TQM Wing Tai Retail
In this competitive business environment, it is mandatory for the organizations to focus on quality aspects of their products and services to sustain in the market. The most of the firms compete with each other based on quality and price that are the major factors to be successful in the market.
Regarding this, Total Quality Management (TQM) is required for the businesses to integrate the quality aspects in every department by involving the each member of the organization. The assurance of quality in business has a positive influence on the stakeholders including investors and customers that result in achieving the business goals.
For the purpose of this, a detailed analysis of the critical success factors (CSFs) for successful implementation of TQM is presented in first part of this report.
Apart from this, a compare and contrast study on CSFs of TQM implementation and building blocks of the Business Excellence is also presented for Wing Tai Retail Singapore, which has been the winner of Singapore Quality Award (SQA) in 2012.
In the second part of the report, it is also discussed how Wing Tai achieved SQA by using different strategies and techniques with the consideration of building blocks of the business excellence.
1. CSFs for TQM implementation & Building Blocks of the BE
1.1 Analysis of CSFs for TQM Implementation
CSF 1- Top Management Commitment: From the study of Hietschold, et al. (2014), it is determined that it is required for the employees to get top management commitment to successfully execute quality approaches under TQM approach.
It is because top management provides the support to the employees by making the resources available and guiding them through proper vision and goals. The major needs of TQM implementation are experienced HR and finance that are also arranged by the top management.
CSF 2- Visionary Leadership: Aquilani, et al. (2017) depicted that leadership plays an important role in engaging employees and involving them to adopt effective practices for quality management. A participative leadership with open communication helps to get the views and opinions of the employees and integrate them towards the implementation of the TQM approaches.
CSF 3- Education and Training: Education and training are significant factors that should be considered by the organizations to ensure the successful execution of the TQM (Munir Ahmad & Elhuni, 2014). The proper training and learning programs provided by the company help to establish a quality culture by developing their understanding of all aspects of the TQM.
CSF 4- Customer Focus: Different studies also reveal that it is more effective for the firms to develop customer focus to enhance the quality of products and services (Irfan & Kee, 2013). It is the major emphasis of the customers to purchase quality products and services as if the firms consider the needs and preferences of the customers; then it becomes mandatory for them to fulfill the quality aspects to enhance customer satisfaction.
CSF 5- Employee empowerment/involvement: It is crucial for the management to apply quality management practices with the support of low and middle-level employees. According to Kumar & Sharma, (2014), if the employees will be empowered and involved, they will be accountable for their work towards quality management implementation.
They will try to give their best to fulfill the TQM objectives. For this, top management needs to delegate authority and empower the employees to make decisions at an own level for TQM implementation.
CSF 6- Supplier quality management: For successfully implement the TQM practices, it is essential for the firms to ensure better quality by the suppliers and long-term relationship with them to enhance the product quality to gain customer satisfaction and loyalty. If the suppliers provide quality materials and supplies, then it is easy for the firms to offer quality products.
CSF 7- Process Flow Management: When the activities and associated resources are managed properly as a process, it may result in the accomplishment of the desired results. Process focus involves the designing and introduction of products and services by integrating production and delivery specifications and managing suppliers’ performance.
The information related to supplier quality management, product designing, and benchmarking and process flow management ensures better quality management (Khanna, et al. 2011).
CSF 8- Process Monitoring & Control: It is mandatory for the firm to regularly monitor the process strategies and quality management program to ensure the successful implementation of TQM. If the firm regularly monitors and controls the outcomes of TQM, then it is effective to achieve the targeted quality performance outcomes.
CSF 9- Motivation: It is a common aspect that motivational approaches have a positive impact on the attitude and perception of the employees that leads to higher performance and the accomplishment of the desired outcomes. In the case of the TQM implementation, it is also effective to establish incentive and recognition system to encourage the employees to use quality management approaches.
The use of motivation aspects is considerable for developing the belongingness and achieving commitment from the employees to execute the quality based approaches (Rezazadeh, et al. 2012).
CSF 10- Result Oriented Approach: From the research of Hietschold, et al., (2014), it is recognized that result oriented approach is crucial to get the desired results. In the concern of TQM implementation, it is mandatory for the organizations to focus on the outcomes i.e. customer satisfaction and quality offerings, and customer loyalty.
For achieving these outcomes, it is required for the organization to set the specific targets and try to achieve them.
CSF 11- Organizational Culture: It is required for the firm to establish an organizational culture which could facilitate the quality management. The culture of the organization should be oriented towards innovation, quality, teamwork, support, coordination, employee and customer satisfaction.
The consideration of all these aspects of organizational culture helps the firm to successfully implement the quality management.
Based on the above discussion on researches conducted by different authors and scholars, it can be determined that several CSFs including top management commitment, visionary leadership, process flow management and monitoring, training and customer focus enable the firms to ensure the TQM implementation successfully (Spring Singapore, 2017).
