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... Its response was three fold: to move its model range upmarket to meet the demand for more sophisticated vehicles in developed countries, to rationalize from fourteen production sites to the single Solihull plant, and to address the quality in its finished vehicles. ...
Land Rovers objectives of moving its models upmarket and reducing its reliance on Third World markets necessitated a review of the vehicles quality. At the same time, introduction of lean production techniques to facilitate improvements in quality also brought about a change in working methods. ...
Total Quality Improvement
Land Rovers pattern of changing ownership is similar to other British car companies, but its quality management is somewhat atypical for having had a thriving quality circle programme that lasted for over nine years. Quality Circles were established at Land Rover in 1988 after a strike at the plant lasting for six weeks over failure to agree the annual pay deal. ... Techniques were adopted that would promote twoway communication; cascade briefing groups were introduced along with attitude surveys and the launch of a total quality improve ment (TQI) programme, so named because, ‘in the immediate poststrike workplace environment, the less an initiative smacked of management, the better’ (Wheatley and New, 1994: 5). ... The implementation plan identified eight necessary cultural changes required: the need for total quality leadership, empowerment of fact holders, ownership of problems, shared values, business orientation, common objectives, effect ive communication, and creation of a learning environment. All employees received four days offthejob training in total quality and were issued with a handbook which set out the basic principles of total quality improvement:
* prevention not detection;
* managementled;
* everyone responsible;
* cost of poor quality;
* right first time;
* companywide;
* continuous improvement (IRS 1992: 2)
The TQI handbook emphasized that total quality is achieved via prevention of problems rather than reliance on problemsolving after the event, and formed part of a series of initiatives that aimed to create a new quality culture with the company.
Quality Circles
Following the introduction of the TQI programme the company introduced quality circles starting with a pilot of nine groups. ...
The objectives of discussion groups were to:
* improve quality;
* create an outlook of solving problems and completing projects;
* involve people in their work;
* improve communications and teamwork;
* help personal development;
* increase motivation;
* improve job satisfaction.
Approximate Word count = 1862
Approximate Pages = 7.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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