Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research VoI.S9, May 2000, pp 362-372

Total Quality Management - A Tool for Business Development in an R&D Organization

D Bheemeswar

Regional Research Labora tory, Trivandrum 695 019 , India

A three tier approach has been suggestcd for improving the performance of an R& D organization from the ini tial stage to fully developed ones. Anyone of the technique or a combination of these technique may be cmployed to achieve a constructive R&D business development. The more the cross inter-di sciplinary activities the more the success of thc R&D organi zation .

Introduction In the context of globalization and liberalization, and

also implementation of ISO 9000 and ISO 13000 series, respectively, in Indian industries and R&D organizations, it is imperative to improve the respective organization's per­formance by a Total Quality Management (TQM) concept. Especially, R&D organizations face the problems ofcred­ibility, accountability and acceptability, whose performance is mediocre, basically because of meddling of the manage­ment, and may be lack of understanding towards greater perspective. Probably these organizations may face closure sooner are later, if they do not change their attitude, apti­tude, and commitment towards innovation and creativity. Innovation is an attempt to go beyond existing technical practices; it is more than replication, however expert; it entails a nontrivial expansion of technical knowledge and deliberate encounter with previously untried approaches. Whereas, creativity work is undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, and the use of this stock of knowledge is to device a new application. Even though we have well educated manpower, who are per­forming well elsewhere. Who-so-ever has joined these R & D organizations has lost his aptitude and appeti te for science and technology (S&T), because of ineffective and indifferent attitude of management. This type of manage­ment leads towards character assassination , which is finally reflected in the R&D organization's di smal performance. For improving the perfomlance qualitatively and quantita­ti vely, in these R&D organizations, a generic T Q M ap­proach is presented here.

The paper is described in three phases, the initial phase I , Building of a foundation to understand facility attitudes and priorities towards R&D - a process in order to identify

opportunities for improvement. Improvement's would ulti­mately be evident by more efficient, timely, accurate, reli­able, accessible or inexpensive processes that may accom­modate the faculty - defined objectives and contractual obligations for R&D. Secondly, phase 2 designed cus­tomer feed back system and thirdly, phase 3 controlmecha­nism by project phase and corrective measures shall im­prove accountability, acceptability of R&D achievements and thus in tum improves the marketability and business.

Phase 1 - Building of R&D Organization

Achieving productivity in an R&D organization can be a by-product of appropriate implementation of qual­ity principles, provided that the design for the admini s­trative infrastructure is appropriate for the task at hand. This can be achieved by redesigning the research ad­ministrative and support areas along with recommenda­tions for diagnosing problems and understanding the el­ements from effective productivity improvement strat­egy point of view. The conditions that must be addressed for improvement efforts are: (i) Resource constraints, (ii) Individual and group empowerment, (i ii) Incenti ves, recognition, and rewards, and (iv) Strategic thinking, perceptions, priorities, problem solving contributions and tactical inference.

TQM generally addresses change programs as part of larger holi stic system and this system should be de­veloped from grass-root level, although it was based on participation from across several units within the R&D organization. Although there is not a single definition or blue print for T Q M the leadersh ip sets the environment for deployment through the system while repl ying on the empowerment of employees and fact-based manage-

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BHEEMESWAR : TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT 363

ment practices. The understanding of customer's needs and environment is paramount for the construction of strategy and tactics. Management's main role is to specify a general direction to move without insisting upon spe­cific solutions . The five steps to effective change are : (i) Mobilize commitment to change through joint diag­nosis of problems, (ii) Develop a shared vision, (iii) Fos­ter consensus for the new vision , (iv) Institutionalize revitalization through fonnal policies, systems, and struc­tures, and (v) Monitor and adjust strategies in response.

This shall help research group to continue its cross­discipline project and focus on developing an understand­ing of faculty perceptions about research administration process that could help identify improvement opportu­nities .

Quality is not a new term for R&D organization and it is part and parcel of regular responsibility of R&D organization analysis and testing of different materials as per the national/international standards applied for that particular variety of product / process . Also, R&D organization attempts to improve the existing techniques for analysis and testing of newer and new material s. For these goals to achieve each and every faculty / disci­pline has to be established and well supported by the top leadership. The responsibility for leading the drive to improve quality is that of management. That is manage­ment support is the genesis without which little else will happen. Figure 1 illustrates the importance of manage­ment support.

