4.4 COMMUNICATIONS FOR QUALITY; ACROSS THE
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND BETWEEN THE CUSTOMERS-SUPPLIERS
Communications for Quality 🚩
Definitions
Methods of Communications:
1) Verbal communication either between individuals or groups, using direct or indirect methods, such as public address and other broadcasting systems and recordings
Communication is defined as the exchange of information and understanding between two or more persons or groups.
2) Written communication in the form of notices, bulletins, information sheets, reports, e-mail and recommendations.
3) Visual communication such as posters, films, video, internet/intranet, exhibitions, demonstrations, displays and other promotional features. Some of these also call for verbal and written communication
Effective communication due to:
Monthly meeting between CEO and staff
Monthly Departmental Meeting
Memebrs of the inner circle
Verbal/Written from manager or supervisor
Clear directive should have:
1) Need for improvement.
2) Concept for total quality
3) Importance of understanding business processes.
4) Approach that will be taken and people’s roles.
5) Individual and process group responsibilities.
6) Principles of process measurement
Communication linkages the three common level groups of people:
Senior managers must ensure that their vision of TQM is
successfully executed within the organization
Middle managers provide leadership to design the systems and processes
The workforce /other employees is to deliver the quality (who may not care, so long as they still have jobs and get paid, though these people must be the custodians of the delivery of quality to the customer and own that responsibility).
The core of TQM is customer-supplier 🚩
At each interface intervene a number of processes that is supported by the people and systems in the organization.
The core must be reinforced by commitment to quality, communication of quality message with good TQM working
culture
Customer – Supplier Relationships :
1) Every company is part of a long chain
2) Each company is a customer to its suppliers and a supplier to its customers
3) Your customers‟ customers are your customers as well.
4) Creating mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers and customers (CSR, corporate social responsibility)
5) Expanding the pie rather than arguing over its division
Type of Customers:
External - outside the organization (people who pay the bills.) Eg: end user customers and Manufacturer (OEM, original equipment
manufacturer) for suppliers
Internal - people within your organization who receive your work
The importances of customer:
Customers are at the center of TQM activity, devoting to satisfy them is the first principle of TQM.
Customers are recognized as the guarantee of the organization's continued existence
Importance of the Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty:
1) “Satisfaction is an attitude; loyalty is a behavior”
2) Loyal customers spend more, are willing to pay higher prices, refer new clients, and are less costly to do business with
3) It costs five times more to find a new customer than to keep an existing one happy
Identifying Customer Need Through:
focus-group discussions
individual and group interviews
surveys and customer complaints
comment cards and warranty claims
analyze competitor products
study repair and return data
The Importance Of Suppliers:
1) Suppliers are also critical to satisfy the needs of
the customer
2) The final product cannot be better than the parts that comprise it
3) Suppliers shape the quality of the processes used to produce the product
4) Suppliers influence the cost as well as the quality of the product
Principles For Customer – Supplier Relationships Under Total Quality:
1) Recognition of the strategic importance of customers and suppliers
2) Development of win-win relationships between customers and suppliers
3) Establishing relationships based on trust
4) Trust is develop over time through a pattern of success by all parties to fully and faithfully deliver that which was promised
Practices For Dealing With Suppliers:
1) Purchasing decisions based on quality as well as cost
2) Reduced number of suppliers
3) Long term contracts
4) Developing cooperative relationships
5) Early involvement of suppliers in design of new products
6) Joint quality planning between customers and suppliers
Quality Customer – Supplier Relationship Practitioner/Example:
1) GE Appliance and DJ Inc.
2) DJ went from being one of GE suppliers to its sole source
3) GE supplier seminars in SPC
"4) Early involvement in product design
5) Frequent flows of information
6) Benchmarking inside and outside the industry