Total Quality Management Proposal for Smart Pack Ltd.

Question: Discuss about the Total Quality Management Proposal for Smart Pack Ltd. Answer: Introduction Lego is a line of Plastic Construction toys and its flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks which could be connected and assembled in myriads of ways. The company has been using a strong, resilient material, ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, since 1963 to manufacture its building pieces. In order to expand its business in Asian markets, the firm is looking for a subcontractor in Australia and for this it has approached a small niche manufacturer, Smart Pack Ltd. in Australia. The new manufacturer is expected to assemble small LEGO sets and manufacture toys that are highly compatible to Australian markets. But, prior to this the company needs to conduct a Total Quality Management process to be the most deserving subcontractor of Lego (ASQ Team, 2016). TQM basically describes the management approach to attain a long-term success by responding to the customer needs readily and satisfying them in every sense. The TQM approach asks all the participating employees of the company to work in the direction of improvement in the firms operations and introducing innovative ideas for reforming the workplace culture. A permanent climate is introduced under this process in which all the members of a company continuously improve their skills and capabilities to deliver the best services and high Quality products to its customers. There is a keen requirement of this assessment because Lego is a leading giant in the Toy industry and has been widely accepted over all the foreign markets just because of its commitment towards the quality of the products. The following Business report has been precisely written to highlight the core principles and techniques of the TQM process that are to be undertaken to produce the best outcomes to the parent company (Wiley, 2012). The report also deals with the precise implementation of the TQM approaches within the firm and for this even an action plan has been generated. The prime aim of this report is to convince the owner about the abilities of the Smart Pack Ltd. and why it should be readily considered as a sub-contractor in Australia over the other competitors in the markets. Core Principles of TQM In order to involve a great level of customer satisfaction, an organization needs to follow certain core principles: The organization should follow approaches and develop operations that are entirely customer focused and tends to deliver ultimate satisfaction to them. The tasks being done in order to improve the quality of services are only completed if they are readily accepted by the customers (Baumeyer, 2015). The employees should be promoted to be greatly involved in all the crucial decisions of the company. For this purpose, all types of restrictions should be removed from the workplace and the employees should be empowered with the power of decision making. Process centered thinking should become the utmost priority of the organization as the organization which considers efficiency of the processes over the outcomes is the ones that tend to be most successful (Hashmi, 2015). The Integrated system also forms a unique principle of the TQM. In integrated system all the participants knows about the vision and mission of the company and hence align all the perceptions and activities to achieve them. The plans that begin with a precise strategy have a high success rate. The Strategic and Systematic approach towards the attainment of goals gives a sound platform of effective service delivery to the customers. The approaches after implementation need a continuous improvement and adoption of new trends. The creative and innovative thinking has a capability to make the future decisions more efficient and effective. Decision making is an integral process in any organization but at the same time it is the responsibility of the executives to make this process fact-based instead of an abstract one. The fact-based decisions often allow the organization members to consider those decisions that are beneficial for all at the same time. Hence, with such an approach, the decision making process becomes an unbiased one (Scheid, 2010). Communication is the last but the most important principle of the TQM process. Effective communication tools allow the exact ideas and goals to be promoted among the participants of the organization. This also allows the executives to gain feedbacks of the subordinates over certain decisions and even increase their participation in the crucial aspects of the firm. Required Tools and Techniques There are a number of tools and techniques which are to be installed in order to achieve success while implementing the process elements of TQM. The Qualitative tools consist of subjective inputs which do not measure any numerical value, but give an abstract idea of something immeasurable. The other types of tools are quantitative ones which involve the analysis of the objective data and only consider something with which numerical value is attached (Presentationeze Team, 2016). The best known tools and techniques of a TQM include: The Flowcharts that could be efficiently used in examining activities