Free Managing the Business Essay Sample
Quality management has some specific meanings in business. It has four main categories, which include quality assurance, quality planning, quality improvement, and quality control. It is not only aimed at product and services in a certain industry, but it also includes roadmap on how to achieve it. Therefore, quality management employs the use of quality assurance and process control in order to realize high and consistent quality of the products.
Before we discuss the use and the effects of quality management in one of the leading automotive industry here in Kentucky, discussing about the evolution of quality management is paramount towards understanding whether improving manufacturing methods or manufacturing equipment will result in increased industry performance. With the advent of industrial revolution, many researchers were trying to find ways of improving the productivity of firms. They employed different methods to come up with the theories and perhaps one of the most outstanding personalities in the field of management evolution is Fredrick Taylor. He was a mechanical engineer who tried to find out ways of increasing industrial efficiency. Also called the father of scientific management, Taylor justified that designing efficient machines and equipping works with relevant scientific or technical skill will eventually boost the productivity of the firms. Classical schools saw that it is important to lay special emphasis on workforce or human resource management.
The above explanation will help us to understand that in industrial production, taking care of the human resource and employing efficient methods in production will lead to increase in total production. However, concerns arise on whether the management of an automotive industry will concentrate on improving the technology used in manufacturing or improving management quality. If any of the stated auto industries will employ quality management, the principle to be followed are customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, continual improvement , systems approach to management, factual approach to decision making, and mutually beneficial relationship between the industry and the suppliers. When the Somerset auto industry applied the above principles, there was improved gross sales of over 40% increase than when it just concentrated on manufacturing equipment improvement. Research shows that enhancing human capital rather than concentrating on technology in any organization usually leads to efficiency in production.
Total quality management in any industry should be given a priority, as it will result in worker, management, and customer relations. For Somerset auto industry to achieve market excellence, customer satisfaction is very important other than investing in improving the production technology. Improving technology with no good customer relations will lead to market failures. The automobile customers within and outside the state of Kentucky need their wants or desires to be satisfied. They want the company to design a product in a way that fits their choice and preference. Producing a vehicle that goes against the customer preference will result in poor performance of that product in the entire market. Therefore, the logic is, customer evaluation have to be done critically before improving the manufacturing techniques of the said company.
The global competition in a motor car industry wont allow success if customer satisfaction is not given priority. The management should develop internal supplier- customer relationship as the pre-requisite of each process and considering the relevant ramifications aimed at satisfying customer needs. Much as the company requires market excellence, the major milestones to be followed under quality management include understanding that employees are the major company assets, which acts as driving power to success. The issue of quality paradigm is centered on the customer and that the company’s processes should be directed towards improving quality. Moreover, tools and technology should be always available in order to support production capacity improvements.
Management has to be given priority than the improvement in manufacturing because for success, movement of all the company’s resources has to be effected. All the company stakeholders from the CEO to workers on the Somerset production line need to embrace the need to ensure that management quality approach is implemented. This is because management quality is a set of company culture and not just an assortment of technology and other production tools. A focus on people operating the production unit together with equipment inspection is to be considered as it enables the workers to feel motivated and hence increasing productivity.
Improvement in management is also important because training, teamwork, product design, and communication will result in the harmonization of the company objectives and enhanced performance. It will also enable this auto company to have a competitive advantage and to satisfy customer requirements at the right time. Improving management is also important in ensuring that there is effectiveness in decision-making and problem solving.
The main aim of this research paper is to carry out a comprehensive analysis of manufacturing technology improvement and quality management in the automobile sector in Kentucky. The findings are to persuade the management teams to carry out serious consideration on the quality management criteria, improvement of product quality and performance of the Kentucky automobile industry.
Enhancing manufacturing techniques though, not important than managing human resource have to be implemented. Use of advanced technology in the production process should be adopted in order to boost productivity of the automobile industry. With properly managed internal production processes and systems, even employing the modern technology will lead o making good quality cars, which satisfy customer needs. The Toyota industry in Kentucky has adopted a program called Lean Manufacturing Program where workers and managers are trained on the vital concepts of manufacturing. However, we realize that this program is management related, implying that management is a crucial tool in the manufacturing process. The courses, which the workers are supposed to be equipped with, are manufacturing network, customized internal plant training, operating managers training and integrated technology management strategies.
Quality management in manufacturing comes in handy when managers try to ensure that the manufacturing equipment being used is up to date and that trained personnel are handling them. Advanced technology manufacturing equipments result in improved production and therefore managing their operations is a very crucial concept. Workers are supposed to be managed and supervised so that the production facility can be geared towards the production of quality vehicles. Therefore, managers should ensure that quality management of workers have to come first before using any modern technology to improve production. Organizing working schedules, planning the production process and controlling the production systems, according to the research have indicated that it resulted in high quality production as compared with introducing latest technology and not improving on the quality of internal management.
Improving management, therefore, drives the company towards achieving its targets. Management in this case does not just involve supervising and controlling workers but also ensuring that the production technology is fine-tuned to operate effectively. The use of latest measuring devices to test the accuracy and perfection of the vehicles should also be used and ensured that they are working well. Supplier relationship should also be the priority of management. Besides all production, techniques should be able to produce the right number of cars at the right time to avoid production inconsistencies. We are thus able to conclude that the auto industry in Kentucky should fully embrace management in the operations so that increased output is achieved.