TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF LA PRIMERA POLLO INCORPORATION (LPPI): A PROPOSAL
Chapter 1. THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
Introduction
In such a competitive environment resulted from world globalization and liberalization, firms survive with much difficulty unless they create the competitive advantage over their competitors (Adam et al., 2001; Samson & Terziovski, 1999; Terziovski & Samson, 1999). With the increasing competitive, business survival pressure and the dynamic, changing customer-oriented environment, total quality management (TQM) has been recognized as one of the important issues and generated a substantial amount of interest among managers and researchers (Ahire et al., 1995; Benson et al., 1991; Flynn et al., 1995; Powell, 1995; Samson & Terziovski, 1999; Sousa and Voss, 2002; Terziovski & Samson, 1999).
Since 1980s, TQM has been regarded as one of effective ways for firms to improve their competitive advantage (Kuei et al., 2001). Leading pioneers in the quality area, such as Deming (1986) and Juran (1993), asserted that competitive advantage can be gained by providing quality products or services. Additionally, Eng and Yusof (2003) argued that quality holds the key competitiveness in today’s global market. In addition, TQM has widely considered as an effective management tool to provide business with stability, growth, and prosperity (Issac et al., 2004).
The benefits of quality improvement can not only be reflected on decreasing costs, but also on maximizing business profits. In terms of quality improvement, what really counts for a firm is not just cost minimization, but the effect of superior quality has on maximizing profits (Freiesleben, 2005). Thus, the study of the relationship between quality management and firm performance is critical for firms and researchers to better understand the effects of quality management onto different levels of firm performance.
In order to accomplish the requirement of quality, firms have to spend time and effort on the implementation of TQM. To this end, firms will introduce quality management practice by communicating TQM philosophy and/or principle effectively. In addition, the application of TQM can be implemented to enhance the relationship between firms and their suppliers. Moreover, the implementation of TQM can also increase customer satisfaction by providing preeminent products or services and meeting customer requirements.
Background of the Study Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management philosophy which focuses on the work process and people, with the major concern for satisfying customers and improving the organizational performance. It involves the proper coordination of work processes which allows for continuous improvement in all business units with the aim of meeting or surpassing customer’s expectations. It emphasizes on totality of quality in all facets of an organization with the aim of reducing waste and rework to reduce cost and increase efficiency in production.
TQM is applicable to any organization irrespective of size, and motives, even the public sector organization are fast adopting the ideology in order to make them effective in meeting public demands. However, the adoption of the ideology by most organization has been hampered due to their non compliance with the procedures and principles of TQM implementation. While some organization, run TQM like a program which they expect to function and perform the magic all by itself, others have used a half hearted approach to it, by using some bits and pieces of the principles. This has accounted for the failure of most organization in meeting up to their expected target from implementing this ideology. There is a need to continue to buttress the benefits that accrue to organizations from the implementation of TQM, especially in developing economies, such as Philippines where the adoption of these principles seems farfetched to organizations. The LPPI, under poultry-industry based business gives us a true picture of the shortcomings of organizations in their quest to make profit at the expense of quality. In this regard, the researchers choose the study to serve as a help for LPPI’s Quality Improvement. This may include critical success factors that greatly affect the organization’s performance towards attainment of higher quality performance. In fact, as future tycoons, this study will provide us initial knowledge on how TQM shape company operational motions and how can it drive your company into success.

Theoretical Framework
One way of boosting organization’s performance is to identify and eliminate “bottle-necks” or the things that holding you back. One approach is to use Theory of Constraints (TOC).
You've likely heard the adage, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link," and this is what the Theory of Constraints reflects. It was created by Dr. Eli Goldratt and was published in his 1984 book "The Goal."
According to Goldratt, organizational performance is dictated by constraints. These are restrictions that prevent an organization from maximizing its performance and reaching its goals. Constraints can involve people, supplies, information, equipment, or even policies, and can be internal or external to an organization. As per TQM, there is several critical success factors that may help enhance or hammer down the system.
The theory says that every system, no matter how well it performs, has at least one constraint that limits its performance – this is the system's "weakest link." The theory also says that a system can have only one constraint at a time, and that other areas of weakness are "non-constraints" until they become the weakest link.
You use the theory by identifying your constraint and changing the way that you work so that you can overcome it.
The theory was originally used successfully in manufacturing, but you can use it in a variety of situations. It's most useful with very important or frequently-used processes within your organization.
This can also be similar to a Health Care Analogy which concerns Diagnosis, Design of a Treatment Plan and the Execution of the Treatment Plan. A symptom that persists should be treated, as it needs to undergo series of observations before a doctor can give you medicine and how often you may take this or even design you to other additional medical treatments.

Conceptual Framework
Conceptual Framework of the study is an illustrative diagram of the intention of the researchers to search the linkage between the level of general opinion on TQM, and the level of importance and practice on TQM as perceived by the LPPI Employees. The research, as shown in the diagram, served on the direct impact of employee profile, level of TQM general opinion, importance, and practice on the proposal of TQM Implementation in LPPI. Proposal of TQM Implementation can be measured depending on the findings. The conceptual model is shown in Figure 1.

* Development of Questionnaires * Data Gathering * Statistical Treatment * Analysis and Interpretation of Data * Weighted Mean * Frequency * Verbal Interpretation

Proposal of
Total
Quality
Management

(Measured by result of the Section 3 of the questionnaire) * Employee Profile * Age * Sex * Educational Attainment * Position/ Area in-charge in the company * Literature Review * Level of LPPI Workers’ General Opinions towards TQM * Level of Importance and Practice of the LPPI employees on TQM in terms * Literature Review

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Figure 1. The Conceptual Model of the Study

Statement of the Problem The researchers sought answer to the following questions:
1. What is the demographic profile of the employees in terms of: 1.1 Age 1.2 Gender 1.3 Highest Educational Attainment 1.4 Position/ Area in-charge in the company
2. What is the level of general opinion on TQM as perceived by the LPPI Employees?
3. What is the level of Importance and Practice of the LPPI employees on TQM in terms of: 3.1 Management Leadership 3.2 Resource Management 3.3 Measurement and Feedback 3.4 Continuous Improvement 3.5 Supplier Quality Management 3.6 Systems and Process 3.7 Education and Training 3.8 Work Environment and Culture
4. Is there a significant difference between the level of general opinion and the level of Importance/Practice on TQM as perceived by LPPI employees?

