problem 2

INSTRUCTION:

For the Week 2 Problems activity, you will complete and submit the following items:

Chapter 3

• Problem 1

• Problem 2

• Problem 10 (Hint: Compute relative performance and CPV's)

Note 1: Problem 10 above will use the data set found in C03Data.xlsx.

Note 2: In order to earn credit for your answers to the problems, you are required to show all

supporting work. Also, you may be expected to use Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, and/or

PowerPoint) when showing your supporting work. If you use a 'template', save all of the information

(numerical ~ formulas/visual ~ charts, tables, graphs, etc).

You may upload each problem from Chapter 3 one at time (LastnameFirstnameWK2Problem#) or you

may combine all problems into a compressed zip file (LastnameFirstnameWK2Problems.zip).

Chapter 4

• Referring to the five Deming's Points (6, 7, 8, 10, and 13) that relate directly to the notion of

empowerment, which is the most important of the points and why? Relating to employee

empowerment, page 170 includes a list of 7 requirements that require significant change in an

organization. Which one of these requirements presents the greatest challenge to implement?

Referencing this list, how can empowerment relate to improving quality of your

products/services?

CHAPTER 3

1. Ski magazine conducts and annual survey of readers to rate ski resorts. They used the

following attri- butes as the basis for the survey: snow, grooming, terrain variety, challenge,

value, lifts, service, weather, access, on-mountain food, lodging, dining, après-ski, off-hill

activities, family programs, scen- ery, terrain parks, and overall satisfaction. Classify each of

these attributes using the eight dimensions of quality (i.e., performance, features, etc.).

2. Classify the following customer requirements for a hotel using the five key dimensions of

service quality—reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, or responsiveness.70

• Hotel equipment is always functioning

•Hotel staff is knowledgeable to answer guest’s

questions

•Hotel has comfortable beds, furniture, and fittings

•Guests feel safe as services are delivered to their

Rooms

• Hotel services are provided as promised

•Hotel has well-dressed staff

• Hotel staff is always willing to help guests

• Hotel furnishings appear to be clean and shiny

• Guests receive individual attention

• Guests feel that hotel services are provided at a

competitive and affordable price

CHAPTER 4

Empowerment

Empowerment simply means giving people authority—to make

decisions based on what they feel is right, to have control over their

work, to take risks and learn from mistakes, and to promote change. It

is a shift of decision responsibility downward within an organization—

from management to workers on the production floor or to service

work- ers on the front lines. Empowerment requires employees to step

outside their traditional roles and make decisions previously made by

managers.39 Moreover, empowerment requires, as the management

of Wainwright Industries once stated, a sincere belief and trust in

people.

The need to empower the entire workforce in order for quality to

succeed has long been recognized. Juran wrote that “ideally, quality

control should be delegated to the workforce to the maximum extent

possible.”40 Five of Deming’s 14 Points relate directly to the notion of

empowerment:

Point 6: Institute training.

Point 7: Teach and institute leadership.

Point 8: Drive out fear. Create trust. Create a climate for innovation.

Point 10: Eliminate exhortations for the workforce.

Point 13: Encourage education and self-improvement for everyone.41

These points suggest that managers need to involve workers more directly in decision- making

processes, thus giving them the security and confidence to make decisions, and providing them with the

necessary tools and training.

Examples of empowerment abound. At AT&T, design engineers have the authority to stop a design, and

line operators can stop the production line if they detect a quality problem. In Ritz-Carlton hotels, each

employee can spend up to $2,000 to satisfy a cus- tomer. Because of the high level of empowerment

given to individuals and teams at Texas Nameplate, the company disbanded its quality control

department, assigning its activities to various people who do the work. Workers in the Coors Brewery

container operation give each other performance evaluations, and even screen, interview, and hire new

people for the line. A Corning Glass plant replaced 21 different jobs with one “specialist” job and gave

employee teams broad authority over production scheduling and division of labor.

Empowerment can benefit customers who buy the organization’s products and services. For instance,

empowered employees can often reduce bureaucratic red tape that customers encounter—such as

seeking a supervisor’s signature—which makes customer transactions speedier and more pleasant. At

Motorola, for instance, sales representatives have the authority to replace defective products up to six

years after purchase, a decision that used to require top management approval. Anne Mulcahy, former

CEO of Xerox, described the benefits of empowerment using an example about service representatives

who handle customers’ calls and take orders for supplies:

It’s a demanding job that traditionally hasn’t included much flexibility. Well, we had real issues in one of

our call centers a few years ago. Effectiveness and morale were down; absenteeism and turnover were

up. And when managers got tough, things only got worse. So we tried something radically different—we

asked the reps to set their own schedules. After we did this, all our measures started heading in the

right direction direction.42

Empowered employees must have the wisdom to know what to do and when to do it, the motivation to

do it, and the right tools to accomplish the task.43 These requirements may mean significant changes in

work systems, specifically, the following:

•Employees be provided education, resources, and encouragement

• Policies and procedures be examined for needless restrictions on the ability of

employees to serve customers

• An atmosphere of trust be fostered rather than resentment and punishment for

Failure

•Information be shared freely rather than closely guarded as a source of control and

Power

•Workers feel their efforts are desired and needed for the success of the organization • Managers be

given the required support and training to adopt a “hands-off” leader-

ship style

•Employees be trained in the amount of latitude they are allowed to take. Formulat- ing decision rules

and providing role-playing scenarios are excellent ways of teach- ing employees44

Empowerment also means that leaders and managers must relinquish some of the power that they

previously held. This power shift often creates management fears that workers will abuse this privilege.

However, experience shows that front-line workers gen- erally are more conservative than managers.

For example, companies that have empow- ered employee groups to evaluate performance and grant

pay raises to their peers have found that they are much tougher than managers were.

Empowerment gives managers new responsibilities. They must hire and develop people capable of

handling empowerment, encourage risk taking, and recognize achieve- ments. Giving employees

information about company finances and the financial implica- tions of empowered decisions is also

important. At DuPont’s Delaware River plant, management shares cost figures with all workers.45 By

sharing this information, manage- ment believes that workers will think more for themselves and

identify with company goals. To help employees make decisions on issues affecting production, a

department manager at the Eastman Chemical plant in Texas supplied operators with a daily finan- cial

report that showed how their decisions affected the bottom line. As a result, depart- ment profits

doubled in four months and quality improved by 50 percent as employees began suggesting cost-saving

improvements.46

David Geisler suggests that what traditionally passes for empowerment does not allow employees to use

their skills and talents to the maximum.47 He promotes the con- cept of self-determination as an

extension of empowerment and argues that individual and organizational effectiveness result when

employees are allowed to achieve their own unique levels of excellence; and that personal power arises

when employees are certain that the organization is free of barriers, they are valued for what they

contribute, and they are allowed to express themselves.