Quality Management

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  • Quality Management
    • Quality Control
      • Checking that products are to a good enough standard
      • Inspecting or checking samples of the products once they have been made
      • Faulty products are removed
      • If products of a poor quality then a business will loose customers
    • Quality Assurance
      • Involves the whole business
        • Everyone is striving to improve quality and reliability at every stage of the process
      • "Zero defects"
        • Getting the product right first time with no wastage
        • The main aim of quality assurance
      • Takes into account the customer's needs
      • Involves employees looking at every aspect of the business
        • In an attempt to improve the quality of the product or service
      • To be successful it needs commitment and support from everyone involved
      • May involve changing the whole corporate culture of the business to make it happen
    • Quality Circles
      • Small groups of employees that meet regularly and look at how quality can be improved
      • Any recommendations are passed to management and may be acted upon
      • Make use of the knowledge of the workforce to identify and solve problems with production and quality standards
      • Can be very effective as they bring together a wide range of workers and management
      • Can be a motivating force: staff feel both involved and empowered
      • Need the support and encouragement of management
        • Must be willing to listen to groups ideas and be serous about implementing them
    • Total Quality Management (TQM)
      • All employees are involved in quality control
        • Take responsibility for the quality of their and their teams work
        • Reduces costly wastage
        • Reinforces employee motivation
      • Everyone is committed to improving quality
      • Departments do not work in isolation but focus on the needs of the other departments
        • Try to improve the quality of their stage of production in order to satisfy them
      • Employees become more motivated through involvement, responsibility and empowerment
      • Can be costly to set up and takes time
      • May meet initial resistance from both workers and management
      • Causes disruption until properly in palce
    • Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)
      • Making continuous small improvements rather than sudden changes
      • More effective and sustainable
    • Competitive advantage from QM
      • Better quality= more competitiveness
      • Less wastage and lower costs
        • Reduces prices and maintains profitability but gaining sales
        • Maintains price but increases profitability and re-investing back into the business to aid growth and development
      • In today's market consumers have a much greater awareness and choice
      • Enhances brand image, creates customer loyalty and reduces costs

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