The Impact of Human Resource Management on Total Quality Management

The Impact of Human Resource Management on Total Quality Management

CHAPTER ONE

Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of human resource management on total quality management in University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (U.I.T.H).

The following are the specific objectives of the study:

1. To determine how total quality human resource management practices are applied at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Limited.
2. To examine the benefits and challenges of TQM in the hospital.
3. To evaluate the implications of the implementations of TQM on the operations of U.I.T.H.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Overview of Total Quality Management

Recent decades have witnessed dramatic shifts in the role HR. Traditionally; managers saw the human resource function as primarily administrative and professional (Becker et.al 2001.3).HR staff focused on administering benefits and other payroll and operational functions and didn’t think of themselves as playing a parting the firm’s overall strategy. Efforts to measure HR’s influence on the firm’s performance reflected this mind-set. In the 1990s, a new emphasis on strategy and the importance of HR systems emerged. Researchers and practitioners alike began to recognize the impact of aligning those systems with the company’s larger strategy implementation effort – and assessing the quality of that fit.

We are living in a time when a new economic paradigm – characterized by speed, innovation, short cycles times, quality, and customer satisfaction- is highlighting the importance of intangible assets, such as brand recognition, knowledge, innovation, and particularly human capital (Becker et al 2001:4). The most potent action HR managers can take to ensure their strategic contribution is to develop a measurement system that convincingly showcases HR’s impact on business performance. To design such a measurement system, HR managers must adopt a dramatically different perspective, one that focuses on how human resources can play a central role in implementing the firm’s strategy. With a properly developed strategic HR architecture, managers throughout the firm can understand exactly how people create value and how to measure the value-creation process.

There is a lot of literature on the concepts of total quality management which revolves around customer service satisfaction, continuous improvement, team work, and commitment. This concept has become more popular over the years with organizations encouraging more understanding and educating their stakeholders on its importance. Little has been studied to link Total Quality Management and Human Resource Management. Of interest is the fact that the latter plays a central role in managing people as the organization’s strategic resources. These are the people who drive the business, they are the ones to implement the processes and therefore there is a need to give more focus on strategic HRM which drives the implementation of Total quality management within the organization. Team work, processes, customer satisfaction and commitment are all concepts that require people involvement in order for implementation to take place. The researcher hopes to fill in this gap of knowledge and broaden the understanding of Total Quality Management through its integration with Human Resource Management.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The proposed research was a case study. A case study research design is where data is collected from one or a few study units only. It allows for in-depth exploration of issues in a phenomenon. The Case study focused on assessing application the total quality human resource practice at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Limited and the role of human resource management in implementing Total Quality Management.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

Introduction

This chapter presents the results of the analysis of the data collected during the study.

A total of 23 completed and useable questionnaires were obtained from the respondents. The chapter is divided into eight sections: Section 4.2 provides a summary the organization’s characteristics, Section 4.3 gives a summary of the performance management, section 4.4 gives the response on recruitment and selection, and section 4.5 gives information on reward and recognition, section 4.6 reports on training, section 4.7 gives information on employee participation, section 4.8 reports on team work and section 4.9 gives information on customer service delivery.

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND LIMITATIONS

Conclusion

From the above results, various Human Resource activities have been rated by the employees as an indication of what the organization practices from a HR perspective. Some of the strong points as highlighted by the respondents include a good working environment, team work and availability of opportunities to support growth and development within the organization. The caliber of employees within the organization based on the education background is indicative of the level of quality inherent within the organization and it is also expected that output will be just as good. The presence of highly qualified staff makes it even easier to develop people who already have a solid education base. Evidence from the study indicates that Performance of employees is closely monitored with the right guidelines provided to employees and the same reviewed regularly. Additionally recruiting of competent staff is highly valued and this is key to producing the desired results and also promotes a culture of high standards that do not compromise on effectiveness. While employees appreciate recognition given by their line managers for a job well done, compensation on the other hand need to be taken into consideration to ensure that staff are equitably paid for their input. A good number of employees recognize and appreciate the presence of a pleasant working environment where they can freely express themselves, have flexible working hours, have good relationship with their managers and are also trusted to perform their duties independently. Team work is also key in creating high performing teams and this seems to be a key strength in U.I.T.H as acknowledged by majority of the employees.

It is critical to have the right HR systems in place which support employee development and also a culture that promotes teamwork and unlocks creativity of employees. If the staff have faith in the process, feel supported from a development perspective and have the right tools to operate, they will obviously be more productive and value adding to the

organization. The tools of TQHRM discussed above form the backbone of the organization and if managed skillfully then organizations can reap the benefits of a dedicated and effective workforce. Every organization has its practice and culture of managing their HR activities; the degree to which one puts focus on each of them is

what differentiates the organization to give it a competitive advantage.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are given to both the policy makers and researchers;

Recommendations on policy on performance management

Over and above the regular performance reviews, it is critical to seek long-term solutions towards developing careers of the employees. Develop an in-house training program for new employees to integrate them into the company processes apart in addition to the induction program. Managers in charge should also establish a coaching structure where senior management can coach and mentor their junior colleagues. HR also needs to be more strategic and aggressively work on succession plans at all levels of the organization.

Recommendations on recruitment and selection

There needs to be recognition of employees skills and qualification across departments and this ought to be considered during recruitment. Priority should be given to employees currently in the organization who have the required skills when filling vacant positions before advertising externally; internal recruitment should be separated from external to make it a fair process. Further, HR should use affirmative create a diverse workforce (multi-ethnic). Promotions should be based on competence and merit and prompt feedback should be provided to internal candidates who are unsuccessful in a particular job application.

 Recommendations on rewards and recognition

More emphasis should be put on retention and reward. More specifically, the contribution of each department should be recognized and proper benchmarking done to make sure that people are in the right jobs and paid competitively from an internal and external perspective. It may also be worth carrying out staff satisfaction survey to stem staff turnover.

Recommendations on training

In order to support employees fully, it is vital to invest in their training and development activities. Budget should be made available and training opportunities communicated to staff and the necessary support provided. A follow-up on post training impact is also key for continuous growth and to ensure the business objectives are met at the end of the day.

Recommendations on Employee participation

Among the recommendations on employee participation are; to create channels for enhancing staff concerns and grievances, empower human resource department to handle staff issues rather than leaving it to the departmental managers and organize field days for departments to improve cross functional cooperation.

Recommendations on Team work

Teams that work together are strong teams; organizations should continue to encourage cooperation and support among colleagues. This creates a friendly working environment and employees move together in the same pace as they help each other grow in common pursuit of the organizational goals.

Recommendations on customer service delivery

There needs to be a close link between the employee and the customer. Employees need to be provided with the sufficient customer information and also be involved in the service delivery process so that they own and feel part of the process. Customer information and knowledge should not just be left to those employees with face to face contact but rather should be a responsibility of all employees.

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