MAINTAINING A QUALITY CULTURE

Principles Of Marketing
17th Edition
ISBN:9780134492513
Author:Kotler, Philip, Armstrong, Gary (gary M.)
Publisher:Kotler, Philip, Armstrong, Gary (gary M.)
Chapter1: Marketing: Creating Customer Value And Engagement
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1.1DQ
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Read the pages and make a brief summary of them with your own words, please. Don't make copy-paste, please. Mention important parts only. Also, you will put your comments and ideas about the topic. Write your comments and opinions briefly on the subject in a separate paragraph at the bottom. Please don't write item by item. Write the summary in paragraph form.

MAINTAINING A QUALITY
CULTURE
Establishing a quality culture is a challenging undertaking
for any organization. It is even more challenging to maintain
a quality culture over time. The easiest thing in the world
is to become complacent and let the organization's culture
begin to slip back into its old mold. In order to maintain a
quality culture, organizations must foster the following criti-
cal behaviors:"
1. Maintain an awareness of quality as a key cultural issue.
This is accomplished through the regular dissemination
of quality goals to all personnel and the corresponding
results relating to these goals. Managers should "keep
score" and let all stakeholders know what the score is.
2. Make sure that there is plenty of evidence of the man-
agement's leadership. Cheerleading is good, but it's not
enough. Managers should provide leadership in strate-
gic planning for quality, serve on quality councils, and
be actively involved in the implementation of quality
initiatives. Employees need to see managers "walking
the walk" as well as "talking the talk."
3. Empower employees and encourage self-development
and self-initiative among them. Managers should make
sure that jobs are designed for as much self-control as
possible, continually seek and use employee input, and
encourage self-directed teamwork.
4. Keep employees involved. Do not just seek their in-
volvement through empowerment: structure the orga-
nization and its processes in ways that ensure it. This
means making employees fully empowered members of
the quality council; maintaining a system that makes it
easy, convenient, and nonthreatening for them to rec-
ommend improvements; and involving employees in
areas, such as product or process design review.
5. Recognize and reward the behaviors that tend to nurture
and maintain the quality culture. Recognition involves
various forms of public acknowledgment. Rewards are
tangible benefits, such as salary increases, bonuses, in-
centives, and promotions.
Transcribed Image Text:MAINTAINING A QUALITY CULTURE Establishing a quality culture is a challenging undertaking for any organization. It is even more challenging to maintain a quality culture over time. The easiest thing in the world is to become complacent and let the organization's culture begin to slip back into its old mold. In order to maintain a quality culture, organizations must foster the following criti- cal behaviors:" 1. Maintain an awareness of quality as a key cultural issue. This is accomplished through the regular dissemination of quality goals to all personnel and the corresponding results relating to these goals. Managers should "keep score" and let all stakeholders know what the score is. 2. Make sure that there is plenty of evidence of the man- agement's leadership. Cheerleading is good, but it's not enough. Managers should provide leadership in strate- gic planning for quality, serve on quality councils, and be actively involved in the implementation of quality initiatives. Employees need to see managers "walking the walk" as well as "talking the talk." 3. Empower employees and encourage self-development and self-initiative among them. Managers should make sure that jobs are designed for as much self-control as possible, continually seek and use employee input, and encourage self-directed teamwork. 4. Keep employees involved. Do not just seek their in- volvement through empowerment: structure the orga- nization and its processes in ways that ensure it. This means making employees fully empowered members of the quality council; maintaining a system that makes it easy, convenient, and nonthreatening for them to rec- ommend improvements; and involving employees in areas, such as product or process design review. 5. Recognize and reward the behaviors that tend to nurture and maintain the quality culture. Recognition involves various forms of public acknowledgment. Rewards are tangible benefits, such as salary increases, bonuses, in- centives, and promotions.
ESTABLISHING A
QUALITY CULTURE
realization bottoms out, acceptance occurs. Acceptance does
not mean the person agrees with what has happened. Rather,
it means that he or she is ready to say, "I have this problem;
now what can I do about it?"
This attitude allows the rebuilding process to begin.
During this phase, people need as much support as they
did during the realization phase. As the rebuilding phase is
accomplished, understanding sets in. In this phase, people
have come to grips with the change, and they are dealing
with it successfully. This phase blends into the final phase,
recovery. In this phase, people are getting on with their
lives.
