Think of one of the processes in your life you identified and apply the 5S methodology to it. Explain each step. How is the resulting process different?

 In my learning journal unit 3, I upgraded my academic task system to sufficiently manage what I have to do, what I am doing, and what I have done. In addition, I also added some parameters to further improve it and eliminate those distraction factors to get a more focused mindset. So, what happens if I apply the 5S methodology to it? Let's find out.

After I read the Using 5-Step Workplace Management for Continuous Improvement by Tom Dossenbach, I rewrote these steps for my work to be straightforward like a program.

i. Do I actually have to do this task? YES/NO (Step 1: Sort)

If the answer is YES, keep it on the to-do list. If the answer is NO, delete it.

ii. Rearrange them by time and importance(Step 2: Straighten)

Is it important to me? YES/NO 

If the answer is YES, mark it with a star. If the answer is NO, remove the star mark. 

Does it have to be completed within a specific period? YES/NO

If the answer is YES, set a timer. If the answer is NO, set a relatively longer timer. 

iii. Highlighting (Step 3: Scrub)

For me to raise productivity and quality to all-time highs, the third step in the 5S management system cannot be overlooked. After rearrange them by time and importance, it means that cleaning them to the point, to better which task should be the top priority and which one is not. By highlighting them with different colors, I can lay the foundation for an effective preventive maintenance program and a automatic procedure to do it.

iv. Smart List (Steo 4: Standardize)

Daily tasks are ongoing. There should be a regular schedule for completing the previous steps and systematically check to see if the procedures are being followed. Thanks to the modern technoloy and advanced smartphone apps, I can now set multiple "smart list" by using tags, time, priority, and notes to organize them. So, when the next time I add a new task, it automatically sort and organize it to where it belong.

v. (Step 5 : Sustain)

The final step is where most people get lost. After I built the standardize program for all the future tasks, I asked myself what's next? Is it over? Of couse, not. What happen if we only make a rule but no one wants to protect it? In the final step, I also adopted an additional tool to monitor it. It's PDCA(Plan, Do, Check, and Act). All the previous steps are like a plan but I have to do the tasks, check the progress, and act when some tasks need to be reorganized or reprogram.

Reference

ASQ. (n.d.). What are the five S's (5s) of lean. ASQ. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://asq.org/quality-resources/lean/five-s-tutorial 

The Case Study : Quality at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company

 Introduction

  Ritz-Carlton. The name alone evokes images of luxury and quality. As the first hotel to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, The Ritz treats quality as if it is the heartbeat of the company. This means a daily commitment to meeting customer expectations and making sure that each hotel is free of any deficiency. In the hotel industry, quality can be hard to quantify since guests do not purchase a product when they stay at the Ritz, they buy an experience. Ritz-Carlton has become a leading brand in luxury lodging by rigorously adhering to its own standards. It is the only service company in America that has won the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award twice, and Training Magazine has called it the best company in the nation for employee training. One of its remarkable policies is to permit every employee to spend up to $2,000 making any single guest satisfied. 

Before applying for the Baldrige Award, company management undertook a rigorous self-examination of its operations in an attempt to measure and quantify quality. Nineteen processes were studied, including room service delivery, guest reservation and registration, message delivery, and breakfast service. This period of self-study included statistical measurement of process workflows and cycle times for areas ranging from room service delivery times and reservations to valet parking and housekeeping efficiency. With specific, quantifiable targets in place, Ritz-Carlton managers and employees now focus on continuous improvement. The goal is 100% customer satisfaction: if a guest’s experience does not meet expectations, Rit-Carlton risks losing that guest to the competition.

Achieving Quality

  According to Simon Cooper, the president and Chief Operating Officer of Ritz-Carlton, he focuses on three fundamentals. Location, product, and people. Ritz-Carlton's top leaders communicate what they are going to be serving and also talk about great things that their employees have done. Ritz-Carlton entrusts each staff member without approval from their general manager to spend up to a meaningful amount of $2,000 on a guest per incident. Although it may not get used frequently, it means a deep trust in its staff's judgment. It could be that someone finds out it's a guest's birthday and there's champagne and cake in the room. Cooper values every employee's opinion. One of the most important internal metrics Ritz-Carlton measures is voluntary turnover, which is an indicator of talent acquisition and training. For Ritz-Carlton, training is crucial, because it nurtures the careers of its employees(its ladies and gentlemen).

More Than A Slogan

 One way the company has put more meaning behind its quality efforts is to organize its employees into “self-directed” work teams. Employee teams determine work schedules, what work needs to be done, and what to do about quality problems in their areas. Ritz-Carlton believes that a more educated and informed employee is in a better position to make decisions in the best interest of the organization. It takes an extraordinarily long time to build a culture. No culture sticks if it's not lived at the highest levels of the organization. Cooper believes a good culture is built on trust. And if leadership doesn't live the values that it requires of the organization, that is the swiftest way to undermine the culture(Reiss, 2013). 

