Total Quality Management-An Approach towards Good Governance

Uzma Akbar
FOUNDATION University Institute of Management and Computer Sciences
Newlalazar, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
&
Akbar S. Awan
Principle WAH Engineering College, University of WAH, WAH Cantt, Pakistan

Abstract
Our public sector departments have created enormous financial burden on the limited
national exchequer. Leaving side a few organizations, our public sector is not thinking to
improve the quality of services, whereas the crushing national debt calls for urgent cuts in
cost of public functionaries. Valuable assets are wasted on projects which are non-starter
and programs which are not actualized. The failure of government efforts to improve the
quality of public services has demanded the complete renovation of management
procedures. The administrative government needs overhauling. The time has come to
radically change the way, government operates.
Simple and easy to comprehend principle of management signifying the criticality of
doing the right thing, the first time and every time has invariably lost sight with obvious
consequences. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a workable theory based option that
allows public managers to reward truly exceptional individual performance, yet increase
the capacity for agency wide co-operation and process improvement.
A clear prognosis which emerges after review of the existing national scenario that there
must be a pool of national experts in key industrial and social sectors drawn from across
the country. Time tested principle of “authority commensurate with responsibility”
should never be lost sight of.
This paper examines the origins of TQM, describes how philosophies of Quality apply to
public sector, suggests ways to overcome barriers to implementation and presents set of
proposal for Government’s total quality improvement efforts.

1
 Table of Contents

1. Introduction……………….………………………..………………………....….3
2. Total Quality Management………………………………………….…..…4
3. Total Quality in Government…………………………………...….5
4. Avenues of TQM…………..………………………………………………...…...5
5. TQM in Perspective…………….…………………………………………...…...6
6. TQM System and Tools……………………………………………………...…..7
7. The Concept of Continuous Improvement by TQM…………………….…….7
8. Experience of Other countries…………………………………………………..8
9. Problems for Quality Initiative in Federal Government………………………9
10. Reasons for low Quality of GOP……………………………………………….10
11. Objectives for implementing TQM Principles in Government
Organizations………………………………..………………………………….11
12. Requirements of TQM in GOP………………………………………………...13
12.1 Top Management Commitment………………………………………13
12.2 Employee Involvement………………………………………………..13
12.3 Cultural Transformation……………………………………………...13
12.4 Building Awareness…………………………………………………...14
12.5 Empowerment…………………………………………………………14

13. Present Situation in Pakistan…………………………………………………..15

14. Recommendations……………………………………………………………....16
15. Conclusion………………………………………………………………...…….19
16. Bibliography……………………………………………………………...……..20

1. Introduction
The federal government of Pakistan (GOP) is presently organized into 48 divisions,
173 attached departments and 203 autonomous/semi-autonomous bodies (including
public corporations, public sector banks and other public sector organizations). In

2
addition to this, it also employs a military force of 0.65 million. It spends billion of
rupees, and directly or indirectly, accounts for major part of our national economy. The
GOP executes its non-defense related constitutional responsibilities through some
450,000 civil servants. These are further spread through 17,700 civil servants organized
in federal secretariat, 113,000 civil servants in federal attached departments and
subordinate offices, 122,500 employees of Pakistan Railway and 196,800 employees in
the autonomous bodies, public corporations and financial institutions.1
Our public sector departments have created enormous financial burden on our limited
national exchequer. They still adhere to obsolete management practices which have been
abandoned by most of the civilized countries. Leaving side a few organizations, our
public sector is not thinking to improve the quality of services, whereas the crushing
national debt calls for urgent cuts in cost of public functionaries.
Poor management in federal government has serious consequences. Money is wasted,
programs do not work, and Projects do not start or remain uncompleted for many years.
That is why Pakistani customers see and observe but cannot complain. All the complaints
remain unnoticed; all suggestions for improvement never get any response. Inside the
government as well bad management stifles the morale of internal customer and system
over there is designed to kill the initiative.
The administrative management of our Government needs overhauling. The time has
come to radically change the way, government operates.

2. Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management in government is organizational transformation strategy
and a method of process improvement by which quality and productivity goals can be
achieved without additional resources.

1
“Total Quality in Government-Issues and Realities” by Dr. Ali Sajid

3
Based on internal regulations and workers self management, TQM stresses:
• Customer satisfaction
• Examines relationship between existing management processes
• Improves internal communication
• Responds to valid demand of customers.
• Encourages total commitment and Team work

It is based on the theory that:

The greater the involvement an employee has in determining the organizational
goals, the more committed he or she will be to achieving them. 2

Total Quality Management is management approaches that originated in the 1950's

and has steadily become more popular since the early 1980's. Total Quality is a
description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide
customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality
in all aspects of the company's operations; especially the processes being done right the
first time.
The simple objective of TQM is:
"Do the right things, right the first time, every time". 3

3. Total Quality in Government

By Total Quality in government we mean lean, decentralized and innovative
government where people are flexible, adaptive, and quick to learn new ways when
conditions change. They use customer choice and competition to get things done as
creatively and effectively as possible. So when we talk about quality management in
2
“Top Management Commitment for TQM-A Process Model” by Nadeem Yousaf
3
Mathew, S. (1973). "Total Quality Management in the Industrial Sector," National Productivity Review.

4
Federal Government, we too must rely on market based incentives with less focus on
conventional new programs.
The concept of Total Quality Government goes beyond cost cutting in government. It
is adopted to apply the principles and tools of TQM. Many organizations have been
successful with their TQM initiatives and derived such benefits as reducing costs,
increasing productivity and customer satisfaction.

4. Avenues of TQM

By adopting TQM we will be able to provide the philosophy, mindset, tools and
methodologies to “Transform” effectively. The use of TQM which refers to:

• Performance measurement of organizations

• Customer management
• Process control
• Continuous improvement programs
• Best management practices

This has proved to be an effective strategy for improving the performance of not only
Government organizations but also public administrations. 4

5. TQM in Perspective
Total quality management (TQM) is the management process used to make continuous
improvements to all functions. These improvements result in increased satisfaction and
delight for both internal and external customer. The keywords to note in this definition
are “continuous” and “process”. TQM represents an ongoing, continuous commitment to

4
“Quality, Productivity and Standards” by Working Group for MTDF.

5
Improvement. Because the quest for continuous improvements has no end. It only
indicates the new direction on which to proceed
TQM is seen as the most comprehensive approach to Quality thinkable for an
enterprise. The pillars of Total Quality Management are T Q M:

• T stands for Total. It is the Integration of the Staff, Suppliers, Customers and
other Stakeholders. Away from Party-specific Thinking to a more holistic
approach.
• Q stands for Quality. It is the Quality of the work and the process of the
Enterprise leading to Quality of Products.

• M for Management. It stresses the leadership task "Quality" and the Quality of
leadership. From the enterprises point of view TQM can be seen as a Leadership
Model.
There is no single theoretical formalization of total quality, but philosophers provide
the core assumptions, as:

"Discipline and philosophy of management which institutionalizes planned and

continuous improvement .It assumes that quality is the outcome of all activities that
take place within an organization; that all functions and all employees have to
participate in the improvement process; that organizations need both quality
systems and a quality culture." 5

6. TQM Systems and Tools

Systems and tools systematically inculcate and reinforce the TQ culture within an
organization. The philosophy initiates from top management but all levels of employees
need to develop commitment and ownership to sustain it. Enormous coaching, modeling
and reinforcement are required to achieve it. These tools may relate to teamwork,

5
Dale H. Besterfield, Carol Besterfield-Michna, Mary Besterfield-Sacre and Glen H. Besterfield. “Total
Quality Management”. Third Edition

