Total quality management is a cultural approach that aims to prevent errors rather than identifying them. TQM means that the whole workforce has to be committed to quality and it aims to build quality in every department of a business. TQM is customer driven- every employee has to try to satisfy customers.
For my business I will have to make sure that I use good quality ingredients, in a consistent manner in order to produce the highest quality cakes.
During the production process I will perform tests on weight controls to ensure that the correct amounts of the ingredients are used.
I will also scrutinise the production process to eliminate the bad cakes (burnt or broken ones) to make sure that every cake meets the highest standard set.
After production I will perform some tests on a sample to ensure whether the cake still maintains its taste, shape and freshness this will be part of the whole quality control process.
There are laws which ensure that businesses produce goods of a minimum standard and that they are fit for their purpose. Businesses also have to make sure that their product will not harm the customer and that the information that is provided about the product is not misleading. Businesses are also required by law to answer to customer complaints. It can be expensive for businesses to ensure that their products meet all these laws but if they didn’t then they would most likely have to face legal action.
A good set of incentives can help boost staff performance and benefit the business directly. There are a wide range of incentive schemes. Financial incentive schemes are very useful and can focus on employees hitting the target.
For my business I will use a pay system that contains direct links to individual performance and results. I will provide the staff with incentive bonus scheme. According to this scheme an additional payment will be paid when there is an increase in sales which has exceeded given target. Variable bonuses will also be paid to reward the high performances achieved against pre-determined standard. However, piece work will not be as beneficial as the bonus scheme as quality of cakes may be compromised to achieve a higher output.
In the first year of my business I will not be able to give out bonuses as my company’s budget will be restricted due to the starting costs of the business. However, in order to increase the level of efficiency in my employees I have to consider a non-financial incentive scheme. I can introduce Job Enlargement or Job Rotation to motivate the employees. Job enlargement could help to remove the boredom out of the job, for example a baker could be allowed to pack the cake as well as baking it. On the other hand Job rotation could make the job more challenging as the employee will be given a variety of tasks. For example the cake decorator could be given the responsibility of ordering materials and making delivery arrangements instead of just decorating the cakes.
If I start receiving a greater number of orders then I’ll be happy to pay my employees to do over time, without increasing my staffing levels. Hiring an employee would be rather expensive, time consuming, and could later result in over staff. Overtime can be very effective in meeting workload demands with minimizing costs and maximizing employee satisfaction. It is also a flexible approach that can be increased and decreased to match my workload demands. It is also a cheap option for my business as no additional training will be required.