Identifying Quality Problems at A Hotel, Control Charts, Pareto Diagrams, and Cause-and-Effect Diagrams

  The Control charts can help a hotel determine whether its process will produce great services consistently. Also known as the Shewhart chart or statistical process control chart, it is a graph used to study how a process changes over time. It provides a visualized look that helps a hotel improve its management. By comparing current data to these lines, a hotel can conclude whether the process variation is consistent or out of control such as affected by special causes of variation. And, also, how many or much these data are and the quality of these data directly determine its decisions. Cause-and-Effect Diagrams can also be adopted by a hotel to evaluate possible causes and effects of its quality issues. Hotels are able to resolve these issues even before they start to affect their quality of services. A Pareto chart is a bar and weighted graph to analyze variations. Its core concepts are frequency and effect. A hotel can use this tool to analyze its variations. In addition the frequency and effect of these variations. This tool makes me think of one of my favorite books, "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than You Think". The world can seem scarier and more dangerous because what you see and hear is selected, either by your internal filters or information outlets like the news and media for the very fact that it is scary. Plane crash events are far fewer than car crashes, but they have very different effects. Some events happen even daily but some barely happen in decades.

Nonfinancial Measures of Customer Satisfaction

Non-financial metrics are quantitative measures that cannot be expressed in monetary units. Common financial metrics include earnings, profit margin, average order value, and return on assets. Outcome-based measures such as customer satisfaction, market share, category ownership, and new product adoption rate fall into the non-financial metrics(Patterson, 2022).

Brand preference is one of the good measures that help Ritz-Carlton understand the position of its products and services in relation to competitors. The Take Rate is how many customers act on the seller's call to action such as signing up for a free trial or subscribing to a new channel. For a hotel like Ritz-Carlton, it can be a membership program. Customer retention is also a sign of future revenue or constant cash flow which is crucial for Ritz-Carlton. Retention is how many customers continue to stay in Ritz-Carlton hotels.

Customer experience has a direct impact on customer retention. To measure customer experience, you need to take into account all of the major touch points where a customer interacts with your company. For example, Ritz-Carlton entrusts each staff member without approval from their general manager to spend up to a meaningful amount of $2,000 on a guest per incident. And, finally, Market share. Each of the prior metrics, customer retention, take rate, and customer experience all impact Ritz-Carlton's market share. Market share is one of the primary measures of a company's success. An increase in market share can mean a better profit margin.

The Fish-Bone Diagram

Common uses of the fish-bone diagram are product design and quality defect prevention to identify potential factors causing an overall effect. Each cause or reason for imperfection is a source of variation. Causes are usually grouped into major categories to identify and classify these sources of variation. For a hotel like Ritz-Carlton, a not cleaned room is definitely not acceptable.

Quality Tools Ritz Carlton Might Needs

The Five S’s (5S) is the first tool that came to my mind since 5S is defined as a methodology that results in a workplace that is clean, uncluttered, safe, and well organized to help reduce waste and optimize productivity. It's designed to help build a quality work environment, both physically and mentally. 

i. Sort

The first step in the 5S process is to go to the workplace and determine which of the items there are necessary and which are not. And then, get rid of or remove the unnecessary items. For Ritz-Carlton's customers, staying in a clean room is less likely to be stressed by the jumbles of junk as they try to fall asleep at night. A cluttered room can have an effect that clutters their thoughts.

ii. Straighten

Now that the property or workplace is uncluttered, what should be done with it? Straighten it up and get it organized. The necessary items need to be arranged logically in the hotel. Supplies that are used daily need to be convenient to the users, but not placed so that they hinder workflow or compromise safety.

iii. Scrub

For Ritz-Carlton's leaders who want their employees to love to work for them and would like to raise productivity and quality to all-time highs, the scrub is a total and thorough cleaning of the workplace. After removing the clutter, clean the overhead areas, walls, floors, and machines. It means cleaning them to the point where the smallest crack in a cast frame or a small oil leak can be easily seen.

iv. Standardize

Most importantly, this 5S program is not a one-shot effort. There should be a regular schedule for completing the previous steps, to systematically check to see if the procedures are being followed. 

vi. Sustain

oftentimes, everything fell through the cracks, making the effort all but worthless because it was not sustained. Therefore, the final step is to sustain these steps and check them regularly.

Pareto Chart 

Pareto Chart is a bar graph that shows which factors are more significant. For example, if complaints about uncluttered or room services cause the most distress to the customer, working on eliminating such complaints would have the most impact. When Ritz-Carlton hotel has to solve a room services problem, it has to determine why it happened and the causes of it.