Position (Type)
L Identify the attitudes, behaviors, processes, and procedures that are to be
changed.
Put the planned changes in writing.
* Develop a comprehensive plan for making the changes.
Date
Establishing a quality culture involves specific planning
and activities for every business or department. This sec-
tion identifies the steps involved, but first it outlines the
emotional processes employees go through as the steps are
being taken. Managers need to recognize and accommodate
the emotional transition required not only of employees, but
also of themselves while the steps toward making the con-
version to quality take place.
Instructions
The purpose of this survey is to assess the existing culture of our organization.
The findings will be compared with what is known about a quality culture for the
purpose of identifying the cultural changes needed in our organization to continually
improve quality, productivity, and competitiveness. Respond to each of the criteria by
circling the number you think best describes our organization as it is today. Zero (0)
means that we do not meet this criterion at all. Five (5) means that we completely
satisfy the criterion. Do not respond to items that don't apply or about which you are
Make sure all change advocates are familiar with the emotional transition
people go through when confronted with change.
Identify the key people in the organization who can either make the
conversion work or make sure it doesn't work. Get the identified key people on
the team (turn them into advocates).
unsure.
* Take a hearts-and-minds approach when introducing the new culture.
L Apply courtship strategies to bring people along slowly but steadily.
* SUPPORT, SUPPORT, SUPPORT.
1. All employees know the mission of the organization
01 2 3 45
Managers hoping to instill a quality culture should un-
derstand this transitional process. The change from a tra-
ditional organizational culture to a quality culture can be
traumatic enough to trigger the process. Knowing this and
understanding the process will help managers who are try-
ing to instill a quality culture.
Phases of Emotional Transition
2. All employees know their role in helping the
organization accomplish its mission
01 2 345
A great deal of research has been done about how people un-
dergo transitions from one state of being to another. Most
of this research has focused on the stages of transition or re-
covery that people go through when they confront a major
unexpected and unwanted change in their lives. The types
of changes that have been studied most include divorce, the
death of a loved one, a life-threatening illness, and the loss of
a job. Figure 6.4 illustrates the transition process people go
through when confronted by one of these major traumatic
changes in their lives.
The first emotional response to any type of change is
shock. A person is living from day to day, comfortable with
the predictability of his or her life. Suddenly, an unexpected
change intrudes. A typical response to the shock it produces
is denial. The change is so unwanted that the natural human
response is to simply deny that it has happened. This levels
the state of mind somewhat from the low experienced dur-
ing the shock phase. The length of the denial phase varies
from person to person. Regardless of its length, the denial
phase is temporary.
Events force the issue, and the realization of reality be-
gins to set in. As this happens, the person's state of mind
begins to fall. Depression is common during the realization
phase. People need a lot of support during this phase. When
3. Executive management is committed to the continual
improvement of quality, productivity, and
competitiveness
4. Management treats the workforce as a valuable asset
5. Open, continual communication exists at all levels of
the organization
FIGURE 6.5 Quality Culture Conversion Checklist.
01 2 3 4 5
01 2 3 45
Does the organization's culture have these characteristics? The
best way to answer this question is to involve the entire work-
force from bottom to top in a systematic assessment that is
stratified by level (executive management, middle management,
first-line employee, etc.). Figure 6.6 is an example of an assess-
ment instrument that can be used for collecting information on
the perceptions of employees at all levels in an organization.
The plan should contain all five elements, and each element
should be dealt with comprehensively. However, the plan
should be brief. Be comprehensive and thorough, but keep
it as brief as possible.
01 2 3 4
Steps in the Conversion to Quality
6. Mutually supportive internal partnerships exist between
management and employees
0 1 2 3 4 5
Figure 6.5 provides a checklist managers can use to guide
their organizations through the conversion to a quality cul-
ture. The various strategies contained in the checklist are ex-
plained in the following subsections:
7. Mutually supportive internal partnerships exist among
employees
8. Quality is defined by customers, internal and extemal
9. Customers participate in the product development
cycle
01 2 34
01 2 3 45
Understand the Emotional Transition Process
Advocates of the change will play key roles in its implemen-
tation. The success of the implementation will depend to a
large extent on how well advocates play their roles. It is es-
sential that they understand the emotional transition people
go through when forced to deal with change, particularly un-
wanted change (see Figure 6.4).
