CASE 15

!dition,

ications,

Eighth
RogerPageand Alan Peacock

This casedescribesthe implementation of a quality improvement process

in an international organisation and in particular considers the links
between the organisations'sproduct base,culture and managementstyle at
the British-basedorganisation Pall Europe and relatestheseto the philoso-
phy of total quality improvement. It reinforcesthe need to consider quality
improvement as the responsibility of everyonein the organisationand how
this needsto be related closely to the needsof people both inside and out-
side the organisation.
A central feature of the application of quality improvement within Pall
Europe is the perception of senior managersthat systemsand procedures
introduced must fit the culture of the organisation and match the needsof
the organisationwith the needsof employees.Four leading principles have
been identified which senior managersbelieve are central to the successful
implementation of the process,all of which focus on aspectsof organisa-
tional behaviour and reinforce the theme that quality improvement
dependson the quality and commitment of people.

BACKGROUND

The Pall Corporation is an international organisation with approximately

6,250employees worldwide, operating from three centres located in the
US, UK and Japan.The US base trades with America, Canada and Brazil.
The Japanesebasetrades with countries around the Pacific rim and the UK
basedealswith Europe,Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The company was formed in 1946 in the US by Dr Pall who was an
entrepreneurial scientist and inventor. The original product was a porous
stainlesssteel product which filtered out impurities in fluids. In the 1950s
Dr Pall developed a new generation of disposablefilters that facilitate the
processof fluid clarification. Fluid clarification can be a complex process
but simply describedmeansthat impurities, particulates and debris can be
filtered out of liquids and gases.Complete removal of bacteria from phar-
maceuticalproducts and air is an exampleof this.
 164 Casesin OrganisatiQnalBehaviour

Pall Europe
Pall Europe
British was formed
Mauriceinmanaged
engineer. 1964under
andthe directionthe
integrated of UK
Maurice
and Hardy~
~

organisations using the corporate values outlined above and was

larly successfulin implementing organisationalstructuresand systems
took due accountor cUltural dlff~r~i1ces.TIle cerlti"eof Europc~ ~ctivity

~
 Quality improvement in Pall Europe 165

tff, an basedin England but with organisations based in France,Germany, Italy,

t have Spain and Switzerland. Eachof theseorganisationsis managedby a direc-
made tor who is a national of that country and a board member of Pall Europe.
Pall Europe currently employs approximately 2,250employeeswith some
nality
ved to 1,450basedin the UK. Abe Krasnoff has recently retired from his executive
nasa position and Maurice Hardy has taken on Abe's worldwide responsibili-
,matic ties. Two senior directors are now responsible for managing Pall Europe.
wards One is Derek Williams, a charismatic leader, who is a good organiser and
Ute of communicator with highly developed interpersonal skills and the ability to
<ento motivate staff. The other is Don Nichols who has demonstratedexceptional
skills as a market strategist and given a considerableimpetus to sales.Pall
lpport
rvices Europehas now achieveda sizeequal to that of the US business.
'ovide All Pall employeesenjoy good conditions of serviceand the company is
moving towards single status conditions for manual workers and staff.
~uire-
Statisticsindicate a pattern of a loyal, stable workforce, with long service,
:esses, low labour turnover and a perception by staff of organisational growth
'e and matched to reward patterns and resultant careeropportunity. Middle and
~ed by senior managersare largely long-serving employeeswho have progressed
with the company. This is seento promote what has been described by a
phar-
white senior manager as a 'horizontal managementstructure' where experienced
long-serving managersknow the organisation well and require less direc-
uality
dance tion from their line managersthan new staff.
.1ation

ed THE SITUATION

to all In appraising their future businessstrategy Maurice Hardy together with

!s that his senior executivesat Pall consideredpossibleinitiatives that would rein-
ust be force the organisation'scorporatevalues and determined that it was time to
'5 and introduce a quality improvement programme that would:

:\arket . Improve existing levelsof profitability in the difficult economicclimate.

