Does Total Quality lead to improved performance in prisons?

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 1 TQM only relates to Human resources 5 2 The only customers are inmates 6 3 Staff should only follow orders 6 4 The managers’ tasks are only to control the staff 7 5 Quality improvements only to be initiated by the management 7 Conclusion 8 List of references 10

Executive Summary

In this quotation about Total Quality, the Governor makes 5 assumptions:

* TQM only relates to human resources * The only customers are the inmates, * Staff should only follow orders, * The managers’ tasks are only to control the staff, * Quality improvements are only to be initiated by the management.

TQM is aimed at customer satisfaction, through continuous improvement, which is process focussed, and involves all levels of an organisation’s management.

Apart from the detainees there are other customers in a prison, such as the partners from the criminal justice chain, the visitors, society at large, and the internal customers.

In the TQM approach, employees are not there just to carry out instructions, they should be empowered to exert influence on their own job.
Managers should act as coaches rather than supervisors, by providing guidance to help employees to do a better job and encourage teamwork. Through empowerment, involvement, and encouragement, employees in all levels of the organisation and processes should be able to participate in continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

Introducing Total Quality will lead to a better performance because it improves customer satisfaction, process improvement, more motivated staff, and a better service to the customers.

Introduction

Management in the public sector has been changing dramatically since the 1980s (Osborne and Gaebler, 1992, p166-194). Total Quality Management has been introduced, and there is a growing notion to consider the citizen as a real client (Bouckaert and Thijs, 2003). This is also applicable for prisons.
The Governor of a private sector managed prison in the North of England was quoted:

“Total quality is a myth – or at best wishful thinking from the HR people. Our so-called customers don’t want to be there and the staff just follows orders. Whatever quality we achieve results from the way my managers and I control what is happening, 24 hours a day”.

The Governor makes a few assumptions in his statement: 1) TQ only relates to human resources, 2) The only customers are the inmates, 3) Staff should only follow orders, 4) The managers’ tasks are only to control the staff, 5) Quality improvements are only to be initiated by the management.

In this report, I will comment on each the assumptions that the governor has made. Finally I will discuss how the TQ approach could lead to improvement of the organisation’s performance.
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1 TQM only relates to Human resources

“Total quality is a myth – or at best wishful thinking from the HR people”. The Governor implies that TQM only relates to human resources. TQM is difficult to define: Juran (1995, p649): “At the outset there was no agreed standard definition for TQM, so communication became confused—among company departments, in their training courses, and in the general literature. This confusion has since been reduced by the publication of the criteria used by the American National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to judge the applications for the United States’ Malcolm Baldrige”.

Source: NIST

Figure 1
Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence Framework

Figure 2
TQM Model
There is no clear definition of TQM, but the different quality awards criteria, the TQM models, and the textbooks have a few terms in common. Considering the Baldrige Award criteria in figure 1 that Juran talks about, and the TQM model in figure 2 we can conclude that TQM is a holistic approach to customer satisfaction, through continuous improvement, which is process focussed, and involves all levels of an organisation’s management, including leadership, strategy formation, management of processes, and the individual employee. So TQM is much more than Human Resources alone.

2 The only customers are inmates

With the Governor’s comment: “Our so-called customers don’t want to be there”, he assumes that the only customers of a prison are inmates. Indeed, the context of a prison is that service is provided involuntarily. Foster (2004, p 217) states that “The quintessential example of an involuntary service is a prison.”.
However, the detainees are not the only clients. There are other clients which can be grouped into two categories: external and internal customers

External customers
Apart from the prisoners, other examples of external clients are: * partners from the criminal justice chain, such as courts of justice, police services, lawyers, transfer services, administrative jurisdictional bodies, etc, * partners of co-operation like hospitals, psychiatric organisations, education organisations, reintegration officers, etc, * detainees’ visitors, * society at large, * the local community where the prison is housed, * ................

Internal customers
Within an organisation, there is a chain of internal customers that connects individuals and departments. Each employee receives inputs from others and produces some output for their internal customers. Satisfying the internal customers leads to better internal service, greater job satisfaction, and eventually to a better quality product for the external customer.

In the previous paragraph, we saw that the focus on customers is one of the principles of the TQ approach. According to Evans and Lindsay (2008, p17): “Quality is meeting or exceeding customer expectations”. So in order to improve quality, it is important for the prison to identify their different customers. Each of the customers have different needs and expectations, ranging from a proper reception area (visitors) to quick and clear administrative procedures to a well guarded prison with no risk of escapees (society at large).

3 Staff should only follow orders

The Governor says“...and the staff just follows orders.” In the TQ approach, employees are heavily involved in continuous improvement, and are not there just to carry out instructions. Human Resources Management is to develop a system wherein the prison awakes, manages, and develops the knowledge and capabilities of its staff to their full potential. The aim is to encourage staff to get involved in quality and improvement.
Kohn (1992, p241) states “we find that people do terrific work when (1) they are inspired, challenged, and excited by what they are doing, and (2) they receive social support and are able to exchange ideas and collaborate effectively with others”, So staff should be encouraged on an individual level and on team level. Individually, the staff should be given the appropriate skills and knowledge through training and education, and they should be empowered to exert influence on their own tasks. Finally a motivation system (e.g. rewarding), needs to be developed to encourage staff to innovate.
Teamwork is also advocated by Deming in point 9 of his “14 points for Management” (Deming, 1986, p62-65). He argues that working in teams reduces inefficiency, breaks down the barriers between departments and individuals, and therefore produces a better quality product. Furthermore, people learn from each other in team and they are able to solve issues they cannot solve individually (1+1=3).
Employee involvement refers to any work related decision making activity that employees participate in. This ranges from simply sharing information to making business decisions and solving problems.

