QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Assesment-3
Task Description
You are required to write a 2500 word short report to the owner and the board of the business that describes 'why', 'what' and 'how' the business will implement Total Quality Management (TQM).
Your report must demonstrate:
How to structure the report
This ‘why’ section describes the rationale you suggest for implementing TQM.
The ‘what’ section is about what you want to achieve with the TQM effort. What are the goals, targets or visible changes you want to achieve. Improvements in service, active use of particular tools,….etc?
The ‘how’ section is about planning execution to make sure the goals and targets are achieved. How are you going to achieve the suggested goals. In many cases this is a simple list of sequential steps. So what activates do you suggest within the organisation as part of your execution plan?
For example, you can use Demmings, Jurans, Crosbys, ISO9000, etc. as what the steps are in order to achieve your goals and targets in section 2. The suggestions are just guides, you don’t have to follow each step in Jurans, Crosbys, etc. You can even mix and match approaches, but whatever you do, please argue why you selected your approach. Be succinct through.
But in assessments 3, the owner/top management gives you the task to implement a Total Quality Management (TQM) System and its Principles within the organisation to influence the behaviour and culture of employees. TQM is the topic of part 3 of MGMT19105 and are addressed in weeks 9 to 12. Typically, implementation of TQM does however also to some extent relate to the parts 1 and 2 of the course and thus tools and techniques. Knowing ‘what’ changes you want to observe in peoples culture, mindsets, behaviour, and the results is important. That leads you to understand ‘what’ TQM concepts, principles, and tools you want to achieve that with.
The answer also needs to be written in a concise manner because you only have 2500 words and need to be practical. Keep majority of your discussion in the report on Quality Management, which is the content of this unit. It is about Quality and not Human Resources, Leadership or….. these topics are addressed in other units.
There is no fixed recipe for 'how' to implement TQM. It is your task to display critical thinking to select or design the approach that best suits the business or organisation you have selected. Options include but are not limited to (all are included in the textbook):
A complete quality management system can be very simple or very comprehensive or anywhere in between. I do not expect you to address all principles the standard mentions. You will need many more words than the assessment allows to do that in detail.
Note that while focusing on ISO 9000 is fine, there are many other ways to implement TQM too. You are to select the approach most appropriate for your selected organisation. In other words using ISO 9000 as a vehicle to implement TQM is just one option out of a range of approaches.
It is important to understand the following about ISO 9000.
The newer versions of the ISO 9000 standard are less prescriptive than previous versions. The current version is ISO9000:2015. The standard lists a clear set of principles an accredited quality management system must adhere to - and how to get accredited. ISO 9000 does not prescribe a set way to construct a quality management system beyond the very rough outline listed in the standard. That would also be an almost impossible task due to the range of organisations procuring products and services that can be accredited. Nokia's mobile product development division was ISO 9000 accredited, as were the product development programs I was responsible for. CQUniversity IT services are also ISO 9000 accredited. At Cochlear, hearing implants have to adhere to additional quality systems mandated by the United States, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the standards they require companies to adhere to. These quality standards are far more prescriptive in order to ensure the safety and well-being of recipients of such implants. Thus, Cochlear has decided to focus on accreditation following a different sets of standards.
The very short version of ISO 9000 accreditation is that you will have to describe the i) scope of the ISO 9000 certification ii) describe 'what' your quality management system is set to achieve and iii) 'how' the quality management system goes about achieving it. This system can then be more or less comprehensive. It is up to the company to decide the scope and ambition level. Thus an ISO 9000 certification does not by itself guarantee that a company has implemented TQM. ISO 9000 certification means that the company has a quality management system that is accredited and audited according to its purpose.
Here is a short example to explain how this might work out for Domino's. In the case of Domino's you will have to define the scope for its ISO 9000 certification. This could for example focus on its production of Pizzas. The company could then i) set targets for the quality of the Pizzas, ii) set targets for how team works to solve challenges and iii) the use of tools and techniques they expect to see in use. Then it can seek accreditation, meaning the quality management system sensible and the company adheres to it in its everyday operations.
