Although most business designs aim to generate revenue and make profits, customer satisfaction is at the top of their priorities, encouraging them to adopt various solutions to enhance consumer appeal. Customers have different needs and complex preferences but their main concern when selecting products is often their quality. The quality of a product communicates much about an organization’s values because achieving exemplary standards requires intensive market research and more investment. However, business owners can take advantage of quality systems and excellence models to ensure that initiatives and input of resources are aligned toward similar goals. However, an organization’s administrators must first understand what quality entails and what is required to ensure consistency. This paper is in support of the statement that the effective management of quality requires an organization to be able to define quality and understand the need for quality improvement systems. It provides examples of quality management strategies adopted by the Mercedes-Benz Group, suggesting that this knowledge is critical to informed decision-making.
The Definition of Quality and How It Applies to Organizations
There are several definitions of quality depending on an organization’s objectives and its consumers’ needs. The most widely accepted definition of quality focuses on customer-oriented ideologies suggesting that an organization achieves quality when it meets its consumers’ expectations. However, the concept of quality entails both subjective and objective aspects of various shareholders (Pambreni et al., 2019). As a result, scholars have assigned different meanings to the term, thus expanding its role beyond satisfying customers. Quality in management refers to consistent conformance to clients’ and customers’ needs and expectations by offering the absolute best products and services (Dahlgaard-Park et al., 2018). In other words, quality recommends adopting processes, producing goods, and delivering services that are flawless and suit their intended purposes. Even so, the meaning of quality varies across organizations due to complicated business designs.
Quality standards are the products of comparisons performed on similar products and industry leaders. Thus, quality can also be described as a natural property or tool associated with a particular good or service to make it stand out from the others. For example, the Mercedes-Benz Group is a leading automotive company headquartered in Germany. However, its vehicles always stand out from the rest, allowing it to attach many consumers. As a result, the company engages in diverse marketing initiatives to convince its consumers that its products are unlike any other (Shaw, 2019). Nevertheless, Nguyen and Nagase (2019) suggest that quality depends on the perspectives of individuals who use a product. That being said, quality defines the levels of acceptance consumers have of particular products and their preferences. However, Bouranta et al., (2019) argue that consumers are not the only group that should be satisfied by a particular company’s initiatives. Instead, institutions should cater to the needs of all their stakeholders, thus covering everyone who finds value or is interested in the organization’s success. On that account, delivering acceptable quality levels depends on familiarizing with the needs of all stakeholders and aligning company objectives to those needs.
The concept of quality also depends on certain product and service attributes and the complexity associated with its development. For example, the Mercedes-Benz Group prioritizes high performance, resilience, and cutting-edge product features. Thus, some individuals may match the quality of other automobiles by the levels of comfort, design, line of performance, engine power, and featured attributes (Praditya, 2020). In most cases, the Mercedes-Benz Group charges premium prices for their high-end vehicles to differentiate them from regular releases. Quality is also linked with the levels of perfection and flaws in a product or service. Hence, a high-quality product is that which is free from any defectiveness (Bouranta et al., 2019). On that account, some people may perceive a compact car with no issues, hardly requires repairs, and does not have engine problems as optimum quality since it facilitates a seamless experience.
Quality can also be determined based on production and value. The degree to which a product conforms to its specifications or services meet their description constitutes quality. However, an organization can also measure quality based on its commitment to specific standards and uniformity. The Mercedes-Benz Group has a production line designed to limit any form of variations in their products (Shaw, 2019). Thus, a defect in one product can mean that the whole line of production is substandard because these organizations pay strict attention to producing goods without notable variations. From a value standpoint, quality means meeting and exceeding consumers’ expectations (Nguyen and Nagase, 2019). Similarly, this principle looks into the long-term benefits or potential harms of the products or services in question. As a result, organizations that prioritize value to assure quality seek to extend a product’s life and minimize waste. In the long run, these companies win the hearts of consumers and attract more buyers.
Quality Systems and How they Improve Service Quality
Consumers have different and varying expectations, thus presenting issues on the best solutions to ensure that products or services accommodate the wishes of all involved parties. However, a quality system or quality service system is a tool that managers can use to make practical decisions about what to sustain and what to alter to meet general satisfaction requirements. A service-quality management system is a collection of complex techniques that systematically identifies, records or captures, stores, organizes, and disseminate critical information for decision-making purposes (Prakash, 2018). A quality system comprises parts that facilitate the continuous input and output of data from various resources whenever required to oversee program initiatives (Bahari and Mahmud, 2018). Therefore, quality systems can assist managers and administrators to keep track of their quality performance, access to market indicators, research resources, and frameworks to implement better techniques for quality management (Kang et al., 2021). The ultimate aim of a quality system is to eliminate gaps between the perceived and actual levels of quality in institutions by facilitating thorough investigations, communication, and corrective action. Thus, these systems are the background of exemplary performance, continuous improvement, and unmatched quality.
A quality system adheres to specific procedures and prioritizes obtaining information from various resources to support initiatives. Using data from various sources is particularly critical because all quality assurance approaches have strengths and weaknesses. Thus, different datasets allow tapping into particular strengths and compensating for associated weaknesses. The continuous collection of data is also vital for a functional quality system because they are used to identify patterns and act accordingly (Prakash, 2018). For example, there are periods during the business year when organizations, including the Mercedes-Benz Group, experience a steady decline in business prospects. However, it might be difficult to identify the cause of diminished performance without data on trends to investigate associated factors. Therefore, a quality system can help complex organizations to note whether shifting priorities are due to competitors, individual preferences, or the establishment of better solutions (Kang et al., 2021). Consequently, administrators can use this information to make amendments to their processes and provide better goods or services.