References

Pareto chart (service example). We stand with Ukraine. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.moresteam.com/toolbox/pareto-chart-service.cfm 

Patterson, L. (2022, February 24). Six non-financial metrics every marketer should measure. VisionEdge Marketing. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://visionedgemarketing.com/non-financial-metrics/ 

Reiss, R. (2013, June 19). How Ritz-Carlton stays at the top. Forbes. Retrieved September 26, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/2009/10/30/simon-cooper-ritz-leadership-ceonetwork-hotels.html?sh=6247862110b1

In your opinion, which of the tools explored in this unit is the most efficient at improving quality?

 Before I make the decision, I explored each of these tools and thought about their efficiency in improving quality. And in the last of this discussion, I summarize my thought.

The Five S’s (5S)

5S is defined as a methodology that results in a workplace that is clean, uncluttered, safe, and well organized to help reduce waste and optimize productivity(ASQ, 2022). It's designed to help build a quality work environment, both physically and mentally(ASQ, 2022).

The 5S is focusing on continuously optimizing productivity in a workplace. Basically, it's like organizing and cleaning your own room and desk. When these places are clean and well-organized, you may find that it is easier to find something you need on your tidy desk and it is also safer when your room is clean since having a messy room really could cause you problems. I think when someone has a messy and unorganized room really can truly lead to life-threatening situations such as blocked pathways that cost you extra time to pass or even find yourself with a sprained or broken ankle. Just like a keystone habit that can hugely change your life, they are small changes that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives, according to Charles Duhigg in his book, The Power of Habit. According to a nearly three decades of research on high-achieving people, making your bed every morning can inspire you to have a productive mindset for the rest of the day and spark other productive behaviors(Jacques et al., 2022).

However, this tool isn't always perfect. First, you are required to spend additional time to do it and sustain it like regularly cleaning your room and putting all stuff on your desk in order. It has to be a habit. Secondly, it's pretty diverse. Different individuals think differently when they have to decide which one is necessary and which one is not in the first step. The top managers or leaders may have to be consistent with the rules and policies. Moreover, how to do it is another question that requires they are on the same page.

Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA)

According to the definition, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a step-by-step approach for identifying all possible failures in a design, a manufacturing or assembly process, or a product or service(ASQ, 2022). Failure modes mean the ways, or modes, in which something might fail. Failures are any errors or defects, especially ones that affect the customer and can be potential or actual. Effects analysis refers to studying the consequences of those failures(ASQ, 2022). 

The key concept of this tool is that failures are prioritized according to how serious their consequences are, how frequently they occur, and how easily they can be detected. Like in life, we always make mistakes, but we can learn from them and build a better future by understanding the consequences of our mistakes and how can we do to detect them. However, not doing anything wrong, or techniquely, not detecting them is not always a good thing. Sometimes, peace has cost your strength and victory has defeated you. 

The Fishbone Diagram

It is a cause-and-effect diagram, the Ishikawa diagram. The fishbone diagram identifies many possible causes for an effect or problem(ASQ, 2022). Usually, the fishbone diagram was drawn by a manufacturing team to figure out the source of periodic iron contamination. It is pretty useful when you are trying to identify possible causes for a problem. However, quality management needs to be assimilated into each part of a process rather than be considered only when something is going wrong. 

The Check Sheet

A check sheet is a defect concentration diagram, a structured, prepared form for collecting and analyzing data(ASQ,2022). Start with deciding what event or problem will be observed and collecting data needed. Then, label them and test them. Each time the targeted event or problem occurs, record data on the check sheet. I think this tool provides us with a data-driven decision that helps us gain more confidence while making decisions and heading in the right direction.

However, I reckon that this tool is built on the data that we select and collect. So, how many or much these data are and the quality of these data directly determine our decisions. It put almost all risks on the data I collect. If the data fails, I fail. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok all tried to find out what your favorite things are and promote products to you. But, these data are not always accurate and it also depends on how accurate the algorithm can do.

The Control Chart

Also known as Shewhart chart or statistical process control chart, it is a graph used to study how a process changes over time(ASQ, 2022). It provides a visualized look that helps us improve our management. Like a check sheet, these lines are also determined from historical data. By comparing current data to these lines, you can conclude whether the process variation is consistent or out of control such as affected by special causes of variation. And, also, how many or much these data are and the quality of these data directly determine our decisions.

The Histogram

A histogram is the most commonly used graph to show frequency distributions(ASQ, 2022). It looks very much like a bar chart and shows how often each different value in a set of data occurs. It is a helpful data collection and analysis tool. It is used to see the shape of the data’s distribution, especially when determining whether the output of a process is distributed approximately(ASQ, 2022). However, it also depends on how accurate these data can benefit our decision. 

