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Case: A Total Quality Business Model
Two young entrepreneurs, Rob and Diane, were contemplating an idea of developing a
new type of take-out restaurant with limited dining facilities that would provide a wider
Customer Engagement
Rob and Diane realized that they must focus on the customers’ perceived quality of both
the product and service. They believe they must provide unexpected value to their
customers and go beyond customer expectations to create lifetime customers. As part of
training, employees will focus on “moment of truths”—the many instances that a
customer forms an impression of the company, either through its products or interactions
with its employees. These moments include a friendly greeting to each customer on
arrival, recognizing repeat customers, offering samples of different items, answering
questions, serving the products, and a genuine thank-you on leaving. Another way to
exceed expectations would be to accommodate any reasonable request. Employees would
Leadership and Strategic Planning
The leadership system would consist of regional vice presidents responsible for all of the
stores in a geographical area, regional managers in charge of about a dozen stores within
a region, store managers responsible for the day-to-day operations, and shift managers to
manage the employees on each shift. This “cascading” structure would allow
communications to be disseminated rapidly throughout the company, both top-down and
bottom-up. A manager training and development program would ensure that each level of
manager obtained the necessary skills for their job responsibilities. This training would
not only address the needs of entry-level managers, but also those who move up the
career ladder in the firm into higher leadership positions.
Workforce Management
All managers would be trained in several positions in order to gain a solid understanding
of the duties and requirements of all employees, to be able to cover certain positions if
needed, to train hourly employees, and to gain credibility with them. The training
program for a new manager would be designed to be somewhat self-directed. The
manager trainee would be given a skill checklist that includes each skill he or she should
learn. Experienced trainers would be available to answer any questions and assist the
manager trainee with any difficulties. Trainees would be given short evaluative tests and
Job performance of all hourly employees would be reviewed periodically using
performance appraisals by the store manager after the first 30, 90, and 180 days of
Process Management
All food production processes would be carefully documented so that all employees are
aware of what specifications must be met, particularly those health and safety
requirements that regulated temperature of food and proper storage. Managers would be
responsible for taking periodic measurements and observations to ensure that all
Information and Knowledge Management
All key data and information, such as inventories, financial reports and projections,
customer feedback, employee and operational performance, would be collected and
Discussion Questions
1. What advice might you give Rob and Diane about the management practices they
are proposing within each element of the TQ infrastructure? What additional
practices might you suggest?
2. How might viewing the organization at three levels of quality, including the
strategic (senior leadership), tactical (middle management), and the operational
levels help improve their business plan?
