2.4.4 Quality management Flashcards
Operations management
the control of the production function of the organisation relating to the production of goods
Operational targets
productivity
capacity
efficiency
quality
What is quality?
- meets the specification of the firm
- fit for purpose
- meeting requirements
How to meet quality?
- find out what customers want
- specify what the product does
- make sure specifications are achieved
Why is quality important for a business?
- customer satisfaction - loyalty- repeat purchasing
- less wastage - fewer defects and fewer refunds
- USP of high quality - competitive advantage
- Brand loyalty - reputation
- Increase sales
- Staff retention - quality can attract due to brand
- link to efficiency
- environmental/ethical importance
- Maintain/growth of market share
Quality circles
A group of employees who meet together regularly for the purpose of identifying problems and recommending adjustments to the working processes.
Pros of quality circles
- used to address known quality issues (defective products)
- useful for identifying better practices that may improve quality
- improve staff morale through employee involvement
Cons of quality circles
Time consuming
conflict of opinions
Zero defects
the aim to produce goods and services with no faults or problems
-many firms will have zero defects as a target to move towards without any realistic expectation of getting there
Which industries will use zero defects as a goal?
Passenger aircraft production and the manufacture of surgical equipment will have zero defects as a serious goal because a fault can be dangerous and very serious
Quality control
checking output to remove any faulty goods at the end of the production process
Pros of quality control
- can guarantee no defective items will leave the factor and reach a customer
- Requires little staff training which suits a business with unskilled or tempeeoray staff
Cons of quality control
- can only be trusted when all of output is test and not when based on sampling
- rejected products are expensive - it has gone through all production but can’t be sold
- doesn’t encourage employees to take responsibility if quality of their own work
Quality assurance
the process that ensures production quality meets the requirements of customers at every stage of production
Pros of quality assurance
- costs are reduced due to less wastage and re-working faulty products
- improves worker motivation as they have more ownership and responsibility of their work
- breaks barriers between workers and managers and eliminated feeling of being supervised
Cons of quality assurance
- time consuming
- money and time to train staff
- can slow down production if having to stop and re-work products
Total quality management
a system to encourage all staff to think about quality in business, so quantity is not just the job of production but for everybody
Pros of TQM
- should be deeply rooted into the culture of the business - should be shown through design to manufacture
- leads to better products manufactured at a lower cost
- reduces waste and saves time leading to reduced expenses
- TQM provides customers with consistency that they value which creates customer loyalty and continued business
- engagement of all leads to employee engagement which reduces turnover and saves money on training and mistakes
Cons of TQM
- may require expensive training to get TQM into culture
- its a company wide commitment
Kaizen
empowering staff to make a series of small suggestions to improve processes in production
- improvements are based around people and their ideas rather than the investment in new technology
- continuous improvement
Pros of kaizen
- gives employees a sense of worth in business
- improved teamwork - cross functional collaborations, different skills learnt from others
- boosts efficiency and time management
Cons of kaizen
- change is difficult as will alter management system
- Requires training - tedious and demanding
- money and time consuming
