Chapter 3 cited two examples of organisations in which change had occurred that resulted in the creation of extremely strong commit- ment to customer service (Rank Xerox and SAS airways). One thing that seems clear in both these cases is that the effort to change was led by an individual with an extremely strong sense of vision and purpose. Whilst the efforts of those at lower levels will be crucial in creating what Jan Carlzon at SAS called the `moments of truth', it is undoubtedly the case that unless the management team at the most senior level are absolutely committed to achieving change, any initiative will fail. As will be described in Chapter 7, one of the criteria for the EFQM Business Excellence model is leadership.
Thus, senior managers in any organisation using benchmarking as a way to improve must be prepared to do the following:
. Demonstrate their absolute support for continuous improvement . Stress the need for value as opposed to cost
. Ensure that the philosophy of giving the customer the best possible is articulated at every opportunity
. Institute methods of communication that enable people to provide their opinions about what needs to be done
. Ensure that employees are aware of the need to address customer±supplier relationships
. Support training and education of all employees to ensure that every person can perform their part in the process of improve- . mentEnsure that the management systems that exist are optimal for facilitating continuous improvement (remember Deming's belief about management responsibility for creating management systems which reduce variation)
. Institute an atmosphere where people are encouraged to co- operate
. Encourage effort, and never to blame if failure occurs (as will be described later in this chapter, a vital part of the process of benchmarking and improvement is the willingness to learn from mistakes)
. Implement strategies which support and integrate all of the above
4.2.1 What senior managers in construction organisations can do to create culture change
The list shown above is partly based on the advice of Juran (1993).
As he recommends, it should be considered to be the minimum necessary. Consultation of texts which describe TQM/improve- ment/benchmarking indicated that the issue of senior management commitment can be considered to be the most fundamental com- ponent. As writers of such texts assert, if an organisation is to achieve a shift in the emphasis on customer service, it cannot hap- pen without the active participation of managers at the highest level. What this means is that managers may have to totally reconsider howthey approach organisational matters such as cus- tomers and people (see below). However, the culture that exists in an organisation will usually be the result of many things, not least its historical development. As Fig. 4.1 belowshows, the culture of an organisation is often the result of being perpetuated by those who believe it suits their objectives. The reason for this is probably obvious. In the past, most senior managers were appointed because they were trusted to continue the ways (customs) that had been
established previously, and importantly, were believed to have worked perfectly well.
Construction is not atypical in its tradition of appointing those who were expert in particular technical areas. As a consequence, there has been what might be interpreted as an obsession with ensuring that targets ± most particularly those involving cost ± are met. The result of this obsession is an industry in which disputes arise between clients and contractors ± what many describe as the
`adversarial nature' of the construction industry. As many studies into construction have shown (most notably that by Latham, 1994), the culture of the construction industry is one in which clients are regarded more as enemies than valued customers. The challenge, therefore, is for senior managers in construction to commit them- selves to dedication to improvement in a way that is absolutely explicit. For instance, the senior management of Ford Motor Company, in their annual vision and mission statements, state that providing their customers with cars of the highest performance is the number one objective.
Pre-selection and hiring of employees who, it is believed, 'are (potentially) one of us'
• 'Right' school/qualification
• Clubs/professional bodies
• Appearance
• 'Correct opinions' Rejection of those who will
not fit (likely to deviate from
the dominant culture) Formalisation into the organisation
• Know who does what
• Why things are done like this
• 'Play the game'
• 'Don't rock the boat' Isolate those who
don't conform
Incorporation into the organisation
• Invitation to join informal societies
• Understand what goes on and why
• Seek to perpetuate the culture
Perpetuate established (accepted) organisational culture
Fig. 4.1 Ensuring continuance of the established culture.
Therefore, as part of a process of improvement, senior managers in construction should, in order to act asrole models, do the following:
. Visit excellent organisations to see howtheir counterparts carry out their duties
. Talk to clients on a more regular basis to find out what they really want from your organisation
. Using typical Tom Peter's vernacular, carry out `management by walking about', i.e. go out more regularly and talk to staff who carry out day-to-day operations
. Become actively involved in training and educating staff in how to use quality tools to produce improvement
. Be prepared to encourage staff to openly discuss problems/
deficiencies that currently exist in the organisation
. Set up forums and social events to celebrate achievement of success
. Constantly ask the question, `Howcan I, as part of the senior management team, do more to assist my staff to achieve their best?'
This is not an exhaustive list. However, it is absolutely essential to stress the need for improvement to be seen as something that is never-ending. Thus, senior managers must never allowthemselves to believe that once they have done `enough to get things going', they can leave it to others. Just as destructive, would be the decision, because of limited budgets, to decide that after a certain period, improvement will end. Dale and Cooper, in stressing this point, argue that it is this assumption by senior management who treat TQM as a `programme', which causes their organisations to be
`overtaken' by competitors who treat it as a continuous process (Dale & Cooper, 1992: p. 14).