Performance Improvement for a More Effective Training Program

JRI is committed to providing the highest quality and most clinically appropriate services to the persons it serves, to ensure a culture of safety and quality in all its programs. To help Berkshire Meadows identify opportunities for improvement to their current training total quality management (TQM) will be studied.  This paper seeks to examine factors that affect training effectiveness and the importance of training effectiveness.  In addition total quality management (TQM) and training will be discussed in regards to the success of management’s commitment and leadership, continuous improvement, total customer satisfaction, training, communication and teamwork and how this impacts training and the organization.

Training and development is very important for an organization to compete with the challenging and changing world.  Training and development is basically directly related to the employee but its ultimate effect goes to the organization because the end user is the organization itself (Khan, Khan, & Khan, 2011).

Factors That Affect Training Effectiveness

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In the real world, there are many factors that influence the effectiveness of training and development in an organization. One aspect is human resource policy of training and development, which has been identified by Haywood (1992). He mentioned that too many training programs place emphasis on ease and the purpose behind the design of programs namely learning, skill development and behavioral change, and this defeats the original purpose and goals of training are lost.

Everything is affected by its surrounding weather directly or indirectly and similarly training effectiveness is also affected by many factors. Birdi (2005) found that poor managerial support or an unfavorable departmental climate could limit the impact of creativity training with regard to influencing idea implementation. Unfavorable environment affects the training effectiveness. According to him training will be affected negatively if there is less support from department or there is unfavorable condition for training.

Fischer (2011) stated that open-mindedness is also a significant moderator of training effectiveness. It has been found that trainings become more successful if the participants and trainer work with open-mindedness.  Haslinda & Mahyuddin (2009) found that lack of support from top management and peers, employees’ individual attitudes, job-related factors and also the deficiencies in training practice are the main factors which affect the effectiveness of training. Without support from top management and peers the job will not go well in addition when there is a problem on the job and there is lack of training then there is less chance of an effective training program.

Importance of Training Effectiveness

As the factors that affect training outcomes were discussed the focus will now be on the importance of training effectiveness.  Quesada, Pillar, & Berta (2011) examined that Emotional Intelligence training of the leaders is a key aspect to the success of the companies. It was found that leaders are the success pillars of a company and their training is the most important objective. Leaders must be emotionally strong to make the right decisions at the right time. Kalemci (2005) explained about the importance of training and development and how management is tremendously important in the effective management and maintenance of a skilled workforce. Training is one of the ways of improving the effectiveness of an organization.

In order to implement the right training methods, organizations should be aware of the training methods and their effectiveness. Training is “one of the most powerful processes on the earth – that of passing on your knowledge and skill to others” (Sisson, 2001, p. 1). It is “the primary means that organizations use to develop employee competence to the appropriate levels required” (Jacobs, 2003, p. 12).

“A system is the functions or activities within an organization that work together for the aim of the organization” (Evans & Lindsay, 2002, p. 48).“In Deming’s view, variation is the chief culprits of poor quality…inconsistencies in service frustrate customers and hurt companies’ reputations (Evans & Lindsay, 2002, p. 91).

When operating “in a total quality environment, employees need to understand the goal of customer satisfaction, and be given the training and responsibilities to achieve this goal” (Evans & Lindsay, 2002, p. 308). In order to be effective and ensure consistency in training, “all components of the system must work together toward the aim of the system” (Jenkins, 2003, p. 26).   “Research has shown that training results in fewer quality errors, substantial positive financial impact on the organizations, reductions in training time, and training objectives are achieved faster and more completely. Benefits far outweigh the costs” (Walter, 2002, p. 5).

Benefits of TQM and Training

“Instituting training” is one of Deming’s 14 points for total quality. However, an organization cannot take a laid-back approach to training if it desires to have a quality outcome. Total quality management (TQM) is a way of managing to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, cohesiveness, flexibility and competitiveness of a business a whole (Evans & Lindsay, 2002).

As defined by British Standard Institution, TQM consists of a “management philosophy and company practices which aim to harness the human material resources of an organization in the most effective way to achieve the objectives of the organization”.  Some researchers are skeptical of the idea of applying TQM to some institutions.  For instance, Chaston (1994) has identified obstacles, which include insufficient trust between departments and low confidence levels of ability to manage the process.

