes are made according to the needs of the customers with strong top-level commitment and training the employees at the same time, Paperco gain an advantage over its competitors and enjoys a reasonable market share (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J. 1998). 2.2 Small Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs): In todays European market SMEs plays a vital role as they got the large source of employment and entrepreneur skills. There was a rapid growth in the numbers of SMEs in UK in early 90s and their performance was outstanding, this small business sector becomes one of the important factors for the performance of the UK economy as they also create large number of job opportunities. In the enlarged European Union of 25 countries, Around 23 million SMEs provide around 75 million jobs, which shows that the SMEs provides 99% of the total jobs of all the enterprises. UK government and EU programmes has always supported SMEs and they create various opportunities for these businesses as they account 56% of the total workforce in the country. As many SMEs runs their business processes at the 2 to 3 quality level and any improvement of even 1 represents a vital step in satisfying their customers within the cost budget (Spanyi and Wurtzel, 2004). SMEs can be distinguished with regards to the number of people working in the company, depending upon the market share and most of the times small businesses are run by their owners or partners, for example; a firm producing utensils employs less than 50 people in their company and enjoys small share of market and run by two partners then this firm will come under the category of small business sector. In the UK, sections 247 and 249 of the Companies Act 1985 define a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements. These sections have been amended a number of times, most recently by Statutory Instrument 2004/16. According to this a small company is one that has a turnover of not more than  £5.6 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £2.8 million and not more than 50 employees. A medium-sized company has a turnover of not more than  £22.8 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £11.4 million and not more than 250 employees. It is worth no ting that even within the UK this definition is not universally applied. (Strathclyde Library Resources, 2007) 2.3 SMEs in Manufacturing: SMEs in the manufacturing sector in earlier days used to follow the path where the chances of growth are very low. In SMEs the owner of the company enjoys with a source of income and employment and they have to operate most of the activities in the company. SMEs are gaining attention and support from the government but they often have to face the problem of resources especially in finance and growth of the company is depending on the allocation of funds that can be arranged by the owner externally. The migrants and unskilled labour dominate the manufacturing industry. (The Economists, Jan 2006). So there is a need to upgrade the training standards in the organisation so that the quality of the product can be maintained up to the prescribed level. In the production department, it is necessary to recognize the issues, which affect the efficiency of the successfulness of this sector, and to take corrective actions. Thus, a system of certification of such skills will be required to give recognition to their skills acquired in an informal manner, which will help in improving the efficiency of the workforce in this sector. For example TVR Company, a small and medium-sized enterprise in the manufacturing sector in UK engage in producing cars, the first car was built by Trevor Wilkinson the owner of the company himself in 1947 and it took around 10 years for the company to be famous in the car market, company was started by one man who join his hands with Ray Saidel, who become the first TVR dealer and after a long struggle TVR finally becomes the 3rd largest producer of cars in the world. They have employed 450 peoples out of 200 works in the production department, 50 are involved in financial, 85 are busy in marketing, packing and distribution section, 30 are involved in administrative department, 25 are busy in research and development department, 35 are working in maintaining the quality of the product i.e. quality department and rest in other various departments [TVR, 2007]. 2.4 Quality in SMEs: In the case of TVR there are likely to be many quality issues. Indeed Quality has been described by many people as a multi-dimensional entity; for example some have described it as an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"umbrella protecting the business from the harsh weather of competition, globalisation etc (Preston, 1996). In particular TVR has product quality issues and process quality issues. The produce quality issues include the reliability and performance of its vehicles; the process quality issues include the after sales service and even whether the sales staffs are professional or ill mannered. One of the problems facing TVR is retention of its customers; they seem to enjoy the car but once they have used it for a number of years they switch to a mass-build vehicle such as Toyota or Mercedes. The reason is likely to be that TVR has a young 0and male image and is seen as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"edgy and the company service is similarly not conveniently ordered as many manufacturers recommend. Essentially the quality process is not what it could be; even young women are somewhat frightened off by the brash salesmanship of TVR staff. This is a quality issue. It is believed by TVR that if they could change this quality factor they would improve retention, bring new markets (e.g. UK women) and hence improve the performance of the company. Indeed much research says techniques of total quality management that can be adopted by the SMEs to improve the performance of the company through effective quality system doesnt matter if its related to managerial, financial or operational activities. Among so many model of quality, we have seen that the most effective model is Quality Assurance and TQM. Quality assurance refers to the evaluation and certification by a customer or by an independent certification bodies of an organizations quality system, to demonstrate that a specific quality system standard has been met (Husband Mandal, 1999). 2.5 TQM APPROACHES: 2.5.1 Demings Approach to Total Quality Management: Its processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle. The theoretical essence of Deming approach to TQM concerns the creation of organisational system that fosters cooperation and learning for facilitating the implementation of process management practices, which, in turn, lead to continuous improvement of processes, products, and services as well as to employee fulfilment, both of which are critical to customer satisfaction, and ultimately to firms survival (Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. 1994). Deming (1986) describes organizations as composites of systems designed to meet customer needs. He focuses more on the top management and explained that its their responsibility to go forward and lead the organisation in changing processes and systems that leads to continuous improvement. Top management has to create and communicate a vision and be a leader that is the most important factor in ensuring the success of quality management in any organisation. He also focuses towards the importance of identification of customer needs and requirements from the products and services which they are buying and the use of functional tools and teams to solve quality problems, which require participation of employees and pursuit of continuous improvement. According to Deming (1986) leadership must come from top-management and leaders must be trained and have full knowledge of systems, variations (statistical thinking), knowledge of theory, and knowledge of psychology so that they can lead in a more effective way. This means to improve quality lies in the ability to control and manage systems and processes properly so therefore the role of management responsibilities in achieving the desired goals is critical. For example, Hitachi-rail, one of the Japanese leading companies was founded in 1915 and since then they are producing products like Steam locomotive, First Electric locomotive, Tokyo Monorail, Suica contact-less smart card ticketing system which are famous for their quality and used worldwide by most of the companies. How did they manage to meet the customer requirements and maintaining the required quality standards? They also follow Demings PDCA Model, they believe in continuous improvement just like a circle has no end and fo r non-stop development and growth they use this cycle on regular intervals. Plan: After the research for a long period of time and taking into consideration all the aspects in their field of manufacturing loconotives and rolling stocks the managers in Hitachi had laid out the strategic plan i.e first they manufacture Japenese elctric locomotive then the bullet train and presently as well as manufacturing they are also engage in supplying the important components of the service administration for the bullet train. Hitachi concentrates most on their after sale services, they planned everything from the feedbak which they gained from their customers and evaluate the present and future market conditions and therefore they make their maintainence plan as well as plans for their new their new products. Hitachi makes their customers comfortable and solve their problems makes them feel happy so that they can relia on the company as any other successful company Hitachi also beieves in customers satisfation. Hitachi provides the satisfactory level of maintenance management planning and support equipment i.e. on-board inspection tools and depot integrated management system. PDCA Cycle-Japanese style of maintenance Do: This is the stage where all the planned activities have to be transformed into actual activities i.e. this is the time for action. Hitachis aims to achieve high level of maintenance for which they used various systems: Depot integrated management system Ground based automatic inspection system, On-board self-diagnostic system, Material control system Vehicle utilization system. Hitachi used all thses system in order to achive their desired goals, total depot management system that combines the maintenance management system, the vehicle utilization system and the parts/material control system. With the help of this process company can contribute in labour saving [Hitachi maintenance system, 2007]. Check: This step is basically in which you go thru your experiment, analyse the outcomes and identify the knowledge what you have gained. Hitachi with the help of the depot integrated management system data and effective staff allocation keeps an eye on the progress and functioning of its business activities. Hitachi is producing railway products for a long period of time and its obvious that they have good and effective knowledge about their manufacturing system, in this step Hitachi can check its formal and informal assessment constantly for a longer period of time. Act: As we know Hitachi produced first electric locomotive in 1924 and they used their local technology system and they have majorly contributed in the manufacturing of bullet train. With the product like these, Hitachi is not only dominating the market but also maintianing their quality standards andtheir technology which help in continuous improvement. Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. (1994) developed a theory of quality management underlying Deming management method. They proposed that: the effectiveness of Deming management method arises from leadership efforts and at the same time creating a cooperative and learning organisation to facilitate the implementation of management practices, which will lead to support customer satisfaction and help in organisational survival as well as in the long run. 2.5.2 Jurans Approach to Total Quality Management: Jurans, J.M. (1993) approach is laid through emphasis on teamwork and project work, which can promote and improve quality as well as improve communication between management and employees. According to Juran TQM is the system of activities directed towards achieving delighted customers, empowered employees, and focuses towards higher revenues with lower costs. According to Juran, it is very important to understand customer needs and requirements and each and every department like marketing design, manufacturing, and services should apply this requirement. Identifying customer needs requires more vigorous analysis and understanding to ensure the product meets customers needs. 2.6 Implementation of TQM practices by SMEs in U.K.: TVR being a small firm are proud of having detailed knowledge of their small band of customers; they even have a social club that is very well attended, the TVR Car Club [TVR Car Club, 2007]. Consequently they know before any competitor who their customers are, what they think and how they live. So there are many advantages to being small. This customer focus of TVR one of the major claims of the TQM methodology for as we know TQM is a customer-focus system, which is very important for large business organisations in the same way, it is vital for small business also. Government and EU market are beginning to see SME sector as an important engine of growth, (Carter, K., (1993) pp. 16-18.) When a particular SME organisation move towards setting effective quality system in the company, sometimes they have to face few problems or difficulties which obstructs them in setting the standards for total quality management. Some of the problems like lack of financial resources and expertise for quality issues, poor delivery service, lack of Benchmarking, low morale among the employees and less ways of incentives and sometimes there is a bad impression among the public regarding the quality image of the organisation. Following are some of the optimal solutions for these difficulties, which enable the SMEs to implement effective TQM: Most of the times arranging financial resources is the major issues for SMEs while implementing effective TQM. SMEs can obtain funds from external resources such as Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) that support quality initiatives and help the companies in the arrangement of funds. SMEs should learn from the success and failures of the organisations that has already developed TQM. In 1957 Ray Saidel (First TVR Dealer) helps in the manufacturing process of TVR cars, he built a new design with better quality system and the car was named Jomar which becomes very popular and large amount of orders were coming and company had some financial issues thats why they were struggling in keeping up the quality of the product, for this they transformed the company in 1958 under the name of Layton Sports Car Ltd and with the help of some financial institution there problem of finance was solved[TVR, 2007]. SMEs has to make sure that through proper training and development there should be a cultur Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs Impact of TQM Practice to SMEs CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Objectives 1. Introduction In todays consumer driven world, companies are forced to offer quality products and at the same time also keep the pricing competitive to fight the competition. Todays consumer is not only aware but also smart to evaluate similar products for its quality. This smart and knowledgeable consumer is pushing the companies to the edge in providing quality products at competitive prices. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when many large Japanese companies set up manufacturing operations in North America they suffered from a competitive environment that caused people to think that North American goods were better in quality than Japanese goods. To fight this general consumer perception, Japanese companies sought manufacturing methods to produce goods with a high level of quality so they could penetrate the market at a competitive price. The Japanese management gurus come up with a concept that integrates all functions of an organisation such as finance, marketing, engineering and production so that the company can meet the customer requirements and achieve their desired goals. This was termed as Total Quality Management and till date widely practised by organisation across the globe [TQM, 2007]. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? TQM is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility throughout the company; it is essentially a way of planning and understanding each activity, depends on each individual at each level (Oakland, John 2005). TQM helps in improving the organisational efficiency. As we all know most of the companies in the small business sector act as a source of raw-material to large organisations so its important to adopt TQM approach in their company, it is extremely difficult for SMEs to accept TQM as whole in their company as compared to large organisation as they always have the problem of finance resources, lack of technical expertise, manpower and some other related issues so it is important for them to revised the TQM approach adopted by large organisations which will help them to be more flexible and move quickly with a change so that they can meet the needs of their customers with good quality products with effective cost. 1.1 Aim of the investigation: This research paper aims to locate the effectiveness of TQM practices in SMEs-specially in manufacturing sector and to discuss the benefits of TQM practices to SMEs. 1.2 Research Objectives Rationale: This research will look into TQM and its practices and its involvement in SMEs industry. Nowadays, competitiveness is based on quality for many organisations; hence it will look into ways of integrating organisation activities with TQM practices in SMEs-working within manufacturing sector. On the other hand, this study will explore the link between the SMEs and TQM practice and evaluating the benefits of TQM to SMEs with special reference to the TMD technologies Ltd UK. 1.3 Structure of the Study: The entire research is designed in five distinct chapters. The following are the key ingredients of each chapter providing a birds eye view of the research: Chapter 1: Firstly, as outlined above, the research objectives and the rationale of the research are outlaid. Chapter 2: The literature surrounding total quality management is discussed and related with the real examples focusing on works carried out by Deming, Juran, and the models of ISO-9001 and Six Sigma. Chapter 3: The Research Methodologies are studied in this chapter concluding with the qualitative research process carrying out through semi-structured interviews. Chapter 4: The data collected from interviews in the manufacturing company TMD Technologies Ltd is discussed in relation to the concepts and literature of TQM. Chapter 5: Researcher has discussed about his Personal Development Plan. Chapter 6: The project is concluded in this chapter with recommendations and the scope of further research being discussed. In addition, the research limitations and data analysis are outlaid. 1.4 Chapter Summary: The research objectives along with the rationale for the research are presented at the outset followed by the structure in which the entire dissertation is constructed. After going through customer requirements, company can focus on producing better quality products within the budget so the improvement in business can be achieved. CHAPTER 2 Total Quality Management Small Medium-Sized Enterprises 2. Literature Review: Quality is vital for organisation success; specially require for SMEs to compete with large competitors. It has become inevitable for SMEs to work on enhancing quality within their functions, product and services and the way they manage their organisations. Manufacturing industry within SMEs framework is the main area of this research where the importance of TQM is needed and has been highlighted by many authors and practitioners. Quality has been defined differently by different authors and professionals; Crosby (Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) defines it as conformance to requirement; whereas (Sadgrove In Bean, J. Hussey, L. 1998, p.4) comments on quality as the product which should be fit for its intended purpose. Quality is the term which drives productivity of the company in the manufacturing sector, if there is an increase in productivity of the organization then it will lead to the increase in revenues and job opportunities. It is a continuous process, which helps the employees to learn from their past and using it to develop the organisation so that they can satisfy their customers. In some manufacturing firms quality used to indicate that a piece of material conforms to certain physical dimensional characteristics often set down in the form of particularly tight specification. (Oakland, S. John, 2005) To be more specific and clear about the different concepts i.e. Quality, Total Quality Management and others which I will be looking at this chapter, I am using an example of Dadoos Foodstore based in South East London who are engaged in retail business i.e. buying few products like bread, fruit drinks, juices, milk, butter, crisps and some other various products in wholesale from suppliers and manufacturing few products like lentils, rice and spices and selling them in this competitive market to earn profit. Their views is to render their services in the most effective manner and customer satisfaction is their main propriety and I am using this