Unit 7 Assignment: Final Paper(HRM335)

Unit 3.2 Assignment - Final Paper, Part 2

CeTreiva Whitmore Lockett

HRM335 – Organizational Behavior

Professor Dan Tegolini

February 1, 2020

Unit 3.2 Assignment: Final Paper, Part 2

Selected business: Ford

Selected initiative: Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)

Introduction

The Ford Motor Company which is known as Ford is an American automobile enterprise that specializes in designing, manufacturing and selling of automobiles and commercial vehicles. The company is the second largest in the United States and fifth globally according to global fortune. One of the company’s objectives is to become the global leader in the automobile industry. However, the realization of this objective is not possible without first taking over the American automobile industry. It is evident that from the way Ford carries out its various operations, there are some areas that need improvement to perfect the products and services. One of the most effective approaches that seem to have what the company needs to make the necessary major changes that will see improved end results and customer service is the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI).

The approach is cyclic in nature where overall performance and operations are assessed, improvement plans are designed and implemented, and the results are reassessed. The approach is applied over and over again until all the defects and errors are eliminated in the designing, manufacturing, and supply processes leading to improved quality, services, and sales. Different researchers have in the past and recently came out with quality articles that demonstrate the various ways that CQI can be used to attain long-term goals and objectives effectively. The fact that Ford has for long been unable to occupy the leading position in American automobile industry means that Ford can embrace some of these tips. The tips would assist in making the necessary large-scale changes that would enable the company to move to the next level of success. This literature review article shall analyze some articles on CQI to demonstrate how Ford can use the approach to attain the much-needed progressive change.

Literature review

Nadeem, et al, (2013) shares deep insights about CQI approach. In the article, the authors focus on necessary components that must be present to make quality improvement possible. The authors’ claims that a continuous quality improvement method is highly effective where there is teamwork, quality leadership, spirit of innovation and creativity, and finances to effect any necessary change. The authors states that the business for instance Ford in this case must start by taking into consideration the presence of the vital components that would make it possible for the approach to be applied in the first place.

The article by Nadeem et al (2013); is relevant to this initiative being addressed as well as the selected business. The more reason is that for Ford to introduce the large-scale organizational change, it requires to have the right components in place that would be collaborated in the cause of approach application. Failure to do so will lead to approach failure since the right ground was not laid. This is to mean that understanding the components necessary for a CQI and working towards their presence is an effective way of laying the right ground and creating a perfect environment for a large-scale change.

An article by Silver et al, (2016); offers great tips on exactly how to start a continuous quality improvement project. The article considers CQI as a project because it is a continuous practice that requires being perceived and handled like a project for success to be realized. The more reason is that this is the only way the business can set aside resources that would help in making the approach implementation success. In the article, Sliver states that the project starts by examining the current practices and performance for the purpose of recording the current state of the company. The team of professional should hence review what should be done to make minimal improvements.

The article by Silver et al, (2016); is highly relevant because it talks about an important and critical step in the approach. The more reason is that it is an article that described how the initially identified vital elements would be used collaboratively to kick off the project. This is important because making mistakes in the early stages have ample potential to compromise the entire effort leading to a failed mission.

Jones, (2013); is an organizational behavior management book that deals in organizational theories, designs, and change. Focusing on change, the author of the book claims that organizational growth can only be obtained if the business is positive and committed to change. The more reason is that the world of business is ever changing and for the business to remain relevant, it must embrace change as well. In the book, the change process has been extensively explained as well as how to handle change challenges for instance resistance to change. This is a reliable piece of information that any leader pursuing large scale organizational change should be aware.

The source by Jones, (2013); is hence highly relevant to the business and initiative. The more reason is that for Ford to embrace the CQI approach, the employees need to be introduced to the change and be undertaken the entire change process to promote a smooth and successful transformation. Also, in the course of approach application, leaders and employees are likely to be confronted by unexpected challenges. The information in the book provides tips that can be applied to handle any challenge.

Aquino, et al (2017) shares same insights about organizational change from the quality improvement point of view. The authors in the article narrow down from the wide organizational change concept to an organizational change that focuses on improving the quality of products and services. The source shares an interesting and educative material where it claims that large-scale change would not be done for the sake it but to attain a positive output that would place the business in a more competitive position in the market. This is a message that suits the Ford business and the desired large scale change of changing tactics that would see the business progress from the second to the leading brand in the American automobile and gradually leader in the global market (Aquino, et al 2017). The information is relevant because it provides the Ford and its leader’s information on how to make changes from a quality improvement point of view and this is what the initiative is all about.

De Groot, et al (2018); is a unique and highly relevant article that highlight the various CQI phrases and the specific quality improvement strategies that should be applied to attain desirable organizational change. In the article, the authors claim that CQI entails a continuous repetition of the same production process until the desired quality levels have been attained. It entails reviewing the first stage which is the previous practices that were applied in the last production to detect errors and areas of weakness. It is also the stage in which professionals need to be invited to share their insights and employees undertaken intensive training.

The second phase entails coming together to come up with creative ideas that should be implemented. These are ideas that can be incorporated into initial practices to make them better or have the initial practices scrubbed off and new practices implemented. The third phase entails working used the improvised or new strategies and reviewing the production process to notice the changes. The source by de Groot et al (2018); is a relevant one as per the initiative under discussion. The more reason is that it identifies the various quality improvement strategies that should be embraced in all CQI phases until desired results are obtained.

The last source is that by Altmiller, (2012); and wraps off by addressing the importance of issuing feedback as the only way to make CQI approach to have the right momentum. In the article, the author claims that when feedback at the end of the process is issued, it becomes possible to detect improvement or areas of weakness that would need improvement. The source is relevant because the CQI approach heftily relies on feedback from the previous process in order to make the necessary changes in the current process. This is to mean that Ford company employees working in all units must give feedbacks after they complete their tasks and performance because it is from these feedbacks that new resolutions to be implemented would be created.

References

Aquino, A. T. D., Silva, J. L., Melo, R. M. D., & Silva, M. M. (2017). Organizational change in quality management aspects: a quantitative proposal for classification. Production, 27.

Altmiller, G. (2012). The role of constructive feedback in patient safety and continuous quality improvement. Nursing Clinics, 47(3), 365-374.

de Groot, J. J., Timmermans, M., Maessen, J. M., Winkens, B., Dirksen, C. D., Slangen, B. F., & van der Weijden, T. (2018). Quality improvement strategies for organizational change: a multiphase observational study to increase insight into nonparticipating organizations. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 1011.

Jones, G. R. (2013). Organizational theory, design, and change. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson,.

Nadeem, E., Olin, S. S., Hill, L. C., Hoagwood, K. E., & Horwitz, S. M. (2013). Understanding the components of quality improvement collaboratives: a systematic literature review. The Milbank Quarterly, 91(2), 354-394.

Silver, S. A., Harel, Z., McQuillan, R., Weizman, A. V., Thomas, A., Chertow, G. M., ... & Chan, C. T. (2016). How to begin a quality improvement project. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 11(5), 893-900.