The Pareto Chart

A Pareto chart is a bar and weighted graph to analyze variations. Its core concepts are frequency and effect. This tool makes me think of one of my favorite books, "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than You Think". The world can seem scarier and more dangerous because what you see and hear is selected, either by your internal filters or information outlets like the news and media for the very fact that it is scary. Plane crash events are far fewer than car crashes, but they have very different effects. Some events happen even daily but some barely happen in decades. 

The Scatter Diagram

Also known as a scatter plot, an X-Y graph, it graphs pairs of numerical data, with one variable on each axis, to look for a relationship between them(ASQ, 2022). However, it focuses on the relationship between the paired numerical data you choose. So, be careful about the data selection when you trying to identify potential root causes of problems.

The Stratification

Stratification is defined as the act of sorting data, people, and objects into distinct groups or layers. It is a technique used in combination with other data analysis tools(ASQ, 2022). However, there are two major issues with this tool, data collection and how to separate these data. 0.999999% is still not 1 if you set a "1" lay to separate 1 from "less than 1". This data collection and analysis technique separates the data so that patterns can be easily seen.

Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

QFD is a customer-focused methodology for carefully listening to the voice of the customer and then effectively responding to those needs and expectations. One of its important features is that it deploys them to the appropriate organizational function for action. 

Summary

I think all of these tools are trying to avoid cost, mistakes, and waste, and take appropriate actions or make changes to improve efficiency. Just like what we learned at school, we have seen further than others by standing upon the shoulders of giants. There is no one-fit-all tool while improving quality. It depends on what we want to achieve or what we are trying to understand. 

Reference

ASQ. (n.d.). What are the five S's (5s) of lean. ASQ. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://asq.org/quality-resources/lean/five-s-tutorial 

ASQ. (n.d.). Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA). FAILURE MODE AND EFFECTS ANALYSIS (FMEA). Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://asq.org/quality-resources/fmea 

ASQ. (n.d.). Fishbone diagram. ASQ. Retrieved September 25, 2022, from https://asq.org/quality-resources/fishbone 

Barnes, B. (2020, January 7). Factfulness by Hans Rosling: Summary and key insights. Rapid Business Plans. Retrieved September 25, 2022, from https://rapidbusinessplans.com/blog/factfulness-hans-rosling-book-review-summary 

Garner, F. (2015, September 23). A clean room can save your life? SafeMocs. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://blog.utc.edu/safety-risk-management/a-clean-room-can-save-your-life/ 

Jacques, Scott, S. J., Michal, Donlin, K., & Kumar, S. (2022, January 5). What is a keystone habit? 11 examples of Keystone Habits in life. Develop Good Habits. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://www.developgoodhabits.com/what-are-keystone-habits/ 

What is stratification? ASQ. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2022, from https://asq.org/quality-resources/stratification 

What are some of the processes in your professional, personal or academic life that can be managed differently? How so? What would you expect this new approach’s outcomes to be?

 The typical process of my academic life were start with a to-do list where I write down what I have to do such as the discussion post, learning journal, and reading assignments. Then, it was a long list. I only strikethrough each item when they were done. However, this system has two issues, priority and progress. I don't know which one is more important than the others or their expiration date. Moreover, I don't know which one is what I am focusing on right now or I am just multitasking. 

To robust it, I make two major upgrades, the first is to sort the tasks by priority, and the second is to create a hashtag "#in progress" to highlight the tasks that I am working on right now. After this upgrade, I become much more productive than ever before. Instead of being trapped in a mess, I begin to make better progress and also increase my efficiency. 

However, I reckon that this method benefits when I only care about when I have to finish these tasks and what tasks should I accomplish. It does not provide me further details about HOW I have done these tasks. The quality of the results that have been processed by me. Do I truly understand the core concept of the readings? How could I know if the quality of my journal or written assignments are good or poor, even though I did put intense effort into them? 

To further improve it, I add some parameters to this system. I started to monitor the variations such as notifications from my phone and the schedule of my full-time job. Distractions take attention away from what I need to do when performing a task and divert my attention from a desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information. I believe this update will further improve my focus on my assignments and tasks. After eliminating those distraction factors, I can feel my efficiency has improved due to the more focus mindset.

What do you think should be an organization’s priority to achieve excellence: its processes, or its people? Why? How do the two relate and interact?

 Organizational excellence is the ongoing efforts to establish an internal framework of standards and processes intended to engage and motivate employees to deliver products and services that fulfill customer requirements within business expectations(ASQ, 2022). Organizational excellence continues the progress established by a foundation such as total quality management, in which all levels of the organization participate in continual improvement(ASQ, 2022).

