The Findings of Total Quality Management at the Dubai Garden Center - Case Study Example

Name Institution Tutor Date Introduction Total quality management can be described as an integrated process that involves improving the quality of products, processes, systems, people and services at every organizational level. With increased competition in the business environment, many organizations work towards effecting quality in the services, process, systems and products that they provide. This report presents the findings of Total quality management at the Dubai Garden Center. The report will cover a brief background of the company and the process of quality management in the organization. Background of the company The Dubai Garden Centre also referred to as the green Aladdin’s cave of Dubai is company provides a variety of indoor and outdoor plants. In addition, the center also provides other services such as new treasures, furniture, fishing equipment’s and pet supply services (The Dubai Garden Centre, 2014). Total Quality Management at the Dubai Garden Centre Meeting customers’ needs Edward Deming one of the pioneers of Total quality management argues that TQM begins with focus on the customers (Diane, p9). In addition, quality is usually defined in terms of attaining or surpassing the expectations of the customers. The objective is to mainly identify the needs of the customers and then meet them. The Dubai Garden Centre also puts the customer first when implementing TQM. This is done through the quality of services offered and also the product quality. The process of putting the customer first begins when the customer enters the store. The customer is usually given a warm welcome and given direction on the areas they would want to visit. Also, if a customer asks a question and the employee serving the customer does not have the answer at the moment; he/she gets the answer from a specialist, who then handles the question effectively. Such initiatives bring about a great impact on the customer based on the fact that they develop the feeling that company cares about them and their needs. The products offered by the company are also customer focused in the sense that the company ensures that it sells good quality products to the customers. The Dubai Garden Centre acknowledges the fact that a product has value if it meets the needs of the customers. Quality in the company is therefore an aspect that is mainly customer driven. For instance, in the plant section all the plants were well maintained, they looked green and would definitely attract and even satisfy the needs of the customers. The flowers also had stunning arrangements which varied from elaborate floral displays that are to be used for weddings to beautiful bouquets. The product design is also an important aspect of developing quality in a product. This is because customers have different views about product. For example, there are those who perceive a product as attractive, long lasting and unattractive. In order to create products that customers want, the Dubai Garden Centre translates the perception of the customers into the products offered. As a result, the company uses the lipstick theory which involves putting colors on everything. Color is definitely an attract aspect of designing products. Thus many customers view the products offered by the company as attractive. Also after purchasing a product, The Dubai Garden Centre also provides after sales services for its customers. These include services such as home delivery, providing extra packaging for products and also provision of plant care equipment’s. It can be argued that the customer support services offered by the company are essential in improving customer satisfaction and the quality of services offered. The Dubai Garden Centre, also frequently conducts customer reviews in order to continuously collect information about the needs and wants of the customers. It is usually not an easy task to determine what customers need due to the fact that the preferences and tastes of customers frequently changes. Furthermore, the expectations of customer differ from one customer to another. As a result conducting customer reviews has been one of the essential approaches that the company uses in order to meet customer’s needs. Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement or also referred to as Kaizen is a philosophy that involves repeatedly seeking to find ways of improve the operations of an organization. The process of continuous improvement mostly focuses on a frequent and gradual improvement that can be attained in the long run (Madan, 53). The Dubai Garden Centre ensures that they continually improve the products they provide to the customers. This is done by undertaking research on the current existing products trends which can be useful in enhancing customer satisfaction. Also the company ensures that it provides original products direct from their places of origin. For instance, the company individually selects its hardwood furniture from around the world in order to provide customers with unique pieces. Also, flowers are directly flown from Holland and authentic Italian flavors are directly offered by flying fresh herbs from the beautiful lands of Tuscany. The Dubai Garden Centre also considers continuous improvement as an essential aspect in implementing Total quality management. Foremost, the existence of specialists in every section of the store is an integral aspect in enhancing continues improvement. This is because specialists are well equipped with adequate knowledge that can identity any existing faults in the systems, services and products offered by the company. After identifying faults / mistakes the specialists then assist in solving the mistake and lastly they device ways in which the mistakes or faults can be prevented. In order to successfully undertake continuous improvement, making improvements on the processes, services and products of the company greatly depends on the employees’ activities and attitudes. This is because employees are the main agents of change in the organization and thus they should be fully involved in the process of continuous improvement. The Dubai Garden Centre has a total of 95 employees including the management. Both the management and the employees work towards ensuring that everything is fine and nothing goes wrong. However, based on the fact that human error is bound to occur, both the management and the employees always have positive attitude which makes them work towards resolving the existing problem. Employee Empowerment Total quality management also gives employees the power to identify problems that are related to quality and also correct them. In most cases, employees are usually afraid to identify areas of poor quality due to fear of being reprimanded. Poor quality is usually pinned on another individual to make it their problem. Nevertheless, TQM offers incentives for employees to identify problems of quality and report them. Rewards can also be offered to such employees. As a result employees are considered essential in the process of maintaining quality (Wiley, p149) The Dubai Garden Centre also empowers it employees to identity problems in quality through conducting training whereby employees are given necessary skills for identifying problems of quality. Also the company has created a culture of openness where an employee is not afraid to report problems of quality to the management and specialists who then find ways of resolving the problem. Conclusion The report presented has tackled Total quality management at The Dubai Garden Centre. The findings presented include the fact that quality management at company is mainly geared towards enhancing the satisfaction of the customers. In addition, the company also implements continues improvement and employee empowerment whereby employee are trained on identifying problems of quality and also reporting them to the customer. In conclusion it can be stated that the Dubai Garden Centre is company that is focused on maintaining quality in the services and products it offers. Works Cited Diane publishing. A Total Quality Management Process Improvement Model. Diane publishing, p9. Madan Pankaj . Krishna's Total Quality Management: (TQM). Krishna Prakashan Media. 2008. Wiley Publishers. The philosophy of TQM. Wiley Publishers, p134-149. The Dubai Garden Centre. Retrieved From Read More