Now this is just an example and you can specify it may other ways. Hopefully it illustrates how a quality management system works. To be ISO 9000 accredited a company must demonstrate that it actually adheres to and executes what it has stated that its quality system is supposed to do to meet set targets. If it does not meet the set targets then the system will also explain what a company should do to address that.
Short report requirements:
Short Report Requirements
Your report should be presented in short report format, and incorporate the structure outlined below. Use headings and sub-headings as appropriate. Also, please consult the supplementary text Your Business Degree (McCulloch & Reid 2012) regarding report writing.
Your short report must contain the following:
The title page / cover sheet must contain the following information:
The executive summary is intended for the busy executive needing an overview of the short report. The executive summary is expected to contain summary statements key/important elements of the report such as of the purpose and scope of the report, findings, discussion, conclusion and in some cases recommendations.
The table of contents is used to show the reader where parts of the report can be found. It is up to you to decide on the level of detail in the table of contents.
The introduction provides the purpose and scope of the report. In this case the subheadings of Background, Aim and Scope may be used.
The body/discussion includes the findings, analysis, discussion in which the material is analysed and interpreted. This is the core of the report. Use appropriate headings.
The important conclusions justifiable reached as a result of the work should be stated in this section.
Key recommendations should be included in the conclusion.
Your report must include in-text referencing and a correctly cited list of references ordered alphabetically by surname of first author, in accordance with the APA style of referencing. See the link under Assessment Guidance.
Note that references are usually not cited in the executive summary, introduction and conclusion. These are used in the main body of the text.
Note: You can assume some information about the business/organization. Do not use up a lot of words doing this, and try to keep it realistic. Always remember that the purpose of the report is to demonstrate what you know about quality management and its practical application. It is about demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of what TQM can do for a business/organization and its limitations.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Assessment-3
Executive Summary
The business report discusses the need of Total Quality management (TQM) in the competitive global market. It identifies the quality problems faced by IKEA business. The report discuss the eight core principles of TQM on which it works and how these principles ensures quality management in the organization.
There are various models which helps in TQM but the ISO 9000 standard is selected for IKEA business because of the nature of business management. The business has large number of franchises which are operated independently. Centralized manufacturing and procurement is not possible for IKEA. Thus the use of ISO 9000 standard is best to implement TQM in the organization.
TQM will help IKEA to enhance customer satisfaction with least wastage and at low cost.
Introduction to TQM
TQM is a practice which when followed in the organization helps to identify and refer to the parameters and factors that make their products superior or inferior as compared to the competitors. Quality is one of the attributes that differentiates the product from its competitors. No customer will be loyal to a company or brand if its competitors are also providing the same product (Juneja, P., 2020).
Quality is the first way to survive the market competition and ensure sustainability of the business. With increasing competition and globalization of economy the products have crossed the borders and boundaries of nations and cultures (Parul, K., Rubal, KM, 2016). Thus product quality and service are the only criterions which can help the business attract and retain the customers. Quality management will not only result in attracting and retaining customers but will also help in reducing and managing cost by reducing the wastages and faulty products. TQM is also environment friendly as it increases the utility and durability of the products there by generating less wastages and longer use of products and services with higher customer satisfaction (Juneja, P., 2020).
IKEA is guided by the Vision of “To create a better everyday life for the many people” (ikea.com). IKEA offers a wide range of products mainly for functional home furnishings at low prices and hence makes them affordable to most of the people. IKA group consists of three core business being Franchise, Range & Supply and Industry (Inter.ikea.com, 2020).
All across the world IKEA has large number of companies under its trademark. All the franchises of IKEA are independent of IKEA Group. With this comes into play the need for quality control in IKEA business. With widespread ownership and management bodies, the Quality management principles in IKEA has to very clear, specific and strong to maintain the brand value of the company.
IKEA is known for providing household products in reasonable price and is the most preferred store all across the world. However in recent times there has been lots of complaints against its products and services. In 2012 the company has to recall a large variety of its products due to quality complaints. It recalled 97000 lighting units because of the electric shock hazard (People’s Daily online, 2012). There were lots of complaints against the furniture of the company like the deformed wood clapboards, collapsed sofa cushions, etc.
