Total Quality Management
Quality management and international standards
Quality is the ability of a product or service to meet customer needs and exceed them.
Implications of quality
In addition to being a critical element in operations, quality has other implication:
Company reputation – an organization can expect its reputation for quality – be it good or bad – to follow it. You are known by the company you keep! This statement does not only apply to individuals but organizations as well. Quality will show up in perception about the firm’s new products, employment practices, and supplier relations.
Product liability – the courts increasingly hold organizations that design faulty products or services liable for damages or injuries resulting from their use.
Global implications – in this technological age, quality is an international, as well as operations managers concern. For both a company and a country to compete effectively in the global economy, products must meet global quality, design, and price expectations. Inferior products harm a firm profitability and a nation’s balance of payment.
Costs of quality
Four categories of costs are associated with quality:
Prevention costs – costs associated with reducing the potential for defective parts, and services, e.g. the costs of training employees and the implementation of quality improvement program.
Appraisal costs – costs related to evaluating products, processes, parts or services, e.g. testing of products, labs costs and the inspections costs.
Internal costs – costs that result from the production of effective parts or services before delivery to customers, e.g. rework, scrap, downtime
External costs – costs that occur after delivery of effective parts or services, e.g. the returned goods, liabilities, lost goodwill and costs to society.
Ethics and quality management
For operations managers, one of the most important job is to deliver healthy, safe, and quality products or services to the customers. The development of
Quality is the ability of a product or service to meet customer needs and exceed them.
Implications of quality
In addition to being a critical element in operations, quality has other implication:
Company reputation – an organization can expect its reputation for quality – be it good or bad – to follow it. You are known by the company you keep! This statement does not only apply to individuals but organizations as well. Quality will show up in perception about the firm’s new products, employment practices, and supplier relations.
Product liability – the courts increasingly hold organizations that design faulty products or services liable for damages or injuries resulting from their use.
Global implications – in this technological age, quality is an international, as well as operations managers concern. For both a company and a country to compete effectively in the global economy, products must meet global quality, design, and price expectations. Inferior products harm a firm profitability and a nation’s balance of payment.
Costs of quality
Four categories of costs are associated with quality:
Prevention costs – costs associated with reducing the potential for defective parts, and services, e.g. the costs of training employees and the implementation of quality improvement program.
Appraisal costs – costs related to evaluating products, processes, parts or services, e.g. testing of products, labs costs and the inspections costs.
Internal costs – costs that result from the production of effective parts or services before delivery to customers, e.g. rework, scrap, downtime
External costs – costs that occur after delivery of effective parts or services, e.g. the returned goods, liabilities, lost goodwill and costs to society.
Ethics and quality management
For operations managers, one of the most important job is to deliver healthy, safe, and quality products or services to the customers. The development of