quality control

Quality control is the more traditional way that businesses have used to manage quality. Quality control is concerned with checking and reviewing work that has been done. But is this the best way for a business to manage quality?

Under traditional quality control, inspection of products and services (checking to make sure that what's being produced is meeting the required standard) takes place during and at the end of the operations process. There are three main points during the production process when inspection is performed: 1 2 3 When raw materials are received prior to entering production Whilst products are going through the production process When products are finished - inspection or testing takes place before products are despatched to customers

The problem with this sort of inspection is that it doesn't work very well! There are several problems with inspection under traditional quality control: 1 The inspection process does not add any "value". If there were any guarantees that no defective output would be produced, then there would be no need for an inspection process in the first place! Inspection is costly, in terms of both tangible and intangible costs. For example, materials, labour, time, employee morale, customer goodwill, lost sales It is sometimes done too late in the production process. This often results in defective or non-acceptable goods actually being received by the customer It is usually done by the wrong people - e.g. by a separate "quality control inspection team" rather than by the workers themselves Inspection is often not compatible with more modern production techniques (e.g. "Just in Time Manufacturing") which do not allow time for much (if any) inspection. Working capital is tied up in stocks which cannot be sold There is often disagreement as to what constitutes a "quality product". For example, to meet quotas, inspectors may approve goods that don't meet 100% conformance, giving the message to workers that it doesn't matter if their work is a bit sloppy. Or one quality control inspector may follow different procedures from another, or use different measurements.

2 3 4 5 6 7

As a result of the above problems, many businesses have focused their efforts on improving quality by implementing quality management techniques - which emphasise the role of quality assurance. As Deming (a "quality guru") wrote: "Inspection with the aim of finding the bad ones and throwing them out is too late, ineffective, costly. Quality comes not from inspection but from improvement of the process."

The term quality management has a specific meaning within many business sectors. This specific definition, which does not aim to assure 'good quality' by the more general definition, but rather to ensure that an organization or product is consistent, can be considered to have four main components: quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement. Quality management is focused not only on product/service quality, but also the means to achieve it. Quality management therefore uses quality assurance and control of processes as well as products to achieve more consistent quality.

Quality management is a recent phenomenon. Advanced civilizations that supported the arts and crafts allowed clients to choose goods meeting higher quality standards than normal goods. In societies where arts and crafts are the responsibility of a master craftsman or artist, they would lead their studio and train and supervise others. The importance of craftsmen diminished as mass production and repetitive work practices were instituted. The aim was to produce large numbers of the same goods. The first proponent in the US for this approach was Eli Whitney who proposed (interchangeable) parts manufacture for muskets, hence producing the identical components and creating a musket assembly line. The next step forward was promoted by several people includingFrederick Winslow Taylor a mechanical engineer who sought to improve industrial efficiency. He is sometimes called "the father of scientific management." He was one of the intellectual leaders of the Efficiency Movement and part of his approach laid a further foundation for quality management, including aspects like standardization and adopting improved practices. Henry Ford was also important in bringing process and quality management practices into operation in his assembly lines. In Germany, Karl Friedrich Benz, often called the inventor of the motor car, was pursuing similar assembly and production practices, although real mass production was properly initiated in Volkswagen after World War II. From this period onwards, North American companies focused predominantly upon production against lower cost with increased efficiency. Walter A. Shewhart made a major step in the evolution towards quality management by creating a method for quality control for production, using statistical methods, first proposed in 1924. This became the foundation for his ongoing work on statistical quality control. W. Edwards Deming later applied statistical process control methods in the United States during World War II, thereby successfully improving quality in the manufacture of munitions and other strategically important products. Quality leadership from a national perspective has changed over the past five to six decades. After the second world war, Japan decided to make quality improvement a national imperative as part of rebuilding their economy, and sought the help of Shewhart, Deming and Juran, amongst others. W. Edwards Deming championed Shewhart's ideas in Japan from 1950 onwards. He is probably best known for his management philosophy establishing quality, productivity, and competitive position. He has formulated 14 points of attention for managers, which are a high level abstraction of many of his deep insights. They should be interpreted by learning and understanding the deeper insights. These 14 points include key concepts such as: Break down barriers between departments Management should learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership Supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job

Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement

In the 1950s and 1960s, Japanese goods were synonymous with cheapness and low quality, but over time their quality initiatives began to be successful, with Japan achieving very high levels of quality in products from the 1970s onward. For example, Japanese cars regularly top the J.D. Power customer satisfaction ratings. In the 1980s Deming was asked by Ford Motor Company to start a quality initiative after they realized that they were falling behind Japanese manufacturers. A number of highly successful quality initiatives have been invented by the Japanese (see for example on this page: Genichi Taguchi, QFD, Toyota Production System. Many of the methods not only provide techniques but also have associated quality culture (i.e. people factors). These methods are now adopted by the same western countries that decades earlier derided Japanese methods. Customers recognize that quality is an important attribute in products and services. Suppliers recognize that quality can be an important differentiator between their own offerings and those of competitors (quality differentiation is also called the quality gap). In the past two decades this quality gap has been greatly reduced between competitive products and services. This is partly due to the contracting (also called outsourcing) of manufacture to countries like India and China, as well internationalization of trade and competition. These countries amongst many others have raised their own standards of quality in order to meet International standards and customer demands. The ISO 9000 series of standards are probably the best known International standards for quality management. There are a huge number of books available on quality management. In recent times some themes have become more significant including quality culture, the importance of knowledge management, and the role of leadership in promoting and achieving high quality. Disciplines like systems thinking are bringing more holistic approaches to quality so that people, process and products are considered together rather than independent factors in quality management. The influence of quality thinking has spread to non-traditional applications outside of walls of manufacturing, extending into service sectors and into areas such [2] as sales, marketing and customer service. [edit]Principles The International Standard for Quality management (ISO 9001:2008) adopts a number of [3] management principles that can be used by top management to guide their organizations towards improved performance. The principles include: [edit]Customer

focus

Since the organizations depend on their customers, therefore they should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and try to exceed the [4] expectations of customers. An organization attains customer focus when all people in the organization know both the internal and external customers and also what customer requirements must be met to ensure that both the internal and external customers are [5] satisfied.

