Quality management and business excellence, customers and stakeholders

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ongoing development of quality management, and whether the concepts being discussed can be agreed -and what influence this might have on the quality movement and quality practice. Design/methodology/approach -Literature review and meta-analysis of current trends has been used to create a conceptual basis for current quality management questions. Findings -A large part of the development of the quality concept and quality management has taken place without much consideration of what quality management really is or should be. Over time their definitions have been widened to incorporate wellbeing of society, the environment and future generations. Whereas top managers need to address all parts of business, there is a need to separate quality issues from other issues. It is believed that there is a need for quality experts and a discipline of quality management. Quality excellence with a strong customer focus should be one prerequisite to attain true business excellence. There are of course legitimate reasons to address issues as organizational and global sustainability, human rights, financial stability and environmental protection. To properly address these issues, concepts such as business management or stakeholder management might be more appropriate. Originality/value -In the paper, the point is made that there is a need for quality management focusing on its core purpose: management of quality to provide customer satisfaction. In relation to current trends of adding aspects into quality management to develop concepts that are mere dialectal variants to the original, this "back-to-basics" approach is novel.

The path to excellence of the Portuguese organisations recognised by the EFQM model

“…The literature clarifies the role of top management during this process, which was corroborated by this research. Finally, there is no clear methodology for the organisations' self-assessment; there is a lack of theoretical basis (Klefsjö, Bergquist, & Garvare, 2008), given that the development of quality management has been dominated by consulting professionals. Thus, it becomes necessary to create hypotheses that increase the knowledge of the organisations' maturity process recognised by the EFQM Excellence Model, mostly related to their motivations and state of maturity, allowing the creation of a self-assessment methodology for these organisations.…”

On the inclusion of sustainability and digitalisation in quality management – an overview from past to present

“…However, what do we actually know about the current knowledge base and organisational maturity regarding sustainability and digitalisation? Klefsjö et al (2008) pose the question of whether actors within the QM arena even agree on what we are talking about in regard to such well-used terms as customers and stakeholders and if that matters. Likewise, it is worth raising the question of whether everyone agrees on what is meant by sustainability and digitalisation and if there are any consequences for the quality field if they do not.…”

Managing Quality in Cross-cultural Settings

“…(Flynn et al, 1994) defined QM as "an integrated and inter-functional approach to achieving and sustaining high quality output for competitive advantage". Klefsjö et al (2008) emphasize that QM is a means of achieving the goal of quality excellence, and ultimately business excellence, by focusing on customers and their satisfaction.…”