Gillette’s Total Quality Management System Case Study

Introduction
Gillette began its global operations in 1905 when it opened a manufacturing plant in
Germany. This global strategy and success saw the firm extending its operation to
Latin America. Argentina was a potential market after tariffs and business policies
were revised. Having operated under unfavorable regime, the firm perceived future
competition and decided to create competitive advantages.
Key figures in the firm such as Carlos Rotundo and Jorge Micozzi suggested better quality
as the solution to the market issues. The management had to change the organizational
culture which was not strategic for the future market circumstances. Rotundo had already
began creating a new organizational culture when Micozzin came up with the idea of total
quality management (TQM) that made Gillette Argentina the most successful affiliate in Latin
America.

Due to the great success of Gillette’s TQM system, this research was commenced to
do a case study on “quality at Gillette Argentina”. The paper begins by evaluating the
ways in which the firm got its employees to take on the new TQM system. It
proceeds to discuss the importance of getting the teams involved in TQM process as
well as identifying the ways in which the teams improved the process.
The paper also explains the meaning of the phrase “Beyond the hanging fruits, the
most important outcome of this effort was a different way of working with sales” and
highlights how Gillette changed the way it looks at its customers. Finally, there is a
description of the working culture before and after the implementation of TQM as
well as the economic benefits of the system.

Gillette gets employees to take on the new system

In a firm where decision making is solely the responsibility of leaders such that the
employees have to act as the subjects to them, it is likely that the employees would
not readily accept the adoption of total quality management (TQM). This is because
TQM requires them to take elevated roles, become self-dependent and consider
themselves as the owners of the firm.
It is apparent that Gillette had earlier managed its activities in a manner that left the
managerial roles such as decision making and steering initiatives exclusively to the
leaders. Therefore, the effort to adopt TQM compelled leaders to take measures that
would prepare the employees better for the change. These measures involved
several initiatives especially triggered by several key figures in the firm.
The very first initiative Gillette took was to hire the Organizational Dynamics Inc
(ODI) as a consulting and training firm. The firm became the key source of
information and motivation for the Gillette Latin America management. It can be
argued that the source of a successful organizational change begins with leaders
who in turn transfer it to employees.
This means that the employees would rarely have accepted an initiative that their leaders did
not support appropriately. The consulting firm played a central role in preaching the benefits
of TQM to the leaders. Indeed, the firm reinforced the idea Rotundo had already started to
instill in Argentina. Organizational Dynamics Inc. developed the quality initiative and
recommended the creation of a quality structure.

Secondly, Gillette offered training to the employees as a way of preparing them for
TQM system. One of the landmark training was FADE that prepared employees for
quality action teams. The specialized training involved four phases of problem
solving: focus, analyze, develop and execute.
The focus phase was concerned with the development of a problem statement; the
analyze phase dealt with the use of data to understand the magnitude of the
problem; the develop phase involved the determination of a solution and
implementation plan; and the execute phase was about implementing the plan and
measuring its impact. In addition to FADE training, the employees received training
in seven basic quality tools as well as brainstorming, force field analysis and cost
benefit analysis.
Furthermore, training was extended to management and leadership levels. The
Argentine directors, managers and other officials were trained by ODI as trainers of
the rest of the organization. The teams were allocated facilitators who received
training on leadership development.
Team leaders were trained in areas relating to group dynamics, effective meetings,
leadership skills and group conflicts (Donnellon & Engelkemeyer, 1999). As a matter
of fact, training was the backbone of the TQM process. Most of the members who
got training became experts in their respective areas and eventually steered the
process towards success.
Another way that Gillette used to prepared employees for the TQM process was
through workshops. Through the leadership of Walker, workshops were conducted
with all employees to inform them about the changes that would take place. The staff
got information about the new working style and culture to be attained through TQM.
Team sponsors were identified and their roles explained to the staff. They were to
support the teams in any way needed including helping them to attain their
objectives with recognition of their empowerment. Other workshops that Walker
would offer involved problem-solving and statistical analysis, and at the same time
inspiring everyone.
Finally, Gillette endeavored to meet the challenges of quality that the employees faced.
Initially, Rotundo responded quickly to the employee complaints about the contract approach
by delegating responsibility to investigate them to Victor Walker. The newly hired quality
manager emerged to be a successful preparer of the team members and organizer of TQM
process.

