International Quality Management System - Coursework Example

Quality Management for Organizational Excellence Quality Management for Organizational Excellence Question In your own words, describe quality. What is it; why is it important; how is it achieved? Quality is the degree to which something is distinct from other products or services of a similar kind by being remarkable. A product or service might be remarkable in the sense of quality because of its ability to exceed customer expectation and achieving satisfaction. In reality, quality is an essential element for businesses because quality products and services help in retaining the customer base already obtained. Quality also helps in influencing customer satisfaction, which in turn influences brand loyalty, making it important for a business to manage it. Delivering quality products and services also help in building a reputation for business, which influences the achievement of competitive advantage (Goetsch & Davis, 2013). In many cases, businesses seek to achieve accreditation from the international body that recognizes quality standards. The body gives ISO certification to businesses that meet the international quality standards, which helps in building a company’s brand and reputation. Quality is not achievable unless created, meaning that the products and services being able to achieve quality standards cannot happen by accident. The achievement of quality is a process because quality helps in the creation of value for both customers and the business. Based on this understanding, businesses have shifted from only achieving quality, but improving on this process by applying total quality management. Total quality management is a process that focuses on increasing a company’s competitive level through the constant improvement of its functions. Functions in this case include services, business processes, employees, products, and the business environment (p. 4). Total quality management also focuses on the continuously attaining customer satisfaction at the lowest costs. Quality can be achieved by improving a business’ operation characteristics, making the products be durable, reliable and the features of the product. Question 2: Choose any of the three Quality Pioneers discussed in class (Deming, Juran or Crosby). Describe some similarities in the approaches of the two you have chosen; describe some differences. Two of the most known contributors to total quality management are Juran Joseph and Crosby Philip. Juran defined quality as ‘fitness for use’ and was of the belief that money was the language that is mainly used in management. Juran developed the Juran’s trilogy that had quality improvement, quality control and quality planning as the three main elements. In quality planning, Juran intimated that it is important for a business to identify its customers and their needs before embarking on the process of delivering quality (p. 10). Once these elements have been identified, a business can be able to develop products and services that can meet the needs of the customers. For this to be achievable, proper systems have to be established so that a business can produce the features essential for the products. In the second process of quality control, Juran was of the idea that an organization can assess its actual quality performance. Further, a business should be able to compare quality with the goals it has and then be able to identify the differences between its goals and its performance. Quality improvement is the third process where Juran suggested that a business has to develop proper infrastructure that are vital to making quality improvements on an annual basis. Project teams have to be established for each project where they should be able to develop solutions to problems because they understand them. Further, the business has to identify the specific areas that should be improved on and then begin the process of implementing the projects aimed at bringing improvement (p. 11). All of the three processes within Juran’s trilogy are important because two cannot function without the other one element. Philip Crosby is the other contributor and he had a behavioral approach to quality management as compared to Juran’s approach, which revolves around business systems. To him, the quality was more of conformance where his approach had no tolerance for defects when it comes to management of quality. His approach was quite different from Juran’s approach because his required the application of 14 steps. 1 . Businesses had to have a long-term commitment to quality 2. Increase awareness of quality among employees and their commitment to the same 3. Forming interdepartmental quality teams 4. Using the assessment of the cost of quality as a management tool 5. Ascertaining current and future problems/challenges 6. The taking of immediate action when it comes to correcting the challenges identified 7. The establishment of a zero defects program 8. Training the individuals in charge of project teams on matters about quality 9. Encouraging team members to develop personal and team goals that are directed at influencing improvements 10. Having a zero effects day where all employees should be made aware of the same 11. The implementation of quality councils 12. Encouraging employees to share about the hurdles they face in the process of trying to achieve the team goals on quality. 