A research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration, School of Management

Research Studies Project Report (M.B.A.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2000

TQM is generally understood as a 'management philosophy' based on a number of core values such as customer focus, continuous improvement, process 01ientation, everybody's commitment, fast response, result orientation and learning from others. TQM process is necessary for a company to start its journey in accomplishment of the success in the world of dynamic business environment. TQM provides the overall concept that fosters continuous improvement in an organization. Continuous improvement or small-step improvement is also known as Kaizen in Japanese word. Almost any effort to improve processes can be labeled Kaisen. Development of Continuous Improvement (Cl) is viewed as an essential requirement to maintain competitive advantage and to assist firms in sustaining ongoing business improvement. Continuous improvement is said to be a "company-wide process of focussed and continuous incremental innovation. Most significant factors in the process of CI development are -- top management commitment, the role of external experts, participation of organization members, and tactic of the gradual progress with persistent persuasion. Deming's plan-do-check-action (PDCA) cycle symbolizes a systematic effort to gradually narrows down the gap between customers need and present performance. Incremental improvement is possible in almost in all operations of a pharmaceutical company. In a CI process two important elements are maintenance and improvement. Employee involvement in CI process is not a panacea to overall improvement of an organization, while employee involvement makes sense when it is a part of a systematic effort directed toward helping an organization improve the value it provides to its customers. This research paper addresses the issue of assessment of continuous improvement in Square Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.(SPL). Based on the literature review, and interviews of employees of SPL, assessments of the processes are made. The report looks into the past and present specific change practices of four specific departments, namely Human Resource Training and Development Cell, Production, Personnel and Distribution Department. Analysis highlights on areas where SPL lacks in each of the improvement efforts