I.

POINT OF VIEW IN ANALYZING THE CASE

We are analyzing the case from the point of view of the companys CEO that desires to pursue the Baldrige criteria in replacement of its current philosophy which is Demings 14 points.

II. MAJOR PROBLEMS

Adapting the Baldrige focus and commencing a process of self-assessment against the criteria to identify opportunities for improvement, are the major problems of TecSmart since the entirety of the company is accustomed to Demings 14 points when it comes to management

III. OBJECTIVES IN ANALYZING THE CASE

To seamlessly adapt the Baldrige Focus To identify opportunities that will lead to improvement

IV-A. FACTS OF THE CASE

A. TecSmart manufactures and designs electronic power supplies for OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) in computer, medical and office products B. TecSmart focuses on Quality, Service & Values. C. Quality journey started in the mid-1980s and was based on Demings 14 points. D. TecSmarts employees are sent to Deming seminars, to continually ace the 14 points. E. The current CEO decides to pursue a Baldrige focus F. Senior leaders set company objectives and guide cross-functional teams. They also participate in quarterly communications with all the employees. They also teach in TecSmart University. G. TecSmart sets six sigmas for most of its processes H. All employees are trained in a five-step problem-solving process I. All employees receive customer relationship training J. Vice president of sales handles all the complaint K. Cross functional teams guide product development L. Average employee receives 72 hours of quality training

IV-B. ASSUMPTIONS

Competition - Is there a risk of any new entrant to the market or current competitor while the company is at its full scale shift of philosophy? Company Personnel - Is the company recruiting sufficient flexible staff? Are companys benefits enough to cater the needs of its workforce? What will be the reaction of the employees when the top management decided to pursue the Baldrige focus? Will it decrease their effectiveness? Will it hinder their skills since they are not accustomed to Baldrige? Suppliers Will there be a bad initial reaction from the suppliers when the said philosophy shift takes place? Will the new philosophy overran normal supplying functions?

V. BEST ALTERNATIVE COURSES OR ACTIONS WITH ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Alternative Course #1 Add extra hours of internal quality/service-related training of the employees with regards to the adaptation of the Baldrige Philosophy Pros: 1. Additional training would enhance employees understanding of the Baldrige Focus 2. Since a new philosophy would be applied, adding extra hours of training would reduce the employees confusion concerning Baldrige Cons: 1. Additional hours of training might be against the will of the employees 2. It would be more expensive Alternative Course #2 Make the employees become accustomed to the Baldrige focus as well as the Deming's 14 points for the training of the employees and the improvement of the company Pros: 1. It can help improve the company since both of them provides different sets of strengths. 2. Applying both can generate good result for the company if done appropriately Cons: 1. Employees will more likely be confused with the addition of a new philosophy 2. It is time consuming and more costly

 Alternative Course #3 Retain their former philosophy which is the Deming's 14 points Pros: 1. The Deming philosophy already proved that it would bring success to the company 2. The quality of the Deming's 14 points had already been tried and tested by the company as well as the employees since the said philosophy carried the company into the 21st century 3. The flow of activities in the company will run smoothly since the management technique that will be implemented is still the Demings 14 point, a philosophy where the companys employees are very familiar. Cons: 1. The company will not innovate 2. The employees will not grow as a flexible company personnel

VI. BEST ALTERNATIVE

The first proposed course is the best alternative which is:

Make the employees become accustomed to the Baldrige focus as well as the Deming's 14 points for the training of the employees and the improvement of the company

We chose the second alternative because we find it suitable for the company. TecSmart Electronics is known for its good quality products as well as its good and improving relationships internally. The current CEO seeks improvement which made them pursue a new philosophy that could replace or compliment Demings 14 points. The alternative clearly suggest that the company should now make the employees accustomed to the Baldrige focus, but they cannot immediately replace the current philosophy that they are using now. The sudden change would likely confuse the employees, which may result to process disruptions or even hinder their effectiveness. For that reason, we recommend that they help the whole company adapt both of the philosophies, since both philosophies provide different strengths that can help improve the company. And besides, if all employees adapt both philosophies, then the number of theories they can utilize in different processes would increase, thus making them more innovative and flexible. The proposed alternative might take a year to be implemented, but then the company can expect a great improvement in their operations, if and only if, the said adaptation was done properly.

VII. PROPOSED ACTION PLAN

Activity
Study both of the philosophies and determine its strengths as well as the differences.

Time Frame Start Completion Month 1 Month 2

Responsibility Direct Support Company Researchers Top management

Find a training agency or someone to conduct seminars to the employees regarding the two philosophies.

Month 2

Month 4

Top management

Training Agencies

Work out the costs for the training and find a way to minimize them.

Month 4

Month 5

Top management

Company Financial consultants

Notify the employees about the changes that will be made.

