Customer Satisfaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6750 words

Customer Satisfaction - Essay Example The product development cycle starts with the assessment of the customer's needs and ends when the design is finally released. In this highly competitive environment world class organizations are supposed to implement the TQM strategy in order to continually seek better performance. In the world we live today, it must be amply clear that; In fact these guiding principles are inextricably linked to each other and development of this thought along with the development of other business processes can lead to some form of a competitive advantage in the market. The modern view of quality is that products should totally satisfy the customer's needs and expectations in every respect on a continuous basis. This new concept calls for a well designed product with functional perfection, providing satisfaction beyond customer's expectation, excellence in service and absolute empathy with customer. TQM therefore encompasses a set of critical factors (Powell, 1995; Li et al., 2003; Arawati, 2005). In general, some of these critical factors can be identified as; Top management commitment: The top management of a company must be convinced enough to adopting quality control programmes. This will help in conditioning the attitude of other departmental heads to regularly monitor the quality aspect. StrategicStrategic planning: Strategic planning is a process which, through an examination of external and internal factors for an organisation, results in a set of mission, purpose, objectives, policies, plans and programmes for implementation. Customer focus: A progressive organisation is supposed to have a strategy for quality which is based on customer perceptions of quality. Customer service after the sale of a product is considered as important as the quality of the product itself. Benchmarking: It is the process of following the best in the industry. Human resource management: Human resources form the crucial part of any organisation. They are the key players in producing and delivering quality. Supplier relationship: Suppliers too have a role in quality assurances as their role encompasses the identification, acquisition, access, positioning, and management of the resources required for the product and the company. Continuous improvement: Improvement is a never ending cyclic process. Product Quality requires to be continually improved to remain in the competition. Quality information system: How the quality principles are being implemented in the company and if required the management can decide to take a corrective course of action midway, is determined by the Quality Information System (QIS). It was in early 90s that the concept of Total Quality Management started being promoted as a way for business to wring out inefficiencies and boost productivity. TQM was considered the only way to effectively compete with the Japanese dominance in the manufacturing sector. It is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services satisfying their needs. KLEEMANN's activities1 concern both the manufacturing and