Processes are crucial components of how a company operates and delivers value to its customers. However, back to where an organization was founded, there are always a leader(or leaders) and a team(or multiple teams). Leaders share their vision and motivate the team to construct it. After that, leaders keep focusing on the vision and motivation, and those teams are focusing on operations and monitoring the results. These teams follow the vision and mission to design the processes and keep them effective. If the vision is to land on the moon, the team will design and build a rocket and hire astronauts to accomplish the mission. If the vision is to be a coffee chain like Starbuck, the team will start to hire baristas and find suitable places to operate. Then, at every stage of the progress, the employees carry out each process and see to it that everything is done properly. Employees implement the vision and goals created and motivated by the leaders and the whole organization.

I believe people are one of the most important elements when it comes to an organization that functions effectively. An organization is only as good as its employees. To achieve consistently superior performance such as outputs that exceed meeting objectives, needs, or expectations, the original source of this motivation I think, is people. Processes are like the laws and rules. They are designed and executed by people to meet certain expectations, objectives, and needs. Even though we are using AI nowadays, it is still "Artificial" intelligence. That doesn't mean that the processes are not important at all. The computer and the program are there to assist us and we can keep them upgraded. They are somewhat interdependent. Feed the probiotics that live in your body and they will contribute to your health. If a company already has excellent processes but does not have good employees, those processes are hard to be effective. Likewise, if a company has talented employees but does not have good processes in place, the skills of the employees would go to waste.

Reference

What is organizational excellence? ASQ. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2022, from https://asq.org/quality-resources/organizational-excellence 

What do you think should be an organization’s priority to achieve excellence: its processes, or its people? Why? How do the two relate and interact?

Organizational excellence is the ongoing efforts to establish an internal framework of standards and processes intended to engage and motivate employees to deliver products and services that fulfill customer requirements within business expectations(ASQ, 2022). Organizational excellence continues the progress established by a foundation such as total quality management, in which all levels of the organization participate in continual improvement(ASQ, 2022).

Processes are crucial components of how a company operates and delivers value to its customers. However, back to where an organization was founded, there are always a leader(or leaders) and a team(or multiple teams). Leaders share their vision and motivate the team to construct it. After that, leaders keep focusing on the vision and motivation, and those teams are focusing on operations and monitoring the results. These teams follow the vision and mission to design the processes and keep them effective. If the vision is to land on the moon, the team will design and build a rocket and hire astronauts to accomplish the mission. If the vision is to be a coffee chain like Starbuck, the team will start to hire baristas and find suitable places to operate. Then, at every stage of the progress, the employees carry out each process and see to it that everything is done properly. Employees implement the vision and goals created and motivated by the leaders and the whole organization.

I believe people are one of the most important elements when it comes to an organization that functions effectively. An organization is only as good as its employees. To achieve consistently superior performance such as outputs that exceed meeting objectives, needs, or expectations, the original source of this motivation I think, is people. Processes are like the laws and rules. They are designed and executed by people to meet certain expectations, objectives, and needs. Even though we are using AI nowadays, it is still "Artificial" intelligence. That doesn't mean that the processes are not important at all. The computer and the program are there to assist us and we can keep them upgraded. They are somewhat interdependent. Feed the probiotics that live in your body and they will contribute to your health. If a company already has excellent processes but does not have good employees, those processes are hard to be effective. Likewise, if a company has talented employees but does not have good processes in place, the skills of the employees would go to waste.

Reference

What is organizational excellence? ASQ. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2022, from https://asq.org/quality-resources/organizational-excellence 

In your organization, how can you contribute to the quality of delivery? Which skills or behaviors can you develop individually to improve collective excellence?

 Usually, when workers think of how can they contribute to the quality of delivery, they feel powerless and helpless because they just follow the rules and policies constructed by managers or business owners. However, workers are also an example of internal customers. For example, when I worked in my friend's cafe' as a barista, I frequently observed those customers who enjoy their coffee in the store and tried to figure out their satisfaction through their actions and expressions. If I observed a dissatisfied signal, I would be thinking why he(or she) is unhappy and what I can do about this. With the excellent leadership of my friend, I was motivated to do and think more about how to improve my service on my job. I reckon that for me to effectively improve my services, three factors have to be included. Excellent leadership, Understanding of what customers needs, and Resources. In my case, the company already has excellent leadership. How to understand what customers need is either through life or experiences, or I have the empowerment and resource to do an extra survey. Then, after identifying the real issue, I can start to think of possible solutions to the issue or make recommendations.

Source :https://blog.aiesec.org/is-leadership-a-skill-or-a-quality/

As I mentioned above, I believe that leadership is the key to improving collective excellence. With excellent leadership skills, I can influence others through my own ability, even though I am not at the top position or one of the board members. Therefore, anyone who can influence people to follow them has leadership qualities. However, it is more than not just a word. Effective leadership enables followers to succeed. I have to set a direction, build a vision, and adapt as circumstances require it. It is about mapping out what kind of results are identified as excellent. Moreover, although everyone can be a leader in their own way, it still depends on some key required skills such as a strategic plan or relationship building. 

