Central Engineering and Research Department Essay

Central Engineering and Research Department - Essay Example Crosby believes that the only performance measurement is the cost of quality. Here, Crosby believes that the cost of quality is always a measurable item, for example rework, warranty costs, rejects, and that this is the only basis on which to measure performance. As a practical measurement of quality this might generally be considered to be useful although it cannot be seen as the only measure of business performance, rather the only measure of quality. Juran's work also focuses very clearly on measurement and specific objectives. Again, the validity of this approach must be questioned. Many aspects of quality are difficult to accurately and reliably quantify. In contrary, Deming believes in a management approach with a long-term orientation. Deming gives explicit recognition to the need to satisfy shareholder expectations, but points out that these expectations often go beyond immediate return on capital to consider the future. Deming criticizes failure to recognize and evaluate the intangible aspects of the organization, for example, the additional sales generated through satisfied customers, the benefits to productivity and quality derived from people feeling part of a success story. Deming (1986: 123) considers that managers who believe that everything can be measured are deluding themselves and suggests that they should know before they start that they will be able to quantify only 'a trivial part of the gain'. This should be seen as a belief in intangible, invisible benefits arising from good management practice. It does however conflict with his espousal of statistical methods since the reliable measurement of intangibles is notoriously difficult (Beckford, 1998). The new distribution facility should be evaluated using Deming's approach to quality management. The short-term costs may be greater than the benefits, but in the long-term, it may lead to increased customer satisfaction and sales. The same thing applies to recommendations regarding customer se rvice not being implemented due to budgetary constraints. The method to achieving quality proposed by Crosby entails forming quality improvement teams. Crosby specifically requires multi-disciplinary teams. Juran's approach has the same weakness. Management and organizational cybernetics and human relations theory has been largely ignored (Beckford, 1998). However, each department in Canbide is responsible for developing and implementing the quality program through the corporate wide Excellence through Quality (EQ) program. Drawing on the work of the statistician Walter Schewhart-his tutor-Deming urged a management focus on causes of variability in manufacturing processes. Deming believed in the use of Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts as the key method for identifying special and common causes and assisting diagnosis of quality problems. His aim was to remove 'outliers', that is, quality problems relating to the special causes of failure. This was achieved through training, improved machinery and equipment and so on. SPC enabled the production process to be brought 'under control'. Remaining quality problems were considered to be related to common causes, that is, they were inherent in the design of the production pr

Select a business from anywhere in the world Essay

Select a business from anywhere in the world - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to highlight the impact of macroeconomic forces on the business of Tesco. Tesco Plc is a multinational company operating in multiple continents namely North America, Asia, and Europe. This paper concentrates only on business of Tesco in the U.K. Major political forces shaping the economy; impact of recession; and the potential impact on the business are to be discussed in details. The sustainable practices followed by the company have also been highlighted. Tesco Plc is a British retailing giant specializing in food business. Jack Cohen founded the Company in 1919 and it was named as Tesco in 1924. The company had started its business in 1929 with the opening of the first store in London. Tesco had continued its aggressive expansion in the U.K. and by 1960’s there were multiple stores in the country. With the onset of globalization in the 80’s the company had begun to diversify its business both geographically, and, in terms of its business portfolio (Tesco plc, 2014). Presently, the business of the company comprises selling of grocery, electronic items, clothing and furniture. It also includes providing financial, software and telecom services (Tesco plc, 2014). The company offers products that can be used by people of all age groups. Market share of Tesco in the U.K. is 28%. It has been observed that the market share of the company have declined from 31.7% in 2007 to 28.7% in 2014 (Wood, 2014). Theory of economics state s that firms operating in the same market and offering same products by targeting similar base can be treated as competitors. The major competition for Tesco comes from ASDA, Sainsbury and Morrisons. The following pie chart shows the market share of Tesco as compared to its competitors. After the global financial crisis it has been found that Tesco have been losing market share mainly to competitors like Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl that have a combined market share of 3.5%. The main reason that can be