Companies have constantly needed to improve their performance as a requirement of permanence in the market, which is why they are obliged, among other requirements, to introduce the best management practices every day.
Among the relevant organizational changes for Cuban companies, the processes for the design of QMS stand out. This work will address some of the experiences related to the use of the " Management System Approach ", obtained during the development of these processes, executed until 2010; but the analysis that is carried out is valid for other types of organizational change processes.
The importance of the system approach for management in achieving the success of organizational change processes is recognized. In this regard, NC-ISO 9000: 2005 states "Identify, understand and manage interrelated processes as a system, contributes to the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization in achieving its objectives."
However, one of the important difficulties in the operation of companies is precisely the limitation in the use of this approach. In the cases of some Cuban companies, such an assertion has been confirmed by the systematic use of the most widely used forms in the execution of diagnoses, that is, observation, document review, interviews, surveys and group dynamics.
In the specific cases of consultancies for the design of QMS executed, two concrete examples of what has just been stated are the following:
The first example has to do with one of the principles that underpin the QMS design processes, the "System Approach to Management".
In addition to the specialized observation of the consultants during the development of these processes, in the evaluation experiences of this principle taken for the preparation of this work, more than 140 people participated, mostly quality specialists from a large number of dedicated companies. to different production activities and (or) services.
The evaluations were carried out using group dynamics carried out with students of the Master in Management Processes developed by CEEC, the Master in Quality and Environmental Management sponsored by the Chair of Quality, Metrology and Standardization of the University of Havana, as well as in training actions for workers and managerial preparation for managers, in consulting processes. In all of them, the criterion that the use of the management system approach does not work effectively for companies was confirmed, as it has turned out to be the one that has received the least score among all.
The second example refers to the practice of applying a survey aimed at diagnosing aspects of organizational culture, in which responses have also been expressed that reveal the limitations in the use of the systemic approach in organizations.
The three statements related to the vision of the company as a system are the following:
1. The members of the organization are more concerned about:
___ your job title
___ your department
___ the organization
2. Work activities are preferably organized around:
___ individual
___ group
3. The structural units of the organization function:
___ independently
___ in a coordinated way
The highest percent of responses focused on:
- your department
- individual
- independently
Some of the arguments expressed to support the quantitative analysis of the aforementioned evaluations are the following:
• The processes as a whole are not identified for the organization to function as a system, there is a tendency to work by departments or areas and not to jointly work by the entire team in order to achieve superior results.
• What prevails is the departmental culture in entities that should function harmoniously, much remains to be achieved, since the management style that prevails is centralized.
• Bad integration between areas. Generally working individually or in groups, not for the organization.
• There is interdepartmental sectarianism. Divorce between the different processes that exist in the company.
• You work independently. Senior Management does not play its role in ensuring this approach.
• Poor organizational and interpersonal communication that isolates members individually or in small groups, not always aimed at achieving the organization's objectives.
• It is not possible to carry out systemic analysis of problems and their causes in decision-making.
• There is a culture of structure and functions in companies and not of processes or systems.
• The continuous improvement process is hampered by the lack of a systemic approach. There are dualities of tasks and functions. The inputs, controls and outputs of the processes and their requirements are not taken into account to guarantee their execution.
• In the Cuban businessman there is no systemic approach, starting from the fact that the structure is not designed with this approach, the system approach to management is not a way of acting and doing things.
The deficiencies in using the system approach for management in a natural way are recognized and difficult to solve, due to the characteristics of the protagonists of these processes, people, a reality that limits the possibility of spontaneously perceiving all the components of the system.
From the point of view of perception, human beings perform what is called selective perception. On this Stephen P. Robbins expresses in his text on Organizational Behavior: " People selectively interpret what they see based on their interests, antecedents, experience and attitudes."
This suggests that people do not have a natural tendency to see the whole system, but only some of its parts, also selected according to the way of perceiving that characterizes each one. Since interests, backgrounds, experiences and attitudes are different, the most common is that we all do not perceive the same thing.
