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Course Name
JEEVES PLC Corporation manufactures and supplies domestic robots,which is a robust electronic consumer product. The product has ahuman appearance with specific features to enable it to handle a widerange of domestic works. Mostly, low-density alloy makes up the bodyof the product, and it has sensory gadgets such as radar to assist inmoving the robot smoothly without colliding with objects and performtasks appropriately. In addition, the robot has special devices thatallow programming as well as decoding instructions received verbally.However, as in most technical products, quality, defined by theability to meet customer requirements or according to the intendedspecifications presents a major challenge for the success of theorganisation in the market (Reeves & Bednar 1994). This report,upon introducing the core concepts regarding quality management willidentify the problems that the organisation faces and suggestsolutions for such problems to ensure the success of the organisationin the market.
Quality Management
Quality management consists of all the activities or functions thatare significant in planning for quality in a business organisation.It also includes all activities, and functions that are significantin meeting the quality objectives set by the organisation or thataligns with the requirements of the market (Perdomo-Ortiz et al.,2009). The four major elements that according to Hackman and Wageman(1995) constitute effective quality management include qualityplanning, quality assurance, quality control as well as qualityimprovement. On quality planning, JEEVES PLC has to engageeffectively in setting clear objectives on quality and identify allthe requirements for quality. It also has to install effectivesystems for management of quality apart from planning for processimplementation (Zhang et al., 2014). On quality control, theorganisation needs to complete the quality requirements by monitoringthe production process to ensure that the output is of the requiredquality and implement measures to prevent discrepancies or correctobserved discrepancies. On quality assurance, the organisation has toperform activities or functions planned systematically within thesystem of quality to prove or provide confidence that the productmeet all the quality requirements. Upon fulfilling all the abovemeasures, Zeng et al., (2015), insist that the organisation mustconsider quality improvement to meet the changing needs of consumersin the market. Therefore, the organisation has to venture in thedevelopment and enhancement of the effectiveness and efficiency ofthe process of production to improve the product capabilities inaddressing the needs of consumers (Maletic et al., 2014).
Furthermore, the other major concept on quality is Total QualityManagement (TQM) that means that the organisation has to make qualitya priority in all the stages of the manufacturing process. Morespecifically, as mentioned by Ehrenberg and Stupak (1994), theorganisation has to demonstrate a high commitment in meeting orexceeding customers’ expectations. This has to be the inbuiltphilosophy that should surround all departments and employees withinthe organisation. In addition, the management has to evaluate all thecosts linked with quality with great emphasis on the cost of failureto assist in minimizing the necessity of reworks (Ghobadian et al.,1994). Therefore, the organisation has to develop effective systemsfor continuous improvement on quality. The achievement of thisobjective, according to Kesheng et al. (2014) requires theestablishment of a better strategy for quality, the support of allsenior employees and effective system for performance evaluation andreward to employees. In addition, the organisation has to placeemphasis on employee training to enhance working capabilities forinnovation and solve problems through teams to achieve the bestoutcomes (Renna 2013).
JEEVES PLC Problems
The improvement of the situation affecting the organisation will comethrough an identification of the problems and their possible causesthat will help in establishing better methods of eliminating them.The identification of the problem, as hinted by Wiengarten et al.(2013) involves an establishment of the deviation and the factsbehind the deviation followed by an estimate of the extent of theproblem whether it is large, small or medium to help in planning forthe remedial action. Firstly, the failure prevention cost, which is4%, is very low. This is occurring because of inappropriatedistribution of quality costs that is also coming from wrongestimation. The extent of the problem is large meaning that JEEVESPLC is not strict on failure prevention that is very significance inenhancing the quality of the product. Therefore, it is notsignificant to make increments in evaluation as well as theinspection cost. In addition, the system of performance evaluation isnot effective and concentrates mostly on the unskilled workers.Persistent of the problem is causing high wastage on both rawmaterials as well as funds. In addition, the employment of unskilledor semi-skilled workers, coupled with poor employee developmentstrategy is causing inefficiencies, wastage of funds and valuabletime.
Secondly, a high rate of absenteeism within the organisation in themonths of August and December lowered the productivity. The extent ofthe problem is large meaning that the leadership should implementmeasures to avoid recurrent of the problem. It shows that the workersare not strict in adhering to the work culture and show low moraleand lack of commitment to the rules and regulations governing theoperations. Persistent of the problem will cause low productivity,delayed production, and financial losses. Thirdly, there is a hugeloss of capital employed that mostly occurred in 2020. The extent ofthe problem is also large hence presenting adverse effects on theproductivity. The fact is that from 2016 to 2020, the capitalinvestment per unit has been dwindling significantly. The result isan increase in both capital investment as well as the cost ofproductivity.