room . Relate to customer needs more closely by ensuring that good quality
products are delivered on time.
to be . Reducetime spent on corrective action (estimatedas 25 per cent of time
anisa- spent at work).
. Ensure conformity to existing product liability requirementsand to pro-
mote product reliability beyond theselevels.
. Relateclosely to the nature of businessand cost structure.
Having agreedin principle to the idea of quality improvement,senior man-
rdy, a agerswere chargedwith looking at possibleways of introducing the concept
:>pean to all Pall organisations.Consultantswere required who could demonstrate:
lrticu-
\S that
. A proven track record of successfullyintroducing quality improvement
vity is
programmesinto multinational organisations.
 . A good international reputation as consultants.
. That the suggestedprogramme would fit the culture of Pall
Presentations were obtained from various interested consultants and a
decision reached to appoint Crosby Associates(now Proudfoot Crosby).
They provided the framework and support for nominated Pall Corporation
staff who received extensive training in the total quality philosophy and
framework which was developed and customised to suit the culture and
value systemof Pall and the structure of eachwork location.
The secondphaseof training involved all employeesin Pall Corporation.
Management consultants provided three months intensive training to a
designated manager who then trained master instructors. Together they
trained senior executives who received intensive training in two or three
day periods, middle managersreceived training one day per week for six
months and shop-floor workers were trained for half an hour to an hour a
DLMs
week for six months. This exercisewas introduced somesix months later in
Pall Europe.
The basic philosophy of quality improvement promoted is that all poli-
cies procedures and practices of the organisation can be improved, and
every employee can contribute towards that improvement. Improvements
should be consideredas positive experiencesand no blame should be allo-
catedto past performance. Key
Four leading principles have been identified with this processof quality TQPF
improvement: QICC

. Quality meansconformanceto requirements.

. Prevention and removal of root causeis the true sign of quality - a quiCk
QIT
CAS(
DLM
'fix' is not sufficient.
. The standard for quality is zero defects.
QW(

. Quality should be measured by the price of non-conformance (PONC) Fig 15

and quantified in financial terms even if this is estimated. (The cost of
not doing it right the first time.)
Ma
In order to implement the systemof quality improvement an organisational imprc
structure was designed and implemented. The structure adopted was that this b
quality work groups would consider quality improvements relating to their indicc
role in the organisation.Figure 15.1is a simplified illustration of the struc-
1
ture adopted for the Total Quality Performance Process (TQPP) at the
Portsmouth site; it follows the samepattern and complementsthe structure
of the existing management hierarchical structure. Quality work groups 2
appoint leadersto report to designatedline managerswho form corrective
action sub-committeesreporting to a quality improvement team and then
on to the quality improvement co-ordinating committee. 3
At eachlevel in the structure eachteam and committee is encouragedto
considerthe four principles outlined previoUsly.
 Quaiity imprc'!~m~nt in Pall Europe 167

QICC

f~-' ~
c WR
QIT 3
4

R&D Manu- Non

CASC facturing Mnfg.
CASC CASC

QWG
leaders
&
groups
Key Keyto numberedboxes
TQPP = Total Quality Performance Process 1 = Procedures
working party
QICC = Quality Improvement 2 =Noticeboard committee
Co-ordinating Committee 3 =Recognitioncommittee
QIT =Quality Improvement team 4 =QWO working party
CASC = Corrective Action Sub-committee 5 =Master instructiors
DlM = Designated line Manager
=
QWG Quality Work Group

Fig 15.1 Pall Portsmouth TQPPorganisation structure

Managers are expected to recognise the need to integrate the quality

improvement process into everyday business activities and to demonstrate
this by their own behaviour. The following guidelines issued to managers
indicate this philosophy:
1. Develop a sharedsensewith all employeesof what your respectiveorganisa-
tions are trying to do, where eachis going and how it fits into the goals and
objectivesof the corporation.
2. Put moreemphasison recognisingindividual performancethat meetsor exceeds
expectationsrather than focusingon the negatives.However,poor performance
needsto be correctedand canonly besuccessfulif it is doneconstructively.
3. Provide employees with structure and collaborate with them to establish
goals and targets critical to successand, when appropriate, be directive in
assigningwork.
 ,
!; \ 0,
,.'.I

.'\ 4. Don't steal the glory from your subordinates and co-workers by hugging

5. centre
Learn stage or giving
to be less long-winded
insistent presentations.
upon always getting your own way and try to give
greatercredenceto the opinions and solutionsof co-workers.
6. Lead by examplethrough your own dedication and work ethic and set high

