BJMQ3013 QUALITY MANAGEMENT Question 1 : Find at least 3 similar articles from journals related to Quality Management t topics JOURNAL
1: The TQM Magazine
2: International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management
TITLE
Quality management approach in China
How product quality dimensions relate to defining quality
AUTHORS
Zhihai Zhang
YEAR SETTING/ PLACE/ SAMPLE
2000 China’s revolution in product quality
- Rose Sebastianelli - Nabil Tamimi 2002 872 questionnaires were mailed to the membership listing of the (ASQ)
OBJECTIVES
To explore better understanding of China’s approach to quality management, the main quality management efforts adopted by the Chinese government, the product quality situation, and the reasons for product quality problems. Using exploratory analysis to encourage China’s enterprises to strengthen quality management, implement TQM, and improve product and service quality, the activity of the quality certification was introduced.
ANALYSIS
FINDINGS
The research finds that the top managers should have strong quality awareness and responsibility, accept TQM training, personally involve themselves in the implementation of TQM continuously in order to be successful.
To examine a national sample of quality managers to examine the relationship between how a firm defines quality and what product quality dimensions it considers important to its competitive strategy.
The research was to determine the effect of these extracted dimensions on how quality is defined, regression analysis was performed using the resulting factor scores as independent variables and each of the five definitions as the dependent variable. This research was all about understanding quality in terms of product dimensions may be a step toward developing the necessary measures that could ensure a firm’s success with TQM programs, and ultimately ensure a firm’s production of high quality products.
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3: International Journal of Operations & Production Management Management perception of the link between product quality and customers’ view of product quality - Matthew A. Waller - Sanjay Ahire 1996 1,035 managers was obtained from Dun & Bradstreet Marketing Services. To explore the global drive towards implementing total quality management (TQM), the number of TQM failures is also increasing.
This research refers to Dillman’s total design method (TDM) of questionnaire design was followed to improve the response rate of the main survey. The survey was conducted in three waves, spaced about four weeks apart. This finding dispels the notion that managers do not see a link between their firm’s quality efforts and customers’ view of the firm’s quality efforts.
BJMQ3013 QUALITY MANAGEMENT Question 2 : Based on your reading above, write an article about how the concept of quality management is applied at the selected company. The article should have the following sub headings: A. INTRODUCTION Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company that headquartered in Cupertino, California that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. The company's hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, and the HomePod smart speaker. Apple's consumer software includes the macOS and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites. Its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store and Mac App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in April 1976 to develop and sell personal computers. It was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. in January 1977, and sales of its computers saw significant momentum and revenue growth for the company. Within a few years, they had hired a staff of computer designers and had a production line. Apple went public in 1980 to instant financial success. Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring innovative graphical user interfaces, and Apple's marketing commercials for its products received widespread critical acclaim. However, the high price tag of its products and limited software titles caused problems, as did power struggles between executives at the company. Jobs resigned from Apple and created his own company. As the market for personal computers increased, Apple's computers saw diminishing sales due to lower-priced products from competitors, in particular those offered with the Microsoft Windows operating system. More executive job shuffles happened at Apple until then-CEO Gil Amelio in 1997 decided to buy Jobs' company to bring him back. Jobs regained position as CEO, and began a process to rebuild Apple's status, which included opening Apple's own retail stores in 2001, making numerous acquisitions of software companies to create a portfolio of software titles, and changed some of the hardware technology used in its computers. It again saw success and returned to profitability. In January 2007, Jobs announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would be renamed Apple Inc. to reflect its shifted focus toward consumer electronics and announced the iPhone, which saw critical acclaim and significant financial success. In August 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO due to health complications, and Tim Cook
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BJMQ3013 QUALITY MANAGEMENT became the new CEO. Two months later, Jobs died, marking the end of an era for the company. Apple is the world's largest information technology company by revenue and the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer after Samsung. In February 2015, Apple became the first U.S. company to be valued at over US$700 billion. The company employs 116,000 full-time employees as of October 2016 and maintains 498 retail stores in 22 countries as of July 2017. It operates the iTunes Store, which is the world's largest music retailer. As of January 2016, more than one billion Apple products are actively in use worldwide. Apple's worldwide annual revenue totalled $215 billion for the 2016 fiscal year. The company enjoys a high level of brand loyalty and has been repeatedly ranked as the world's most valuable brand. However, it receives significant criticism regarding the labor practices of its contractors and its environmental and business practices, including the origins of source materials.
