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 Contemporary Management Technique 

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The most appropriate organization with which contemporary management may be implemented includes the Salvation Army. It is also commonly known in accordance to its location; Lynchburg, Virginia. The Salvation Army has been astute in putting the needs of police and other corps first as it acts as a community center serving in approximately one hundred and thirty countries across the globe. With its roots in England, the organization was coined and founded in 1865 by the renowned General William Booth. However, its establishment first occurred in the U.S in the 80s, with its main headquarters being in Virginia. Here, Commissioner George Scott Railton was appointed to oversee its inception and work into the community. In 1914, Virginia was the first to enjoy the services of the Salvation Army where it provided its services to the overall community through the provision of shelter, food, programs geared towards empowering the youth, giving relief during disasters as well as offering family services such as therapy and counseling to the community. Today, the Salvation Army has expanded its scope and ensured that citizens from other countries could enjoy their services.

The organization falls under the non-profit sector and typically relies on donor funding to operate. It is important to note that while the non-profit sector depends on donor funding for their operations, many of the organizations have started exploring for-profit management techniques as a result of the pressure emanating from donors. In most cases, donors what their funds to be accounted for and usually pressurize the non-profit organizations in order to elevate performance and enhance accountability and transparency using a significant yet complex non-profit landscape that takes on a competitive approach. The most commonly used management technique within the non-profit sphere includes total quality management (TQM). Blocher et al., (2013) further define this management technique as a method used by the organization’s management to cultivate strategies and practices geared towards ensuring that the products and services offered by the firm exceed customers’ expectations. The rest of the paper focuses on analyzing total quality management as a contemporary management technique as well as how it can be applied within the non-profit context. The paper further discusses the implementation of the total quality management technique, specifically within the context of the Salvation Army, in its applicability within the organization. 

The rationale for Selecting Total Quality Management Technique

Total quality management technique is commonly used in for-profit organizations and encompasses various practices that have so far made it inherently difficult for the technique to acquire an explicit definition. For most of the part, scholars consider the many practices within the technique and cannot, therefore, define the technique. According to Hicks (2010), some of the critical practices relating to the for-profit organizations considered in total quality management include 45 practices that can be ultimately identified to relate with the technique. However, TQM has proven to be a very critical technique in the non-profit industry as it can be used to measure performance quality within a particular non-profit organization. Some of the advantages of the technique revolve around the fact that it is effective, sustainable, and offers a high level of satisfaction that has become significant in the criteria used by donors to give their donations to non-profit organizations. Additionally, TQM is a significant and efficient technique as it can be applied within non-profit organizations to determine performance and to realize accountability for both donors and their beneficiaries through non-profit organizations. In regard, many organizations consider TQM an all-inclusive enhancement strategy within the management of any organization as it encompasses every aspect of an organization’s activities and practices in order to enhance and upgrade organizational performance and effectiveness. This is also done to develop a sustainable competitive advantage within the industry for the firm. 

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The Total Quality Management Technique

This technique was first conceptualized by a study done in 2016. In their study, Sweis et al. (2016) suggested that the technique can be applied to non-profit organizations as they identified the key practices within which the technique can be applied in the relevant setting. These practices have to correlate with the non-profit setting as it seeks to be implemented within a particular non-profit organization. Therefore, the identified practices, according to Blocher et al., (2013), include “leadership and management commitment, beneficiary focus and participation, learning and continuous improvement, partnership management for sustainability, focus on human resources and using quality information as well as process management.” 

Leadership and commitment as a practice within the TQM technique majorly focus on the commitment of the senior and executive leadership and management within a non-profit organization. It is one of the key factors in implementing total quality management techniques in any given organization, whether it is a for-profit or non-profit organization. It is important to note that senior or high-ranking management is responsible for all the other levels of performance within the organization. They are also accountable for developing a work environment, promoting the organization’s culture as well as its framework and structure, and of operations within a particular organization (Blocher et al., 2013). Equally, every high-ranking manager within the context of a non-profit organization has many other responsibilities compares to a senior manager in a for-profit organization. Here, the senior management in a non-profit organization is tasked with leading by example, with compassion, and not using logic in their leadership style. This is done to motivate the organization and its staff in order to achieve the needs of its beneficiaries. Therefore, if the senior managers in the non-profit organizations are not committed, there is a high chance that TQM may be implemented successfully in the organization, thus making the commitment a significant aspect of TQM as a contemporary management technique.