[edit]Leadership Leaders of an organization establish unity of purpose and direction of it. They should go for creation and maintenance of such an internal environment, in which people can become fully [4] involved in achieving the organization's quality objective. [edit]Involvement

of people

People at all levels of an organization are the essence of it. Their complete involvement [4] enables their abilities to be used for the benefit of the organization. [edit]Process

approach

The desired result can be achieved when activities and related resources are managed in an [4] organization as process.this may also affect the [edit]System

approach to management

An organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its quality objectives are contributed by identifying, understanding and managing all interrelated processes as a [4] system. [edit]Continual

improvement

One of the permanent quality objectives of an organization should be the continual [4] improvement of its overall performance. [edit]Factual

approach to decision making

[4]

Effective decisions are always based on the data analysis and information. [edit]Mutually

beneficial supplier relationships

Since an organization and its suppliers are interdependent, therefore a mutually beneficial [4] relationship between them increases the ability of both to add value. These eight principles form the basis for the quality management system standard ISO [4] 9001:2008. [edit]Quality

improvement

There are many methods for quality improvement. These cover product improvement, process improvement and people based improvement. In the following list are methods of quality management and techniques that incorporate and drive quality improvement: 1. ISO 9004:2008 guidelines for performance improvement. 2. ISO 15504-4: 2005 information technology process assessment Part 4: Guidance on use for process improvement and process capability determination. 3. QFD quality function deployment, also known as the house of quality approach. 4. Kaizen , Japanese for change for the better; the common English term is continuous improvement. 5. Zero Defect Program created by NEC Corporation of Japan, based upon statistical process control and one of the inputs for the inventors of Six Sigma. 6. Six Sigma 6, Six Sigma combines established methods such as statistical process control, design of experiments and failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) in an overall framework.

7. PDCA plan, do, check, act cycle for quality control purposes. (Six Sigma's DMAIC method (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) may be viewed as a particular implementation of this.) 8. Quality circle a group (people oriented) approach to improvement. 9. Taguchi methods statistical oriented methods including quality robustness, quality loss function, and target specifications. 10. The Toyota Production System reworked in the west into lean manufacturing. 11. Kansei Engineering an approach that focuses on capturing customer emotional feedback about products to drive improvement. 12. TQM total quality management is a management strategy aimed at embedding awareness of quality in all organizational processes. First promoted in Japan with the Deming prize which was adopted and adapted in USA as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and in Europe as the European Foundation for Quality Management award (each with their own variations). 13. TRIZ meaning "theory of inventive problem solving" 14. BPR business process reengineering, a management approach aiming at "clean slate" improvements (ignoring existing practices). 15. OQRM Object-oriented Quality and Risk Management, a model for quality and risk [6] management. Proponents of each approach have sought to improve them as well as apply them for small, medium and large gains. Simple one is Process Approach, which forms the basis of ISO 9001:2008Quality Management System standard, duly driven from the 'Eight principles of [7] Quality managagement', process approach being one of them. Thareja writes about the mechanism and benefits: "The process (proficiency) may be limited in words, but not in its applicability. While it fulfills the criteria of all-round gains: in terms of the competencies augmented by the participants; the organisation seeks newer directions to the business success, the individual brand image of both the people and the organisation, in turn, goes up. The competencies which were hitherto rated as being smaller, are better recognized and now [8] acclaimed to be more potent and fruitful". The more complex Quality improvement tools are tailored for enterprise types not originally targeted. For example, Six Sigma was designed for manufacturing but has spread to service enterprises. Each of these approaches and methods has met with success but also with failures. Some of the common differentiators between success and failure include commitment, knowledge and expertise to guide improvement, scope of change/improvement desired (Big Bang type changes tend to fail more often compared to smaller changes) and adaption to enterprise cultures. For example, quality circles do not work well in every enterprise (and are even discouraged by some managers), and relatively few TQM-participating enterprises have won the national quality awards. There have been well publicized failures of BPR, as well as Six Sigma. Enterprises therefore need to consider carefully which quality improvement methods to adopt, and certainly should not adopt all those listed here. It is important not to underestimate the people factors, such as culture, in selecting a quality improvement approach. Any improvement (change) takes time to implement, gain acceptance and stabilize as accepted practice. Improvement must allow pauses between implementing new changes so that the change is stabilized and assessed as a real improvement, before the next improvement is made (hence continual improvement, not continuous improvement).

Improvements that change the culture take longer as they have to overcome greater resistance to change. It is easier and often more effective to work within the existing cultural boundaries and make small improvements (that is Kaizen) than to make major transformational changes. Use of Kaizen in Japan was a major reason for the creation of Japanese industrial and economic strength. On the other hand, transformational change works best when an enterprise faces a crisis and needs to make major changes in order to survive. In Japan, the land of Kaizen, Carlos Ghosn led a transformational change at Nissan Motor Company which was in a financial and operational crisis. Well organized quality improvement programs take all these factors into account when selecting the quality improvement methods. [edit]Quality

standards

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created the Quality Management System (QMS) standards in 1987. They were the ISO 9000:1987 series of standards comprising ISO 9001:1987, ISO 9002:1987 and ISO 9003:1987; which were applicable in different types of industries, based on the type of activity or process: designing, production or service delivery. The standards are reviewed every few years by the International Organization for Standardization. The version in 1994 was called the ISO 9000:1994 series; consisting of the ISO 9001:1994, 9002:1994 and 9003:1994 versions. The last major revision was in the year 2008 and the series was called ISO 9000:2000 series. The ISO 9002 and 9003 standards were integrated into one single certifiable standard: ISO 9001:2000. After December 2003, organizations holding ISO 9002 or 9003 standards had to complete a transition to the new standard. ISO released a minor revision, ISO 9001:2008 on 14 October 2008. It contains no new requirements. Many of the changes were to improve consistency in grammar, facilitating translation of the standard into other languages for use by over 950,000 certified organisations in the 175 countries (as at Dec 2007) that use the standard. The ISO 9004:2009 document gives guidelines for performance improvement over and above the basic standard (ISO 9001:2000). This standard provides a measurement framework for improved quality management, similar to and based upon the measurement framework for process assessment. The Quality Management System standards created by ISO are meant to certify the processes and the system of an organization, not the product or service itself. ISO 9000 standards do not certify the quality of the product or service. In 2005 the International Organization for Standardization released a standard, ISO 22000, meant for the food industry. This standard covers the values and principles of ISO 9000 and the HACCPstandards. It gives one single integrated standard for the food industry and is expected to become more popular in the coming years in such industry. ISO has also released standards for other industries. For example Technical Standard TS 16949 defines requirements in addition to those in ISO 9001:2008 specifically for the automotive industry.

