Safety and health policy of the Unit operation laboratory Research Paper

Safety and health policy of the Unit operation laboratory - Research Paper Example Such a policy should be clear, easy to understand, guarantee a safe and healthy environment, and should relate to job requirements and responsibilities of any party in an organization. Additionally, it reflects in the way the management prioritizes and focuses on health and safety issues (Health, Safety and Environment Office). Management commitment Safety and health policy It is the core duty of the management to ensure high value of the safety and health of its employees and other stakeholders. This entails the provision of a safe workplace with better health conditions with an aim of preventing injury and illness. Actually, the safety and health policy is an initiative that involves the management, supervisors, and employees of a given organization seeking to curb, identify, and eliminate all safety and health risks that accrue in a working environment. The basis of the safety and health policy is the declaration by the management that the health and safety of all parties is supre me in an organization. ... loyees should take necessary precautionary measures, promote and maintain safety in the workplace, and take requisite actions towards eliminating any safety and health risks. Additionally, the management bears the responsibility of formulating and providing the necessary resources for the communication and implementation of the policy. Moreover, the management establishes a safety committee, trains employees, and supervisors on the provisions of the policy, and ensures unity of purpose in its implementation. At the same time, the management establishes a system for identifying and responding to safety risks and subsequently creates a disciplinary policy to guarantee total compliance to the safety and health principles as enshrined in the policy. Indeed, OSHA states that the commitment to safety and health starts with management. Indeed, it recommends a number of actions to the management to prove commitment to the health and safety policy in an organizatio n. It recommends that the management should clearly state and communicate the objective of the safety and health policy to all parties of a reference organization. The management should equally involve its employees in making decisions that will influence their safety and health in the organization. In addition, OSHA relevantly recommends that the management provide the requisite moral, technical, and financial support relating to the establishment and implementation of the policy. Furthermore, the management should involve, assign, communicate, and authorize respective safety and health responsibilities to all departmental heads and staff. In addition, OSHA recommends that the management should hold all employees accountable for discharging their safety and health responsibili ­ties.

History of Childcare Essay Example for Free

History of Childcare Essay History of Childcare Institutions and Qualifications During this essay I will be outlining the history of childcare institutions and qualifications and how they have developed in relation to the needs of the country, family needs and society. I will be looking at the following occupations wet nurses, governesses, nannies and nursery nurses and how qualifications have developed within these roles. I shall them to the qualifications of the present day and how gender and social class have impacted on these professions. Also I shall consider how the curriculum content has changed to meet the demands of the ever changing role of the childcare worker and how it relates to my teaching practice currently and in the future. When focusing on childcare a fundamental starting point is considering the role of the wet nurse and why she was popular and in demand. Wet nursing can date back as far as Moses. When the princess found baby Moses floating down the Nile she asked Miriam to find a wet nurse. In Ancient Egypt poor women used to supplement their income by becoming wet nurses for the upper class citizens or mothers who could not produce enough milk. Contracts were drawn up between them to â€Å"ensure the wet nurse provided good milk; preventing the wet nurse from nursing other children, having sex, or becoming pregnant† (history-wet-nursing, 2011). In many cultures wet nurses were an ancient tradition, for example within the Chinese culture, before the Second World War, wet nursing was common practice. The Communists tried to outlaw the practice but in the 21st century it has become a status symbol and due to the melamine milk scandal this ancient profession has seen a revival. Wet nurses in China today must leave their own children, maintain a special diet, and undergo training in certain cases. Furthermore, if the babies that they nurse do not grow 20 grams each day, the wet nurses are fined by their employers. † (history-wet-nursing, 2011) During the Victorian era it was common place for the upper classes to employ a wet nurse as once more this was seen as a status symbol. Other reasons were that women of this era were usually married to authoritarian husbands who believed that breast feeding interfered with sex and the women themselves assumed that it would disfigure their breasts. Furthermore, during this time infant mortality was high and upper class families were encouraged to have large families to ensure the survival of an heir. Breast feeding provided a form of contraception and prevented ovulation thus, spacing out pregnancies. It wasn’t uncommon for babies to be sent to a wet nurse’s home for 18 to 24 months in order for the mother to become pregnant again. Often a wet nurse could be feeding many children including their own (sometimes to their detriment) and was either paid as well as a labourer or received nothing at all. Morisot, The Wet Nurse (1880) According to Valerie Fildes there were three types of wet nurses â€Å"the parish nurse who took in parish infants and was usually receiving poor relief herself; the nurses of the London Foundling Hospital who worked under the supervision of inspectors; the privately employed nurse, for whom wet-nursing was a significant and continuing occupation for which she received a good wage both in money and in kind: often she was cared for by her nurse-children in later life and received the occasional bequest from them. † (Fildes, 1988, p. 43) The qualities required for a wet nurse by the Victorians were worked out in enormous detail. She should have an attractive face, clear eyes, well made nose, red mouth, white teeth and a deep chest. The shape of her breasts was very important and their size shape and colour were all taken into account. She should also have a good personality, speak well, not be pregnant or desire the company of her husband. The reasons for these specific qualities were that it was thought that they would be transferred through the breast milk to the child (Fildes, 1988). By the middle of the 19th century wet nurses had virtually disappeared although isolated examples still existed (Churchill had a wet nurse). Surprisingly, wet nursing is making a reappearance in society today, there are wet nursing agencies where mothers can employ a wet nurse. Within society today, a woman may choose this option due to health reasons for example extreme illness or disease such as AIDS, an inability to produce breast milk or multiple births. What is more, this privilege is still confined to the upper and middle classes of society who have the means to pay. However, during the Victorian era this may have been seen as common practice but during this century it is quite often seen as a taboo subject,as pregnant mothers are given information about the benefits of breastfeeding from health professionals who actively encourage new mothers to conform with this practice. Alongside this there is the pressure from government initiative and more detailed research, that are changing the ideology of society thinking dismissing the Victorian idea of wet nursing as a status symbol. When comparing the person specification of the wet nurse in the 19th century to today’s wet nurses, it appears that there are some similarities such as being in good health, not smoking or consuming alcohol. Today, they are also vetted and tested for transferable diseases due to the fact more is understood about these by society and health professionals. Furthermore, wet nurses need to have a baby of a similar age in order for the milk to be of the right constitution and they would usually live or work in the employer’s home whereas previously they would have been taken to the wet nurses home. Following on from the wet nurse there is the emergence of nannies. The history of nannies can be traced back as far as the seventeenth century. The English nanny was an institution and was most popular during the 18th century. She is often portrayed in books and films as a kind, gentle woman who children adored; in fiction such as Jayne Eyre, Mary Poppins and more recently Nanny McFee. Before training developed nannies were often what were known as â€Å"gentlewomen† who had fallen on hard time and had to support themselves. They saw being a nanny as a solution to their predicament. Not all nannies were kind, some were extremely cruel. The nanny usually had a great deal of power and responsibility within the home; she had her own quarters to look after the children usually at the top of the house. The upper classes, employed nannies in order for them to continue their leisurely life style. Children at the time were also viewed as they should be â€Å"seen and not heard† and parents left it to the nanny to have total care and responsibility for their upbringing. Parents only spent a short time in the day with them accompanied by the nanny. The nanny would usually have a nursery maid to assist her who would do the menial tasks such as preparing meals and laundry. On the whole, nannies learned from other nannies and progression was usually nursery – maid, nursemaid or under nurse, sometimes a period of working as a second nanny, and then finally a nanny in her own right. In 1892 the first training college was set up by Emily Ward. She ran a school for young children in Norland Place and recognised the need for training. She was one of the earliest advocates of the Froebel system of teaching which was based on the approach â€Å"that all children are born good, and that to help them develop, adults need to provide the right environment and activities. These protect the child from learning bad habits of â€Å"evil tendencies†(Tassoni, 2006, p19). Emily Ward found that many of the students who went to her for training were not academic and found the Froebel examination too difficult despite her students being very practical and having a great love of children. Emily Ward recognised that if the students could be trained, not only would it benefit the children but would provide a new profession for girls of the educated classes. Students were charged a fee of thirty six pounds which covered six months training. The students were also expected to wear a uniform which Emily Ward thought would identify them as professionals and not have them mistaken for housemaids. This leads me to believe that originally the role the nanny was seen for women to earn a respectable living when they found themselves to be in a financial predicament rather than needing a formal qualification. However, during the latter stage of the 19th century the introduction of a formal qualification and fee for training transformed nanning into a profession, but still only allowed educated middle class, girls the opportunity. The students training was broken down into the following:- â€Å"Three fortnights for cooking, laundry, and domestic work, and six weeks spent in the Norland Place School, looking on at lessons, and giving help to the teachers. † (Gibbs, 1960, pg 178) Lectures given in the morning and the afternoons were spent exercising (walks in the fresh air), the evenings were for learning needlework. The second three months were spent in hospital training and the students were then given one month’s holiday before taking a post in a private family as a children’s nurse. If the employer was happy with the student she would continue for another three months and only then would the Norland Certificate be awarded. By today’s standards training was centred around domestic science rather than understanding the child and how they develop, which would confer with the ideology of woman’s role within society at that time as the traditional housewife. However, at a glance nanny’s of today are still required to fulfil domestic duties such as cooking and laundry but this is not curricular based but, has more emphasis on the development of the child. By 1904 the training changed slightly as it was realized that students needed to gain practical experience to do their job and a small nursery was set up overseen by experienced children’s nurses with the students acting as under-nurses. This practice was highly regarded by employers when the students obtained posts, and is seen favourably and useful by employers today. By 1924 fees had risen to eighty pounds and the college expanded. During the Second World War the college and nursery evacuated to Devon, but many of the students gave up their training and joined the women’s services. After the war the college relocated to Chislehurst and students began training again. The course itself was extended from six months to twenty one months and included â€Å"domestic science, educations training, residential nursery training and a hospital nurse course. Students were also taught story-telling and games for the under-fives. (Gibbs, 1960, pg 180) Great emphasis was placed within the training on the needs of the small child, students gained experience of this from working in