Quality Improvement Strategy & Apple’s Continuous Improvement via TQM

Quality Improvement Strategy and Apple’s Continuous Improvement through TQM
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Executive Summary
All literature on total quality management (TQM) emphasize that its successful implementation has a positive outcome on employee productivity, customer satisfaction, and improved partner relationship management. Quality-driven companies such as Apple Inc. have managed premium success in the market due to successful implementation of quality management systems that are streamlined with the company’s goals and initiatives. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent of TQM at Apple Inc. using a survey with ten questions on TQM. The choice of Apple Inc.as a company for analysis was based on its success in the market as well as its unique position in the market. This study found that TQM plays a moderating role in managing complex organizations, especially in the partner relationship management. Successful implementation of TQM requires proper training on knowledge management, quality management, as well as stakeholder relationship for sustainability. Introduction
Organizations are complex institutions where people from diverse backgrounds come together to pursue the common goal of the firm. The complexity of achieving the common goal increases when firms merge or start competing at the global level. Mergers and acquisitions complicate the management process as they bring firms with different firms with different corporate cultures together. Acquilani, Silvestri, and Ruggieri (2016) explain that successful firms focus on improving through continuous improvement, sensitivity on price, and knowledge management for employees and other stakeholders in the firm. Luburic (2014) further define TQM as a stable path that a firm follows in its transitional environment to provide quality products and services to its customers by concentrating on continuous improvement as a strategy for effective competition. Continuous improvement is an ongoing process that focuses on improving relationship with partners and stakeholders in the supply chain, actual product quality, and relationship with the employees within the firm. This paper carried out a research survey to determine how TQM has enhanced productivity and success of Apple Inc. at the global level.
Problem Statement
Competition at the global level has created a need for large companies to acquire smaller companies as well as the need for merging to reduce competition in the market. The main problem with competition is that companies compete for common clients, creating pressure on customer satisfaction and productivity. Even after merging, some companies still struggle to control the market share due to changing and shifting tastes and preferences of clients. Successful firms like Apple Inc. have incorporated total quality management as an operation strategy, but they are still facing challenges in the market due to concentration on premium products. Poor implementation of TQM is not only likely to harm clients, but also the firm.
Review of Literature
A number of researches have been conducted to determine the efficiency of TQM in different environments. The general consensus among scholars is that TQM can serve both as a competitive strategy and n operational strategy. Izvercian, Radu, Ivascu, and Ardelean (2014) carried out the research to determine the impact of quality management on human resource development. The researchers found that while TQM can be an essential tool of improving the quality of the system, it can only be efficient when it involves employees in the change initiative. A similar study by Mehta, Verma, and Seth (2014) was carried out in India to determine the success of TQM in the education sector. Mehta et al. (2014) were concerned about enormous literature on TQM in manufacturing companies. They also made a conclusion that TQM practices in the engineering sector of education are directly tied to successful knowledge management by involving the stakeholders in the decision-making process. As such, TQM cannot succeed independent of other supportive tools of management.
A different study by Wang and Huyhn (2014) viewed TQM as a complex system that deserves to be moderated for success in complex organizations. The main concern for this study was that some firms had exited the market in spite their adoption of TQM as an operational strategy. Wang and Huyhn (2014) found that TQM required moderation in the management systems with a key focus on knowledge management and organizational performance. When it comes to supply relationship management (SRM), Vanichchinchai and Igel (2011) sought to determine the relationship between total quality management practices (TQMPs) and SRM, and Firms Supply Performances (FSPs). The researchers found that the success of TQMP in Thailand’s automotive industry was directly tied to the SCMP and FSPs. As a result, firms did not have to concentrate on TQM alone, but they also had to modify other related systems such as SCM and FSP to enhance the success of the TQM in the long-term strategies.
Some researchers have also developed an interest into the role of technology in determining the success of TQM. Bolatan, Gozlu, Alpkan, and Zaim (2016) investigated the role of technological transfer in the successful implementation of TQM practices for competitive purposes. The researchers carried out a pilot survey on more than two hundred firms in Turkey were surveyed on their use of TQM practices. The researchers found a direct correlation between TQM practices and technological transfer. One of the competitive strategies in the market today is quality. In spite of TQM being the primary factor for achieving sustained quality in the market, technology has emerged as a direct supplement to TQM when it comes to improvement of quality.
Data Collection
This study focused on the level of use and integration of TQM at Apple Inc. The choice of Apple Inc. as a case study for this paper was due to its global presence as well as being the leading company in the United States and the global level. The study was to determine whether Apple Inc. utilizes TQM as a quality improvement strategy and how it has been used to help the company maintain a competitive advantage in the market. A questionnaire was used to collect data in the TQM practices at Apple Inc. Ten questions structured to capture the TQM, partner relationship management, improvement of employee relationship, as well as continuous improvement of quality. Additionally, direct interview was organized between the researcher and two managers of Apple Inc. The interview covered all the questions in the questionnaire with the goal of determining the impact of TQM as a strategic tool for management and competitive advantage. The questionnaire is attached as appendix one at the end of this paper.
A total of one hundred and fifty questionnaires were used in this study. Ten questionnaires were mailed to top managers of the company, and fifteen questionnaires were posted to known suppliers and distributors of Apple products. Seventy questionnaires were distributed to employees of Apple Inc. Fifty-five questionnaires were channeled to customers that had purchased iPhone 6S directly from Apple Store. A total of one hundred and nineteen questionnaires were returned.
Data Analysis
Once the deadline for receiving questionnaires has collapsed, the researcher used data coding to convert the data in the questionnaires into numerical variables that are easy to analyze using excel spreadsheet. The table below shows how data was coded.
Table  SEQ Table \* ARABIC 1. Table with Coded Data
TQM For Customer SatisfactionEmployee Satisfaction Quality ManagementPRM ManagementOrganization PerformanceTQM and HRM111110010011111111101101111110011111101111110111001101111111Coded data was then analyzed using descriptive data analysis in excel spreadsheet.
Summary of Findings
Apple Inc. has focused on TQM as a competitive tool for maximizing the quality of services as well as improving the quality of products from the company. One of the techniques that the company has used to successfully facilitated TQM strategy in the customer service delivery. According to the company’s iPhone 6S Complementary teardown report (2015), Apple introduced in-store training and education programs to enhance the quality of service delivery to its clients. The company trained its employees to educate customers on how to unlock the device, how to install third-party applications, as well as how to install its Apps from iTunes. The introduction of training program was aimed at providing customers with maximum service, making them to forget the premium prices that they were paying for the quality phones.
Another area of interest for the findings is how TQM is not used independently to promote customer satisfaction. Apple Inc. has realized that it can incorporate technology and TQM as competitive tools when it maintains mutual and stable relationship with its stakeholders in the supply chain and partner relations. While TQM can effectively lead to a company’s success in weeding out competitors, companies that integrate other tools such as continuous improvement and strategic management also stand to gain from the indirect benefits of TQM.
While most literature view TQM as a strategy that is meant to help the organization alter its internal performances for effective results to be realized in the product output, emerging companies have a lot to learn on how Apple has managed to compete at the global level by incorporating external factors in its TQM approach.
One of the points of interest is the man...