B. DISCUSSION The entrance of the other players in the consumer electronics market meant that Apple is getting tougher competition, especially since these competitors are turning out the smartphones and tablets that are significantly lower in price around global. Apple CEO Tim Cook, however, is unfazed by this non-threat, calling these lower-cost counterparts as the junk market. According to Cook itself, Apple is not catering to this junk market, which is why it stick to the offering more expensive products that have a lot more, and better things to offer, than what these “junk markets” are currently fielding to buying customers as a whole. There is no denying, but however that the best product strategy that Apple employs is coming up with the very good products. They call it as “great product” strategy. By continuing to hold on to high standards of the quality, Apple refuses to get on the bandwagon that most other device makers are using it now, where they pack their products chock-full of features that, while they may be impressively advanced, actually end up making operating the device actually more complicated and not at all user-friendly. Packaging is certainly not an area where Apple is lacking now. It is known for being a company that provides clean and simple, yet functional packaging to its products. More than being flashy, it tends to boast more of a utilitarian aesthetic, but without coming across as boring or just plain. But when it comes to the latest of iPhones, they right now are trying to sell their brands rather than the quality which they put higher prices for the iPhones and Apple should get back on the their right track to gain back the loyal customers to prove they are the outstanding company in this globalization market environment.
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BJMQ3013 QUALITY MANAGEMENT Hence, it should have or added some of the Journal which is “International Journal of Operations & Production Management” and the title is “Management perception of the link between product quality and customers’ view of product quality” that consist several characteristics which is : (1) performance : a product’s primary operating characteristics; (2) features : the additional features or the “bells and whistles” of the product; (3) conformance: the extent to which a product’s design and operating characteristics meet e established standards; (4) reliability : the probability that a product will operate properly over a specified period of t
time under stated conditions of use;
(5) durability : the amount of use the customer gets from a product before it physically d deteriorates or until replacement is preferable; (6) serviceability : the speed, competence, and courtesy of repair; (7) aesthetics : how a product appeals to our five senses; and (8) customer-perceived quality: customer’s perception of a product’s quality based on the r
reputation of the firm (Appendix).
The “great product” strategy also focuses on the quality over quantity. While other manufacturers’ strategy entail churning out products one another in a short span of time and having such a diversified product mix, while Apple preferred to stick to what it does best. This means that it focuses on selected products and continues to enhancing them, instead of branching out to create the other products within the same category. But take a look during the China’s revolution that can be taken from the Journal which is “The TQM Magazine” and the title is “Quality management approach in China”, since China instituted an open-door policy in 1978, its economic development has been impressive, both in terms of comparison with the past and its economic growth rate. China has created so many of billionaires, example that can take is Jack Ma the founder of Ali Baba Group. He has been emphasis so many things about the quality to create a good product and it shows a great performance from time to time. His ideology also can be applied in Apple and take example from it on how to survive in the future. Jack Ma is one of the world's most powerful people, and has been a global inspiration to many, giving numerous lectures, enlightenments and advices throughout his life career.
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BJMQ3013 QUALITY MANAGEMENT If you look at the numbers, it is true that other companies, such as Samsung, are showing higher figures when it comes to the unit sales. They are starting to occupy a larger share of the new market. But this does not worry Apple. Instead, it continues to focus on its loyal customers and, despite being occupying a smaller percentage of the market, it is able to position itself as a premium brand and a maker and provider of top quality products.
C. RECOMMENDATION & CONCLUSION In conclusion, Apple’s product development process is one of the most successful design process ever implemented in human history. With the company verging on becoming the world’s first $1 trillion business organization there’s a lot that designers can learn and adapt the value of quality product from Apple and introduce into their own design environments. Apple is a notoriously secretive business. In Steve Jobs’ time at the company it would have been near impossible to find out about the internal workings of the business. This isn’t surprising when a business’s market advantage is its design approach. It’s worth keeping it under wraps. A big thanks to Steve Jobs itself, Apple appeared to be capable of making products that were perfect right out of the gate. You didn’t have to accept the idea that something wouldn’t work the first time you used it, or that there might be a few updates to a piece of software before it functioned correctly. This is a testament to Jobs’ fastidiousness. The products developed under his watch were of such quality that any mistakes seemed almost unbelievable. Overall, Steve Jobs’ enduring legacy will be his products, and the mark that he made on those products is their quality. This is hard wired into every Apple product he had a hand in developing. Companies in every industry talk about how they want to be the Apple of whatever it is that they do. These will always be good goals to have, but unless their focus is 100% on the craftsmanship and user experience of their products, there will still be no comparison.
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