Total quality management
Total quality management stresses a commitment by management and employees to have a continuous organization-wide drive toward excellence in all aspects of products and services that are important to the customer. It involves the entire organization from the supplier to the customer. Improvement of quality allows the organization to increase sales and reduce costs. It is the operations manager’s work to build a system that identifies and satisfies customer needs.
For the Four Seasons Hotel to measure its success in quality, the company management had to undertake a rigorous self-examination of its operations in an attempt to measure and quantify quality. Nineteen processes were put to the test, including room service delivery, guest reservation and registration, message delivery, and breakfast service. This period of self-study included statistical measurement of cycle times and process workflows for areas ranging from room service delivery times and reservations to valet parking and housekeeping efficiency. The results were used to develop performance benchmarks against which future activity could be measured.
For a company that wishes to provide top quality products or services, there are specific actions that they must undertake. The company must create consistency of purpose. This involves making its sole mission and culture to be providing top-notch quality. This allows for every member of the company to want nothing other than excellence in their work. The company’s management must also lead to promote change. They must be an inspiration to the rest of the employees to want to give their best consistently to provide the best quality.
Instead of waiting for the inspection to catch errors, the company must ensure that they build quality into the product from the start. The process involves inspecting the goods before they come from the supplier, then doing inspections at every significant step of the process. The company must also build its business relationships based on quality instead of the
price. The company must also offer the appropriate training for all its employees. This allows all members of the organization to have the relevant skills required to produce the best quality. The company must recognize that total quality management is a continuous process and therefore keep improving product and service quality. They must always work to give the best quality.
For the Four Seasons Hotel, achieving the required quality with the first attempt is very important. This allows the hotel to maintain its reputation. The employees, suppliers, and customers remain aware of the bar set at all times. This dramatically affects their ability to compete globally with other renowned hotels.
Instead of wasting funds reducing the potential of defects occurring, it is easier to make sure that at the first trial, the best quality is achieved. Ensuring that work is done right the first time will also save the hotel the cost of an appraisal. This is the cost incurred in evaluating products and services to see if they have achieved the required standards.
The hotel can offer means of suggestion either using suggestion boxes or responses through their website or email so that their customers can give their feedback concerning their experiences. This allows for management to know where to improve and where to maintain. Using the best techniques will assure the fruitful hotel results.
Works Cited
Molina-Azorín, J. F., Tarí, J. J., Pereira-Moliner, J., Lopez-Gamero, M. D., & Pertusa-Ortega, E. M. (2015). The effects of quality and environmental management on competitive advantage: A mixed methods study in the hotel industry. Tourism Management, 50, 41-54.s
Pertusa-Ortega, E. M., López-Gamero, M. D., Pereira-Moliner, J., Tarí, J. J., & Molina-Azorín, J. F. (2018). Antecedents of environmental management: the influence of organizational design and its mediating role between quality management and environmental management. Organization & Environment, 31(4), 425-443.