The top management may give incentives for ap­plying TQM, which should be non-monetary and should

Precipitating TQM team share Event sufficient resources

\ / \

be based on groups rather than individuals . If govern­ments of the developing countries, want to have more and more competitive economics, they should help R&D organizations and small industrial units in their TQM interventions, and provide a better employee education and also training to their personnel, these are some of the methods to do this, since it has been shown that this factor positively affects TQM development and effec­tively improves the economy and hence growth of the country. Hence, priority should be given for human re­source development, along with necessary training and re-deployment. A timely investment in TQM to gener­ate a return can result in the form of reduced rework costs, increased productivity, an increased acceptability and a greater market share.

Phase 2 - Customer Feedback A Tool for TQM Customer feedback is an important element of T Q

M, particularly in service and R&D organizations. De­signing customer feedback systems that are tied to real business needs is a must. Concurrent with defining where feedback will be used is specifying what the goal s and objectives for the feedback are. This will identify how the information will benefit the designated functional areas - how it will help them to do their jobs better. There are various goals and objectives to which feed­back can contribute?

(i) Design - Those who are responsible for determin­ing what sort of services or products or processes will be offered and what systems will be for pro­duction and delivery.

Job satisfaction satisfaction with TQM Quality out put

t Top management Process measurement Data based decision support & participatiol .. and total feed back making ...

~

I Greater marketlbusiness I

Figure I - Management 's position in an R&D organi zati on TQM for marketability and business

364 J SCIIND RES VOL 59 MAY 2000

Infonnation

Li brarie:;-----. PL(s)-----II~~

Multimedia.a __ .~~ Funding agencies ________ ..

www R&D stafrf ---II~~

Materials Research TQM

Plans---II~ Lab---~

Feedback Org. access ___ ~,/ Applicability_----i~

Reviews Eqpt. &Inf. Significance __ ~

Resources Pedagogical ---i~

Value

Goal achievemen

Publications -----i~

Patents ----,

Tech. transfers~

Figure 2 - A fishbone scheme for TQM in an R&D organization

(ii) Marketing - Those who are responsible for attract­ing new or previous customers and providing them pre-purchase information.

(iii) Operations - Those who are responsible for actu­ally producing and delivering either service or prod­uct or process .

(iv) Customer Support - Those who are responsible for providing support to customers. Generally, this support comes after they have purchased the ser­vice or product or process . This support function should arguably involve design, marketing and

operations; however, it may be assigned to a spe­cific group of employees .

Of course, there are other departments where cus­tomer feedback can provide a return to total quality man­agement effort. Figure 2 shows some of the other ser­vice sections. Concurrent with defining where feedback will be used is specifying what the goals and objectives for the feedback are. This will, however, identify how the information will benefit the designated functional area(s) - how it will help them do their jobs better? There are various goals and objectives to which feedback can contribute.

BHEEMESWAR : TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Table I - Major issues in designing a customer feedback system for TQM in an R&D organi zation

Items to determine (from the first five co lumns of Table 2 on aim , des ign, and objecti ves):

Functional target Where will the feedback be used in the R&D organi zation( e.g., des ign, marketing, operations, customer support)?

Feedback goal

Objective frame

What is the ultimate purpose(s) of gathering feedback? (thi s based on needs of the R&D organi zati on)

Is the objective to serve on immediate need short(S) or 10ng-term(L) objecti ve?

Which then specifies ... ( from las t four columns of Table 2 on questions, uses, and bias) Questi oning The type of questi ons to ask customers,

including wording

Response type

Data use

The format of the question responses (dichotumous, scale, li st, fill -in-the-blank, open-ended)

How the collected feedback can be appropriately used (quantitati ve, analysis, qualitative analysis seed ideas, etc .)

Bias sensiti vity Wether the data uses are sensitive to response bias

Response bias sensitivity then guides ... Solicitation type How the feedback should be solicited ;

response bias sensiti vity usuall y requires "acti ve" solic itation; otherwise "pass ive" solic itation is inexpensive

Ex tent o f questi oning How intense to make the ques ti oning; the response rate will be in versely re lated to the extent of questi oning

Feedback incentive What incentives are given to customers for feedback; incentives may be tangible(such as a drawing for prizes) or intangible (such as promise for response, if desired)

Visibility What percent o f customers "see" a passive feedback solicitati on, and perceive that it is directed at them '?

