QUESTION 19 O points Gillette's Total Quality Management System Case Study Introduction Gillette began its global operations in 1905 when it opened a manufacturing plant in Germany. This global strategy and access saw the firm extending its operation to Latin America. Argentina was a potential market after tariffs and business policies were revised. Having operated under unfavorable regime, the firm perceived future competition and decided to create competitive advantages Key figures in the firm such as Carlos Rotundo and Jorge Micozri suggested better quality as the solution to the market issues. The management had to change the organizational culture which was not strategic for the future market circumstances. Rotundo had already began creating a new organizational culture when Micorrin came up with the idea of Total Quality Management (TOM) that made Gillette Argentina the most successful affiliate in Latin America Due to the great success of Gillette's TQM system, this research was commenced to do a case study on quality at Gillette Argentina". Gillette gets employees to take on the new system In a firm where decision making is solely the responsibility of leaders such that the employees have to act as the subjects to them, it is likely that the employees would not readily accept the adoption of TQM. This is because TOM requires them to take clevated roles, become self-dependent and consider themselves as the owners of the firm, It is apparent that Gillette had earlier managed its activities in a manner that left the managerial roles such as decision making and steering initiatives exclusively to the leaders. Therefore, the effort to adopt TQM compelled leaders to take measures that would prepare the employees better for the change. These measures involved several initiatives especially triggered by several key figures in the firm. The very first initiative Gillette took was to hire the Organizational Dynamics Inc (ODT) as a consulting and training firm. The firm became the key source of information and motivation for the Gillette Latin America management. It can be argued that the source of a successful organizational change begins with leaders who in turn transfer it to employees. This means that the employees would rarely have accepted an initiative that their leaders did not support appropriately. The consulting firm played a central role in preaching the benefits of TOM to the leaders. Indeed, the firm reinforced the idea Rotundo had already started to instill in Argentini. Organizational Dynamics Inc developed the quality initiative and recommended the creation of a quality structure. Secondly, Gillette offered training to the employees as a way of preparing them for TOM system. One of the landmark training was FADE that prepared employee for quality action teams. The specialized training involved four phases of problem solving: focus, analyze, develop and execute. The focus phase was concerned with the development of a problem statement the analyze phase dealt with the use of data to understand the magnitude of the problem, the develop phase involved the determination of a solution and implementation plan, and the execute phase was about implementing the plan and measuring its impact. In addition to FADE training, the employees received training in seven basic quality tools as well as brainstorming, force field analysis and cost benefit analysis Question Completion Status: SE VIVEU URUCTIE SUR MER PER WEERGEPEWA TRI LEO TAU training, the employees received training in seven basie quality tools as well as beninstorming, force field analysis and cont benefit analysis. Furthermore, training was extended to management and leadership levels. The Argentine directors, managers and other officials were trained by ODI as trainers of the rest of the organization. The teams were allocated facilitators who received training on leadership development, Team leaders were trained in areas relating to group dynamics, effective meetings, leadership skills and group conflicts (Donnellon & Engelkemeyer, 1999). As a matter of fact, training was the backbone of the TOM process. Most of the members who got training became experts in their respective areas and eventually steered the process towards success Another way that Gillette used to prepared employees for the TOM process was through workshops. Through the leadership of Walker, workshops were conducted with all employees to inform them about the changes that would take place. The staff got information about the new working style and culture to be attained through TOM Team sponsors were identified and their roles explained to the staff. They were to support the teams in any way needed including helping them to attain their objectives with recognitio of their empowerment Other workshops that Wilker would offer involved problem-solving and statistical analysis, and at the same time inspiring everyone Finally, Gillette endeavored to meet the challenges of quality that the employees faced. Initially, Rotundo responded quickly to the employee complaints about the contract approach by delegating responsibility to investigate them to Victor Walker. The newly hired quality manager emerged to be a successful preparer of the team members and organizer of TOM process Through his stewardship, teams were guided in their TOM process by sponsors and ODI methodology. In addition, a steering committee was formed in an effort to respond to quality The council systematically supported the employees towards TOM proces and formed the backbone in the creation of a new working culture. Through such support, the employees were assured of the leaders commitment to the process and ultimately embarked on the missiq whole-heartedly. Involving teams in the TOM process Team involvement was paramount for the success of Gillette TOM process. The initiative was adopted by the firm in an effort to enhance overall performance and position better in th Argentine market. As Jorge Micozzi observed the market was opening and thus the firm perceived the entry of new competitors from United States and Europe (Donnellon & In that respect, team involvement was important to create a competitive advantage. This would allow for creativity and emergence of new ideas as the team members presented divers suggestions. There was need to improve decisions and processes ahead of competition trough team work. Therefore, the new competitive advantage was to assist Gillette to compete and keep their market share. Team involvement was important in consolidating individual interests with the interest of the company as a whole Before the implementation of TOM, the employees pursued their interests with no chance for a broader perspective on the organizational goals and