Change and the QMS

The first step in addressing broad, time-sensitive changes is to stop and think.

"If you can keep your head when all about you /Are losing theirs and blaming it on you…"

-- Rudyard Kipling, "If"

Last month I discussed change in the context of its effect on people within an organization. There is, of course, a related systems aspect. These days, quality leaders are often called upon to support massive changes in the way their organizations create value and serve customers. They're asked (or perhaps ordered) to support programs that will necessitate major changes to the way their quality management systems (QMS) have operated in the past. These types of change are often unanticipated, or at least come about suddenly. There's a demand from the top for support of an initiative that will "transform our performance" or "make us No. 1 in the industry."

In the face of great urgency, organiza-tions often respond to demands such as massive outsourcing programs, extensive cost reductions and the near-elimination of headquarters staff with special programs or new processes without fully consider--ing their effect on the management system as a whole. In some cases top managers are tempted to simply stop doing what's required by the "old" QMS to make time for other actions. At best in such cases, the result is an attempt to apply the "same old" QMS to a completely different business. At worst, the QMS becomes completely dysfunctional and misaligned with the organization's overall business objectives. In either case, the organization could be making a terrible mistake. What's needed instead is a broad understanding of the potentially dramatic changes to the QMS necessary for it to support a different business model. In such situations, there's seldom sufficient time to conduct an in-depth evaluation; a fast, innovative and thorough reassessment of the overall QMS is necessary.

To manage comprehensive, deadline-driven changes such as these, the quality leader needs an action plan that's approved by top management. The first action item should always be to stop and think. The quality leader must stand back and assess how the overall business will be changing. This includes sharing with top managers an understanding of the following:

• The organization's basic principles and how they may change in the future

• Its vision of the future

• Its mission and how it's changing

• Its business model

• Its shift in product strategies

It might be necessary to make a major change to the organization's formal stated vision of the future or even its purpose, mission or core values. If basic changes are projected over the next few years, the vision statement should be updated to reflect this expectation. There should also be a clear understanding of how the organization's basic business model for achieving adequate financial results will be adjusted.

The action plan should include a review of the organization's objectives. If major changes are required, then formal organizational objectives usually must be revised and new measures and targets established. The organization will need to change its objectives to bring about results that meet the new vision. Establishing organizational objectives and ensuring their alignment are activities that can be done only by top managers. However, they can't do this alone; they must involve the appropriate functional leaders, supervisors and--to an appropriate extent--employees.

The action plan must also describe how the organization will identify the most important processes for creating change, meeting the new vision and achieving new objectives. This work should start with top managers but, as with determining meas-ures and targets, it should involve others at appropriate levels. Most organizations will have already determined key processes that are appropriate for the current conditions. The challenge is to determine which processes are important for achieving the new vision and the needed future results. The action plan should also state who's responsible for developing these processes and integrating them with other system processes so that the system is optimized to meet its new objectives.

"Plan well," as the old saying goes, "but don't plan forever, for without action all planning is useless." Without an effective action plan, organizations often take the wrong action. So when top management wants effective change, keep your head, develop a plan and make the right changes.

Note: This article is based on material from Unlocking the Power of Your Quality Management System: Keys to Performance Improvement by John E. (Jack) West and Charles A. Cianfrani (ASQ Press, 2004).

About the author
John E. (Jack) West is a consultant, business advisor and author with more than 30 years of experience in a wide variety of industries. From 1997 through 2005 he was chair of the U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 176 and lead delegate for the United States to the International Organization for Standardization committee responsible for the ISO 9000 series of quality management standards. He remains active in TC 176 and is chair of the ASQ Standards Group.