6
leadership, human resources, process management, or collecting customer focus
information, to name just a few.
It is not necessary that all the tools will be relevant for everybody. Some tools may be
very effective for one organization where as they may completely fail in another. It is
also possible that a tool may work for a while and then loose its effectiveness. Therefore
tools are replaceable and at time interchangeable over a period, but the core philosophy
of TQM never changes and always remains the same. Typically when one tool looses its
effectiveness another tool is selected to support and reinforce the TQM philosophy.
Therefore failure of a tool should not be interpreted as a failure of TQM initiative but
rather it’s a signal to use another tool.
TQM starts with philosophical base-systems and tools are relevant after the
philosophy is established. Most of the TQM efforts fail because organizations try to
implement TQM techniques (Tools and Systems) without adopting the TQM philosophy.
They start the journey from the wrong point. Instead of starting with the philosophy they
try to first use the tools and the systems without ensuring that at the very minimum, the
philosophy is absorbed by the top management. 6

7. The Concept of Continuous Improvement by TQM

TQM is mainly concerned with continuous improvement in all work, from high level
strategic planning and decision-making, to detailed execution of work elements on the
shop floor. It stems from the belief that mistakes can be avoided and defects can be
prevented. It leads to continuously improving results, in all aspects of work, as a result of
continuously improving capabilities, people, processes, and technology and machine
capabilities.
Continuous improvement must deal not only with improving results, but more
importantly with improving capabilities to produce better results in the future. A central
principle of TQM is that mistakes may be made by people, but most of them are caused,
or at least permitted, by faulty systems and processes. This means that the root cause of

6
“TQM Implementation in Pakistan-Revolutionary Vs Evolutionary Approach ” by Dr. Jamshed Khan

7
such mistakes can be identified and eliminated, and repetition can be prevented by
changing the process. There are three major mechanisms of prevention:

• Preventing mistakes from occurring.

• Where mistakes can't be absolutely prevented, detecting them early to prevent
them being passed down the value added chain.
• Where mistakes recur, stopping production until the process can be corrected 7

8. Experience of Other countries

Under the cover of TQM, US business and political leaders turned to quality to stay
competitive on world market or to reclaim their host markets. Meanwhile like many other
agencies, the US defense organizations faced, budget cutbacks and reduced staff. Using
Quality management, however these organizations streamlined producers in man areas,
increasing morale and saved an impressive amount of money.8
The Government of Pakistan should try to adopt the process of Total Quality
management as the core of its management style to solve its problem and re-structure.
Such a strategy is being used in the entire European Union, USA, Japan and other
developed countries for sustaining their economic growth.

9. Problems for Quality Initiative in Federal Government

Improving service quality without increasing costs is more difficult to achieve in the
public sector than it is in the private sector because elected officials must attempt
continuously to balance the multiple conflicting goals of diverse interest groups. Over a
decade ago Peter Drucker identified six barriers to productivity improvement. These are:

7
“An Overview on Implementing TQM in Developing Countries” by
Kamran Moosa, Head Pakistan Institute of Quality Control
8
“Total Quality in Government-Issues and Realities” by Dr. Ali Sajid

8
 • Lack of clear performance targets
• Trying to do too many things at once
• Solving problems by throwing people at them
• Lack of experimental attitude
• Lack of elevation so nothing is learned from it
• Reluctance to abandon programs 9

If two or more sins are committed simultaneously, then they may lead to program
failure. In short the quality approaches requires fundamental changes in traditional
management role. Most individuals and organizations in the public sector will find these
changes very difficult to implement.

Our Public sector organizations are facing more monumental hurdles because:

• The discipline of a competitive global market place that provides incentive for
radical changes to business, industry and other managers is missing in our
government
• In many instances, our government prefers to act as protector for enforcement of
policies based on political and social grounds. This leads to treat efficiency as
secondary.
• The major barrier to accelerating quality management in government is the lack
of strong consensus for change among top officials. They find little time for
management issues unless problems directly invade on concerns of
administration.

