A case study in an Indian organization

A study was conducted in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL)/Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), a leading public sector enterprise (PSE) in India manufacturing crude steel. The journey of TQM in the company began on 15 September 1995. To provide added impetus to the program, a full-blown TQM Department, i.e. the TQM-ISO Cell was established in January 1997. Presently, many TQM techniques such as Benchmarking, Quality Improvement Projects (QIP), Employee Involvement Scheme, House Keeping, etc. have been implemented very fruitfully which is evinced from the ISO Certification of the company by the Bureau Veritus Quality International (BVQI), UK. The Human Resource Plan of company aims at developing the unreserved commitment, creativity, competence and initiative of the personnel in meeting its business challenges. The first step taken by the HRD Department in the direction of quality initiative was making the alignment between the HR and quality policy in the organization.

The HR professionals in RINL/VSP have played a strategic role at different stages of TQM implementation. They assisted the top management in aligning HR and quality policies, creating and communicating the TQM vision, preparing the organization as well as employees for TQM implementation, generating quality awareness among the employees across the levels, functions, and departments, developing management support to QAPs, organizing quality workshops, formulating quality friendly policies, systems and procedures, changing the conventional mind-set of employees, organizing TQM training programs (on teamwork, total quality advantage, ISO procedures, instructions and documentation, etc.), devising different communication exercises, encouraging team building activities, promoting employees involvement through suggestion scheme, quality circle and other participative forum.

In order to facilitate the TQM progress in the company, the HRD department has made on configuration with other departments. A number of quality action/advantage teams have been constituted in the company with managerial personnel from different departments including the HRD one. Quality policy of the company was also formulated in consultation with the HR professionals. The HR professionals in the company also act as internal consultants to other departments for better implementation of TQM. They act as facilitators and trainers in various quality workshops and advisors to other departments at the time of entering into MOUs with their customer/supplier departments. Implementation of TQM in the company has posed quite a lot of human resource challenges to HR professionals such as, motivating knowledge workers, mobilizing key managerial personnel, obtaining employees satisfaction, overcoming communication barriers, solving problems associated with PSU trappings and vastness of the organization, etc. Thus, following implementation of TQM, from a mere functional department HRD Department has now become an indispensable tower of strength of the organization.

Reference: Palo, S. & Padhi, N. 2005, "How HR professionals drive TQM: a case study in an Indian organization", The TQM Magazine, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 467-485.

Questions

After reading the above case, please answer the following questions.

1)Referring to the case study, state the key points highlighted in the implementation of TQM in organisations. (There are no right or wrong answers to this question and it depends how you look at it) (10 marks)

2)Do you think similar strategy can be used in organisations in Fiji? Explain with justification. (5 marks)

3)Referring to Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL)/Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) company, what do you think was the strength in their TQM implementation strategy?(4 marks)

4)Assume you are the CEO of company in Fiji which is going to implement TQM principles. Using some of the points from the case study, highlight 3 things you will do first to ensure an easy path is set up for the implementation of TQM in your organisation? (6 marks)