Reference

the Mind Tools Content Team By the Mind Tools Content Team, Team, the M. T. C., wrote, B. T., & wrote, M. (n.d.). What is leadership?: How to lead your team skilfully. From MindTools.com. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_41.htm 

the EFQM Excellence Model. It states, "Excellent organisations embed within their culture an ethical mindset, clear values and the highest standards for organisational behaviour, all of which enable them to strive for economic, social and ecological sustainability

 If we look at the summary of the EFQM Excellence Model. It states, "Excellent organisations embed within their culture an ethical mindset, clear values and the highest standards for organisational behaviour, all of which enable them to strive for economic, social and ecological sustainability.”(EFQM.org, 2022). But, how exactly does excellence leads actually to sustainability? I think that when we talk about the sustainability of a business, we always consider the economic or financial situation first. Yes, it is right. Economic and financial conditions are important factors that make businesses flourish. However, there are other things we are ignoring, social and environmental. Our consumers are part of the society and we are living and depending on the planet, it's the environment. I believe you can understand that when rivers are all dried up and the trees are all cut down, people will then know that they cannot eat "money". The biggest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will protect it. Therefore, an effective quality management model must include at least these three dimensions. 

To achieve sustainable development, there must be economic progress, social justice, and the preservation of the environment. Therefore, sustainability is made up of three pillars: economy, society, and the environment. To discuss this topic, I would like to introduce a successful example to explain my thought, which is Tesla. Tesla is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company. It designs and manufactures electric vehicles, Model X, Model 3, and Roadster. The company had the most worldwide sales of battery electric vehicles in 2021. 

Photo from: https://electrek.co/2022/03/10/tesla-tsla-order-rate-surging-us-gas-prices-turning-people-to-electric-cars/

Economically, In February 2004, via a $6.5 million investment, Elon Musk became the largest shareholder of the company. Tesla then began to produce its first car model, the Roadster sports car, in 2009. Its Model 3 was the all-time best-selling plug-in electric car worldwide in 2021 and became the first electric car to sell 1 million units globally. As we know that the EFQM Excellence Model starts with leadership, Elon Musk successfully created Tesla's mission statement and vision statement that reflect the nature of the prominent electric automobile manufacturing business. In short, Tesla is targeting the future of clean energy as a whole. Economically, it is a huge demand. Like many other entrepreneurs, Elon Musk saw a need and took the financial risks to start a business. This decision has created 110,000 direct jobs and 500,000 indirect jobs, including its suppliers, according to its CEO Elon Musk(Crider, 2022). Socially, Tesla has successfully transferred millions of people to learn new skills and develop a better future with Tesla. While more and more people have the ability to improve the quality of their life, the quality of life of the population as a whole is also improved. According to Tesla's 2020 Impact Report, in 2020, Tesla customers helped accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy by avoiding 5.0 million metric tons of CO2e emissions. This is a substantial success for protecting the environment. This success comes with Tesla’s generic competitive strategy and intensive growth strategies, which are directed toward satisfying the corporate mission and the corporate vision(Crider, 2022).

Reference

Crider, B. J. (2022, May 5). Tesla is now supporting over 600,000 jobs. CleanTechnica. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://cleantechnica.com/2022/05/05/tesla-is-now-providing-over-600000-jobs/ 

EFQM. (2022, August 16). The EFQM model. EFQM. Retrieved September 10, 2022, from https://efqm.org/the-efqm-model/

Rowland, C. (2022, July 27). Tesla's Mission Statement & Vision Statement (an analysis). Panmore Institute. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://panmore.com/tesla-motors-inc-vision-statement-mission-statement-analysis 

Case Study 1, H. James Harrington, author of the book “Business Process Improvement“ and noted quality guru, reports this story on Quality Digest.

 Introduction

BUS4406 – Case Study 1, H. James Harrington, author of the book “Business Process Improvement“ and noted quality guru, reports this story on Quality Digest.

I called to make a flight reservation just an hour ago. The telephone rang five times before a recorded voice answered. "Thank you for calling ABC Travel Services," it said. "To ensure the highest level of customer service, this call may be recorded for future analysis." Next, I was asked to select from one of the following three choices: "If the trip is related to company business, press 1. Personal business, press 2. Group travel, press 3." I pressed 1. I was then asked to select from the following four choices: "If this is a trip within the United States, press 1. International, press 2. Scheduled training, press 3. Related to a conference, press 4." Because I was going to Canada, I pressed 2.