the nursery attached to the college and nursery schools and infant welfare centres outside of the college. An examination was also introduced at the end of the twenty one month’s the National Nursery Examination Board qualification or NNEB. However, the Norland Certific ate was only awarded to students who had completed one year’s satisfactory work in post which had been agreed by the Principal. Only two years were allowed from the end of training to obtain the full certificate. The college also encouraged students to stay in touch with them for at least three years after completing their certificate. They did this to ensure they could follow the career of each student and ensure that the standard of the college could be maintained. Norland nannies were well respected and there was a constant demand in private posts, nurseries and for posts as school matrons. Norland College was the first training college to open in 1892 and later other colleges began to appear. The Princess Christian Training College for Nursery Nurses opened in Manchester in 1901 under the direct patronage of the Princess Christian (third daughter of Queen Victoria). She suggested that instead of hospital training, a course of home nursing should be introduced. She also felt very strongly that a nurse should be forbidden to punish children herself. The need for training colleges was recognised by the Gentlewomen’s Employment Association (1891), Princess Christian was one of its patrons. Like the Norland College it provided employment for gentlewomen who needed to earn a living at a time when it was not generally acceptable. The Princess Christian College’s training duration was nine months unlike Norland’s six months and was hard and rigorous. Students had to be on duty at six and complete washing and cleaning before breakfast at seven. They had evening lectures and sewing after supper, no holidays and half a day off each week. The college also had testimonial books which recorded each nurse’s career, including a principal’s report and at the end of her training and a reference from her last employer. There is a stark contrast to the training that was provided in 1904 to the qualification we see today. Although there is still a strong emphasis on work based training the standard of the qualification is not as robust as in the 19th and early 20th century and this could be because students are being accepted onto courses with a required level of education and the demands of the role have changed. During the First World War The Princess Christian College ran into financial difficulties and in May 1918 closed. The college reopened again in 1919 in new premises but closed again at outbreak of the Second World War in order for children to be evacuated. After the war the college reopened and reorganised its syllabus and training to cover the changes in social conditions. Training was extended to eighteen months and covered the NNEB requirements (Gibbs, 1960). At the time Mary Ann Gibbs wrote her book â€Å"The Years of the Nannies† (1960) the fees for the eighteen month course at Princess Christian College was ? 270 for a resident student and ? 140 for a non-resident student. Bursaries and local authority grants were available for less well off students. The syllabus in 1960 included:- daily nursery work with babies and small children, instruction in the planning and preparation of infant diets, training in the milk kitchen, general cookery and nutrition, laundry and housewifery, needlework with design and care of children’s clothes, hygiene and physiology and the model nursery. † (Gibbs, 1960, Pg 190) The college awarded three certificates to students the first being a Probationers Certificate on completion of satisfactory training and a Nurse’s Certificate for two years satisfactory work, dating from the ranting of the Probationers Certificate. Finally, the student would be awarded The Special Certificate with Badge for three year’s satisfactory work, dating from the granting of the Nurse’s Certificate. After a student had completed her training she had quite a wide range of employment opportunities such as working as a nanny, working in day and residential nurseries, working with disabled children, school matron, nursery nurses on maternity wards and in passenger liner nurseries. A Night Nurse at The Princess Christian Training College Students who completed their training at the training colleges usually found employment through the college or through advertisements in women’s journals, or professional journals. One of those journals was â€Å"Nursery World† which was first launched in 1925 and is still used by our students today. The other was â€Å"The Lady† first published in 1885 which advertised many employment opportunities for nannies. Nannies are still very much in demand today, their role has changed in that they work closely with parents respecting their views and wishes and are more usually employed by working parents. They are required to be trained to Level 3 and most will have had experience with babies. In contrast, nannies back in the eighteenth century would always live with the family, whereas nannies now can live out. They also have the opportunity to work for families abroad and can command high salaries and additional benefits such as holidays and use of a car. [pic] Advertisements’ from Careers and Vocational Training 10th Edition The role of the nanny was important but you cannot overlook the role of the governess in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. She is portrayed in fiction as a lonely, somewhat stern figure yet many women entered this profession. She would have been a well educated middle-class woman who like the nanny had to provide a living for herself. In Victorian times women were seen as the responsibility of men her husband, father or brother. When they were unable to provide financially for her, working as a governess was seen as socially acceptable. There was a high demand for governesses in he Victorian era (despite the expansion of public school education for boys and public school for the masses) especially if they were competent in teaching math’s and science. â€Å"The census of 1851 showed that there were 24,770 governesses in England and Wales. † (Hudson, 1970, p45) The greatest qualification of the governess was having a good background fitting in with the correct social class. She was required to write a letter of application in order for the family to consider her suitability. Many families l isted subjects they required their governess to teach. â€Å"Wanted, a Governess, on Handsome Terms. Governess – a comfortable home, but without salary, is offered to any lady wishing for a situation as governess in a gentleman’s family, residing in the country, to instruct two little girls in music, drawing, and English; a thorough knowledge of the French language is required. †( Advertisement, The Times. (London: 27 June, 1845). The upper class families still continued to educate their children at home and it was down to the family to decide when their children would enter the school room. In order to ensure their employability they sought to improve their education and this lead them gaining a footing in higher education. During the nineteenth century, professional books and journals were printed for governesses to use. These were read among other teachers and concerned parents to share educational practices and lessons, and keep The Governess them informed of the changing educational reform in the Victorian era. In 1843 The Governesses’ Benevolent Institution was formed and it helped educate governesses and provided aid for retired or out of work governesses in and around London. It also provided a registry for governesses and families seeking a governess to place their information. This was similar to an employment agency today. Along with this and pressure from the governesses the institute expanded and included a college for governesses to study and improve their education. A donation from the Prince and Princess of Wales enabled funding for free night classes. The Queens College was founded in 1848 and its goal was to provide qualifications for governesses, it provided â€Å"Lectures for Ladies† from which at the end of study they received a Diploma. Almost all the lectures were given by men from Kings College, and older women known as â€Å"Lady Visitors† attended to act as chaperones to the female students. It is clear that despite considerable changes from the era of the wet nurse there is still a vast divide between what is considered beyond the realms of the woman as it is the man that is considered able to lecture in the core subjects whilst the woman is only expected to understand and deliver to her charges. The Queens college was seen as an institution offering higher education for women. In the last decade of the nineteenth century the Queens College and The House of Education developed a curriculum specifically for the training of governesses and this saw a drastic change in the profession of the governess. Families now wanted to employ governesses with certificates and training in education rather than, be qualified solely by their family background. We must take into account that at this time education for girls was seen as less important and it was not until the 1900 that attitudes changed when girls started to enter public high school and boarding schools and this resulted in the decline of the governess. Governesses are still employed today but their role has changed. Today they need to hold a degree and at least two years experience as an educator. They may live with the family or live out. They usually have sole charge of the children’s education although in some cases they may just supplement the child’s education. This could be coaching a child to obtain their eleven plus, or providing additional help for specific subjects, or in all subjects, with the goal of preparing students to apply to and be accepted into good colleges. They may also be employed if a family moves to another country so that children can learn the language or maintain the education that correlates to their native country. The profession is still largely female orientated despite the pay and conditions being good. This could be due to several factors such as living in the employer’s home and societies view of a male in a governess role. The Second World War saw an increase in day nurseries as men went away and women were called upon to take over the work left to do at home. The Ministry of Health organised and supervised this provision. In view of this more nursery nurses needed to be trained and in January 1944 The National Nursery Examination Board was formed and they established an examination for all nursery nurses. The first examination was taken in 1946. The syllabus and training has changed considerably over the years, notably in 1965, the age range was extended to seven years of age, before this students trained to work with children up to five years. This decision was prompted by the increase use of classroom assistance in primary schools and the Plowden Report’s (1967) recommendation that nursery nurses should be used for this position. â€Å"In 1975 the Bullock Report, A Language for Life made the same recommendation that nursery nurses should be used as trained assistants and work alongside teachers in helping language development in young children. (Herrman, 1979, p. 21). After the Second World War provision that was put in place for childcare was not expanded further. This was partly due to men needing jobs that women had done in the war, and society’s view that women should be in the home looking after their children. The 1950’s saw the beginning of Playgroups, these were parent co-operatives formed in private homes or community halls. They started in order to fill the gap in nursery provision for three and four year olds. â€Å"In 1961 Belle Tutaev wrote to the Guardian offering help to anybody who wanted to start up a playgroup. She received letters from all over the country and playgroups burgeoned and grew. † (Dean, 2005, Pg 13) The Pre-School Playgroup Association (PPA) was set up in 1962, â€Å"the aims of the organisation at first were two-fold: mutual support for those running groups and also the lobbying of government to emphasise the importance of pre-school provision and to seek the withdrawal of Circular 8/60 which prevented state nursery expansion. † (PLA Factsheet) Playgroups relied heavily on voluntary staff and on mothers to provide play activities for the children. Many of these volunteers were untrained due to lack of funding. This restricted their work opportunities and workers were given little recognition. An additional reason for unqualified staff was that until the Children’s Act 1989 playgroups had little statutory guidance or regulation. Those playgroups that were affiliated with the PPA did have access to training (short courses in play work) if they were able to fund it. The PPA in 1991 established themselves as training providers under the National Council for Vocational Qualifications. Other childcare provision between 1946 and 1990 such as private nurseries and local authority nurseries continued to employ NNEB qualified staff or equivalent. In 1990 there were various childcare qualifications that students were able to study. The main qualifications for nursery nursing were the NNEB, BTEC National Diploma and the Certificate in Post-Qualifying Studies (CPQS). The NNEB being the longest established and well known was still a requirement for some posts but it did not give a valid entry into higher education. However, the BTEC National Diploma was thought to be more academic and allowed students to progress onto more advanced education and training being the equivalent of â€Å"A† Levels. When you look back at the history of the NNEB it was not set out to be a qualification that would