On the other hand, to successfully implement TQM in a non-profit organization, it is important to focus on the beneficiaries and their participation. In this case, beneficiaries can be described as the main stakeholders within a non-profit organization. Additionally, they are also considered the main customers of the products and services offered by the non-profit organizations. In regard, non-profit organizations are tasked with practicing a beneficiary focus in order to enhance the organizational performance quality (Talib, 2013). Here, a beneficiary focus would take a different straightforward approach which can the attained by ensuring that the beneficiaries participate in a program or service within the organization.

There is a strong connection between partnerships and improved quality of performance in an organization. Thus, non-profit organizations can improve their organizational performance quality by partnering with other organizations with whom they share goals and a purpose. In relation to performance, partnerships allow non-profits organizations to improve their programs as well as services they offer through increasing their resources and know-how in their target populations (Talib, 2013). In this case, the non-profit organizations are able to strengthen and stretch their outreach program capabilities within their target populations. In terms of quality, partnerships allow the non-profit organizations to prevent their services and programs from overlapping, thus promoting a cost-effective approach as the partners are able to attain their shared goals efficiently without incurring a higher cost.

To effectively implement total quality management techniques in a non-profit organization, it is important to consider the involvement of human resources. Even though there is very little information to substantiate the involvement of human resources in the practices of total quality management, it has proven to be effective in promoting the implementation of TQM. Furthermore, looking at the current level of difficulty in applying human resource practices within non-profit organizations, it is worth mentioning that this difficulty results from the minimal available resources within most non-profit organizations. Consequently, this promotes the fading away of the importance of human resource practices in the operations of non-profit organizations (Hicks, 2010). On the contrary, Sweis et al., (2016) asserts that the practices of human resource management are a vital aspect of the overall organizational performance improvement. This is because human resource management in a non-profit setting tends to entail the intricacies of attending to multiple stakeholders with limited or very minimal resources.

While process management involves a set of activities geared towards improving organizational processes, it can also be used to evaluate the performance of the said processes as well as identify opportunities that aid in the continuity of the improvement process. Additionally, in a non-profit setting, the context of process management revolves around certification of standard operating procedures within the activities of process management. For instance, it is critical when practicing internal auditing, and collecting beneficiaries’ feedback, specifically relating to the organization’s programs as well as services. This is also applicable to the organization’s staff that oversee the programs and services to their completion (Blocher et al., 2013). In regard, a key element of continuous improvement and process management can be regarded as an integral process in implementing the TQM technique in a non-profit setting. Ultimately, this allows the non-profit organization to ensure that every aspect of its organization experiences an improvement in performance and enables the organization to sustain a competitive advantage over other organizations in the general market.

In relation to implementing TQM, an organization needs to focus on using quality information. This can be acquired through qualitative and quantitative data, which will, in turn, determine organizational success. According to (Hicks, 2010), a non-profit can gather quality quantitative and qualitative data through performing a needs assessment of the given beneficiaries in order to determine the gaps in the no-profit company’s programs, services as well as vulnerabilities within the population served by the organization. For the organization to succeed in its quest for improved performance within the organization, it needs to ensure that every relevant information is entered into an information management system. This, in turn, allows the non-profit organization to ensure that there is both effective and efficient use of the resources in an organization, which will utterly increase the accountability levels of the organization to both donors and beneficiaries (Blocher et al., 2013).

Consequently, implementing the above-mentioned practices in relation to the total quality management technique allows many non-profit organizations to improve on the quality of management as well as the beneficiary satisfaction. These would then see most companies gaining accountability to their beneficiaries as well as donors. This would also increase the value for the company’s stakeholders. However, with the current numerous management techniques, there are significant shortcomings of utilizing TQM, specifically within the non-profit setting. In regard, an organization might have limited funds which would then result in limited resources, thereby making it inherently difficult to achieve the total quality management technique (Blocher et al., 2013). Additionally, another disadvantage is the limited independence of the non-profit organizations based on practices of TQM and well as the organization’s ability to not support TQM because of factors or changes such as the technique having a systematically-laid approach in how to manage organizational performance, which would even prevent volunteers from working with the organization. 