Hypothesis
1. There is no significant relationship between the level of Understanding and the level of Importance and Practice as perceived by LPPI employees.

Significance of the Study
In this section, the researches convey the substantial value of the research study. This is where the possible beneficiaries of the study enumerated.

Managers. Total Quality Management is a key point for the company in helping obtaining higher profit gain. Managers can be applauding for being one who successfully implements TQM.
Operational Management. TQM encompasses widely in the area of operations and services through this, one can learn skills on how to implement proper total quality management which would be a great help in surpassing day-to-day and long lasting undertakings of the company.
Workers. Quality management systems force company departments to work as a team. Workers from different areas of the company become reliant upon one another to produce a quality product that meets and exceeds the customers' expectations. A quality system incorporates measures that affect sales, finance, operations, customer service and marketing. They can also harness their abilities because of the aid of TQM. Unleashing shared visions and views among managers and workers can trigger active atmosphere at work and continuous progress.
Clients/Customers. Quality management ensures customer satisfaction. Surveys given to customers also provide insight target those features of a product or service that need improvement. The quality management program provides a methodology to use to create the type of product the customer desires. Loyalty and referrals are expected when clients/customers are being sufficed with your services and products. TQM greatly affects how these aspects will respond through the business. High revenues are expected, too.
Future Researchers. They can get some insights on the findings of the study particularly for those who will be working in operational activities of a company. This can also serve as a future reference for upcoming researches.
Researchers. As future managers, we can have initial knowledge of how TQM should properly implement and how well this can help in the progress and prosperity of a business. It can set clearer minds for us maybe undergoing in these kind of practice.

Scope and Delimitations of the Study Researchers aimed to investigate the employees’ level of understanding about TQM. On the other hand, the level of Importance and Practice is calculated by means of eight TQM Critical Success Factors. Furthermore, the need for a proposal of TQM depends on the entity LPPI really needs to be implemented. The study was limited to LPPI workers who are really engaged only in the operational activities of the organization. Definition of Terms
For an easy understanding of the terms that appear in this study, operational definitions of some of the terms are listed below:
Critical Success Factors of TQM (CSF’s)- limited number of areas which help to provide management and quality policy, social responsibility, satisfactory results and ensure the organizational strategic planning, customer focus and satisfaction, competitive performance
Continuous Improvement- is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes
Education and Training- equipment of knowledge and skills to deliver high quality of services and products
LPPI employees/ workers- these are employees subdivided by tow: the management and the operational personnels
Management Leadership- involves articulating a vision for the future that is clear and compelling and also providing a strategic leadership
Measurement and Feedback- process in which information about the past or the present influences the same phenomenon in the present or future. As part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop, the event is said to "feed back" into itself.
Quality- perceptual, conditional, and somewhat subjective attributes and may be understood differently by different people; fitness for use; the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service, which bear on its ability to satisfy a given or implied need
Quality Management – directing an organization so that it optimizes its performance through analysis and improvement.
Resource Management- the efficient and effective deployment of an organization's resources when they are needed.
Supplier Quality Management- describes the methods and processes of modern corporate or institutional buying
Systems and Process- understanding how things influence one another within a whole.
Total Quality Management (TQM) - is a management approach of an organization, centered on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long term success through customer satisfaction and benefits to the members of the organization and to the society
Work Environment and Culture- people’s belief and atmosphere within the workplace