ISO has a number of standards that support quality management. One group describes processes (including ISO/IEC 12207 & ISO/IEC 15288) and another describes process assessment and improvement ISO 15504. The Software Engineering Institute has its own process assessment and improvement methods, called CMMi (Capability Maturity Model integrated) and IDEAL respectively. [edit]Quality

software

Quality Management Software is a category of technologies used by organizations to manage the delivery of high quality products. Solutions range in functionality, however, with the use of automation capabilities they typically have components for managing internal and external risk, compliance, and the quality of processes and products. Pre-configured and industryspecific solutions are available and generally require integration with existing IT architecture applications such as ERP, SCM, CRM, and PLM. Quality Management Software Functionalities Non-Conformances/Corrective and Preventive Action Compliance/Audit Management Supplier Quality Management Risk Management Statistical Process Control Failure Mode and Effects Analysis Complaint Handling Advanced Product Quality Planning Environment, Health, and Safety Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points Production Part Approval Process

Enterprise Quality Management Software The intersection of technology and quality management software prompted the emergence of a new software category: Enterprise Quality Management Software (EQMS). EQMS is a platform for cross-functional communication and collaboration that centralizes, standardizes, and streamlines quality management data from across the value chain. The software breaks down functional silos created by traditionally implemented standalone and targeted solutions. Supporting the proliferation and accessibility of information across supply chain activities, design, production, distribution, and service, it provides a holistic viewpoint for managing the [9] quality of products and processes. [edit]Quality

terms

Quality Improvement can be distinguished from Quality Control in that Quality Improvement is the purposeful change of a process to improve the reliability of achieving outcome. Quality Control is the ongoing effort to maintain the integrity of a process to maintain the reliability of achieving an outcome. Quality Assurance is the planned or systematic actions necessary to provide enough confidence that a product or service will satisfy the given requirements.

Total quality control", also called total quality management, is an approach that extends beyond ordinary statistical quality control techniques and quality improvement methods. It implies a complete overview and re-evaluation of the specification of a product, rather than just considering a more limited set of changeable features within an existing product. If the original specification does not reflect the correct quality requirements, quality cannot be inspected or manufactured into the product. For instance, the design of a pressure vessel should include not only the material and dimensions, but also operating, environmental, safety, reliability and maintainability requirements, and documentation of findings about these requirements. Total Quality Management (TQM) refers to management methods used to enhance quality and productivity in business organizations. TQM is a comprehensive management approach that works horizontally across an organization, involving all departments and employees and extending backward and forward to include both suppliers and clients/customers. TQM is only one of many acronyms used to label management systems that focus on quality. Other acronyms include CQI (continuous quality improvement), SQC (statistical quality control), QFD (quality function deployment), QIDW (quality in daily work), TQC (total quality control), etc. Like many of these other systems, TQM provides a framework for implementing effective quality and productivity initiatives [4] that can increase the profitability and competitiveness of organizations. [edit]Quality

control in project management

In project management, quality control requires the project manager and the project team to inspect the accomplished work to ensure its alignment with the project [5] scope. In practice, projects typically have a dedicated quality control team which [citation needed] focuses on this area.

Objectives
Evolution of Quality Management 1. Prior to Industrial Revolution, the skilled craftsman performed all stages of production. Pride in workmanship and reputation often formed the basis of producing a quality well. One or small group of workers was responsible for the entire product. After industrial revolution and specialization and division of labour each worker was then responsible for small portion of work. This led to loss in pride of workmanship and failure to produce quality products. 2. Frederick Winslow Taylor the father of scientific management brought back the concept of quality by incorporating product inspection as well as focusing on the importance of manufacturing management. 3.

G.S. Radford introduced the concept of quality in the product design stage and linked high quality with increased productivity and lower costs. 4. 1924 W. Shewhart of Bell Technologies introduced the Statistical process control charts. 5. 1930 H.F.Dodge and H.G.Romig also of Bell Technologies introduced Tables for acceptance sampling. 6. 1940's - Universities, Bell Technologies and US Army were using Statistical sampling techniques for training engineers. American Society for Quality Control aka ASQC ( now ASQ) was formed during the same era 7. 1950's - Quality assurance/TQC (The era of Deming, Juran and Feigenbaum) which changed the concepts of quality for ever.

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Production and

Operations Management MGT613

VU 8. 1960's - Zero defects championed by Quality Guru Phillip Crosby. It produced the perfect missile for US army 9. 1970's Quality assurance in services like health care, banking and travel industry. 10. Late 1970s the quality assurance concept changed to Strategic quality approach, Harvard Professor David Garvin advocated preventing mistakes from occurring all together. Quality Assurance vs. Strategic Approach Strategic Approach is the SUPERLATIVE form of Quality Assurance Quality Assurance places emphasis on finding and correcting defects before r eaching market Strategic Approach is Proactive, focusing on preventing mistakes from occurri ng and places greater emphasis on customer satisfaction Quality Guru The Quality Gurus are given more respect and recognized as Key Contributor s to Quality Management. Presented below is their contributions in a nut shell, students should learn to recognize these 1. Walter Shewhart is also known as "Father of statistical quality control" 2. W. Edwards Deming presented 14 points for quality management which focused primarily on common cause of variation. 3. Joseph M. Juran is famous for his concept of "Quality is the fitness for use". 4. Armand Feigenbaum said, "Quality is a total field or total function". 5. Philip B. Crosby is famous for his philosophy that "Quality is free". 6. Kaoru Ishikawapresented the "fish bone diagram" or "cause effect diagram". 7. Genichi Taguchi robust design for designing products insensitive to change in environment. Taguchi's contribution was, "Taguchi loss function". Dimensions of Quality The concepts of dimensions of quality represent the fact that customers value a product keeping in mind different dimensions. Quality and Operations Managers come across customer perceptions relating to demand for durable, reliable, performance to a standard and that too in away that is aesthetically correct. 1. Performance - main characteristics of the product/service 2. Aesthetics - appearance, feel, smell, taste 3. Special Features - extra characteristics 4. Conformance - how well product/service conforms to customer's expectations 5. Reliability - consistency of performance

6. Durability - useful life of the product/service 7. Perceived Quality - indirect evaluatio

Quality control is a process employed to ensure a certain level of quality in a product or service. It may include whatever actions a business deems necessary to provide for the control and verification of certain characteristics of a product or service. The basic goal of quality control is to ensure that the products, services, or processes provided meet specific requirements and are dependable, satisfactory, and fiscally sound. Essentially, quality control involves the examination of a product, service, or process for certain minimum levels of quality. The goal of a quality control team is to identify products or services that do not meet a companys specified standards of quality. If a problem is identified, the job of a quality control team or professional may involve stopping production temporarily. Depending on the particular service or product, as well as the type of problem identified, production or implementation may not cease entirely. Important Objectives of Quality Control Principle 1 - Customer-Focused Organization. Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, meet customer requirements, and strive to exceed customer expectations. Principle 2 - Leadership. Leaders establish unity of purpose, direction, and the internal environment of an organization. They create that environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization's objectives. Principle 3 - Involvement of People. People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization's benefit. Principle 4 - Process Approach. A desired result is achieved more efficiently when related resources and

Objectives of Production Function 1. To produce goods and services as per the estimated manufacturing cost and minimum inputs of resources. 2. To produce right quality goods and services as per the established standards and specifications. 3. To produce goods and services as per the decided time schedule. 4. Minimize the use of resources to the optimum level. These are 4 M's :- like Machinery, Materials, Manpower and Money. These inputs are to be used to full extent to result minimum cost, quality and time.

