Major issues in quality management
This project will continue the project management strategies adopted and described for the purpose of starting a new vitamin supplement in the Healthcare market in the Asia Pacific. In the previous report, a brief description of the manner in which project should be initiated was described. This project will be focused on quality management, risk management, and procurement management but the main focus will be on quality management. Quality management can be defined as the process of evaluating all the activities and task and making sure that all these activities and tasks are desired level of Excellence so that best quality product and services can be produced. Quality management is one of the most important parts of project management because the revenue generation capacity of any project is dependent upon the quality of goods and services provided to customers. If the quality presented to the customer is appropriate according to the price charged by customers and it would have good standing in the market otherwise it would not be able to produce profits for the company (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). There are various factors in relation to quality that should be considered in quality management and there are various factors that will be considered and discussed in this report. The main focus of this report would be on issues that are faced during the process of quality management and what are the root causes of these issues. With the help of analyzing these issues, a project can be made better as these issues can be easily identified and eliminated.
In the current scenario, Asia Pacific has proposed to start a new line of vitamin supplements in the health market and the whole project Management process is based on this scenario. Therefore it can be said that this is a project related to manufacturing and quality management is of significant importance in the case of manufacturing goods and services. There are various issues that can be reached by a manufacturing project in relation to quality of final product, processes, management activities, etc. conducted in the process of manufacturing. There are some of these issues that will be faced by the Asia Pacific in the production of vitamin supplements.
Generally, the process of production is not conducted by a single department and there is a various department that is involved in this process. Quality management becomes very difficult in case there are not a specific people that are responsible for overseeing the quality of processes implemented by management in order to produce particular goods or services. In addition to that, there is no proper accountability and responsibility for managing the quality of products and services (Colledani et.al, 2014). For example, in the case of project failure, line department manager might say that all quality procedures are followed by their department and not by other departments. The same statement will be given by all other managers and management of the company would not be able to identify the main root cause of quality failure. Therefore instructed organization and manufacturing courses are one of the most important limitations that can create issues in the quality management of the company.
Distribution of manufacturing activities
The business environment is changing in the direction of growth and development in every aspect of the business. The best example of this change is changed in the technology used in the process of manufacturing through the automation of human labor. Majority of operations are currently conducted with the help of machines. Quality of product and services produced by the automation of human labor can be improved substantially as the majority of quality errors arises due to human behavior in the production process (Ross, 2017). In addition to that, there has been various changes and management techniques and procedures used by managers in past and in the current business environment. It is essential for every manufacturing organization to change their business model according to changes in the business environment. New Business Strategies and models have included the concept of quality management which is very essential for the current competitive business environment. Resistance to change and following old technology or business strategies will affect the type of product and services produced by a company.
A production process cannot achieve its full potential and desired quality unless essential resources and time are put into such a production process. It is true that resources available to every organization are very limited and each of the organization has to distribute these resources in each department of the company. Generally, all the resources in the production process are allocated to daily operations none of such resources are contributed towards quality improvement (Akgün, Ince, Imamoglu, Keskin & Kocoglu, 2014). Top management of the company and line managers should understand that not allocating any budget to quality management will require an additional budget at the end of the production process to improve the quality of product that is already manufactured. It should be considered by the management that the cost of correction is always higher as compared to the cost of precaution. Therefore if the proper budget was allocated to the quality management of the company and company code not required to incur the cost of correction.
The globalization of product and services has enabled organizations to move to a different location for the production of goods and services. For example, Asia specific can go to China or India for the process of production because labor is available at a cheaper rate as compared to other parts of the world. This will definitely increase the complexity of supply chain management which will have a direct impact on the quality of products manufactured at this location. It is not essential that all the quality management processes are adopted by manufacturing units at all these locations. The main purpose of moving to another country product for the process of production was to decrease the overall cost of manufacturing. In such a scenario, it is possible that quality management procedures are not implemented in such units in order to reduce the cost to a minimum level.