10. Reasons for low Quality of GOP

9
“Total Quality in Government-Issues and Realities” by Dr. Ali Sajid

9
 Some of the reasons for low quality and Productivity in the government are identified
as follows:

• Lack of leadership and vision in Quality and Production

• Lack of legal and management frameworks for measuring and controlling
performance
• There is no credible program or model for quality management which can be
followed by the Government Organizations
• Weak management skills and capabilities
• Lack of effective public accountability
• Lack of reward program for those good quality management processes
• Excessive centralization
• Environment of mistrust
• Lack of participation at all levels
Since 1947, we are dependent and continuously following a top down bureaucratic
approach to handle the public sector affairs. In this era of information with tough global
competition, large top down bureaucracies do not work very well. Most federal
departments are also monopolies, with very less incentive to improve, with life time
guaranteed job irrespective of their performance. The culture has built in problems in
quality work as they know customer has no choice except to buy from them. The main
theme and central issue today is not what government does, but how it works.

11. Objectives for implementing TQM Principles in Government

Organizations

The quality of governance and government is the top enabler of rapid economic
growth and strength of a country. Government must fulfill:

• Politically defined missions

• Enhance social values

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 • Deliver critical public goods to citizens

The ability of the state to provide efficient and customer focused institution is
fundamental to vibrant and broad based markets. In Pakistan there is a public perception
that government institution “Over promise and Under deliver”.
There is false impression in the public sector about what is meant by ‘efficient and
customer focused institutions’. Total Quality Management or TQM refers to various
approaches for improving the performance of organizations.

Improvements and objectives for implementation of TQM principles in Government

of Pakistan (GOP) organizations are as follows: 10

• Provide Platform for launching ‘Good Governance’ Program: In Pakistan due

to the lack of any organized models, process, leadership and legal frameworks;
this aim could not be achieved. Measuring, controlling and improving
performance is specialized function to be addressed on professional basis rather
than political grounds. In our country most of problems arise due to the political
involvement of individuals. All developed countries tackle good governance
through an organizational structure with the aid of professional and legal models.

• Citizen satisfaction Index: The citizens Satisfaction Index of Public assessing

the government organizations and offices must be raised continuously. Presently
there is no formal method to measure Citizen Satisfaction Index i-e performance
of the government.
For example, the US government in early 90’s started an organized campaign.
They set the target to raise the CSI from 67% to 80% in subsequent time of 4
years. They launched a program called “Reinventing the government” and were
successful in raising the CSI close to their target. The GOP needs to establish a
framework for good governance and lay the foundation for improving the quality

10
“Quality, Productivity and Standards” by Working Group for MTDF.

11
 and productivity of public sector. This includes measuring, controlling and
improving the performance of government that shall lead to overall increase in
Citizen Satisfaction11

• Raising the Quality and Productivity Levels of GOP: With the changing
global scenario, the rapidly developing countries in ASEAN, are giving high
priority to improving the quality and productivity levels of Governments.
GOP has still not laid any professional foundation for improving its quality
and productivity. The Government should join hands with nations with highly
efficient and effective government offices. For this purpose training of the
Heads of Departments, Promotional Campaigns and performance based
rewards, (according to TQM) should be launched.

• Linking between Federal and Provincial Governments: The link of quality

and productivity must be established between the federal Government and all
the four provinces of Pakistan. This means continuity of performance goals
for the higher authority.12

12. Requirements of TQM in GOP

12.1 Top Management Commitment

Commitment from top management may be the most critical factor in the success of
any programs. In any government organization the senior management’s commitment is
essential and stimulates the implementation of a TQM program. Often, the first step is to

11
,“Quality, Productivity and Standards” by Working Group for MTDF.
12
“Quality, Productivity and Standards” by Working Group for MTDF.