7. personalstandards and work hard toresponsibility

meetcommitments.
Ensurethat all employeeshave both and accountabilityfor their

actions
8. Treat and objectives.
others Assign
with mutual ownership.
respect.
Important to maintain quality working rela-

.
~
 .I Quality improvementin PallEurope 169
;ggi;;g quality improvement process. The pricefor non-conformance ()
; beenquantified and estimatedat a saving of some£2,000per year.
0 give ~ At the other end of the PONC scale,improvement programmesin manu-
facturing areashave examined ways of reducing scrap during production
~thigh and at a conservativeestimatesave£250,000per year.
I! their PROCESSMODEL
WORKSHEET
g rela-
Needs
Needs to carry
conse- , out process
!

:tices. Knowledge
Knowledge
'ration) Facilities
Facilities
Equipment
Equipment
th the
~ 15.2. ,
Itputs
&
~
~
\ :i Process
Process Output
Output
{alua- J

nodel ~ Inputs:
Inputs :. To receiver
To receiver
i Transformation
t"
-.
'1
~
what ~
,
ribute
Jr the
.
1~
;
i
,
:I

ii
Idded Requirements
resno of receiver
.;,

\d the ;s

:1 i.e. quality.
i.e. quality.
n, the :~ Performance
Performance
:f
~"
standards
standards
: team ;l Procedures
~
nts to -1
,;~,

main ~
~
Examples of inputs and outputs
deliv- ~,

:~ Input Process Output

l1four ~ 1 Information Write report Report.
:e per ~ 2 Testspecimen Testingof specimen Reporton performanceof
deliv- "1 3 Untrained student University course test specimen.
Le for 1 Trained (educated, qualified)
orked ~ person.
; 4 Student with little 08 module Student with good
!came .~
i~; understanding of 08 understanding of theories,
ntifies :~} experimental work and
nand ,~ relationships in 08.
ormal ":;f 5 Group of people with no Meeting to discuss Group of people
same ~ consensus
andagreedgoal andagreeobjectivesco-ordinated
and
calcu- ~I and action with a commonobjective.
In the 1 Fig 15.2 Processmodel worksheet
fN,
:;i

~
 170 Casesin Organisational Behaviour

Pall have recently extended the processto undertake improvement pro-

grammeswith their customersand suppliers. Thesehave not only resulted
I: in financial benefits to the parties involved but also createdbetter service,
removed unnecessary paperwork and strengthened trust between cus-
tomers and suppliers.
Staff are not rewarded financially for their personalcontribution to qual-
ity improvement but recognition is given by senior managerswho attend
meetings and who are therefore aware of individual contributions and
actively praise and encouragestaff. Public recognition is given on quality
notice boards.
In the UK there is a view that public recognition is somewhatembarrass-
ing, but in the US an award of 'Quality Employee of the Month' provides
public recognition by offering a reservedcar parking spaceto the employee
near to their workplace and also by publicising the award in internal news-
~ sheetsand notice boards. For many years an employeesuggestionscheme
has operated successfully in Pall Europe and employees are rewarded
financially for ideas adopted under this separateprocess.This system is
still running alongsidethe quality improvement programme.

ACTIVITY BRIEF

1 Identify the predominant culture and management style prevailing in Pall

Europe and demonstrate by citing examplesfrom the casehow these factors
have affected the implementation of the quality improvement process.
2 What factors wi/I influence the motivation of staff towards continued qual-
ity improvement, and how can senior managers use this information to
realise organisational goals?
3 Usethe processmodel worksheetshown in Figure 15.1to considerpossible
quality improvementsto a processthat organisationsencounter regularly
(e.g. a routine administrativeprocess)and demonstratea suitable way of
quantifying the PONC.

RECOMMENDED READING

Child, J. (1984). Organisations: A Guide to Problems and Practice, Second Edition,

London: Paul Chapman.
Mullins, L. J. (1993). ManagementofOrganisational Behaviour,Parts 6 & 7, London:
Pitman.
Oakland, S. O. (1993).Total Quality Management,Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Woodward, J. (1980). Industrial Organisation: Theory and Practice, Second Edition,
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Quality of Working Life and Total Quality Management,November 1991.ACAS Work
ResearchUnit Occasional Paper, No. SO.