Total Quality Management Marketing Assignment Paper (Essay Sample)

Techniques for Quality Management
RENSON OMUMU
Regardless of the type of test a person is preparing for, it is important to have techniques that can improve the process of studying for an exam to get higher scores. Cultivating a positive attitude is a very important tool in improving the process of studying for an exam and the old saying “you can do anything if you set your mind to it” is actually very true. This means that if a person believes that he can succeed in something and actually has a plan for it then its possible that person will succeed. A positive attitude during the study process will result in more effective studying and increase learning and retention thereby increasing test scores (McCall and Tankersley 2003).
Having a review strategy also helps a lot in increasing a person’s attitude towards something. This means that be it improving the process of studying for an exam, getting to class on time or even cleaning the apartment, having a plan is very important in making sure that these tasks are achievable. For example, a person should decide in advance how he/she would review their notes and reading materials and allow adequate time to accomplish that and by doing so it is possible to do well in exams (McCall and Tankersley 2003).
It is also important to establish a consistent setting. This means that if a person is used cleaning his/her apartment at a particular time, study at a particular time or getting to class at a specific time then it is important to follow that routine. By always, doing that, then this person will always find himself doing these chores without having any difficulty (McCall and Tankersley 2003).
Kaizen refers to the philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement in manufacturing, business management, and engineering among other process (Gray, 2011). Kaizen continually improves all functions in the work place and involves all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. Kaizen blitz on the other hand is a rapid improvement workshop that designed to produce results within a short period. The kaizen blitz methodology is used to improve the organization of work in factories and the methods used in manufacturing of products (Gray, 2011) The problem with kaizen blitz us that at times it is not possible to look extensively at complex, cross-functional systems thereby limiting the chance of addressing true, systematic root causes.
The difference between kaizen and kaizen blitz is that generally kaizen focuses on small improvements while kaizen blitz focuses on large overall efforts. Another difference is that kaizen blitz is a limited event that designed to address just one issue over the course of a week or so which is not the same with kaizen. The continuous small incremental improvements made over time that results in significant improvements, as a way of conducting business, is the kaizen philosophy; simply put kaizen is a continuous process (Gray, 2011). It important to understand that kaizen blitz is a reactive process where people check to see if there is a problem and then fix it. For it to function in higher levels it needs to have an element of creativity so that, elements which are not actively wrong may be improved.
The Deming cycle is also known as the plan- do- check- act cycle (PDCA cycle) and is a four-step model for carrying out change, which is repeated for continuous improvement. It provides a basic framework for developing, testing and implementing changes to any process that will lead to improvement (Evans and Lindsay 2008). The plan stage is the first stage and consists of studying the current situation and describing the process (its inputs, outputs, customers and suppliers), understanding customer expectations, gathering data, identifying problems, testing theories of causes and developing solutions and action plans (Evans and Lindsay 2008). The second stage is the Do stage and in this stage, the plan is implemented on a trial basis. The third stage (study stage), will determine whether the trial plan is working correctly by evaluating the results recording the learning and determining whether any further issues need to be addressed. The Act stage is the last stage and here the improvements become standardized and the final plan is implemented. This process then leads back to the plan stage for identification of other improvement opportunities (Evans and Lindsay 2008). The study step is the third stage and here the results are checked and studied. The final step is the act one and in this stage, action is taken to standardize and improve the process. The benefits of this cycle are human resource development, product management, project management, problem-solving process among others.
For example in a school, there may be a problem with the school cafeteria whereby the line is too slow and students are complaining that service delivery is very slow. By using the Deming cycle, it will be possible to rectify this. Firstly, the problem identified as poor service delivery and the customer’s expectation, which in this case is the student, is a quick response when waiting in line for food. The cause of the problem is appears to be that the number of employees at the cafeteria is very small thereby limiting the time it takes to serve a student. Recommendation is to employ more people in the cafeteria. The second stage (Do stage) is implemented whereby the new employees are recruited to see if there will be any changes. After this results seems to change, as it appears that students are served quickly and are not complaining of waiting in line for too long. The management therefore is satisfied and even implements the same strategy in the library department, which appeared to have similar problems.
A professor may use the Deming cycle to improve his teaching as he/she may realize that most students are not grasping his/her methods of teaching thereby sleeping during his lectures. By identifying the problem he may try to come up with ideas on how best to rectify this (Do stage). The professor may realize that most students prefer lecture notes be given to them through power point presentation. By implementing this, he may come to realize that more and more students are alert during the lectures and thereby sharing that with his/her colleagues.
Figure 1.1 Check shit on a students math quiz.
Exam number

less than 30%

31%- 70%

70%- 100%

Exam 1

1



Exam 2


2


Exam 3


2


1 – Less than 30%
2- More than 30% but less than 70%
Figure 1.2 Cause and effect diagram for poor exam grade.
Figure 1.3 Cause and effect diagram on no job offers.
Figure 1.4 Cause and effect diagram on being late for school
Lean thinking is a way of improving cycle times and quality through the elimination of wastes. It changes the focus of management from optimizing separate technologies to optimizing the flow of product services through value streams that flow across technologies (Urdhwareshe, 2011). Lean tools include the andon, which is a visual feedback system for the plant floor that helps in indicating production status, alerts when assistance is required and empower operators to stop the production process.
Another tool is the just- in- time (JIT) whereby parts are pulled through production and is based on customer demands. Other than pushing parts through production based on projected demand, it also relies on other tools, which include continuous flow. Its main importance is that it is highly effective in reducing inventory levels, improves cash flow and reduces spaces requirement (Urdhwareshe, 2011). Finally yet importantly is the root cause analysis. Just as the name may suggest it is a pattern solving methodology and mainly focuses on the main problem instead of applying quick solutions that only treat immediate symptoms of the problem. It helps a lot in ensuring that a problem is eliminated by applying corrective action to the “root cause” of the problem (Urdhwareshe, 2011).
Breakthrough improvements involve improvements in business areas and refer to discontinuous change as opposed to the gradual, continuous philosophy of kaizen (Evans, 2...