Other issues-
- 1.Too much pressure implemented on quality management can also affect the overall quality produced by the company as in these scenario theories of quality management and applied and practical aspects are ignored (Chang, 2016). Quality management Strategies and policies should be implemented in accordance with the nature of the business and there will be some quality errors up to a certain level that can be tolerated by the management.
- 2.Rigidity and processes can also create an issue for Quality Management. For example, if a particular set of processes are implemented by the Asia Pacific for production of vitamin supplements then it would create rigidity in the processes and changes according to quality management will not be properly included in the process of production.
- 3.Motivation and integrity of employees towards the company are also very important factors that can affect quality management processes. If employees not motivated then he would not follow the quality management procedures as such manager would be focused on completing the task at hand in any condition (Oakland, 2014).
- 4.All the organizations are required to see the quality of a product and services from the perspective of the customer. The final product will be sent to customer and revenue will be generated from the customer, therefore, it is important that every quality management process is intended to satisfy the intended customer of product and service.
This segment of the report will identify the root cause of quality problems in a project management process. This identification of root cause will help the Asia Pacific to conduct a Project Management process without any quality management problems. In addition to that, the segment will also provide a specific solution for each of the root causes identified that can affect quality management processes undertaken in the current project. Following are some of the root causes that should be considered by the management of Asia Pacific starting the process of manufacturing vitamin supplements.
Resistance to change
Cause- It is already evaluated that lack of responsibility and accountability between different departments of the organization can affect the overall quality of the product and services produced by them. The root cause of this quality issue is the organizational structure of the company. If the organizational structure of the company is not specific that these qualities issue will arise from the implementation of every project undertaken by an unstructured company.
Solution- best solution for this cause is to follow a specific type of organizational structure. One of the best methods that would be suitable for quality management processes would be a divisional structure (Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). In addition to the specific roles and responsibilities would be assigned to employees in relation to quality management.
Cause- generally all the organization provide employees training in relation to the various type of activities that will be performed by search employee in the organization. In this training program, there is no focus given to quality management procedures and policies as it is generally ignored by all organizations. These are one of the most important training programs and ignoring these can create a lot of issues in relation to quality management (Turner, 2014).
Solution- Management of the company should include training in relation to quality management as it is not possible for the quality management department to regulate and oversee each and every activity done by every employee. There should be some level of self-guard or self-leadership among employees that will help to bring the level of quality management in an organization.
Cause- Operational management employees and management level employees adjust the following instructions given by top management employees in order to achieve the particular goals and objectives. The strategic decision is generally taken by top management and quality management is one of the strategic decisions that should be taken by top management. Taking decisions in relation to quality management is not enough, top management should also oversee the functions to evaluate whether policies are followed by employees and managers or not.
Solution- In this case, top management of the company should include the topic of quality management in their board meeting and form steering committee for specific projects that are critical to the business for the purpose of quality management (Larson & Gray, 2015).
Cause- Quality of product and services can be maintained only if specific quality management processes are followed by the organization. The only the formulation of strategies cannot improve the quality of product and services produced by the company important to follow these strategies strictly. Generally, three Strategies and policies are taken for granted and not followed by management of the organization, especially at the operational level (Kerzner, 2018).
Solution- establishment of accountability and responsibility for each department help in bringing the level of discipline in operations of employees. In addition to that, the quality management officer should also be appointed for every project undertaken by the company.
- ïFirst of all management of the company can use ERP solutions which have quality assurance capabilities for the purpose of achieving Quality Assurance objective. These ERP solutions will identify major problems that are embedded in the manufacturing process with the help of data available in relation to manufacturing.
- ïThe policies and procedures adopted for the purpose of quality management should be seen from the perspective of the consumer. The decision to purchase or not purchase a particular product or service lies with the customer, therefore quality management processes should be designed accordingly (Ingason, 2015).
