Quality Management

We all want to be successful; to deal effectively with demands placed on us; to gain satisfaction. We want to be better students, better professionals and mature individuals. In a nutshell we all need to understand Quality. How to bring ''Quality'' in Practice ''Quality'' holds different meanings for different people. For a teacher, it means the ability to arouse students'' interest in the subject. For a manager, it might mean the ability to get things done well. Dancer Leela Samson says, "Quality is being inspired. Throwing your heart and mind into a goal you may not achieve.

However, as eminent cardiologist, Dr. Alok Chopra puts it, "There is only apparent disagreement on how Quality applies in different fields. If one can say that what I am doing, performing, singing, painting, curing is coming from the deepest wells of my personality - one can succeed. " In order to bring Quality in Practice, we must have an understanding of what it means. At its very core, Quality is simply about: Doing what you said you would do. And doing it better every time. Philip Crosby on Quality World renowned Quality Guru, Philip Crosby, gives a simple approach to Quality Management.

We can view every interaction in our lives as having a supplier and a customer. This holds true even beyond the commercial setting. For example, if my mother asks me to clean my room, then she is the customer and I am the supplier. With this approach comes the 4 absolutes of Quality: 1 . Quality is conformance to requirements Following the same example, suppose I clean my room with great care. Thinking I have done a great Job. However, my mother''s idea of a clean room might be different. Leaving her dissatisfied. Thus clarity and agreement about the requirements must be stablished between the supplier and the customer.

I must know what my mother means when she says, "Clean the room. " Whether: a. the room has to be swept b. the articles have to be dusted c. the bed cover has to be changed Once I know the requirements, then ''Quality'' is meeting the exact requirements without any ''defect''. 2. Quality comes from prevention - not detection Quality can be established only before the task is performed. After a task is finished only analysis can be done. If while dusting, I keep thinking of my birthday party, I world to clean the room as guests will be coming in 15 minutes.

Hence I must have expertise with the broom, with the duster napkin and the ability to fold the bed neatly. This comes with practice. Hence at the core of Quality is practice. It takes years of practice before a trapeze artist can test the limits of human ability and perform the impossible. (S)he cannot afford a slip. A student must acquire skills of writing, comprehension and alertness to prepare for the exams beforehand to prevent unsatisfactory grades. Thus we must learn to think prevention. Prevention of defects. 3. The standard for Quality is Zero-Defect Zero-Defect is not perfection.

It is meeting the agreed requirements between the customer and the supplier without any gap. That is why the first step in Quality is to clarify the requirements of the customer and agree to meet them to the exact specifications. So, if I have swept the room, dusted the articles and changed the bedcover, in 15 minutes, I have met the exact requirements of my mother and have delivered zero-defect Quality. It is important to understand that a defect in Quality is always with respect to requirements agreed between the customer and the supplier. Our aim should be doing it right the first time, every time. 4.

Quality is measured by the price of non-conformance Whenever the requirements of the customer are not met, there is a price to pay. In the world of business this price is expressed in terms of money. In other spheres of human interaction, the price takes different forms - extra effort, hassles, de- motivation, lack of recognition, frustration, failure, etc. So, if I have not delivered Quality to my mother in terms of cleaning the room, I invite her anger and pay the price of unpleasant moments. Practising these simple principles brings an immediate change in our lives. People become more satisfied with our work.

We enhance our own standards. We also work towards attaining our best. Slowly we realise that Quality is a philosophy of life, through which we make our interactions with the world more and more defect-free. When we asked school students, "What is Quality? " they came up with a very penetrating insight—"Quality is not when I pick up a banana peel from the road, when many people are watching. Quality is when I still pick it up on an empty road, when nobody is watching me. " "Quality is free", said Sir Philip Crosby. It is up to us to make it a part of our lives! Copyright Indus Quality Foundation