The Human Resource Implications of Quality Initiatives: Sectoral Differences?

Introduction This article reports on the human resource implications of quality initiatives and then considers whether manufacturing and service companies involved in the implementation of quality programmes adopt similar approaches in their handling of human resource matters. The article begins with an introduction to the development of total quality before considering the product service interface and the role of human resource issues in quality initiatives (Qls). The research is then considered. Quality Management Many companies are engaged in the implementation of quality initiatives. These range from the standards advocated by the ISO 9000 series to award systems such as the Malcolm Baldrige Award, Den-dng Prize and European Quality Award System (see Bohoris, 1995, for a comprehensive overview). Such standards provided organisations with the opportunity to both chart and benchmark their quality progress. However, the effective management of quality requires more than simply meeting specifications and many companies have moved towards the process of total quality management (TOM which can be described as a system "designed as an integrated, customer-focused approach to improve the quality of an organisation's processes, products and services" (Waldman, 1994: 31). Views differ on the precise nature of TQM but there is general agreement that it will involve a commitment by top management to quality, a focus on continuous improvement, employee involvement, concern with customer satisfaction and process orientation. Organisations that are engaging in the process of TQM are also changing their work arrangements and are emphasising teamworking, leadership, employee involvement and communications. Approaches to Quality in Manufacturing and Services While research into the area of management and quality is not new, the study of both from a service perspective dates only from the late 1970s. Discussions of service characteristics emphasise intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability and perishability (Baron and Harris 1995). These characteristics can combine to result in a situation where "the type and degree of controllability that a service provider can exercise over the output is different from the controllability that can be exercised by a manufacturer" (Gummesson, 1991: 9). Variability of service quality can cause major problems and the consequent reluctance to measure and control service quality results in a situation where the implementation of quality management in the service sector lags behind the manufacturing sector generally. Also it is the case that as services become more important for manufacturing businesses, the servitisation of business (Vandermerwe and Rada, 1988) may have important implications for the way in which quality initiatives are implemented. Until recently, TQM has been associated with manufacturing rather than services. Gronroos (1993) postulates that instead of using quality concepts from manufacturing, services researchers have based their work on developing a service quality concept on models from consumer behaviour. Therefore, the consumer has become the focal point of quality. Indeed much of the empirical work on services quality deals with consumers rather than organisations (Lapierre and Filiatrault 1995). Service quality research thus differs in its scope from the more general or manufacturing based quality research. Additionally, the literature supports a view that differences exist in the management of quality in the two sectors. Dale et al, (1997) report that "without doubt the management of quality in services and manufacturing is different with each presenting their own set of difficulties". A contrary view is presented by Quinn et al, (1990) who believe that management must break out of the mindset that considers manufacfaring (or goods production) as separate from the service activities that make such products possible and effective. …