Total Quality Management In Honda And Nokia Companies

Total quality management summarizes the essential points in managing a business effectively. Effective business management means providing excellent service or products to the consumers, maintaining good atmosphere among workers and making the business dynamic and growing.

Dr. W. Edwards Deming can be considered as the one who started this concept.  He began the idea by changing a lot of beliefs and philosophy in business that most employees and employers are used to. The whole idea of Dr. Deming is to improve a certain industry by creating something new or by innovating, focusing on the quality of the product, changing the “old” system by which workers are managed, putting the consumers at the topmost priority and concern, and having the drive to improve and not remain stagnant (Hunter, 2008).

Dr. Deming also wrote the “Seven Deadly Disease” which discusses the constraints in the improvement of a business or the whole industry, itself. What he included in there are simple points and activities most companies are guilty of which unconsciously lowers the quality of how they manage the company. Getting rid of those can be very helpful for the company (Value Based Management, 2008).

The ideas of Dr. Deming had been adapted by the Japanese businessmen and it really improved the quality of their products and services. One Japanese company is Honda, makers of cars, which has been inspired by those ideas. The company has started to manufacture cars in as early as 1950’s. The Honda cars were successful to penetrate the world market and get a huge following all over the world. Honda gave outstanding car models and their cars can be seen in all streets everyday in many countries including the US.

Honda also received numerous awards because of the quality products and services they have for the consumers. They have been recognized not only in Japan but by other countries as well. In terms of quality management, Honda is one of the top companies in the world (Honda Motor, Co., 2008).

The company considers working with a good atmosphere within their offices. The company has started to put their office at the center of their headquarter rather than at the top level so they could easily reach out to their employees. They also provide excellent training among their employees (Heller and De Bono).

The Honda Company is, undeniably, innovators when it comes to cars. They have presented their hybrid cars, cars which drive using water and cars with outstanding features. The very thing which made the company get into the world market is their outstanding types of cars. Honda Company is good at working on different features and models. The features are what many consumers look up to before they purchase a product. Honda was able to introduce great features in their cars to the public. This is what Dr. Deming was saying when he said that there must be a drive for constant improvement and making quality as the top concern of all businesses to stay in their businesses. It is important to know what the consumers need and from there, start an idea on how to satisfy those needs. Most of the time, the consumers do not really know what they need. They just realize that they need something or have a certain problem when they are faced with the solution or the answer. It can also be possible to “create” a need. It is making the people believe that there is a need for that product or service. Cell phone companies are very successful when it comes to that. They have emphasized the need for easier and fast communication by showing examples of situation when the need for a fast and easy contact with the police and hospitals, co-workers or relatives. They have stressed the help that cell phones can do in cases of emergency. They have made the public believe that people needs cell phones and now, cell phones are not just purchased because the consumers think that they’ll be needing it for emergencies. They buy cell phones because they know they need it everyday. Today, even children in pre-school have their own cell phones.

Many cell phone companies have taken their part in that industry. Competition among those companies is tight and the best buys depend on the features and models.

Nokia has been very excellent in improving their products. Their previous models were just phones with a four-liner screen, monotonic ring tones and games. Now, they have incorporated radio, music player, a T.V. and a computer into their cell phone products. The consumer would have to dispose their old models of phones to buy a more stylish phone with outstanding functions (Nokia, 2008).

Definitely Honda and Nokia are not guilty of any of those seven deadly diseases of business companies because, if they do, they won’t be able to survive the tight competition in the market. And these companies are not only surviving. In terms of performance and sales, they stand out from their competitors.

Total quality management involves not only the consumers and the business, for when it is only business, the concern is just profit and sales. Total quality management involves the consumers, the employees, the managers and other officers, the product and services and the system by which the business is run. It is not concerned on the sales the company can have. It is focused on driving the company to having more sales and keeping the company in its business. To do so, the company would have to make quality as their number one concern. The concept of quality must be taught to all employees and employers so they could attain their goal together. It may be difficult to attain, though, because the first step to having a total quality management is to make constant improvement in products and services, and that includes innovation. To be innovative requires skills and talents. But, getting there means getting the company to the top level and ensuring that the company can still be participating in the market.

References:

Heller, E. and E. de Bono. 2008. Honda management has successfully established an Eastern-style corporate culture into its organisation. Thinking Managers. Retrieved December 11, 2008 from http://www.thinkingmanagers.com /companies/honda.php.

Honda Motor, Co.  2008. The Challenging Spirits of Honda. Retrieved December 11, 2008 from http://world.honda.com/history/.

Hunter, John. 2008. Curious Cat: Deming on Management. Retrieved December 11, 2008 from http://curiouscat.com/deming/

Nokia, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2008 from http://www.nokiausa.com/phones.

Value Based Management. 2008. The Deming Cycle. Retrieved December 11, 2008 from http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_demingcycle.html.