Week 5 Discussion 1

Discussion topic (Reference: Video on Six Sigma Methodology Part 2)

• Many organizations aspire to get into six-sigma. Despite its apparent simplicity, the success rate is very
low. Why is this so?

“Six Sigma is a quality program that, when all is said and done, improves your customer’s experience,
lowers your costs, and builds better leaders.” — Jack Welch

Although the approach is simple, it is by no means easy. That is why the success rate is very low. Because
in order that the organization sustainably improves the quality to near-zero defect levels, what is also
important is a good organizational structure, mandate to make change changes, ownership of the
processes and results, and continuous and closer review of all activities which are happening under the
banner of quality improvement. When we talk about organizational structure it involves human resource
and we know dealing with this important asset in the organization is really complex, that is why the Six
Sigma approach has very low success rate.

With this structure–organizational structure that we talk about, the methodology that we talked about–
DMAIC or Define-Measure-Analyse-Improve-Control, the mandate, and oversight in place, it's not
surprising that organizations make steady progress in their quality journey. In the videos that follow, we
shall see in some detail issues pertaining to each of these.

Week 5 Discussion 2

Discussion topic (Reference: Video on Tools for Quality Planning and Design Part 3) Use the discussion
forum to advance our understanding on these matters:
• What are some of the interesting fallouts of embarking on a TQM journey? • What are some of the
initial hurdles that organizations are likely to face?

One of the main disadvantages of TQM is the need for company-wide commitment to quality
improvement, and the difficulty of achieving this commitment. All levels of management must be on
board for the program to be truly successful. Any lack of effort or resources will undermine the success
of a TQM program, causing negative ripples throughout the company.

If management fails to fully implement a TQM program, its partial efforts are bound to fail. For
example, just limiting the initiative to personnel training without making use of statistical tools to
measure and evaluate process changes will create frustration and inadequate results. Training programs
must be taken full circle through evaluations and measured outcomes. One reason some companies
focus on training is because it is tangible and easy to show that something was done. But unless
training is followed up with ongoing coaching, the knowledge and skills it provides are unlikely to
stick.

• What are the real benefits of this journey?

TQM leads to better products manufactured at lower cost. The focus on using high quality information
to improve processes reduces waste and saves time, leading to reduced expenses that can be passed
along to clients in the form of lower prices. Companies that successfully implement TQM are able to
reduce variability, providing the consistency that customers value. This creates customer loyalty and
earns their continued business.

The emphasis on engagement at all levels leads to employee engagement, which reduces turnover and
saves money on training and mistakes due to inexperience.

Week 5 Discussion 3

Discussion topic (Reference: Video on Establishing Quality Standards in Supply Chain Partner Processes)

• Please use this forum to share some of your experiences in using process control techniques. How can
organizations extend this idea to the supply chain partners as well? Do you have anything interesting to
share or issues to seek clarity on?
 Statistical Process Control is an analytical decision making tool which allows you to see when a process
is working correctly and when it is not. Variation is present in any process, deciding when the variation is
natural and when it needs correction is the key to quality control.

Proper Statistical Process Control starts with planning and data collection. Statistical analysis on the
wrong or incorrect data is rubbish, the analysis must be appropriate for the data collected.

Be sure to PLAN, then constantly re-evaluate your situation to make sure the plan is correct. The key to
any process improvement program is the PDSA cycle described by Walter Shewart.

Plan Identify the problem and the possible causes. The QC tools described in this manual can help
organizations identify problems and possible causes, and to prioritize corrective actions.

Do- Make changes designed to correct or improve the situation.

Study- Study the effect of these changes on the situation. This is where control charts are used – they
show the effects of changes on a process over time. Evaluate the results and then replicate the change or
abandon it and try something different.

Act- If the result is successful, standardize the changes and then work on further improvements or the
next prioritized problem. If the outcome is not yet successful, look for other ways to change the process
or identify different causes for the problem.

In NORSU this so called process control techniques is applicable especially in accounting office during
this pandemic we plan to shift from traditional to most convenient way of collecting payments from our
stakeholders. We plan now instead letting them to fall in line outside they office we go for using financial
intermediaries in accepting there payments and they will just notify as thru text or email for the purpose
of verification. This is to comply with the existing working environment due to COVID 2019. The
shifting of this so called new normal affect the process control techniques in our organization.

Week 5 Discussion 4

Discussion topic (Reference: Video on Establishing Quality in Service Settings Part 2) How is service
failure different from product failure? Does this have any bearing on the issue of service quality? Of late,
there are talks about service delight. Does this have any relationship with service quality?

A service failure, simply defined, is service performance that fails to meet a customer’s expectations.
Typically, when a service failure occurs, a customer will expect to be compensated for the inconvenience
in the form of any combination of refunds, credits, discounts, or apologies while product failure - A
product is a failure when its presence in the market leads to :

 The withdrawal of the product from the market for any reason;

 The inability of a product to realize the required market share to sustain its presence in the
market;
 The inability of a product to achieve the anticipated life cycle as defined by the organization due
to any reason; or,

 The ultimate failure of a product to achieve profitability.

Example of service failure is Not Arriving or Delivering Within Stated Time Window. If a customer is
told that a service agent will help within a three hour time window, but it takes four hours for the agent to
get a chance to help, then that customer will most likely feel disappointed.

Example of product failure: Baby formula that provided insufficient nutrients for infants resulting in
retardation—Nestle’s.

Yes it has bearing on the issues of service quality. After all the service quality is the perceived service and
expected service. And a service failure is involvement on this topic.

I think Service delight is related to customer delight. Customer delight differs from customer satisfaction in
one very crucial way: it's about exceeding a customer's expectations, or going above and beyond, rather
than just simply providing a satisfactory experience that met expectations.

I think delivering service delight is the next step after providing customer satisfaction since the goal of
operations management is satisfying the needs and wants of the customer. And the customers are part of
the supply chain. They are the reason why organization exists.

Week 5 Discussion 5

Evaluate how Industry 4.0 could impact the operations of your company. In particular, discuss how
Industry 4.0 could affect your functions.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will be driven largely by the convergence of digital, biological, and
physical innovations.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution’s technologies, such as artificial intelligence, genome editing,
augmented reality, robotics, and 3-D printing, are rapidly changing the way humans create, exchange, and
distribute value.

It’s important to appreciate that the Fourth Industrial Revolution involves a systemic change across many
sectors and aspects of human life: the crosscutting impacts of emerging technologies are even more
important than the exciting capabilities they represent. Our ability to edit the building blocks of life has
recently been massively expanded by low-cost gene sequencing and techniques.

For me this so called Industry 4.0 is an opportunity for as staff and faculty in Negros Oriental State
University, although some may think that it called be a threat to the labor market but I believed that this
automation is a product of human minds therefore this machine won’t work without the presence of
human being. It helpful in the sense that it makes our work in accounting office on dealing on those
numbers instead manually we can now make use of the technology especially now that we are adjusting
to the new normal because of this pandemic.
This revolution is about much more than technology—it is an opportunity to unite global communities, to
build sustainable economies, to adapt and modernize governance models, to reduce material and social
inequalities, and to commit to values-based leadership of emerging technologies.

In my opinion there is no harm of trying new thinks as long as it is legal and just, that we should not fear
change but rather embrace it.