Strategic Quality And System Management - Essay Example

Strategic Quality and System Management Strategic quality change refers to a modification in the quality of an organization’s products, services, customer service or internal systems that enables it to become more competitive and achieve its strategic objectives. Organizations frequently implement strategic quality changes as a result of short technology life cycles, frequent product innovation and intense competition from global competitors. Tague (2005, 305) explains that the strategic quality change process should begin with collecting input from customers about what they want and a set of quality-related matrices should be used to quantify the feedback.

Strategic Quality Change: The Example of StarbucksStarbucks is a good example of an organization that undertook strategic quality change after heavy failures experienced after the 2008 recession (Miller, 2011). A new product named Sorbetto failed to meet customer expectations but the instant coffee Via, a deviation from the custom-made coffee of Starbucks, met the quality expectations and was successful and helped Starbucks emerge from the poor performance of the recession (Miller, 2011). As the costs and benefits of strategic quality change are illustrated in the case of Starbucks, organizations need to evaluate the outcomes of strategic quality change and implement steps to align strategic quality change measures with strategic objectives.

Evaluating Strategic Quality Change Taking the example of Starbucks, the organization could have avoided the cost of failure of Sorbetto launched in 2008 if it had robust quality change evaluation systems. Smylie (2010, 144) recommends a continuous quality improvement system which balances innovation routines that promote experimentation and risk-taking with generative learning feedback systems that provide continuous feedback from the environment. The outcome of strategic quality change initiatives can be measured by setting measurable outcomes for the change and their communication across the organization.

Since the former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz admits that Sorbetto was launched in haste and failed because it was too sweet for customers’ tastes (Miller, 2011), the results from a pilot study or feasibility study would have helped it to modify the product quality or defer the decision to launch it. In addition, Pickett (2010, p. 459) emphasizes the need for a quality assessment system in organizations and also states that quality change should be undertaken at the systems level as opposed to operational levels.

Aligning Strategic Quality Change with Organizational StrategyWhere the outcomes of the strategic quality change indicate a deviation from strategic objectives, the management needs to make an effort to align the strategic quality change program with the strategic objectives and goals. This can be achieved through a TQM (total quality management) approach in the organization. TQM involves a process of continuous modification of product or service quality on the basis of continuous feedback obtained from the environment (Grigoroudis & Siskos, 2009, p. 53). One of the tools used in TQM is the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle through which the organization can collect feedback about strategic quality change from the environment, identify gaps between quality and strategy and take steps to align the two.

A similar cyclical model for aligning quality changes with strategic objectives proposed by Smylie (2010, p. 67) is called the Dialogue-Decision Making-Action-Evaluation (DDAE) cycle. Evaluation results of strategic quality change can be used to inform dialogue on strategies and resource allocation for closer alignment of quality change programs with strategic objectives. Figure 1: PDCA cycle for StarbucksRecommendationBy using these tools, Starbucks can improve align strategic quality change with strategic objectives by creating stronger communication systems with customers and involving them in the quality management process.

Soft product launches and taste tests should be conducted regularly to make quality changes that will translate into string sales and increased competitiveness.ReferencesGRIGOROUDIS, E. and SISKOS, Y (2010) Customer Satisfaction Evaluation: Methods for Measuring and Implementing Service Quality. Springer Publishing.MILLER, C. C. (2011) A changed Starbucks: A changed CEO. The New York Times. [Online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/business/13coffee.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 [Accessed 15 January 2015].

PICKETT, K. H. S. (2010) The Internal Auditing Handbook, 3rd ed. John Wiley & Sons.SMYLIE, M. A. (2010) Continuous School Improvement: A Process of Continuous Improvement. Corwin Press.TAGUE, N. (2005) The Quality Toolbox. Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press.