or in brainstorming To identify the Cause and Effect processes, the researchers could implement the Fishbone or Ishikawa Diagrams. The primary categories are generally pre-determined in such cases (Jafari Setak, 2010). As the owner has already given a deadline of the submission of the business report to the subcontractor, hence, there could also be an implementation of Run Charts in which changes and data are plotted against timeline. As the TQM process highly focuses on improvement of the quality of services delivered to the customers, so a number of process improvement tools such as FMEA (Failure Mode Effects Analysis), PDCA (Plan Do Check Act), SIPOC Analysis and Statistical Control tools could also be included (Singh Grover, 2012). To efficiently implement and maintain the product and service quality, Smart Pack Ltd., being a small firm could also direct its resources in implementing the best TQM techniques of all time like Brainstorm Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis and Hazop Analysis (Gomes, 2011). Implementation of the TQM As Smart Pack Ltd. has to demonstrate its capabilities and abilities to Lego in order to be chosen as the best subcontractor in Australia above all the others, hence, it becomes its prime responsibility to give a candid description of what all will be included in the TQM process being carried out in the company. TQM approach demands a firm to deliver the best quality of goods and services to the customers and even satiate the needs of the workforce. TQM entirely talks about Quality and its improvement in the coming future and this definitely needs a precise plan that is to be communicated and followed by all the participants of the organization. As the company, Smart Pack Ltd. is planning to prove its capabilities in front of the owner as a potential subcontractor in Australia, so it needs to follow a certain set of steps that depicts the actual implementation of the TQM process in the entire organization. These steps are: Clarification of Mission, Vision and Values: The employees participating in the TQM process need to know where their talents and skills are being used and what exactly the vision of the firm is. When they are asked to deliver services that are goal-oriented, then their skills are utilized in a better manner. Orientation of the newly recruited employees is necessary to communicate the true values of the firm and its candid priorities while executing its operations. The Identification of CSF: CSF or the Critical Success Factors are to be identified in the initial stages of implementation of the TQM processes. This identification helps the executives to focus on those things that demands optimum resources, yet promises a huge success of the firm. Moreover, these performance-based factors also help in determining how well a company is performing and what all reformations are needed for the same. Identification of the Key Target Audiences and Customer Groups: Identification of the target groups is crucial prior to the development of products and services. The actual needs and demands of the customers help in framing customized services that have the potential in satiating all sorts of tastes and perceptions in the markets. The Key customer groups in this process include the Employees, the Customers, Vendors, Suppliers and other types of Volunteers that are highly influenced by the outcomes of the TQM process (Sharma, et al., 2014). Gathering Customer and Employee feedbacks: To evaluate the performance of the firm, the executives need to gather feedbacks from myriads of stakeholders. In the TQM processes these feedbacks could be gathered from the Customers and Employees. This will definitely increase their participation in the crucial decision making processes for the organization. Developing and Implementing Survey Tools: The Survey tools often help in identifying that what is best for the customers and in what manner, the organization could meet these requirements. The surveys often provide a starting point for the improvements and also demonstrate progress as improvement plans are implemented (Chandra, 2013). Planning and Implementing Improvement Plan: The customer feedbacks and survey tools help in gathering feedbacks over the current operations of the firm. After the baseline is established, the executives could develop and implement Improvement plans based on these feedbacks The Improvement Plans should have candid operations and should be accepted by all the participants of the organization. Monitoring the TQM process: Monitoring is important to ensure that there is consistent progress towards the goals. This process also helps the executives to determine what all resources have been used till now and what all are to be added for the smooth functioning of the company. Monitoring also helps in evaluating the change in priorities and objectives with the course of time to adapt to the ongoing trends in the business world. Considering the Technological Reformations: The technological elements are reforming at a rapid speed and the organization needs to keep pace with it. The TQM process could only be implemented in an effective manner if the executives consider all the leading changes at the technological level and implement those that could foster the