Answer to Question #180877 in Management for Liu

Question

Big yellow school buses. They’re a common sight at the beginning and end of the 

school day in many communities. One company that manufactures those school 

buses is Blue Bird Corporation. School buses are a product where quality is 

paramount. After all, that product is carrying precious cargo! However, achieving 

an organizational culture that’s dedicated to quality and to efficient manufacturing 

isn’t an easy thing to do. 

(A)Assess the types of Blue Bird’s quality initiative that you think would have been 

most useful in the situation mentioned above. 

(b) Explain the four steps in the control process and how could such steps help this 

company in the future. 

Answer 1

(a)

1. DEFINE AND OUTLINE COMPANY VALUES

If you want to raise the standard of your quality culture, or establish a new one, the first thing you need to do is make sure that your company values are clearly defined.

2. TRAIN EMPLOYEES IN QUALITY CULTURE

Training is a worthwhile investment that pays dividends over the course of a company’s development. Adept teams are formed through taking part in various aspects of training, including activities that reinforce the values of quality culture within their company.

3. PURSUE QUALITY INSTEAD OF CHASING COMPLIANCE

Many companies find compliance to be a burdensome process, but true quality and compliance simply go hand in hand.

4. IMPLEMENT DOCUMENT CONTROL EARLY ON

Document control refers to the policies and procedures that should be in place to ensure that there is organizational accountability for records and other data.

5. COMMUNICATE CLEARLY WITH REGULATORS

It’s important to align yourself with regulators as much as possible. If you’re not planning and building systems according to quality standards, your risk of noncompliance is high and will eventually be uncovered at some point in the process.

6. SEEK END-USER FEEDBACK

We've already touched on a critical point of your quality culture involving ensuring at all stages that your product will have the best possible impact on the lives of your end users.

7. USE A RIGHT-SIZED QMS

Your quality culture hinges on the efficacy of the system you use to manage your quality - it’s essential to have the right foundation, infrastructure and tools to oversee and maintain that quality culture, and the way you set up and manage that operation is both important and bespoke.

(b)

Controlling involves ensuring that performance does not deviate from standards. Controlling consists of four steps:

(1) set standards, (2) measure performance, (3) compare performance to standards, (4) determine the reasons for deviations. Performance standards are often stated in monetary terms such as revenue, costs, or profits but may also be stated in other terms, such as units produced, number of defective products, or levels of quality or customer service. The measurement of performance can be done in several ways, depending on the performance standards, including financial statements, sales reports, production results, customer satisfaction, and formal performance appraisals. Managers at all levels engage in the managerial function of controlling to some degree. Effective controlling requires the existence of plans, since planning provides the necessary performance standards or objectives. Controlling also requires a clear understanding of where responsibility for deviations from standards lies.