allow progress to higher education although comparing it to today’s CACHE Level 3 Diploma it was a lot more rigorous. The selections of qualifications were many and in 1991 a system of National Accreditation was introduced to link qualifications. NVQ’s were introduced in 1991 in attempt to give experienced staff without a qualification a chance to achieve a Level 2 and 3. The NVQ syllabus involved students showing competence in the workplace through assessment whilst building a portfolio of knowledge evidence. This qualification in theory did fill a training gap but funding still remained an issue along with adults having to study around family commitments and also if they had the academic confidence to study. Due to the Start Right Report of 1991 by Bell in which he identified numerous routes into teaching, this was an attempt to provide a standardized route into comprehensive training and also of helping workers to progress through the qualification system. Up until 1999 qualifications remained unchanged in what were available and it left employers and students confused as to what qualification was at what level. In 1999 a new training framework was introduced (QCF) and this mapped out the levels of each qualification. This gave clear guidance for students, employers and training establishments to assess their current qualifications. In 2002 the new NVQ Level 4 was introduced *they were to provide a route for those working in senior management level or advanced practitioners† (Pugh,2001, P. 190) they were academically and practically demanding qualifications and carried 120 CATs points. This was a way of gaining entry to the Early Years Foundation Degree. In 1994 CACHE was established and merged with The National Nursery Education Board and The Council for Early Years Awards. In 2001 the National Association for Maternal and Child Welfare (NAMCW) merged with CACHE, and Her Majesty the Queen became the patron. CACHE at this point became the awarding body and offered various Childcare qualifications from Entry Level to NVQ 4. Since joining Canterbury College in February 2006 the qualifications have changed twice, with a third change is about to take place. The delivery of the courses has not changed in that students still attend placements and have to show competence. The only difference to the NNEB is that the students don’t work with children attached to the college. We have placement visitors that visit the student in their placement who assess their competence and report back to their course tutor. Level 3 students up until 2007 still had to sit an end of course exam in order to qualify as well as passing unit assignments. The qualification carried UCAS points to allow entry to university depending on the overall grade achieved. It was quite clear at the time that the grades students achieved were quite low and very few went onto university. I believe this to be for the following reasons (a) students were not properly assessed at interview and were on the wrong level of course, (b) there was a high level of turnover of staff which affected the teaching of the students and causing disaffection. There was also a big drop out rate. I remember well, my first day in the classroom, being bombarded with complaints. In 2007 CACHE reviewed the content of the syllabus as the previous syllabus was quite dated and childcare practice had changed considerably. The new syllabus carries the same format of placement and academic work and still continued to carry UCAS points. The grading of the assignments changed into a point system instead of the previous system of pass or refer. The students also have to complete a research task and a short seen scenario exam. This I feel has led to students achieving higher grades and more have gone onto university. The department has been running this Level 3 Diploma for the past three years but last year we were advised that the qualification would hange along with NVQ’s being discontinue. This has had a big impact on the department as a whole. The introduction of the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young Peoples Workforce will be the only qualification available for students to study to become childcare workers. The delivery of the course is very much based on the NVQ delivery of observed assessment and a knowledge portfolio. We have started to run a pilot group for this new qualification an d it has involved various changes in the department and in the teaching. Students now have to be allocated an assessor who has an A1 qualification and students only attend three days a week every other week. Already, this has posed problems in that the course is designed to be taught holistically and not unit led as the previous qualifications. It is designed so that the assessor and tutor work closely together. This does not work in our department as assessors are constantly out observing students leaving little time for feedback to the tutor. This makes it very difficult to support students and ensure that they are progressing. However, we have recently been informed that due to the qualification not meeting the needs of the employers and students the previous qualification will continue running for at least another year while they review the course. In conclusion, childcare and qualification has developed in line with the needs of the family and society starting with the wet nurse through to nannies and governess. It has also developed in line with government policy and the social and economic needs of the country along with current thinking of child development at the time. Childcare roles have not disappeared but still exist in a modernised way as can be seen in the reappearance of the wet nurse. The status of childcare however still remains low and this is reflected in pay and conditions. Many nurseries still don’t pay above minimum wage or provide sick pay, and often only the minimum holiday requirement. Until this is addressed the status and moral of childcare workers will not rise. There is still a culture of thinking that â€Å"anyone can look after children† and it is still a predominantly female role despite campaigns to attract male candidates. The calibre of students that is seen during interviews are on the whole, students from lower class backgrounds which could have contributed to the introduction of EMA. The fact that students don’t have to pay fees for childcare courses and its workplace element, adds to the perception that they are easy courses. The college funding system makes it very difficult to decline students who we feel not appropriate to the course, and the system makes it difficult to withdraw students who prove to be unsuitable. This does not lead to providing the best possible care for young children. Significantly and in contrast to this is that to train as a Norland Nanny today requires a student to pay full fees and this only attracts the more affluent students who want to train in the profession. Also, to employ a Norland Nanny, is seen as a status symbol by families, thus highlighting social status despite it’s qualification being the same as achieved at college. The only difference being that the Norland Certificate is achieved at the end of the course on top of the qualification and seen as a â€Å"stamp of excellence† The old range of qualifications enabled students to access the qualification that best suited their learning and training needs such as on the job training or a full time college course. The new qualification does not take these needs into account. The new qualification does not fit with young students who have no experience. This is one of the issues that has been highlighted along with the course only being a year in duration. It is quite worrying that a sixteen year old could become a fully qualified level 3 in a supervisory position with only one year of training. There are also wider issues in that the government has reduced funding, (currently there is no funding for over nineteen’s) along with the demise of EMA, making access to college less accessible for less well off students which causes a social divide. The next year will provide interesting times in childcare qualifications and a review in our own department in the teaching and delivery will provide its own challenges in that e-learning is being introduced along with apprentiships. This will mean training in the use to technology as well as new assessment methods. Staff will have to adapt their delivery of lessons as well as developing a closer working partnership with assessors, which at the current time is fragmented. There will need to be changes in the current systems in place and this will no doubt cause frustration to some staff who find adapting to change difficult. On a more positive note the updating of skills for staff will only improve the range of teaching techniques available to them, hopefully providing better outcomes for students.

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Security   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Terminology Define the following terms: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Authentication – ability to identify who it is a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ACL – (access control list) is associated w/ a given resource. Describes groups, users, machines and their permissions associated with that particular resource. i.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Token- one time only password key b.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CA- certificate of authority- creates certificates -system or entity trusted to generate and distribute digital certificates. Can be privately used or from a 3rd party e-commerce site. Verifies identity of user. Authentication method. c.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  RA- Registration Authority-issues certificates-RA verifies credentials supplied by an agent and then sends the CA an okay to issue a certificate. d.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  PKI- Public Key Infrastructure- Policies and behaviors that surround the deployment and management of key pairs. How you issue two keys at one time. e.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kerberos- Authentication method used by Microsoft. Uses 3 different protocols, listed below   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  i.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TGT- Ticket granting ticket. Allows you to request resources on the network from servers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ii.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TGS- Ticket granting server. Accesses a particular network server for tickets.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  iii. AS- Authentication Server. Equivalent to a morning check-in at security desk of a hotel. Checks the identity of a server. f.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CHAP- Challenge handshake authentication protocol. Was designed to replace the PAP. Communication between server and client proving identity. i.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MS-CHAP- Microsoft CHAP g.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  PAP- Password authentication protocol h.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  X.509- digital certificate that uniquely identifies a party. Standard structure of a certificate. i.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  KDC- Key distribution center j.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Biometrics- Authentications based on human anatomy. k.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Multifactor- Authentication based on 2 valid authentication methods. l.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mutual Authentication- Client establishes identity to server. Server provides authentication information to client to ensure that illicit servers cannot masquerade as genuine servers. Both parties have to authenticate. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Encryption- hiding data using algorithms. protection, method of code, algorithms, formulas a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Asymmetric keys- pair of key values one public and one private. b.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Symmetric keys- single encryption key generated. c.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DES- Data Encryption standard developed by government. d.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diffie-hellman- encryption algorithm named after its two creators. e.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  IPSec- used for encryption of TCP/IP traffic. Method of encrypting any IP transmissions. f.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  PGP- Pretty good privacy- mainly used in email less secure than the PKI. g.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  RSA- Rivest-Shamir-Adleman- encryption algorithm named after its 3 creators. Using two pair keys. h.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  SSL- Secure Socket Loader- used mainly on web servers to transmit securely via HTTPS:// 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Network protocols and organization a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DMZ- Demilitarized zone- Zone used for public access. Used with FTP, web servers and DNS servers. b.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  IDS- Intrusion Detection System- 2 types: Active and Passive c.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  NAT- Network Address Translation- Appends to your logical port. Protects internal hosts. Used with proxy servers. Translates internal IP to Real IP. Uses unique port table. There is 65,000 ports d.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tunneling- ability to go to 1 point to another as though you are a single proprietary line.

