Assignment 2

1.     Discuss the importance of quality partnering and strategic alliances?

Ans)  Partnering or strategic alliance is collaboration of different parties for benefit of their own parties. This also helps in sharing each other resources for better results on the product. For example: A manufacture processes a product and is given to the supplier for selling, if at all there is partner between both the manufacture and the seller. The manufacture gets to know what customers want from them through supplier feedback of the products then the manufacturer can produce products which are highly sold in the market. This helps for both the manufacturers and the suppliers for mutual benefits.

2.     Discuss the various forms of quality partnering and strategic alliances?

Ans) Partnering among organization can take many forms.

a)   Internal Partnering - Internal partnership is to start collaboration inside the organization for better output of the product. The main aim of this partnership is to get the superior managers and the employees work together with good understanding.

b)   Partnering with Suppliers – The main motto of this partnership is to maintain trust and plan for mutual benefits rather than individual benefits. This partnership is mainly between the buyers and the suppliers. The supplier should be trust worthy to have partnership with the buyers, like if they can supply the goods in time to the buyers and etc. So as the buyer should also buy the goods at reasonable rate so that the supplier doesn’t have to cut down the quality of the goods.

c)    Partnering with customers – Customers are the main concern of the organizations as everything they do is to satisfy their needs. So the best way to give what the customers want is to ask them what they would prefer. No organization would produce a product which does not satisfy the customers as they are the end buyers. By taking suggestions from the customers before manufacturing they can produce a product which is needed by the customers.

3.     Discuss the importance of quality culture?

Ans) Quality culture is a system of an organization which helps in the improvement of the quality through certain traditions, values and certain methods accordingly. Quality culture in an organization that can be recognized by looking into some characteristics which they possess such as working in teams, promotions are given according to their work in improving quality, education and training is given to the workers at all levels, customers input is actively sought, suppliers are treated as partners so that the manufactures have an idea about the goods which are most wanted by the customers.

4.     Explain the difference between traditional and modern quality cultures?

Ans) Quality cultures developed by the organizations for their convenience will differ from the traditional quality cultures in some particular areas:

a)   Operating Philosophy – In the operating philosophy the main aim of the organization with traditional cultures is to gain short-term profits, to get back the invested capital in short time. This affects the long term profits of the company, whereas in the modern quality culture the main aim of the organization is customer satisfaction. In this method they may get profits in long-term or in some cases long-term, whatever maybe the output customer satisfaction is important.

b)   Objectives – The main objective of the organization following traditional cultures is to gain profits in several weeks or months (short-term). Whereas in the modern culture they prepare a vision statement for both long and short-term profits.

c)    Management Approach – In traditional culture managers are the bosses and the employees have to do the work that is assigned by the boss. In modern cultures there is more flexibility as the bosses take feedback from the employees and the employees also play a vital role in decision making.

d)   Attitude Towards Customers – In traditional approach the main concern of the organization is to satisfy its own needs. Whereas in modern culture the main aim of the organization is to satisfy the customers.

5.     How do you understand who is a customer?         

Ans) In traditional view the customers are the people who interact with the company after the processing of the product. Suppliers are the people who interact with company before the actual product is manufactured.

In modern view apart from the external suppliers and customers there are internal suppliers and customers. The work done by an employee ‘A’ and then passed on to an employee ‘B’ in this context ‘A’ is the supplier and ‘B’ is the customer.

6.     Explain customer defined value, value analysis and retention?

Ans) Customer Defined Value - Customer defined value is important for the organizations as this shows how the customers define value. The customers define values through some factors:

a)   Organizations image

b)   Services provided

c)    Quality of the service and product

d)   Selling price of the product

e)   Overall cost of the product

These are all the most important needs in an organization to satisfy the customer. Just having a good quality product is not enough it should also satisfy the customer needs.

Value Analysis – Value analysis is to find what the customers value and what they don’t. This is very much needed to produce a product that satisfies the customers. If we produce a product that doesn’t satisfy the customers this will lead waste in valuable resources. This can be done by taking feedbacks from the costumers, from the most important attributes to the least important attributes.  Feedback should be taken from the customers periodically as to improve the product accordingly from time to time to beat the competitors.

Retention – The main intension of any organization is to manufacture a product which satisfies the customer. Sometimes satisfied customers also change to a different brand product, so just customer satisfaction isn’t enough even customer retention is also important. For this customers should become partners and the organization should take feedback from the customers before they get a negative feedback from the customers.

7.     Discuss product innovation model for customer retention?

Ans) In order to hold their customers organizations have to maintain their superiority in the market with high quality of products and services. To be superior they need to innovate according to the customers to win their hearts and to stay top in the competition. They need to research perfectly before they manufacture to check if their innovation will be. To know if they work perfect organizations need to develop variety of alternatives and check which is perfect. Then chose which is the best alternative, develop it and then deploy it into the market.

8.     Discuss employee empowerment?

Ans) Employee empowerment and involvement are two different concepts. In employee involvement the employees are not given ownership but their concepts are considered. In employee empowerment they are given ownership so they get the credit for the work they do and they are also responsible for the mistakes in their work. Empowerment increases the interest of the employee on their work as much as the CEO or even more than him. Empowerment needs change in organizational culture but that doesn’t mean employees get authority over their bosses. But empowerment makes employees think harder and work more efficiently as they get credit for their work.

9.     Discuss leadership for quality?

Ans) Leadership is the ability to inspire people to achieve the organizations needs. Good leadership in an organization can be seen immediately let it be a small or a large organization. By having a good leader in an organization leads to improvement of the product quality with effective use of resources. Organizations with good leadership usually work is achieved in teams, these teams are built carefully to achieve better outputs of the product. Leaders should create a positive influence on their workers so that they are inspired by looking at their leaders

10. How to lead for a better quality change?

Ans) Leading an organization for better quality needs a planned and orderly effort to achieve it. The various factors needed are

a)   Develop a Compelling Change Picture – People fear change because of the unknown consequences, most of the organizations don’t prefer change due to this reason. To overcome this leaders can develop a compelling change in picture by using written explanation of five W’s and one H of change: what, where, who, when, why plus how.

b)   Communicate the Change Picture To Stakeholders – Once the change picture is ready it should be clarified to the stakeholders in two steps

(1)  Show change picture in writing will avoid negative rumors of the new change.

(2) Verbal explanation to the stakeholders will help in clarifying the doubts that stakeholders have about the change picture.

c)    Conduct a Comprehensive Roadblock Analysis – This analysis can be achieved by carrying out face-to-face meetings with the employees. By this analysis we know who are supporting the change picture and who aren’t

d)   Remove or Mitigate All Roadblocks Identified – By using the previous step roadblocks can be discovered and the most important thing after than is to eliminate the roadblocks. Whatever is causing the roadblock either should be rectified if not eliminated.

e)   Implement the Change – After eliminating the roadblocks it’s time to implement the change in the organizations. This should be carried out carefully, even minor problems should be given importance during the change nothing should be taken for granted.

f)     Monitor and Adjust – After the change picture is implemented it should be monitored regularly so that if at all any problem arises it should be adjusted or the trouble is eliminated.

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