5. Maximize the utilization of manpower. 6. Minimizing the total cost of production with continuous elimination of non-value added activities and improwing labour productivity on the production shop floor.

Production Management Objectives, Performance, Priorities, and Training and Development Plans t is common knowledge that every one of the successful companies today sought and found a precise understanding of how it could create advantage in the operations system and delivery options of the business organization in order to address detailed customer specifications. Every business person is determined to know what kind of work they would and would not do for their customers and, in turn, they carefully learn how to fulfill the needs of each kind of customer in their target markets. In today's fast and technological modern world, the challenge that the Information Man faces is time's nature of putting things in order and in place in the best and most effective way. Life has changed since the invention of the computer which dictated man to deal with things in the most efficient way possible. In the world of big international business industries where transactions and other business operations are governed by law, cultural differences and mutual trust, efficiency counts largely as a common entrepreneurial aim. Performance Goals Performance management is an important process for influencing both the extrinsic and intrinsic motivations of employees, that is, increasing employees' perceptions and understanding of job tasks and subsequently their job satisfaction. For example, elements of performance management may provide the employee with a more accurate understanding of job tasks (task identity and task significance) through objective setting, leading to a clear sense of direction. Performance management also serves to focus employee efforts and attention on critical tasks through the use of performance feedback, which therefore assists employees in reducing job errors and minimizing the risks of learning through trial and error. In addition, where employees desire jobs that allow them to make good use of their skills and talents, performance management increases job task "fit" (skill variety) through the identification of training and development needs that are consistent with individual and organizational goals. This can be attributed to human resource specialists, academics, and consultants who proclaim that performance management is a critically needed tool for effective human resource management (1984). This, in turn, is based on the belief that an effectively designed, implemented, and administered performance management system can provide the organization, the manager, and the employee a myriad of benefits (1987). The literature on performance management generally suggests that the management process can increase employee motivation and productivity, provide a solid basis for wage and salary administration, facilitate discussions concerning employee growth and

development, provide data for human resource decisions, and provide managers with a useful communication tool for employee goal setting and performance planning (1989). More often than not, leaders plunge into a long-term strategic planning process without first deliberating on certain fundamental questions related to beliefs and values. These questions are often about the core ideology, values, purpose, envisioned future, vision statement and vivid description of what the business would look like. Reaching a common understanding about the inherent beliefs in the organization provides a platform for further explorations on the norms of behavior that help define the organization's culture. This exploration can also help reveal the impact that the organization's structure (system) has on behaviors. By the nature of systems, structure involves how people make decisions-the operating values whereby people translate perceptions, goals rules and norms into actions. People often focus only on their own decisions and ignore how their decisions affect others. Frequently, when an organization is faced with moderate threat or opportunity, people began to replace old behavioral patterns with new ways of thinking and behaving. There are several enduring issues relative to performance management system implementation. They include the controversy over combining developmental and administrative purposes, the absence of rater training, the lack of organizational commitment and top-level support, ubiquitous rating errors, employee dissatisfaction with the amount of performance feedback received, and the absence of specific performance documentation, among others. Included are several emerging implementation issues related to the need for increasing the sources of performance information and problems raised by inadequate literacy levels. Along with the considerations discussed above, the following are the general process I normally utilize in the organization in order to establish my personal goals within a month. 1. Identification of monthly production target in terms of product volume, product testing, and product quality assurance, 2. Coordinating the volume of orders into the specified deadline of clients and customers, 3. Communicating product volume and specifics to the members of the production teams, 4. Assessment and evaluation of inherent and inevitable shortcomings in the production process (product, technology, and people), and 5. Stocking, warehousing, inventory and delivery options and other supply management considerations of finished goods Generally, these monthly goals and processes ensure that the organization, particularly the production arm of the company can readily attend to the commitments of the organization in order to maintain the satisfaction and loyalty of our customers. Moreover, these production goals and objectives serve as motivation to every individual staff and employee in the production department of the organization. Work Plans

Organizations are neither the rational, harmonious entities celebrated in managerial theory nor the arenas of apocalyptic class conflict projected by Marxists (1980). Hardy and Clegg (1996) believe that modern organizations passed by the guild structures and as organizations grew larger, skills become increasingly fragmented and specialized and positions become more functionally differentiated. Leavitt had defined three approaches to organization, which includes structure, technology and people (1964). New formal guidelines and procedures like organization chart, budgeting methods, rules and regulations can also be structural approaches on inducing change. On the other hand, rearrangements in work flow through new physical layouts, work methods, job descriptions and work standards can be done as technological approaches. Some organizations stress on people approaches which includes alterations in attitudes, motivation and behavioral skills. This can be done through new training programs, selection procedures, and performance appraisal schemes. Planning is commonly known as the process of formulating in advance as organized behaviour action. While it is true that people do not always plan their actions, it is inherent for any organizations to plan. However, whether dealing with the context by which planning is occurring, whether on the individual or organizational level, the process takes shape according to the prevailing attitudes, beliefs and goals involved. Planning also bears different meaning to different social groups. Any commercial, entrepreneurial, private as well as public organizations and institutions who has a financial arm to manage the funds of the group, is faced with the objective of maximizing the shareholder wealth and not the profit as was stated in the theory of financial management. The business, in order to effectively execute any business strategy or plan, should be able to determine first and identify the resources that are available in the company. Studying and examining the opportunities of the available resources will help in constructing a business plan which will be profitable. The characteristics of the business should be clearly laid out and the ideas that will be made available should be thoroughly researched. This will provide relevant information that the general management can utilize so as to be able to allocate the funds of the company in the most effective way. In an area of my work where the focus is of managing the integrity of the business, business control should be its very objective. Business control is crucial to maintaining business integrity especially when the business is developing and growing. Thus, its needs and demands equal efficiency and effectiveness on managing the business. In addition, to maintain business' efficiency and effectiveness, it is important to develop and implement appropriate business controls through an assurance process based on a publish statement of compliance with relevant laws and business principles. Implementation of statement compliance will help to develop and manage key business risks. My duties under the control systems operation involves lowering the company's stock