Tqm 6 Sigma

Six sigma and Total Quality Management 1 1 X Six sigma and Total Quality Management Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering Chung Yuan Christian University Taiwan, R. O. C. 1. The practices and implementation of Six Sigma In the past two decades, Six Sigma methodology has been widely adopted by industries and non-profit organizations throughout the world. In this section, we demonstrate the development of Six Sigma program, and discuss the features and the five steps of the improvements 1. 1 The introduction of Six Sigma Six Sigma methodology was first espoused by Motorola in the mid 1980s. Antony & Banuelas, 2002; Wiklund & Wiklund, 2002). At that time, Motorola was facing Japanese competition in the electronics industry and needed to make drastic improvements in its levels of quality (Harry and Schroeder, 2000; Linderman et al. , 2003). A Six Sigma initiative ,which is originally focused on manufacturing process and product quality (Harry & Schroeder, 2000), is also design ed to change the culture in an organization through breakthrough improvement in all aspects of the business (Breyfogle III et al. , 2001, p. 32).The Six Sigma architects at Motorola focused on making improvements in all operations within a process—thus producing results far more rapidly and effectively (Harry & Schroeder, 2000). The successful implementation of the Six Sigma program in Motorola led to huge benefits. Motorola recorded a reduction in defects and manufacturing time, and also began to reap financial rewards. Within four years, the Six Sigma program had saved the company $2. 2 billion (Harry & Schroeder, 2000). The crowning achievement was being recognized with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Breyfegle III et al. 2001; Wiklund & Wiklund, 2002). IBM, SONY, and Allied Signal successfully followed Motorola in implementing Six Sigma. Allied Signal began its Six Sigma activities in the early 1990s, It successfully attained savings of US$2 billion during a five-year period (Klefsjo et al. , 2001). Sooner, the impressive results obtained by Allied Sigma induced General Electric (GE) to undertake a thorough implementation of the Six Sigma program in 1995 (Pande et al. , 2000) as a corporate initiative to improve net profits and operating margin (Hendricks and Kelbaugh, 1998).The 1999 annual report of GE showed that the implementation produced more than US$2 billion in benefit (Slater, 2001; Coronado & Antony, 2002, Raisinghani et al. , 2005). Yang, Ching-Chow www. intechopen. com 2 Quality Management and Six Sigma As a result, the impressive benefits of implementing Six Sigma programs in Motorola, Allied Signal, and GE led the Six Sigma methodology being widely adopted by industries throughout the world. American Express, Ford, Honda, and Samsung have all applied the methodology (Klefsjo et al. , 2001; Sandholm & Sorqvist, 2002; Yun and Chua, 2002).The Six Sigma has become the most prominent trend in quality management (Sandholm & Sorqv ist, 2002; Yang, 2004) not only for manufacturing and service industries, but also for non-profit organizations and government institutes. The GE-6? program and the Motorola Six Sigma program did have some differences. Whereas Six Sigma activities in Motorola had focused on product quality and the manufacturing process, the GE-6? program extended the improvement activities to cover all key processes related to customer satisfaction. 1. 2 Some key views on Six Sigma Several prominent researchers have expressed views on Six Sigma. Hahn et al. (1999) emphasized that Six Sigma improvement is a highly disciplined and statistically based approach for removing defects from products, processes, and transactions, involving everyone in the corporation. * Harry & Schroeder (2000) emphasized that Six Sigma provides maximum value to companies—in the form of increased profits and maximum value to the consumer through high-quality products or service at the lowest possible cost. * Harry & S chroeder (2000) also concluded that Six-Sigma is a business strategy and philosophy built around the concept hat companies can gain a competitive edge by reducing defects in their industrial and commercial processes. * Pande et al. (2000) commented that Six Sigma is a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining, and maximizing business success. It is driven by close understanding of customers’ needs and disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis. * Pearson (2001) described Six Sigma as a program that combines the most effective statistical and non-statistical methods to make overall business improvements. Slater (2001) stated that the Six Sigma approach provides a very specific control program with control techniques that ensure continuation of improved processes. * Lucas (2002) described Six Sigma as a statistical business system and a functional methodology for disciplined quality improvement that achieves successful outcomes. * Treichler et al . (2002) concluded that Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process that helps organizations to focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services. It is also, in Treichlers’ (2002) view, a change-acceleration process that focuses on pursuing success and the rapid adoption of change. Yang (2004) asserted that the GE-6? program and the Motorola Six Sigma program did have some differences. Whereas Six Sigma activities in Motorola had focused on product quality and the manufacturing process, the GE-6? program extended the improvement activities to cover all key processes related to customer satisfaction. www. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Management 3 In addition to the major features noted above, other features of the GE-6? program include (Breyfegle III et al. , 2001; Pande et al. , 2000; Treichler et al. 2002). * GE-6? rojects are integrated with the company’s visions and strategies; * all GE-6? projects are rigorously evaluated for finan cial impact; * everyone who contributes to the success of the program receives significant rewards, especially in terms of staff promotion; * significant financial incentives (representing 40% of all bonuses received by employees) are tied to GE-6? projects; * a sound statistical approach to improvement is adopted; * projects are completed rapidly (usually within 3–6 months); and * bottom-line results are expected and delivered. 1. 3 Implementation of GE Six Sigma The main features of GE-6? re discussed above, in this subsection we introduce the implementation of GE Six-Sigma: * improvement steps; * * staff roles; and investment in training. 1. 3. 1 Improvement steps There have been many improvement models for process improvement or re-engineering. Most of these have been based on the steps introduced by W. Edwards Deming, which can be characterized as ‘Plan’, ‘Do’, ‘Study’, and ‘Act’ (PDSA)(Deming, 1993). GE-6? has a five-p hase improvement cycle that has become increasingly popular in Six Sigma organizations: ‘Define’, ‘Measure’, ‘Analyze’, ‘Improve’, and ‘Control’ (DMAIC).There is another cycle characterized as ‘Define’, ‘Measure’, ‘Analyze’, ‘Design’, and ‘Verify’ (DMADV) (Pande et al. , 2000). Like other improvement models, the DMAIC (or DMADV) model is grounded in the original Deming PDCA cycle. Usually, Six Sigma organizations use DMAIC for process improvement and DMADV for process design (and redesign). Table 1. 1 describes the specific tasks in each step, and the tools and techniques used in the steps. Step Define ? ? ? ? ? ? Map process and identify inputs and ? outputs ? ? Establish measurement system for ? inputs and outputs ? ? Understand the existing capability of ? rocess ? ? ? ? ? Specific tasks Identify improvement issues Organize project team Set-up improvem ent goal Estimate financial benefit Measure Tools and techniques employed Customer complaint analysis Cost of poor quality (COPQ) Brainstorming Run charts, control charts Benchmarking Process map (SIPOC) Cause and effect matrix Gauge R&R Control charts Process capability analysis Failure models and effects analysis (FMEA) www. intechopen. com 4 Quality Management and Six Sigma ? Identify sources of variation in ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Analyze Improve ? ? ? Control projects Table 1. 1 DMAIC steps and tools usage ? ? Standardize the process ? ? Maintain critical inputs in the optimal ? area ? ? Verify long-term capability ? ? Evaluate the results of improvement process Identify potential critical inputs Determine tools used in the improvement step Conduct improvement actions Use experiments Optimize critical inputs Cause-and-effect diagram Pareto diagram Scatter diagram Brainstorming Analysis of variance (ANOVA) Design of experiment (DOE) Quality function deployment (QFD) Process capability analysis Control charts Standard operation procedure Process capability analysis Fool-proofing (Poka Yoke) Run charts . 3. 2 Staff roles Along with the systematic improvement steps described above, the design of specific roles and their effective operations are important factors of the GE-6? program. Senior management is ultimately responsible for the success of the project through the provision of sufficient support, resources, and strong leadership. The implementation of GE-6? is thus top–down. The chief executive officer (CEO) is usually the driving force who sets up the vision, develops the strategies, and drives the changes.Apart from the critical role of the CEO, other players also have their specific roles (Henderson and Evans, 2000): (i) ‘Champions’ are usually the senior managers, who are the sponsors of the project and responsible for success of Six Sigma efforts, they are fully trained business leaders who promote and lead the deployment of Six-Sigma projects; (ii) ‘Master Black Belts (MBBs)’ are the full-time teachers and consultants, they are responsible for Six-Sigma strategy, deployment, training, mentoring, and results.A master Black Belt in Motorola has leaded as a Black Belt for about ten successful projects at least five years, and needs the recommendation of high managements; (iii) ‘Black Belts (BBs)’ have the key operational role in the program as full-time Six Sigma players, they are fully-trained Six-Sigma experts and lead the improvement teams. They are qualified as they successfully leaded at least two Six-Sigma projects; (iv) ‘Green Belts (GBs)’ are the process owners who, led by the BBs, work on Six Sigma projects while holding down their original job functions in the company. . 3. 3 Investment in training Because training is a key ingredient in achieving success through Six Sigma (Pande et al, 2000), Motorola and GE have invested heavily in employee training for their Six-S igma programs. Motorola invested $150 million per year in Six-Sigma courses, GE also spent $ 500 million per year in the implementation of Six-Sigma program (Sandholm and Sorqvist, 2002), GE has invested more than a billion dollars in this effort (Hahn et al. , 1999). GE has designed ww. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Management 5 a complete training plan for the various roles described above—from the CEO, to the ‘Champions’, ‘MBBs’, ‘BBs’, and ‘GBs’. In addition, the training program extends to all other employees in the organization. The training courses are comprehensive and cover team leadership skills, measurement and analytical tools, especially statistical methods, improvement tools, planning and implementation skills, and so on.For examples, (i). Champions have one week champion training related to Six-Sigma development, leadership, and the implementation plan. (ii). BBs spend about four to five weeks to receive the intensive, highly quantitative training, roughly corresponding to the five steps of the implementation of Six-Sigma improvement project. Thus, the length of training is approximately 16-20 weeks. (iii) GBs receive the training of six to ten days.The courses include the statistical tools and the use of statistical software, the detailed modules of five steps, the innovative and improvement tools, and the skill of project management. (iv) MBBs then take over the responsibility of the training for all the BBs and GBs. 2. The critical success factors of the implementation of Six-Sigma In this section we want to discuss the critical success factors for the successful implementation of Six-Sigma projects.We investigate the importance degree of the critical success factors in implementing Six Sigma, and their implementation level by using the questionnaire survey. 