- ïThe motivation of the employee can also increase the level of quality assurance activities followed by them. These employees can be motivated by monetary incentives if the desired quality is maintained by the department.
- ïQuality Assurance department can be created by management if the company has enough resources for implementation of quality assurance policies in each of the project undertaken by the company.
- ïAt last management of the organization can follow principles given by ISO 27001 or any other standard that ensures that final product or service produced by the company have a certain level of quality that will be preferred by customers.
- ïFirst of all the project management team should involve each and every stakeholder in the process of project development and execution. It will help in getting inside from each of these stakeholders in order to reduce the risk.
- ïCommunication is also another key factor that should be included in the process executed in the project under development (Pheng, 2018). With the help of communication material misstatement for errors can be easily communicated to project team members. This will help in reducing the cost of erection and also save time as repetition of work and be avoided.
- ïRisk identification is an important process that will help in dealing with a different kind of fish that can arise during the lifetime of a project. This identification will also help in implementing the control that is required for the process of risk mitigation.
- ïStrictly and specific risk management policy should be made by management for overall organization and for specific projects for its planning process. This will help in providing a direction to the project management team in relation to risk management (Dale & Plunkett, 2017).
- ïProcurement management can be defined as the process that enables management of an organization to purchase products and services external suppliers in order to produce a final product in a project management process.
- ïIt is important for project management team and top management of the organization to evaluate each of the suppliers on the basis of various factors such as quality of raw material, price, availability, dedication toward the customer, timely delivery etc.
- ïQuotations shall be requested from each of the suppliers that are willing to supply goods and services to the company. Detailed examination of the quotation shall be conducted by experts in the field of procurement management.
- ïEvaluating the relationship of a particular supplier with other organizations and customers will also help in getting to know the two characteristics of the supplier. It is important because final product and services cannot be produced if the raw material is not procured at time of requirement (Johnson, 2014).
- ïAt last, an agreement should be prepared by management before entering into a supply contract with a particular supplier. All the terms and conditions orally agreed upon by both parties should be included in this contract.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that quality management is very essential for every business organization. The Asia Pacific is considering to launch a vitamin supplement in the health market which will require a lot of financial another type of resources. Therefore it is important that the quality of the product, policies, and procedures are evaluated before execution of actual activities of a project. This report has identified various causes and issues information for quality management in projects. It has also suggested some solution for each of the causes so that project management process in the Asia Pacific can be executed with the highest quality.
References
Akgün, A. E., Ince, H., Imamoglu, S. Z., Keskin, H., & Kocoglu, ?. (2014). The mediator role of learning capability and business innovativeness between total quality management and financial performance. International Journal of Production Research, 52(3), 888-901.
Chang, J. F. (2016). Business process management systems: strategy and implementation. Auerbach Publications.
Colledani, M., Tolio, T., Fischer, A., Iung, B., Lanza, G., Schmitt, R., & Váncza, J. (2014). Design and management of manufacturing systems for production quality. CIRP Annals-Manufacturing Technology, 63(2), 773-796.
Dale, B. G., & Plunkett, J. J. (2017). Quality costing. Routledge.
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Ingason, H. T. (2015). Best project management practices in the implementation of an ISO 9001 quality management system. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 194, 192-200.
Johnson, P. F. (2014). Purchasing and supply management. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Kerzner, H. (2018). Project management best practices: Achieving global excellence. John Wiley & Sons.
Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2015). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK (®) Guide. Project Management Institute.
Oakland, J. S. (2014). Total quality management and operational excellence: text with cases. Routledge.
Pheng, L. S. (2018). Project Risk Management. In Project Management for the Built Environment (pp. 159-176). Springer, Singapore.
Ross, J. E. (2017). Total quality management: Text, cases, and readings. Routledge.
Turner, J. R. (2014). Handbook of project-based management(Vol. 92). New York, NY: McGraw-hill.
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