example just to explain my knowledge and understanding of different concepts which I have laid down in this part of my research paper and I will use some more real examples but they do not have any link with Chapter 4 later. In Dadoos Foodstore their quality lies in their work as well as their location, which adds to their quality of service as it on the main road i.e. easy to access. They believe they rendering their service in the right way, their quality of work shows when a person walks out happily. They also believe this a continuous process, as they have to change with the latest demands in the market and keep on assessing the change in customer requirements, as customer satisfaction is most important factor in any business. (Appendix A- Case Study of Dadoos Foodstore) 2.1 Total Quality Management (TQM): What is TQM? Word itself gave you the answer; total quality management i.e. quality of the product and successful running of this system lies throughout the company. Total quality management is a structured system for satisfying internal and external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture'(Legge, K. 1994). Small businesses like Dadoos Foodstore; they have to monitor external suppliers quality. Obviously if the quality is not good they are likely to change their supplier until they find a supplier which can meet their needs and a relationship is likely to form. In this quality process the issues are therefore cleanliness and control of the shop, efficiency and friendly staff, competence and storage in warehouse, understanding the customer demands and management commitment which altogether can satisfy their customers and enables them in achievement of the organisational goals. In the figure below we can see that TQM system is divided in three stages i.e. planning, implementing and then results. It is the process that moves around all over the business internally as well as externally, from top to lower level. It seeks to develop and manage organisational culture in line with organisations strategic objectives. It is an approach that includes several contents or aspects that may or may not exist in the business. American Federal Office of Management Budget Circular (Milakovich, 1995), TQM is a total organizational approach for meeting customer needs and expectations that involves all managers and employees in using quantitative methods to improve continuously the organizations processes, products and services. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore lets take a look on one of their business activity for which TQM is important. In their manufacturing unit, they produce different kinds of products like rice, lentils and spices e.g. if they producing 100 bags of rice of 20 kg, now its very important for the quality department to make sure that the quality of the rice should be of the required standards and all the bags produced should exactly be in same shape, colour, weight and size. After the production of these rice bags, quality manager was assessing the results and he finds that there was no difference between the bags, all the bags look exactly same, nobody can see the difference, equa l in size, same colour, in short manager was happy and satisfied. How did the production team manage such consistency, they know their job, they got right vision, everything was strategically planned, they know what they are doing, by using right tools and system, right temperament and same procedure so that they can get the same result. This shows an existence of good quality system where employees working are properly trained and know what they are doing, working to the required level of standards and customer satisfaction makes them happy, which will leads to growth and attaining the required goals. In the manufacturing sector TQM has taken by nearly each kind of organization like hotels, government, military and education (Jurow Barnard, 1993). It is an ongoing process which helps in improving all business activities, from top to bottom at all levels doesnt matter its from high level strategic planning and decision-making, to detailed execution of work elements on the shop floor. Continuous improvements with TQM not only deal with improving results but also more importantly with improving capabilities to produce better result in the future. TQM follows a rule that people make mistakes but changing the process can prevent most of the times the causes of such mistakes are faulty systems and processes so it believes that the root cause of such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition. It is a combination of quality and management tools that aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. Some of the companies who have implemented TQM i nclude Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company. According to Ho and Fung (1994), TQM is a way of managing to improve the effectiveness, flexibility, and competitiveness of a business as a whole. It is also a method of removing waste; by involving everyone in improving the way things are done. Dean and Bowen (1994) defined TQM as a philosophy or approach to management that can be characterized by its principles, practices, and techniques. In researchers example of Dadoos Foodstore there can be some quality issues like cleanliness and control of shop, efficiency and friendly shop staff, stock control and communication with the suppliers. TQM helps the store manager in getting better in their day-to-day business activities, which in return not only helps them in surviving in this competitive market but also helps them in moving towards their desired goals. After discussing about TQM lets go further towards its principles i.e. customer focus, continuous improvement, and management commitment: These are the one of the most important principles that a company should follow in terms of total quality management. TQM ensures the management to lead the organisation in strategic overview of quality. To be successful in todays world each and every person of the company should contribute, it must start from the top to bottom. TQM focuses on prevention not detention of problems. Its the duty at the top level management to show their seriousness and commitment towards the quality of the products and then middle management should demonstrate and communicate the principle and strategies to the people under their authority, then only there will be right attitude of work throughout the company, which will lead to continuous improvement. Management should take the responsibility for preparing and monitoring all the policies of the company for continuous improvement and to make sure each employee of all the departments should understand all the required information. For example, a small business firm named Paperco started in 1971 and engaged in the supplying and distribution of all kinds of paper to public and specialist printers. This firm has 14 employees with the annual turnover of 500,000. Paperco judges the quality in terms of giving the customers what it wants. According to the Director of the company, he strongly believes in supplying the right quality of goods to the customer without compromising on anything if that is related to meeting the customer needs i.e. the correct paper, paper size, colour, delivery of goods, customer feedback in short follow up until the customer is satisfied. As we can see there is strong management commitment in this company (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J.1998). Hashmi (2007) comments on combining TQM with effective commitment from senior management with a clear goal, followed by a strategic plan, which is spread as an action plan throughout the company results in good quality products and services with satisfied customers. TQM always focuses on improving the effectiveness of the company that in turn leads to the benefits for their stakeholders. TQM is an ongoing process and aims in continuous improvement so it is an activity which involves planning and organising of all the activities and tasks in advance and to make sure that all the actual activities are matched with the planned ones and to concentrate on not to waste any effort and energy that is routinely spent in the company For continuous improvement a leader should make sure to develop the values and objectives of the company as its mission statement and to act as a role model for others by personal involvement for quality of the products. Senior management is a continuous process for them to develop the strategic plans and keep on reviewing and improving the management system and should always motivate their subordinates and encourage them for effective employee participation [Introduction and Implementation of Quality Management Systems, 2007] In Paperco company, they do not have formal system for maintaining quality then one of the directors suggested to implement a total quality system which enable them to take advantage over their competitors and improve their quality of products and service. For implementation process they decided to hire a specialist, as it would be difficult to interpret the initial stages of the quality process and cost was the least issue as the problem was related to quality of the product that is important. Company director believes in continuous improvement worked with the specialist to develop the plans and procedure and finally the quality manual and was eager to engage all the employees and staff in this process so they can also learn about the change in business activities and suggested them to get rid of all those things which are useless for the company and squeeze all the plans and procedure in the best possible manner, this helps in motivating employees and they were happy as they were i nvolved in such a important procedure. By implementing proper quality system and all the changes are made according to the needs of the customers with strong top-level commitment and training the employees at the same time, Paperco gain an advantage over its competitors and enjoys a reasonable market share (North, J., Blackburn, R.A., and Curran, J. 1998). 