Quality Gurus

1.  What do you understand by the term `quality’ in relation to a product you buy?

In the narrowest sense, quality can be defined as 'freedom from defects'. However, customer-centred companies like Toyota go beyond this narrow definition of quality. Instead, they define quality in terms of customer satisfaction. Among the efforts of Toyota to maximise Customer Satisfaction are” (Toyota Motor Corporation, 1995-2017) :

In this argument, I will exhibit the process of the total quality management within the Fox Car Rental, Inc. and the Apple, Inc. Firstly, I will provide a history of both companies and the industries of which they are involved. Secondly, I will provide a meaning of the term total quality management, and argue how this system is integrated into both the Fox Car Rental, Inc., and the Apple, Inc. I will also describe the total quality management process that is implemented in these organizations, and the effects of this systematic management process of both companies. The Fox Car Rental, Inc. and the Apple, Inc. will also be compared against the principles of the ISO 9000:2000 quality management process, and among each other. I will also provide recommendations for the development of the Fox Car Rental, Inc.; an organization of which I was recently an employee.

Deming Juran and Crosby considers measurement as very important to improve quality but they use it in different ways. For Juran and Crosby they view the cost of quality as a focus of measurement. Cost can measured in dollars and for both Crosby and Juran they consider that money is the language of management. Success of the efforts of the quality will be ultimately measured by meeting customer requirements. Juran normally considers the cost of all the poor quality as a important factor because it shows how much they are losing. He also knows they are other factors which are important to measure such as how the organization compares with the competition and how customers perceive

It is unpromising to comprehend the total quality management phenomenon, emerging in the twentieth century, and to acknowledge its competitive advantages and obstacles, unless the underlying philosophy of quality is examined.

Quality is defined as conformance to the requirement, not goodness: The first absolute explains that management must strive to ensure that during the quality improvement process everyone is getting things done right the first time. Crosby stated that in other to do this management must state clearly what are the individual roles of the employee, management must also supply the employees with the resources needed to do their task and lastly management must give continuous support and encouragement to the employees during the improvement process. When quality is defined as conformance to requirement it helps to reduce hassle and improve quality at the same time. Crosby (1995).

Today, if one were to ask for the definition of quality amongst the general public, one would expect to hear several different answers. Some believe quality is doing things the right way, while others may find that quality is fitness for purpose or meeting a customer’s expectations. (Dewark, 2014) Many businesses and customers have their own definition of quality that may be acceptable because there is no all-encompassing way to describe it. But the diverse responses one would receive today truly represent how much the concept of quality has grown and expanded. In contrast, after World War II (WWII), many businesses and customers had minimal understanding of what quality truly was. It was after WWII that people began to put a more concentrated emphasis on quality, and one of the many great advocates to bring about this change was William Edward Deming. (Stevenson, 2011) Deming devoted much of his life to understanding and improving quality, from his time and work in Japan to Deming’s development of quality philosophies, and today Deming is revered amongst businesspeople around the world for his advancements in the field of quality.

Joseph Juran is considered to have had the greatest impact on quality management. Juran took a more strategic and planning based approach to improvement than Deming. Juran promotes the view that organisational quality problems are largely the result of insufficient and ineffective planning for quality. He argues that companies must revise strategic planning process and achieve mastery over these processes. The means proposed by Juran establish specific goals to be reached and plans for reaching those goals. In addition, Juran’s process assigns clear responsibility for meeting the goals and bases rewards on results

These assumptions demonstrate some of the obstacles that organizations can face when implementing quality. For quality, and specifically Total Quality Management, to be successful these items must be true and if not true addressed by the organization. If the cost of implementing quality is not less than correcting defects there is no value in adding quality initiatives. The people that are involved in implementing and carrying out the ongoing quality initiatives they must be willing to adjust and change just as the organization changes, adjusts, and adapts.

A3) One of the most important and significant changes done to the quality management is the application of Total quality management. Dr. Edwards Deming said “Everything is the fault or credit of the top management.” His case study can be stated as follows.

Project quality has been defined by The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines quality as “the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements” (ISO9000:2000). Quality can also be defined based on conformance (project’s process and product meet written specifications) to requirements and fitness for use (Product can be used as it was intended). The purpose behind project quality is that the project should meet need for which it was initiated. However, it is important to understand what a stakeholder means when he talks about ‘quality’. This is because for some, it can be conformance and for other it can be fitness for use. And moreover, customer decides if the quality is acceptable or not. Importance should be given to written rules and as well as needs and expectations of stakeholders. Therefore, it is important to develop good relationship with the stakeholders.

Quality and total quality management, the main difference is that perception and activities. (Goetsch, 2010)

In the modern business world, quality is well-known as an essential concept which plays an important role for organisations (Ahmad and Elhuni 2014). Furthermore, the concept of quality has been widely used and adopted by many organisations in order to survive on the business battlefield. Otherwise, for those organisations which do not adopt the concept of quality in their management system will be left behind in the market race. Oakland (2003) stated that quality simply refers to the ability of products or services to meet the customer requirements. The more products or service can fulfil the customer needs, the more customer satisfaction will be earned. Oakland (2003) also found that quality framework can give many benefits for those organisations which implement it, such as helping to earn competitive advantage, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty, also improving productivity level. Moreover, high-quality products or services are also able to trigger repeat purchasing which lead to customer loyalty (Oakland 2003).

This show included an interview with some of the Japanese clients Deming 's had worked with where they described the cost savings and high profit margin they had mostly due to Deming 's principles. The show created an interest in Deming 's and his Total Quality Management Principles. Utilizing his philosophy, Deming 's was able to assist several of largest businesses in America in becoming the companies that truly valued what the customer wanted and delivered appropriately.

In this essay I will explore how the use effective quality management can be used to continuously improve a business that seeks to deliver high quality service. Torkildsen (2011) defines quality management as, concerning processes that are designed to deliver continuous improvement within an organisation and aim to meet and exceed customer expectations of the product and or service that is being provided. To me Torkildsen’s definition sums up quality management perfectly and shows that the most important aspect of generating success within an organisation is by ensuring that the customers are always happy. Furthermore, the importance of quality management and having and approach deployed is supported by Hope et al (1997) cited in Beech and Chadwick (2012) they state “An organisation without strategy is like a motorist on a long journey without a map.” This is an amusing way of stating that all organisations should have strategies implemented with every action they take, I will be discussing the use of quality management schemes and strategies within this essay. There are many quality management schemes that can be used within organisations, the three approaches I am going to discuss within this essay are Quest, ISO 9001 and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). Within the first section of my essay I will be discussing Quest and the effectiveness of the scheme when deployed by certain organisations. I will then do the same for ISO 9001 and EFQM, weighing up