In this research paper the focus is made on identifying various improvement strategies and seeking the ways for improving overall employee performance in the organization. In the research I seek to find ways of implementing a safety and quality process improvement process (PIP) within the company departments. As a result of the research I will sought out the ways to use quality processes as part of organizational change and development. The main strategies are: incorporation of the most current and effective methods, ways of implementation and steps to be followed to ensure overall improved employee and company performance.
The Process Improvement Process (PIP) is one that is designed to measure the employee performance and seek ways of improving their performance. It is a plan that is implemented by the supervisors in any company in order to make employees put maximum contribution to the work with the maximum result. This plan will reveal to the supervisor the kinds of changes that will be needed in order to improve the performance by employees. These changes may be behavioral such as the manner in which the employees think about their work.
This leads to the creation of a plan of action that is then drafted up. This will clearly show the guidelines that will need to be followed in order to improve the overall employee performance in the company. A positive improvement in employee performance will be seen through the increase of the profit of the company. Safety and qualitative strategies must be implemented in every properly functioning company. There are various strategies that have been developed to ensure that companies utilize the maximum out of their equipment and their employees.
The company needs to be aware of the areas that should be rectified and improved and one of such areas is the safety and quality department of the company. Since some of these failures are a result of faults in the production process, there will be need to implement techniques and tools that will ensure that the such errors are reduced and in the end provide maximum returns for the company.
Improvement Tools and Strategies
Six Sigma
There are various strategies that have been used by organization to ensure the improved performance. Six Sigmais one of such techniques. It seeks to identify the weaknesses in the production process by identifying the reasons for failure in implementations of the business process. Any production process that does not meet the company objectives and does not meet the needs of the consumers or is not in line with consumer stipulations in considered to be a fault in this strategy. What differentiates Six Sigma from other quality implementation strategies is that it advocates for the participation of all the employees in the organization form the top level management to those in the production floor. It uses a system of classification very close to the one that is used in martial arts (Harry et al, 2000).
There is top management staff at the very top of the company, who are responsible for outlining the company’s objectives or the goals that the strategy seeks to achieve. Then comes the champions who are the company executives and they are responsible for spreading of the implementation process within the company. The master black belts are responsible for the total implementation process and they are obliged to make certain that the strategy is followed throughout the company day to day operations. They are the instructors for the rest of the company employees who organize the staff’s work in line with the strategy. Six Sigma is a powerful method of improving the performance of the organization since it involves all the players in the organization and not just a section. This change from the top ensures that resources are made available and such type of leading by example ensures that the entire company participates in the fulfillment of the strategy. However it has been seen to work on a short term basis and is not recommended as a long term process plan (Tennant, 2001).
Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturingis the other business improvement technique. It consideres the expenditure of the company and seeks for ways to reduce the reason of the losses in production. Many companies have high production only of those goods, that are saved up in warehouses because of their excess which becomes a liability to the company. In such a case this cost is passed on to the consumer. The main philosophy of lean manufacturing is that it is going to be more profitable for the company to seek ways of reducing wastefulness than to try to find ways of increasing profit margins. Lean manufacturing uses a tool based method of operation.
The top management will agree on the use of lean process in an attempt to improve overall company and employee performance. Then the second level executives are tasked with the responsibility of identifying those who will lead their fellow employees towards the achieving of the strategy’s objectives. Communication is important factor to the implementation of this process. It will also demand the formation of smaller groups which will contribute to ensuring that the performance within the organization is in line with the lean implementation goals. It allows to make the most use out of the proposed strategy and prevent from having a confused crowded picture of the working process.
The strategy advocates for the consultation with other companies that have implemented the lean manufacturing strategy, and particularly those, that are not competing on any level. Hence, this will allow for free interaction without the need for raised suspicion. In order to ensure that the company makes the most of this strategy it is advised that it comes up with an experimental task so as to see the strategy in action and look for ways to adjust the strategy to fit their immediate needs. Once you have successfully evaluated the pilot test and decided to implement it to your workforce, it is vital for the company to invest in the tool that best fits the needs of the staff. The chosen tool of implementation should be the one that offers maximum yields to the company.
The Plan, Do, Study, Act
The Plan, Do, Study, Actperformance improvement plan will need to be utilized in an elaborate environment since it may prove cumbersome to use it in a situation that does not require a complex model. It is wise for the management to have a pilot study by implementing the model to a project and having it monitored to the final end. It is important for this study to be carried out since it will give the company an opportunity to tweak the process along the way and in the end they will have an adjusted model to fit their production process and to reach maximum results. Ensuring that all the key players are involved in the implementation process guarantees that the objectives are achieved and the model is a success.
Conclusion
The company needs to invest in the right model so as to ensure that the performance improvement plan gives off the most in return. Leadership in the company should not to be overrated. The top management will need to set an example for the rest of the company employees. They will need to be at the head of advocating for the change since without the backing of the top management the implementation process will be stalled or, at the worst case scenario, will fail in totality. Many of these tools are interconnected and so there can possibly be a need to apply more than one tool. The company should use a tool that has shown success in the past. The bottom line is that change, though being inevitable, will take time, and so the company should show perseverance and do not rush the process.