According to Harris (1994), there are three generic approaches to Total Quality Management (TQM). Firstly, there is a customer focus where the idea of services is fostered through staff training and development, which promotes choice and autonomy. The second approach has a management focus and is concerned to value and enhance the contribution of members of management to the effectiveness of an organizations operation, to the setting of policies and priorities.  This entails a flatter management structure and the acceptance of responsibility for action by defined working groups.  The third approach focuses on service agreements stance and seeks to ensure conformity to specification at certain key measurable points.  This would be the mandatory requirements of the licensures that are put on the agency.

The word quality itself stems from the Latin qua litas, which means “of what kind”. The concept is also often used in this sense: the quality of a particular fabric could be a statement about what kind of material it consists of. Another way of using the concept is to consider quality as ‘good’ as opposed to ‘bad’. It connotes a variety of meanings and implies different things to different people. Deming defines quality as “a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability at low cost and suited to market”. In general quality of customers as per specified standards desire one, which satisfies customer needs and continuously keeps on performing its functions (Evans & Lindsay, 2002).

The development of TQM is traced over different periods of evolution. Evolution of TQM as it has emerged in industries, some others identify three periods in this evolution process and others propose four stages of evolution. As Steeples (1992), conclude that there are three periods: quality control, quality assurance and total quality management. Meanwhile Garvin (1988), argues that there are four stages: inspection, statistical quality control, quality assurance, and strategic quality management.

Hansson & Klefsjö (2003) define TQM as “management strategy that has interrelated components, namely core values, techniques and tools”. Whereas according to Scrabec (2000), “TQM should be viewed as TQE (Total Quality Education). This model moves beyond customers to include society and business beyond student”.

However, Zairi & Youssef (1995), “TQM must be viewed holistically by examining management factors such as institutional goal statements, long-range plans, and assessment techniques”. Owens (2001) states that “Total and continuous quality improvement is seen as a journey not as destination and as such has no real beginning or ending”. Thus, it is a continuous effort for the management to maintain a standard in the institutions. TQM has been seen as a managerial tool to fix the problems relating to services as well as approaches in education industry and it can standardize the education industry (Venkatraman, 2007).

The emphasis of quality management at Berkshire Meadows has increased as the licensing standards and expectations are more demanding.

Management Commitment and Leadership

Direct involvement of top management allows all decisions to be made quickly and facilitate TQM.  Top management support is necessary to prove the availability of concrete actions. According to Evans & Lindsay (2002) the action can be taken to establish the quality policy, establish a quality management structure, attract a whole staff, disseminate information on quality and manage the change process.

According to Abdulaziz (2014), management must be committed to always being aware of the demand for change. Among the commitments that need to be highlighted is to renew and update key elements of the organization, make structural changes in the organization, prepare for new job specifications, resolve conflicts, ensure the involvement of members and create an effective plan to improve the administration of the organization.

According to Besterfield (2003) the skills of management can make a significant boost to staff. Management’s style highlighted by the management is able to provide a boost to staff. Management should be committed to promoting cooperation rather than competition within the organization.

Organizing requires top management leadership and commitment, promoting the participation of employees, and providing company-wide education and training. Leadership associated with clear vision and directions can foster knowledge sharing and generate commitment (NIST, 2000). Deming (1982) urges managers to institute leadership to usher the quality transformation process. Palermo & Watson (1993) argue that leaders should exhibit role model behavior, establish clear objectives and create a supportive environment.

Furthermore, Crosby (1979) stresses top management commitment as the essential element for safeguarding TQM implementation. In order to communicate quality strategy across the organization, top management should create an organizational environment that focuses on continuous improvement. Their commitment promotes the creation of clear and visible quality values, along with a management system to guide all activities of the company towards quality excellence (Rao, Solis, & Ranghunathan, 1997).

Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement can be considered as the “wheel of the organizational vehicle”. It is the effort produced by the wheels, which will make the vehicle move forward. Organizations in the past have been concerned with doing “more of the same” (Ashton & Morton, 2005) with disregard for customer feedback and markets demand. When performance decreases, organizations tend to double their efforts in “doing more of the same”. According to Suzaki (1987), the approach is called “Local optimization” where different groups within same organization focus on their own area of interest. This is thought to be due to lack of communication, lack of shared goals and lack of co-operation.