Now two minutes into my telephone call, I was instructed to be sure that I had my customer identification card available. A few seconds passed and a very sweet voice came on, saying, "All international operators are busy, but please hold because you are a very important customer." The voice was then replaced by music. About two minutes later, another recorded message said, "Our operators are still busy, but please hold and the first available operator will take care of you." More music. Then yet another message: "Our operators are still busy, but please hold. Your business is important to us." More bad music. Finally, the sweet voice returned, stating, "To speed up your service, enter your 19-digit customer service number." I frantically searched for their card, hoping that I could find it before I was cut off. I was lucky; I found it and entered the number in time. The same sweet voice came back to me, saying, "To confirm your customer service number, enter the last four digits of your social security number." I pushed the four numbers on the keypad. The voice said: "Thank you. An operator will be with you shortly. If your call is an emergency, you can call 1-800-CAL-HELP, or push all of the buttons on the telephone at the same time. Otherwise, please hold, as you are a very important customer." This time, in place of music, I heard a commercial about the service that the company provides.

At last, a real person answered the telephone and asked, "Can I help you?" I replied, "Yes, oh yes." He answered, "Please give me your 19-digit customer service number, followed by the last four digits of your social security number so I can verify who you are." (I thought I gave these numbers in the first place to speed up service. Why do I have to rattle them off again?)

I was now convinced that he would call me Mr. 5523-3675-0714-1313-040. But, to my surprise, he said: "Yes, Mr. Harrington. Where do you want to go and when?" I explained that I wanted to go to Montreal the following Monday morning. He replied: "I only handle domestic reservations. Our international desk has a new telephone number: 1-800-1WE-GOTU. I'll transfer you." A few clicks later a message came on, saying: "All of our international operators are busy. Please hold and your call will be answered in the order it was received. Do not hang up or redial, as it will only delay our response to your call. Please continue to hold, as your business is important to us."

From: http://www.qualitydigest.com/may00/html/harrington.html

From a consumer standpoint, there are so many service failures associated with this experience. The recorded voice makes sense due to the technical issue of the background and the costs of a human supporter or customer service advisor. However, in this case, saving such costs appears a sign it is losing customers. Then, the long list is also inappropriate. Business and group clients should be sorted into another line rather than centered in the same line costing each client additional time. Although asking questions like a doctor somewhat makes sense, not everyone likes to be asked so many questions before their issues have been resolved. Simplifying the processes would be better for both the businesses and their clients. In addition, I reckon that customer identification can be done by store and remember those registered incoming phone numbers and clients only have to provide their private passwords or personal security numbers. 

Moreover, operators are busy means three things, the operator shortage, their efficiency, and the overall procedure. In this case, ABC Travel Services did not have sufficient operators to deal with their daily operations probably due to cost-cutting. However, that would be a worse choice since it only makes their operators busier while so many clients are waiting for a real person to answer on the phone. 

The Stakeholders

A stakeholder is an individual or group that has an interest in a company or organization and can either affect or be affected by the business(Fernando, 2022). Yes, affect or be affected. Typically, they are investors, employees, customers, and suppliers. With the increasing attention on corporate social responsibility, the concept has been extended to include communities, governments, and trade associations(Fernando, 2022). Stakeholders can be internal or external. Internal stakeholders have a direct relationship with the company such as employment, ownership, or investment(Fernando, 2022). External stakeholders are those who do not directly work with a company but are affected somehow by the actions and outcomes of the business such as suppliers, creditors, and public groups are all considered external stakeholders(Fernando, 2022).

In this case, the dissatisfied customer, H. James Harrington, is an example of the key external stakeholders. Customers are the stakeholders who decide whether the business will be a successful one or not. If a firm does not satisfy customers’ needs continuously, the customers will simply take their business elsewhere. In addition, the owners of the ABC Travel Services and the board of directors are an example of internal stakeholders since they control and decide how the company will operate. Their decisions determine how the managers and employees do their work, manage the tasks, and provide their services. The operators who are employed by the company to handle those phone calls is also an internal stakeholder. The telecom company that supplies the telecommunication services is one of the external stakeholders, called suppliers. Suppliers are also often concerned with safety and stability since their products can directly impact your business operations. In this case, the telecommunication services providers can determine the quality of the connection. "I am afraid I cannot hear you" or "Can you repeat that?" are the results that can make a company begin to lose its customers.

The EFQM Excellence Model

The EFQM Model is a globally recognized management framework that supports organizations in managing change and improving performance. EFQM is an acronym that stands for European Foundation for Quality Management. It was founded in 1988 to create a platform where organizations can learn from each other to continuously improve their performance for the long term. The Leadership, People, Strategy, Resources, and Processes indicate how these objectives can be achieved. Then, monitor the People, Customers, Society, and the Key Performance results that indicate the intended objectives. The core concept of it is that it is a "continuous process" and "self-assessment" model.