Month 6

Month 7

Top Management

Employees

Contact the training agency or the persons to conduct seminars to the employees

Month 7

Month 8

Top management

Trainers

Send the employees to the seminars or both philosophies

Month 8

Month 12

Top Management

Employees

Ensure if the employees improved by surveying them regularly

Month 12

Month 13-14

Top Management

Employees

VIII. ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Discuss how the practices that TecSmart identified supports Demings 14 Points.
1. Create and publish to all employees a statement of the aims and purposes of the company or other organizations. The management must demonstrate constantly their commitment to this statement It is evident that TecSmart has a focus on Quality, Service & Value. This is also reinforced by making plans and disseminating it down the organization, wherein leadership team can focus on three key values. By holding quarterly communications meeting, senior leaders can reinforce their statement of purpose. 2. Learn the new philosophy, top management and everybody It is evident that TecSmart has a focus on Quality, Service & Value. This is also reinforced by making plans and disseminating it down the organization, wherein leadership team can focus on three key values. By holding quarterly communications meeting, senior leaders can reinforce their statement of purpose. 3. Understand he purpose of Inspection, for improvement of processes and reduction of cost. Inspection is not explicitly addressed, but based on di, which can involve inspection, are routinely made. 4. End the practice of awarding a business on the basis of price tag alone. The basis on which decisions are made for purchasing parts and services is not discussed. However, item #18 states that suppliers are involved in early stages of a product development program. That implies that there is a close working relationship between the company and suppliers, and that cost concerns are discussed and worked out to minimize quality issues. 5. Improve Constantly and forever the system of production and service. A process is in place to train employees in a 5-step problem solving process, and new processes are documented and variation in ongoing processes is monitored for corrective action. 6. Institute Training. As stated earlier, training and learning seem to be built into the company, such that executives teaching courses at TecSmart University. Customer relationship training is also required for all employees. Also, provision is made for 72 hours of training on

service/quality topics, and sales, engineers, office staff, and managers must all be trained. 7. Teach and Institute Leadership. Leadership is evident in objective-setting, communication and teaching, planning complaint resolution, and middle management coaching. 8. Drive Out Fear. Create trust. Create a climate for innovation. While driving out fear is not specifically addressed, it seems likely that the quarterly communication sessions with top management, employee empowerment through self-managed teams, and the annual employee surveys would do a great deal to reduce or eliminate fear. 9. Optimize toward the aims and purposes of the company the efforts of teams, groups, and staff areas Teams and staff have been organized as indicated by the following statements - Senior leaders set company objectives and guide cross-functional teams. - They also participate in quarterly communications with all the employees. They also teach in TecSmart University. - TecSmart sets six sigmas for most of its processes - All employees are trained in a five-step problem-solving process 10. Eliminate Exhortations for the workforce. Goals are set and measurement processes are used extensively, but exhortations are never mentioned. 11. Eliminate numerical qoutas for production, instead learn and institute methods for improvement Again, no mention is made of quotas or MBO. Understanding of the need for improvement, and to know the characteristics of processes abounds. 12. Remove Barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship. Hourly workers can make process changes with the agreement of only one person, and sales people are authorized to travel wherever they feel it necessary for customer service. 13. Encourage Education and self-improvement for everyone. Learning, training, and education seem to all be inter-related at TecSmart. Nothing was explicitly stated about education, however.

14. Take Action and accomplish the transformation. The company has taken action to institute quality on a number of fronts, already. The greatest transformation for this company would be the innovation from one to philosophy to another.

2. How did these practices support the Baldrige criteria? Specifically, identify which of the questions in the criteria each of these practices address. 1. Leadership Senior leaders guide cross functional teams Senior leaders participate in quarterly communication meetings with employees. 2. Strategic planning Senior management set company objectives Each department operates to serve company's objective 3. Customer and Market focus All employees received CRM Training. Customer satisfaction data is acquired from sales representatives. All complaints were handled by Vice president of sales Meetings were held with customers to identify requirements of their products

4. Information and analysis Senior management set company objectives Each department operates to serve company's objective 5. Human resource focus All employees were involved to discuss problems & issues All employees were trained for handling problems 6. Process management Company collects operational data in every dept to evaluate information requirements Company has set Six sigma goals for its processes All employees trained in 5 step problem-solving process

3. What are some of the obvious opportunities for improvement relative to Baldrige criteria? What actions would you recommend that TecSmart do to improve its pursuit of performance excellence using the Baldrige criteria? TecSmart Electronics has so many obvious strengths. However, strategic planning (Category 2) appears to be an area where some improvement could take place. No mention is made of how goals are set, benchmarks are chosen, or cycles of improvement in the planning process take place. In pursuing performance excellence through Baldrige criteria, all of the categories must be practiced thoroughly by TecSmart Electronics employees and the top management, since the said philosophy is new to them. The company should also perform a quarterly survey on how Baldrige Focus affects their performance to asses