FEEDBACK TUTORIAL LETTER

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1 FEEDBACK TUTORIAL LETTER 2 nd SEMESTER 2017 ASSIGNMENT 2 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS BQM612S 1

2 ASSIGNMENT 2 1. What are dashboards and balanced scorecards? How do they support Six Sigma projects? 20 marks Dashboards typically consist of a small set of measures (five or six) that provide a quick summary of process performance. This term stems from the analogy to an automobile s dashboard a collection of indicators (speed, RPM, oil pressure, temperature, etc.) that summarize key performance measures. Dashboards often use graphs, charts, and other visual aids to communicate key measures and alert workers and managers when performance is not where it should be. The balanced scorecard is a summary of broad performance measures across the organization. The purpose of the balanced scorecard is to translate strategy into measures that uniquely communicate your vision to the organization. A balanced scorecard defines the most important drivers of organizational success and consists of four perspectives: Financial Perspective: Measures the ultimate results that the business provides to its shareholders. Internal Perspective: Focuses attention on the performance of the key internal processes that drive the business. Customer Perspective: Focuses on customer needs and satisfaction as well as market share. Innovation and Learning Perspective: Directs attention to the basis of a future success the organization s people and infrastructure.. Dashboards and scorecards provide rich sources of information for tracking progress. Results which are inferior to competitor s performance, or which exhibit adverse trends often suggest the need for Six Sigma improvement projects 2. Principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) (20 Marks) Customer focus: Quality in terms of TQM framework is from a customer perspective. Organisations depend on understanding customer needs and take those needs into consideration during the product or service design stage. Organisations are therefore responsible for meeting their customer requirements or strive to exceed customer expectations by developing all the necessary processes aimed at satisfying those needs. It is also essential to include other role players such as suppliers and partners who are part of the production process. 2

3 Leadership: The leadership of the organisation should establish unity of purpose and give direction on the activities of the organisation. It is therefore imperative that TQM require the support and commitment from the highest level of management in the organisation. Their input is required in terms of creating the relevant values and goals as well as defining the systems, methods and performance measures necessary for the attainment of the organisation s goals. Involvement of people: A well-trained workforce at all levels is required for TQM. Therefore their involvement in quality improvement activities is highly valued in terms of attaining the TQM goals. Organisations should have in place rewarding and recognition systems to recognise their employees efforts. Process approach: If activities and related resources are managed as a process, it will lead to the achievement of desired results more efficiently. System approach to management: Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation in achieving its objectives. Continual improvement: Continual improvement of the organisation s overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organisation. This is necessary to counter competitive forces and the needs of customers, which continually changes. It is therefore necessary for the achievement of high level customer satisfaction. Factual approach to decision-making: Data analysis is the basis for effective decisions in organisations. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships: Organisations and its suppliers depend on one another; a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value. (Appropriate examples should be provided for each principle discussed) (a) Objectives of developing ISO in Namibia (10 Marks) Achieve, maintain, and seek to continuously improve products quality (including services) in relationship to requirements. Improve the quality of operations to continually meet customers and stakeholder s stated and implied needs. Provide confidence to internal management and other employees that quality requirements are being fulfilled and that improvement is taking place. Provide confidence to customers and other stakeholders that quality requirements are being achieved in the delivered product. Provide confidence that quality system requirements are fulfilled. 3

4 (b) The extent to which Namibia adopts ISO Platform (5 Marks) Namibia has adopted ISO platform by establishing an institution in Namibia called Namibia Standard Institute (NSI) with the objectives as outline in (a) above. NSI was established by Act 18, of 2005 and it is an institution which is fully operational which operate as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) under the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development. c) What has been achieved so far with respect to NSI (15 Marks) So far a lot has been done since the establishment of NSI is one of the key performance indicators (KPI) as far as Namibia s quality infrastructure is concerned. As of now with respect to such KPI, firstly the Policy in the name of National Quality Policy has been developed and adopted in Namibia. Secondly the legal infrastructure which consists of Standards Act No 18 of 2005, the metrology Amendment Act No 17 of 2005 and the Accreditation Board of Namibia Act No 8 of There is a regulator structure in place in the name of Namibia Standards Council (NSC) which governs the NSI. The responsibility of such Council is to provide strategic leadership to the NSI and consists of eight members, who are all non-executive, independent Directors, while the CEO serves as an ex officio member of the NSC. The expected results of the NSI Programme are an established and functional national standards body in Namibia, capable of : developing, adopting and applying standards; providing accurate measurement traceability to the international standards (SI) through the metrology division; providing reliable testing especially for food such as fish and fishery products including shellfish, beef and agro-products and rendering food safety technical support to the aquaculture, fishing and other industries through regular tests conducted at the NSI Biotoxins and Microbiology laboratories at Walvis Bay and through NSI Inspection and Certification. 3. What operational problems are caused by excessive variation? Excessive variation can result in various evils, including: 20 marks Variation increases unpredictability. If we don t understand the variation in a system, we cannot predict its future performance. 4

5 Variation reduces capacity utilization. If a process has little variability, then managers can increase the load on the process because they do not have to incorporate slack into their production plans. Variation contributes to a bullwhip effect. This well-known phenomenon occurs in supply chains; when small changes in demand occur, the variation in production and inventory levels becomes increasingly amplified upstream at distribution centers, factories, and suppliers, resulting in unnecessary costs and difficulties in managing material flow. Variation makes it difficult to find root causes. Process variation makes it difficult to determine whether problems are due to external factors such as raw materials or reside within the processes themselves. Variation makes it difficult to detect potential problems early. Unusual variation is a signal that problems exist; if a process has little inherent variation, then it is easier to detect when a problem actually does occur. The evils of variation can be addressed by understanding the process and searching for, and eliminating, root causes. Question 4 Benefits of formulating and executing quality management plans (10 Marks) Greater customer satisfaction which will lead to more new customers and a good word of mouth from the existing satisfied customers, essential for growth. A motivated team with a clear understanding of the quality management plan can make concerted effort towards the execution of such a plan. Do away with the wastage of resources which could result from rework in order to repeatedly conform to customer requirements. High confidence in planning as there is no need to rework since planning has already been effective. New projects which could result from business referrals of the existing satisfied customers. Growth in stakeholder s confidence as a result of the maturity of quality management plans. THE END 5