2.2 Small Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs): In todays European market SMEs plays a vital role as they got the large source of employment and entrepreneur skills. There was a rapid growth in the numbers of SMEs in UK in early 90s and their performance was outstanding, this small business sector becomes one of the important factors for the performance of the UK economy as they also create large number of job opportunities. In the enlarged European Union of 25 countries, Around 23 million SMEs provide around 75 million jobs, which shows that the SMEs provides 99% of the total jobs of all the enterprises. UK government and EU programmes has always supported SMEs and they create various opportunities for these businesses as they account 56% of the total workforce in the country. As many SMEs runs their business processes at the 2 to 3 quality level and any improvement of even 1 represents a vital step in satisfying their customers within the cost budget (Spanyi and Wurtzel, 2004). SMEs can be distinguished with regards to the number of people working in the company, depending upon the market share and most of the times small businesses are run by their owners or partners, for example; a firm producing utensils employs less than 50 people in their company and enjoys small share of market and run by two partners then this firm will come under the category of small business sector. In the UK, sections 247 and 249 of the Companies Act 1985 define a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements. These sections have been amended a number of times, most recently by Statutory Instrument 2004/16. According to this a small company is one that has a turnover of not more than  £5.6 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £2.8 million and not more than 50 employees. A medium-sized company has a turnover of not more than  £22.8 million, a balance sheet total of not more than  £11.4 million and not more than 250 employees. It is worth no ting that even within the UK this definition is not universally applied. (Strathclyde Library Resources, 2007) 2.3 SMEs in Manufacturing: SMEs in the manufacturing sector in earlier days used to follow the path where the chances of growth are very low. In SMEs the owner of the company enjoys with a source of income and employment and they have to operate most of the activities in the company. SMEs are gaining attention and support from the government but they often have to face the problem of resources especially in finance and growth of the company is depending on the allocation of funds that can be arranged by the owner externally. The migrants and unskilled labour dominate the manufacturing industry. (The Economists, Jan 2006). So there is a need to upgrade the training standards in the organisation so that the quality of the product can be maintained up to the prescribed level. In the production department, it is necessary to recognize the issues, which affect the efficiency of the successfulness of this sector, and to take corrective actions. Thus, a system of certification of such skills will be required to give recognition to their skills acquired in an informal manner, which will help in improving the efficiency of the workforce in this sector. For example TVR Company, a small and medium-sized enterprise in the manufacturing sector in UK engage in producing cars, the first car was built by Trevor Wilkinson the owner of the company himself in 1947 and it took around 10 years for the company to be famous in the car market, company was started by one man who join his hands with Ray Saidel, who become the first TVR dealer and after a long struggle TVR finally becomes the 3rd largest producer of cars in the world. They have employed 450 peoples out of 200 works in the production department, 50 are involved in financial, 85 are busy in marketing, packing and distribution section, 30 are involved in administrative department, 25 are busy in research and development department, 35 are working in maintaining the quality of the product i.e. quality department and rest in other various departments [TVR, 2007]. 2.4 Quality in SMEs: In the case of TVR there are likely to be many quality issues. Indeed Quality has been described by many people as a multi-dimensional entity; for example some have described it as an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"umbrella protecting the business from the harsh weather of competition, globalisation etc (Preston, 1996). In particular TVR has product quality issues and process quality issues. The produce quality issues include the reliability and performance of its vehicles; the process quality issues include the after sales service and even whether the sales staffs are professional or ill mannered. One of the problems facing TVR is retention of its customers; they seem to enjoy the car but once they have used it for a number of years they switch to a mass-build vehicle such as Toyota or Mercedes. The reason is likely to be that TVR has a young 0and male image and is seen as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"edgy and the company service is similarly not conveniently ordered as many manufacturers recommend. Essentially the quality process is not what it could be; even young women are somewhat frightened off by the brash salesmanship of TVR staff. This is a quality issue. It is believed by TVR that if they could change this quality factor they would improve retention, bring new markets (e.g. UK women) and hence improve the performance of the company. Indeed much research says techniques of total quality management that can be adopted by the SMEs to improve the performance of the company through effective quality system doesnt matter if its related to managerial, financial or operational activities. Among so many model of quality, we have seen that the most effective model is Quality Assurance and TQM. Quality assurance refers to the evaluation and certification by a customer or by an independent certification bodies of an organizations quality system, to demonstrate that a specific quality system standard has been met (Husband Mandal, 1999). 2.5 TQM APPROACHES: 2.5.1 Demings Approach to Total Quality Management: Its processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle. The theoretical essence of Deming approach to TQM concerns the creation of organisational system that fosters cooperation and learning for facilitating the implementation of process management practices, which, in turn, lead to continuous improvement of processes, products, and services as well as to employee fulfilment, both of which are critical to customer satisfaction, and ultimately to firms survival (Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. 1994). Deming (1986) describes organizations as composites of systems designed to meet customer needs. He focuses more on the top management and explained that its their responsibility to go forward and lead the organisation in changing processes and systems that leads to continuous improvement. Top management has to create and communicate a vision and be a leader that is the most important factor in ensuring the success of quality management in any organisation. He also focuses towards the importance of identification of customer needs and requirements from the products and services which they are buying and the use of functional tools and teams to solve quality problems, which require participation of employees and pursuit of continuous improvement. According to Deming (1986) leadership must come from top-management and leaders must be trained and have full knowledge of systems, variations (statistical thinking), knowledge of theory, and knowledge of psychology so that they can lead in a more effective way. This means to improve quality lies in the ability to control and manage systems and processes properly so therefore the role of management responsibilities in achieving the desired goals is critical. For example, Hitachi-rail, one of the Japanese leading companies was founded in 1915 and since then they are producing products like Steam locomotive, First Electric locomotive, Tokyo Monorail, Suica contact-less smart card ticketing system which are famous for their quality and used worldwide by most of the companies. How did they manage to meet the customer requirements and maintaining the required quality standards? They also follow Demings PDCA Model, they believe in continuous improvement just like a circle has no end and fo r non-stop development and growth they use this cycle on regular intervals. Plan: After the research for a long period of time and taking into consideration all the aspects in their field of manufacturing loconotives and rolling stocks the managers in Hitachi had laid out the strategic plan i.e first they manufacture Japenese elctric locomotive then the bullet train and presently as well as manufacturing they are also engage in supplying the important components of the service administration for the bullet train. Hitachi concentrates most on their after sale services, they planned everything from the feedbak which they gained from their customers and evaluate the present and future market conditions and therefore they make their maintainence plan as well as plans for their new their new products. Hitachi makes their customers comfortable and solve their problems makes them feel happy so that they can relia on the company as any other successful company Hitachi also beieves in customers satisfation. Hitachi provides the satisfactory level of maintenance management planning and support equipment i.e. on-board inspection tools and depot integrated management system. PDCA Cycle-Japanese style of maintenance Do: This is the stage where all the planned activities have to be transformed into actual activities i.e. this is the time for action. Hitachis aims to achieve high level of maintenance for which they used various systems: Depot integrated management system Ground based automatic inspection system, On-board self-diagnostic system, Material control system Vehicle utilization system. Hitachi used all thses system in order to achive their desired goals, total depot management system that combines the maintenance management system, the vehicle utilization system and the parts/material control system. With the help of this process company can contribute in labour saving [Hitachi maintenance system, 2007]. Check: This step is basically in which you go thru your experiment, analyse the outcomes and identify the knowledge what you have gained. Hitachi with the help of the depot integrated management system data and effective staff allocation keeps an eye on the progress and functioning of its business activities. Hitachi is producing railway products for a long period of time and its obvious that they have good and effective knowledge about their manufacturing system, in this step Hitachi can check its formal and informal assessment constantly for a longer period of time. Act: As we know Hitachi produced first electric locomotive in 1924 and they used their local technology system and they have majorly contributed in the manufacturing of bullet train. With the product like these, Hitachi is not only dominating the market but also maintianing their quality standards andtheir technology which help in continuous improvement. Anderson, J.C., Rungtusanatham, M. and Schroeder, R.G. (1994) developed a theory of quality management underlying Deming management method. They proposed that: the effectiveness of Deming management method arises from leadership efforts and at the same time creating a cooperative and learning organisation to facilitate the implementation of management practices, which will lead to support customer satisfaction and help in organisational survival as well as in the long run. 2.5.2 Jurans Approach to Total Quality Management: Jurans, J.M. (1993) approach is laid through emphasis on teamwork and project work, which can promote and improve quality as well as improve communication between management and employees. According to Juran TQM is the system of activities directed towards achieving delighted customers, empowered employees, and focuses towards higher revenues with lower costs. According to Juran, it is very important to understand customer needs and requirements and each and every department like marketing design, manufacturing, and services should apply this requirement. Identifying customer needs requires more vigorous analysis and understanding to ensure the product meets customers needs. 