level, minimizing purchase of goods from other agents, ensuring that the purchased products will be sold, making accurate forecasts of demands, and maximizing the profit of the company. These are made possible by categorizing the purchased products into three classifications: (a) regular forecast demands, (b) additional allocation or back to back order, and (c) orders to other agents or suppliers. All, these are executed while keeping in mind the available selling plans that were constructed and stock status of each item. Management and sales reports are prepared daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually in order to keep track on the flow of goods and services rendered by the company. Such reports are utilized to analyze and investigate on the demand of the products that should tally with the records provided by the other company departments so as to decide and make necessary actions on the needs and conditions of the business industry particularly the demands of the clients. These reports likewise present the performance of the people housed by the company. Adjustments of stocks are made using the computer system to coordinate the products available for resale and that of the forecasted volume of goods that needs to be ordered to supply the customers. Other responsibilities include updates of records, cancellation of P/O balance, evaluation of the distributors system, selling and purchasing deals with agents as well as cost adjustments. For effective and efficient monitoring and control system of the business operations and transactions, sales exp report are provided regularly along with the staff's discrepancy report and analysis which presents the difference between the forecast report and the actual record. This process enables the management to device plans of how to lower the stock level by selling the surplus in which the recommendations and suggestions from the Sales Administration Department. In line with this need, I prepare reports that will provide solutions on liquidating and managing the surplus available. The sales representatives are then required to act accordingly in order to clear the stock of surplus. In cases of negative profit, I am tasked to prepare reports that will explain and support the reasons that led to such incidents which are approved and signed by the General Manager. The regular reports and sales analysis are constantly examined so as to adjust the business strategies for the succeeding business transactions. Along with the duties and responsibilities assigned to me, I have been able to put up with the expected performance of my position in the business organization. In line with these tasks, I was able to meet the performance standards set by the company through the following evidences: I was able to design as well as modify the existing report format of our computer system which made it possible for us to utilize the functions more effectively and efficiently. I have been able to rearrange some job specifications to adapt to the needs of the complicated business environment, evaluating the job of each employee and redesigning

his or her responsibilities to fit the changes. I have likewise contributed to the creation of new operations system as well as the improvements made on the rules that govern the system for more efficient work output. I suggested ways which helped the company optimizer the function of the departments in order to minimize the cost and expenses of the operations.

Management of Competing Demands and Priorities An information system is indispensable in every organization as reflected in its role, purpose, and sources of information. Information system plays a crucial role and is a contributory factor in the success of an organization for the modification of present plans and strategies of an organization and the formulation of future goals, approaches, and steps the organization will undertake are based on the data obtained in the past and converted to information organized in the system. Furthermore, it could be noticed that in such modification and formulation, decision-making is essential. Hence, information system influences decisions thereby affecting the status of the organization at the present and in the future. With the ever-increasing demands by the clients and customers, raw materials suppliers, as well as the pressure from the upper management of the organization for increased efficiency and profit, collaborating and effective management of priorities in the production constantly pose challenges and beset the operations management of the company. As such, it is inevitable that the organization implement programs and production systems that will best suit the needs of the company and its clients. The discussion below presents the IT system and techniques used in the company along with the lean management initiative to add value to the production process and overall operations of the business organization. Generating manual and IT systems in the workplace provides a more advantage in terms of receiving, recording, processing, storing and transferring information. Manual system With manual system of work, information processing is more meticulous and requires a lot of effort but produces good end results. Nowadays with the advent of information technology, using manual system perceive as slow as compare to IT systems. Here, record processing takes different stages before going to final stage. Although efficiency and effectiveness is proven and accuracy and validity is tested, using manual system generates limited information for processing. Using manual system for storing relevant information is still considered as a safe procedure. Especially when the information requires confidentiality. Here, information and records are kept for future use. With the use of manual system, transferring information and records requires more time. On the other hand, there are still activities in the workplace that practice manual

system to secure information or confidentiality. IT system Through the advent of information technology, business transactions are more on the advantage position. In just one click, information is sent through up to date and powerful technology. With the use of Information technology, information processing improves with several benefits such as lower costs capital management, fastest time, reduces pressure and hassles in the workplace among others. As we all know, information processing is not an easy job because it entails processing of vast amount of information that is usually needed immediate attention. With the rise of globalization, businesses rely on information technology to get the work over and done. It is not a problem in the workplace to store information using IT system. In just a click, information can be saved or retrieved. However, confidential information and records are not too safe using the IT system because somebody may access it. Information Technology system benefited the transferring of information, no matter how far the business area or the country. In just a click, all the information can be viewed through computers. However, IT system has disadvantages also because information that will be transferred can be access by someone if it is not secure enough. The development of Lean Quality Management System is one of the quality management approaches that address the business setting at present. It was developed to (1) save thousands of dollars each year by avoiding the waste associated with a paper quality system, (2) harness the creativity of employees while maintaining control of their projects, (3) perform tasks that are clearly assigned, defined, communicated and focused, (4) spend less time managing the quality system and more time improving the value stream, (5) reduce training costs by integrating procedures with training, (6) provide a management system that provides the who, what and when, and (7) provide the metrics to drive your organization to ever-higher levels of performance and success which works just as well for small as large companies (Lean Software Quality Management). The Lean Value Chain of Production System Model below illustrates how companies at present gain competitive advantage by adding value to the overall operation of the organization through efficient production system (2006). Business firms that utilize the value chain management strategy also consider increasing the companies' relationship with its shareholders by separating the business system into a series of value-generating activities, namely: (a) inbound logistics, (b) operations, (c) outbound logistics, (d) marketing and sales, and (e) customer service. In effect, from the receiving and warehousing of raw material from the suppliers, all through out the manufacturing and production process, as well as in the entire the distribution and sales of finished goods, the value-generating activities are supported by the infrastructure of the firm, its human resources management, and the technology it uses (2005).

The lean machine is known in the ease of its use and installation as well as its cost effectiveness in dealing with wastes in most quality systems thereby saving time and money for the software. It can integrate information, reports, graphs, and other tools that work together to simplify and deliver information for improved business operations which minimize the time spent on other software programs (). Training and Development Plan Business organizations nowadays offer two-way learning experience within the company between the employers and the employees. Employers benefit largely from trainings that they offer to staff and members of the firm given that the expected knowledge and skills were learned through the organizations venture on their human resources. At the best possible results, the organization will gain competitive attitude in the business world by housing in competitive and qualified workers. Employees on the other hand, are given the opportunity to improve on their work capabilities as qualified and productive members of the modern and information age work force. Ensuring employee performance requires establishing a level of competence which the employee should be aware of as a target to be achieved. This is the measure to be used by managers in determining compliance with the standard and in identifying problems met by the employees in meeting the standard. In developing a training program to enhance the productivity of employees the manager will look at the competency problems of the employees and fashion the program to enable the employees to reach and even exceed the competency standard established for their work. This requires a great amount of perceptiveness on the part of the manager in determining what method of training will be most effective in improving employee competence. Some of the training includes computer software training, internet-based training and self teaching by encouraging innovativeness in the workplace (1998). Employers need to enroll their staff in annual or quarterly training courses to upgrade their skills and enrich their knowledge so as to foster individual and personal development and improvement. Possibilities of promotion through their acquired knowledge and improved skills as competitive employees should always be reminded to the staff as a form of motivation to encourage productive outputs. Incentives in the form of financial aids like bonuses and other material compensations as well as intrapersonal rewards such as positive critical feedbacks and recognition should be endorse by the company to boost confidence and motivate the employees. This in turn will also be profitable to the organization itself due to increased output of the work force. It is also apparent that equal relations between the employer and the employees should be practiced to encourage productivity in the business organization. Enhancing good working relations among all the employees and preserving a good working environment and atmosphere ideally, will provide harmonious relationship inside the business