2. 1 The consideration of critical success factors Table 2. 1 lists the key factors, as asserted in five previous studies. The factors identified by Coronado & Antony (2002) and Antony & Banuelas (2002) are almost identical, with the exception that Coronado & Antony (2002) added one extra factor (â€Å"communication†). Most of the success factors in the other three studies are included in the work of Coronado & Antony (2002).The total twelve critical success factors in Coronado & Antony (2002) are considered in the present study In addition, two additional key factors, â€Å"complete evaluation system of project performance† and â€Å"promotion and incentive for employees tied to the results of Six Sigma projects†, are also considered in this chapter according to Yun & Chua (2002) and Sandholm & Sorqvist (2002). The former introduces the factor of â€Å"accurate and fair evaluation of all successful Six Sigma projects with meaningful recognition and rewards for employees†.The later suggests â€Å"focus on results† to assert that the employee promotion and ince ntive compensation are tied to the results of Six Sigma projects. Finally, apart from the above, another key success factor somewhat neglected by previous studies is the application of techniques and innovations. Although Coronado & Antony (2002) and Klefsjo et al. (2001) mention it as a required technique in the progress of Six Sigma projects, and Yun & Chua (2002) asserts that â€Å"linkage with all innovation and infrastructure activities† is also a key factor. We therefore add another key factor: â€Å"usage of innovative techniques and IT systems†.In total, a study is conducted to adopt fifteen critical success factors in the questionnaire to investigate the extent to which they are implemented and their degree of importance from the firms’ perspective. www. intechopen. com 6 Quality Management and Six Sigma The author conducted the empirical study for those enterprises have implemented Six Sigma program in Taiwan, The aim of this empirical study is to inve stigate the importance degree and the implementation level of the critical success factors. Thus, the research design is conducted according to the aim of the research. The Likert-type scale is used in the questionnaire.In the investigation of the importance degree of the critical success factors, a five-point scale from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important) is used. In the analysis of implementation level, a five-point scale from 1 (not implemented) to 5 (full implemented) is adopted 2. 2 The analysis of critical success factors The main focus of this study is to analyze the degree of importance of critical success factors for Six Sigma effectiveness as perceived by the respondents, and to assess the implementation level of these critical success factors by the organizations (see Table 2. 2).As Henderson & Evans (2000) notes that â€Å"top management leadership and support† should be the critical success factor, our first priority of success factors is â€Å"top managemen t involvement and commitment†. The other critical success factors are prioritized as follows: â€Å"cultural change†, â€Å"communication with all employees to achieve congruence†, and â€Å"training in Six Sigma†, and so on. It should be noted that â€Å"employees’ promotion and incentive tied to the results of Six Sigma projects† is considered as an important factor for the success of Six Sigma in GE (Hendericks & Kelbaugh, 1998; Henderson & Evans, 2000). However, inTaiwan, this practice is not followed in the industries investigated. Hahn et al. , 1999 Key factors for Six ? Quantified functional impact Sigma effectiveness ? Continued top management support and enthusiasm ? The emphasis on a quantitative and disciplined approach ? The value placed on understanding and satisfying customer needs ? Combining the right projects, the right people, and the right tools Yun & Chua, 2002 Success factors for ? Strong proactive support with required S ix Sigma resources provided by top management ? Acceptance and implementation of Six Sigma’s effectiveness basic disciplines by employees ?Linkage with all innovative and infrastructure activities ? Accurate and fair evaluation of all successful Six Sigma projects with meaningful recognition and rewards for employees www. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Management 7 ? Management commitment and visible support Sandholm & Sorqvist, 2002 Requirements for Six Sigma success ? Adaptation to an organization’s situation and ? Development of uniform language & ? Prioritization and selection of projects ? Focus on training and its content ? Customer orientation ? Focus on results ? Investment of adequate resources Treatment of Six Sigma as a holistic concept needs ? Responsiveness to external influences. ? Follow-up and communication of success stories ? Cultural change ? Management involvement and commitment ? Development of strategy to introduce Six Sigma terminolo gy Coronado & Antony, 2002 Critical success factors for Six Sigma projects ? Understanding tools and techniques within Six ? Project prioritization and selection Key ingredient for ? Management involvement and commitment ? Cultural change Six Sigma ? Organization infrastructure effectiveness ? Training ? Project management skills ?Project prioritization and selection, reviews and tracking ? Understanding the Six Sigma methodology, tools, and techniques ? Linking Six Sigma to business strategy ? Linking Six Sigma to customers ? Linking Six Sigma to human resources ? Linking Six Sigma to suppliers Table 2. 1 Critical success factors for Six Sigma effectiveness ? Project management skills ? Linking Six Sigma to suppliers ? Linking Six Sigma to human resources ? Linking Six Sigma to customers ? Linking Six Sigma to business strategy ? Training ? Organization infrastructure ? Communication SigmaAntony & Banuelas, 2002 www. intechopen. com 8 Quality Management and Six Sigma Critical succe ss factor 1. Top management involvement and commitment 2. Cultural change 3. Organization infrastructure 4. Training in Six Sigma 5. Project management skills 6. Project prioritization and selection 7. Understanding methods, tools and techniques within Six Sigma 8. Linking Six Sigma to business strategy 9. Linking Six Sigma to customers 10. Linking Six Sigma to human resources 11. Linking Six Sigma to suppliers 12. Communication with all employees to achieve congruence 13.Complete evaluation system of project performance 14. Employees’ promotion and incentive compensation tied to the result of Six Sigma projects 15. The usage of innovative techniques and IT systems Importance degree mean order 4. 808 4. 365 4. 019 4. 192 3. 865 4. 077 4. 137 4. 192 4. 192 3. 725 3. 635 4. 231 4. 135 3. 885 3. 596 1 2 10 4 12 9 7 5 6 13 14 3 8 11 15 Implementation level mean order 3. 885 3. 192 3. 596 3. 981 3. 577 3. 558 3. 667 3. 423 3. 269 2. 882 2. 692 3. 519 3. 481 2. 981 2. 942 2 11 4 1 5 6 3 9 10 14 15 7 8 12 13 To be improved factor * * * * * Table 2. Importance degree and implementation level of critical success factors Most of the organizations paid significant attention to training in Six Sigma. The factor of â€Å"training in Six Sigma† is thus the first priority of implementation level, followed by such factors as â€Å"top management involvement and commitment†, â€Å"understanding methods, tools and techniques within Six Sigma†, â€Å"organization infrastructure†, and so on (see Table 2. 2). In Table 2. 2, if a critical success factor has a higher importance degree with a lower implementation level, then the firm should pay more attention on its implementation.In this case, we denote five CSFs as the â€Å"to be improved† factors for the industries in Taiwan: – Top management involvement and commitment – Cultural change – Communication with all employees to achieve congruence – Linking Six Sigm a to business strategy – Linking Six Sigma to customers. www. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Management 9 3. The Integrated Model of TQM and Six Sigma By the end of the 1970s, the competitiveness of Japanese industries had equaled or exceeded that of American industries.In large part, this was due to the successful Japanese implementation of company-wide quality control (CWQC) (Powell, 1995). By the 1980s, Japanese CWQC had been replicated in the United States, and total quality management (TQM) soon became the prevailing business strategy adopted by industries around the world. This evolution of TQM has resulted from the development, on a global scale, of a consistent philosophy concerning the relationship between business and customers. At various stages in this development, different ideologies and practices for implementing quality management have been prominent, but the onsistent goal has been to pursue the quality of products and services, to reduce costs, and to raise business performance. The success of Japanese industries in the total and effective implementation of TQM meant that Japanese firms led the way in the production of good-quality products at lower cost. 3. 1 The decreasing adoption of TQM and the increasing trend of Six-Sigma The successful implementation of TQM does indeed result in better business performance, as firms expect (Hendricks & Singhal, 1996; Gunasekaran, 1999; Hansson & Eriksson, 2002).The benefits come in the areas of cost reduction, increased market share, increased profit, and enhanced business competitiveness (Youssef et al. , 1996; Gunasekaran, 1999). TQM has therefore been widely adopted by industries, even in non-profit and governmental organizations (Powell, 1995; Zabaha et al. , 1998). Several critical factors are essential if TQM is to be successfully implemented. These include the support of top management, visionary leadership, effective management of human resources, employee involvement, and a corporate culture of commitment to quality and customer satisfaction (Joseph et al. 1999; Sureshchandar et al. , 2001). However, in practice, these corporate factors are not easy to achieve. As a result, the literature contains reports of several cases in which the implementation of TQM has failed. Hubiak & O’Donnell (1996), for example, have asserted that approximately two-thirds of companies in the United States have either failed or stalled in their attempts to implement TQM. Many of these TQM programs have been cancelled, or are in the process of being cancelled, as a result of the negative impact on profits (Anonymous, 1996).The failure implementation of TQM is due to several factors. Besides the difficult achievement of TQM practices, one of them is that TQM has been a rather diffuse concept, with many vague descriptions but few more graspable definitions, and the management does not have a complete picture of what TQM really means (Hellsten & Klefsjo, 2000). Another o ne is that too management teams over the world do not realize that implementation of TQM means a cultural change (Hansson & Klefsjo, 2003). In fact, TQM was one of two workplace trends that recorded a significant decline in 1996 (Anonymous, 1996).Academic discussion of TQM and its implementation has suffered a similar decline in recent years. Is this trend really due to poor corporate business performance as a result of the implementation of TQM, with a consequent decline in the implementation of TQM, as has been asserted (Anonymous, 1996)? It is a contention that this is not an accurate reflection of the current status of TQM. Reports of instances of failed TQM implementation are only part of the explanation for the apparent declining trend in TQM. In reality, TQM has been so prominent for about twenty years that many firms and institutions have incorporated TQM ww. intechopen. com 10 Quality Management and Six Sigma into daily management activities. The result is that a well-estab lished model of TQM has been so much a part of the routine business activities, that the ‘decline’ in discussion and implementation of the TQM is apparent, rather than real. As interest in TQM has apparently waned, interest in the Six Sigma program has increased. Since General Electric (GE) initiated its Six Sigma program (GE-6? ) in October 1995, the results have been far beyond the company’s original hopes and expectations.Based on the remarkable business successes achieved in GE and other large corporations, an increasing number of companies have initiated the GE-6? program as a business improvement and re-engineering strategy (Pearson, 2001; Lucas, 2002). As a result, the Six Sigma program has gained great popularly in recent years (Slater, 2001; Lucas, 2002). It has even been suggested that TQM will be replaced by Six Sigma as the main strategy for successful business management. However, such assertions reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of TQM and its relationship with GE-6?. For example, Pande et al. 2000) have asserted that TQM is less visible in many businesses than it was in the early 1990s, pointing to several major TQM gaffes as reasons for this apparent decline. According to Pande et al. (2000), these problems include a lack of integration, leadership apathy, a fuzzy concept, an unclear quality goal, failure to break down internal barriers, inadequate improvements in performance, and so on. They conclude that Six Sigma can overcome many of the pitfalls encountered in the implementation of TQM and, hence, that Six Sigma’s expansion heralds a ‘rebirth’ of the quality movement (Pande et al. 2000). However, Klefsjo et al. (2001) and Lucas (2002) have a different perspective. Klefsjo et al. assert that Six Sigma is a methodology within- not alternative to TQM. Lucas asserts that Six Sigma is essentially a methodology for disciplined quality improvement. Because this quality improvement is a prim e ingredient of TQM, many firms have found that adding a Six Sigma program to their current business system gives them all, or almost all, of the elements of a TQM program.Lucas has thus concluded that: Current Business System + Six Sigma = Total Quality Management The TQM pitfalls noted by Pande et al. (2000) are not essential features of TQM. Rather, they are caused by incorrect practices adopted by firms, especially the lack of proper endeavour shown by management in the implementation of TQM. 3. 