Article

Total Company-Wide Management System: Case Studies

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Abstract

For organizations to be successful, the use of well-structured management systems (MSs), a quality management (QM) approach and continuous improvement (CI) methodologies, such as Lean Six Sigma (LSS), are essential. In many industries, CI methodologies and MSs are separately implemented, either formally or informally. The effective integration of MSs with CI interventions ensures strategic alignment of all activities and provides an industry with a competitive advantage. LSS is a modern and widely accepted methodology for CI. It can fit under the umbrella of total quality management (TQM), as both methodologies share the goals of pursuing customer satisfaction and business profit. MSs are structured approaches to manage the various aspects of business in an organization. Recently, different MSs have gained more attention as they form a critical infrastructure for improving and controlling the different areas of operating an organization. Classically, different CI methodologies are implemented without being properly integrated with MSs. This is one of the main reasons why lots of implementation efforts of CI methodologies fail. The recently proposed Total Company-Wide Management System (TCWMS) is a comprehensive system that represents a new evolution in QM and covers different aspects of the management disciplines including strategic management, initiative management, process management, daily management and performance management. It provides a solid structure and a foundation for all activities of a business, core value chain and value-enabling activities to ensure the proper alignment of all people and processes. This will lead to the optimization of resources and enhancement of performance. In this paper, this integration is illustrated in a practical way through two empirical case studies, at Company A and Company B. These case studies will demonstrate and prove quantitatively, how effective the TCWMS integration is, through the comparison of both the pre-application status and the post-application status. This paper will discuss the two case studies, including survey results of employees in an effort to verify the theoretical TCWMS model.

Keywords: leadership, lean manufacturing/Six Sigma, management, manufacturing, project management, quality, quality control

How to Cite:

Salah, S., Rahim, A. & Carretero, J. A., (2010) “Total Company-Wide Management System: Case Studies”, Journal of Industrial Technology 26(1).