Strategic Plan Quality Analysis Paper

Strategic Plan Quality Analysis Paper

(your name here)

November 13, 2006

University of Phoenix / Main Campus

MGT 449

Prof. (their name here)

In this paper I will be comparing another corporation that has gone through Total Quality management, while comparing them to the corporation that I am currently working for. Since I am starting a new venture and essentially in business for myself this has been an eye opener in things I can do to effectively run my business and empowering my staff. I will evaluate the mission statement of the corporation that I have examined comparing it with mine, I will also compare the TQ in relation to the business and marketing plan that I have set fourth for my company. I will discuss the characteristics of the corporation that I have chosen and compare them to the envisioned characteristics of my business. And finally I will discuss TQ and what I can do to incorporate this into by business plan.

Evaluation

It is being made a practice with in my company that I will not only involve my employees in the decision making process, but award and praise them as we grow and learn. "No matter what your business, your employees are the backbone of your company." This phrase single handedly paraphrases my mission statement for my company. I believe that they are the ones that are representing your company which can have a negative or positive impact on how your company succeeds; not only with the public but for the morale of the office as well. I plan on training my office staff to be a direct reflection of me and my vision for my company, which is to service our customers with the products and services that best suit their needs. I believe that taking the time out with your clients and discovering those wants and needs before making any suggestions to their current coverage's is the first step in gaining their trust. With out trust and knowledge then you are only guessing, which may not be of the best interest of the customer. By involving your employees in the decision making process it has been suggested it is "prudent to the overall success of your company." If my staff sees what my goals are then they have more ownership as to what it takes to make my company succeed. In this process they also can set their own goals in accordance to what needs to be done to make my agency a success. I realize that every decision made does not need to be cleared through my staff, but for decisions that directly affect them and their pay it is best to get their buy in while the decisions are being made. What motivates them? What do they think they are capable of? What trends are they seeing walk through the front door? These are all very crucial questions to the overall success to the process.

"When was the last time you offered praise freely?" In asking this question to myself and my past positions I believe this is crucial to the well being of morale in the office. For some this is what keeps them going, you may hear that pay is what motivates and for the most part it does. However, beyond that you need the praise to work along side of that. If a person feels they are being praised for a job well done then that provides them with intrinsic behavior that keeps them happy with in their job. It takes extrinsic behavior to motivate the intrinsic behavior. Many times in previous positions I not only met goals that were placed in front of me but I exceeded most of them, and most times they went un-noticed. Which affected my production over the course of the remainder of my employment; sure I had been making money but I did not have the satisfaction of a job well done to go along with that.

Providing continual training with in my job is also another crucial piece of the puzzle when it comes to the success of my company. I want to be able to leave the office and know that in my absence that all quoting, billing, and sales are being handled. I want to know that my staff has the knowledge and skills to ensure that this can be done. It is also imperative that each job function is continually trained in the office because of turn over as well as if some one has to take a leave then there will not be down time in my office, which will ultimately hurt my business and the profitability of it. This also gives my staff the empowerment they need to have the knowledge they need to perform the job efficiently.

Characteristics

TQM