objectives. This working culture was not particularly strategic for the creation of customer value through quality services. Therefore, team involvement was a way of changing this individualistic culture as well as the focus of the workforce towards goal attainment. Cimine lehin bain the limited time with the Wine ......... Involving teams in the TOM process Team involvement was paramount for the success of Gillette TOM process. The initiative was adopted by the fire in an effort to enhance overall performance and position better in the Argentine market. As Jorge Micozzi observed, the market was opening and thus the firm perceived the entry of new competitors from United States and Europe (Donnellon & Fingelkemeyer, 1999) In that respect, team involvement was important to create a competitive advantage. This would allow for creativity and emergence of new ideas as the team memben presented diverse suggestions. There was need to improve decisions and processes ahead of competition trough team work. Therefore, the new competitive advantage was to assist Gillette to compete and keep their market share. Team involvement was important in consolidating individual interests with the interest of the company as a whole. Before the implementation of TOM, the employees pursued their interests with no chance for a broader perspective on the organizational goals and objectives. This working culture was not particularly strategic for the creation of customer valat through quality services. Therefore, team involvement was a way of changing this individualistic culture as well as the focus of the workforce towards goal attainment Organizational Dynamics Ine which was hired to develop the quality initiative recommended the creation of teams. With the success history of the firm in Mexico, it was very important for Gillette to abide with this recommendation Team involvement was the only way to achieve the quality structure suggested by Opt. In addition, the basis of TOM being total participation, customer focus, wystematic support and continuous improvement relied completely on team involvement for success. Team involvement was important in enriching business ideas within Gillette. It can be argued that when employees are offered the chance to contribute to decision-making process, more and better ideas are achieved. Indeed, individuals are challenged to bring new ideas and suggestions when they are members of a team The individualistic working culture which existed prior to implementation of TOM process wis a huge obstacle to the generation of new ideas. Decisions were entirely made by the top leaders who had little knowledge about the challenges at the operation level. Therefore, team involvement as Walker observed was a way of creating a conduit through which iden would flow up and down the hierarchical structure, The other importance of involving teams was to eliminate departmental barriers that the previous system had created. As a manufacturing firm, Gillette haddenied employees the necessary interaction between departments. Rarely could the design team interact with the production team or the assembly team which gave in to low quality products and wastage of materials As much as the implementation of TOM process was to succeeds, so was the effort to involve teams. This involvement of diverse teams gave the need to understand what other departments did and how they were related to each other. Therefore, for the success of the TOM processes, interaction and coordination among departments was very crucial Team involvement in the TOM process was also important in improving customer satisfaction. Although it was more relevant to the sales team, it permeated through all other teams. The sales team had the direct contact with the customer and when involved in the TOM process could offer the needed foodbacks to the rest The other teams chipped in when responding to those feedbacks especially those which related to product offered. The involvement of these cams enabled Gillette to meet customer Question Completion Status materials. As much as the implementation of TOM process was to succeeds, so was the effort to involve teams. This involvement of diverse teams gave the need to understand what other departments did and how they were related to each other. Therefore, for the success of the TOM processes, interaction and coordination among departments was very crucial Team involvement in the TQM process was also important in improving customer satisfaction. Although it was more relevant to the sales team, it permeated through all other team The sales team had the direct contact with the customer and when involved in the TOM process could offer the needed feedbacks to the rest The other teams chipped in when responding to these feedbacks especially those which related to product offered. The involvement of these teams enabled Gillette to meet customer expectations and ultimately increase their satisfaction. Moreover, the increased strength and commitment of the sales team made the customers to feel more satisfied when transacting with the feam members The TQM process at Gillette was greatly improved by teamwork. It enabled the management to identify and meet challenges of quality. Team involvement increased employee participation in which they launched their complaints. For instance, the assignment of Victor Walker who emerged to be the camerstone in the processes was triggered by complaints from the employees (Donnellon & Engelkemeyer, 1999). In addition, team involvement allowed the steering committee to turn to TOM problems that barred the success of such programs Team involvement also allowed for the creation of the necessary working culture. As the team members increased their participation, new ideas emerged and departmental coordination became a reality. The roles of team leaders and members were defined and the members focused more on the organizational goals and objectives. Autonomy and efficiency increased such that each employee became a significant contributor to the success of the process Team involvement in the TQM actually speeded up the implementation. The firm was able to make quick, but effective decisions on how to go about implementing the components of the process. The process that had earlier faced challenges picked up as the teams increased their participation Micozzi offers the success example of the administrative building (Donnellon & Engelkemeyer, 1999). The building was designed and built in ten months by nine teams. Therefore, it can be argued that team involvement was the key factor that contributed to the success of TQM process within such a short time For the toolbar, press ALT F10 (PC) or ALTEN.F10 (Mac). ys Paragraph Arial A 2 I. Xod Q 5 14px