improving quality

quality

• extent to which a product meets its customers requirement

• means that it is “fit for purpose”

• achieving desired quality has number of benefits for business, but quality is subjective.

importance of quality

• key to achieving customer needs

• products that have high quality are able to compete at the right price point

• some businesses differentiate them on having premium quality.

methods of achieving quality

• train employees in quality procedures

• invest in tech

• adopt processes that assure quality

• work with high quality suppliers

• involve all employees in managing quality

• achieve a quality award/ mark (recognition from external organisation)

• have clear understanding of cust needs

quality control

• about the product

• checked at end of production process

• focus on identifying faults

• specific role- maybe one person

quality assurance

• about process

• all employees involved

• considered at every step of production process

• focus on continual improvement of quality

difficulties in improving quality

• cust perception of quality constantly changing

• successful business could let quality slip if no incentive to outperform rival businesses

• improving quality can add more work so may be naturally opposed by workforce

• measuring quality can be difficult and expensive

consequences of poor quality

• if products need recalling can be extremely expensive

• poor quality can damage brand reputation

• may be legal costs if customers sue the company

• correcting poor quality can be very expensive