On the other hand, some messages should not be limited to conventional corporate media such as videos, newsletters and memos, but should also be evident in day-to-day communications. Indeed, communication provides the means of raising quality awareness, staff involvement and reinforce the desired message. It is also critical as a means of publicizing achievements and recognizing contributions to quality improvement (Porter and Parker, 1993).
Time Forecasting
According to Gray and Larson (2006), long-duration projects increase the risk in time and cost estimates. To be effective Vancity needs to prepare, agree, and issue a quality system development plan as a means of showing how it is going to develop a quality system that accomplishes the agreed purpose and objectives. The plan should define the key activities to be performed, the responsible party and when they are to begin and complete the activity. In this case, Vancity seeking greater precision will use the Delphi method to make these macro estimates. In this method, all problems and possible solutions are investigated in an anonymous forum. Vancity quality team uses the Delphi method as a part of qualitative technique in the following ways:
- Available document data of different areas is provided to three to four specialists. These persons are asked to provide time estimates for the following project through a questionnaire.
- The group's estimates are returned to the individual experts who possess the knowledge and ability to contribute meaningfully, for review and a second round of forecasts is received from the experts.
- Summarize and redistribute the results to the participants along with appropriate new questions.
- By consensus, a final estimate is reached at an open meeting of the experts and all levels of management. In this step, Vancity estimate 15 months for whole project.
Project Closure
A critical action at the end of any project is to ensure that the project‘s completion is formally agreed and signed off by sponsor (Elbeik and Thomas, 1998). Contrary to most projects, in TQM never ending or continuous improvement is probably the most powerful concept to guide management in their approach. To maintain a wave of interest in quality, it is necessary to develop generations of managers who not only understand but are also dedicated to focusing on never-ending improvements in meeting external and internal customer needs (Oakland, 1995). In Vancity, senior managers need to understand that TQM is a process that is company wide, continuous, and never ending. The CEO and the senior management team must never become satisfied and complacent with the progress that the organization has made in TQM. They must strive continually to achieve quality improvements in the product, service, and associated processes. They need to adopt the philosophy and mindset that there is no ideal situation and the current state can always be improved (Dale and Cooper, 1994).
Project Audit
The project audit and report are instruments for supporting continuous improvement and quality management (Gray and Larson, 2006). In fact, an audit of a project is best done at critical points in the project’s life cycle and a formal independent evaluation of the effectiveness with which the project is being managed (Cleland and Ireland, 2002). Gray and Larson (2006) argued that because of lack of reflective assessment, about 90 percent of all projects are not seriously reviewed or audited. In contrast, a good quality system will not function without enough audit and reviews. The system reviews, which need to be carried out periodically and systematically, are conducted to ensure that the system achieves the required effect, while audits are carried out to make sure that actual methods are adhering to the documented procedures (Oakland, 1995). In Vancity, all procedures and systems should be audited at least once during a specific cycle, but not necessarily all at the same audit. For example, every three months a selected random sample of work instructions and test methods could be audited; in this case, each procedure is audited at least once a year. On the other hand, a quality system review should be established every 12 months with the aims of:
- Ensuring that the system is achieving the desired results
- Reviewing defects in the system
- Indicating any necessary improvement or corrective actions to eliminate waste or loss
- Checking on all levels of management
- Verifying that improvements or corrective action procedures are effective
(Oakland, 1995)
Budget Estimating
As Vancity grows and changes, its purpose and values will never change. Vancity’s Statement of Values and Commitments were created in consultation with their members, staff and communities, and this statement provides a framework for how the organization does business. This statement will guide its business decisions and strategies ensuring that Vancity remains true to the values that have made them a strong organization. As a result, apportionment is used when projects closely follow the mission in features and costs. In this project, assuming the total project cost is estimated, using a macro estimate, to be $100,000, the costs are apportioned as a percent of the total cost. For example, the costs apportioned to the ‘Planning phase’ deliverable are 10 percent of the total, or $10,000. The sub deliverables “Documentation lists” is allocated two percent of the total—$2000, respectively. Vancity uses an analogous process that apportions costs to deliverables in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)—given average cost percentages from past documents (see Appendix A.).