2.6 Implementation of TQM practices by SMEs in U.K.: TVR being a small firm are proud of having detailed knowledge of their small band of customers; they even have a social club that is very well attended, the TVR Car Club [TVR Car Club, 2007]. Consequently they know before any competitor who their customers are, what they think and how they live. So there are many advantages to being small. This customer focus of TVR one of the major claims of the TQM methodology for as we know TQM is a customer-focus system, which is very important for large business organisations in the same way, it is vital for small business also. Government and EU market are beginning to see SME sector as an important engine of growth, (Carter, K., (1993) pp. 16-18.) When a particular SME organisation move towards setting effective quality system in the company, sometimes they have to face few problems or difficulties which obstructs them in setting the standards for total quality management. Some of the problems like lack of financial resources and expertise for quality issues, poor delivery service, lack of Benchmarking, low morale among the employees and less ways of incentives and sometimes there is a bad impression among the public regarding the quality image of the organisation. Following are some of the optimal solutions for these difficulties, which enable the SMEs to implement effective TQM: Most of the times arranging financial resources is the major issues for SMEs while implementing effective TQM. SMEs can obtain funds from external resources such as Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) that support quality initiatives and help the companies in the arrangement of funds. SMEs should learn from the success and failures of the organisations that has already developed TQM. In 1957 Ray Saidel (First TVR Dealer) helps in the manufacturing process of TVR cars, he built a new design with better quality system and the car was named Jomar which becomes very popular and large amount of orders were coming and company had some financial issues thats why they were struggling in keeping up the quality of the product, for this they transformed the company in 1958 under the name of Layton Sports Car Ltd and with the help of some financial institution there problem of finance was solved[TVR, 2007]. SMEs has to make sure that through proper training and development there should be a cultur

Professional Learning Communities What They Mean To Teachers Education Essay

Professional Learning Communities What They Mean To Teachers Education Essay Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been described as structures within which professionals-particularly teachers-can refine their skills, renew their spirits, and expand the scope of their knowledge (Fogarty Pete, 2006, p. 49). Even though the benefits are clear, there are numerous challenges involved in creating and managing PLCs. Such challenges have typically been broken down into concerns about: (1) finding time and otherwise overcoming logistical challenges to coaching; (2) designing appropriate coaching interventions; and (3) maximizing coaching effectiveness. This literature review will address each of these concepts by examining specific research directions taken by current theorists in the field of professional development, with the purpose of illustrating the spectrum of activity along which coaching can succeed or fail. After doing so, the literature review will also discuss broader theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of coaching, including a nalyses of the roles of: (1) race and other socioeconomic factors; (2) theories of motivation and (3) theories of organizational development. Defining and Contextualizing PLCs Rigorous definitions of the PLC, and evidence-based guidelines for its functioning, began to appear in the late nineteenth century. In the U.S., the entire project of teacher development took a huge step forward with the appearance of a number of periodicals dedicated to the subject, including The National Teacher, which debuted in 1870. It is highly likely that the professionalization of teaching in the U.S. had a great deal to do with the emergence of a standard method of teacher development, including the creation of formal PLCs. In the third volume of The National Teacher, published in 1873, the following passage appeared: First, then, the prospective teacher should be trained in the handling of illustrative material, apparatus, charts, maps, diagrams, objects, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.his practice in them should be such as will enable him to bring before the eye what can be very imperfectly addressed to the ear. This should be done, in the first instance, privately, or in the presence of the members of a teaching class, subject to their kind but searching criticismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Mitchell, 1873, p. 367) This passage is one of the first allusions, at least in American sources, to the notion of a professional learning community. It is worth situating the emergence of the PLC into the broader stream of professionalization and scientific reordering of vocations in post-Civil War America. Ellis and Hartley (2004) argued that the Civil War, which had mobilized the nations resources in service of total warfare, had exposed glaring weaknesses in the organization and practice of many professions, starting with the army and extending to nursing, teaching, and manufacturing. According to Ellis and Hartley, nursing was one of the first professions to be thoroughly professionalized in the aftermath of the Civil War, but other professions soon followed (p. 133). It is natural to draw the likely connection between the professionalization of nursing and the professionalization of teaching, both of which were historically feminine practices that, in the wake of the Civil War, were re-aligned with male perceptions of the scientific method and the professionalization of work. The emergence of the learning community can certainly be placed into this context of masculinization. Mitchell (1873) himself made a comparison between (largely female) teaching and (largely male) medicine, to the detriment of teaching (p. 362). In Mitchells opinion, one of the variables that made medicine more scientific than teaching was the fact that medical practitioners constantly mentored, critiqued, assisted, and otherwise engaged with one another, whereas American teaching had not benefited from this kind of inter-vocational interchange. At first, American pedagogical theorists did not suggest that a PLC ought to exist separately from a teaching college. Rather, these theorists thought of the professional learning community as a kind of epiphenomenon of the teaching college. For example, an anonymous writer identified only by a city of origin (New Haven, CT) to the U.S. Bureau of Education in 1885 had the following to say about a professional learning community: A few points, enforced each week and perhaps illustrated with a class, will bring up the teaching powers of those who have not had a professional training, and they will not be wearied out by trying to apply a crude mass of theories.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The attendance at such meetings should be voluntary. There should be such a tone of interest and enthusiasm in a community as will inspire teachers with an honest and eager desire to know how to workà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(p. 274) At this point in American pedagogy, instruction was still meted out by superintendents (or pedagogues) to teachers, but there was a recognition that the input of the peer community of teachers was just as important to teacher development as any model of top-down instruction or professionalization. The PLC was at this point defined not as a separate set of development activities, but as a kind of grassroots camaraderie between teachers in formal development settings. Soon, however, the modern definition of the PLC would emerge. It is impossible to state with certainty when the shift from the early, voluntary PLC led by the superintendent began to give way to the more formal, school-managed PLC. It appears that the shift took place over the 1930s and began to cement itself by the 1940s. Otto (1944) offered an explanation of the changing role of the principal, and how it lent itself to closer, school-level management of the PLC. According to Otto (1944), American secondary schools continued to grow in size and complexity until the superintendent was no longer able to manage or own all of the processes for which the role had previously been responsible; thus, for example, The growing need for more and better supervision of classroom instruction suggested the desirability of planning the administrative organization so that this need could be met (p. 197). There were two stages in the hand-off of PLCs from the superintendent to principals; firstly, in the 1930s and early 1940s, office staff associated with the s uperintendent appear to have taken over responsibility for all aspects of vocational teacher development (Otto, 1944, p. 197); however, when Otto (1944) was writing, there was already another hand-off underway from central bureaucrats to the principal. After the Second World War, the principal emerged as the figure most responsible for defining, managing, and otherwise supporting the professional learning community in American schools. Just as the Civil War had introduced ideas of industrial organization to various vocations, the Second World War created manpower and resource shortages that prompted a faster transition from centralized control over teacher development to a more communal, school-level management of the process (Troyer, Allen, and Young, 1946, p. 241). These forces remain very much in effect today. Instructional Coaching and The Four Types of Coaching According to Wilson and Gislason (2009), there are four types of coaching: internal coaching, peer coaching, manager-performed coaching, and external coaching (p. 56). As