Through his stewardship, teams were guided in their TQM process by sponsors and
ODI methodology. In addition, a steering committee was formed in an effort to
respond to quality challenges.
The council systematically supported the employees towards TQM process and
formed the backbone in the creation of a new working culture. Through such support,
the employees were assured of the leaders’ commitment to the process and
ultimately embarked on the mission whole-heartedly.

Involving teams in the TQM process

Team involvement was paramount for the success of Gillette TQM process. The
initiative was adopted by the firm in an effort to enhance overall performance and
position better in the Argentine market. As Jorge Micozzi observed, the market was
opening and thus the firm perceived the entry of new competitors from United States
and Europe (Donnellon & Engelkemeyer, 1999).
In that respect, team involvement was important to create a competitive advantage.
This would allow for creativity and emergence of new ideas as the team members
presented diverse suggestions. There was need to improve decisions and processes
ahead of competition trough team work. Therefore, the new competitive advantage
was to assist Gillette to compete and keep their market share.
Team involvement was important in consolidating individual interests with the
interest of the company as a whole. Before the implementation of TQM, the
employees pursued their interests with no chance for a broader perspective on the
organizational goals and objectives. This working culture was not particularly
strategic for the creation of customer value through quality services. Therefore, team
involvement was a way of changing this individualistic culture as well as the focus of
the workforce towards goal attainment.
Organizational Dynamics Inc which was hired to develop the quality initiative
recommended the creation of teams. With the success history of the firm in Mexico,
it was very important for Gillette to abide with this recommendation.
Team involvement was the only way to achieve the quality structure suggested by
ODI. In addition, the basis of TQM being total participation, customer focus,
systematic support and continuous improvement relied completely on team
involvement for success.
Team involvement was important in enriching business ideas within Gillette. It can be argued
that when employees are offered the chance to contribute to decision-making process, more
and better ideas are achieved. Indeed, individuals are challenged to bring new ideas and
suggestions when they are members of a team.

The individualistic working culture which existed prior to implementation of TQM

process was a huge obstacle to the generation of new ideas. Decisions were entirely
made by the top leaders who had little knowledge about the challenges at the
operation level. Therefore, team involvement as Walker observed was a way of
creating a conduit through which ideas would flow up and down the hierarchical
structure.
The other importance of involving teams was to eliminate departmental barriers that
the previous system had created. As a manufacturing firm, Gillette had denied
employees the necessary interaction between departments. Rarely could the design
team interact with the production team or the assembly team which gave in to low
quality products and wastage of materials.
As much as the implementation of TQM process was to succeeds, so was the effort
to involve teams. This involvement of diverse teams gave the need to understand
what other departments did and how they were related to each other. Therefore, for
the success of the TQM processes, interaction and coordination among departments
was very crucial.
Team involvement in the TQM process was also important in improving customer
satisfaction. Although it was more relevant to the sales team, it permeated through
all other teams. The sales team had the direct contact with the customer and when
involved in the TQM process could offer the needed feedbacks to the rest.
The other teams chipped in when responding to these feedbacks especially those
which related to product offered. The involvement of these teams enabled Gillette to
meet customer expectations and ultimately increase their satisfaction. Moreover, the
increased strength and commitment of the sales team made the customers to feel
more satisfied when transacting with the team members.
The TQM process at Gillette was greatly improved by teamwork. It enabled the
management to identify and meet challenges of quality. Team involvement increased
employee participation in which they launched their complaints. For instance, the
assignment of Victor Walker who emerged to be the cornerstone in the processes
was triggered by complaints from the employees (Donnellon & Engelkemeyer, 1999).
In addition, team involvement allowed the steering committee to turn to TQM
problems that barred the success of such programs.
Team involvement also allowed for the creation of the necessary working culture. As
the team members increased their participation, new ideas emerged and
departmental coordination became a reality. The roles of team leaders and members
were defined and the members focused more on the organizational goals and
objectives. Autonomy and efficiency increased such that each employee became a
significant contributor to the success of the process.
Team involvement in the TQM actually speeded up the implementation. The firm was
able to make quick, but effective decisions on how to go about implementing the
components of the process. The process that had earlier faced challenges picked up
as the teams increased their participation. Micozzi offers the success example of the
administrative building (Donnellon & Engelkemeyer, 1999).
The building was designed and built in ten months by nine teams. Therefore, it can
be argued that team involvement was the key factor that contributed to the success
of TQM process within such a short time.