Application of The EFQM Model

Leadership

The key targets here are Communication of a clear vision and mission, Timely Appreciation of the efforts and success, Resources and Assistance, and Proper Empowerment. In the case of ABC Travel service, obviously, it did not communicate a clear vision and mission of providing excellent travel experience planning experiences. Timely Appreciation of the efforts and success probably do not have sufficient data to evaluate the progress. However, it did not provide adequate resources and assistance, and proper empowerment to handle the situation. As a result, they do not have the resources and assistance to provide excellent services. 

Strategy

The company does not formulate the concept of excellence. It only formulates the incoming call process to reduce the costs of hiring more people. In addition, it does not be regularly improved, since the system is not functioning well. 

People

Human resources are the most important assets of a company since they are all part of daily operations and make a company thrive. However, in this case, the company tends to make their operators as busy as possible to reduce the cost rather than improve their efficiency. Insufficient operators have made their customers unsatisfied. Either the procedure has to be redesigned or the company has to focus on the most valuable customers like American Express which renewed its focus on affluent customers. 

Partnership & Resources

This criterion considers how a company effectively utilizes its resources such as finances, technology, information, and materials. In this case, although we cannot judge its finances and materials yet due to insufficient information, its technological innovation is like a dying industry. 

People Results

Do people who work in this company feel their expectations are satisfied? In this case, we don't have direct evidence. But, "all the operators are busy" may tell us something about its internal management.

Customer Results

Of course, the perception of its customer, H. James Harrington, is pretty bad. After being asked so many questions, and waiting in line for so much time, his simple need remains unsatisfied. 

Impact on Society

Does the company satisfy the needs and expectations of the community at large? Generally, travel service providers' vision should be like, "Through travel, we connect people to positive experiences enabling them to see the world differently." or " Our mission is to make affordable travel accessible to more people". As we can see that those visions satisfy the needs and expectations such as affordable travel accessible to more people and making the world a better place. However, in this case, study, I did not see any vision of it and how it satisfied the needs and expectations of the community at large. 

Key Results

They are the planned performance of all key internal processes such as sales, profit margin, assets, cash flows, net income, return on investment, market share, and waste. In my opinion, if a company keeps wasting its customers' time, it is destroying its market share. If Mcdonald's keeps you waiting in line for over 30 minutes each time you go to its Drive Thru, you will consider other restaurants that can complete your order faster.

Recommendation on Leadership

Since the key targets here are communication of a clear vision and mission, top leaders of the ABC Travel must create a clear vision and mission for all the members to follow and timely appreciate the efforts when there are small successes.

Recommendation on Strategy

The company has to formulate the concept of excellence and regularly improve it. Reviews and surveys can be a good way to do it. 

Recommendation on People

Since human resources are the most important assets of a company, the procedure has to be redesigned. Instead of letting customers wait in line, the company can develop a system that sorts those who only need a few simple favors and preserves the effort of human operators for more complex questions or valuable clients.

 

Recommendation on Partnership & Resources

The company can partner with some telecom service providers to create a VIP line for some clients to avoid they are waiting in line with other customers. A VIP or Prime program is also a good way to consider separating those clients from others and charging extra fees for their membership privileges such as private assistants.

Recommendation on People Results

Although we don't have direct evidence of whether the people who work in this company feel their expectations are satisfied, we still have to fix the issue that always keeps its operators busy. Busy only brings press. A blocked list for those who are always annoying operators can be a good start. 

Recommendation on Customer Results

In this case, the perception of its customer, H. James Harrington, is pretty bad since he has been asked so many questions and waiting in line. A free trial of a VIP or Prime program can be a good way to express an apology.

Recommendation on The Impact on Society

To satisfy the needs and expectations of the community at large, CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) can be a good way to do it. CSR is a self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable to itself, its stakeholders, and the public. By practicing CSR, companies can be conscious of the kind of impact they are having on all aspects of society, including economic, social, and environmental.

Recommendation on Key Results

As mentioned above, a VIP or Prime program and CSR Program are both effective tools to ensure the planned performance of all key internal processes such as sales, profit margin, assets, cash flows, return on investment, market share, and waste. 

Summary

Oftentimes, we see the world through our views. But, the world can be either better or worse than we think it should be. Blaming an airplane crash on a sleepy pilot will not help to stop future crashes. We have to ask why he was sleepy and how to regulate and build a procedure to avoid it. To understand the significant issues, we have to look beyond a guilty individual and to the overall system. That's why we should adopt The EFQM Excellence Model or other models that may help to ensure the whole system has been considered.

Reference

EFQM. (2022, August 16). The EFQM model. EFQM. Retrieved September 10, 2022, from https://efqm.org/the-efqm-model/ 

Fernando, J. (2022, August 23). What are stakeholders: Definition, types, and examples. Investopedia. Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stakeholder.asp