Abstract
I cannot think of writing a book about Operations without discussing Quality. The Quality movement has meant a “before and after” in the life of Operations. Nonetheless, few words in company vocabulary ring hollower. It is talked about and given multiple and various meanings.
The world of Operations has learned many lessons from quality. Chapter 12 sums up what quality has contributed to the SPDM model.
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Notes
- 1.
Try this. Give an auditorium full of people a sheet of blank paper and ask them to define the term quality. Doubtless you will find no two definitions that are the same.
- 2.
The Japanese use the term Kaizen, or “quest for truth,” to define progress toward improvement.
- 3.
Readers will now ask; what about ISO? The answer depends on how to approach such standards. ISO certification may be on the conceptual or management level, although it is usually on the conceptual one, as it defines processes and the necessary absence of variability in the latter.
- 4.
Take note, readers, that there are three levels, as in the SPDM model. And like the SPDM model, each has different degrees of abstraction.
- 5.
I have always thought that poor old Quality is being forced to undergo the same trials and tribulations as a chorus girl in an ballet company thrust into the prima ballerina role. The poor thing will try, but will not make it; she is neither trained nor capable. Nonetheless, she puts in a great performance as one of the chorus. She is wonderful when she sticks to her level, but not when taken out of it. Remember Swan Lake?
- 6.
Experimental design or Taguchi method. Experimental design dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century, when Ronald Fisher introduced the randomness concept and variance analysis. The theory and practice of experimental design were consolidated and expanded and, in several industries, Genichi Taguchi’s contributions opened the way to routine applications. Taguchi methodology consists of three stages: (1) system design, (b) designing parameters and (c) designing tolerance.
- 7.
The worst way to die, because it unnecessarily takes many achievements with it.
- 8.
Pareto. The Pareto principle is also known as the 80-20 rule and is named in honor of Vilfredo Pareto, who first outlined it. A Pareto chart may be used to spot problems that are more important by applying the Pareto principle (the vital few, the trivial many), which asserts that there are many unimportant problems as opposed to only a few serious ones, as on the whole, 80% of total results come from 20% of elements.
- 9.
KJ. The KJ method is a bottom-up approach devised by Shoji Shiba that stems from a list of concepts which gradually join together out of affinity between pictures. Similarity between concepts is not syntactic, i.e., due to similar words, but semantic, i.e., due to images that suggest similar concepts. The emphasis on semantics and shunning syntax is due to recognizing that certain language features exist that hinder human creativity. A conscious effort is needed to break syntactic dependence, so that it can free itself from the true meaning of qualitative data. The KJ method has its roots in anthropology. Based on the idea that hieroglyphs transmit pictures, the method adopts that vision and suggests judging the similarity between concepts by looking at the pictures each represents. This is especially suitable when a lot of non-numerical data exists, as its processing is made difficult by having no statistical analysis tools.
- 10.
We assume that both heads are working and not on standby. Have readers noticed how one can physically “hear” a brain when it begins to think? Listen and you will see. And if not, ponder whether the brains around you are thinking or just ornamental.
- 11.
Readers will forgive me for being a little radical (and I am too!). It is true that in certain companies, quality has achieved great success, but if readers stop to think why, behind that success is a middle management layer that identifies with ideas and does not feel threatened by implementing them.
- 12.
Paraphrasing, Le roi est mort, vive le roi! (The king is dead, long live the king!), a motto used in succession rituals for monarchies, especially in the kingdom of France (since 1422).
Bibliography
Muñoz-Seca, B. (2011). An Overview of Service Design, PN–478–E, IESE.
Muñoz-Seca, B. and Riverola, J. (2004). Problem Driven Management. Achieving improvement in operations through knowledge management, London-New York, Editorial Palgrave-Macmillan.
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Muñoz-Seca, B. (2017). Quality Is a Corps de Ballet Dancer Cast as Prima Ballerina. In: How to Make Things Happen. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54786-2_12
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