their names suggest, peer coaching is about coaching that is delivered by colleagues to each other; manager-based coaching is delivered by managers (or, in the educational context, principals, superintendents, and/or other administrators) to teachers; external coaching is typically performed by consultants; and internal coaching, by contrast, includes all the kinds of coaching that are provided in-house. All four kinds of coaching have been employed in the instructional coaching context. Knight (2005) documented a wave of hiring of outside instructional coaches by U.S. public schools in the 1990s and first half of the 2005, driven by the urgency of achieving basic reading and mathematics competency skills tied to federal funding and the perception that schools themselves did not contain the proper instructional resources to achieve this task. According to Clarkson and Taylor (2005, p. 4), one of the problems created by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) initiative was a push to define instructional coaching as the rote memorization of standards rather than an internalization of the pedagogical principles needed to teach up to those standards. Thus, it can be argued that external coaching becomes more popular in times of external stress on teachers to perform to a particular standard, whereas, in ordinary times, genuinely pedagogical (rather than instrumentalist) internal coaching is the more common form of instructional coaching (Matsumara, Sartoris, Bickel, Garnier 2009). In modern theory, peer coaching is praised for its egalitarian values, but theorists are also concerned that teachers lack the specific pedagogical background and expertise to make other teachers better. For example, Buly, Coskie, Robinson, and Egawa (2006) have argued that the external coach is focused on getting teachers to ask why in a structured fashion, whereas teachers are themselves often concerned with teaching other practical and specific strategies. Barriers in PLCs and Instructional Coaching: Logistics One of the major challenges in creating coaching interventions for PLCs is simply finding the time and opportunity to bring together busy professionals for dedicated learning and training. This challenge is a particularly pressing one in the current economic environment, in which so many working professionals are being called upon to do less with more. Thus, as Fogarty and Pete (p. 49) pointed out, an excellent place to begin a discussion of professional learning communities is in the realm of logistics, i.e. how to create the time and space for such communities, which is as much of a problem today as it was when Troyer, Allen, and Young (1946) wrote about the logistical challenges of organizing and managing the PLC in wartime. Abdal-Haqq (1996) argued that, within school settings particularly, PLCs scheduling ought to be built directly into both the workday and the job descriptions of teachers (although this advice applies equally well to other communities of practice). Abdal-Haqq (1996) concludes that the greatest challenge to implementing effective professional development is lack of time (p. 1), so great responsibility falls on the shoulders of leaders and managers who must accommodate PLCs in terms of schedules and job design. Fernandez (2002) made the point that making time and space for PLCs to thrive is itself partly dependent on cultural approaches. She discussed the case of the Japanese educational system, in which a great deal of emphasis is placed on lesson study, in which teachers are given the time and opportunity to reflect on both their practice and that of others (p. 393). There is more pressure on individual professionals to take advantage of existing resources, and to take the lead in overcoming logistical barriers to embed themselves within PLCs. While there is extensive lip service paid to the value of PLCs, professional development is often subject to self-regulation rather than proper top-down guidance, argued Butler, Lauscher, Jarvis-Selinger, and Beckingham (2004). Having surveyed the history of PLC development, it becomes clear that the absence of top-down guidance is itself part of the steady downward transfer of administrative power tracked by Otto (1944). While Japan appears to have retained a centralized and top-down structure for managing and supporting PLCs and other forms of teacher development, in the U.S. such responsibility has devolved down to the principal. For many theorists, the logistics of PLCs are inseparable from school system support for teachers. For example, Lappan (1997) offered the following insight: The local capacity to support change is central to implementing reforms. Teachers, and those who support teachers, need time-time to learnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (p. 207). Of course, in this context, it should be pointed out time is a valuable commodity. There is a powerful tension between the time and resources needed for supporting the local logistics needed for nurturing professional learning communities and the time and resources needed by principals, administrators, and other supporters of development for other tasks. Unfortunately, as Abdal-Haqq (1996, p. 1) also suggests, schools are faced with a zero sum environment, in which to support the PLC is to remove support from some other organizational goal. It is in this context that the logistical difficulties of PLC support should be understood. Moreover, until schools enjoy increase d funding, it is not clear that the logistical problems noted as early as Troyer, Allen, and Young (1946) will simply evaporate. Of course, one way in which the problem could be solved is by employing PLCs themselves to ease the logistical problems faced by schools. To the extent that teachers could train and develop other teachers without extensive time and resource commitments, PLCs could be of great economic benefit; as in the Second World War, the teacher-training-teacher paradigm could yield economic benefits rather than sucking up resources. For PLCs to actually operate in this fashion requires close attention to the variable of coaching design. Barriers in PLCs and Instructional Coaching: Change Management From at least the 1870s onwards, there has been a rich debate on how to best deploy teachers to train and develop other teachers. In the first stage of this debate, from Mitchell (1873) to Arnold (1898), it was assumed that merely talking about pedagogy and other teaching-related issues in a voluntary, informal meeting would assist junior teachers in their development. Over the decades, voluntary meetings gave way to more formal in-school development programs, particularly when the Second World War forced schools to consider more resource-efficient ways to engage in teacher training. In this context, the promise of coaching design is that, if there is a sound system under which to transfer teacher knowledge from senior to junior colleagues, the PLC can save school systems time, money, and administrative commitment. On the other hand, if coaching design is itself weak or unmotivated, then teachers will resist it and the PLC will fail to fulfill its promise. These issues are at the heart of the modern debate on coaching design. In contemporary times, there is much more urgency around the subject of coaching design thanks to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2002, which has directly tied student performance to federal funding and accreditation. Killion (2005) is one of many theorists who has pointed out that one response to NCLB is the implementation of instructional coaching to improve instruction and student achievement. Instructional coaching is a relatively new phenomenon, at the core of which is a conviction that professional learning improves teaching practices and teaching practices improve student achievement (Knight, 2007; Killion Harrison, 2006; Knowal Steiner, 2007). Instructional design is not easy to implement because, as Knight (2007) has pointed out, teachers are not innately resistant to change will tend to resist poorly-designed agendas of change. As such, it is of the utmost importance to arrive at an understanding of the best practices of coaching design. In an organizational context, instructional coaching provides motivation to mentees, which in turn is intended to improve the productivity and morale of mentees. When instructional coaches work with students, their sole purpose is to demonstrate and model best teaching practices to teachers in order to improve student teaching (Knight, 2007). Motivation is the key to understanding the role that good coaching should play within a professional learning community (Bransford, 2000). Coaching design principles vary widely depending on the specific kind of professional development that is being pursued. Fortunately, however, there appears to be some consensus on best practices for coaching design. Bransfords (2000) seminal book, How People Learn, argued that coaching design should have four centrisms; i.e., it should be learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered, and community-centered (p. 188). There are many different interpretations of how these four foci can be best captured in a PLC. For example, Beyerbach, Weber, Swift, and Gooding (1996) emphasized that the knowledge focus of PLC design ought to have a practical component, so that members of the community understand the practical applications of what they are being taught (pp. 101-102). For teachers, this practical component can be satisfied by understanding why, in the context of real-world problem solving, it is necessary for them to develop a new skill or refine an existing one. Another recent emphasis in coaching design for community-centered learning is the utilization of collaborative software, particularly blogs and wikis, which have the potential to span each of Bransfords focus areas for coaching design. Higdon and Topaz (2009) stated that blogs and wikis had an important role in creating a more centered learning environment, There is wide consensus in the academic literature about the usefulness of instructional coaching within professional learning communities. Within a professional learning community, the qualities of good teaching for students should also be evident in professional learning for teachers (DuFour Eaker,1998; Bransford, 2000). However, there are also a number of obstacles to the implementation or the success of instructional coaching, including logistical factors (such as potential coaches lack of time), institutional factors (such as a lack of managerial support for coaching), and professional factors (such as coaches lack of relevant skills). Leaving aside these barriers, good coaching design may not be so much a matter of pedagogical design as it is a matter of change management. Bransford (2000) and other researchers have already explained the evidence for best practices