Chapter 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
Foreign Literature. TQM is a philosophy aimed at achieving business excellence through the use and application of tools and techniques, as well as the management of soft aspects, such as human motivation in work (Juran & Gryna, 1980). Berry (1991) defined the TQM process as a total corporate focus on meeting and exceeding customer’s expectations and significantly reducing costs resulting from poor quality by adopting a new management system and corporate culture. Quality management is a long-term process that relies on relative achievements through continuous improvement. Successful TQM implementation can only come from radically challenging and changing the culture of the organization (Zairi, 1996). Therefore, one may say that TQM is a philosophy, concept and powerful management approach. It involves management and empowerment of people in order to create satisfied customers and improve organizational performance.
In order to be successful in implementing TQM, first, one needs to know what critical success factors of TQM Saraph et al. (1989) defined critical factors as those ‘critical areas of managerial planning and action that must be practiced to achieve effective quality management in a business unit’. There are numerous factors to be stressed as facilitators for successful TQM implementation. Almost all these factors are identified and developed for large firms, with few exceptions.
Yusof & Aspinwall (2000a,b, 2001) extensively reviewed the literature of TQM practices of SMEs and studied CSFs (critical success factors) for TQM. This study adopted the TQM factors developed by Yusof and Aspinwall (1999, 2000c), with minor modifications to suit the characteristics of SMEs in Malaysian automotive suppliers.
TQM has helped many organizations improve their competitiveness and profit, such as Motorola, British Airways, Xerox, IBM and Hewlett Packard. These success stories can be found in various literatures. Although there are many successful case studies of implementing TQM, there are also many failure experiences (Ahire et al., 1996).
Several authors report problems in TQM implementation: low quality standards, failure to measure quality, lack of incentives for employees consistently to provide quality goods and services, insufficient commitment by management to implementing quality (Masters, 1996; Radovilsky et al., 1996; Tatikonda & Tatikonda, 1996; Nwabueze, 2001). These failures can be avoided if the barriers to implement TQM and the problems can be overcome.
Awareness of the barriers and problems should be emphasized when training organizations in TQM concepts and methods. Any organization can benefit from a better understanding and knowledge of TQM. (H. R. Zadry & S. M. Yusof)
Juran, one of the quality gurus, defined quality as fitness for use. Quality of a product or a service in simple terms is its suitability for use by the customer. Quality has to be perceived by the customer. Perception of the supplier is also important, but the customer experience of quality of a product or service is more important. Quality does not mean an expensive product; on the contrary, it is fitness for use of the customer.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the world body for standards defined quality as per the ISO 9000 standard is: “The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service, which bear on its ability to satisfy a given or implied need”.
Thus, the standard definition of quality is common both to products and services. It is essentially satisfying the customer needs, both stated and unstated (implied). The latter is more dominant in a service. When there is a contract for supply of a product or service, the needs will be specified clearly. In other situations, it is the responsibility of the supplier to identify and define them.
According to ISO 9000 Standards, Quality management comprises “All activities of the overall management function that determine quality policy, objectives and responsibilities and implement them by means such as Quality Planning (QP), Quality Assurance (QA), and Quality Improvement (QI) within the quality system”.
The quality system consists of the organizational structure, procedures, and processes and resources needed to implement quality management. The company must have an objective and policy for quality of the products and services. They should plan for meeting the objective and include QA, QC and methodology for improvement. There must be a clear organizational structure for building quality into the products and services with necessary resources. The quality management should be implemented formally with well-defined processes and procedures and trained resources.
It was Feigenbaum who coined the phrase “Total Quality Control”. The concept is known in Japan as Company Wide Quality Control (CWQC). In 1985, the Americans came up with the term Total Quality Management (TQM) to represent essentially the Japanese way of Quality Management.
Tai-ichi Ohno of Toyota Motors refined an idea for Just-In-Time. This means that at no stage of manufacturing nobody or nothing waits for anything. This is to ensure that there is no wastage of machinery, materials and manpower. JIT focuses on right scheduling so as to keep inventory as low as possible. This requires a perfect partnership between supplier and customer.
ISO 9000 Standards were released for the first time in the year 1987 to bring in system for quality in every organization. The standard was revised in 1994 and later in the year 2000. The standard in the latest version advocates TQM and continuous process improvement.
TQM “is a management approach of an organization, centered on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long term success through customer satisfaction and benefits to the members of the organization and to the society”.
TQM should be the basis of all the activities in the organization as it aids in achieving the organization’s objectives and goals. TQM aims at continuous improvement of the current practices so that the customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction improve day by day.
According to British Standards Institution (BSI), UK, entitled TQM Part I, guide to management principles BS7850: Part I: 1992, TQM represents “Management philosophy and organization practices that aim to harness the human and material resources of an organization in the most effective way to achieve the objectives of the organization”. It means that every machinery, material and men should be effectively utilized to fulfill their organization’s objectives.
Total Quality Management is a way of managing an organization with the objective of carrying out right jobs right – the first time and every time. In quality management, there is thumb rule called 85/15 Rule. It means that the root causes of 85% of the problems in the organization are due to faulty systems and 15% are a result of the behavior of employee. The top management is responsible for the faulty systems. Therefore, the most important agent for correcting a faulty system and enabling TQM is the top management. The leaders, who broke away from the traditional style and adopted TQM-based style of management, have been well rewarded. The TQM based leadership for TQM involves everyone in the organization in value adding activities.
The crux of the problem in implementing TQM is the inability of the senior personnel in investing time on people. The time invested is going to bring in many benefits to the organization later. It also hints that it takes time to change people from the traditional work culture to modern work culture. It also says that the important investments for TQM to happen are time and employees.
An organization should enter into TQM only after a thorough analysis of the requirements of resources, changes to be made in the management of the organization and the benefits the organization is going to get out of TQM. They should realize that TQM is a never-ending process and it will take some time to see success. They should not adopt TQM unless they are convinced about TQM. They should also realize that there is no other alternative. Through TQM, the CEO would be creating hundreds of empowered teams to take on the TQM journey in a continuous manner. TQM implementation needs careful planning about the organizational framework for communications, visions, mission and objectives of the organization, policy for constituting improvement teams, procedure for improvements and the methodology for their implementation. The CEO and QC members have to invest time for TQM to happen. It also calls for putting quality at the centre stage of management of the organization. Every improvement action should follow the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle so as to implement improvements without creating confusion in the organization. Although, initially TQM may call for more efforts, as it evolves, it will result in reducing non-value adding processes and waste.
TQM means gradual and continuous improvements of the processes within the organization. TQM consists of finding new opportunities for improvements of processes, improving them, measuring improvement and then repeating the cycle again and again.
Juran’s trilogy brings out that good financial results are achieved in an organization through three managerial processes namely, planning, control and improvement. Juran suggests similar analogy for better quality results. The quality trilogy consists of the same three managerial processes and aimed at improving quality of product and services. They are Quality Planning, Quality Control and Quality Improvement.
