Instructions: Operational and Management Level peer response 1 DB 730
Develop a response to the post below highlighted in yellow. Peer responses must include meaningful and substantive contributions to the discussion, and ideally provoke and challenge the thinking of your colleagues. The reply must be no less than 250 words.
The response should NOT be a critique of the student’s post, nor should you acknowledge if they responded to the question. The purpose is to add value to the post in an effort to continue the conversation;
The response must demonstrate a substantive discussion;
Each reply must be supported by citing at least 2 peer-reviewed journal articles;
Narrative prose only please – no bullet points, numbered lists, or tables.
Must use 7th Edition APA
REFERENCES:
In addition to the 2 peer-reviewed articles, include the following:
Blocher, E., Stout, D., Juras, P., & Smith, S. (2019). Cost Management: A Strategic Emphasis (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. ISBN: 9781260165180.
Keller, T., & Alsdorf, K. L. (2012). Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work. New York, NY: E.P. Dutton. ISBN: 9780525952701.
Original Task:
After reading Chapters 17, 18, 19, and 20 in the Blocher Text, the student will select 2 techniques/concepts of interest. Submit a thread examining the relationship between the selected techniques/concepts and strategic allocation of financial resources. Then use the Bible, Keller text, and other sources to provide biblical application of the concepts. Support your thread by citing at least 3 peer-reviewed journal articles. Your thread must be in 7th Edition APA format and must include a reference list.
PEER RESPONSE (MV):
Abstract
There is an unwavering need for companies to offer high quality products and services to their customers in today’s competitive markets. Quality can be defined as the level of customer satisfaction with a company’s goods and services (Blocher et al., 2019). Van Kemenade et al. (2008) wrote that the definition of quality can be discerned into five approaches; transcendental, product-oriented, customer-oriented, manufacturing-oriented and value-for-money. Customers’ knowledge is more sophisticated than ever around the quality and cost of goods and services.
They are bombarded on social media by retailers and the internet provides them with unlimited access to purchasing opportunities. Because of this, most successful companies have adopted various quality management programs such as total quality management (TQM), Six Sigma, Lean Sigma and lean management manufacturing (Blocher et al., 2019). To ensure effective outcomes, organizations that are embracing quality focused programs use rigid measuring and management processes and controls. These measuring and management processes help companies strategically manage their allocation of financial resources.
Keywords:
Quality, TQM, Six Sigma, Lean Sigma, strategic financial planning, quality management, quality controls
Discussion Thread: The Strategic Importance of Quality and related Management Controls
Quality Goods and Services
There is an unwavering need for companies to offer high quality goods and services to their customers in today’s competitive market place. Quality can simply be defined as the level of customer satisfaction with a company’s goods and services (Blocher et al., 2019). Blocher et al. (2019) wrote that quality can be divided into two areas: features and performance. The quality of features is determined by the customer’s satisfaction around a product’s performance. The quality of performance is determined by the customer’s level of satisfaction around functionality. Van Kemenade et al. (2008) wrote that the definition of quality can be discerned into five approaches; transcendental, product-oriented, customer-oriented, manufacturing-oriented and value-for-money.
Customers’ knowledge is more sophisticated than ever around the quality and cost of goods and services. They are bombarded on social media by retailers and the internet provides them with unlimited access to purchasing opportunities. For this reason, successful companies embrace the importance of offering quality goods and services. Blocher et al. (2019) reenforced this in their writing when they linked the ability to achieve a completive advantage and improved financial performance with improved quality. It was also noted that improved quality decreases product returns, warranty costs and repairs expenses. Overall, companies that implement quality programs as a strategy are associated with higher efficiency and effectiveness (Marchiori & Mendes, 2018).
Quality Management Programs and Controls
Strategic financial planning and decision making centers on collecting good information and implementing the right activities to achieve company goals. Quality programs and quality management controls provide the cross functional framework to assist in this. Because of this, most successful companies have adopted various quality management programs such as total quality management (TQM), Six Sigma, Lean Sigma and lean management manufacturing (Blocher et al., 2019). TQM, and the other quality management programs are about reducing process variations, replication and redundancy (Marchiori, & Mendes, 2018). The quality term “lean” captures the essence of reducing waste as part of the quality management program initiatives.
One of the most essential quality tools used as part of a quality program is Value Stream Mapping (VSM) (Garza-Reyes et al., 2018). VSM is a quality tool that facilitates the documentation, visualization and comprehension of existing processes and activities. The VSM tool is often part of a Lean Sigma program and helps contribute to a company’s profitability (Garza-Reyes et al., 2018). Another common and simple quality tool is the continuous loop of planning, doing, checking and acting (PDCA) (Garza-Reyes et al., 2018). This quality framework can be applied by companies during their quality journey as an effective approach to solving a variety of problem. The PDCA framework can also be used to test process changes to determine their effectiveness prior to full implementation.
To ensure desired quality and financial outcomes, companies have to put into place rigid measuring and management controls. These measuring and management controls help companies strategically manage the successful allocation of financial resources.
Conclusion
Companies need to embrace the importance of producing quality goods and providing quality services. It is proven to be a necessary financial strategy for companies to remain competitive in today’s business environment. There is established linkage between the level of a company’s focus on quality and their financial outcomes. Successful companies have embraced this fact and have adopted various quality management programs such as TQM, Six Sigma, Lean Sigma and lean management manufacturing. Companies that embrace the lean principles of reducing waste in their processes have increased their profitability through efficiency and effectiveness. Quality tools such as the VSM and the PDCA framework are just a couple of many that are available to companies. Quality management framework and controls help companies make effective strategic allocations of their resources.
As a Christian, we are called to be good stewards of the resources provided to us by God. We have been given the responsibility to be overseers of his resources while on earth. Jesus identified the qualities and reward of being a good steward in the parable of the talents, “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee a ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the lord” (King James Bible, 1769/2017, Matthew 25:23). Alsdorf & Keller (2014) cautioned readers that if we work only to achieve things, our existence will be fragile on this earth. There is an application for quality and management controls in our lives as we strive to make Godly inspired financial decisions to build up and increase God’s kingdom.
References
Alsdorf, K. L., & Keller, T. (2014). Every good endeavor: connecting your work to God’s work. Penguin Random House
Blocher, E., Stout, D., Juras, P., & Smith, S. (2019). Cost management: A strategic emphasis (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill
Garza-Reyes, J., Torres Romero, J., Govindan, K., & Usha Romanathan, A. (2018). A PDCA-based approach to environmental value stream mapping (E-VSM). Journal of Cleaner Production, 180, 335-348. https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/science/article/pii/S0959652618301434?via%3Dihub
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/ (Original work published 1769)
Marchiori, D., & Mendes, L. (2018). Knowledge management and total quality management: foundations, intellectual structures, insights regarding evolution of the literature. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 9-10, 1135-1169. https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1080/14783363.2018.1468247
Van Kemenade, E., Pupius, M., & Hardjono, T. (2008). More value to defining quality. Quality in Higher Education, 14(2), 175-185. https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1080/13538320802278461
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