Quality Management Assignment: Improving Products & Customer Experience

Question

Task: Quality Management Assignment Topic: The use of quality management initiatives to improve products and consumer experience.
Your task is to work as a group to research and critically evaluate the development of the quality movement in manufacturing and service sectors.

Answer

Development in Quality Management
The concept of quality management explored in the segments of quality management assignment is the act of overseeing all tasks and activities which must be accomplished to maintain the desired excellence. Determination of a quality policy, implementation of quality planning, quality control, and improvement are necessary steps in quality management. A part of supply chain management is logistics management which implements various plans and controls the efficient and effective flow and storage of goods, services, and other information related between point of origin and consumption to meet requirements of customer. Various methods in quality management systems are utilized namely Kizan, six sigma, quality circle, etcetera. Here we will discuss two major techniques, Total quality management (TQM) and Six sigma

TQM
TQM is a management approach focuses on long-term success through satisfaction of customer. All employees of an organization are involved in TQM and improves continuously to shape a company’s performance and creates customer satisfaction to maintain business continuity (Ramlawati and Kusuma, 2018). Companies use the TQM methodology as it focuses on the customer so it can deepen or create loyalty of the customer to the organization. It helps in cost reduction, improvement in productivity, the involvement of all members, improvement in employee morale, and reduction in defect and customer satisfaction. Higher adaptability, productivity, profitability, cost reduction, and better cost management, waste elimination, market image enhancement, and improve customer focus and satisfaction make TQM a better choice. The major disadvantage of TQM is that it approaches organization-wide commitment and sometimes it becomes difficult to achieve that. Top management support has a high impact whereas the involvement of all employees and constant focus on the customer has a moderate impact(Al-Geelawee and Mohammed, 2016). Overall participation and adaptability are of the great demand for TQM.

Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a business methodology that provides tools to an organization to improve the capability of the processes of their business. It causes an increase in performance and decrease in variation of the process thus helps to a reduction in defect and also improves profits, quality of services and products, and morale of the employees. Six Sigma needs to develop a passion for measuring company performance, regular training at all levels, active involvement of senior management(Madhani, 2017).

Six sigma uses six steps in fixing defects namely – define, measure, analyze, design, control, and improve. In the logistics and supply management system when Six Sigma is used successfully, it will be double beneficial. It improves efficiency and rising service level along with an increase in customer satisfaction. Six Sigma helps to improve final product quality through finding and removing all factors which cause errors and also helps to improve customer satisfaction. To improve work culture, productivity, and customer satisfaction an organization may be willing to change its culture, empower employees, and may hire trained personal for specific job roles (Galli and Kaviani, 2018). Sometimes it may not be beneficial for the organization. The major criticism of Six sigma is that no new or different strategy is offered by it. It is more like a corrective system than a preventive or proactive approach

Both TQM and Six sigma have their advantages and disadvantages and both can be applied successfully in logistics and supply chain management.

Application of Service Sector in Quality Management
Implication of Quality Management Methodologies
The quality of products and consumer experience should be developed by using two methodologies- Total Quality Management and Six Sigma. Product quality has now become a key factor in the manufacturing industry. Many firms are developing their product quality using the TQM methodology. TQM continues to be implanted in Quality Management. It encourages the definition strategy of the product (Antunes, Quirós and Justino, 2017). All employees should understand the vision and mission of the organization. They should understand the values of the company. The organization should focus on the manufacturing industry. on the CSF or Critical success factors to meet the objectives to achieve its mission. The organization should do regular surveys or monitor CSF data. They have to fix their target customers and meet their expectations. The communication should also be improved between the management and its employees. A TQM master plan should be developed to fulfill its objectives and improve product quality.

Six Sigma increases performance and decreases in product variation helps to improve profits, employee morale, and quality of a product. By implanting six sigma a company has implemented innovative procedures (Costa, Silva and Ferreira, 2017) . The problem should be identified and clarified. The customer service should be measured and the action of problems should be analyzed. Customer Satisfaction is the main thing. There should be an improvement in customer service. The organization should maintain the correct process. The organization should focus on quality work. Six Sigma has created a massive role in the industry. Many small and big organizations that implanted Six Sigma, achieved great success.

Benefits and Risks of the Implications
Total Quality Management has some benefits or advantages to develop product quality of a company. It has strengthened the competitive position in the market. It also changes market conditions and other governmental regulations. The organization can increase its productivity by adapting TQM method. It has also enhanced market image by eliminating defects. Cost reduction can be possible due to TQM. The management can develop products at low costs. The organization increases its profit. It can benefit the employees of the company also. But there are some risks also. There is a world-wide need for quality improvement and it's difficult to achieve this level. TQM covers all processes in the organization (Aburayya et al., 2020).

Six Sigma is a good way to improve the capabilities of any organization. It helps to improve the business process. Six Sigma reduces defects and improves the consumer experience. Six Sigma is focused on eliminating and minimizing the defects of any company. It also reduces time, resources, manpower effort, and money. Customer Satisfaction is also improved by implanting Six Sigma in a company. Six sigma helps to protect the organization to avoid errors and develops product quality. But sometimes, there are some risks also. When any organization implements six sigma and focuses on the policies only but it forgets about its specific mission or values. Sometimes, it compels new ideas or creativity that needs some risk-taking to implement. It also leads to delay s or problems in creativity.

Reference
Al-Khayyala, A., Alshuridehb, M., Al Kurdic, B., &Aburayyad, A. The Impact of Electronic Service Quality Dimensions on Customers’ E-Shopping and E-Loyalty via the Impact of E-satisfaction and E-Trust: A Qualitative Approach.

Al-Geelawee, E. K. and Mohammed, A. N. (2016) ‘Application of Total Quality Management (TQM) Requirements in Risk Management in Construction Projects in Iraq’, Journal of Engineering, 22(6), pp. 1–15.

Antunes, M. G., Quirós, J. T. and Justino, M. do R. F. (2017) ‘The relationship between innovation and total quality management and the innovation effects on organizational performance’, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management.

Costa, T., Silva, F. J. G. and Ferreira, L. P. (2017) ‘Improve the extrusion process in tire production using Six Sigma methodology’, Procedia Manufacturing, 13, pp. 1104–1111.

Galli, B. J. and Kaviani, M. A. (2018) ‘The impacts of risk on deploying and sustaining Lean Six Sigma initiatives’, International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management (IJRCM), 7(1), pp. 46–70.

Madhani, P. M. (2017) ‘Six Sigma Deployment in Sales and Marketing: Enhancing Competitive Advantages.’, IUP Journal of Business Strategy, 14(2).

Ramlawati, R. and Kusuma, A. H. P. (2018) ‘Total Quality Management as the Key of the Company to Gain the Competitiveness, Performance Achievement and Consumer Satisfaction’, International Review of Management and Marketing, 8(5), p. 60.