2. Total quality management Since TQM began in the mid 1980s, several gurus, like Deming, Juran and Ishikawa have much contribution on the development of TQM (Boaden, 1997).Besides, many researchers and experts on quality management have been eager to study the essentials of TQM. In the beginning, there was a lack of consensus on the contents and practices of TQM. Now, with TQM having been implemented for more than twenty years, academics and practitioners alike have achieved a degree of consensus on TQM. Tobin (1990) has stated that TQM is a totally integrated program for gaining competitive advantages by continuously improving every facet of organizational culture.TQM programs are usually based on the ‘quality philosophies’– customer focus, employee participation, teamwork, and management by facts and continuous improvement (Brown, 1992). TQM is therefore an integrated management philosophy and set of practices that emphasize increased employee involvement and teamwork, continuous improvement, meeting customers’ requirements, team-based problem-solving, constant measurement of results, closer relationship with suppliers, and so on (Ross, 1993).Short and Rahim (1995) www. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Management 11 have agreed that TQM can be viewed as a set of philosophies and methods used by an organization to guide it in continuous improvement in all aspects of its business. McAdam and McKeown (1999) have concluded that customer focus, employee involvement, empowerment, teamwork, measurement tools, training, quality systems, and top management commitment are all key factors in the successful implementation of TQM.Boaden (1997) also examine the critical elements of TQM based on some early studies. It is worthwhile to refer to the research of Sila & Ebrahimpour (2002), they conduct a huge investigation of elements of TQM survey based on 347 researches published between 1989 and 2000. These views indicate that, although various researchers approach the issues of TQM from different perspectives, there is a general consensus regarding the essential principles, practices, and values of TQM (Hellsten & Klefsjo, 2000).On the basis of these various approaches, especially the research of Sila & Ebrahimpour (2002) and Yang (2003a), the present subsection asserts the following to be essential agreed elements of TQM: * customer focus and satisfaction; * training and education; * top management commitment, suppo rt, and leadership; * teamwork; * employee involvement; * quality assurance; * quality information system and application; * continuous improvement; * flexibility * benchmarking and strategy planning; * process management; * product and service design and quality control; * employee management and empowerment; * corporate quality culture; 3. Comparison between TQM and GE-6? As previously noted, the passion for TQM has apparently declined, whereas GE-6? has been receiving increased attention (Anonymous, 1996; Pande et al. , 2000). As a result, there are several assertions related to the relationship between TQM and GE-6? appeared, especially the treatise that TQM will be replaced by GE-6?. However, there are very few studies in the literature that directly compare TQM with GE-6? completely, and in the limited studies that do exist, conclusions on the relationship between TQM and GE-6? have differed significantly.Harry (2000b) has claimed that Six Sigma represents a new, holistic, mul tidimensional systems approach to quality that replaces the â€Å"form, fit and function specification† of the past. However, it is not readily apparent from Harry (2000a) which aspects of this multidimensional systems approach are presumed to be absent from TQM. Breyfegle III et al. (2001) have stated that Six Sigma is more than a simple repacking of the best from other TQM programs. Pande et al. (2000) had already taken a similar approach when they provided a review of some of the major TQM gaffes, and then compared TQM and GE-6? n the light of these problems with a view to showing how successful implementation of Six Sigma can overcome these failures. However, it should be noted that www. intechopen. com 12 Quality Management and Six Sigma these gaffes are principally a result of inappropriate implementation processes, rather than being caused by inherent TQM concepts and practices. In view of a lack of consensus on the relationship between TQM and GE-6? , the present sect ion wants to compare TQM and GE-6? by using complete perspectives.The author reviewed several studies (Boaden, 1997; Hermel, 1997; Goh, 2002), and selected the appropriate criteria used in these researches, and then integrated into 12 dimensions. They are: (i) development; (ii) principles; (iii) features; (iv) operation; (v) focus; (vi) practices; (vii) techniques; (viii) leadership; (ix) rewards; (x) training; (xi) change; and (xii) culture (Yang, 2004). These are presented in Table 3. 1, which represents a comprehensive review of the similarities and differences between the two approaches. 3. 4 Integration of TQM and GE-6?It has been suggested that the implementation of TQM results in an over-emphasis on customer satisfaction, with a relative neglect of the pursuit of profits (Anonymous, 1996). Indeed, several empirical studies have asserted that implementing TQM might not achieve any significant positive effect on profitability (Bergquist & Ramsing, 1999; Harry, 2000b; Breyfegle III et al. , 2001). Furthermore, Harry (2000a) has noted that â€Å"What’s good for the customer is not always good for the company†. In contrast, it is argued that GE-6? achieves both customer satisfaction and excellent financial performance.The major problem with TQM is that there is a disconnection between management systems designed to measure customer satisfaction and those designed to measure business profitability, and this has often led to unwise investments in quality (Breyfegle III et al. , 2001). It should be recognized that the objective of TQM is to achieve customer satisfaction, in order to increase customer loyalty. To sustain competitiveness and long-term profitability, companies not only devote themselves to attracting new customers, but also to retaining old customers in a continuous business relationship with incremental additional purchasing.For these reasons, increasing customer loyalty should be one of the main concerns of all companies (Gorst et al. , 1998). Any assessment of the effectiveness of TQM thus requires a system to measure customer loyalty. If a management system cannot raise business performance and profitability, it will obviously be abandoned by firms. It is therefore apparent that indicators of customer loyalty and business performance should be added to TQM measurement systems. It is well known that GE-6? pursues both customer satisfaction and high profits.If an integrated model of TQM and GE-6? were developed, synergistic effects could be anticipated. In the integrated model proposed here, two major indicators are included—customer loyalty and high profit performance. www. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Management Dimension 1. Development TQM Started in the mid 1980s, influenced by Japanese CWQC developed in the 1970s GE-6? in 1987. GE adopted Six Sigma program in 1995, Comments at about the same time. TQM was widely and 13 First espoused by Motorola TQM and Six Sigma began resulting in many benefits. uickly adopted, but interest has now declined. The situation with GE-6? is the reverse. TQM over-emphasizes customer satisfaction, and this can sometimes negatively affect profits. GE-6? focuses on both customer satisfaction and financial performance. 2. Principles ? Customer satisfaction (satisfaction of ? Pursues zero-defect, quality customers’ needs) ? Pursues financial ? Focuses on voice of ? Emphasis moved from problem-solving to ? Rapid change problem prevention ? Pursues zero-defect customer performance ? Responsibility for ? Continuous improvements 3. FeatureA systematic approach to quality management by integrating concepts, methods, processes, and systems. Uses project management to perform thorough change and process re-engineering, which are integrated with the company’s vision and strategy. TQM is essentially a system of continuously improving the quality of every aspect of business life. GE-6? focuses on radical change (which is also integr ated with vision and strategy). TQM emphasizes that every person is involved in quality improvement at all levels. GE-6? uses specially designed roles and disciplined training to progress the radical changes. . Operation Continuous improvement through employee involvement and teamwork in total quality activities. Specially designed roles and a highly disciplined training program using statistical methods to perform reengineering of key processes through project management. 5. Focus TQM focuses on all quality Key processes and systems TQM considers every activities, all processes, and are all driven by the voice all systems. of customers. aspect of quality. GE-6? initially emphasizes the key processes related to customer needs, but gradually extends its improvement scope. www. ntechopen. com 14 6. Practices ? QCC, QIT Quality Management and Six Sigma ? Project management TQM methods are more traditional, and are learnt from Japan. GE-6? uses methods that can produce more aggressive r esults. The statistical tools used in TQM and GE-6? are very similar. However, the statistical tools used in TQM are quite basic, whereas GE-6? uses more advanced SQC tools. Both TQM and GE-6? emphasize leadership, especially the commitment and support of top management. However, TQM has a bottom-up management style whereas GE-6? gives emphasis to top-own leadership. 40% of bonuses are tied to the results of ? Promotion dependent ? High status accorded to MBBs and BBs on project results 6? projects GE-6? programs have more motivations and rewards than TQM. ? SPC, TPM 7. Techniques ? Hoshin management ? Seven QC tools ? Daily control ? Project management ? Suggestion system ? Design of structural ? Analysis of variance regression roles ? Benchmarking ? DMAIC or DMADV ? BPR ? Kano’s model ? Managers ? New seven QC tools ? Cp, Cpk, ppm ? Taguchi methods ? DOE ? Control Chart ? Multiple linear ? DOE ? Kano’s model ? Reliability FMEA, QFD ? Cp, Cpk, ppm ? Taguchi methods 8. Leadership ? Top management stresses leadership demonstrate best behavior, and influence subordinates by ? Autonomic ? Decentralization and ? Empowerment 9. Rewards ? Promotion ? Motivation delegation management example ? Senior managers are ? Senior managers are ? Top management emphasize the execution of 6? -program mentors responsible ? Manager’s praise and encouragement ? Bonus rewards www. