Company Overview
Madcap is a New Zealand-based company that was established in 1973. Among the company’s main products include clothing, packs, tents, sleeping bags and other goods used for outdoor adventure. Considering that New Zealand is considered the center of adventure racing, mountain climbing and outdoor innovation, the company aims not only to produce quality products but to promote the country’s interest for the outdoors. In 1978, Madcap had started designing its functional and quality outdoor goods to the Australian market. The international expansion of the business grew further as it started distributing the products in UK during the 1980s and in Japan during the 1990s. The global expansion of Madcap continues to be successful as ideas for improvement constantly flow in.
The current situation of Madcap implies various important features that could contribute to its plan of expansion. One of which is its organizational culture. Having a well-established culture within the workplace, Madcap is able to develop a workforce team that has a common objective, and that is to produce quality products that would explore the natural world and satisfy its three main business cornerstones, which include the investors, the customers and the staff. The presence of organizational culture in the company also enables it to succeed in its labor outsourcing efforts within Asia. Thus, even if the goods are not made directly in the New Zealand plants, good remain up to the standards. Many definitions have been used to characterize organizational culture.
Aside from organizational culture, Madcap’s current situation is also supported by its quality management system. This specific framework mainly aims to monitor the contribution of the factors of production to the goals of the business. The performance of every factor of production is assessed and relayed through frequent feedbacks. By means of this strategy, the employees are motivated to perform at their best; this factor again contributes to the possibilities of expansion as employees become more and more competent in achieving the company’s goals.
1. a. Explain the importance of quality management to your chosen organization.
Madcap believes that its quality management system will allow them to clearly establish and follow their goals and business strategies and put them into action. This approach also enables the company to issue feedbacks around both the internal business processes and external outcomes, and this undoubtedly helps the organization on its drive to continuously improve in terms of its strategic performance and results. When appropriately implemented, Madcap’s quality management system will be able to develop strategic planning into the brain of an organization.
Quality management in Madcap may be identified as the process of measuring the competence and efficacy of purposeful action. The assessment or management of quality is significant as this may serve as a tool for implementing organizational strategies. Quality management is being applied in Madcap as it can be used to translate the strategy of the organization into concrete objectives. Through quality management, these objectives can be communicated well to the employees. In turn, the knowledge of these set goals will serve as the employees’ guide towards their attainment. Quality management is also used in Madcap to assess whether the strategic objectives are achieved or not. This system allows the use of double-loop learning to test the strength of the strategies as well (Roberts, 1993). Finally, quality management let the company visualize the overall contribution of the employees in the achievement of its objectives.
Quality management is an important process in Madcap for influencing both the extrinsic and intrinsic motivations of employees, that is, increasing employees’ perceptions and understanding of job tasks and subsequently their job satisfaction. For example, elements of quality management may provide the employee with a more accurate understanding of job tasks (task identity and task significance) through objective setting, leading to a clear sense of direction. Quality management also serves to focus employee efforts and attention on critical tasks through the use of performance feedback, which therefore assists employees in reducing job errors and minimizing the risks of learning through trial and error. In addition, where employees desire jobs that allow them to make good use of their skills and talents, quality management increases job task “fit” (skill variety) through the identification of training and development needs that are consistent with individual and organizational goals.
b. Discuss an example of a quality system that you consider appropriate to your chosen organization.
Manual Quality Management system
With manual quality management system of work, the information processing in Madcap is more meticulous and requires a lot of effort but produces good end results. Nowadays with the advent of information technology, using manual quality management system is perceived as slow as compare to IT systems. Here, record processing takes different stages before going to final stage. Although efficiency and effectiveness is proven and accuracy and validity is tested, using manual system generates limited information for processing.
c. What differences in quality management would you expect between the product and the service sections of the organization.
ü Using manual quality management system in Madcap for storing relevant product information is still considered as a safe procedure, especially when the information requires confidentiality. Here, information and records of products are kept for future use.
ü With the use of manual quality management system in the service sections of Madcap, transferring information and records of services requires more time. On the other hand, there are still activities in the workplace that practice manual quality management system to secure service information or confidentiality.
2. a. What would be the quality management objectives of your chosen organization?
Innovation is the main objective of Madcap with regards to the roles of quality management where it is renowned for its developmental capabilities to constantly innovate. Diversity is the second objective of Madcap, which comes under strategic thinking and formation as the company considers the diverse culture, political climate, economic surroundings, social environment, technological settings, government policies and legal systems in order to have a better evaluation on the roles of quality management.
b. What benefits might your chosen organization have if it implements quality management?
With the implementation of quality management in Madcap, production and other essential operations improve with several benefits such as lower costs capital management, fastest time, reduces pressure and hassles in the workplace among others. As we all know, quality management is not an easy job because it entails processing of vast amount of information that is usually needed immediate attention. With the rise of globalization, businesses rely on quality management to get the work over and done.
