Quality
Question 1
Xerox started losing the market due to Japanese competitors, thus it was forced to act positively by applying the initiative of Leadership Through Quality. This was one of the principles implemented after Xerox relaxed on the issue of total quality. At first, the company was producing high quality innovative products that were highly competitive in the market place during the 1960s. In the following year, the top management of the company relaxed and this led to high gross loss due to nonexistence of total quality. Quality was seen as a technical discipline instead of a management discipline, something that contributed to its failure in performance. Another second crisis that emerged was lack of mastering new technological ideas as well as lack of training of employees on the importance of total quality. This led to a decrease in the total quality in the company. Hence, the top management of the company struggled hard to find means of restoring the quality of the company’s products. This led to evolution of an initiative known as the Lean Six Stigma, which became a strategic plan of Xerox.
Despite the initial adoption of the Leadership Through Quality initiative, the company faced the second crisis. They failed to satisfy the needs of their customers and failed to meet their expectations. The products were still of poor quality thus the main aspect of the fundamental reformation of the company was to improve the quality of its products. In order to achieve this objective, the company had to apply the principles and practices of total quality management to create a comprehensive change in the traditional management of the company. In addition, all the companies’ activities and working processes were incorporated into the business principle for better quality enhancement. This resulted in an improved working environment whereby customers became satisfied due to production of high quality products.
However, Xerox’s success did not last perpetually due to changes in the market place, which they failed to catch up with. The major reasons that contributed to the second crisis were inadequate training programs and lack of modern technology. Even though the Leadership Through Quality plan aided in increasing the share markets and return on assets, it failed to inspect on the values of customers as well as the marketing trends and benchmarking. In contrast, the initiative dubbed Lean Six Sigma became fundamental because of its flexibility, which led to adaptation of market variables and the behavior of customers due to its application of excellence performance processes. This was based on benchmarking as well as the approach used in Lean Six Sigma, thus it became more effective as a long-term strategy. Additionally, through the application methodology of measure, analyze, improve and control, Lean Six Stigma covered sustainability in business through use of minimum costs.
In general, both initiatives adopted by Xerox feature some differences, but they do have one thing in common: striving to improve on total quality performance. The strategies used in both initiatives consider quality as a management matter. They consider management to contribute to quality assurance in every organizational level, thus maintaining competition in the market place. In addition, their aim was to target customers’ satisfaction, both internally and externally, as a way of achieving their ultimate objectives of business (Evance & Linsay, 2011).
Question 2
The lessons that other organizations might learn from this experience at Xerox are diverse. First, organizations need to dedicate themselves to bearing attention to the needs of their customers. This means that all organizations need to employ proper strategies and utilize their resources in educating their employees. This will help them meet the needs of the customers, thereby satisfying them. They should be in apposition of predicting the future needs of their customers and predict the way their customers might behave. Additionally, they should observe other variables that might cause changes in the market place. In order to achieve this objective, organizations should invest in research and create technological awareness as well as ensure development even in tough periods (Weening, 2010). Secondly, each organization should have its own business objectives, which should reflect the general directions and stated goals of the company. The company should ensure that the objectives do not conflict with each other. This is fundamental because it will enable management outline a clear vision for the organization at all levels. Indeed, in case of any deflections that arise during the working process, it would be easier to detect and rectify in a quick manner (Evance & Linsay, 2011).
Question 3
The statement “quality is a race without a finish line” means that in order to pursue the highest standards in total quality production, organizations needs to put more effort in order to achieve the needs or satisfaction of their customers, bearing in mind that this is an endless mission. This is because people’s needs and requirements are endless as well as dynamic. The statement’s significance to Xerox and other organizations is that it will help them meet the needs of customers and cope with the present variables in the market. Thus, it is essential for organizations to continuously study the culture of their customers and be able to determine their needs as well as predict their behavioral changes in the market. This will help the organizations improve on the quality of their products, thereby meeting the expectations of their customers. In addition, organizations need to carry out continuous research, communicate well, evaluate and develop new concepts. This will enable them produce better results and promote sustainability, thus becoming competitive in the market (Slideshare, 2010).
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