The quality planning activity starts much before the production operation begin. During quality planning the needs of the customers are identified; the product and the processes that will facilitate making the product are developed to meet the needs of the customer. Then the operation starts at time t=0. The operating personnel operate the processes and produce the products. They will find a number of deficiencies in the product thus made; which make the percentage defects higher. It could be as high as 20 percent. The deficiencies might have occurred due to errors in the planning process. Juran calls this region of high defects as the chronic waste region. During this phase, a large number of defects are found and corrected through quality control. The process operators apply control to prevent things from getting worse. In the due course of time, due to quality improvement initiatives, a new zone of quality control is reached. This gain was achieved through the third process namely quality improvement. Now the percent defectives may reach 5 percent. This achievement is due to quality improvement action initiated by the organization. Ones the performance stabilizes at the new zone of quality control, the quality plan has to be updated. Kaizen is a Japanese word. It means gradual, orderly and continuous improvement. Kaizen does not need any capital investment, but it requires time and efforts of every employee in the organization, right from the top management. Continuous improvement is achieved through improving the current way of manufacturing and eliminating waste. Kaizen is a Japanese strategy for continuous improvement. Kaizen succeeded because it is a good management practice. These practices can be employed by any organization located anywhere in the world. Kaizen calls for never ending improvements. This means that improvement is not a one-time activity, but a continuous activity. After sometime, ones the process is stabilized, the employees will be able to find out some more scope for improvement. Then again the improvement is made. That is why the word continual maybe more appropriate rather than continuous improvement. Thus Juran trilogy and Kaizen aim at continuous improvement. An organization functions with a set of processes. Maintenance involves activities directed at maintaining current technological, managerial and operating standards. While efforts are going on for improving the processes, the present activities should continue as per the current standards without any interruption. It should not come to a halt. Kaizen involves small, continuous improvements of the current processes. Thus, an organization will be involved in two distinct activities simultaneously namely, maintenance and kaizen. The improvement function aims at the revising the current standards. Kaizen is different from innovation. Innovation aims at dramatic improvement in the existing processes. Therefore, innovation is beyond the scope of kaizen. However, kaizen has to be carried out along with maintaining continuity in the current operations in the organization. It is the primary responsibility of the workers to maintain the existing system. The top management and the middle management make efforts in finding out improvement opportunities. The supervisors will also participate in Kaizen efforts but their main responsibility will be to maintain the current system. While the workers and the supervisors concentrate on maintaining the current status and production, middle management and the top management have to take keen interest in the following activities towards Kaizen: Maximizing efficiency and productivity of employees as well as the plant; Improving the quality of the process, plant and thereby the product; Minimizing the inventory levels and Work In Progress (WIP) – (WIP means that making the product has started but not finished due to some reasons, beyond the control of the organization); Improving ergonomics to facilitate the human resources to maximize their output with more comfort; Call for suggestion from workers; Enabling teamwork; Improving systems in the organization.
There are essentially three basic principles of Kaizen: Work place effectiveness; Elimination of waste, strain and discrepancy; Standardization. Work place effectiveness Japanese have developed the 5s rules addressing the work place effectiveness. Eliminating waste, strain and discrepancy Kaizen is achieved through application of 5s tools for work place effectiveness and elimination of three MUs. Muda for waste, Muri for Strain and Mura for Discrepancy.
The waste are not free, but have been paid for by the organization, since those who produce wastes also get paid and the material wasted cost money. Therefore, one has to minimize and ultimately eliminate the waste in an organization. The waste, strain and discrepancy in respect of the following are to be reduced and finally eliminated: Human Resources, Production volumes, Inventory (materials), Time, Working space, Machinery, Techniques, Facilities, Tools and Jigs, and Thinking.
Kaizen stresses standardization of processes, materials, machinery, etc. with the following objectives: Represents the best, easiest and safest way to carry out a job in the form of operating procedures and work instructions; Represents the best way to preserve know how and expertise and standardize the procedures for the same; Evolve effective means to measure performance and standardize the same; Standardize all the procedures that are used in the organization for maintenance and improvement of process; Standardize the training programs; Standardize the audit or diagnosing problems; and standardize the procedures for preventing occurrence of errors and minimizing variability
Thus, Kaizen consists of three basic principles namely the application of 5s (sort, straighten, scrub, systematize, and standardize) for improving work place effectiveness and simultaneously reducing and eliminating three MUs as well as standardization of methodologist.
The benefits of an effective Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation can be studied with three different perspectives. Firstly, from the operating angle, the reason that TQM has became a hot topic in both industry and academe is that it can be applied to improve/enhance global competitiveness (Flynn et al., 1995; Samson and Terziovski, 1999). Firms with effective TQM implementation can accomplish the internal benefits such as improving quality, enhancing productivity enhancement, or realizing better operating income (Corbett et al., 2005; Hendricks and Singhal, 1997). Secondly, from the financial performance perspective, careful design and implementation of consistent and documented quality management systems can contribute significantly to superior financial performance (Corbett et al., 2005). Further, firm with an effective TQM implementation can significantly outperform on the stock price performance (Hendricks and Singhal, 2001). Finally, from the knowledge management (KM) viewpoint, the implementation of TQM can also increase and enhance organizational knowledge, which in turn helps more understanding of how quality management practices can affect firm performance (Linderman et al., 2004).
TQM also encompasses the field of Food. This philosophy is indeed needed for consumer is critically sensitive for the quality of the product they will pay money for. The publication Assuring Food Safety and Quality: Guidelines for Strengthening National Food Control Systems was prepared to enable national authorities, particularly in developing countries, to improve their food control systems. These Guidelines replace the earlier FAO/WHO publication Guidelines for Developing an Effective National Food Control System (1976) - FAO Food Control Series No. 1; WHO Food Control No. 1. For over 25 years this publication has been the definitive reference for developing countries in planning, organizing, and implementing their national food control programmes. Much has changed in the intervening period. There have been advances in the control of foodborne hazards as well as improvements in food inspection and surveillance systems. Globalization of the food supply chain, the increasing importance of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and the obligations emerging from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements have resulted in unprecedented interest in the development of food standards and regulations, and the strengthening of food control infrastructure at the country level.
Globally, the incidence of food borne diseases is increasing and international food trade is disrupted by frequent disputes over food safety and quality requirements. Many food control systems need to be revised and strengthened if improvements are to be realized. It has never been more important for developing countries to implement and enforce a food control system based on the modern concept of risk assessment. These Guidelines provide important information on the principles and practices of food control and the trend away from a merely punitive to a preventive approach to food control.
Responsibility for food control in most countries is shared between different agencies or ministries. The roles and responsibilities of these agencies may be quite different and duplication of regulatory activity, fragmented surveillance and a lack of coordination are common. There may also be wide variations in expertise and resources between the different agencies and the responsibility for protecting public health may conflict with obligations to facilitate trade or develop an industry or sector.
These Guidelines provide information for government agencies to assist in the development of national food control systems and to promote effective collaboration between all sectors involved in the management and control of food safety and quality. They highlight the importance of developing effective relationships and mutual support among government agencies and institutions involved in food control and other stakeholders, particularly the food industry and consumer groups.
The foremost responsibility of food control is to enforce the food law(s) protecting the consumer against unsafe, impure and fraudulently presented food by prohibiting the sale of food not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser.
Confidence in the safety and integrity of the food supply is an important requirement for consumers. Food borne disease outbreaks involving agents such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella and chemical contaminants highlight problems with food safety and increase public anxiety that modern farming systems, food processing and marketing do not provide adequate safeguards for public health. Factors which contribute to potential hazards in foods include improper agricultural practices; poor hygiene at all stages of the food chain; lack of preventive controls in food processing and preparation operations; misuse of chemicals; contaminated raw materials, ingredients and water; inadequate or improper storage, etc.
Consumers expect protection from hazards occurring along the entire food chain, from primary producer through consumer (often described as the farm-to-table continuum). Protection will only occur if all sectors in the chain operate in an integrated way, and food control systems address all stages of this chain.