13. Recognize and reward the efforts made by employees 14. Doing everything again so as to emphasize on this process being continuous Crosby’s approach is a clinical approach where the problems associated with quality are vaccinated against through three ingredients unlike Juran’s. The three ingredients include determining the need for change, educating all employees on the change and then the implementation of the TQM process. Crosby’s contribution is an approach that should be a must do practice and requires the prevention of quality rather than having to change the outcomes (p. 16). The achievement of quality is necessary and the zero defects on the products must be maintained at all times, meaning that compromising quality is not an option. Question 3: Describe the picture above. Yes, it’s a stool with three legs …  … but what does it represent? The above image is that of the three-legged stool that helps in describing total quality management. The three legs of the stool signify the three elements that are essential when it comes to making a business to have a customer focus on developing products and services. The three elements are measures, people, and the processes involved in achieving customer focus. Measures involve the consideration of the planning function where a business can set benchmarks, apply statistical process control and quality tools. People on the other hand, serve as the key contributors to achieving quality. When people understand quality, they will be able to know that quality standards are what they should meet and should be forced to achieve the same. A business should empower its employees for them to deliver quality. The third leg of the stool signifies that business processes should be on a continuous path of improvement and conform in terms of quality is relevant (p. 14). When one of these legs is broken, then the customer focus will be unachievable because the three have an interconnection as they complement each other so as to achieve this. Question 4: a. List and describe at least 4 dimensions of Quality Goods 1. Durability- products should be durable enough so as to be able to serve the customer for the duration they desire. Products that are not durable do not have a connection to quality, which in turn does not influence customer satisfaction. 2. Conformance- Products and services should be able to meet customer expectation based on the needs that the customers have. If a business realizes that the products and services that they have been offering to their target markets are substandard, they should make changes. Conforming simply means that a business should be able to make the necessary changes to their products so that they can satisfy them. Conforming might be costly in the beginning, but the benefits attracted are long term making it a worthy investment. 3. Serviceability- After sales services should be an essential part of every business because this influences customers to have faith in their suppliers. Rather than begin to justify why a product has been damaged, a business should be willing to repair the product as soon as they receive it. The implication of this is that a business values customer satisfaction, which includes servicing the products they have sold to them and indicates their dedication to quality. 4. Perceived quality- Perceived quality attached to products act in favor of the company because this helps in building its reputation in its market. Essentially, customers will be able to associate quality with certain brands, which influences their loyalty to the company (p. 12). The advantage that this attracts is that a business can be able to rake in profits because of their good reputation built on perceived quality. b. List and describe at least 4 dimensions of Quality Services 1) Responsiveness- Customer focus should be at the center of every business meaning a business should be able to respond to the needs of their customers. A business’ response should be prompt because any delay to the customer can be discouraging to them. Many businesses lose their clients by failing to understand that the needs and concerns of customers should be their priority rather than just focusing on making more money. 2) Reliability-Reliable services indicate that they are quality. Businesses offer warranties for their products or services not because their products are faulty, but because they are sure of their quality. It is important for businesses to ensure that the products they sell to the market do not break down before the specified time. The above ensures that the product will last as this can ruin its reputation in its market. 3) Empathy- Customers expect to receive empathy when they have concerns about the services that they received if they are not delivering as desired. A business, through its employees should listen to the customers and take the time to address their issues, which is a mark of quality service. Businesses that fail in applying this principle fail miserably in their performance. 4) Assurance- Customers require assurance that the service they receive is quality, which makes them trust the service and have confidence in the same (p. 9). Based on this, it is pertinent for business to assure their customers of the quality attached to their services as this can influence them to be loyal to the company. Question 5: Describe the Pareto Principle, and how it applies to quality management. The Pareto principle was by Joseph Juran whose, another name within the quality sphere as the 80/20 rule. The most basic principle of the rule is that 80% of the issues related to quality that businesses face are caused by 20% of the problems that exist in the same. From this rule, total quality management is achievable only if a business can eliminate the problems that cause quality issues, which stand at 20% (p. 23). Inherently, this means that a business should deal with sources that cause the majority problems so as to help in reducing the quality issues. Question 6: Identify and explain some common errors that can be made with TQM Errors in TQM are common in many organizations and addressing a majority of them is possible. One common error made in TQM is when top managers delegate to external experts who have minimal knowledge about the organization. Poor leadership and corporate cultures that are ineffective and are difficult to change that exist within an organization can also influence errors in TQM. The application of a broad TQM approach rather than a tailored one is another error within this process because what is good for another company might not be good for another (p. 30). Lastly, the lack of continuous and relevant training for employees can also influence an error in TQM because this may influence poor implementation of certain principles. Reference Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. (2013). Quality management for organizational excellence: Introduction to total quality. Boston: Pearson. Read More