REPLIES
Submit replies of at least 250 words each to at least 2 other students. Each reply must be supported by citing at least 2 peer-reviewed journal articles. Your replies must be in current APA format and must include a reference list.
Make sure that you are adding new and relevant information with each reply.
Replies 1 RR : The Strategic Importance of Quality
Quality assurance and management sets up a competitive landscape with the ability part of organizational management to improve the quality of their products has motivated many organizations to improve the quality of their products and services. According to Blocker, Juras, and Smith, a “Total quality management (TQM)is a method by which management develops policies and practices to ensure that the firm[‘s products and services exceed customer expectations” (Blocher, Juras, and Smith 2022 p.720). TQM is made up of organizational efforts of the employees to continuously improve their ability to support on demand services and products desired most by customers. Currently, there is no standard approach to TQM. However, total quality management efforts draw mostly to follow previously tools and techniques used in quality control (Sreedharan and Sunder 2018). While there is no widely agreed-upon approach, TQM efforts typically draw heavily on the previously developed tools and techniques of quality control.
Six Sigma
Six sigma is a goal or philosophy in management of many different working industries. It serves as the catalyst motivator to improve services, processes, and products. (Blocher, Juras, and Smith 2022). Over the past few decades, Six Sigma has become one of the most popular and widely utilized quality initiatives because of the focus places on customer needs and eliminating processes with defects (Sony, Antony, and Mutingi 2020). Application of Six Sigma utilizes mutli- and cross functional teams. Simply put, Six Sigma defines the issue and project deliverables, and then gathers relevant project and performance data during the measure stage. Next the team attempts to identify the problem’s underlying causes during the analyze stage. And finally, the improve stage generates solutions to correct the underlying problem, to be concluded by selection and implementation of problem solutions during the improve stage, and finally the control stage exists to ensure that the problem does not occur again (Blocher, Juras, and Smith 2022).
Biblical Application
“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.” (Proverbs 10:9 ESV). One theme that is common across any discussion concerning quality assurance and management is integrity. Walking in integrity to ensure security in actions is very similar to the purposes of quality assurance, control, and management. Ensuring the quality of a product or service not only helps improve but also helps to maintain what is already optimal. And just like Proverbs discussing that crooked dealings will always be reveal, fraud and dishonesty will always be caught by quality processes.