1.2 Compare and Contrast CSFs and Building Blocks
CSFs reflect the critical success factors for achieving the desired outcomes whereas the building blocks of the Business Excellence are significant for strategic direction and perception towards the excellence. The building blocks are the elements of the Business Excellence framework that provides standards to achieve the business excellence.
These building blocks are categorized into leadership, planning/strategy, information/knowledge, people, processes, customers, and results. There is quite a similarity between the CSFs of TQM and building blocks of the Business Excellence (Zairi & Alsughayir, 2011).
Building blocks alike CSFs of TQM are required for TQM implementation. Apart from this, both interrelate to each other and have a significant relationship. The relationship between the CSF for TQM implementation and building blocks can be summarized as below table:
| Critical Success Factors of TQM | Building Blocks |
| CSF 1, CSF 2 | Leadership |
| CSF 11 | Planning/Strategy |
| CSF 3 | Information/knowledge |
| CSF 5, CSF 9 | People |
| CSF 7, CSF 8 and CSF 6 | Processes |
| CSF 4 | Customers |
| CSF 10 | Results |
Based on the above table, it can be stated that CSFs for TQM implementation and building blocks of the Business Excellence are interconnected with each other. For example, the building block namely customer is similar with the CSF named as customer focus, while leadership building block is concerned with the top management commitment and visionary leadership.
But at the same time, there are some differences between CSF s for TQM implementation and building blocks. It is because building blocks of the business excellence are used to measure the performance level of the firm to decide whether the company can achieve the SQA or SQC awards (Zakuan, et al. 2012).
On the other hand, CSFs for TQM implementation is required to meet the requirements of quality maintenance in products and services by the firms. CSFs are the basic needs to perform the quality management whereas building blocks are considered to determine what extent the company has performed quality management practices at different levels.
These building blocks are allocated with particular scores that reflect the level of business performance regarding quality management.
2. Identification of the company that has achieved SQA
2.1 Tools and techniques used for achieving the SQC or SQA level
In the retail industry of Singapore, Wing Tai Retail has won Singapore quality award in the year 2012. During this, the quality standard of the company was found at the world class level. In the success of the company, the performance of the various factor was important.
In the financial year 2001, the company was identified as the Iconic Customer Centric organisation. Wing Tai Retail was founded in 1955 in Hong Kong. It was registered in Singapore Stock Exchange in 1989. At the end of the financial year 2012, the total revenue of the company was calculated $419 million.
The company uses the various tools and techniques to manage the coordination of the business activities. Along with this, it is also helpful for the company to retain exiting and become new customers (Brun, 2011). By the study of the company, it is found that Singapore Government developed significant strategies, rules, and regulation. It helps the company to conduct the business activities effectively.
In order to develop quality service, Wing Tai got the help of the building blocks including the leadership, customer satisfaction, planning and employees etc. As the organisational perspective, there is a vital importance of Singapore Quality
Award in the business environment because it depicts the quality performance of the company to satisfy the customers. In the same concern of this, Wing Taint is also greatly involved in the corporate social responsibility activities that are help for the company to develop a good image front of the market (Das, et al. 2011).
Leadership
The involvement the leader in the quality management is important to provide the customers satisfaction. For this, the company focuses on business formula as providing the service excellence and innovation that help the company to provide the better service to customers. In order to improve the performance the company, the company uses the retail ERP and shop walks technology. Along with this, the company also developed the significant system to manage the feedback by the customers.
In regard of this, leaders do meeting and developed strategies. Leaders of the company concern on the feedback through the operations meeting, training review, breakfast meeting, shop walks, Mystery audits and social media. The term leadership includes the general managers of the various branches of the company in the different locations (Goetsch and Davis, 2014).
However, it does not affect the efficiency of the company because the main objective of all the unities is to follow the mission of the company.
In the contrast of the organisation cultural, it is found that the organisational culture focuses on the vision, mission, and value of the organisation that is important to achieve the organisational goals and objectives.
Wing Tai concerns on the 3 E’s that are Engagement, Empowerment, and Endorsement. Corporate social responsibility of the company shows that company provides fund the child education.
Planning
Wing Tai Retails is also well known in the contrast of the strategic planning process. It is a kind of the business cycle that allows the company to improve the business process.
Initially with the organisational mission and vision, the company makes the strategies to achieve the organisational goals. Along with this, the company also developed and implemented that several strategies to monitor and review the quality of the produce and service that company produces.
The mission and vision of the company are communicated with the strategic business units. In Wing Tai, the organisational strategies regarding to maintenance and increase the quality are communicated yearly (Hietschold, et al. 2014). It is helpful for the company to improve the performance in the context of the quality.