As no mandatory activity of this nature can achieve its objectives fully without the cooperation and active participation of all stakeholders e.g. farmers, industry, and consumers, the term Food Control System is used in these Guidelines to describe the integration of a mandatory regulatory approach with preventive and educational strategies that protect the whole food chain. Thus an ideal food control system should include effective enforcement of mandatory requirements, along with training and education, community outreach programmes and promotion of voluntary compliance. The introduction of preventive approaches such as the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point System (HACCP), have resulted in industry taking greater responsibility for and control of food safety risks. Such an integrated approach facilitates improved consumer protection, effectively stimulates agriculture and the food processing industry, and promotes domestic and international food trade.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 1994 indicated that the prime focus of a HACCP program should be food safety (Scheuplein,1996) in the food industry. In the food industry, food safety principles and practices have always been integrated into activities identified with quality management systems. Food hazards may be introduced at any stage of the food chain, thereby adequate control throughout the food chain is essential. HACCP is widely recognized in the food industry as an effective approach to establishing good production, sanitation and manufacturing practices that produce safe foods. Processing companies have incentives for HACCP adoption to prevent losses of reputation and market share should an outbreak occur. Adoption of HACCP as a regulatory standard has been motivated first by food safety concerns, and only second by a desire to facilitate trade (Caswell and Hooker, 1996). The most basic concept underlying the HACCP system is that of prevention rather than inspection. A food company which operates with a quality management system can be expected to have an HACCP system that specifically targets food safety. It is a methodological, flexible and systematic application of the appropriate science and technology for planning, controlling, and documenting the safe production of foods(Herrera, 2004). The principles of HACCP are applicable to all phases of food production, including basic husbandry practices, food preparation and handling, food processing, foodservice, distribution systems, and consumer handling and use (Gaitan, 2004). The successful application of HACCP requires the full commitment and involvement of management and the workforce, using a multidisciplinary approach that should include, as appropriate expertise in agronomy, veterinary health, microbiology, public health, food technology, environmental health, chemistry, and engineering. The development of an effective HACCP program is an intricate process generally comprised of three steps including hazard assessment, critical control point development, and implementation (Sveum,1996)
Local Literature. In accordance to the third volume of Health Policy Notes of Department of Health Issue No. 4, Assuring Food Safety in the BFAD Strengthening Program: A Collective Will, accessibility and availability of safe foods is a basic right of every Filipino. However, the obligation of keeping the safety of food is a shared responsibility in the Philippines. Since food safety incidents are related to health risks and consequences, the Department of Health (DOH) plays an important role to assure that the food being prepared or eaten will not cause harm to its consumers. Being the principal health agency in the country, measures are undertaken for prevention and control of food safety problems.
Considering that food products undergo numerous handling from farm to plate, the need to have a strong food control system must be established. In the Philippines, the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) under the leadership of DOH has been implementing the country’s food control system in partnership with other government agencies. However, recent food safety incidents, such as the deliberate melamine contamination of milk and milk products from China that was initially found in pet food products in 2006, sparked the interests of the public to examine the current status of food control system.
BFAD serves as DOH’s key regulatory agency and implementer of the country’s food control system. Republic Act (RA) 3720 mandates the agency to ensure safe and good quality processed food, drug and cosmetics and to regulate the production, sale and traffic of the same to protect the health of the consumer. Further, the Consumer Act of the Philippines or RA 7394 reiterated BFAD’s duty “to protect consumers from adulterated or unsafe product with false, deceptive and misleading information.” RA 7394 involves other national agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) which will aid the local producers, exporters and importers of food as well as the consumers in trade; Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) with the Local Government Units (LGUs) for food safety implementation in the local government units, and the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) is a key factor for industries to produce good quality, safe and affordable products. There is a need to review, improve and revise the cGMP as embodied in Administrative Order No. 208 s. 1974 Human Food; Current Good Manufacturing Practice (Sanitation) in Manufacture, Processing, Packaging or Holding. Improvement and revision should aim to align cGMP for human food with international standards of cGMP (e.g. USDA and / or EU cGMP). Additionally, the cGMP should be improved to allow for consistent industry implementation and regulatory inspection by BFAD regulators. Once trained under the new cGMP, BFAD regulators shall be able to improve/strengthen their industry inspection and performance.
Other laws and regulations were created to serve as the bases and support for the implementation, monitoring and surveillance of food safety. Among these are: * The Food, Drugs, and Cosmetic Act –Republic Act No. 3720- RA 3720 has the basic provisions of ensuring safe and good quality supply of food and regulate the production, sale and traffic of the same to protect the health of the people. The Bureau of Food and Drug here was thereby established to set standards for food and adopt measures to ensure pure and safe supply of food. * The Consumer Act of the Philippines – Republic Act No. 7934- The Consumer Act of the Philippines was established in 1993. The aim of RA7934 was to develop and provide safety and quality standards for consumer products and to undertake research on quality improvement of products and investigate causes and prevention ofproduct-related deaths, illnesses, andinjuries. * The Code of Sanitation of thePhilippines – Presidential Decree 856- This code provides for sanitationrequirements for operating a foodestablishment. * Presidential Decree No. 7- Creation of the National Meat Inspection Commission Foreign Studies. Recent studies have examined the relationship between total quality management and various levels of business performance (Das et al., 2000; Kaynak, 2003; Mohrman et al., 1995). The importance of exceptional quality is demonstrated by The Walt Disney Company in operating its theme parks. The focus of the parks is customer satisfaction. This is accomplished through meticulous attention to every detail, with particular focus on the role of employees in service delivery. Employees are viewed as the most important organizational resource and great care is taken in employee hiring and training. All employees are called “cast members,” regardless of whether they are janitors or performers. Employees are extensively trained in customer service, communication, and quality awareness. Continual monitoring of quality is considered important, and employees meet regularly in teams to evaluate their effectiveness. All employees are shown how the quality of their individual jobs contributes to the success of the park. In the food service industry the use of quality control tools as one aspect of quality management is important in identifying quality problems. Grocery store chains, such as Kroger and Meijer, must record and monitor the quality of incoming produce, such as tomatoes and lettuce. Quality tools can be used to evaluate the acceptability of product quality and to monitor product quality from individual suppliers. They can also be used to evaluate causes of quality problems, such as long transit time or poor refrigeration. Similarly, restaurants use quality control tools to evaluate and monitor the quality of delivered goods, such as meats, produce, or baked goods.
Although many results of prior studies supported the positive effects of TQM on organizational performance (Hendricks & Singhal, 1997; Kaynak, 2003; Madu et al., 1995; Sun, 2000; Terziovski & Samson, 1999), there were several researches which found the implementation of TQM might lead to ineffectiveness of firm performance (Choi & Eboch, 1998; Dale et al., 1998; Lemak et al., 1997; Reed et al., 1996).
The most important factor in the success or failure of TQM efforts is the genuineness of the organization’s commitment. Often companies look at TQM as another business change that must be implemented due to market pressure without really changing the values of their organization. Recall that TQM is a complete philosophy that has to be embraced with true belief, not mere lip service. Looking at TQM as a short-term financial investment is a sure recipe for failure.
Another mistake is the view that the responsibility for quality and elimination of waste lies with employees other than top management. It is a “let the workers do it” mentality. A third common mistake is over- or under-reliance on statistical process control (SPC) methods. SPC is not a substitute for continuous improvement, teamwork, and a change in the organization’s belief system. However, SPC is a necessary tool for identifying quality problems. Some common causes for TQM failure are * Lack of a genuine quality culture * Lack of top management support and commitment * Over- and under-reliance on statistical process control (SPC) methods
Companies that have attained the benefits of TQM have created a quality culture. These companies have developed processes for identifying customer-defined quality. In addition, they have a systematic method for listening to their customers, collecting and analyzing data pertaining to customer problems, and making changes based on customer feedback. You can see that in these companies there is a systematic process for prioritizing the customer needs that encompass the entire organization.

