This paper designs a comprehensive quality control system for Quick Fit Furniture PLC, a company facing performance shortfalls in both customer service and materials handling. The paper identifies two core problem areas — call center responsiveness and order packing accuracy — and proposes a dual-component solution combining human resource development with IT and automation systems. The Kanji Quality Culture Model is applied to situate these improvements within a broader organizational framework emphasizing leadership, supply chain management, and performance management. The paper also considers wider implications of the proposed changes, including employee resistance and morale, and recommends a proactive, communicative approach to managing the transition.
Quality control is an important aspect of any business, from manufacturing to customer service to retail. The different aspects of quality control encountered in these different contexts can vary quite widely, and when a business concern is engaged in more than one area, developing and implementing a comprehensive quality control system can be quite arduous and complex. This is the position quality control places Quick Fit Furniture in: as both a customer-service-oriented business and a retail furniture distributor, there are many specific tasks and operations that the company must ensure meet appropriate standards and goals. The company has recently experienced problems with the quality of its output, making it especially important that proper quality control measures be put in place.
Two of the quality control issues Quick Fit is currently facing must be resolved through human resource training and development, which can be difficult to achieve in established organizations using current personnel (Daft, 2010). First, in order to achieve the goal of answering all incoming phone calls within thirty seconds, training for dealing with calls efficiently and effectively must take place, and average call lengths for each phone representative should be regularly monitored. Optimum staffing levels for specific times of day and of the week should also be determined, tracked, and adhered to. Second, monitoring rates of first-call resolutions and incorporating new methods for call handling into training will be necessary.
Changing individual behaviors through changes to organizational values and expectations is one way to achieve certain goals; however, it will not solve all of an organization's problems, and certainly not all of Quick Fit Furniture's (Griffin & Moorehead, 2012). Quality control issues with materials are also a major concern for the company, including the turnaround time on packing and shipping orders, maintaining a high standard for the quality of materials used, and ensuring that all orders are correctly packed with the necessary hardware. A software system that communicates information faster and contains double-checking procedures for orders would improve quality control in all of these areas, enabling orders to reach the packing department within seconds of being placed over the phone. Pre-made hardware packages checked by two personnel, along with the larger pieces of furniture labeled with barcodes and all components scanned on a per-order basis, would ensure that the components match the expectations for the order while also tracking the personnel involved. This system will additionally help with first-call resolutions by providing better tracking of the ordering, packing, and shipping process.
The system that should be put in place consists of two major components. First, there must be ongoing human resource development and monitoring, with performance reviews that identify areas of success or areas needing improvement. Second, there should be greater use of IT solutions for the monitoring of outputs. Combining these elements should provide effective quality control for all of the company's operations and outputs.
The Kanji Quality Culture Model, developed by Dr. Gopal Kanji, asserts that total quality management is the result of foundational cultural values and attitudes that emphasize customer satisfaction through continuous assessment and improvement (Kanji, 2012). Six specific areas of an organization are identified in this model as requiring direct and explicit attention in order to achieve total quality management: leadership excellence, business scorecard, business excellence, customer satisfaction, supply chain management, and performance management (Kanji, 2012). Applying this model to the present scenario, it can be seen that Quick Fit Furniture would benefit from stronger, more operations-oriented leadership in order to improve satisfaction, and that supply chain management and performance management are also major quality control concerns for the firm.
"Greater automation of ordering and fulfillment processes"
"Unintended consequences of automation and new expectations"
"Proactive HR strategies to manage employee resistance"
Achieving a higher degree of quality control is necessary if Quick Fit Furniture hopes to fulfill its stated mission of providing value to consumers. The plan outlined above should help the company in this regard. It will take an ongoing commitment to improvement and development for this company to truly grow.
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