• Always insisting on having full respon- sibility  for  each  task  you  are  assigned • Demonstrating  self-control  in  a  conflict  or when  you  are  provoked Total Quality Management (TQM) A  major  problem  facing  the  armed  services today  is  a  lack  of  money.  The  budgets  of  our forces are not going to increase in the foreseeable future.  Indeed,  they  will  probably  continue  to shrink.  Although  our  present  system  of  doing business  is  adequate,  it  doesn’t  allow  for  many improvements in productivity. We have done an excellent job with our present system. To wring any  more  bang  from  our  buck,  however,  will mean  a  change  in  the  way  we  do  business. Management by objectives is a time-honored principle of management. However, we now must change  our  objectives.  Today’s  managers  must  set their  sights  on  a  larger,  system-wide  objective. That objective is increased productivity through better quality. The  Department  of  the  Navy  (DON)  has recently  adopted  the  concept  of  Total  Quality Management  (TQM)  as  the  means  of  meeting DON needs into the 21st century. Executive Order 12637,  signed  April  27,  1988,  establishes  the Productivity  Improvement  Program  for  the federal   government.   TQM   IS   THE   NAVY’S ANSWER   TO   THAT   ORDER.   The   Navy   has adopted  the  civilian  TQM  concept  and  changed the  name  to  a  more  military  sounding  name— Total  Quality  Leadership  (TQL). TQM, What Is It? TQM  focuses  on  the  process  by  which  work gets  done.  The  person  most  familiar  with  that process  is  the  individual  worker  responsible  for making   it   work.   Often,   a   process   is   either unmanageable or just plain unworkable. In a rigid bureaucracy,  for  workers  to  persuade  upper echelons  of  a  need  to  change  a  procedure  is nearly  impossible.  Under  TQM,  management  is responsible  for  making  a  particular  job  as  easy as possible for workers. Supervisors and managers monitor   the   work   process   and   respond   to suggestions   from   the   work   force   concerning unworkable procedures. Sailors in particular are infamous  for  coming  up  with  nonstandard  (but workable) solutions to problems. In some cases, this  results  in  unsafe  practices.  However,  these solutions are often extremely practical. We must develop  the  ability  to  ferret  out  these  improve- ments   and   incorporate   them   into   standard procedures. That serves a dual purpose. First, it ensures the recommended improvement is usable and meets all applicable standards. Second, the improved method is made available to everyone involved in that process. Both of these purposes serve a practical application of "working smarter, not  harder." Benefits of TQM A  popular  myth  among  military  managers holds that increased quality results in increased costs  and  decreased  productivity.  In  reality, improved quality ultimately results in decreased costs  and  increased  productivity.  How  can  this  be? A  focus  on  quality  extends  the  time  between failures  on  equipment  and  improves  the  efficiency of  our  operations.  It  reduces  rework  requirements as   well   as   the   need   for   special   waivers   of standards. It also reduces mistakes and produces monetary  savings  through  more  efficient  use  of scarce  resources. Direct  benefits  of  TQM  are  as  follows: • Increased pride of workmanship among individual  workers • Increased  readiness • Improved  sustainability  caused  by  extended time  between  equipment  failures • Greater  mission  survivability • Better  justification  for  budgets  because  of more  efficient  operations • Streamlined  maintenance  and  production processes The  bottom  line  of  TQM  is  “more  bang  for the   buck.” The Concept of Quality Management The   concept   behind   quality   management revolves  around  a  change  from  management  by results   to   management   by   process   (quality) improvement.  Managers  are  tasked  with  con- tinuously  improving  each  and  every  process in   their   organization.   That   means   combining quantitative  methods  and  human  resource  manage- ment  techniques  to  improve  customer-supplier 3-21