It is therefore necessary to find alternatives that favor the achievement of at least two purposes: the adoption of this system approach in an intentional way and a consensus about which is the system that we perceive.
There are many texts that mention the need and convenience of working with a system approach; but in the search carried out for this work, none appeared that specifically refers to how to achieve it.
The author's experience, shared with other consultants, mainly from the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy (CEEC) and the Center for Management Techniques (CETED), has made it possible to detect some aspects of business management that contribute to treating this limitation, since they favor the approach towards the system approach in the organization to facilitate the achievement of the objectives of the change process.
In a survey applied to 7 experts in business issues, there is a coincidence in the selection of the following aspects of management in organizations:
• Strategic
Management • Process Management
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Leadership
• Quality Management
As is known, change processes must start from the culture of the company and return to it, enriching it, according to the objectives set by the entity in question. To aspire to successful results, organizational change requires cultural change. This, for its part, has to begin with the outermost, where, among other elements, behaviors and attitudes are found.
Consultants cannot replace managers in the systematic use of Quality Management, Strategic Management, or any of the other topics mentioned above in this document. The direct actions that can be developed by consultants to modify behaviors and attitudes are essentially focused on facilitating consulting processes that include training and general preparation for managers and workers that are carried out in client companies, so that they reach your own capacity for change.
If the aforementioned topics are analyzed, only Leadership is the furthest from the field of action of the consultants, although the successful development of actions in the rest of the topics contributes to providing leadership elements to the management team of the client company.
However, since consultants are "preparing for change"; but "the members of the companies are the change", the greater or lesser effect that is achieved with the application of these tools is in the participatory nature that is achieved in their deployment in the company, an aspect that is given relevance in the Guiding documents of the Business Improvement in force in the Cuban business system.
It is difficult for the QMS design to extend the systemic approach to the entire company if only a small group of people designated by management participates in its preparation and implementation, as is frequently the case.
The same happens with the other aspects referred to, selected by the experts. So that the common and basic factor to achieve the objectives of moving towards the vision of the company as a system is the participatory nature that must characterize the design, implementation and control processes.
After processes that have been able to print participatory character, a second application of the evaluations of the principles of quality management and the survey on elements of the organizational culture generally shows more favorable results in terms of the use of the system approach for management by client companies.
It is not the purpose of this work to reach conclusions on such a complex issue, therefore, it only wants to reiterate some ideas that this author suggests taking into account:
- One of the major difficulties that limits the success of change processes in companies is the deficient system approach to management.
- The adoption of the System Approach to Management must be conducted intentionally.
- Consultants are "preparing for change"; but “the members of the companies are the change”.
- There are aspects of business management such as those expressed by the experts consulted that can facilitate the way towards the system approach in management; but on the basis of the participatory character in the design, implementation and control of these aspects.
Bibliography
• Decree 281 of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers "Regulations for the implementation and Consolidation of the State Business Management and Direction System", August 2007.
• Decree Law 252 "On the continuity and strengthening of the Cuban Business Management and Direction System ”. August 2007.
• Information on Certified Management Systems, visited in May 2010.
• NC ISO 9000: 2005 “Quality Management Systems: Fundamentals and Vocabulary”
• NC ISO 9001: 2008 “Quality Management Systems: Requirements ”
• NC ISO 9004: 2009“ Management for the sustained success of an organization - Quality management approach ”
• Ramírez, J. “Quality and Strategy in Cuban companies” Quarterly Bulletin, December 2010, “Economy and Management in Cuba: Research Advances”,
• Ramírez, J.- “Quality management in the consultative processes of CEEC 1987 -2009 ”, presentation at the CEEC Annual Seminar, May 2009.
• Ramírez, J.“ Work methodology for participatory process design ”Quarterly Bulletin, December 2009,“ Economy and Management in Cuba: Research Advances ”,
• Robbins, SP, "Organizational Behavior: Theory and Practice", Prentice Hall, Seventh Edition, Mexico, 2000, digital format.
• Schein, E. "The Process Consulting and its role in Organizational Development" (Volumes I and II), Adison Weslwy, 1988.