Applying TQM to the Salvation Army

In order to correctly apply TQM, it is important to note the series of practices such as long-term, sustainable solutions for its beneficiaries. This can be done by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of some of the programs within the non-profit organizations. For the implementation process to occur effortlessly, the non-profit organization needs to apply every aspect of the technique to the organization beginning with its motto. Typically, the organization applies its motto throughout the delivery of its custom-made programs and services, whose main goal, in this case, is ensuring that beneficiaries are provided with long-term and sustainable solutions. In addition, the Salvation Army has a culture of adhering to open-mindedness as it looks at ways in which it can improve its service and program delivery to its beneficiaries, specifically their surrounding community. Furthermore, the organization recognizes the some of its beneficiaries’ needs are continuously evolving and undergoing a change, thereby meaning that the organization is open to any type of change.

The openness to change or the flexibility that comes with accepting change is one of the critical elements of TQM implementation. This is because TQM typically revolves around the idea of constant improvement, which creates a vacuum for continuous change in every organizational process involved. Or instance, a study shows that many of the TQM organizational failures are a result of an organization’s capacity to resist change. In the case of the Salvation Army, being open to change as well as adherence to its goals on providing programs and services to its surrounding community makes it a very good choice for the application of the total quality management technique.

Other non-profit organizations can also implement and apply the TQM technique in order to promote organizational performance and accountability. Even though the TQM technique is commonly used in for-profit organizations, including Mercedes Benz, Samsung, and Apple, it is important to note that very little has been documented on the use or implementation of TQM in non-profit organizations (Hicks, 2010). Therefore, it equally important to note that TQM has its own complexities that make it applicable or effective on well-established non-profit organizations. A good example is the IMF bank or the CARE International that has successfully implemented the technique throughout the years that the organizations have served the people they were meant to serve (Sweis et al., 2016). For example, CARE International describes its TQM implementation process as a medium by which they fulfill its responsibilities to its stakeholders, including their main beneficiaries. Here, the stakeholders can hold the organization accountable for every decision they make, their actions as well as how these decisions and actions impact the overall organization and its stakeholders (Blocher and Hicks, 2019).

Another interesting way with which many organizations implement the QM technique revolves around incorporating committees from the community served by the organization. Typically, many of the committees are astute at engaging the organization’s beneficiaries through an establishment of a well-focused means of communication between an organization such as the Salvation Army and its beneficiaries. In regard, through this channel of communication, the needs of the community, their feedback as well as suggestion are conveyed to the non-profit organization, which in turn uses what they obtain to better their programs and services. Therefore, there is a lot of emphasis on the use of TQM by non-profit organizations through the involvement of the beneficiaries in order to gain an insight into some of the TQM practices they see fit to be incorporated in the organization.

According to Sweis (2016), the conceptualization of TQM as a technique on its own is highly significant within the non-profit setting. This can be substantiated through the six Practices of the technique that identifies it as an appropriate technique for non-profit organizations and can also be applied within the United Nations agencies handling refugees and the minority in countries experiencing war and a refugee problem such as Syria and Myanmar, respectively. A posited by Sweis (2016), some of these TQM practices include leadership and management, partnering for quality management and sustainability, as well as process management and the use of quality information within an organization. Similarly, one most prevalent TQM practice across all spheres includes learning and, continuous improvement which is typically the backbone of the overall technique.

Even though the United Nations has been at the forefront to ensure that people all over the world are taken care of in terms of providing shelter for refugees and offering asylum to war victims as well as providing food and education to the poor communities across the globe, it is highly notable that it does not accept the use of TQM technique practices in engaging their beneficiaries and promoting participation as well as focus on human resource. This is because the organization deems these practices as part of the other four TQM practices implemented by the organization. For instance, the four TQM practices embraced by the United Nations are not subject to outside articulation, especially within the community with which they are meant to serve (Blocher et al., 2019). This is because the involvement and interests of the beneficiaries and employees are usually correlated with any practice implemented within the non-profit organization. An excellent example, in this case, is the implementation of TQM practices in agencies serving countries like Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Myanmar, among many countries with hardships. Here, the practices implemented by the United Nations agencies reduced the hypothetical complexities of total quality management within these countries – the main shortcoming of implementing TQM within a non-profit organization.

The Implementation of the Total Quality Management

After identifying and defining the TQM practices potentially appropriate for non-profit organizations in relation to improving performance, as well as showing how the technique has been effectively applied in other non-profit organizations across the world, the implementation of the TQM process in the Salvation Army takes a similar approach with main considerations being placed on its stakeholders and specifically, the beneficiaries.