Quality management will guide Madcap on how to gain competitive advantage by adding value to the overall operation of the organization through an efficient quality management system. Business firms that utilize the quality management strategy also consider increasing the companies’ relationship with its shareholders by separating the business system into a series of value-generating activities, namely: (a) inbound logistics, (b) operations, (c) outbound logistics, (d) marketing and sales, and (e) customer service. In effect, from the receiving and warehousing of raw material from the suppliers, all through out the manufacturing and production process, as well as in the entire the distribution and sales of finished goods, the value-generating activities are supported by the infrastructure of the firm, its human resources management, and the technology it uses (George, 2001).
c. Would you expect to find a difference between the theory and the practice of quality management in your chosen organization?
There should be no difference between the theory and the practice of quality management in Madcap.
3. a. According to the Juan Trilogy, what are the three processes that must be identified to enable your chosen organization to improve its performance?
Dr. Trilogy is simplest yet most comprehensive representation of quality management. The trilogy puts into primary consideration the significance of attaining superior quality through quality planning, quality control and quality improvement. This trilogy results into the achievement of unparalleled quality and optimal performance.
b. Describe how your chosen organization could apply three quantitative tools and techniques to underpin continuous quality improvement?
A. Quality Planning
Quality planning is a necessary function within Madcap especially when establishing supplier partnerships. In manufacturing companies this process is often very difficult because of the fast rate of change and the occurrences of unplanned events. Madcap uses several methodologies depending on the rate of demand of the customer and the price of the wine. Nevertheless, the objectives of the company for every transaction do not change: efficiency and effectiveness (Goatish, 2002).
B. Quality Control
Quality control is being implemented by Madcap in order for its activities and resources to be coordinated over time. This enables the company to achieve its goals with minimal resource utilization. Quality control also enables Madcap to monitor the progress of their plans at regular intervals and maintain their control over operations.
C. Quality Improvement
Quality improvement within Madcap can be monitored in four elements: scheduling improvement, labor improvement, equipment improvement, and cost improvement.
- Scheduling improvement involves the specification of the beginning, the length or the duration, and end of the planned activities.
- Labor improvement involves allocating the necessary personnel and delegation of responsibilities and resources
- Equipment improvement involves identifying the types and needs in terms of equipments.
- Cost improvement involves determining the costs and the possibility of their occurrence.
c. What key factors would be considered in introducing quality management into your chosen organization?
In the introduction of quality management within Madcap, its definition must be really established. Quality management must lead to the efficient and effective implementation of the company’s operations. Quality management must focus on the careful management of the processes involved in the production and distribution of products and services.
There are several enduring issues relative to quality management system implementation. They include the controversy over combining developmental and administrative purposes, the absence of rater training, the lack of organizational commitment and top-level support, ubiquitous rating errors, employee dissatisfaction with the amount of quality feedback received, and the absence of specific quality documentation, among others. Included are several emerging implementation issues related to the need for increasing the sources of performance information and problems raised by inadequate literacy levels. Along with the considerations discussed above, the following are the general process in Madcap in order to establish quality management goals within a month.
1. Identification of monthly quality production target in terms of product volume, product testing, and product quality assurance,
2. Coordinating the volume of orders into the specified deadline of clients and customers,
3. Communicating quality product volume and specifics to the members of the production teams,
4. Assessment and evaluation of inherent and inevitable shortcomings in the quality production process (product, technology, and people), and
5. Stocking, warehousing, inventory and delivery options and other supply management considerations of finished goods
Generally, these monthly goals and processes ensure that the organization, particularly the production arm of Madcap can readily attend to the commitments of the organization in order to maintain the satisfaction and loyalty of our customers. Moreover, these quality production goals and objectives serve as motivation to every individual staff and employee in the production department of the organization.
4. a. What barriers to the introduction of quality management does your chosen organization face?
More often than not, ordinary employees and consumers of Madcap don’t really recognize the crucial roles and tasks of purchasing in quality management. Instead, these consumers engage in activities that various schools of management typically associate with quality management. These activities include the manufacturing of products, product development, production and distribution.
However, purchasing and quality management deals with all operations done within products and services. Activities such as the management of purchases, the control of inventories, logistics and evaluations are often related with purchasing and quality management. A great deal of emphasis lies on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, quality management includes the analysis and management of internal processes (Ireland, 1991).
b. How could these barriers to overcome?
Madcap nowadays offer two-way learning experience within the company between the employers and the employees concerning the importance of quality management. Employers benefit largely from trainings that they offer to staff and members of the firm given that the expected quality management knowledge and skills were learned through the organizations venture on their human resources. At the best possible results, the organization will gain competitive attitude in the business world by housing in competitive and qualified workers. Employees on the other hand, are given the opportunity to improve on their work capabilities as qualified and productive members of the modern and information age work force.
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