TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Year 2013, Volume: 13 Issue: 25, 1 - 16, 01.06.2013

Ali Acar İsmail Sevinç

Abstract

Today, total quality management means a management philosophy- rather than simply
a management technique- for the institutions that develop to adapt to the changing
conditions and want to survive and be successful by catching up with changes in customer
satisfaction. Total quality management is a management philosophy which aims to
continuously improve the quality of processes with the participation of everyone in an
institution, and of products and services which come into being as a result of these
processes and to meet and serve beyond the needs and expectations of domestic and
foreign costumers. It is obvious that organizations with classical management philosophy
fall short in solving the problems they face in today’s competitive market and have
serious problems to survive. As a matter of fact, organizations adopt new management
techniques to improve efficiency and effectiveness of their companies. In this context,
total quality management which emerged in the 1950s in Japan and which provide
significant advantages for organizations was first started to be used in private sector.
Public organizations that understood the advantages of total quality management which
was successfully applied in private sector started to apply this managerial method in their
bodies. When the condition of the public organizations in our country is considered, it is
obvious that total quality management can make significant contributions to rehabilitate
current structure and to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of social services
public institutions provide.
Although the problems of public administration are different, they were classified
under major groups. The problems mentioned are not only self-contained but when
combined also lead to an inefficient structure and functioning throughout the country. In
particular, extreme centralization understanding have done away with flexibility and
incapacitated public administrators for the exertion and delegation of authority. The
principles of the participation of employees in total quality management, teamwork,
continuous improvement, change in internalization, the creation of a culture of quality,
importance and priority to the individual with means of new application will bring in
many benefits for public administration. Public institutions, which function slowly with a
classical understanding, are to show effort to internalize total-quality management without
drowning in unwarranted and unnecessary discussions both to get rid of their problems
and to function according to the requirements of the modern era. Accordingly, the general
problems a public institution to implement total quality management can face can be
listed as follows: non-belief in quality, resistance to change, overestimation of the total
quality management, not being able to properly analyze the current situation, having
ordinary expectations, managers' bad attitudes, lack of rewards for achievements, not
being citizen and service focused, not being able to provide quality education and
training. Total quality management can be defined as the satisfaction of customers with the
improvement of the quality of an institution in all processes with the participation of all
workers to contribute development and creativeness with planned and systematic
approach and with continuous development and improvement. With rational managerial
philosophy, total quality management aims to achieve the production of services and
products according to pre-determined paradigm and quality standards. Total quality
management can be defined as a managerial approach which focuses on quality in an
organization with the participation of all members and which aims to be successful in the
long run via customer satisfaction, and which aims to be beneficial to all members of an
organization and the society.
The concept of quality has become one of the most important mottos of societies and
institutions. While the process of globalization brings about the shrinkage of state sector,
new understandings in management have increased the expectations of people from the
state. Today, people expect the services government provides to be qualified. With
privatization and with handing over of authority in the local governments, the level of
expected quality of services has risen as well. It is not possible for the public sector to
ignore the opportunities to provide rapid and efficient service with the help of information
technologies and to isolate itself from these developments. The transfer of innovations
from private sector to public sector is also regarded to be a social responsibility. Citizens
are the end users of the products and services provided by public organizations.
Concordantly, the opinions of citizens about the products and services provided are
important. User-centered or citizen-centered public service understanding is no longer a
luxury but expectation of all citizens. The best way to meet these expectations is to use
the applications of total quality management.
In the case of certain services, it may not be possible for public administration to view
citizens as customers. However, the adaptation of “customer-centered” public service
approach in public administration can substantially increase the quality of public services.
Therefore, there is no disadvantage to adopting customer or citizen-centered public
service approach in public administration. In public administration, “customer
centeredness” can also be referred as “citizen-centeredness”. Concordantly, in citizencentered
approach, citizens are not regarded as a customer as in private sector but as the
recipient, supervisor and providers of public services. Passive citizens who only pay taxes
and watch administrative activities have now become “active citizens”-more than just a
customer- who are beneficiary of public services, who supervise the efficiency and
performance of public activities and who take part in administrative, political and
democratic processes.
The theoretical developments in the 21st century with regard to new requirements so
as to increase the quality, effectiveness and efficaciousness of public service increased
search for quality in public services. In the 21st century, public institutions can only
survive with adopting citizen/customer centered administrative understanding and
realizing it to improve the quality of public services. The fact that traditional public
administration have not been successful in increasing service quality and accomplishing
adequate efficiency in the world and Turkey alike since the 1980s led to search for quality
in the public sector and speeded up adoption of citizen/customer centered management
understanding.
Considering the rapid transformation in the world, it is obvious that public sector falls
behind private sector and thus cannot meet citizens’ demands. Although there are many reasons why total quality management comes up in public administration, the need for
change stands out as the main reason. Now citizens do not only pay taxes for the
sustainability of public institutions but also express their worries about the quality of the
services. In conclusion, robust sustainment of organization life in public institutions
where the sources are limited will be possible with the improvement of quality of services
and reduction of costs through total quality management applications

Keywords

Total Quality Management, Public Administration, Problems

TOPLAM KALİTE YÖNETİMİNİN KAMU SEKTÖRÜNE UYGULANMASINDA KARŞILAŞILAN SORUNLAR

Abstract

Kamu yönetiminin sorunları farklı olmasına karşın belli başlı gruplarda toplanmıştır. Belirtilen bu sorunlar salt kendi çapında sorun olmayıp birleşerek tüm ülke çapında etkin olmayan, verimsiz bir yapı ve işleyişe neden olmaktadır. Özellikle aşırı merkeziyetçilik anlayışı esnekliği yok etmiş, yetki devri ve kullanımı konularında kamu yöneticileri görevlerini yerine getiremez duruma gelmişlerdir. Özellikle toplam kalite yönetimine çalışanların katılımı, takım çalışması, sürekli gelişme, değişimi içselleştirme, kalite kültürünün yaratılması, bireye önem ve öncelik verme vb. bir çok ilkesinin yeni uygulama araçlarıyla birlikte kamu yönetimine getireceği yararlar oldukça fazladır. Klasik anlayışla yavaş işleyen kamu kurumlarının hem sorunlarından kurtulabilmesi hem de çağın gereklerine göre işleyebilmesi için yersiz ve gereksiz tartışmalar içinde boğulmadan toplam kalite yönetimi ile bütünleşme yönünde bir çaba sarfetmeleri gerekli olmaktadır. Özel ya da kamu sektöründeki bir kurumun karşılaştığı ve karşılaşabileceği ortak sorunlar genel sorunlar olarak değerlendirilebilir. Bu bağlamda toplam kalite yönetimini uygulayacak olan bir kurumun karşılaşacağı genel sorunlar arasında kaliteye olan inançsızlık, değişime karşı direnç, toplam kalite yönetimini olduğundan fazla yüceltmek,mevcut durumun yeterince analiz edilmemesi, sıradan beklentilere sahip olmak, yönetimin ve yöneticilerin tutumu, başarıların ödüllendirilmemesi, vatandaş ve hizmet odaklı olma, eğitim ve yetiştirmenin yetersizliği gibi konular incelenip analiz edilecektir.

Keywords

Toplam Kalite Yönetimi, Kamu Yönetimi, Sorunlar