Project Outcomes Forecasting
According to Kerzner (2003), project success is often measured by the actions of three groups: the project manager and team, the parent organization such as Credit Union Central, and members as the customer’s organization. The results of the quality audit process indicate where Vancity needs to make improvements (Vancity, 2007):
Members
- Vancity distributed $6.3 million of profits to members in the form of dividends on membership and investment shares, bonus on deposit interest paid by Vancity, and a rebate on loan interest paid to Vancity.
- Seventy nine per cent of members are satisfied overall with Vancity's service.
- Sixty two per cent of members who had an opinion said Vancity is helping them to reach their financial goals.
- The portion of Vancity's portfolio in small business loans (less than $25,000) is seven times that of Canadian banks (2.8 per cent to 0.4 per cent)
Community
- Vancity is implementing a staff involvement strategy which encourages staff to participate in the community, through fundraising, corporate participation, and volunteerism.
Credit Unions
- Vancity's assets represent 24 per cent of the assets of the B.C. credit union system, and 10 per cent of the assets of the credit unions affiliated with Canada's credit union centrals. Vancity's goal is to work with other credit unions to grow the credit union system within Canada's financial services sector.
Staff
- 86 per cent of staff members are generally satisfied with Vancity as their employer.
- 89 per cent of Vancity staff are very satisfied working at Vancity because of the organizations commitment to the environment and the community.
- Consistent with data provided within the financial services industry, Vancity staff has experienced heavy workloads and stress despite efforts to help staff manage the pressures of competition and organizational change.
Simulation
This simulation illustrates that the project life cycle refers to a logical sequence of activities to accomplish the project’s goals or objectives. In terms of “Applying the Project Life Cycle” simulation, I applied follow key (UOP, 2003):
- The application of the project life cycle in an organization is developed in four phases that includes definition, planning, execution, and delivery.
- It is important to set out the activities in sequence because of optimizing the resources, and therefore avoiding inefficiency.
- Closure is the most important aspect of the project. This involves getting delivery acceptance from the costumer, shutting down resources, and evaluating the project team includes members and manager.
Conclusion
All projects go through a series of phases in their life cycle as they progress towards completion. Completion is marked by transforming the project resources to a final product, service, or organizational process (Cleland and Ireland, 2002). Vancity is able to produce quality products and services that meet and/or exceeds the needs of their customers. TQM helps to create a culture of trust, participation, teamwork, quality-mindedness, zeal for continuous improvement, continuous learning and, ultimately, a working culture that contributes towards a firm's success and existence (Yusof and Aspinwall, 2000).
References
Cleland, D.I, Ireland, L.R. (2002). Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill
Dale, B.G, Cooper, C.L, (1994). . Management Decision. London: Vol. 32(1); p. 20 (7 pages) Retrieved March 18, 2007 from ProQuest database
Exterbille, K. (March 1996). TQM can be DOA without a proper communications plan. Journal for Quality & Participation, Vol. 19(2), p32, 4p. Retrieved March 17, 2007 from EBSCOhost database
Goetsch, D.L, David, S.B. (2003). Quality Management (4th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Gray,C.F, Larson,E.W. (2006). Project management: the managerial process (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw- Hill/ Irwin
Kerzner, H. (2003). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling (8th ed.). New Jersey: John wiley & Sons Inc.
Oakland, J.S. (1995). Total Quality Management: text with cases (1st ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd
Porter, L.J, Parker, A.J. (January 1993). Total quality management--the critical success factors. Total Quality Management, Vol. 4(1) Retrieved March 20, 2007 from EBSCOhost Database
University of Phoenix. (2003). Applying the Project Life Cycle. Retrieved March 18, 2007, from University of Phoenix, rEsource, Simulation
Vancity(2007).about us. Retrieved March 19, 2007 from vancity.com
Yusof, S.R. M., Aspinwall, E. (May 2000). . Total Quality Management, Vol. 11(3), 14 p, Retrieved March 20, 2007 from EBSCOhost Database