2.4.4

• quality control 


  process of inspecting products to ensure that they meet required quality standards

  REACTIVE
• advantages of quality control

  quality can be monitored

  stops faulty product meeting customer

  common problems can be identified

  inspector takes responsability

  often a robust system
• disadvantages of quality control 


  takes responsability away from workers

  inconsistent inspection

  problems only identifies at the end

  waste levels may be high
• quality assurance 


  process that ensures production quality meets the requirments of customers

  PROACTIVE
• owerview of quality assurance 


  focus on how a business designs the way a product is produced to minimise output being substandard

  involves checking at each stage of the production process

  focus on the product design and development stage
• advantages of quality assurance 


  emphasises the customer

  targets whole organisation

  spots any faults early

  saves resourcers being wasted

  motivates workers

  objective of 0 waste

  less chance of faulty good reaching customer
• disadvantages of quality assurance 


  requires staff training and high levels of commmitment

  can slow down production process- higher unit costs

  may demotivate workers if they feel under pressure

  opportunity cost of managers time when they initially set up
• quality circles 


  involves an approach to quality managment whereby groups of employees meet regularly to identify potential improvments and resolves quality issues
• total quality managment (TQM)


  a managmant philosophy commited to focus on continous improvments of product and services with the involvment of the entire workforce

  sees quality as the responsability of all employees
• advantages of TQM 


  puts customers at heart of production process

  motivational since workers feel more involved

  less waasteful

  eliminates cost of inspection
• disadvantages of TQM


  requiures strong leadership

  big investment into training and support

  can take years to implement fully

  may become bureaucratic

  distribution costs may outweigh benefits
• kaizen


  type of quality assurance

  based on concept/ culture of continous improvments

  encourages employees to fully engage with finding ways to improve quality process
• what competitive advantage can you get from quality managment?


  can help achieve lower unit costs

  positive image to the customer

  UPS

  pricing decisions

  elasticity

  motivated workforce
• quality 


  the ability of a product or service to meet customer expectations
• measures of quality 


  price

  brand / reputation

  performance

  customer service / support

  reliability

  apperance

  exclusivness
• why is quality important?

  high quality may mean able to create advantage over competitors
• advantages of quality 


  strong brand image

  fewer returns

  customer satisfaction

  increased market share

  customer loyalty

  increased sales

  charge a premium price

  good reputation
• examples of poor quality 


  product fails

  product does not perform as expected

  product delivered to late

  poor instructions

  bad customer service
• bad quality leads to 


  lost customer loyalty

  damaged business reputation

  need for greater controls and checks

  competitors take advantage
• measures of quality 


  customer service rating

  product returns

  warranty chains

  rejected output form production

  levels of repeat business

  market surveys

  profit margins
• ways to improve quality 


  training employees

  use technology

  research customer needs

  improve materials

  work with suppliers

  motivaing employees