In additionally, it is also identified that Wing Tai work very closely with its business partners. It clearly communicates also innovations and change in the process with its shareholder and investors that are helpful to prevent the issues. Since 2007, the retail company Wing Tai organise an annual strategic meeting.
In this meeting, all the key persons of the company are invited and they discussed the important topics that can affect the quality of the company (Clegg, et al. 2010). In the business environment, it can be seen that quality of the good and service affects the customer satisfaction.
Information
Information is also an important point in the Singapore quality award. It depicts that how much a company is effective in the contrast of the gathering the data and information related to organization outcomes & directions.
It is also important for Wing Tai to develop and implement the competitive strategies. In regard of this, it is found that Wing Tai maintained an effective information system that makes able the company face any quality issue effectively.
In order to analyze the available data, Wing Tai uses the knowledge management lifecycle. It is an effective way in the context of reliability of the system Cooper, R. G., & (Kleinschmidt, 2011).
People
People refer to the human resource planning that is the main factor in the success of an organisation. Wing Tai identifies that employees of the company as the human resource are most valuable for the company.
It is because it is difficult to operate the business without the present of the human resource. In order to manage the activities of the employees, companies have human resource management that allows the company to minimise the cost of the human resource (Zeng, et al, 2011). In the same concern of this, Wing Tai also has effective human resource management that helps the company manage the human activity effectively.
The human resource planning of the company is commendable. It provides the right work to the right person that is important to improve the quality of the service. During the study of the company is also analysed that in the organisational activities, employees’ engagement is good. It means that employees support and welcome to each decision of the management.
At the same time, it is also identified that in the contrast of the improving the existing skills and developing the new skills, Wing Tai develop and implement the training and development that helps the company to improve the efficiency and quality of the human resource.
In additionally, in order to keep the employees satisfied, company has developed a reward and incentive system on the base of the employees’ performance that satisfy the employees at the great level (Yeo, 2009). However, the company has strict policies in order to measure and analysis the employees’ performance. It uses the Graphic Rating Scales, 360-Degree Feedback, and Self-Assessment.
Processor
Wing Tai Retail’s innovation process is effective to value creation of the company in the retail industry. It attracts the people on the outside of the store and inside of the store.
The company has strong strategy in order to manage lots of the business process that includes the marketing and CRM, store operations, brand management and visual merchandising processes. Along with this, the organisational strategy framework is based on the customer centric focused and human capital and productivity (Ooi, et al, 2011).
The innovation management process of the company can be understood through the above diagram. It supports the values creation while balancing the innovation with stability.
Customers
In Singapore, customers trust on Wing Tai Retail chain. Due to this, the company is successful to achieve enough sales in the market. The company’s customer focus strategy is fully relevance with the organisational goals, objective, mission and objectives.
In the reference of the customer requirement, Wing Tai has developed customers’ segmentation from tradition produce and brand basis. The company focuses on the customer need, fashion, requirement and customer relationship management. The company continuous makes changes in its customer handling strategy according the customers and fashion trends.
Wing Taint determines the customer contract requirement at its stores by the help of the ongoing review of store operation process. At the same time, in the context of the customers’ satisfaction, the company determines its service through the various channels such as performance indices, customers’ satisfaction index of Singapore and awards and recognition (Long, et al. 2010).
Result
The below figure depicts the different platforms and results of Wing Tai Retail in the reference of the quality management.
By the help of the above diagram, it can be identified that the company has been successful to achieve an advantage with the side of customers’ results, financial results, people results, and operational result.
2.2 Quality of effectiveness to apply CSFs of TQM to achieve SQC or SQA
There is the significant role of CSFs of TQM to gain the SQC and SQA awards because in Singapore, the quality of DSF is an essential factor to achieve SQA award. The application of the CSF of TQM in the terms of the key employees, executives, training, customer etc is significant to get the Singapore quality award.
At the same time, it is also observed that there is a significant relationship between the building blocks and CSFs of TQM implementation to win the SQA. In the context of Wing Tai, it is also analysed that the role of both factors has been important to get SQA.
The CSFs are helpful to evaluate the different strategies and approaches in the regard of quality management. It is also helpful to determine the quality of the good and services.
Simultaneously, the SQA depicts that organisational ability to manage the good and service quality in the business environment (Kuo, et al. 2009). The SQA is given to a company for the meeting of all the aspect of the quality of the good and service. Hence, it is important for Wing Tai Retail to concerns on the quality of the implementation of the CSFs that will help to gain the SQA again in future.
On the basis of above discussion, it can be said that there are various factors that are important in the achieving the SQA award that factors are leadership, information, planning, process, people, customers and results. The quality of the good and service of the company is evaluated on the basis of these above factors.
Moreover, it is also summarised that there are several ways to concern on the innovation like as organizational and personal learning and customer driven quality etc that are focused by the Wing Tai to gain the SQA.
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