Quality Managers
Quality managers have the role of ensuring that the services and products a company sells are of high standards and meet both customer and regulatory expectations. When all this is done the quality manager then has the responsibility of ensuring that the company is consistent in achieving the standards set (Russ, 2005, p. 16). Due the demanding nature of their job, quality managers are in several situations faced by several ethical and legal issues.
A major ethical issue that quality managers face is ensuring that no short-cuts are taken during production if they affect the value of the product. Many a time there are unethical ways of making products that do not meet the set standards but which clients would not easily distinguish from the required quality (Spencer & Sims, 2010, p. 94). In most cases, the short cuts are cheaper and the quality manager may be tempted to opt for these unethical methods. However, good quality managers have to ensure that ethics are maintained in the production process at whatever costs.
The job description of quality managers requires that they not only pay attention to quality and consistency but also to how the actual process of achieving these is done (Russ, 2005, p. 87). This role brings about a legal issue when the manager has to be up to date with new production regulations. Failure to comply with such would lead to the company risking being sued. The quality manager is hence required to liaise with various regulators to be constantly updated on new legislations and policy. Where the quality manager fails to update the company and production department on new legislation the company may lose a lot of money in compensations and fines if legal action is taken against it.
References
Russ, W. (2005). The Certified Manager of Quality/ Organizational Excellence Handbook.
Washington: ASQ Press
Spencer, M. & Sims, R. (2010). Corporate Misconduct: The Legal, Societal, and Management
Issues. New York: Praeger
