Quality Management

Introduction

Quality management is a core function of project management framework.  This is a technique of managing outcomes in the future and it is constituted of more that the service and product quality enhancement. This is because it is a technique of running persons as well as all the procedures involved in the business to ensure that customer satisfaction is enhanced.  Quality management is essential as it ensures that corporations accomplish what is expected at the required time within the first trial (Gharakhani, Rahmati, Reza and Farahmandian 46, 2013).  Quality on its own is described a measure of excellence that is utilized in reaching a specific output constituency to directly satisfy the consumers.  Quality management is an activity of overseeing all the business tasks and activities in maintaining the desired excellence status.  This normally incorporates a quality policy determination, development and creation of quality assurance and planning quality improvement as well as an improvement (Jeang 1753, 2011).  It is additionally referred to as total quality management. Quality management at its core is a philosophy of business that promotes the idea customer satisfaction leads to long term corporation’s success.

Literature Review

 Quality management is one of the most difficult tasks that require being controlled by a corporation’s manager.  The objective of performing quality management in an organization is to develop business procedures, optimize business performance as well as maximize profitability (Gharakhani, Rahmati, Reza and Farahmandian 47, 2013).  Management is regarded as a supervision which in this case supervises the quality of performance within the given resources. Quality management is a strategic program that is focused on consumer’s satisfaction by ensuring that premium products are delivered at favorable prices.  This strategy requires the contribution of everyone within an organization.  The main aspect of quality management is preventing the occurrence of defects as it works on a zero defects target. Quality management is additionally a continuous procedure as it depends on the gathered information in relation to operations (Sadikoglu and Olcay 2, 2014).

TQM is an approach which embraces the general belief that the process of management should focus on the integration of quality that is driven by consumers throughout all the operations of the organization.  The approach particularly emphasizes on continuous product quality as well as services delivery while taking into account the reality that the goal cannot be achieved without addressing the needs of employees since quality services cannot be obtained to employees who are ill motivated.  The organization that utilizes TQM views its business through the consumers and measures its performance against the expectations of consumers (Gharakhani, Rahmati, Reza and Farahmandian 47, 2013).

Quality development is a core feature of quality management and it is the continuous development of products output as well as services with the use of systems management. Most of the quality development tools today are utilized because of the increasing demand for high volumes of obtaining high-value services and products with the utilization of cheaper resources.  The tools utilized in the management of quality include check sheet, control charts, histogram, and stratification, scatter diagram, Pareto chart as well as effect and cause diagrams. To begin with, Check sheet is a document that is utilized in gathering information in actual time at the situation where data is created.  The collected data by check sheet can either be qualitative or quantitative and if it is quantitative it is normally referred as a tally sheet.  The primary characteristic that defines check sheet is the fact that the recording of data is accomplished by marks making.  A typical form of a sheet is normally divided into different marks and regions and each region holds a different significance (Ehie, and Gilliland 2, 2016).

A control chart is amongst one of the seven primary basic quality management tools. Control charts, on the other hand, are also referred to as Shewhart or procedure behavior charts (Ehie, and Gilliland 4, 2016). In a statistical procedure, the charts are utilized in determining whether the business or organization's stands on a statistical control state.  The collected data can be utilized can be utilized in the production of future processes performance. If the result indicates that the process in not under control the data can, therefore, be utilized in the determination of variations differences since this can result in a fall of performance.  In this, deliberate actions are required in gaining a better understanding of the existing performance as the mode of developing the process (Ehie, and Gilliland 4, 2016).

Pareto chart that is named after Pareto Vilfredo is a chart type that incorporates both line and bar graphs where the values of individuals are depicted in bars order and the cumulative sum is depicted by a line.  The left axis representing the vertical is the occurrence of frequency but it can also be utilized in representing cost or any other measure of the unit.  The objective of a Pareto chart is highlighting the most significant measure amongst several factors set (Ehie, and Gilliland 7, 2016). In the management of quality, it depicts the most common defects source, the largest occurring defect or the most rationales behind the complaining of consumers and more.

Scatter plot is a mathematical diagram that utilizes Cartesian coordination in displaying values for two distinct variables for a certain data set.  A scatter plot is normally utilized when an existing variable is under an experimenter control this helps in making correlations suggestions amid variables with a particular interval of confidence (Ehie, and Gilliland 6, 2016).  Effect and cause diagrams are utilized in the management of quality in identification and demonstration of a particular event cause.  Effect and cause diagrams are utilized in designing products and preventing quality defects and identification of the possible factors that are responsible for the general effect.  The causes are normally grouped into various categories which are machines, resources, environment, methods, measurements, and people. On the other hand, a histogram is an additional tool.  This is a graphical depiction of data distribution.  It is a probability distribution estimate of all the involved variables (Ehie, and Gilliland 9, 2016). In the implementation of TQM, the approaches have to be assessed to establish the ones that best suits the corporation.  This helps in increasing efficiency, reducing errors, establish the consumer’s satisfaction level and maintain constant status with training and employees education. There are numerous TQM approaches but most managers normally prefer the three best which are creating an ultimate TQM surrounding, using Pareto Charts as well as ISO: standard constituency setting. 