organization. Maintaining such condition within the office will elicit productivity from the employees as they enjoy their duties of accomplishing their tasks and will help in reducing stress and eventual burnout in the workplace. Encouragement of wider work responsibility of basic skills such as development and learning courses should be given to employees on specified times of the year. This will restore fresh knowledge to old employees. In the case of newly hired staff, more comprehensive and rigorous training exercises should be applied to better prepare them of the workloads they will be responsible of in the actual business transaction and work process. Promoting individual competence and competitiveness among the staff and other members of the organization will be of benefit to the company since this will uphold and advance the initiative work attitude. Team building exercises wherein work peers as well as the supervisors will be participating should be regularly held. Bonding activities like out of town trips can be psychologically helpful to all the employees that will elicit bond among the people inside the company as well as for the employers to know their work team. Since workplace learning and training programs in business organizations is a common practice nowadays, more trust should be given to the work team of the company. Entertaining and respecting solicited opinions and ideas of ordinary employees will be of help in setting the corporate goals of the company since the staff is encouraged to think as owners of the business enterprise.

Research

In any organization, managers at all levels need accurate and timely information for managerial decision making. Whether the decisions made are at technical, tactical, or strategic levels, good, accurate, and timely information always leads to a better decision. Gathering of information is done through a sound and scientific research process. Each year organizations spend enormous amounts of money for research and development in order to maintain their competitive edge. Accurate information obtained through research leads to enormous benefits.

APPLIED VERSUS PURE RESEARCH

Research can be defined as scientifically and methodically delving into the unknown in order to provide information for solving problems. The heart of this definition is the concept of problem solving. Both applied and pure (also

known as basic) research attempt to solve problems. In applied research, the researcher attempts to solve a known problem and find answers to specific questions. In other words, the emphasis of applied research is on practical problem solving. For instance, when a paper recycling company wants to determine whether or not their recycled papers meet the required specification as to the thickness of the paper across the roll, they might design a systematic procedure for answering this specific question. The research in such a situation represents applied research. Another example of applied research might be that of prediction. As an example, consider a trucking company that is interested in predicting the tonnage of material shipped in the next quarter. The practical problem is predicting the tonnage and determining which variables are good predictors of tonnage for the next quarter. Applied research can help make a decision about the following, including a variety of other business and management decisions:

pricing a new product where to locate a new retail store how many employees to hire how many products to offer what to pay employees

Applied research can be used to collect information about markets, competitors, and customers. For example, research can help pinpoint the optimal business location and the size of markets. It can also be used to monitor competitive actions. Customer research determines customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and customer preferences. On the other hand, pure, or basic, research does not necessarily try to answer specific questions or solve specific problems. Pure or basic research is done in order to expand knowledge and probe into the unknown. For example, when a researcher is interested in determining how employee demographics and tenure on the job relate to preference for flexible work schedules may represent pure research. Both pure and applied research deals with problem definition and problem solving. Most basic research is conducted by

professors in academic institutions (i.e. colleges and universities), by the government, or by consulting firms. Few business organizations will engage in pure research related to business problems. However, understanding the process and methods used for both applied and basic research are important to interpreting research results.

THE RESEARCH QUESTION

Managers' needs for information are the primary source of problem definition and the research question. Managers need information to make educated decisions arising from unanticipated as well as planned changes. As such, managers must select between different alternatives and thus require information about the organization and its environment. The question to be answered or the problem to be solved must first be clearly defined. Questions to be answered could be very specific or extremely broad. The more specific the questions, the easier it will be to answer the research questions. There might be hypotheses that could be tested scientifically. Once the questions to be answered are clearly defined then the value of the research must be assessed. Clearly, if the costs of performing the research project exceed the value that the research will provide, then the project should not be continued.

THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Research endeavors require a proposal that explains the problem to be address and the procedure by which the questions will be answered. The researcher's proposal tells the managers what they should expect from the research. It is a contract between the managers and the researcher. For instance, if a company wants to know the degree to which its new incentive program is effective in improving employee performance, then the consultant or employee conducting the research will create a proposal that indicates to that company how the question will be addressed and what specific information the company will have at the end of the research process. The proposal may indicate, for example, that the research will indicate the level of satisfaction of employees with the new incentive plan, the increased firm performance with the plan, and the individual increases in performance (as measured by managers) with the incentive plan. The purpose of the research

proposal is to effectively guide the researchers in their development of the research design and data collection to answer the specific research questions.

RESEARCH DESIGN
Once the proposal is approved, the researcher has a foundation for development of the research design. The plan for conducting the research is the research design. There are two general forms of research design, namely non-experimental (ex-post-facto) and experimental. In a non-experimental design, the researcher does not control or alter any of the independent variables. The researcher merely studies existing situations, variables, and the interrelation among variables and reports the results of his or her findings. The two major non-experimental designs are field studies and surveys. Field studies combine literature review and possibly analysis of some case studies. For example, if one is interested in determining the effectiveness of total quality management (TQM), there will be a thorough literature search on the topic as well as a study of the firms that have applied TQM and have been successful. A literature review means that a researcher identifies previous writings and research on a topic, summarizes the current knowledge on the topic, and assesses the value of that prior research on the current problem. On the other hand, surveys deal with the formulation of a questionnaire (survey instrument) by which one can measure the magnitude of the desired variables as well as the interrelation among the variables. Non-experimental designs are primarily exploratory in nature and provide descriptive measures and can also be used for predictive purposes. There are two broad categories of experimental designs: field and laboratory. In both field experiments and laboratory experiments, the researcher controls and may alter and introduce some variables in order to determine the effect of a given variable. Field experiments are done in a natural setting, whereas laboratory experiments are undertaken in a simulated setting. Studies on the effectiveness of different configurations of teams and their level of effectiveness can be undertaken in both field and office settings. In an office setting, a researcher might organize workplace teams, using different criteria to establish each, then measure the success of their group interactions and their productivity on real work tasks. This would be a natural setting, except

for the way in which teams were organized. Team composition could also be studied in a laboratory in which the researchers had complete control over more variables. To study team effectiveness in a laboratory setting, individuals would be placed in teams using different criteria, then asked to perform a series of tasks specially designed to measure team interactions and performance. This laboratory setting would allow the researcher more control, because the types of individuals involved could be chosen, rather than using only the employees available in a field setting; by designing tasks specific to the study, rather than using existing work tasks; and by having more ability to watch and measure team performance without hindering organizational performance.