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Management 10. Training ? Education and training for every ? Focus on instilling ?Leaders’ instruction ? Improvement tools ? Gradual and slow on daily basis quality consciousness person ? Vast investment in ? MBBs are the teachers ? BBs have training, combined with the ? GBs have training with the application 11. Change ? Vast change of improvement tools GE-6? emphasizes fast change and significant re-engineering. Change coming from TQM is progressive. TQM brings about a culture change with a quality focus and customer orientation. Th e culture change in GE-6? is fast, with an emphasis on pursuing customer satisfaction and business performance.DMAIC process and mentors training Both TQM and GE-6? emphasize employee education and training, but GE-6? has more investment in training than TQM. In GE-6? , training and its application are combined 15 ? Improvement results are small, and do not bring big changes ? Change is fast, and its scope is large. ? Cultivation of a culture incorporating the concept of pursuing business ? The culture change is caused by the ? Innovation-awareness re-engineering performance ? Re-engineering 12. Culture ? Setting up of a quality culture with ?Employees are autonomous customer focus ? Employees have a team-awareness Table 3. 1. Comparison between TQM and GE-6? 3. 4. 1 Integration of management principles Although the management principles of TQM and GE-6? are somewhat different, there is congruence among their quality principles, techniques, and culture (as was demonstrated in Table 3. 1). As a result, the integration of TQM and GE-6? is not as difficult as it might seem. The critical task is to combine the best aspects of TQM continuous improvement with those of GE-6? re-engineering.Although the activities of a quality Control circle (QCC) and quality improvement team (QIT) cannot achieve significant effects in themselves, they can cultivate quality concepts and team awareness among employees. Therefore, QCC and QIT can be performed by the operators and junior staff members to progress continuous improvements while focusing on daily operations and processes. GE-6? projects can be applied by engineers and senior staff members to the key processes and systems that are related to customer requirements and the provision of performance in products and services.For GE-6? projects, some aggressive goals can be set, in conjunction with rapid project completion times. The target performances can be set according to the criteria of the critical-to-quality (CTQ) of key p rocess—which are, in turn, determined according to the voice of customers (VOC). In TQM, the improvements are based on a customer satisfaction www. intechopen. com 16 Quality Management and Six Sigma survey and an understanding of customers’ requirements (Yang, 2003b). In this fashion, these two ways of understanding customers’ needs and expectations can be combined. See Figure 3. for a depiction of the model. 3. 4. 2 Integration of implementation practices Having discussed integration of management principles, the discussion now turns to the integration of implementation practices between the two systems. Fig. 3. 1 Integrated framework of TQM and GE-6? Employee participation, teamwork, quality management system, human-resources management (HRM), quality principles, objectives, and strategies are the key enablers of TQM implementation. They are also the critical factors in upgrading business performance, www. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Managemen t 7 and are therefore also required for the implementation of GE-6?. The practices of GE-6? are project management, role design and operation, statistical quality control (SQC) tools, leadership and motivation, full support from the CEO, and so on. Most of these practices are also integral to TQM implementation. The framework of the integration of these practices and related systems of TQM and GE-6? is shown in Figure 3. 1 (Yang, 2004). Both TQM and GE-6? emphasize employee education and training, and there is only slight difference in the details of such training.Statistical tools and improvement methods are the main ingredients of the training contents for both TQM and GE-6?. Apart from these statistical tools, TQM and GE-6? have other shared training imperatives—including basic concepts, leadership and communication skills, and project management. Apart from these shared elements, in planning training for an integrated model of the two programs, it is necessary to cover th e elements that are not shared in common. This is incorporated into the model. Moreover, a certification system for fulfilling the needs of the GE-6? scale can be developed. 3. 4. Integration of cultural changes Both the implementations of TQM and GE-6? will bring the culture changes of the organization (Boaden, 1997; Pande et al. , 2000; Klefsjo et al. , 2001). However, GE-6? also emphasizes an awareness of speed and innovation, and is heavily performance oriented. These cultural features are the critical factors in pursuing excellent performance, and in raising competitiveness. In contrast, these have been somewhat neglected previously by TQM. In the integrated model presented here, these cultural features will enhance the performance effects of TQM implementation.Summarily, in this integrated model, continuous improvement and 6? -reengineering are the key activities, located in the center of Figure 3. 1, and the customers’ needs and the voice of the customers are the deriv ers of the improvement and reengineering. The initiatives of TQM and those of GE-6? , located in the two sides separately, can be integrated as the enablers of the integrated system. Comprehensive education and training with certification to the employees are the powerful force in the realization of these practices. Finally, the culture changes with the features described in the base of Figure 3. are the fundaments of the successful implementation of this system. The overall objective of this integrated model is to reach both the customers’ loyalty and excellent performance. 3. 4. 4 Practical examples and conclusion TQM and GE-6? can certainly be integrated very well, as the following two examples illustrate. INVENTEC is a hi-tech company in Taiwan that has implemented TQM for many years. Indeed, the company won the National Quality Award in Taiwan in 1995. In addition to its long-standing practice of TQM, INVENTEC also introduced the GE-6? rogram in 2000. It then integrated this with its existing TQM system. The Ford Motor Company in Taiwan is another successful example of the integration of GE-6? with TQM. These two examples confirm that an integrated model of TQM and GE-6? is feasible and practical. The successful application cased show that this integrated model will be a powerful and practical approach with great potential for all industries. This integrated model is also could be a suitable quality management system for the non-profit www. intechopen. com 18 Quality Management and Six Sigma rganizations. The integration of TQM and GE-6? is an important trend, and should receive a favourable response from both practitioners and academics. 4. An Integrated Model of Business Excellence System The integration of Six Sigma into overall business strategy is another important issue for quality researchers and practitioners. Harry & Schroeder (2000) emphasized that Six Sigma provides maximum value to companies—in the form of increased profits and m aximum value to the consumer through high-quality products or service at the lowest possible cost.It is a business strategy and philosophy built around the concept that companies can gain a competitive edge by integrating Six-Sigma program with the organization’s vision and strategy. In this section, we want to discuss the integration of Six-Sigma with the strategy management, Hoshin management, and Balanced Scorecard. 4. 1 The issue of the integration of Six-Sigma with other strategic management systems If the implementation of Six Sigma is to be successful, Blakeslee and Jerome (1999) suggested that â€Å"Six Sigma efforts must be integrated with existing initiatives in business strategy, and key performance measures†.They also provided an implementation model by integrating Six Sigma with business strategy. Smith & Blakeslee (2002) emphasized the potential of Six Sigma in helping companies to formulate and deploy business strategies and bring about broad transformat ional change. Thus, strategic Six Sigma principles and practices can help companies to formulate, integrate, and execute new and existing business strategies and missions (Smith & Blakeslee, 2002).A growing number of companies is beginning to realize the full implications of Six Sigma as an engine to accelerate corporate strategy and organizational transformation (Smith & Blakeslee, 2002). It is thus apparent that the implementation of Six Sigma must be integrated with a company’s business strategy. However, in this context there are several issues to be resolved. These include: ? How can the organization’s vision, business strategies, and strategic goals be converted into specific Six Sigma projects? ? How can Six Sigma projects be focused on the ‘voice of customer’ and the organization’s critical success factors? How can the strategic goals be communicated to lower divisions and departments in the organization, and further deploy the strategic goa ls to the Six Sigma projects and organize the project teams? ? How can project teams monitor and control the progression of Six Sigma projects? In response to these issues, businesses are increasingly making use of a variety of management systems, methodologies, and tools—including ISO 9000, total quality management (TQM), Hoshin management, Six Sigma, and the balanced scorecard (BSC). In all of these practices, quality is the main focus.Quality is no longer confined to the actual product or service; rather, the concept of quality is now applied to delivery, administration, customer service, and myriad other aspects of a firm’s business activities (Yang, 2009). Indeed, the concept of ‘quality’ now encompasses all the ways in which a company meets www. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Management 19 the needs and expectations of its customers, its employees, its financial stakeholders, and the community in which it operates (Tan, 2002). The effect ive management of such ‘quality’ is essential to competitiveness in the global market (Scheuermann et al. 1997; Prybutok & Cutshall, 2004). The implementation of ISO 9000 and TQM systems can be used to improve the quality of products and services and to raise the effectiveness of process management; implementation of the Six Sigma program can raise the level of customer satisfaction, process performance, and resources management; the implementation of BSC can improve strategy planning and long-term profitability; and so on. However, choosing and implementing these various programs is complicated by the fact that several of them have closely related concerns.For example, TQM, BSC, and Six Sigma are all involved with an organization’s vision and strategy, whereas quality control circles (QCCs) and Six Sigma are both related to process improvement. These various similarities and differences can create difficulties if a firm implements several of these management sys tems simultaneously in an attempt to improve performance in all quality activities. In these circumstances, employees will become confused by the conflicting demands placed upon them, and this will produce a number of significant problems. For example: * In the mplementation of TQM, a firm is first required to set up quality objectives and action plans; * In the BSC system, a firm must first develop its vision and strategies, and then deploy them in terms of performance indicators in four perspectives (financial, customer, internal process, and innovation and learning); and * In the Six Sigma program, a firm will first consider its key performance indicators (KPIs), before linking them to a Six Sigma improvement project. If a firm were to undertake all of these simultaneously, it would be faced with many objectives to be reached, and many strategies and action plans to be implemented.Given the finite limitations that exist in the resources of any organization, it is practically impo ssible for any firm to perform all of these tasks effectively. The ideal solution would be to integrate these various management systems and methods, thus enabling a firm to concentrate its focus and to navigate a unique course in the right direction. 