Quality Analysis for an Organization
You are an analyst in the Operations department at XYZ Corporation. The leadership team of another company (your “client”) is seeking XYZ’s services because they are considering making improvements to their operations using the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award criteria.
You have been tasked with creating a report to inform the client’s decisions. The first part of the business analysis will cover the dimensions and importance of quality.
The second part will cover the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award and how the client company can improve its operations by following the criteria laid out in the award.
For this part, you will analyze the company and include some recommendations for how the company can make some improvements based on your analysis.
In the second part of this Assessment, you will use the latest Baldridge Excellence Builder document to complete your assessment. For each of the seven categories found within the Baldridge Excellence Builder document, assess your selected company on the descriptors found on page 15.
Make note for each category of whether the company is Reactive, Early, Mature, or Role Model in its operations strategies and practices. For example, when considering the first category, Leadership, are its leaders’ behaviors characterized as being reactive to problems, or are they reflective of applied best practices and continual learning and improvement?
Note: The “client” in this scenario will be the company in which you are currently employed. If you are not currently employed or if there are circumstances that prevent you from performing research on your current company, use Walden University or your most recent job instead. Use the template provided to complete your analysis. Be sure to incorporate properly formatted references to a minimum of seven scholarly sources to support your work.
Executive Summary (1 page)
Executive summary of the report. A typical response will be 1 page.
Click each of the items below for more information on this Assessment.
Part 1: Dimensions of Quality (6–9 paragraphs)
Describe what the eight dimensions of product quality are and provide a brief example of each. A typical response will be 75–150 words (1–2 paragraphs).
Describe what the five dimensions of service quality are and provide a brief example of each. A typical response will be 75–150 words (1–2 paragraphs).
Using the company you selected for Part 2, describe which dimensions of quality would be most important for the company’s main product (from the eight dimensions) or service (from the five dimensions). Explain why you selected these particular dimensions. (75 words, or 1 paragraph)
Explain why organizations should prioritize quality. Specifically:
How can an improvement of quality impact an organization’s productivity and production costs, as well as its profits?
What are other benefits to the organization from pursuing quality?
What are the potential negative effects on the organization of failing to pursue quality?
A typical response will be 150–225 words (2–3 paragraphs).
What are some challenges that organizations encounter in regard to managing quality? A typical response will be 75 words (1 paragraph).
Part 2: Analyzing Quality for an Organization (11–13 paragraphs)
Analyze the company you chose and estimate the company’s level of organizational excellence according to the criteria of the Baldridge Award to the best of your ability. In your analysis, include the following:
A brief description of the company you selected, as well as an explanation of the company’s main product or service offering(s). A typical response will be 75 words (1 paragraph).
An assessment for each of the seven categories against the descriptors found on page 15 of the Baldridge Excellence Builder document, along with a description of the company’s performance in that category, being sure to support your assessment with specific organizational examples and references to scholarly sources A typical response will be 525 words (7 paragraphs).
Prepare a list of 3–5 specific recommendations, each from a different category, for how the company can make improvements based on your analysis. Provide support for your recommendations with references to at least two scholarly sources. A typical response will be 225–375 words (3–5 paragraphs).