Data requirements and use determine .. . Temporal frame When the feedback should be collected

(in-process or ex-post) Channeling Where the feedback goes in the R&D or

gani zati on, and who responds

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366 J SCI IND RES VOL 59 MAY 2000

Table 2a - Customer feed back system options for TQM in R&D organizations

Functional aim of Feedback Short-or long-te'rm Question response type* Sensitive to Design

C"' response bias?

Goal Objective Description of Sm"y q""tioo l How 10 ud, 1 objective examples feedback

Ascertains Assess Determine the How important are Means and histograms. customer strength of vruious each of the Use. to help prioritize need customer needs being following product service product

met features? Improvement efforts

Probe L. Determine important What features are F Use as a discussion N needs potentially important for this 0 topic for focus groups addressed by the type of service with customer groups. service product product? What

might other needs we serve?

Develop Check S Assure that the How would you S Means and histograms Y service product service products is rate us according to identify service product

meeting the objectives the following weakness or fail points it was designed to objective? meet

Prescribe L Identify ideas for Suggestions? S Use as seed ideas in the N future features or Possible design process service products improvements?

competition

Benchmark Compare S Determine how our How would you S Means and histograms N competition company is viewed rate us relative to Can help identify where

relative to the, the competition? we need to study the competition competition

Borrow L Determine ways in What do you 0 Use as guidance for N which the competition particularly like 'studying competitors provides a superior about our service products service product. competitors?

* Question response types: Dichtomus (e.g., Yes/l'l'o) , Scale (e.g., I to 7), List to check, * Field (Name/address/phone), Open ended, Any

Table I describes, designing a customer feedback systems and Table 2 describes the four functional areas for customer feedback system options for T Q M .

Phase 3 - Project Base A Tool for TQM For a TQM in R&D it should start right from the

project proposal stage whether they are short- or long­term objectives up to the post-project phase, as shown in the Table 3. A project proposal phase is nothing but a subjective matter. A proposal evaluation form might as­sess the potential significance of research and the cre­ativity and originality of the approach. During the project, attention will shift to how well the researchers have adapted their work to take into account recommenda-

tions from customer, gathered at the annual site reviews. At the end of the project, retrospective questions can again assess how well the researchers adapted to recom­mended goals and changes, how significant is the final result, and how much creativity and originality were dis­played throughout the research process. In the months and years that follow the project's completion, signifi­cance in trade and popular publications, in addition to academic journal is assessed.

For each control element in Table 3, there should be a corrective action in the event of feedback from the negative. The response is intended to help check im­proper quality when the control mechani sms indicate it is not being achieved. Table 4 short-lists the corrective

BHEEMESWAR : TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT 367

Table 2b - Customer feed back system options for TQM in R&D organizations

Functional aim offeedback Short-or long-term Question response type* Sensitive to marketing an objective response bias?

Goal Objective r Description of Sor;ey q",,,tioo l How to ore the feedb'~ objective examples

Identify Describe S Determine what type Age? Income? L Means and histograms Y customers of people our ( other customers F Assist in targeting

customers are demographic . and advertising questions)

Trace L Discover why/how How did you select L Analyze effectiveness of Y our customers came to us? What features or various advertising and be our customers were major selling 0 sales efforts

points?

Promote Impress S Give the perception (Any questions about A Respond to feedback, N service product that the company percived quality and when possible (i.e., have

cares about customers meeting customer name and address or and quality needs) phone number)

Publicize · L Collect exceptional Comments about our 0 Publish excerpts in N service product company? Anything company and other reviews for future you consider publications publicizing exceptional?

Generate sales Push S Invite customers to Which of these Forward to sales N

leads repurchase (Service products) department can we send you more information about?

Enroll L Encourage customers Would you like to Forward to sales to join a frequent join our membership department purchase club or club or mailing lists? mailing List

*Question responsetypes: Dichtomus (e.g.,Yes/No), Scale(e.g.,l to 7),List to check, Field (Name/address/phone), Open ended, Any.

actions suggested for each type of negative feedback and how overall improvement can be made in R&D man­agement by project base tool.

Examples or references for further reading :

(i) IImer el a/., have described the Phase I, which is particularly applicable at the initial stages of and R&D organization , by identifying initiatives that apply continuous improvement and the methods targeted at cri tical research process.

(ii) Sampson has discussed the design of customer feed­back systems, Phase 2 for quality improvement, concurrent with defining where feedback will be used and specifying the goals and objecti ves for the feedback. This, in tum, identifies how the in­formation benefits the designated functional areas - how it helps them do their jobs better.

