2.4.4 Quality Management

• quality - how well a product/service meets the expectations of customers
• Kaizen - employees have a target of zero error & a culture of continuous small improvements

  Benefits:

  • can motivate employees
  • defects can be spotted sooner

  Drawbacks:

  • all employees need to be involved for it to work
  • may take a lot of time/training to implement
• quality assurance - ensuring a high quality product/service by trying to stop faults from happening in the first place

  Benefits:

  • reduces chance of faulty products reaching the customer
  • easy to identify low standard products
  • no need to hire a quality inspector
  • prevents errors

  Drawbacks:

  • workers become detached leading to productivity issues
  • rejecting products at the end of production is very costly
  • requires extra training, supplies or equipment costs
  • relies on employees
• quality control - where quality inspectors check a sample of products at the end of production to find defects

  Benefits:

  • detects errors & puts them right
  • no extra training costs for employees

  Drawbacks:

  • assumes errors are avoidable
  • costly - need to hire quality inspectors
  • can be demotivating
• Total quality management - focus on quality by considering the quality of a product during every production process

  Benefits:

  • focuses on customer needs
  • continually reviews production process
  • achieve quality in all aspects of business
  • remove waste and inefficiencies
  • team approach & communication (motivating)

  Drawbacks:

  • training and development cost
  • only works if there is commitment
• quality circles - a group of employees who perform a similar task at work and regularly meet in the workplace to detect & analyse work place problems and devise solutions
• Measures of quality

  Tangible:

  • reliability
  • functions & features
  • support levels & standards
  • costs of ownership

  Intangible:

  • brand image
  • exclusiveness
  • market reputation