Management

[Name of the Institute]

BA431: Performance Management

Part 1

The quality perception of consumers always affects their purchase behaviors. The purchase behavior of a consumer is based on two principles; the price and the quality of the product to be purchased. A consumer plans to keep a balance between these two variables and seeks to purchase a product that offers better quality at a lesser price. A common consumer perception about product quality is that those products that are expensive are better in quality compared to those products that are cheaper. Another consumer perspective about the product quality is that those products that are affiliated with a popular brand provide better overall quality. Advertisements play a sufficient role in establishing the quality perspective of a product in the minds of the consumers (Bacal, 2011).

For this paper I can share one of my experiences about the quality perspective. A new chain of restaurant opened up a café in my locality. The business placed large promotional banner about their lunch deals and discounts they were offering and introductory prices they were charging for meals. The business was the topic of discussion for many people as their construction process were way different than others. They placed a large umbrella over their construction site which creates curiosity for the locals. When the construction was complete they throw a grand opening party. I was among the many who queued to test the new meals the café was offering. By then I have pictured supreme taste and quality to the meals, however my experience was totally opposite. The quality of food was below average and even the taste was pathetic. The quality I initially perceived about the food was never met.

Part 2

Question # 1

Melissa's job is to represent the company she is working in. Being a customer service representative it is her duty to greet customer and entertain their queries.

Question # 2

Edward Deming's philosophy of management entails that organizations and people can improve the quality of their processes while reducing the overall cost if they employ accurate and efficient management techniques. Deming provides the comparison of “a” and “b” proponents. He indicates that when people primarily focus on quality in the ratio of overall efforts and costs, the quality tends to increase over time. On the other hand, when organization primarily focuses on cost the quality will decrease over time (Cokins, 2010). In the presented scenario Deming would have suggested that management require Melissa to focus on taking at least 15 calls per hour and entertain every customer with same level of accuracy and courtesy which is not practical. The quality response of Melissa will decrease because the primary concern of the management is cost not quality customer service.

Question # 3

Considering Deming principle the presented situation can be improved by offering two different solutions. First, if the management requires Melissa to provide same level of courtesy and quality to the customer they should remove the obligation of 15 calls in one hour. Another suggestion would be ...