The Mercedes-Benz Group has a comprehensively designed quality system that provides its administrators with a broader view of its quality levels and what is required to achieve particular results. Thus, the system assists the organization by informing decision-makers of the business attributes and prospects that are essential to consumers (Markulik et al., 2019). It also shows whether particular strategies yield the desired results or are not functioning as expected. As a result, a service quality system can allow organizations to do away with clutter and irrelevant processes (Kang et al., 2021). It encourages focusing on planning for resource allocation and service improvement. Moreover, it can facilitate increased motivation in staff and managers as they will be able to compare the performance of various departments within the organization, collaborate in interdisciplinary teams, and adopt effective techniques to deliver on obligations.
Mercedes Benz’s quality system is also designed to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of methods employed to achieve particular goals. Thus, it assists the organization to reduce waste and limit errors (Markulik et al., 2019). For example, standardizing goods produced by factories and ensuring their uniformity can help organizations accurately estimate the resources required for completion. Therefore, a quality system provides accurate information that allows managers to estimate appropriate inputs and determine the expected outputs (Bahari and Mahmud, 2018). Moreover, it assists in noting discrepancies in the system, which serves to limit the window of errors as the technicians and individuals involved in the production process are better positioned to rectify causative factors. As a result, a quality system can help an organization lower the costs of the production process and save on a lot of revenue by limiting wastage and deficiencies.
Utilizing a quality system in various departments throughout an organization is critical to career development as it informs staff members of issues experienced by other managers and service sectors. Hence, it can help administrators to include workers in decision-making and propel the organization toward the desired direction without leaving anyone out. As a result, managers are advised to investigate system approaches that align with their goals or objectives and oversee their application in quality management.
Using Excellence Models to Improve Service Provision
Achieving excellence is a core business mission of organizations, obligating them to formulate goals and design initiatives toward meeting objectives. However, most institutions do not take into account the meaning of excellence as some of their initiatives do not align with the tenets of the term. Excellence in organizations is described as the ongoing process of establishing internal standards, guidelines, and frameworks to motivate and engage employees in delivering services and products that comprehensively fulfill consumer needs (Dahlgaard-Park et al., 2018). Nevertheless, these efforts should assure the best interests of all shareholders and the organization. With time, business excellence practices have developed into models used to assess and determine organizational performance and the effectiveness of its quality management. The Mercedes Benz organization generally adopts two business excellence models including the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) and ISO management standards (Markulik et al., 2019). These models advocate for total quality management to achieve the highest possible quality of products or services.
Some of the benefits of adopting this model in organizations include its inclination to result-orientation, consumer focus, consistency of purpose, leadership, and the management of processes and effects. After implementing the quality system in practice, employees of the organization note this qualitative restructuring of the entire enterprise when all work processes become clear. Moreover, the statistical methods allow one to identify and correct up to 85% of the causes of defects (Praditya, 2020). It is possible to develop a mechanism preventing consumer complaints and claims, which will work like clockwork. Quality systems are multifunctional, and one of the options for their use at the enterprise is a matrix. According to the experience of Mercedes Benz, a matrix built according to the quality standards increases the importance of the management’s role, enables them to focus on strategic direction, and delegate power, thus increasing the involvement of the other employees (Praditya, 2020). Employee involvement is one of the fundamental principles of quality systems. The management team involves the employees in creating and providing value, whether they work full-time, part-time, outsourced, or in-house.
The organization should encourage employees to improve their skills continually. This principle also involves empowering employees, involving them in decision-making, and recognizing their accomplishments (Praditya, 2020). When people are valued, they work to the best of their ability, increasing their confidence and motivation.
Moreover, at the heart of quality systems is increased financial engagement. A functioning QMS also increases a company’s economic attractiveness (Medne et al., 2020). After all, the value of assets will grow due to an increase in the price of high-quality products and an increase in the value of the company’s brand. Implementation of quality management is an opportunity to improve the company’s economic performance and optimize internal processes, mainly through the better and more precise distribution of powers and responsibilities. The experience of implementing the systems demonstrates that the standard makes it possible to build a management system that will react adequately and timely to internal and external changes.
The ISO quality management model is also used by several organizations to improve efficiency and performance by identifying steps that they can continuously take to achieve their goals. The model focuses on creating an organizational culture that prioritizes a continuous cycle of self-assessment, evaluation, improvement of operations, and correction of identified issues by informing workers and encouraging leaders’ commitment (Sá et al., 2019). The advantages of adopting this model for quality management in organizations include improved risk management, effective and efficient resource use, a focus on financial performance, in the enhanced capability of delivering consistent and unique services. Subsequently, the ISO model increases the value of organizations to their consumers and stakeholders. Therefore, it can be adopted by established and start-up organizations to maximize quality and achieve excellence.
Conclusion
Business organizations are responsible for exploring and identifying the perceptions of their consumers and clients toward service delivery and their definition of quality to enable them to make the necessary changes to meet expectations. Thus, it is advisable to adopt recommended techniques and approaches that ascertain positive results. A quality system is a reliable tool that managers can use to collect vital information about their performance and oversee the improvement of various sectors of the business. However, collected information may not be of help without a reliable framework to define goals and advance. The Mercedes Benz Company is an organization that has excelled in its initiatives for decades. Therefore, managers and administrators should follow in its footsteps and adopt various excellence models, including the EFQM and ISO frameworks to support decision-making and act as a reference for total quality management. Given the factors mentioned above, managers must familiarize themselves with the definition of quality according to their industries and why quality management is necessary for sustainability and the long-term existence of organizations.
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