Local Studies. One viewpoint why companies continue to assess their total quality management is to give their consumer’s food satisfaction as well as food safety. But, the increasing concern for food safety is undeniable. Food-borne outbreaks involving agents such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella and chemical contaminants like formaldehyde and melamine highlights the problem with food safety. BFAD recognizes these but the agency is faced with challenges that when addressed, can enhance food safety measures in the country. Based from the foregoing discussions, the following gaps have been identified: Decreasing number of human resources, Insufficient infrastructure and laboratory services, Insufficient source of reliable information on Food Safety for Consumers, Lack of coordination among the different agencies involved in the Food Safety Program, and lack of food standard development division in BFAD.
To address these gaps, it becomes relevant for BFAD to strengthen its role and function. Using the House Bill No. 3293 as a work in progress document for their proposed amendment, they recommended adequate flexibility to BFAD in terms of budgetary requirements which will be beneficial considering that these could take a structure and system that is time and situation responsive – that is the income retention principle. The issues on the need for regulatory visibility across major economic and health hubs in the country and the need for human capital expansion are envisaged to be addressed. Part of the proposal is also restructuring the bureau / administration which will be product-based and therefore doctrines, standards and enforcement are closely linked together and are more rationally focused insofar as resource allocation. This policy can also address the need to augment the lacking human resources in the bureau / administration.
The second but very important mandate of BFAD, per RA 7394, is the establishment of standards that is based on scientific principles to fulfill the objective of consumer health protection and fair practices in food trade. These standards will guide the industry on specific requirement that would make their product safe and of good quality. These will also guide the FDRO evaluators in the assessment of the product, guide the inspectorate on what to monitor in the establishments because these standards also include recommended codes of practice, and guide our laboratory on what analysis must be conducted. A unit in the BFAD must be identified to address World Trade Organization (WTO) concerns and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) concerns including research and data gathering when it comes to prioritization of identified need for technical food regulations.
The Memorandum of Agreement entered with the Industrial Technology Development Institute – Department of Science and Technology (ITDI-DOST) and BFAD in 1993 must be renewed for the assistance in the research in the development of these standards.
Thus, creation of a research and development unit is also crucial in strengthening the food regulations of the Bureau. This must be manned by technical experts in food microbiology, food processing, health and nutrition claims, and food standards. They will coordinate with other agencies and the academe on standards development.
Additional strengthening measure that was set forward by BFAD is the establishment of Memorandum of Agreements with agencies like Bureau of Customs and the development of joint administrative order with the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), as well as, strong partnership with the LGUs. This will promote greater ties between inter-agency networks and recognize definitive roles of each to meet their desired objectives.
With regard to the effort in harmonizing the national coordinated food safety program, an executive order was drafted. The document is still being reviewed but it proposes the creation of a Coordinating Committee on Food Safety (CCFS) that will effectively coordinate efforts from various agencies of the government, international organizations and private sector. In the current draft, CCFS will be composed of the following: Department of Science and Technology Secretary as the Chair and Department of Health Secretary as Co-Chair and Secretaries from Department of Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Interior and Local Government will serve as members. Included also as members are the Chair of the National CODEX Committee and representatives from the academe and private sector (food industry).
BFAD also sees the potential of the Department of Education (DepEd) as source of reliable information on food safety especially when this information is made available in schools. Thus, inclusion of DepED in CCFS is highly relevant. The National Epidemiology Center and National Center for Disease Prevention and Control of the DOH are also reliable sources of information and studies on food- and water-borne-related diseases or outbreaks. Chapter 3. METHODS AND PROCEDURE Research Method The nature of this study is a descriptive one. Therefore, an exploration is done in order to describe the concepts and mechanisms of TQM. More attention is given to identifying the meaning of concepts under discussion, and that, in turn, forms a well-defined basis for evaluation of other related aspects afterwards. This implies that the research work is mainly based widely accepted pioneering TQM ideas to established Successful TQM Implementation against critical success factors. The researchers need to provide questionnaires for collecting needed information. Sampling Design
The objective of the survey was to investigate the level of General Opinion, and the level of importance and practice in LPPI. To that end, a questionnaire was developed to collect data for this research. Particularly, the population of Management and the operational personnel are the target number that will undergo evaluation and assessments. It is compose of 10 persons and 166 workers (as listed below), respectively.
Both Management and the Operational Personnel will answer questionnaires with three sections.