4 The managers’ tasks are only to control the staff

“....my managers and I control what is happening.” According to the Governor, the task of the manager is to control and supervise staff. Point 7 in Deming’s list (p54-59) is “institute leadership” which means that managers should act as coaches rather than supervisors, by providing guidance to help employees to do a better job and encourage teamwork. So the prison managers should support, motivate and act as a role model to their employees, and not just control staff.
This statement also brings a connotation of fear, and implies that the Governor and the managers do not accept any objections or failures. Deming (p 58): “No one can put in this best performance unless he feels secure”. Managers should stimulate the employees to get involved in continuous improvement, and not maintain a culture of fear of reprisal.

5 Quality improvements only to be initiated by the management

“Whatever quality we achieve results from the way my managers and I control”. This assumption is closely related to the previous two points. Quality improvement requires total participation of all staff. The person who is in the best position to propose improvements on his job, is the one performing it. Through empowerment, involvement, and encouragement employees in all levels of the organisation and processes should be able to participate in continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

How does TQ lead to improved performance? From the previous chapters we have seen that TQ is based on four principles: 1) customer focus, 2) participation and teamwork, 3) process focus, 4) continuous improvement.

ad1)
To be customer focussed means satisfying or exceeding customer needs. The Governor needs to realise that the prison has, in fact, several clients with different expectations and views on performance. Each performance can be measured by identifying performance indicators. Figure 3 gives a few examples of different prisons’ clients, their expectations and possible indicators.

Client | Client’s expectation | Indicator | Inmates | * Safe environment * Certain degree of privacy | * Number of assaults in prison * Number of prisoners per square meter | Partners criminal justice chain | * Timely delivery to court * Timely reports to court | * % of prisoners delivered to court before the agreed time * % of reports to be provided in agreed time | Society at large | * Safe environment * Reduce re-offences | * Number prison escapes * % inmates that follow an education | Detainees’ visitors | * Proper reception area | * Cleanliness, privacy | Prison staff | * Safe working environment * Job satisfaction | * Number of assaults on prison staff * Staff turnover ratio |
Figure 3
Examples of prison customers and their expectations

Apart from these measurable indicators, customer satisfaction should be analysed though information gathering, such as collecting comment cards and surveys, focus groups, direct customer contact, and studying complaints.
Once we know the clients’ expectations and their view on the delivered quality, we know in which areas we should improve our performance

ad2)
In the TQM approach all levels of the organisation are involved in continuous improvement, not just the management. Involving employees in decision making, and empowering them to influence their own work, will give great benefits to the performance. When they see that their suggestions are considered and actioned, people will feel appreciated and valuable to the organisation, which will motivate them to initiate more improvements. They should be fully supported by management, who will have to act as coaches rather than supervisors.
Another important element of total quality is teamwork. It reduces inefficiency, breaks down the barriers between departments and individuals, and therefore produces a better quality product.

ad3)
TQM requires a process thinking mindset. Everything we do is part of a process. In TQM the focus shifts from managing outcomes to managing and improving processes and continuously achieving the greatest potential benefit for the customer.

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Continuous improvement refers to incremental changes and large, rapid improvement. A constant focus on (the ever changing) customer requirements and meeting them, leads to an improved performance.

So introducing a Total Quality culture in the organisation means focussing on customer needs and their satisfaction. Employee involvement, from all levels of the organisation, leads to a better motivated workforce from where ideas and suggestions are initiated. This will lead to continuous improvement of work processes, and finally to a service to the customer that improves continually.

List of references

Baldrige National Quality Program, 2009-2010. Criteria for Performance Excellence. Gaithersburg, MD, United States of America: .Baldrige National Quality Program National Institute of Standards and Technology United States Department of Commerce

Bouckaert, G. & Thijs, T., 2003. Kwaliteit in de Overheid. Een Handboek voor Kwaliteitsmanagement in de Publieke Sector op Basis van een Internationaal Comparatieve Studie. Gent, Belgium: Academia Press

Deming, W.E., 1986. Out of the Crisis. Cambridge, MA, United States of America: Center for Advanced Educational Services

Evans, R.E. & Lindsay, W.M., 2008. The Management and Control of Quality. 7th ed. Mason, OH, United States of America: South-Western Cengage Learning

Foster, T., 2004. Managing Quality: An Integrative Approach. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States of America: Pearson

Juran, J. M., 1995. A History of Managing for Quality: The Evolution, Trends, and Future
Directions of Managing for Quality. Milwaukee, WI, United States of America: ASQC Quality Press

Kohn, A, 1992. The Case Against Competition. Why we Loose in our Race to Win. New York, NY, United States of America: Houghton Mifflin Company

Osborne, D. & Gaebler, T., 1993. Reinventing Government. New York, United States of America: Addison-Wesley