The fourth problem is the presence of unnecessary painting that addscost and consumes valuable time but does not add value to theproduct. This problem occurs in the factory during the automatedprocess of painting. The extent of the problem is small but itspersistent over a long time will lead to enormous losses. In thefactory, the robot parts pass through various chemical cures toprevent rusting where the process of drying occurs manually using ahose in which some operations are unnecessary. The overall effectsare a wastage of time, funds, and workers that would engage in otherprofitable activities. There is also a problem in the precisionjointing unit that occurred mostly in the ‘weeks ending 9th and23rd of November’. The extent of the problem is large presentingadverse effects to the organisation. JEEVES PLC established a newmeticulous assembling unit for joining arms, shoulders, knees, elbowsas well as the wrist joints that requires an individual patentedsystem of assembling that is costly and needs highly skilledoperators and the most current tools (Kesheng et al., 2014). Whilethe system had to produce a better outcome, the overall effect was anincrease in the number of rejects by 10% that was higher than thenormal number observed during the period ‘9th and 23rd November.`The problem causes wastage of time and money as well as lowering thequality of the product.
To continue, the sixth problem concerns the poor fitting occurring inthe fitting section during the fixing of the assembly. The extent islarge requiring an immediate solution to prevent the adverse effectscaused. Semi-skilled workers are in charge of the process ofassembling using power tools that eventually produces poor fittingsthat in turn is increasing the number of rejections. The rejectionsincrease the costs of rework and wastage of time and money thatlowers the performance of the organisation. Related to this problemis the repairing of the defective joints in the precision jointingsection. The problem is moderate and occurred in the ‘weeks ending9th and 23rd November’. Despite the fact that the management hasplaced prominence on the implementation of standard productivity, theworkers achieve the required pace but fail to produce the bestoutcome since more time goes into the repair of defective joints.There are many complaints from the workers regarding the assemblingprocess since their task has become more difficult because of a largenumber of defective joints that need repair. This, in turn, lowersmotivation and productivity.
Finally, the leadership style presents a lot of ambiguity toemployees and contributes to poor supervision and irresponsiblebehaviour. Employees at the lower ranks are not aware of theindividuals whom they have to report to hence, they lack the driverthat will influence them to perform effectively. The effect isinefficiencies in the manufacturing process and more time indetecting problems and finding solutions.
Recommended Solutions
The organisation has to solve all the problems that are affecting itsproductivity if it intends to return to business and acquire acompetitive advantage through the excellent satisfaction of consumerneeds. Firstly, JEEVES PLC has to concentrate mostly on theprevention of failure through proper monitoring of the manufacturingprocess. In line with this, the organisation has to train thesemi-skilled employees to acquire the required working capabilitiesto meet the quality requirements of the product. In addition, theprocess of recruitment should aim at attracting the most skilled andtalented labour to assist in enhancing the effectiveness of themanufacturing process. Secondly, the organisation needs to placegreat emphasis on employees to observe the rules and guidelinesprovided regarding good work culture. In addition, the organisationhas to set and communicate clear values that define theorganisational behavior and culture to provide a clear direction onthe manner employees should conduct themselves.
Thirdly, JEEVES PLC has to increase the capital investment per unitto lower the productivity cost to stimulate growth and enhancement ofthe manufacturing process to meet the quality requirements.Additionally, the company must avoid the unnecessary paintingprocesses in the painting section, which consumes time and resourcesbut do not add value to the final product. The labour assigned toperform such processes should engage in other significant activitiesthat may help in improving the quality of the product. Furthermore,in the precision jointing section, the company has to avoid the useof patented systems of jointing to avoid manufacturing low-qualityproducts. In addition, the initiative will reduce the over-relianceon high-skilled labour and the cost of training employees. Theoverall effect is an improvement of the product quality and areduction in the overhead costs.
Regarding the efficiency in fitting the joints, the workers requireproper training in fitting the joints to enhance their competenciesthat in turn will minimise the high number of repairs caused bydefective joints. The inspection process should also occureffectively to lower the number of reworks that also cause wastage oftime and resources with no additional value. Linked with that, theapplicators in the repair section also need proper training andproviding good feedback for their performance to boost their morale,which is necessary for high performance in the section. Mostimportantly, the leadership must implement an efficient method ofcommunication, information sharing as well as good relationshipsbetween employees to assist in the diagnosis of problems in thevarious manufacturing stages. This will enable an easier and earlydetection of problems and influence the adoption of the most suitablemethods of solving them to avoid quality problems that continue tothreaten the existence of the organisation in the market. Finally,the organisation must restructure its leadership style to enableemployees to understand their seniors and that which they have to dofor the organisation to promote a sense of responsibility that willenhance performance and efficiency.
Conclusion
Quality involves the idea of ensuring that the product meets theexpectations of consumers. Major components that constitute effectivequality management are quality planning, quality control, qualityassurance and continuous improvement. The overall process ofmanufacturing must focus on meeting the expectations of consumerswhile elimination unnecessary costs. The organisation suffers greatlyfrom poor quality management in the various sections of theproduction process. However, employee training, use of the mostfriendly equipment and modes of production will assist in enhancingthe quality and lowering the cost of production. Additionally, theorganisation needs to install the required values and culturetogether with an efficient system of performance evaluation andreward to boost employees’ morale and level of performance. Theleadership system must shade clear light on the duties andresponsibilities of each employee to enhance responsibility and goodwork practice.
Bibliography
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