12
convince senior managers of the financial and wider benefits and overcome any barriers
that they may have. One of the best ways to do this is to identify obvious areas of cost
reduction and environmental improvement and where to make immediate savings through
no-cost or low-cost measures. This core element in Total Quality Management system
model addresses management commitment. Top management must not only give a lead
to the rest of the organization but also ensure that the necessary decisions and actions are
taken. Only top management has the motivation and the power to effect changes. 13

12.2 Employee Involvement

The government should try to introduce new course of action in which the
communication between the top management and employees increases. They should talk
to as many employees as possible about their opinions relating to TQ implementation.
Through this act top management will be able to assess their knowledge level and what
bugs them about the initiatives they have seen in the past. Employees should be asked to
give suggestions so that they would be more involved and supportive new programs.
TQM process covers the whole organization so all people will feel their ownership in this
case. 14

12.3 Cultural Transformation

The full potential of TQM requires a fundamental cultural change. An organization’s

culture is the way organization behaves. It is the way everybody walks, talks, thinks and
acts in everyday life. The culture of quality organization supports and nourishes the
improvement efforts of every group and individual in the organization. The cultural
change of an agency to TQM requires the courage and commitment of leadership in order
to implement a vision of values, ideas, goals and processes. Total Quality Government
encourages the manager who innovates and motivates the workers who are free to
improve and make decisions. But changing the culture is a lot harder than changing the
rules and regulations. This is possible by:

13
“Top Management Commitment for TQM-A Process Model” by Nadeem Yousaf
14
James R. Evans and William M. Lindsay “The Management and Control of Quality”. Sixth Edition.

13
 • Creating new incentives to accomplish more, through competition and customer
choice
• Shifting focus of control that is empowering employees to use their judgment,
supporting them with the tools they need
• Liberating agencies from burden of over regulations and control

12.4 Building Awareness

TQM generates a whole new corporate culture with an emphasis on customer

satisfaction, a goal of continual improvement, and commitment to team-building and
employee participation at all levels. In a quality organization, the vision, values and
systems must be consistent with, and complementary to each other. 15

12.5 Empowerment

Decentralizing the power to make decisions will energize our government to do

everything smart, better, faster and cheaper. GOP policy makers should follow this
decentralized approach. This style may reduce or eliminate employee frustration, increase
sense of belonging and enhance morale and productivity of an entire organization.

13. Present Situation in Pakistan

Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC):

This is the main accreditation body in Pakistan responsible for accreditation of

certification agencies, inspection agencies, system auditors and laboratories.

15
“An Overview on Implementing TQM in Developing Countries” by
Kamran Moosa, Head Pakistan Institute of Quality Control

14
It was established in 1999 and became operational in 2001. Its annual budget in 2003-04
was around Rs. 12 million. Out of this Rs. 3.9 million was used for non-development and
Rs. 8.7 million was used for development. Its manpower is 37 persons.
Listed below the table gives a comparison of Pakistan’s conformity assessment with
India:

Pakistan India
Responsible Responsible
Reference Organization: Organization:
Responsibilities Standards Pakistan Quality Council
National of India
Accreditation
Council
(Status) (Status)

Number of ISO 17025 3 400

accredited
Laboratories

Number of ISO Guides 62,66 2 14

accredited
Certification
Agencies
Quality Auditor ISO 17022 Nil Nil
Registration

Accreditation ISO Guide 58/61 In Process Yes

Body’s own
competence and
Adoption

Prognosis of above table clearly point towards the lack of performance of PNAC
(Pakistan National Accreditation Council).
Due to poor performance of this important government organization, weak
accreditation has resulted in untrustworthy ISO’s certification. This in turn has affected
the following aspects:
• Low creditability of certification agencies

15
 • Testing facilities
• Inspection agencies
• Un-regulated quality culture
• Poor reputation 16

14. Recommendations

The analysis and appraisal of the National and Global scenario clearly leads to following
recommendations:
• National Performance Improvement Committee. There must be a pool of
national experts in key industrial and social sectors drawn from across the country
on merit basis. The committee should provide top class expertise for creating a
vision and guidance to all the government organizations. The members of the
council should be selected purely on professional and leadership grounds.

• Development of Public Sector Institutions. The GOP should try to focus on

developing clear and concise mission statements and set goals/target for public
sector institutions. This conceptual orientation will guide both the strategic
direction of the organization and shake the day to day decisions about what the
departments do and how they do it.