in specific aspects of coaching design; the issue is not so much the content of coaching design as it is the necessity of convincing teachers to go along with coaching. In this regard, there are some helpful theoretical contributions from business literature, which has long struggled with the question of optimal change management in organizations. Jensen and Kerr (1994, p. 408), based on a case study of change at Pepsi, argued that the following five questions had to be satisfactorily answered before constituents bought into a change agenda: Why must we change, and why is this change important? What do you want me to do? What are the measures/consequences of change/no change? What tools and support and available to me? Whats in it for me? These questions of change management emerge at the point of implementation: i.e., as soon as it becomes necessary to transition from a theory of the professional learning community to an actual implementation, requiring intellectual and emotional buy-in from teachers. But change management is an issue that is better tackled not by coaching designers, whose responsibility is to transfer principles such as those of Bransford (2000) to local pedagogical contexts, but at the level of what can be called effectiveness maximization of the PLC. Effectiveness Maximization and Theoretical Approaches There is wide-ranging agreement on the importance of PLCs, and even on the operational and conceptual details that PLC must satisfy in terms of coaching design. The crux of the problem lies not necessarily in those details but more in the question of how to maximize the effectiveness of PLCs. First, there is the logistical question. If there is little institutional time, resources, and guidance put into PLC program creation and management, then coaching programs are unlikely to be effective. However, even organizations that have hurdled over the logistical challenge and implemented some form of PLC must still solve the question of how to maximize their coaching programs effectiveness, including the considerations of change management as highlighted by Jensen and Kerr (1994). There are some convincing arguments that PLCs resist straightforward methods of evaluation and improvement, which creates a fundamental challenge at the level of effectiveness maximization. Revans (1979), the pioneer of the action research concept, saw the creation and functioning of a PLC as a holistic process, one that cannot be dissected and improved on a part-by-part level. To Revans (1979), a functional PLC is something that both managers and participants can recognize only by taking part in it. This dynamic has something of a chicken-and-egg quality to it, as an effective PLC requires planning, but the proper inputs of planning may only become apparent after a PLC has been launched. Even with this limitation in mind, it is still possible to both measure and improve the effectiveness of a coaching component of a PLC by surveying participants about how they are benefiting from the specific coaching program, and employing these insights to structure the back-end processes that feed into the PLC. Borko (2004) argued that it is certainly possible to measure factors such as teacher (or, for that matter, any other form of professional) learning and satisfaction; moreover, teacher performance in classrooms can also be measured by such standards as student evaluations and standardized test scores. The point is that, when a PLC is working properly, its results will show themselves in a number of domains. It is incumbent on managers or others who oversee these programs to collect baseline data in order to measure the programs achievements, and also to identify the areas that need renewed attention and resources. Maximizing the effectiveness of PLCs thus comes down to both measurement and targeted action (Dufour, Dufour, Eaker Karhanek, 2004; Saphier West, 2010; and Knight 2009), whose basis can be the experience of mentees. It is necessary, at this point, to consult some theories of motivation and organizational development in order to consider how to best maximize the effectiveness of PLCs. Much of the literature on PLCs takes it for granted that teachers are motivated to buy into the program; however, it need not be the case that teachers are motivated, or that PLCs are constituted so as to maximize the strengths of the organization. Fortunately, theoretical literature has made it easier to understand the overlap between PLCs, motivation, and organizational development. Herzberg (1966) argued that: someone who is motivated is truly a sight to behold, as they put all of their heart and soul into an activity. Love of work is certainly the strongest motivator of people (p. 141). Coaches exist partly to instill mentees with love of work, via a number of mechanisms, including that of instrumentality, or making sure that people have the tools that they need to accomplish a work task. Note that instrumentality was also part of Jensen and Kerrs (1994) framework for appropriate change management. If people lack the tools to achieve what is asked for them, they will not only resist change but also lose motivation. As such, administrators should bear in mind that every tool (including time) put in the hands of PLC members effects the motivation of individual members, and therefore the overall success of the PLC. According to the theoretical foundation provided by organizational psychologists such as Herzberg, Vroom (1964), and Maslow (1993), instructional coaching should have a salutary effect on mentees in so far as coaching instills mentees with instrumentality and motivation. One part of this dissertations purpose is to measure the impact of good coaching, as reported by mentees, and also to assess the impact of bad or nonexistent coaching. Doing so is an exercise in the measurement of organizational motivation and morale as conceptualized by a number of influential theorists in the field. For example, Banduras (1997) social learning theory is sometimes cited in the coaching literature and explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences. The central aspect of Banduras (1977) theory is the claim that humans learn by watching others model behavior. Thus, psychological theory now provides firm support for the i dea of coaching as a transfer of desirable behavior from senior to junior members of a community. Clearly, then, theory has a great deal to tell us about the scientific basis for PLCs, and also about how best to maximize their effectiveness. Some of the theories surveyed in this section, for example, have emphasized the importance of motivation and instrumentality in the PLC. One final theory that ought to be considered is that of so-called toxic mentorship. It will be recalled that, as early as Arnold (1898), there is an assumption that, when teachers come together for purposes of development, mutual reinforcement and learning will inevitably take place. It is taken for granted, both by Arnold (1898) and by Mitchell (1873), that senior teachers have the best interests of the profession, and of their junior colleagues, in mind. This assumption, however, might be naÃÆ' ¯ve. There is now a great deal of research on dimensions of coaching and mentorship that fail due to the attitudes of senior teachers. Webb and Shakespeare (2008), Atkin and Wilmington (2007), and Grossman (2007) have all discussed so-called toxic mentorship as one of the ways in which coaching goes wrong, for example when coaches are burned out, unhelpful, scornful of their own profession, unethical, or not involved enough or knowledge to provide adequate feedback. The aforementioned res earchers have called attention to toxic mentorship in the nursing field, in which there has been more of an attempt of late to critique bad coaching. However, educational literature in general has not yet grappled as extensively with the concept of the toxic mentor, which is another reason why it is timely and relevant to ask mentees about this concept, as part of a more general data-gathering project on the measurable impact of mentorship on productivity and morale. Conclusion This literature review has covered a great deal of ground in attempting to illuminate the concept of the professional learning community, all the way from the seventeenth century to the present day. The conclusion is reserved for discussing an important lacuna in the research, and employing this lacuna to lend context to the research carried out by this dissertation. It will be noted that, for all of its history, teacher development in general and the PLC in particular have been defined by people other than the constituents. At first, superintendents had the greatest input into the process; later, principals took on this mantle. Throughout the process, senior teachers exercised a great deal of influence, as they had the prized knowledge that was to be passed on and passed down to junior colleagues. In the century of literature surveyed here, it is interesting to note that very few, if any, researchers have focused on the ability of mentees to provide important feedback about the nature of coaching within the PLC. It is almost invariably assumed that some outside authority, whether the superintendent or principal, is the owner of the process, while senior teachers are the drivers of the process. This attitude may be about to change because, in PLCs as in business communities, there is a move to recognize the centrality of the so-called customer. In this case, the customer of coaching is the mentee, the recipient of coaching. In both private business and public policy contexts, the customer has increasingly become both the owner and the driver of certain processes. Businesses conduct surveys of customers in order to determine what to produce. Public sector organizations, similarly, turn to the citizen-stakeholder as the ultimate owner of a process, and try to orient processes accordingly. It may be that, in coaching, the focus is about to shift from the top of the pyramid to the base: That is, from the traditional owners of coaching to its customers, namely teachers. It is possible that teachers will, in future, play an enhanced role in guiding the direction of coaching, specifically by providing input as to what kind of coaching works and what kind does not. Of course, this kind of input does not constitute the sum total of what is needed to create an effective PLC, but it is also unthinkable that learning communities can long thrive or survive without being driven by the interests and predilections of their own customers. It should also be noted collegiality has been a foundational value of the PLC. Indeed, the functioning of PLCs from the nineteenth century onwards has required a spirit of collegiality in that members of such communities must be open to critique, generous with help of others, and committed to coexistence and mutual advancement.