Table 1. Distribution of Worker Respondents in every Area Workers (as designated by areas) | Total Number | Sample Size (70%) | Controller | 4 | 3 | Hanging of Live Bird | 12 | 8 | Killer | 4 | 3 | Feather Remover | 4 | 3 | Head Cutter | 12 | 8 | Feet Cutter | 12 | 8 | Rehanger | 12 | 8 | Opener | 2 | 1 | Drawer | 12 | 8 | Intestine Remover | 4 | 3 | Liver Picker | 4 | 2 | Gizzard Picker | 4 | 3 | Crops Remover | 8 | 6 | Rejection | 2 | 1 | Lung Remover | 6 | 4 | Trachea Remover | 6 | 4 | Final Rejection | 4 | 2 | Packing | 60 | 42 | Total | 166 | 117 | Table 1 shows the distribution of respondents in every area. Seventy percent (70%) of the population of LPPI’s workers in their operations designated by their area was considered as one of the subject of the study, computed under simple random sampling. Also, management consists of a Head Manager, two (2) Quality Heads, five (5) Manufacturing Line Inspectors and two (2) Lead mans. This probability of selection method ensures that every sampling unit meeting up the defined target population has a known, equal, non-zero chance of being selected. Hair, et.al.,2003. Instrumentation/ Techniques The questionnaire consists of three (3) parts. The first part investigates the employee background participating in the research. This includes age, sex, their educational attainment and their position/area in the company. The second part was a questionnaire explores the general TQM opinions in LPPI workers which consist of 10 questions. The practical level of Importance and Practice as distinguish by LPPI employees was explored in the third part of the questionnaire by using critical success factors/TQM initiatives of TQM for small-medium enterprises. Management Leadership- 6 questions; Resource Management- 5 questions; Measurement and Feedback- 5 questions; Continuous Improvement- 4 questions; Supplies Quality Management- 5 questions; Systems and Processes- 4 questions; Education and Training- 4 questions; Work Environment and Culture- 4 questions. In this part, respondents will be ask to rate two aspects on a five point Likert scale: first, the level of importance placed on each statement in each critical factor; and, second, the extent to which they thought it is currently a practice in the organization. For the perceived importance, the rating scales range from 1 = not important at all, 2 = not important, 3 = neutral, 4 = important, 5 = very important; while for the extent of practice was given as 1 = very low, 2 = low, 3 = moderate, 4 = high, 5 = very high. Then, the results of these questionnaires will be the aid on what TQM practice the researcher will be proposed to LPPI. Content of the question items on TQM general opinions and TQM Practices were adopted and modified based from the questionnaire developed by H.R Zadry and S.M. Yusof, 2006 for Malaysian Automotive Suppliers. Data Gathering Procedures The researchers will ask the permission of company, LPPI, for conducting the study and the questionnaire itself. Upon approval, the researchers will personally administer the distribution of questionnaires. Researchers may, for some instances, observe the flow of the business for supporting the questionnaires’ result and TQM Practice LPPI that will be subject for a proposal. Data Processing and Statistical Treatment After the retrieval of the questionnaires, the data needed to answer listed problems will be tallied and tabulated. The results will be presented in tables with the use of Microsoft Office Excel. In the analysis and interpretation of data, the researchers will make use of the following statistical tools:
1. Frequency and percentage distribution will be used to describe the LPPI employee’s profile in terms of age, gender, educational attainment and the position/ area in-charge in the company.
2. Weighted Mean, to describe the level of General Opinions on TQM as perceived by the LPPI employees (as listed in the section 2 of the questionnaire) and the level of Importance and Practice of the LPPI employees on TQM in terms of eight Critical Success Factors (as listed in the section 3 of the questionnaire). Range or Scale | Weight | General Opinions | TQM Importance | TQM Practices | 4.51- 5.00 | 5 | Strongly Agree | Very High | Strongly Agree | 3.51- 4.50 | 4 | Agree | High | Agree | 2.51- 3.50 | 3 | Neutral | Moderate | Neutral | 1.51- 2. 50 | 2 | Disagree | Low | Disagree | 1.00- 1.50 | 1 | Strongly Disagree | Very Low | Strongly Disagree |

