The design and evaluation of a training program as a vehicle to change behaviors and perceptions of operational employees through total quality management leadership in a manufacturing environment

Term

2013

Capstone

Dissertation

Degree Name

EdD

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to study the successful application of Total Quality Management (TQM) in the production process. The study describes and evaluates TQM concepts and techniques in the production process of a bakery and discusses key Kaizen elements in the implementation of TQM. In the fall of 2011, the Minnesota-based bakery company began its Total Quality Management Leadership program. The company aims to evaluate the experience of the program implementation through the satisfaction and effectiveness of the training, which took several months. Through analysis of Total Quality Management and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's), this dissertation investigates the complex Kaizen philosophy introduction through which the company came into being, the conflicting multilingual barriers presented in its development, and, ultimately, the ways that the company overcome cultural and ethnic differences. This dissertation uses quantitative and qualitative methodologies to evaluate the training development processes among the production employees in two different areas: dividing and packaging. This study attempts to examine the definition of quality throughout the company and discover the differences and commonalities from the perspectives of the employees and managers that work or do not work in TQM concepts and techniques. In the mid 1950s, the Toyota Motor Company developed a systematic approach to solving quality related problems aimed at meeting customer expectations. The Toyota system of management is adopted as the theoretical basis to this dissertation. The lessons learned from these case studies, empirically and in the literature, reveal multiple experiences of TQM applications through training development processes in a manufacturing environment.

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