DATA COLLECTION
Data collection is the process of gathering the specific information used to answer the research questions. There are a number of issues associated with data collection, including the use of primary or secondary data, survey design, sampling, survey administration, and increasing response rates.

PRIMARY DATA AND SECONDARY DATA.

Data can be primary or secondary, and whether one or both are used, and which is used, depends largely on the research question and the availability of these data sources. Secondary data refer to data gathered by others or from other studies. Secondary data is generally less costly and less time consuming than gathering primary data, typically is accumulated before primary data is gathered, and may even help determine the course by which primary data is pursued. An example of secondary data is if a company uses data from the U.S. Census or data collected for another organizational activity (e.g., performance information for individuals from the company's annual performance appraisal). While secondary data can be used for background information about specific research, it may also answer some specific research questions. However, because secondary data was collected for another purpose, it may not adequately address the new research question. In today's world of rapidly growing information technologies, secondary data are available from numerous sources. A researcher should explore the existing

data before starting the research process, since there are datasets for many different types of information currently available. There are abundant data available in literature, company records, government publications, trade associations, and through the Internet. Primary data is that which is collected by the researcher to address the current research question. Types of primary data include subject demographics, lifestyle characteristics, attitudes, knowledge, intentions, motivations, and behavior. Demographic data includes statistics regarding populations, such as age, sex, income, level of education, and so forth. Lifestyle characteristics describe a respondent's activities, interests, and opinions. Attitudes refer to views and opinions about things, events, or ideas. Knowledge is the degree to which respondents are aware of these things, events, or ideas. Intentions generally refer to a respondent's planned future behavior. Motivations describe the reasons behind a respondent's behavior. Behavior is related to what respondents do. Primary data can be collected in the field or the laboratory through communication and observation. Communication generally requires the direct questioning of respondents via a paper-and-pencil survey (i.e., questionnaire) or telephone survey. Observation involves the direct recording of respondent behavior. Surveys are probably the most common design in business research. For instance, if one is interested in determining the success of TQM, a survey can be designed that encompasses questions regarding elements of success, strengths, weaknesses, and other questions dealing with TQM. Then the survey can be sent to companies that have been successful in implementing TQM. The survey results could shed light on many aspects of TQM.

SURVEY DESIGN.
Survey design is of major importance, because is a survey is poorly designed, it will not provide the researchers with the data that addresses the research question. Survey questions, called items, must be properly chosen to in order to elicit appropriate respondent answers. The steps involved include determining the information that will be sought, the type of questionnaire, the method of administration, the content of individual questions, the form of

response to each question, the wording of each question, the sequence of questions, the physical characteristics of the questionnaire, and, finally, pretesting the questionnaire. Some items for certain areas of interest already exist. For instance, there are existing surveys that measure employees' satisfaction with pay and benefits. If survey items do not already exist in the published literature, the researchers must create their own items, based on their review of the existing literature and their own expertise. Often, a focus group of experts can also help to create items. For example, if a company wants to assess its employees' attitudes towards an intended change in work rules, the researcher may lead a focus group of several experienced company managers to capture all of the relevant ideas that need to be addressed by the survey. Before the survey instrument is sent out, it must be tested for reliability and validity. Reliability refers to how consistently the instrument measures, and validity refers to whether the instrument is measuring. One concern when designing a survey is how to word the items. One of the most popular ways to measure attitudes on a survey is by using the Likert scale. This method presents a series of statements to respondents for which they are asked to indicate the degree to which they agree with the statements. An example of a statement might be "The sales people are helpful." Respondents are asked to indicate the degree to which they agree with the statements by checking either SA (strongly agree), A (agree), N (neither agree nor disagree), D (disagree), or SD (strongly disagree). Respondents' answers would then be scored where SA = 5, A = 4, N = 3, D = 2, and SD = 1. A total score would be computed by average or summing scores on related items.

SAMPLING.
When administering a questionnaire there are two options as to who should complete the survey. Option one is to give the questionnaire to everyone in the targeted population. This is called a census. However, a census is usually not practical or cost effective. For instance, you may not be able to survey every one of your customers from last year to determine levels of customer satisfaction with your products. Consequently, in order to save time and

money, only a sample or subset of the target population receives the questionnaire. When selecting individuals for a sample, either a probability approach or a nonprobability approach can be used. Probability samples are those where each element of the population has a known probability of being selected. A random sample, for example, is the case where each element has the same probability of being selected. There are some specific types of nonprobability samples: convenience samples, judgment samples, and quota samples. Convenience samples are chosen at the convenience of the researcher. For example, a researcher might distribute a survey to all customers who enter one retail store in a one-week period to determine their level of customer satisfaction with the company's products. This sample is rather easy to select, but it may not represent the full range of customers who have used that product. In a judgment sample, individuals are selected by the researcher because they are believed to represent the population under study. Quota samples attempt to make the sample representative of the population under study where quotas are set for specific groups of people, which are generally selected on the basis of demographic characteristics. The chief advantage of a probability sample over a nonprobability sample is the ability to assess the reliability and the amount of sampling error in the results. For example, if the goal were to estimate the annual household income for a given county, probability sampling would allow an accuracy assessment of the estimate. This could not be accomplished with a nonprobability sample.

SURVEY ADMINISTRATION.
After the survey has been designed and its reliability and validity assessed, the company must decide the administration method that it will use. Each administration method has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost, information control, sampling control, and administrative control. Information control refers to the possible variation in responses to questions. Sampling control is the ability to select cooperative respondents. Administrative control refers to factors affecting the efficiency of the survey, including timing, quality control, and standardization.

Personal interviews are generally the most expensive means of data collection. In a company, this would mean having researchers meet with employees oneon-one to ask them the survey questions and record their responses. One of the main advantages of the personal interview is the ability to ask any type of question, including an open-ended question, and to adapt to the respondent's answers. However, in addition to being expensive and time consuming, this method is not anonymous, and therefore respondents may be reluctant to answer questions that they feel are sensitive or invasive. The mail questionnaire is usually the least expensive method of data collection. Besides cost savings, another advantage of the mail questionnaire is its wide distribution potential. However, mail questionnaires cannot control the speed of responses, and the researcher cannot explain ambiguous questions. Mail questionnaires are probably best utilized when asking personal or sensitive questions, particularly if the survey can be made anonymous. Questionnaires can be circulated using various methods, such as post, electronic mail, and fax. The telephone interview is associated with relatively low cost and higher response rates, and is one of the fastest methods of data collection. While there are methods to address the problem, unlisted numbers make it more difficult to obtain representative samples. Establishing rapport is also more difficult in telephone interviewing than in the personal interview. One survey administration method that is growing in popularity is the Internet survey, in which respondents answer items on a survey that is located on a web site. Newer, specialized software products are making it easier to conduct online surveys, even for those people with little to no computer programming skills. Studies indicate that Internet research can result in faster responses, lower costs, higher response rates, and better flexibility. Additionally, this method aids in data administration, since survey responses can be directly inserted into a data spreadsheet by the web survey software.