(iii) Baily et a/., have applied Phase 3 technique to an industry-research and academic organization, in

368 1 SCIIND RES VOL 59 MAY 2000

Table 2c - Customer feed back system options for TQM in R&D organizations

Functional aim of feed back Short"or long-term Question response type* Sensitive to operations objective response bias?

Goal Objective r Description of Survey question l How to 000"" f""b'~ objective examples

Measure Inspect S Determine if the Did (such - and-such D Feedfailureinformation N specification service product service product back to employees conformance performed to formal feature) occur? responsible for providing

specifications that feature Track L Track areas of Rate the following S Use standard control Y

potential variance to features we provide chart analysis to identify assure the process if and when the process remains in control goes of our control over time

Compare across Focus S Help focus Whatdepartmentl F Summarize data by N organization management on location did you 0 departmentllocation

company sites or visit? Comments? S looking for patterns, departments in need (look for problems) outlines, and high of attention How do they rate?

variance

Baseline L Develop performance What department I F Summarize data and Y standards based on location did you S distribute to each best practices visit? How did they departmentllocation occurring in the do in these areas? highlighting top results organization

Increase Motivate S Provide the basis for Ratings for .. S Recognize or reward N employee rewarding or punishing (employees or their F employees for top involvement employees for the work) Employee to 0 ratings or significam

service product they nominate for nomination by customers provide recongnition ? Why

Empower S Direct employees in How might we Direct the feed back to the development of improve (Specific employees, who then their area of aspect of the service report how it is handled responsibility product)?

* Question response types: Dichtomus (e.g., Yes/No), Scale (e.g., Ito 7), List to check, Field (Name/address/phone), Open ended, Any.

BHEEMESWAR : TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Table 2d - Customer feed back system options for TQM in R&D organizations ~

Functional aim of feedback Short-or long-tenn Question response type· Sensitive to Customer support objective

S~'Y qoo",oo l response biasL-

Goal Objective r Description of How to use the feedback 1 objective examples

EVALUATE REASSURE S RECEIVE ASSURANCE DID WE MEET YOUR S MEANS AND fllSTOGRAMS . Y Customer that customers are expectations? How Compare with target Satisfaction generally satisfied do we rate overall? rating values

Protect L Watch for customer Complaints? 0 Investigate complaints. N problems that could Comments? (Focus especially recurring potentially become on complaint ones . Resolve serious (such as responses) problems before legalliablity) they run serious

Assure Recover S Attempt to reconcile Any problems D Contact customers N Repeat and reclaim with ... ?Were you S when possible and business dissatisfied satisfied with .. . ? ...... N offer apology and

customers What is your name/ remuneration address / phone number?

Retain L Determine reasons What might cause 0 Build checks into the N customers defect to you to choose the service prevent product future defections competition? How to assure defection

likely is that to -inducing problems occur? are avoided

Provide Hear. S Allow customers the Comments? 0 When possible. thank N soupding apportunity to speak customer for feedback board their minds Apply other objectives

as appropriate

Communicate L Provide the Questions or Tell the customer how apport unity to interact comments? Would 0 you acted on the with customers you like a response? D feedback. and possibly

Name and address? N ask for more feedback

* Question response types: Dichtomus (e.g .• Yes/No), Scale (e.g .• lto 7), List to check. Field (Name/address/phone) . Open ended. Any.

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370 J SCIIND RES VOL 59 MAY 2000

. Table 3 - Lontrol mechanisms by project phase for TQM in R&D organizations

QualityR &D sponsored research is that research which

I Is applicable industry speci­ficallyR&D organisations

2 Tackels a significant problem in an original way

3 Provides pe­diagogical va­lue to studen­ts who may la­ter be hired by industry

41s well-do-. cumented its

goals and pu­rposes,and meets expect­ations

5 Results in

Proposal submission

Assess project's potential appli­cability

Assess significance and originality

Assess adequacy of plans for student involvement and examine past record of student hiring

Check plan for dissemi­nation of results, dete­rmine if goals are mea­surable

refereed publications

Project Phase

During project

Assess projcct's potential appli­cability

Determine if recom­mended changes have been made,if proje-ct is able to adapt to change, if project retains its significance and originality

Judge quality of student presentations and note the student's progress through the degree program

Judge the appearan­ce, clarity, and con­tent of written and verbal reports,mea­sure progress agai­st deadlines , note specificity of results

Count publications and patents

End of project

Examine evidence of industry interest in the work, eval­uate plans for implementation

Ask two questions (i).Did the researchers respond to recommendations from industry to if make relevant, sig­nificant, and (ii) Were novel approa­ches taken in the completion of the of the work?