To start with the approach of developing ultimate TQM surrounding, employees and all the departments in an organization are not expected to get the sensation that they are competing with each other.  TQM management implies that the primary objective that a pride sense is instilled in all the workers that will develop cross- functional employees years (Sadikoglu and Olcay 2, 2014).  The management is, therefore, necessitated to reduce the general focus on increases of merits, statistical achievements as well as developing the general attention towards the contribution of individuals.  Self-developments, as well as personal contributions, should be rewarded among the employees. The success of repeated improvement on product tests should be communicated and celebrated with the employees.  This is aimed at ensuring that employees are highly motivated to ensure that quality services are offered to the consumers.  This ensures that the provision of products with lowered cost does not lead to high operating costs (Sadikoglu and Olcay 4, 2014).  With a natural connection with the employees, they are able to comprehend their role and the need of the corporation to perform well.  This approach is usually effected in increasing competitiveness through enhancing services, procedures, methods, measures as well as product quality which is essential in gaining high consumers satisfaction.

While avoiding giving much attention to numerical statistical, it is a reality that the use of charting is essential in clarification of the causes and the related effects (Sabella, Kashou, and Omran 1488, 2014).  The use of Pareto charts is mainly preferable since it illustrates the primary principle that 80 percent of the organization’s flaws are generated from the 20 percent of the organization’s issues.  A Pareto chart is mainly developed for displaying the present negative factors in the organization that is believed to be the defects sources. The plotting is done on the X- axis and the meeting point with the mark on the Y- axis is characterized as significant (Sabella, Kashou, and Omran 1488, 2014). The general product effect is then analyzed from the particular perspective to implement solutions.

ISO on the other hand trains employees groups on how to consistently function in the performance of their tasks in ensuring that the outcomes remain predictable.  Standardization is essential in determining the degree of consumer’s satisfaction (Hellsten, Klefsjo 240, 2000).  Consistency practice is important helps in maintaining and managing policy reviews as well as procedures across all the departments. In addition, the degree to which cross training will improve the ability of employees to act in a uniform efficient way is determined.  Regardless of whether this applies to consumer satisfaction, product development or other procedural areas process uniformity can lead to satisfying and vivid outcomes.  The approach helps the business in steering up its culture towards every contribution of the employees and consumers thus increasing quality and decreasing costs. In the management of quality, there are some important and widely utilized methods that draw their stimulation from TQM in focusing on controlling and quality (Hellsten, Klefsjo 240, 2000). Six-Sigma is one of the techniques, which is particularly focused on developing processes output quality through the identification and removal of flaws while in the process of minimizing business procedures and manufacturing variability.  The technique’s philosophy emphasizes that gaining sustained quality development needs the entire’s organization commitment and especially the highest rank management (Hellsten, Klefsjo 241, 2000).

JIT that stands for just in time is an additional technique.  JIT method is a production approach that is utilized in improving the return investment in business through the decrease in process inventory and the related costs carrying (George 204, 2010).  JIT particularly focuses on consistent improvement in the maximization of the returns, efficiency, and quality of the organization’s products.  The technique additionally focuses on ensuring that the right materials are utilized at the actual time, right location with the actual amount through the definition of the cost factor.  A total quality control, a measure is normally utilized in the JIT program which involves slowing of the production procedure in order to handle the issue.  The technique can be described as consistent and wide since it handles all the operations in the organization.  Pareto analysis is, however, a statistical strategy that is used in the selection of limited tasks number that generates overall results that are significant (George 207, 2010).  The technique holds that most of these issues are caused by few primary causes.  Five Whys is the last technique, which is a question-based strategy used in the exploration of effect and cause relationship.  The technique is objected at establishing the primary problem cause. 

Conclusion

Quality management has proved to be an essential function of business in enhancing survival as well as ensuring high consumer satisfaction.  Quality management ensures that the needs of the consumers and those of consumers are addressed first. This is primarily because the provision of quality services cannot be obtained if the employees are not high satisfied.  In addition, long-term success can best be achieved by retaining and gaining more consumers through satisfaction. Quality management is the affective strategy of remaining competitive as its objected on ensuring premium quality services, procedures, materials, methods, measurements, and products.  The effectiveness of quality management lies on the ability to balance, quality and inexpensive production with consumer’s satisfaction. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            References

Davood Gharakhani, Hossein Rahmati, Mohammad Reza and Arshad farahmandian. 2013. Total Quality Management and Organizational Performance. American Journal of Industrial Engineering, 2013 1 (3), pp 46-50.

Ehie, I.C. and Gilliland, D.L., 2016. Use of quality management tools to analyse delivery exceptions in the motor carrier industry: a case study. International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 19(1), pp.1-20.

Esin, Sadikoglu and Hilal Olcay. 2014. The Effects of Total Quality Management Practices on Performance and the Reasons of and the Barriers to TQM Practices in Turkey. Pp. 1-7

George, MO 2010, The Lean Six Sigma Guide To Doing More With Less : Cut Costs, Reduce Waste, And Lower Your Overhead, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

Jeang, A 2011, 'Economic production order quantity and quality', International Journal Of Production Research, 49, 6, pp. 1753-1783.

Sabella, A., Kashou, R. and Omran, O., 2014. Quality management practices and their relationship to organizational performance. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 34(12), pp.1487-1505.

Ulrika Hellsten, Bengst Klefsjo. 2000. TQM as a management system consisting of values, techniques and tools. The TQM Magazine, Vol. 12 Iss: 4, pp.238 – 244