INCREASING RESPONSE RATES.

One of the main concerns of survey research is the response rate, or the number of people who are asked to complete a survey who actually do. Nonresponse error is a source of bias because of the failure to get answers from some of the sample. "Not-at-homes" plague the telephone survey and uncooperative respondents affect telephone, mail, Internet, and personal interview surveys. While research results are mixed regarding effective means for increasing response rates, the following represent some ideas for increasing response rates:

give respondents advance notice of the survey guarantee confidentiality or anonymity provide monetary incentives provide a postage-paid return envelope for mail surveys personalize outgoing envelopes

DATA ANALYSIS
Research provides data, and it is the task of the researcher to transform the collected data into useful information for management. The first step in data analysis is preparing the data by editing it for several factors, including:

completenesschecking for any omissions legibilitymaking sure that handwriting is understandable so that answers will be coded correctly comprehensibilitymaking sure the answer is understandable consistencychecking for consistent answers from the respondent uniformitychecking to see that responses are recorded in the same manner

Once the data is edited it is ready for coding, which is determining how survey responses will be transformed into numerical data. The first step in coding is the development of a codebook. The codebook formalizes the coding process by listing answers and their accompanying codes. After the data is coded and entered into a data spreadsheet, statistical analyses can be performed to create useful information for the researchers. If there are hypotheses to be tested, the

researcher is in a position to use the gathered data to test the hypotheses. Data analysis could be as simple as reporting descriptive statistics such as averages, measures of variability, and percentages, or if needed, advance statistical techniques could be applied.

RESEARCH REPORT
The research report can be as simple as a short report of a few pages giving the overall findings of the research, or it can be a long report with numerous parts. The degree of formality required by management dictates the type of report to prepare. Figure 2 presents the order of inclusion of the various parts of a long formal report.

PREFATORY SECTION.
In this part of the report, first a title fly needs to be prepared. The title fly only includes the title of the report. The title should be carefully worded so it tells the reader exactly what the report is about. Following the title fly is the title page. The title page should include the title of the report, the name and the title of the recipient of the report, and the name and the title of the individual who prepared the report and the date. The letter that authorized the undertaking of the research project, followed by a letter of transmittal indicating the completion of the research report are the next items included in the report. Include a table of contents followed by an executive summary. The executive summary, summarizing the report's major findings, should be brief and to the point. This summary should briefly explain the conclusions.

INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH.

This section of the report provides a clear background and statement of the research question and provides information about the objectives of the research. Included in this section would be a literature review about previous studies with the same or similar problem. If there are hypotheses to be tested, population parameters to be estimated, theories to be considered, they will be incorporated into this section of the report

RESEARCH METHOD.
This section will provide a detailed explanation of research design and will provide answers to many questions. What type of design was used? What instruments were used for the collection of data? Were there any subjects involved in the study? What did the subjects do? How was the sample selected? What kind of statistical or non-statistical techniques were used for data analysis? Finally, in this section of the report the limitations encountered in the study should be presented.

FINDINGS.
This section is probably one of the most important parts of the research report. Provided in this section would be the results of the data analyses and explanation of all the findings. At this point, all the raw data have been analyzed and converted to meaningful information for management's use. This is the section where the original research question is answered.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

A concise yet precise summary of major findings will be included in this section, followed by any recommendations that the researcher considers important and meaningful.

APPENDICES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Statistical tests, large tables of information, copies of measurement instruments, and supporting documents should be included in the appendices. Finally, the report should end by providing a bibliography of all sources of information. SEE ALSO: Hypothesis Testing ; Statistics Mo Ahmadi Revised by Marcia J. Simmering

References
1. ^ Deming, W. Edwards, Lectures on statistical control of quality., Nippon Kagaku Gijutsu Remmei, 1950 2. ^ Deming, W. Edwards and Dowd S. John (translator) Lecture to Japanese Management, Deming Electronic Network Web Site, 1950 (from a Japanese transcript of a lecture by Deming to "80% of Japanese top management" given at the Hotel de Yama at Mr. Hakone in August 1950) 3. 4. ^ "Why SPC?" British Deming Association SPC Press, Inc. 1992 ^ Bob Raczynski and Bill Curtis (2008) Software Data Violate SPC's Underlying Assumptions, IEEE Software, May/June 2008, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 49-51 5. ^ Robert V. Binder (1997) Can a Manufacturing Quality Model Work for Software?, IEEE Software, September/October 1997, pp. 101-105

[edit]Bibliography Deming, W E (1975) On probability as a basis for action, The American Statistician, 29(4), pp146152 Deming, W E (1982) Out of the Crisis: Quality, Productivity and Competitive Position ISBN 0-521-30553-5 Oakland, J (2002) Statistical Process Control ISBN 0-7506-5766-9 Shewhart, W A (1931) Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product ISBN 087389-076-0 Shewhart, W A (1939) Statistical Method from the Viewpoint of Quality Control ISBN 0486-65232-7 Wheeler, D J (2000) Normality and the Process-Behaviour Chart ISBN 0-945320-56-6 Wheeler, D J & Chambers, D S (1992) Understanding Statistical Process Control ISBN 0945320-13-2 Wheeler, Donald J. (1999). Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos - 2nd Edition. SPC Press, Inc. ISBN 0-945320-53-1. Wise, Stephen A. & Fair, Douglas C (1998). Innovative Control Charting: Practical SPC Solutions for Today's Manufacturing Environment. ASQ Quality Press. ISBN 0-87389385-9

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[edit]Bibliography Boone, Louis E. & Kurtz, David L., Contemporary Business 2006, Thomson SouthWestern, 2006 Rochfort Scott, Charles & Hamerton, Robert Jacob, Rambles in Egypt and Candia: With Details of the Military Power and Resources of Those Countries, and Observations on the Government, Policy, and Commercial System of Mohammed Ali, Volume I, H. Colburn, London, 1837
Quality Control or QC as it is popularly referred as "is concerned with quality of conformance of a process". The prime purpose of QC is to assure that the processes are performing in an acceptable manner. Organizations accomplish QC by monitoring process outputs using statistical techniques. The practical and pragmatic QC based Operations Strategy for a service or manufacturing organization would focus on the principle of quality in design

1. Introduction to Quality Control and Assurance 2. Phases of Quality Control 3. Elements of Control Process 4. How control charts are used to monitor a process and the concepts that underlie their use. 5. Use and interpret control charts. 6. Use of run tests to check for non randomness in process output