As noted above, the transition consists of seven steps:
shock, denial, realization, acceptance, rebuilding, under-
standing, and recovery. People who confront a change they
don't want to make may have to go through all seven steps in
the transition. Advocates should understand this and pro-
ceed accordingly.
01 2 34
01 2 3 45
Identify the Changes Needed An organization's cul-
ture dictates how people in it behave, respond to problems,
and interact with each other. If the existing culture is a qual-
ity culture, it will have such characteristics as the following:
Put the Planned Changes in Writing A comprehen-
sive assessment of an organization's existing culture will
usually identify improvements that need to be made. These
improvements will require changes in the status quo. These
changes should be listed without annotation or explanation.
For example, if the assessment reveals that customer input
is not part of the product development cycle, the change list
would contain an entry such as the following: The product
development cycle should be changed so that it includes the
collection and use of customer input.
10. Employees are involved in the decision-making process
11. Employees are empowered to contribute their ideas for
promoting continual improvement
01 2 345
01 2 3 4 5
12. Performance of processes is measured scientifically
13. Scientific data are used in the decision-making process
01 234 5
. Open, continual communication
• Mutually supportive internal partnerships
. Teamwork approach to problems and processes
14. Employee receive the education and training they
need to continually improve their performance
15. All employees at all levels are expected to maintain
high ethical standards
01 234 5
Obsession with continual improvement
- Broad-based employee involvement and empowerment
- Sincere desire for customer input and feedback
FIGURE 6.6 Organizational Culture Employee Assessment Worksheet.
Identify Key People and Make Them Advocates Key
people are those who can facilitate and those who can inhibit
implementation of the change. These people should be iden-
tified, brought together, and given the plan. Allow advocates
and inhibitors opportunities to state their cases. Record all
concerns and deal with them. This is the step in which a quid
pro quo might be used to bring inhibitors around. Executive
managers must use their judgment in applying the right
amount of the "carrot," the "stick," and peer pressure (from
advocates) to turn inhibitors into advocates.
Develop a Plan for Making the Changes The plan for
effecting change is developed according to the who-what-
when-where-how model. Each of these elements represents
Frequent, open communication-preferably face-to-
face-is the best strategy. Advocates should allow even the most
negative opponents to voice their concerns and objections in
open forums. Then these concerns should be answered in an
impartial, patient, nondefensive manner. When the majority of
employees accept the change, critical mass will set in, and peer
pressure will begin to work on the side of the advocates.
a major section of the plan, as follows:
7. Recovery
. Who will be affected by the change? Who will have to be
involved in order for the change to succeed? Who is likely
a m order
to challenge the c
2. Denial
Change?
What tasks must be accomplished? What are the most
likely barriers? What are the related processes and proce-
dures that will be affected by the change?
. When should the change be implemented? When should
progress be measured? When should the various tasks as-
sociated with the change be accomplished? When should
implementation be completed?
. Where will the change be implemented? Where are the
people and processes that will be affected?
. How should the change be made? How will it affect ex-
isting people and processes? How will it improve quality,
productivity, and competitiveness?
3. Realization
6. Understanding
Apply Courtship Strategies Courtship is a phase in a re-
lationship that moves slowly but deliberately toward a desired
end. During the courtship, the partner hoping to move the re-
lationship forward listens carefully to the other partner and
patiently responds to any concerns expressed. This partner
on his or her best behavior. If advocates think of their relation-
ship with potential resisters as a courtship, they will be better
able to bring them along and eventually win them over.
1. Shock
Take a Hearts-and-Minds Approach Advocates
should be conscious of human nature as they work to imple-
ment change. On an intellectual level, people may under-
stand and even agree with the reasons behind a change. But
understanding intellectually is rarely enough. People tend
to react to change more on an emotional (hearts) level than
on an intellectual (minds) level, at least initially. Therefore,
it is important to take the time to deal with the inevi-
table emotional response that occurs in the early stages of
implementation.
5. Rebuilding
4. Acceptance
Time (Duration Unspecified)
FIGURE 6.4 Emotional Transition.
Support, Support, Support This final strategy is critical. It
means that the material, moral, and emotional support needed
by people undergoing change should be provided. Undergoing
change is a lot like walking a tightrope for the first time. It will
go more smoothly if you have someone to help you get started,
someone waiting at the other end to encourage progress, and a
safety net underneath in case you fall. Planning is important.
Communication is critical. But support is essential.