4. 2 Development of an integrated business-excellence system An integrated model of business-excellence system has been developed in this section, see Figure 4. 1.The critical task in developing a holistic business-excellence system is to combine the best aspects of continuous improvement in TQM with those of GE-Six Sigma reengineering. The improvement processes in TQM and Six Sigma projects can thus be integrated and implemented simultaneously (Yang, 2003b) (see Figure 4. 1). Employee participation and teamwork are the prerequisite of the effective implementation of the continuous improvements. Besides, it is needed to instill the quality concepts and problem consciousness into the employees’ mind. www. intechopen. com 20 Quali ty Management and Six SigmaFig. 4. 1. Framework of integrated model of business excellence system 4. 2. 1 Integration of relevant concepts and systems While implementing these programs, it is necessary to monitor process quality using various methods of statistical quality control (SQC). However, a prerequisite to any quality improvement is effective human-resource management (HRM). The key enablers of TQM implementation are therefore HRM and a comprehensive quality-management system. The concepts, initiatives, and systems described above are also necessary for the implementation of the GE-Six Sigma program.In addition, Six Sigma also has its own unique features, including (Pande et al. , 2000; Breyfegle III et al. , 2001): * the systematic operational processes of ‘define, measure, analyze, improve, and control’ (DMAIC) and ‘define, measure, analyze, design and verify’ (DMADV); www. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Management 21 * the staff role s design of ‘champion’, ‘master black belt’ (MBB), ‘black belt’ (BB), and ‘green belt’ (GB); and * the utilization of advanced tools. It is necessary to integrate all of these into the new model proposed here.In addition, strategic leadership is a key factor in the implementation of Six Sigma. In most cases, QCC or QIT are conducted ‘bottom–up’, but in Six Sigma they are conducted ‘top–down’. In these circumstances, authoritative leadership is required. The chief executive officer (CEO) is usually the driving force who sets up the vision, develops the strategies, drives the changes, imposes the projects, and motivates the employees. Most Six Sigma projects pursue significant financial benefits from meeting and exceeding the critical requirements of customers.If the organization is to produce and deliver attractive and value-added products and services to customers speedily, it is essential th at business operations be customer-focused and market-focused. Six Sigma projects must therefore be linked to the development of ‘lean production’, in which research and development (R&D) and innovation (product innovation, process innovation, and business innovation) are all key factors. R&D and innovation are also the drivers of productivity. R&D and innovation should thus be covered in this holistic model.In passing, it is noted that these practices are not restricted to the Six Sigma program; they are also important drivers in the implementation of TQM. TQM programs are based on ‘measurement by fact’, and measurement is also a key step in a Six Sigma project. Various data are collected and analyzed, including product data, customer data, business data, technique data, R&D data, service data, and so on. To use the data effectively and efficiently, an organization requires an effective information technology (IT) system.The utilization of such data repres ents an intangible asset, along with other intangible assets—such as skills, techniques, experience, intellectual property, know-how, knowledge, customer relationships, and so on. These intangible assets represent a valuable organizational resource, and they must be managed and applied in an effective knowledge-management (KM) system. The firm’s IT system and its KM system are also powerful tools in the development of new products and services, and in ensuring the quality of the present customer service.Information technology has become an essential element in securing a competitive advantage—by facilitating the development of new products and services, assisting in adaptation to rapid market changes, incorporating new knowledge, and reducing times and costs in reaching customers (Bianchi, 2001). 4. 2. 2 Fundamental principles The objective of integrating TQM, Six Sigma, and several other major management systems is to pursue business excellence (Yang, 2009). Ho wever, the basic decision to be made is determination of the direction of development at the outset.Mission and vision statements set the general goals and direction for the organization, and they assist shareholders, customers, and employees in understanding what the company is about and what it intends to achieve (Kaplan & Norton, 2004). A mission statement sets out the overall reason for existence and objectives of the organization. As Welch asserted: â€Å"†¦an effective mission statement basically answers one question: How do we intend to win in this business? † (Welch and Welch, 2005). A vision statement is a concise statement that defines the ww. intechopen. com 22 Quality Management and Six Sigma medium-to-long-term goals of the organization. The vision should be market-oriented and should express how the organization wants to be perceived by the world (Kaplan & Norton, 2004). The enunciation of the mission and the development of the vision are usually the respon sibility of senior management (Welch and Welch, 2005). Actually, the vision is linked to the mission. In the realization of the mission and vision, the values, attitudes, and activities of employees are critical.According to Kaplan & Norton (2004), the actions of employees are guided by their values, and it is therefore important that the values proclaimed by the organization are accepted by the employees if those values are to be influential in guiding the thinking and behavior of the employees. Thus, in contrast to the creation of a mission, which is the responsibility of senior management, everyone in a company should have something to say about values (Welch and Welch, 2005).Organizations can use company-wide meetings and training sessions to encourage as much personal discussion as possible in developing organizational values (Welch and Welch, 2005). The vision and values of the organization should thus motivate individuals and serve as a guide for allocating resources (Smith e t al. , 1991). Effective leadership and successful execution are the prerequisites for achieving the organization’s vision. Execution has to be embedded in the reward systems and in the norms of behaviour that everyone practices.So, focusing on execution is not only an essential part of a business’s culture, it is the one sure way to create meaningful culture change (Bossidy and Charan, 2002) Mission, values, vision, leadership, execution, and organizational culture are all linked. Taken together, they represent the guiding principles for the successful implementation of an integrated business-excellence system. 4. 2. 3 Implementation of strategic performance-management system Drucker (1999) stated that the starting point both in theory and in practice may have to be â€Å"managing for performance†.The goal of an integrated business-excellence system is to go beyond mere ‘customer satisfaction’ to achieve customer loyalty through excellent performan ce (see Figure 4. 1). The management systems, programs, and practices of this integrated model are the tools that can be used to achieve this goal. However, an appropriate performance-management system is needed to monitor and evaluate the performance generated by this integrated business-excellence system. Strategic planning and Hoshin management are two popular strategic management tools (Glaister & Falshaw, 1999; Lee & Dale, 1998), and many organizations implement the two simultaneously.Firms commonly perform a SWOT analysis and develop a vision, objectives, and strategies according to the methodology of strategic management, before deploying the organization’s objectives and strategies to the departments or units by the way of Hoshin management. During the implementation process, they commonly conduct a quality audit according to Hoshin management to produce progress reviews and an annual review. These organizations thus use an integrated model of strategic planning and H oshin management to evaluate the performance of TQM (Kondo, 1998).Balanced scorecard (BSC) was launched in 1992 as a framework of performance measurement that was expected to overcome some of the deficiencies of traditional performance measurement. It gives a holistic view of an organization by simultaneously looking at four important perspectives: (i) financial; (ii) customer; (iii) internal process; and (iv) innovation and learning (Kaplan & Norton, 1992). The main benefit of the BSC is its www. intechopen. com Six sigma and Total Quality Management 23 bility to translate an organization’s vision and strategy into tangible objectives and measures (Kanji & SA, 2002). The process of building a scorecard clarifies the strategic objectives, and identifies the critical few drivers for strategic success. The BSC is thus more than a performance-measurement system, and is commonly adopted as a strategic management system (Kaplan & Norton, 1992, 1996; McClintock, 2000). If a firm ha s adopted other performance management systems or programs before adopting BSC, it is necessary to integrate BSC with any existing systems.Companies that wish to embark on the BSC while continuing to implement strategic planning and Hoshin management need to integrate the three systems. To do so effectively, it is necessary to understand the important features of each of these three performance management systems. They can be summarized as follow: * All three can be used in the development of vision, objectives, and strategies, and in the evaluation of execution performance. * Both strategic planning and the BSC involve strategic analysis, and the linkages among the objectives and strategies. Both strategic planning and Hoshin management impose action plans, and the allocation of resources to support the execution of these action plans. * Both BSC and Hoshin management emphasize goal-setting, the achievement of milestones, and the measurement of progress towards the achievement of s trategic objectives. * Strategic planning focuses on the strategy of business development and competition. In this regard, environmental analysis and SWOT analysis are essential. * BSC emphasizes long-term development, and uses a scorecard of the key performance indicators (KPIs). Hoshin management converts the policies and objectives of senior management to departments, and pays much attention to the daily execution of policies. The features and relationships of strategic planning, Hoshin management, and BSC indicates that it is feasible to integrate these systems, and it is reasonable to expect that such an integrated model will be more comprehensive and powerful than each individual system acting alone. This integrated performance-management system is illustrated in Figure 4. 2. www. intechopen. com 24 Quality Management and Six Sigma Strategic Planning Divisions, Business, UnitsFinancial perspective Customer perspective Process perspective Innovation perspective Do, Check, Actio n Fig. 4. 2. Integrated model of strategic planning, BSC, and Hoshin management In this integrated performance-management system, BSC remains the major construct. According to the model, strategic planning is used to perform an environmental analysis and a SWOT analysis, and to develop the vision and strategies for the organization. Having established its vision and strategies, the firm can then develop a strategy map and performance indicators according to the four perspectives of BSC.The firm can then use the methods of Hoshin management to deploy the strategies and the KPIs of the four perspectives to the departments and units within the organization. In this way, every individual receives the KPIs and a relevant action plan. The audit method of Hoshin management can then be used to manage and monitor the execution of this