Need assistance preparing a response to the following discussion board post: How

Question

Need assistance preparing a response to the following discussion board post:

How an organization’s practices create product and service quality.

Hello All!!

I’m back on Walmart again. For the past few years, large retail stores have been closing its doors on some of their stores at, what I believe is, an alarming rate. Stores that once enjoyed decades long, increased profits, and growth such as Kmart, Sears, J.C. Penney’s, Macy’s, Payless, and Radio Shack have all hung the “store closing” or “out of business” signs on many of their doors. Walmart has been able to elude this familiar scene that other stores have had to deal with. The article I’ve chosen indicates that the reason for this is that Walmart, since 1962, has always had one straight-forward objective; “help people save money so they could live better.” (Efron, 2017) Every decision and transaction made related to the operations of Walmart is made in a concentrated effort to save money to be able to pass those savings on to their customers in the form of low prices. Something as simple as top management being responsible for removing the trash from their respective offices. The money saved in implementing this daily routine translates into savings in operations costs, which in turn can be spread throughout Walmart’s inventory by way of providing low, low prices.

The article also relays how, historically, Walmart’s vendors find it very difficult to work within the strict confines of Walmart’s delivery and quality standards. This strict vendor management ties into that simple goal of saving people money. “Wal-Mart’s purpose requires tightly controlled costs and executional excellence from every employee and every partner.” (Efron, 2017)

I believe this article is the perfect example of how the practices of Walmart largely contribute to their ability to provide quality service combined with the ultimate in pricing.

Efron, L. (2017, June 01). Why Wal-Mart Is Winning In A Losing Industry. Retrieved December 06, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/louisefron/2017/05/31/why-wal-mart-is-winning-in-a-losing-industry/#48cb335e44d5 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Explanation / Answer

An organization's practices create product and service quality

Supply chain management depends on whether an organization is a product or a services organization. In case of a services organization, it is not the organization that works towards management through incentives, assessment, and, direct involvement. It is the market forces that decide on this. In case of an organization that sells products and not a service, supply chain management involves management through the mentioned methods.

It is an organization's practices that are responsible for creating product and service quality. Walmart's focus is on helping customers save to live a better life. The focus is on savings and low prices. Workers, customers, job-seekers, senior management all focus on this purpose of the organization. Service quality comes from an organization’s practices. Workers understand what an organization promises. The organization’s focus in on such practices that give the customer that service or product – Walmart’s focus is on savings. Inventories, stores, practices followed by managers in this organization are all meant to focus on savings.

For instance, Sony Global's pledge for product quality and quality management is 'Sony employees will always respect our customers viewpoints in striving to deliver product quality and customer service that exceed their expectations'. Practices and implementation of purpose at Sony are focused on this.

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