“Beyond the hanging fruits, the most important outcome of this

effort was a different way of working with sales”
This statement was coined by Rotundo when he moved to interface sales with cross-
functional teams after succeeding in managing inventories. According to him,
customer focus was more important than anything in Gillette. After all, the
manufacturing operations undertaken by the firm were determined by its capacity to
make sustainable sales.
He likened other achievements of the effort to hanging fruits pointing sales focus as
the most important attainment. The sales focus Rotundo had in mind was that of
changing the way Gillette looked at its customers. This change was that which
responded to the needs of the customers despite their nature or demands. It was a
change that the firm could make while looking at things from the perspective of a
customer and responding to customer demands without question.
Actually, the quality effort had to be focused on the enhancement of customer
satisfaction. According to Daft, Murphy and Willmott (2010), customer is the most
crucial stakeholder of an organization as he defines the reason for its existence and
eventual success. Other achievements could be important, but lie far below the
capacity to drive sales (hanging fruits).
As Rotundo highlights, this driving force could only be achieved by changing the way
the firm worked with sales. The fact that customer needs could be clearly
understood, the quality management program necessary would automatically be
defined. The changed perspective about the customer would actually allow the
customer needs to act as the roadmap towards continuous improvement of the
quality management practices. Therefore, in spite of the achievement made by
quality effort, the influence it could have on sales was paramount.
In response to the call made by Rotundo, Gillette completely changed the way it
looked at its customers. First, customer satisfaction became the main purpose of
TQM process as Micozzi noted (Donnellon & Engelkemeyer, 1999).
The teams were encouraged to align their goals with the corporate goals in order to
drive sales. Starting from the design department to production department to sales
department, all teams were involved in TQM process with a focus on their
contribution towards customer satisfaction. In fact, the continuous improvement
component of the TQM process involved responses to the changing needs of the
customers. This is confirmed in the various team projects undertaken in the
implementation of the process.
Gillette Argentina also changed the way it looked at the customers by having a
special focus on the sales department. The sales teams were encouraged to be
more proficient in working together and increase their efficiency to make customers
more satisfied. The emphasis on customer needs was real and made the sales team
more compelling.
As the local sales manager observed, the emphasis on sales department made
people to like working with the team as they learned about the entire firm, gaining a
global perspective (Donnellon & Engelkemeyer, 1999). Nonetheless, Gillette
conducted continuous survey on customer satisfaction to ensure that the teams were
delivering the expected results.
Immediately the teams were formed, the firm conducted customer surveys and
customer critiques were assigned to each group. The success was clear-cut in these
surveys suggesting the complete change of the firm’s way of looking at the
customer.

