CASE QUESTION I. TecSmart Electronics 1.

TecSmart Electronics strengths (abbreviated) may be numbered for identification, as follows: (1) (2) (3) Senior leaders set company objectives and guide cross-functional teams to review and develop individual plans. Senior leaders participate in quarterly communication meetings with all employees to discuss company issues and answer questions. Senior leaders teach courses in TecSmart University; meet with customers, suppliers, and benchmarking partners; and are actively engaged in professional and community organizations. The company collects operational data in every department and evaluates its information. TecSmart has set Six Sigma goals for most of its processes. All employees are trained in a 5-step problem solving process. Inputs to the strategic planning process include customer feedback, market research, and benchmarking information from customers, suppliers, competitors, and industry leaders, etc. The CEO reviews progress every month. TecSmart uses over a dozen different processes to gather customer information, and validates the information. All employees receive customer relationship training. All complaints are handled by the Vice President of Sales and resolved within 2 days. Customer satisfaction data is acquired from sales representatives, etc. and these data are reviewed and compared by the executive team during the strategic planning process. TecSmart uses self-managed work groups where employees make most day-to-day decisions while managers focus on coaching and process improvement. The average employee receives 72 hours of internal quality/servicerelated training. Employees have been surveyed each year to gauge how effectively the company has implemented Demings 14 Points. Cross-functional teams guide product development, which includes four interim reviews by executive management. New product introduction teams work with design engineers and customers to ensure that design requirements are met and SPC is used to monitor variation, provide a basis for corrective action, and optimize processes.

(4) (5) (6) (7)

(8) (9) (10) (11)

(12)

(13) (14) (15) (16)

(17) (18)

Quality is assessed through internal audits, employee opinion surveys, and customer feedback. Suppliers are involved in early stages of a product development program and quality requirements for suppliers have been identified.

When related to Demings new version of his 14 points we can see: 1. Create a Statement of Purpose. TecSmart has a focus on quality, service, and value. This is also reinforced by #1 and #2. By making plans (#1), and cascading them down the organization, the leadership team can focus on the three key values. By holding quarterly communication meetings (#2), senior leaders can reinforce their statement of purpose. Learn the New Philosophy. A dedication to learning is shown in #3, #7, and #13. The best way to learn is to teach something, as the executives do in #3. They are also learning as they gather inputs for the strategic planning process in #7. Finally, in #13, provision is made not only for training, but learning through the quality/service-related training sessions. Understand Inspection. Inspection is not explicitly addresses, but items 4, 5, 6, and 8, among others, show that decisions based on facts, which can involve inspection, are routinely made. End Price Tag Decisions. The basis on which decisions are made for purchasing parts and services is not discussed. However, item #18 states that suppliers are involved in early stages of a product development program. That implies that there is a close working relationship between the company and suppliers, and that cost concerns are discussed and worked out to minimize quality issues. Improve Constantly. A process is in place to train employees in a 5-step problem solving process (#6), and new processes are documented and variation in ongoing processes is monitored for corrective action (#16). Institute Training. As stated earlier, training and learning seem to be built into the fabric of the company, such that executives teaching courses at TecSmart University (#3). Customer relationship training is also required for all employees (#9). Also, in #13, provision is made for 72 hours of training on service/quality topics, and sales, engineers, office staff, and managers must all be trained. Teach and Institute Leadership. Leadership is evident in objectivesetting (#1), communication and teaching (#2 and 3), planning (#7), complaint resolution (#10), and middle management coaching (#12). Drive Out Fear and Innovate. While driving out fear is not specifically addressed, it seems likely that the quarterly communication sessions (#2) with top management, employee empowerment (#12) through

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

self-managed teams, and the annual employee surveys (#14) would do a great deal to reduce or eliminate fear. Optimize the Efforts of Teams and Staff . Teams and staff have been organized and are used constantly as indicated by items 1, 4, 6, 7, 12, 15, 16, and 18. Eliminate Exhortations. Goals are set (#5) and measurement processes are used extensively (#8 and #11), but exhortations are never mentioned. Eliminate Quotas and MBO; Institute Improvement; and Understand Processes. Again, no mention is made of quotas or MBO. Understanding of the need for improvement, and to know the characteristics of processes abounds. Remove Barriers. #12 states that Hourly workers can make process changes with the agreement of only one person, and sales people are authorized to travel wherever they feel it necessary for customer service. Encourage Education. Learning, training, and education seem to all be inter-related at TecSmart. Nothing was explicitly stated about education, however. Take Action. The company has taken action to institute quality on a number of fronts, already.

2. TecSmart Electronics strengths (abbreviated see above) can also be classified according to the Baldrige criteria, as follows. The seven categories in the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Management include: 1. Leadership. Items 1, 2, 3, and 7. 2. Strategic Planning. Items 1 and 7. 3. Customer and Market Focus. Items 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, and 17. 4. Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management. Items 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 16, and 17. 5. Human Resource Focus. Items 1, 6, 9, 12, and 14. 6. Process Management. Items 4, 8, 16, and 18. 7. Business Results. Items 2, 3, 4, 7 and 17. 3. Its difficult to find obvious opportunities for improvement because TecSmart Electronics has so many obvious strengths. However, strategic planning (Category 2) appears to be an area where some improvement could take place. No mention is made of how goals are set, benchmarks are chosen, or cycles of improvement in the planning process take place. Also, other than managers who are involved in professional and community organizations, no

mention is made of how the company addresses social responsibility obligations. In addition, goal setting for financial objectives is not mentioned. In Business Results (Category 7), no mention is made of processes used to track business results, or how they are compared with internal trends and external benchmarks. Also, there are no references to measurement of social responsibility results versus goals.