• Differentiation of Performance and Output. There should be clear demarcation

between these two aspects. The performance report should be accepted if the
source of collecting and reporting is reliable. It should invariably be related to
organizational goals and objectives. The name of the game is ‘Performance
Audit’.

16
“Quality, Productivity and Standards” by Working Group for MTDF.

16
• Public Accountability. All government organizations/institutions should be open
to public scrutiny and accountability through the competent bodies such as
parliamentary committees on various facets of government activities.

• Restructuring of Regulatory Mechanism. Traditional regulatory policy should

be restructured into softer approaches for the purpose of promoting
competitiveness and ensuring protection of environment and overall safety of the
society.

• Use of Information Technology. This powerful tool of governance will help our
government executives to break down isolatory layers and expedite the delivery
of services. New management system can transform our government. It will not
only make it more productive but also cut the cost of government.

• Adoption of Customer first Approach. The quality organizations must learn to

listen to the customers and help customers articulate their needs. Public sector
department need to restructure their basic and routine functions to meet the
customer need.

• Redefine the role of Auditors. Performance auditors should change their

approach from pure inspection and auditing to helping the government
departments to learn to perform better

• De-regulation and Empowerment. Federal and provincial Government should

empower public agencies and institutions. Time tested principle of “authority
commensurate with responsibility” should never be lost sight of.
• Re-engineering the Work and Office routines. The organizations should re-
examine their programs and routines with a view to eliminating duplication of
efforts and giving up obsolete ways of doing business.

17
 • Facilitation of Economic Activity. Favorable environment should be created for
public and private sector companies for their growth and expansion in the world
market.

• Support Entrepreneurial Activity. The GOP should make an endeavor to be in-

step with global developments in the realm of business and public policy. Support
positive initiatives required for industries and firms to continuously adapt and
adjust their organizations and structures. For this we need to implement policies
which move from conformity to competitiveness

15. Conclusion

TQM is a strategy of continuous improvement and change. Total Quality Management

is not a very simple journey, nor a short one. Becoming a department where quality
becomes a way of life is a tough task, but it is worth the effort as the pressure from the
marketplace make the quality improvement essential not only for the success but for the
survival as well.
The extent to which various public sector organizations the values, principles and
practices of TQM are variable in the extreme. In actual there is more talk than action so
far. Many organizations still have no clear idea of the potential and purpose behind
utilizing TQM. There are definite signs of eagerness on the part of public managers to
move faster. The lack of organization-wide leadership, in quality is however the main
stumbling block. It is too early to tell how our citizens would react and perhaps even
would care to react on the direct benefits resulting from the government’s quality
initiatives. Nevertheless the race for quality in government sector organizations is far
from over; it has just begun.
Total Quality Management will lead to growth in GDP, exports and economic
development. The applications of these strategies would help us to create a responsive
and innovative government. The key point is to inject market mechanisms into federal
agencies by creating new dynamics throughout the public sector.

18
 Bibliography

1. Tichey, N. (1983). Managing Strategic Change. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

2. Mathew, S. (1973). "Total Quality Management in the Industrial Sector," National

Productivity Review.

3. Hill Stephen, (1991). "Why Quality Circles failed but Total Quality management
might succeed." British journal of industrial relations.

4. James R. Evans and William M. Lindsay “The Management and Control of

Quality”. Sixth Edition.

5. Dale H. Besterfield, Carol Besterfield-Michna, Mary Besterfield-Sacre and Glen

H. Besterfield. “Total Quality Management”. Third Edition

6. “Top Management Commitment for TQM-A Process Model” by Nadeem Yousaf

7. “Quality, Productivity and Standards” by Working Group for MTDF.

8. “Total Quality in Government-Issues and Realities” by Dr. Ali Sajid

9. “An Overview on Implementing TQM in Developing Countries” by

Kamran Moosa, Head Pakistan Institute of Quality Control

10. “Gaining Perspectives: the future of TQM in Public sectors” by Madhav N. Sinha

11. “TQM Implementation in Pakistan-Revolutionary Vs Evolutionary Approach”

by Dr. Jamshed Khan.

19