The working culture

Initially, Gillette’s organizational culture was characterized by individualism in which
there were leaders and subjects to lead. Apparently, the employees got orders from
above and had to act upon them without question. Decisions were solely made by
the management without any input from the lower ranks.
Each department was assigned to specifically defined roles that were only approved
by the management. There were few linkages to other departments with no
interaction between departmental employees. Coordination between the
departments was the role of managers whereby they advised rather than discussing
on the work-related issues.
The employees focused on completing tasks rather than meeting goals and
objectives. It can be argued that customer focus was not a crucial factor when
working in the company. Workers pursued their interest and the interest of the
company had little relevance when performing the assigned tasks.
Even before the implementation of TQM process, Carlos Rotundo had attempted to
change the existing working culture. He introduced a quality-focused culture that
supported team work with special emphasis on sales. The culture assigned many of
the responsibilities to team leaders, but did not give individual employees much
autonomy. Clearly, leaders made many of the decisions without any contribution
coming from team members.
Each team pursued a specific task that was defined by the customer’s critique
identified in the customer survey. Also, the management was responsible for most of
the decisions that were beyond teams’ jurisdiction. Departmental interaction was not
supported by this culture which ended prematurely after the introduction of TQM
process.
The working culture that emerged from the adoption of TQM process was
characterized by team work. Each activity that was accomplished in the firm
including product design, development, production and offering was the cumulative
efforts of individual teams. The team formation involved both the employees and the
management. As a result, decision-making at department level as well as corporate
level involved all team members.
The culture allowed each employee to contribute to any undertaking of the firm
regardless of the source department. The ultimate goal in the new culture was
customer satisfaction and all teams endeavored to achieve this goal.
Therefore, working to achieve this goal was the “sign post” of teams’ activities and
leaders were not there to give orders but to discuss issues with members. In fact,
Rotundo acknowledged that the new culture did not allow for orders, but consensus
whereby the management listened to others’ problems and worked jointly to solve
them.
The new culture was a supportive culture where tasks were shared among teams as
well as team members. Individual employees became more responsible and
industrious as they perceived assistance from other members. There was new
confidence in their decisions and satisfaction in the tasks completed, especially
when they were acknowledged with gifts.
The support formed a platform for knowledge creation and acquisition by the
employees due to the focus on identifying problems and solving them. The
cooperative working culture gave way to efficiency in the services offered to
customers. Employees were willing more than ever to launch their complaints which
allowed the managing team to act upon them on time. Thus, the working culture
gave room for continuous improvement of the TQM process and eventually
improvement on services offered to customers.
The TQM process implemented by Gillette had great tangible and intangible benefits.
Perhaps, the economic benefits that came about due to improved performance and
wastage elimination are most important. The high performance resulted from
increased customer satisfaction which by 1994, the firm topped the list with 8 on a
ten-point scale.
The higher economic performance could also have stemmed from the creativity and
innovativeness of the firm as the team members acquired new knowledge and ideas.
It can be argued that the larger part of the firm’s performance revolved around the
capacity to bring new products to the market. The creative culture established by
TQM process was clearly described in the rapid growth of financial determinants.
Some of the economic benefits include growth in sales, higher profits, POE
decrease, inventory turns increase, and ROA increase. Between 1993 and 1998,
sales grew by 19 percent while average profits increased by 22 percent. Period
operating expense (POE) decreased by 40 percent while inventory turns increased
from 4.8 to 8.7 in that period.
Return on assets (ROA) rose by 60 percent between the years. Profitability attributed
to TQM was forecasted at $17.8 million by the turn of the millennium. Another
economic benefit directly related to TQM was the expansion of the firm’s facilities.
Clearly, the development of the new professional and administrative building was an
outcome of the TQM process. The firm was also able to decrease material wastage
and increase employee output per unit cost of the labor input.

Conclusion
As competition threat continued to intensify in the Argentine market, Gillette
embarked on a TQM system to counter the competition. The challenge the firm faced
of getting the employees to take on the system was solved by extensive training,
workshops, consultation and proper response to the quality challenges perceived.
Teams were formed and involved in the process for various significances including:
to create competitive advantage, to consolidate individual interests with the interest
of the company, to act on the recommendations made by ODI, to enrich business
ideas within firm, to eliminate departmental barriers, and to improve customer
satisfaction.
This involvement allowed for the creation of the necessary working culture and
speeded up the implementation of TQM. A different way of working sales that
Rotundo had suggested led to the firm changing the way it looked at its customer by
having a special focus on the sales, making customer satisfaction the main purpose
of TQM process and conducting continuous survey on customer satisfaction. The
working culture which changed from individualistic culture to team-working culture
benefited the firm economically.