success rates in the organization. Incorporate the achievements and Satisfaction data in the marketing plan: The Satisfaction experienced by the customers by the quality of the product and services of the firm could be used as a marketing tool to attract other customers in myriads of new markets. Similarly, the achievements of the company could also be showcased to gain the loyalty of the customers. Action Plan for the Implementation Below is the Action Plan for two years of implementation of the TQM process in Smart Pack Ltd. Tasks Strategies Person (s) responsible Resources needed Timeline 1. Communication of the exact mission, vision and values to all the stakeholders - Arrangement of weekly and monthly meetings - Effective Training and Interaction sessions - Leaders of the HR department - Experts hired from other organizations - Senior and middle managers - Efficient Conference rooms - Separate budget for meetings - Efficient network systems for upgraded online platforms (Lakhe Mohanty, 2014). - Within 1-2 months of the commencement of the TQM process. 2. Identification of the Critical Success Factors (CSF) - Considering the previous TQM activities occurred in the organization - Watching closely the trends during the success and downfall of the company - Financial manager with its team - Regulatory team with leaders from all the subunits of the organization. - Previous Annual reports and budgets - Reports on availability and lacking of resources within the company. - First Quarter of the first year of Implementation 3. Identification of Key Target Audiences and Customer groups - Launching sample products in the market to record the response and identify target consumers - Taking help from the local marketers to analyze the perceptions of consumers from different markets. - HR manager with the team - Leaders with efficient communication skills - Sample products - Local marketers reports - First two Quarters of the first year of implementation 4. Gathering Feedbacks - Surveys and Personal interviews - Asking customers to fill up the feedback forms. - Employees with interactive power - Company representatives to conduct surveys - Effective Survey Questions - Feedback forms and systems to process them (Floss, et al., 2012). The last quarter of the first year of implementation 5. Developing and Implementing Survey tools - Evaluating the texts for the best survey tools - Hiring experts from another firm to create effective survey questions - Leaders with good critically evaluation power - Representatives to conduct periodic checks and evaluation - The audit reports of the previous years - List of available survey tools in the company - Should begin from the third quarter of the first year of implementation 6. Planning and Implementing Improvement Plan - Design the layout of the best improvement plan - Compare the existing plans with that of the other leaders in the market - The team planning for improvements - Representatives of the company with intellect and innovation - Previous improvement plan - List of ongoing trends in the markets - A List of the improvements adopted by other companies - First quarter of the second year of implementation 7. Monitoring the TQM process -Regular Audits - Meetings - The Audit team - Leaders from all the subunits - The elements that would be undertaken under evaluation - Separate budget for hiring the monitoring team (Caro, 1983). - During the third and fourth quarter of the second year of implementation 8. Considering the Technological Reformations - Observing the current and future technological trends - The experts from the IT sector - Representatives with a command in IT field - Latest Technological tools and techniques - Throughout both the implementation year 9. Incorporation of the Achievements and Satisfaction data in the marketing plan - Recording periodically the success and satisfaction data - Leaders with critical evaluation abilities - Audit and Monitoring Reports - The last two quarters of the second year of implementation Recommendations and Conclusion The TQM process promises a great improvement in a firm and prepares it for a better future. To be the most desirable subcontractor, Smart Pack Ltd. should efficiently follow the above mentioned implementation steps in a given time frame and should even monitor the progress periodically. Moreover, as Lego is highly committed towards the quality of its products, hence, its subcontractor also has to consider the quality of the products and services above all the other operations in the company. References ASQ Team, 2016. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?. Baumeyer, K., 2015. Five Principles of Total Quality Management (TQM). Five Principles of Total Quality Management (TQM). Caro, J. C., 1983. Planning and Implementing Total Quality Management (TQX) in a Naval service organization: A Case Study of Fleet Numerical oceanography Center: DTIC, Available at: https://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a242311.pdf Chandra, P., 2013. A Study on Implementation of Total Quality Management in Businesses. International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology (IJESIT), May, 2(3), pp. 1-7. Floss, G., Lynch, T. Naughton, J., 2012. 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