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Leonisa C. de la Llana: Meralco Corporate Services, Pasig City, Philippines
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: Adapted from a paper presented at the 5th Conference of the Asia Pacific Quality Organization.
Introduction
The Manila Electric Company's (Meralco) stated vision is to give customer service comparable with the world's best. To achieve this, the company embarked on a comprehensive transformation programme based on the principles and techniques of total quality management and re-engineering, targeted for completion in 1998.
The utility/power industry throughout the world is experiencing major changes such as deregulation, privatization and competition. Meralco has to transform as a corporation if it is to maintain its market and financial position not only in the power industry but also in the business community.
The company has embarked on a ten-year strategy involving everyone in the organization in the re-engineering of our processes, the redesign of our organization and the redefinition of our corporate culture. We are aware of the risks involved in such a bold strategy, but we figured out that we can do no less if we hope to truly improve the quality of our service to achieve international standards of excellence.
What follows is the story of what can be considered as a bold attempt at total quality management and re-engineering which is what the Meralco transformation is all about. It is a comprehensive and ambitious change process not ordinarily attempted by companies the size and situation of Meralco. The fact that we are still at it after five years of pursuing this strategy is proof that this aggressive stance can deliver the promises we have made to all our stakeholders.
Our strategy
To survive the imminent changes in the power industry is not the only goal of the Manila Electric Company ( Meralco). We also seek to maintain and even surpass our current successful operations in the years to come. To do these, Meralco aims to give the best customer service by transforming itself into a world class organization. This vision would not be easy to accomplish even under better circumstances and is rendered even more difficult given the history and nature of utility operations coupled with the expected changes in the environment and the very structure and operations of the utility industry. Ensuring success requires more...