3. The proposal for TQM or TQM entity will be interpret by verbal interpretation and can only be analyze after obtaining needed information coming from the three-section questionnaire.

THE QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Respondents, The research is presently conducting a study about “A Proposal of TQM in LPPI”.
Section 1: EMPLOYEE PROFILE

In this regard, we humbly ask for your cooperation in answering the questionnaires that have been prepared and attached to this letter. We assure you that all information that you will give will be treated confidentially.

You may accomplish the information by putting check (√) on the blank.
Age: _____ 18- 23 years old Gender: _____ Male _____ 24- 29 years old _____ Female _____ 30- 35 years old _____ 36 years old and above
Highest Educational Attainment: _____ Post Graduate _____ College Graduate _____ High school _____ Elementary _____ Vocational
Position/Area designated in the company:

_____ Controller
_____ Hanging of Live Bird
_____ Killer
_____ Feather Remover
_____ Head Cutter
_____ Feet Cutter
_____ Rehanger
_____ Opener
_____ Drawer
_____ Intestine Remover
_____ Liver Picker
_____ Gizzard Picker
_____ Crops Remover
_____ Rejection
_____ Lung Remover
_____ Trachea Remover
_____ Final Rejection
_____ Packing

Section 2: GENERAL TQM OPINIONS

Directions: This section seeks your honest opinion of TQM. The following statements are presented for your evaluation.
Please tick (√) the number of response which best represents the level of agreement that indicates whether you:
Scale: 5 – Strongly Agree
4 – Agree
3 – Neutral
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree Statement | Degree of Agreement | 5 4 3 2 1 | 1. TQM is a management philosophy and practice is use to ensure the effective and efficient use of all available resources. | | | | | | 2. TQM aims to make customer satisfaction as the focus of a business. | | | | | | 3. Teamwork and participation are important for achieving continuous improvement culture. | | | | | | 4. Training and Education are vital elements with respect to TQM implementation. | | | | | | 5. Statistical Techniques (such as statistical process control, design of experiments, etc.) are important to ensure consistency of product and process quality. | | | | | | 6. Supplier involvement is vital in supporting quality improvement. | | | | | | 7. Management Leadership commitment and support determine the success of new change initiatives. | | | | | | 8. Management must provide adequate resources in every aspects of the business. | | | | | | 9. A work environment, which is conducive for improvement is created through management worker partnership. | | | | | | 10. Initiative such as Kaizen (continuous improvement) suggestion schemes, quality circles, etc. will motivate employees to participate in Quality Improvement. | | | | | |
Section 3: TQM PRACTICES

This section attempts to determine the level of TQM implementation in LPPI. Please tick (√) your perception on the importance of each statement listed below and the extent practice in your organization. Please use the following scales: A. IMPORTANCE (The level of perceived importance of the factor); 1 = Not Important at All 3 = Neutral Important 5 = Very Important 2 = Not Important 4 = Important B. PRACTICE (The extent or degree of practice in your organization) 1 = Very Low 3 = Moderate 5 = Very High 2 = Low 4 = High For example: Quality Policy is communicated to all employees. If Importance = 4, this means it is perceived by you to an important element for successful TQM. and Practice = 5, this means that it is very highly practiced. Factors | Importance | Practice | MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1. Top Management ensures that every employee knows the companies mission and business objectives. | | | | | | | | | | | 2. Top Management strongly promotes staff involvement in Quality Management and Improvement. | | | | | | | | | | | 3. Managers and Supervisors empower employees. | | | | | | | | | | | 4. Communication links are established between employees and Top Management. | | | | | | | | | | | 5. Top Management takes care of employee well-being (e.g welfare, help and safety provisions). | | | | | | | | | | | 6. Company fulfills its social responsibilities (such as environment friendly operation, charity to school, etc.). | | | | | | | | | | | RESOURCE MANAGEMENT | 1. HR Ability considered in improvement activities. | | | | | | | | | | | 2. Employees are given information and training they need to do the job effectively. | | | | | | | | | | | 3. Employees are given tools they need to do the job effectively. | | | | | | | | | | | 4. Sufficient financial resources are provided to support improvement activities. | | | | | | | | | | | 5. Company manages its material resources effectively. | | | | | | | | | | | MEASUREMENT AND FEEDBACK | 1. Customer satisfaction level are measured and monitored. | | | | | | | | | | | 2. Information on Quality and customers are collected and analyzed. | | | | | | | | | | | 3. Information on operational and financial performances are collected and analyzed. | | | | | | | | | | | 4. Employees views are listened to and acted upon. | | | | | | | | | | | 5. Employees performance are measured and recognized. | | | | | | | | | | | CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT | 1. There is a quality improvement coordinating body (e.g. Quality Control Committee). | | | | | | | | | | | 2. Improvement teams are active in all areas. | | | | | | | | | | | 3. Quality Improvement tools and techniques are widely used. | | | | | | | | | | | 4. The company practices continuous improvement of all its products, services and processes. | | | | | | | | | | | SUPPLIER QUALITY MANAGEMENT | 1. Suppliers are selected on the basis of quality aspects. | | | | | | | | | | | 2. Company ensures that suppliers can maintain high technical standards and meeting quality specification. | | | | | | | | | | | 3. Quality regularly conducts suppliers’ quality audits. | | | | | | | | | | | 4. Company works closely with suppliers toward long term partnership and improvement. | | | | | | | | | | | 5. Suppliers provide relevant quality record and data. | | | | | | | | | | | SYSTEM AND PROCESSES | 1. Systems and procedures for quality assurances are implemented. | | | | | | | | | | | 2. Internal data collection system and daily evaluation is established. | | | | | | | | | | | 3. Market Information and feedback system is established. | | | | | | | | | | | 4. The employees involved in different processes know how to evaluate them. | | | | | | | | | | | EDUCATION AND TRAINING | 1. Top Management always updates their knowledge. | | | | | | | | | | | 2. Employees are trained for job related skills. | | | | | | | | | | | 3. Employees are trained on total quality concepts. | | | | | | | | | | | 4. Continuous learning is provided through education and training. | | | | | | | | | | | WORK ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE | 1. A pleasant environment exists in all working areas. | | | | | | | | | | | 2. Positive values such as trust, honesty, hard working are fostered by management. | | | | | | | | | | | 3. Teamwork and involvement are normal practices in the company. | | | | | | | | | | | 4.The company adopts ‘employee satisfaction’ initiatives (such as suggestion schemes, profit sharing, etc.). | | | | | | | | | | |