Transcribed Image Text:ESTABLISHING A QUALITY CULTURE realization bottoms out, acceptance occurs. Acceptance does not mean the person agrees with what has happened. Rather, it means that he or she is ready to say, "I have this problem; now what can I do about it?" This attitude allows the rebuilding process to begin. During this phase, people need as much support as they did during the realization phase. As the rebuilding phase is accomplished, understanding sets in. In this phase, people have come to grips with the change, and they are dealing with it successfully. This phase blends into the final phase, recovery. In this phase, people are getting on with their lives. Position (Type) L Identify the attitudes, behaviors, processes, and procedures that are to be changed. Put the planned changes in writing. * Develop a comprehensive plan for making the changes. Date Establishing a quality culture involves specific planning and activities for every business or department. This sec- tion identifies the steps involved, but first it outlines the emotional processes employees go through as the steps are being taken. Managers need to recognize and accommodate the emotional transition required not only of employees, but also of themselves while the steps toward making the con- version to quality take place. Instructions The purpose of this survey is to assess the existing culture of our organization. The findings will be compared with what is known about a quality culture for the purpose of identifying the cultural changes needed in our organization to continually improve quality, productivity, and competitiveness. Respond to each of the criteria by circling the number you think best describes our organization as it is today. Zero (0) means that we do not meet this criterion at all. Five (5) means that we completely satisfy the criterion. Do not respond to items that don't apply or about which you are Make sure all change advocates are familiar with the emotional transition people go through when confronted with change. Identify the key people in the organization who can either make the conversion work or make sure it doesn't work. Get the identified key people on the team (turn them into advocates). unsure. * Take a hearts-and-minds approach when introducing the new culture. L Apply courtship strategies to bring people along slowly but steadily. * SUPPORT, SUPPORT, SUPPORT. 1. All employees know the mission of the organization 01 2 3 45 Managers hoping to instill a quality culture should un- derstand this transitional process. The change from a tra- ditional organizational culture to a quality culture can be traumatic enough to trigger the process. Knowing this and understanding the process will help managers who are try- ing to instill a quality culture. Phases of Emotional Transition 2. All employees know their role in helping the organization accomplish its mission 01 2 345 A great deal of research has been done about how people un- dergo transitions from one state of being to another. Most of this research has focused on the stages of transition or re- covery that people go through when they confront a major unexpected and unwanted change in their lives. The types of changes that have been studied most include divorce, the death of a loved one, a life-threatening illness, and the loss of a job. Figure 6.4 illustrates the transition process people go through when confronted by one of these major traumatic changes in their lives. The first emotional response to any type of change is shock. A person is living from day to day, comfortable with the predictability of his or her life. Suddenly, an unexpected change intrudes. A typical response to the shock it produces is denial. The change is so unwanted that the natural human response is to simply deny that it has happened. This levels the state of mind somewhat from the low experienced dur- ing the shock phase. The length of the denial phase varies from person to person. Regardless of its length, the denial phase is temporary. Events force the issue, and the realization of reality be- gins to set in. As this happens, the person's state of mind begins to fall. Depression is common during the realization phase. People need a lot of support during this phase. When 3. Executive management is committed to the continual improvement of quality, productivity, and competitiveness 4. Management treats the workforce as a valuable asset 5. Open, continual communication exists at all levels of the organization FIGURE 6.5 Quality Culture Conversion Checklist. 01 2 3 4 5 01 2 3 45 Does the organization's culture have these characteristics? The best way to answer this question is to involve the entire work- force from bottom to top in a systematic assessment that is stratified by level (executive management, middle management, first-line employee, etc.). Figure 6.6 is an example of an assess- ment instrument that can be used for collecting information on the perceptions of employees at all levels in an organization. The plan should contain all five elements, and each element should be dealt with comprehensively. However, the plan should be brief. Be comprehensive and thorough, but keep it as brief as possible. 01 2 3 4 Steps in the Conversion to Quality 6. Mutually supportive internal partnerships exist between management and employees 0 1 2 3 4 5 Figure 6.5 provides a checklist managers can use to guide their organizations through the conversion to a quality cul- ture. The various strategies contained in the checklist are ex- plained in the following subsections: 7. Mutually supportive internal partnerships exist among employees 8. Quality is defined by customers, internal and extemal 9. Customers participate in the product development cycle 01 2 34 01 2 3 45 Understand the Emotional Transition Process Advocates of the change will play key roles in its implemen- tation. The success of the implementation will depend to a large extent on how well advocates play their roles. It is es- sential that they understand the emotional transition people go through when forced to deal with change, particularly un- wanted change (see Figure 6.4). As noted above, the transition consists of seven steps: shock, denial, realization, acceptance, rebuilding, under- standing, and recovery. People who confront a change they don't want to make may have to go through all seven steps in the transition. Advocates should understand this and pro- ceed accordingly. 