determine which of the eight elements of total quality management you believe are present in the above case study. Motivate your answers

Understanding Business
12th Edition
ISBN:9781259929434
Author:William Nickels
Publisher:William Nickels
Chapter1: Taking Risks And Making Profits Within The Dynamic Business Environment
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1CE
icon
Related questions
Question

determine which of the eight elements of total quality management you believe are present in the above case study. Motivate your answers 

Case study: Nissan
Nissan is famously associated with "Kaizen' or continuous quality improvement. Nissan states: 'We will
not be restricted by the existing way of doing things. We will continuously seek improvements in all
our actions.
Kaizen can be applied everywhere, any time, any place. It can involve the smallest change in everyday
working practice as well as a major change in production technology. Typically these improvements
are initiated by teams of employees sitting down together and sharing ideas for improvements. Small
steady changes are maintained to make sure that they actually work. No improvement is too small.
Everyone at Nissan is responsible for thinking about the current way of doing a job and finding a better
way of doing things.
Kaizen improvements can save:
Money, time, materials, labour effort as well as improving quality, safety, job satisfaction, and
productivity.
Productivity levels at Nissan's plant in Sunderland, and the quality of final production there, have not
happened by chance or good fortune. They stem from an all-embracing approach to a production
process, designed to bring out the best in both people and machines. It continues to be conspicuously
successful.
It is vital to train people to work in such a hi-tech industry with such sophisticated quality systems.
NMUK's training department conducts a training needs analysis to assess individual employees' needs
and to organise training programmes.
The department concentrates on five main areas:
1. technical development
2. people development
3. understanding processes
4. computer skills and graduate training
5. trainee development
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a key feature of Nissan's way of working. TQM involves making
customer satisfaction a top priority. Given this goal, everything the organisation and its people do is
focused on creating high quality.
To achieve this, Nissan has to:
•
•
understand customer requirements
consider the processes involved in providing quality, not just the end result
prioritise and standardise tasks to deliver quality
educate all employees to work in this way.
Nissan Motor Company Ltd, usually shortened to Nissan is a Japanese multinational automobile
manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-Ku Yokohama lanan
Transcribed Image Text:Case study: Nissan Nissan is famously associated with "Kaizen' or continuous quality improvement. Nissan states: 'We will not be restricted by the existing way of doing things. We will continuously seek improvements in all our actions. Kaizen can be applied everywhere, any time, any place. It can involve the smallest change in everyday working practice as well as a major change in production technology. Typically these improvements are initiated by teams of employees sitting down together and sharing ideas for improvements. Small steady changes are maintained to make sure that they actually work. No improvement is too small. Everyone at Nissan is responsible for thinking about the current way of doing a job and finding a better way of doing things. Kaizen improvements can save: Money, time, materials, labour effort as well as improving quality, safety, job satisfaction, and productivity. Productivity levels at Nissan's plant in Sunderland, and the quality of final production there, have not happened by chance or good fortune. They stem from an all-embracing approach to a production process, designed to bring out the best in both people and machines. It continues to be conspicuously successful. It is vital to train people to work in such a hi-tech industry with such sophisticated quality systems. NMUK's training department conducts a training needs analysis to assess individual employees' needs and to organise training programmes. The department concentrates on five main areas: 1. technical development 2. people development 3. understanding processes 4. computer skills and graduate training 5. trainee development Total Quality Management (TQM) is a key feature of Nissan's way of working. TQM involves making customer satisfaction a top priority. Given this goal, everything the organisation and its people do is focused on creating high quality. To achieve this, Nissan has to: • • understand customer requirements consider the processes involved in providing quality, not just the end result prioritise and standardise tasks to deliver quality educate all employees to work in this way. Nissan Motor Company Ltd, usually shortened to Nissan is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-Ku Yokohama lanan
With a just-in-time approach, specific vehicles and their components are produced just-in-time to
meet the demand for them. Sub-assemblies move into the final assembly plant just as final assemblers
are ready to work on them, components arrive just in time to be installed, and so on. In this way, the
amount of cash tied up in stocks and in work-in-progress is kept to a minimum, as is the amount of
space devoted to costly warehousing rather than to revenue-generating production. Nissan's just-in-
time process depends not on human frailty but on machine precision.
The emphasis placed on 'going for quality' means that each employee is responsible both for their