The customer reviews of the furniture of the company were not good with complaints regarding the design, material and quality (Quora.com, 2017). The company saw nearly the drop of 40% in the profits from its furniture retail business in 2017-2018. Online retail business with competing prices and better quality resulted in crisis at IKEA (Kwun, A., 2018). One of the biggest reason for the failure was the “Quality”. Quality is the factor which keeps the customers coming back to the same brand.
Thus it can be understood from above review of IKEA that lack of quality products is one of the biggest reason for the fall and crisis at the blue box giant. In the organization, the concerns are productivity, quality, and issues for the employees to deliver and having key learning (Aquilani, 2017). The basic problems which employees have to face are to understand, what would be the consequences if they go off-limits in deliverables and compromising the qualities. It is also how there can be a consequent concern, for the employees to improve, deliver at par and also provide quality results.
IKEA needs TQM because as defined by W. Edwards Deming, Joseph M. Juran, and Armand V. Feigenbaum jointly, TQM is the process when implemented in the organization ensures that every employee in working in the same direction which is improving the work culture, manufacturing processes, service systems so as to ensure long term success (Juneja, P., 2020).
IKEA needs TQM approach to resolve the following identified problem of the employees at the company:
For the IKEA employees, it is important to understand the challenges, which would be questioned through the surveys and though the face to face interview questions.
The challenges identified in iKEA are as follows:
| Managerial Reasons | Employee Reasons |
a) For the manager, it is important to find reasons in between the different sections of the firm or company. b) To understand how much gaps are there in productivity and quality, lags and defining a plan? c) To improve and finding an alternative solution. | a) To provide adequate support to teamwork and have better coordination. b) Concerns related to productivity and finding an appropriate way to improve the skills, knowledge and having an improvement plan (Al-Dhaafri, 2017). c) To constantly focus on innovation and finding a solution to solve problems by reducing the failures. |
TQM ensures that the products and services provided by the company are of superior quality. The quality of the product is measured in terms of :
Total Quality management and other tools like the six sigma works towards removal of the excess time and efforts which do not contribute to the productivity of the organization. Thus the waste in terms of idle time and non value added activities is removed resulting in better time management and maintaining the quality of the products. Thus TQM helps in reducing waste and inventory stocks. Thus it enables fast adaptation and coordination in between the demand and products offered to the customers. Thus TQM involves that the employees, suppliers are working close to the customers and incorporate” just in time” philosophy (Juneja, P., 2020, a).
Implementation of TQM involves the eight elements divided into four groups which can be defined as under (Juneja, P., 2020 b.):
The employees should also be good at teamwork. Since the business activity involves various skills, employees need to work in teams. Thus the employees should be ready to listen to others ideas and appreciate them.
Leadership is another important factor in TQM. The leader/supervisors should be people who can inspire the employees and make the people believe in themselves. Authority and responsibility should be given to the employee is right manner so that they are able to take better decisions and own their work.
Thus the various components of TQM can be defined as follows:
Various models that can be used to implement TQM are establishing and adhering to various quality standards. ISO quality management standards are the which are set at international level that ensures quality management and quality assurance and helps the companies in implementing the efficient quality system.
ISO 9000 is such set of quality management that can be implemented by IKEA. These standards are not industry specific and can be applied to any organization irrespective of the type of product, service and size. The standards helps in enhancing the customer satisfaction by meeting the regulatory requirements and resulting continuous improvement. The governing principles of ISO 9000 are:
The above principles if ISO are overlapping and work in coordination with each other as can be depicted in the following diagram:
How TQM will Help IKEA?
The application of ISO:9000 set of standard’s will help IKEA rebuilt the trust of its customers and improve the overall process in following way:
TQM is a process which will not only lead to customer satisfaction but will also enhance the productivity of the organization by improving the coordination between the employees, the partners of the organization and setting the culture.
TQM will help the organizational departments to work in coordination with each such that there is no gap and right communication is at the right time. This ensures that the problems are taken care off at the earliest and there is least adverse effect on the business.
For example in the case of complaints by the customer against the furniture, TQM will work in the following manner:
Thus TQM will ensure that there is always quality product provided to the customer at least cost and there is continuous improvement in the process.
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