01 2 34 01 2 3 45 Identify the Changes Needed An organization's cul- ture dictates how people in it behave, respond to problems, and interact with each other. If the existing culture is a qual- ity culture, it will have such characteristics as the following: Put the Planned Changes in Writing A comprehen- sive assessment of an organization's existing culture will usually identify improvements that need to be made. These improvements will require changes in the status quo. These changes should be listed without annotation or explanation. For example, if the assessment reveals that customer input is not part of the product development cycle, the change list would contain an entry such as the following: The product development cycle should be changed so that it includes the collection and use of customer input. 10. Employees are involved in the decision-making process 11. Employees are empowered to contribute their ideas for promoting continual improvement 01 2 345 01 2 3 4 5 12. Performance of processes is measured scientifically 13. Scientific data are used in the decision-making process 01 234 5 . Open, continual communication • Mutually supportive internal partnerships . Teamwork approach to problems and processes 14. Employee receive the education and training they need to continually improve their performance 15. All employees at all levels are expected to maintain high ethical standards 01 234 5 Obsession with continual improvement - Broad-based employee involvement and empowerment - Sincere desire for customer input and feedback FIGURE 6.6 Organizational Culture Employee Assessment Worksheet. Identify Key People and Make Them Advocates Key people are those who can facilitate and those who can inhibit implementation of the change. These people should be iden- tified, brought together, and given the plan. Allow advocates and inhibitors opportunities to state their cases. Record all concerns and deal with them. This is the step in which a quid pro quo might be used to bring inhibitors around. Executive managers must use their judgment in applying the right amount of the "carrot," the "stick," and peer pressure (from advocates) to turn inhibitors into advocates. Develop a Plan for Making the Changes The plan for effecting change is developed according to the who-what- when-where-how model. Each of these elements represents Frequent, open communication-preferably face-to- face-is the best strategy. Advocates should allow even the most negative opponents to voice their concerns and objections in open forums. Then these concerns should be answered in an impartial, patient, nondefensive manner. When the majority of employees accept the change, critical mass will set in, and peer pressure will begin to work on the side of the advocates. a major section of the plan, as follows: 7. Recovery . Who will be affected by the change? Who will have to be involved in order for the change to succeed? Who is likely a m order to challenge the c 2. Denial Change? What tasks must be accomplished? What are the most likely barriers? What are the related processes and proce- dures that will be affected by the change? . When should the change be implemented? When should progress be measured? When should the various tasks as- sociated with the change be accomplished? When should implementation be completed? . Where will the change be implemented? Where are the people and processes that will be affected? . How should the change be made? How will it affect ex- isting people and processes? How will it improve quality, productivity, and competitiveness? 3. Realization 6. Understanding Apply Courtship Strategies Courtship is a phase in a re- lationship that moves slowly but deliberately toward a desired end. During the courtship, the partner hoping to move the re- lationship forward listens carefully to the other partner and patiently responds to any concerns expressed. This partner on his or her best behavior. If advocates think of their relation- ship with potential resisters as a courtship, they will be better able to bring them along and eventually win them over. 1. Shock Take a Hearts-and-Minds Approach Advocates should be conscious of human nature as they work to imple- ment change. On an intellectual level, people may under- stand and even agree with the reasons behind a change. But understanding intellectually is rarely enough. People tend to react to change more on an emotional (hearts) level than on an intellectual (minds) level, at least initially. Therefore, it is important to take the time to deal with the inevi- table emotional response that occurs in the early stages of implementation. 5. Rebuilding 4. Acceptance Time (Duration Unspecified) FIGURE 6.4 Emotional Transition. Support, Support, Support This final strategy is critical. It means that the material, moral, and emotional support needed by people undergoing change should be provided. Undergoing change is a lot like walking a tightrope for the first time. It will go more smoothly if you have someone to help you get started, someone waiting at the other end to encourage progress, and a safety net underneath in case you fall. Planning is important. Communication is critical. But support is essential.
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