Quality Improvement The author of this report is asked to answer to two major sets of questions. The first pertains to McDonald's and their need to focus on quality. Specifically, there will be a discussion about how they define and quantify quality and how companies like McDonald's must go about satisfying the consistent and unyielding expectations of customers. The other main discussion point will be regarding how a meat processing plant would go about process reengineering. The subject of process reengineering will be evaluated as an improvement strategy and the benefits that it will bring the company. While some may assert that focusing too much on quality and process can actually weigh down a company and end up being a waste of time, there is a need for it and it should be done when necessary.

Analysis

The assignment question makes it clear that quality is defined as a consistent conformance to what a customer generally expects. With a company like McDonald's, this would be true not only at an individual location but also at other locations as well. This can be a tad difficult for a company like McDonald's given that many (but not all) of their locations are individually owned and operated by franchisees. However, those franchisees are held to a high standard. Indeed, there is the expectation that a Big Mac ordered in Los...

At the same time, the outcomes and quality within a single store must remain the same as well. This means that regardless of the store, regardless of who is manning the grill and prep stations and regardless of what time of day it is, that Big Mac should be made in the same manner no matter what. This comes down to the equipment being calibrated and checked properly, the people making the sandwiches being trained and monitored to ensure that they are doing their job correctly and that the ingredients involved are of consistent quality and are stored properly (Bengtsson, Bardhi & Benkatraman 2010).
Of course, many have assailed McDonald's for their overall quality of service and their food quality. There have been jokes and media stories about how a hamburger can be left in the same place for years at a time and it will not change in any demonstrable way (Peterson 2015). However, while there is perhaps the suggestion that McDonald's can and should upgrade their food sourcing and preparation methods, they are exceedingly consistent and they do quite a good job at providing for and enforcing the same consumer experience at all locations despite the fact that the locus of control on each location is quite diffused rather than localized (Kaufmann, Soler, Permesly…