Gap Exploitation Essay -- essays research papers

Gap Inc. was founded in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher in San Francisco, California, with a single store and a handful of employees. Today, they’re one of the world's largest specialty retailers with three of the most recognized and respected brands in the apparel industry - Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. Gap Inc. has more than 153,000 employees supporting over 4,200 stores in more than 3,100 locations in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan and Germany. Their 2004 Sales were well over $15 billion, bringing in a net income of $1.03 billion, a 115.7% income growth from previous year. Gap Inc contracts factories in 64 Countries, allegedly also making clothes within the US . And by â€Å"Made in the USA,† they mean, â€Å"Made in the indigenous countries that, out of desperation, joined the United States in hopes of gaining more stable government regulations, yet remain excluded from basic employment rights and minimum wage laws.† The â€Å"guest workers† from countries like Saipan, who joined the United States in 1975 to be citizens of the â€Å"land of the free,â€Å" commit themselves to conditions that are simply shameful to basic human rights. Once committed, workers who toil for 12 hours daily behind barbed-wire fences, eat infested food, sleep on cots in dormitories that they are forced to pay more "fees" for, and work "off the clock" hours that they aren't paid for, can’t escape from the madness, unless they can pay a mandatory $10 thousand dollar fee for this â€Å"privilege.† Despite over 1,000 citations over a mere 5 years in Saipan, GAP remains stern on their refusal to pay a settlement with exploited workers. One worker was quoted: â€Å"Before 1997, we called for the strike because we were forced to work overtime with no opportunity to take a holiday, we wanted to go home for the holiday. But now we have so many holidays, and we have no money to go home. There is nothing in balance†¦ I have no question why people commit suicide.† Of course, not all of the factories that GAP contracts could possibly conduct themselves like that, right? They have model factories like the Shin Won factory in Guatemala, acclaimed by industry reps and retailers, as well as winning several exporting awards in recent years. From afar, Shin Won is just an average factory ... ...other loan for $20 from a loan shark.† To think that these are just individual problems or â€Å"special cases† is outright foolish. 24 of 27 factory workers in Lesotho said that they owed money to loan sharks. Even more shocking, many loan sharks are supervisors at the factories in which these people make a living. This means that the supervisors can deduct money from the checks of people who borrowed the money. What does this mean to the workers? Weeks of work without pay, and the need to, you guessed it, borrow more money. How could so much corruption ensue in these factories when the Gap’s 90 inspectors are paid to keep tabs on violations of their Code of Conduct? One Lesotho worker had this to say: â€Å"In our factory we have this policy that we have two separate time sheets, one for the buyer and for the owner. Whenever the buyer comes, they show that person a sheet which does not have our actual salary. The management does not show the buyer our original time sheet, the one which shows what we are actually paid. We have two time sheets, and we have to sign both sheets. If I don’t then I will get fired. I have no other option but to sign both sheets.†

Violence on Television Essay -- essays research papers

"There was murderers going around killing lots of people and stealing jewelry." This quote comes from the mouth of an eight year old girl after watching the evening news on television. The eight year old girl claims that she is afraid "when there is a murder near because you never know if he could be in town" (Cullingford, 61). A recent report from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) pools evidence from over 2,500 studies within the last decade on over 100,000 subjects from several nations to show that the compiled evidence of television's influence on behavior is so "overwhelming" that there is a consensus in the research community that "violence on television does lead to aggressive behavior" (Methvin, 49). Given that the majority of scientific community agrees that "the research findings of the NIMH publication support conclusion of a causal relationship between television violence and aggressive behavior" (Wurtzel, 21), why is it that "the Saturday morning "kid vid ghetto" is the most violent time on T.V." (Methvin, 49), and that "despite slight variations over the past decade, the amount of violence on television has remained at consistently high levels" (Wurtzel, 23)? Why is it that, like the tobacco companies twenty years ago, the present day television broadcasting companies refuse to consent that violent films and programming can and do have harmful effects on their viewers (Rowland, 280) What can be done to combat the stubborn minded broadcasting companies and to reduce the amount of violent scenes that infest the current air waves? The television giants of today, such as ABC, CBS, and NBC continue to air violent shows, because they make money off of these programs. In general, society finds scenes of violence "simply exciting" (Feshbach, 12). Broadcasting companies argue that "based on the high ratings, they are giving the public what it wants, and therefore are serving the public interest" (Time, 77). Michael Howe states: "We have to remember that children and adults do enjoy and do choose to watch those programs that contain violence" (48). At the same time, however, we must also remember the undeniable truth that "there is clear evidence between television violence and later aggressive beh... ...Television and the Child. London: Oxford University Press, 1958. Howe, Michael J.A. Television and Children. London: New University Education, 1977. Lowe, Carl, ed. Television and American Culture. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1981. Methvin, Eugene H. "T.V. violence: the shocking new evidence." Reader's Digest Jan. 1983: 49-54. Milavsky, Ronald J., Ronald C. Kessler, Horst. H. Stipp, and William S. Rubens. Television and Aggression. Orlando: Academic Press Inc., 1982. Palmer, Edward L. Children and the Faces of Television. New York: Academic Press Inc., 1980. Pearl, David. "Violence and Aggression" Society Sept.-Oct. 1984: 17-23. Rowland, Willard D. Jr. and Horace Newcomb. The Politics of T.V. Violence. Sage Publications Inc., 1983. Feshbach, Seymour and Robert D. Singer. Television and Aggression. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., 1971. Skornia, Harry J. Television and Society. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company, 1965. Time. "Warning from Washington: Violence on Television is Harmful to children." May 17, 1982: 77. Wurtzel, Alan, and Guy Lometti. "Researching Television Violence." Society Sept.-Oct. 1984: 22-31.

Brian Quinn

Dear Ms. Brummel: I have been involved in training clients and designing custom solution with Microsoft products for many years.  Ã‚  Ã‚   I would like the opportunity to see new Microsoft technologies first hand.   Specifically, I am writing to you about the System Administrator (Job code: XXXXXXX) and System Engineer ( Jobcode: 180703) positions I found while browsing the careers section of your website. I am a System Engineer specializing in Novell Netware and Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory.   For the last eight years, I ran a successful consulting business focusing on end-user training and Microsoft Systems support and administration.   Some of my former and current clients include: Onesoft Corporation, Novell, Oppenheimer Funds, Cal State Hayward, Energy Commission, Brigham Young University, Department of Justice, Franklin Covey and Anderson Consulting. In the course of pursuing my business interests I have acquired several professional certifications including: Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer , Microsoft Certified Trainer, Microsoft Certified Desktop Technician, Cisco Certified Network Associate( CCNA )and Novell Engineer.  Ã‚   I have 14 years of experience in the IT field; my previous employment is further detailed in the enclosed resume. I feel I can bring my extensive field and training experience to exceed the expectations for a person in the positions available.   I would like to speak with you at your convenience to discuss how I can contribute to Microsoft’s continued success.   I can be reached at (916)789-1779 any time. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, Brian Quinn

Elaine

Xiamen university is not onlyl one among the prestigious 21 1 and 985 project universities. but also specialized In accounting profession. Career Objective Seeking for a challenging position in an organization that will allow me to display my xperience and good problem solving skills to make a company grow by solving their problems.Looking forward to, use my skills for the betterment of the company and to increase my potential as well. Work Experience Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited 10/2012-present Auditor Taiwan, Taipei My experience continues with cross-functional teams on statuary audits, half yearly reviews, financial advisory projects etc. with China Development Financial Holding. Deloitte honed me professionally by giving me extensive experience In undertaking he following responsibilities: C] Review and audit financial Information for stakeholders.Evaluate the effectiveness and competence of the internal control of clients. ? Communicate with clients to accomplish tasks effec tively and efficiently. ? Encourge my colleagues when they were under great pressure. Ernst & Young Global Limited 07/201 1 -08/201 1 Intern C] Helped colleagues to deal with the about 300 confirmations of the client – Cathay Life Insurance Co. , Ltd. In 2days. o corrected a number when the last time footing before the printing the financial tatement for clients. ASUSTeK Computer Inc.