Case Analysis

By: Arjun Vijayakumar

BL.BU.P2MBA19016
1) The Case of Missing Reservation
Q.1) Were the hostess’s action consistent with a customer-focused quality philosophy?
What might she have done differently?
Ans. No. The hostess’s action was inconsistent with the customer-focused quality
philosophy. Because she did not focus on the main aspects of quality which is Customer
focus and customer satisfaction. It is important that the hostess does her duty properly and
serve the customers accordingly.

 Instead of treating them badly, the hostess could have made them sit in an
alternative table which is reserved for other guests until they arrive. A proper
reservation system is required in this case in order to make customers satisfied.
 If we look at the service provided here, we can see there is a complete failure here. If
a service failure occurs, a service recovery must be done in order to meet the main
aspects of quality. She could have provided some concessions like giving a certain
percentage discount on the bill or provide a dish for free.
 In order to do this, she must be given proper training and empowerment. As a
hostess, she must understand how we must face a customer, how we must not try to
dissatisfy them. If the customer is not satisfied, what are the ways of making the
customer being treated properly. All this must be done, so that it will meet the
customer-focused philosophy.
Q.2) How would you have reacted to the letter that Mark received? Could the Total Quality
Lead have responded differently? What does the fact that the hotel manager did not
personally respond to the customer tell you?
Ans:

 First, we will have to give an apology to the customer. Since a proper service was not
provided to Mark.
 We will have to provide the customer some concession and compensation so that
the customer will have a feeling that the company cares about the complaints and
the recommendations they receive.
 The Total Quality Lead could have responded differently. In fact, they should have
taken the complaint in a serious manner. Since only very few customers tend to
complain about the service. They could have followed the points which I have
mentioned above.
 It shows the fact that the manager does not have any concerns about the quality and
the satisfaction of the customer. The principal that must be followed in every
organization must be ‘Quality is everyone’s job’. So, by this statement we can
 understand that everyone is responsible for the problems that the manager face and
it is not up to the Quality Lead Team to only look after the issue.

2) SC PHARMACY
Q.1) How might different definitions of quality apply to AC?
Ans.

 Since there are various perspectives of quality that can be applied to Skilled Care’s
operations. The ones that can be applied here are; Transcendent Approach, Product
Based Approach, Value Based Approach, Cross-Functional Team Approach.
 All these adhere to the qualities that Skilled Care Operations have. Because their
philosophy states that ‘Services and products that meet or exceed both our internal
and external customers’ expectations.’ which is very much closely related to the definitions
of quality.

Q.2) How are the principles of total quality reflected in SC’s policy and operations?
Ans.

 As we know the principles of quality are- Customer & Stakeholder focus, People
focused and continuous improvement are all part of this.
 By looking at the SC’s policy and operations, we can see that they do follow the
principles of total quality. Also, by looking at the levels of organizational structure,
they do have pharmacists, pharmacy, technicians, medical data entry, accountants,
billing specialists, nurses, human resources, sales/marketing, purchasing,
administrative and administrative assistance, delivery, customer service
representatives, and IT certified personnel.
 It shows that the organization is well structured and is well disciplined. Hence the
principles of total quality are practiced.
Q.3) Given the nature of SC’s operations and the challenges it faces, discuss how a total
quality approach can help the company meet these challenges and improve its ability to
provide the services its customers need.
Ans.

 Given the challenges such as: evolving financial structure of health care, a shortage of
licensed pharmacist personnel, the constant evolution of medical, practice, and employee
retention at all levels. The total quality approach that can be used here are as follows:
 First, we have to primarily focus on the customer requirement and measure the customer
satisfaction. By implementing PDCA it will help improve it further. Then focus on
communicating the strategic directions and objectives. A good leadership is very important
in an organization.
 Next step is to make all the employees involved. We must make sure they must be engaged
and must be provided with all the necessary inputs and knowledge, which will help reducing
the retention levels.
  Then we must focus on the process approach. A robust process is required to make it more
efficient.
 Next step is to focus on improvement by recognizing and acknowledging the performances
of employees. Identify the risks which affects the organization and work on improving that. A
monitoring system could be placed to improve based on the feedback.
 Then we could focus on taking actions based on evidence. Understand the cause-and-effect
relationship and based on that proper decisions must be taken.
 The last step would be to identify and built proper relationship with relevant parties, it could
be customers, suppliers etc.

3) GE’s Rotary Compressor

Q.1) What factors in the product development process caused this disaster? What individuals were
responsible?

Ans.

 They did not listen to those who were close to the problem. When the facts were being
presented, they did not even consider going for it.
 Shortening of the testing time
 Company was very arrogant and was not focused on improving the issues they faced.
 No proper economic analysis was made.
 They made compressors which would affect the customer acceptance.
 There was failure that occurred in the powder metallurgy area and they did not consider
listening to the past failures. The design engineers did not take this into consideration. It
shows the culture they follow in the organization, which is dissatisfying.
 Failing to consider services offered from other companies and avoiding outsourcing which
could have benefited them.
 Recommendation to the mgt. by the technical people was not faithfully accepted
 Organization pressure was there.
 The organization felt that whatever they were doing was enough. No proper analysis was
made.
 The company lacked communication which led to no proper facts being told.

Individuals who were responsible:

 Manufacturing Engineers- Failed to mass produce compressors.

 Design Engineers- Failure they occurred in the powder metallurgy
 Management- They did not consider the joint venture and avoided outsourcing.
 Supervisors- Did not consider the issues they faced and did not relay on the upper
management
 Testing Staff- No proper testing was being made.

Q.2) How might this disaster have been prevented? What lessons do you think GE learned for the
future?

Ans.

 They should design few products first to ensure they are meeting the customer
requirements and whether the reliability is there or not.
 A proper quality system must be placed to ensure the product has a proper quality
  They could have considered the option of Outsourcing as it helps them to prevent issues that
they faced when they avoided it.

Lessons from failure

 They should follow the TQM approach by following the seven steps
 They should continuously improve the manufacturing operations based on the changing
customer requirements.
 Communicate the strategic directions and objectives. So that the organization can achieve
the objectives and helps in making it effective and efficient.
 There must be involvement of employees and they must be engaged and acknowledged for
the performances they have done. Consider the suggestions that the employees are telling.
 Every action they take must be based on evidence. A proper cause and effect relationship
must be done so that an effective decision can be taken.
 A proper relationship must be built among the departments, so that, it will reduce the issues
they face when developing a product.

Q.3) On what basis was GE attempting to achieve a competitive advantage? How did they fail?

GE attempted to achieve competitive advantage through product differentiation. Because they were
improving the current process of manufacturing. As they analysed, they came to know that they
were not meeting the customer requirements.

Reasons for failure:

 When they were creating a compressor, they did not take into consideration the mistakes
they faced previously
 They should have considered the option of outsourcing so that they could prevent such
issues.
 The management was very arrogant and did not respect anyone’s decision properly.
 Shortening of the testing time should not have been done. They should have done proper
testing so that they can know whether the product meets the customer requirements or
not.