Discussion Assignment
Discussion Assignment I and II: The Total Quality Approach
Assignment I
The question I: Why Look at Processes Continuously?
Quality can be defined in a variety of ways and this definition depends upon the company´s culture and strategy as well as customers´ definition of quality. Ultimately, the objective is to meet and exceed customers´ expectations. Importantly, the companies cannot focus on fast gains and wins, if they aim at delivering this excellence to their target market. To achieve quality and ensure the sustainability of this strategy, organizations should take the long-term and forward-looking approach to management of its assets and processes. This should include customer focus and structured scientific approach to management of change and risks. Critically, the example of the baseball team illustrates how short-term view of the management of quality results in disaster for the company and destroys the long-term value of the business in a medium term. The fast gain of quality assets was not measured against the risks associated with liquidity and viability of the acquisition, resulting in the loss of other assets (Goetsch and Davis 5-10). That said the companies, which deliver a satisfactory product should have continuous learning and quality control mechanism in place to ensure that they recognize the long-term value of their quality strategy and can respond to the risks of the external environment. The approach “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” can work for survivors, but not for the winners, which are leading the industry.
Question II: Parallel
The example of the baseball team can find its parallel in any sectors. One of the typical examples can be seen in the service sector, such as the restaurant. A profitable restaurant, operating in the market for two years is willing to gain market share and open not only for dinner but also for lunch. The management hires a top chef and opens lunch. The menu served to the clients is expensive and the results are not satisfactory, which leads to the reduction of total earnings, poor motivation and lower compensation for the team as the tips reduce. Thus, the restaurant loses liquidity and is no longer able to reinvest in marketing and advertisement. The turnover goes down and so does the customer satisfaction and Brand image. Impotently, the total quality approach should be able to identify the successful and non-successful elements of the overall operation and build on the existing expertise and excellence, while fixing the issues in the weakest and weak links (Goetsch and Davis 10-15).
Assignment II: Why American Companies are Slower than Japanese to Adopt Quality Approach?
Following the Second World War, Japanese manufacturers had to find a unique strategy to re-enter the international market and build on the competitive and strong product in the manufacturing sector. The companies realized that competing on the price was not enough and placed their hopes on quality. At the same time, American companies failed to recognize the future of this approach, as they saw the major threat from Japanese companies – cost. With that, American manufacturers centered their generic strategies around outsourcing, which gave significant financial benefits and cost reductions (Goetsch and Davis 3-5). The quality, however, became an immediate issue, as quality management in an international supply chain is significantly more complex. Only this experience made American corporations rethink their approach and adopt quality-focused strategies.
Works Cited
Goetsch, David, and Davis, Stanley. Quality Management for Organizational Excellence. Introduction to Total Quality. 7th Edn. Harlow: Pearson Publications. 2014. Print.