own work and the standards of their co-workers. By ensuring management recognises that individuals
have this control results in everyone taking the culture onboard.
Nissan expects and requires its employees to become multi-skilled decision-makers. Most employees
also want that for themselves.
Reaching that goal involves:
•
training employees to develop their skills
• encouraging them to make decisions
.
organising employees into participative teams
developing open-channel, multi-directional communication systems
placing quality at the heart of flow production
flexible working practices
providing the employee variety within his/her role
So far, Nissan has invested over £2.1 billion in the Sunderland site, taking its production capacity to
500,000 vehicles per year. Car assembly is a complex operation with many components requiring
skilled assembly. Management is particularly keen to monitor the total machine hours and total
labour hours that each vehicle requires.
In pursuit of high output at a low average cost, car manufacturing typically uses a continuous flow
production method, where sub-assemblies are brought together in a final assembly area. This is the
most cost-effective and efficient method of production and the speed of the final assembly line can
be adjusted to match consumer demand. If demand picks up, the production line can be accelerated,
within predefined limits.
At NMUK, the production flow draws on three main production shops, as well as support areas. The
three main shops are:
• body assembly
painting
• final assembly
One key decision with a car plant is where to locate it. For its UK factory, Nissan chose in 1984 a
300hectare former airfield near Sunderland. Sunderland's attractions included:
a) Skilled labour force
Manufacturing has a long tradition in the area. A decline in other local manufacturing meant that
skilled labour was readily available.
Transcribed Image Text:With a just-in-time approach, specific vehicles and their components are produced just-in-time to meet the demand for them. Sub-assemblies move into the final assembly plant just as final assemblers are ready to work on them, components arrive just in time to be installed, and so on. In this way, the amount of cash tied up in stocks and in work-in-progress is kept to a minimum, as is the amount of space devoted to costly warehousing rather than to revenue-generating production. Nissan's just-in- time process depends not on human frailty but on machine precision. The emphasis placed on 'going for quality' means that each employee is responsible both for their own work and the standards of their co-workers. By ensuring management recognises that individuals have this control results in everyone taking the culture onboard. Nissan expects and requires its employees to become multi-skilled decision-makers. Most employees also want that for themselves. Reaching that goal involves: • training employees to develop their skills • encouraging them to make decisions . organising employees into participative teams developing open-channel, multi-directional communication systems placing quality at the heart of flow production flexible working practices providing the employee variety within his/her role So far, Nissan has invested over £2.1 billion in the Sunderland site, taking its production capacity to 500,000 vehicles per year. Car assembly is a complex operation with many components requiring skilled assembly. Management is particularly keen to monitor the total machine hours and total labour hours that each vehicle requires. In pursuit of high output at a low average cost, car manufacturing typically uses a continuous flow production method, where sub-assemblies are brought together in a final assembly area. This is the most cost-effective and efficient method of production and the speed of the final assembly line can be adjusted to match consumer demand. If demand picks up, the production line can be accelerated, within predefined limits. At NMUK, the production flow draws on three main production shops, as well as support areas. The three main shops are: • body assembly painting • final assembly One key decision with a car plant is where to locate it. For its UK factory, Nissan chose in 1984 a 300hectare former airfield near Sunderland. Sunderland's attractions included: a) Skilled labour force Manufacturing has a long tradition in the area. A decline in other local manufacturing meant that skilled labour was readily available.
Expert Solution
steps

Step by step

Solved in 3 steps

Blurred answer
Similar questions
  • SEE MORE QUESTIONS
Recommended textbooks for you
Understanding Business
Understanding Business
Management
ISBN:
9781259929434
Author:
William Nickels
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Education
Management (14th Edition)
Management (14th Edition)
Management
ISBN:
9780134527604
Author:
Stephen P. Robbins, Mary A. Coulter
Publisher:
PEARSON
Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision Analysis: A Pract…
Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision Analysis: A Pract…
Management
ISBN:
9781305947412
Author:
Cliff Ragsdale
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
Management Information Systems: Managing The Digi…
Management Information Systems: Managing The Digi…
Management
ISBN:
9780135191798
Author:
Kenneth C. Laudon, Jane P. Laudon
Publisher:
PEARSON
Business Essentials (12th Edition) (What's New in…
Business Essentials (12th Edition) (What's New in…
Management
ISBN:
9780134728391
Author:
Ronald J. Ebert, Ricky W. Griffin
Publisher:
PEARSON
Fundamentals of Management (10th Edition)
Fundamentals of Management (10th Edition)
Management
ISBN:
9780134237473
Author:
Stephen P. Robbins, Mary A. Coulter, David A. De Cenzo
Publisher:
PEARSON