According to Zakuan et al. (2012) Schminth and Finnegan’s views are that continuous improvement is able to elevate the performance of an employee who is able to assist in the implementation of TQM provided that the management should reduce the command and control while the employee has to understand the organization as an interdependent system of each other. In TQM, continuous improvement assumes that everything is going well and the value can be increased either slowly or in drastic. It requires the support of all parties because it can lead to progress in their relationship with customers, innovation and organizational development (Evans & Lindsay, 2002).

Total Quality Management is a system that focuses on customer satisfaction through a concept of 'continuous improvement'. This concept emerged after the 1980s with the purpose of developing and expanding quality management strategy by adding more aspects related to quality. Most of the literature indicates that the interest in the TQM concept at the level of production began in the USA, but it was only there in theoretical terms. It has been implemented in practice in Japan after World War II in order to improve the quality of industrial production consistently and comprehensively. The growing intensity of global competition, especially from Japan, led the US to follow Japanese strategy. This happened when Hewlett-Packard criticized US chips manufacturers for poor products quality comparing with their Japanese competitors (Evans & Lindsay, 2002).

The Total Quality Management concept is one of the modern management concepts, which helped to increase the competitiveness between organizations. This has resulted from the level of customer awareness, which helps them to select a product or service of high quality and at a reasonable price. For all of these reasons, the management of most organizations encourages the adoption of a TQM concept (Evans & Lindsay, 2002).

Employee engagement increases employee commitment to the continuous quality improvement process.  Engaged employees are emotionally attached to their organization and highly involved in their job with a great enthusiasm for the success of their employer, going the extra mile beyond the employment (Markos & Sridevi, 2010). This helps the employee know more and in return they do more to make the organization successful.  Increased involvement also means more responsibility, which in turn requires a greater level of skill. This is achieved through training.

Training is an important factor that helps in making efforts toward quality improvement. Quality training includes educating and training all employees, it helps increase employees knowledge, provides information about the mission, vision and direction of the organization.

According to Besterfield (2003), an organization that demands quality and staff development, policy formulation and planning will find that training and strategic planning is not only focused on training needs now, but also training in the future. Strategic planning will result in a strategic training plan, and it can be use to predict the future training needs based on employee needs and demands of consumers.

Training is the process of enhancing the skills, capabilities and knowledge of employees for doing particular jobs. The training process molds the thinking of employees and leads to quality performance of employees (Uma, 2013).  Deming (1982) describes that the quality of work could indirectly increase employee involvement in the organization thus training can be a tool for achieving quality.

Communication is intricately linked to the quality process, yet some managers find it difficult to tell others about the plan in a way that it will be understood. An additional difficulty is filtering.  As top management’s vision of quality filters down through the ranks, the vision and the plan can lose both clarity and momentum. Thus, top management as well as managers and supervisors at all levels serve as translators and executors of top management’s directive. The ability to communicate is a valuable skill at all levels from front-line supervisor to CEO (Zakuan et al., 2012).

According Drucker, (Evans & Lindsay, 2002) a true guru of management thought and practice, “the communication gap within institutions and between groups in society has been widening steadily to a point where it threatens to become an unbridgeable gulf of total misunderstanding”. Having said that, he provides an easily understood and simple approach to help communicate the strategy, vision, and action plans related to TQM. Communication is defined as the exchange of information and understanding between two or more persons or groups. According Kouzes & Posner (2007), communication helps to allow confidence to others as well as provide encouragement and share the risks. Communication is also the willingness to listen and learn.

According to Abdulaziz (2014), teamwork can unite the entire staff of the organization in the success of quality improvement. This can be done through cooperation, commitment and participation of staff initiated by the organization.

Teamwork is important to the TQM process as it builds self-confidence, improves communication and breaks the bonds of dependency on the organization (Deming, 1982). Teamwork involves face-to-face interactions among members. According to Walter (2002), it represents a high quality and good performance of an organization as the team dominated by the requirement to implement, achieve and produce a product.

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