While TQM is a management technique that has been used throughout the years by both for-profit and non-profit organizations, it needs the commitment of every employee involved in the process in order to achieve the continuous improvement of performance in the organization within which it is implemented. In this case, the first step when implementing TQM in a non-profit organization like the Salvation Army revolves around the securing of employee commitment to the technique. This begins with the high-ranking senior leaders followed by the employees within the organization. If the senior leaders are committed to implementing the technique, it encourages the employees to follow suit. Therefore, high-ranking leadership commitment to the implementation process of TQM is vital as it encourages the other employees to see the importance of the technique within the organization as well as how it can positively and effectively impact their work situation (Blocher et al., 2013).

The second step in implementing TQM is the training of employees in order to achieve the technique’s effectiveness within the organization (Hicks, 2010). The importance of this step in the implementation process within the organization revolves around the fact that it requires the employees to modify their daily processes as well as activities in order to fit that of the organization. This change is highly beneficial to the implementation of TQM in a non-profit organization. In regard, making such changes either within the activities of a department or the normal personal employee activities gives the organization an opportunity to enter the third stage, which is the institution of standard operating procedures within the implementation of TQM in a non-profit firm. These procedures reorganize the TQM implementation process through specific management activities (Blocher et al., 2013).

On the other hand, another stem in the implementation of the TQM is the actual effecting of the TQM practices specific to the organization. This will allow the Salvation Army to be able to implement one of the TQM practices already outlined in the previous section bearing in mind that it has to be relevant to the context. In this case, affecting the TQM practices is very crucial for the Salvation Army as they get to follow through with the next step – conducting internal audits and collecting feedback from both beneficiaries and organization staff. Equally, this step usually allows the organization to identify the overall efficiency of the total quality management technique implementation and to prepare the firm for the final step, which is to continuously go over and revise the implementation of the practices so as to improve its effectiveness and efficiency in promoting organizational performance. According to Sweis et al. (2016), this, in turn, leads to the satisfaction of beneficiaries and donors. Even though the implementation process of the TQM can be very long, it is accurate and offers firms better practices to promote performance improvement. Additionally, it is important to note that TQM is a long-term and consistent improvement process that is highly independent of any deadlines – deadlines are not applicable in this case. It is a continuous process and shows no possibility of being completely erased from the business scope. It slowly becomes part of an organization as the firms embrace every TQM practice.

Conclusion

As indicated by the analysis, the total quality management technique can be utilized within the non-profit organization setting. The Salvation Army in Virginia acts as a better example of an organization that can implement TQM as it supports its implementation process, which highly benefits the organization. With the implementation of TQM, the Salvation Army will experience a constant and continuous improvement in the quality of programs as services it offers. This will, in turn, promote an improvement of its performance, thereby improving the lives of those working in the organization. TQM is an effective way to implement change within an organization. However, it is important for the employees to cooperate and participate in the implementation process. For instance, the higher-ranked leaders are tasked with remaining committed to the implementation process so that the other employees may emulate them and follow suit. This is because if the senior leaders are committed to implementing the TQM technique, then there is a high chance that the other employees will feel encouraged to support the implementation process of TQM. Just like any other technique, TQM also has its advantages and disadvantages when applied in non-profit organizations. One of the most prevalent advantages revolves around the fact that TQM has no deadlines and is a continuous process. However, its main disadvantage falls on the fact that the practices implemented by some organizations may potentially reduce the theoretical complexities of TQM within the context that the technique is implemented and utilized. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Blocher, E. J., Stout, D. E., Juras, P. E., & Smith, S. D. (2019). Cost management: A strategic emphasis [eBook edition]. McGraw-Hill Education.

Hicks, M. (2010). Accounting for decision making: A study guide. Roanoke, VA: Synergistics.

Sweis, R. J., Firas Izzat, M. S., Samer, E. D., Sweis, N. J., Rawan, A. S., & Diab, H. (2016). Benchmarking of TQM practices in INGOs: A literature review. Benchmarking, 23 (1), 236-261.

Talib, Faisal. (2013). An overview of total quality management: understanding the fundamentals in service organization. International Journal of Advanced Quality Management, 1, 1-20.

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