Examine evidence of employment offers to students, count number of students hired, note the students progress through the degree program

Judge the appearan­ce, clarity, and con­tent of written and verbal reports, mea­sure progress agai ­st deadlines , note specificity of results

Count publications and patents

Post-project

Survey member company. for their implementation of the results, count the number of requests for technical reports rel ated to the work, count the number. of hits on project web pages

Assess if the work led to other worthwhile research project the topic ap­peared in the popular press or industry pu blic­cations

Count the number of students hired, note time-ta-degree for involved students

Count publicati refereed ons and perhaps publications citations and number of technology transfers

Phasc

Proposal submission

During project

BHEEMESWAR : TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Table 4 - ·Reactive improvement measures for TQM in R&D organizations

Negative feedback

Potential application is low

Significance and originality

Student plans/past hiring are poor

Goals are not measurable

Dissemination plans are poor

Potential application is low

Project fails to make changes

Significance and originality are low

Student presentations are poor

Student academic progress is low

Reports are poorly prepared

Deadlines are not met

Corrective action

Suggest researcher contact industry or R&D expert in this area for future submissions

Perhaps little can be done, but suggest researcher attend R&D conferences and contact industry experts

Suggest proposal modifications for better inclusion and preparation of student~

Ask industry reviewers to suggest how to make work more concrete

Provide guidelines for desired dissemin.ation

Assign an industry mentor or otherwise increase industrylR&D oversight

Note the reasons, discuss alternatives

Assign an industry mentor or otherwise increase industrylR&D oversight

Provide guidelines, suggest students enroll in technical communication courses

Query professor and student as to reasons? emphasize the need for reasonable progress

Provide guidelineS and examples of good reports Note reasons why, adjust schedule, and make sure that all resources are available to achieve the new schedule

371

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372 J SCI IND RES VOL 59 MAY 2000

Table 4 - Reactive improvement measures for TQM in an R&D organizations Contd ...

Phase

End of project

Post project

No follow-up research undertaken

Negative feedback

Work is too general

Industry is not inteTe.~ted .

no implementation plan~

Ch an ges were not made

Work was not significant or original

Few students were hired! received offers

Student's academic progress was slow

Reports were poorly prepared

Deadlines were not met

Work was too gencral

No implementation or member company intercst evolved

Little popular interest exhibited

Few students were hired

Students spent long ti me to get degree

Corrective action

Remind professor of need to reach specific goals. get industry advice on how t6 proceed

Publicize the work. look for application potential. and diagnose what went wrong for future reference?

Note reasons why

Note why

Provide resume service. query interviewers and professor as to why students not selected

Ask professor and student why. note reasons

Provide guidelines for future reference. if funds remain. suggest rewriting

Note why not. provide Extensions. if feasible

Note problems encountered Survey member companies R&D units to find out why?

Find out why: were proposals submitted and denied. or was the area or the research abandoned

Distribute press releases

Query interviewers and professor as to why students not selected

Ask student. researcher. and department chair what happened

which research quality is first defined, based on input from industry representatives and academic researchers. Second step concerns with both par­ties combined to arrive at five part definition that it covers, as described in Table 3 and 4 .

2 Sampson Scott E, An Empirically Defined Framework for De­signing Customer Feedback Systems ' , Qual Manag e .I, 6(3) ( 1999) 64-80.

3 Baily Dane E el ai, Applying Continuous Quality Improvement Techniques to-a Research Environment , Qual Manage .I, 6(2)

(1999) 62-77.

References 4 Kannan V R el al .• Tools and Techniques of Quality Manage­

ment: An Empiri cal Investigation of Their Impact on Perfor­mance'. Qual Manage J, 6(3) (1999) 34-50. Steven Ilmer el al • A TQM Study of Faculty Perceptions of

Research Administration Process. Qual Manage J, 6(2) ( 1999) 41-6 1.

5 Lorente ARM el al. , TQM and Company Characteristi cs : An Examination, Qual Manage J, 5(4) (1998) 59-71.