Question

1. Hiring and developing human capital is important to keep the company stays competitive.

(a) State your opinion on the statement above

(b) Explain any FIVE (5) strategic roles of HRM in a total quality management organisation.

2. Some organisation set the policy that an engineer can only be promoted to higher position if he or she becomes a green belt and later a black belt.

(a) What is your opinion on such policy from organisation performance perspective?

(b) Is six sigma continual improvement a “cure-all” methodology for all problems? Justify your answer

Answer 1

1.a)There are many strategies that contribute to achieving a competitive advantage, but maximizing your human capital is a major contributor to achieving a competitive edge in the marketplace.Companies that leverage their human capital to achieve their business objectives, especially growth have more positive results.Whether your goal is to achieve quality, quantity, or efficiency, ensuring you have the right people in the right positions is critical for achieving business operations goals that are linked to profitability. In addition to the technical aspects of human capital, developing a competitive edge means selecting and retaining employees with specific traits and behaviors that support competitive strategies. some of these can be: accountable,flexibility,independence,result oriented etc.A work environment that fosters intrapreneurship and innovation typically has a high level of employee engagement. High employee engagement will lead to high employee retention and increased productivity which leads to profitability.

b) 1.Training and Development: HR Department has to undertake intensive training of personnel in understanding the application of TQM methods & its tools at all levels of the management.

2.Education and communication:Through continuous communication and educating the HR department can achieve the customer expectations.

3.Employee involvement:HR has to facilitate the culture of team work either in the form of quality circles, quality teams, task force, suggestion schemes or any such others innovative employee involvement schemes for TQM activity.

4.Development of total quality people: The HR initiative in TQM activity should be oriented to demonstrate the efficacy of Win-Win relationships as contrasted to Win-Lose or Lose-Lose relationships and thereby enabling effective spirit of team work.

5.Performance appraisal:The management should make the policy to issue performance reviews while providing employees with the feedback that they needs to perform better at their jobs. This will help in motivating the employees and attain the quality at the workplace.

2.a)Green Belt certification is ideal for those who are part of a Six Sigma Management Team. Those who are assisting with data collection and analysis for improvement projects.Black Belt certification is for team leaders who manage big improvement. It also helps in problem-solving projects. Six Sigma certification makes the professional stand out from the competition.

The appropriate application of Six Sigma methodology does impact all pieces of a business. It can be enhancement of services to employees, devoting more into the final finished product. Few advantages of utilizing Six Sigma to improvise business operation are listed below-

• Customer Satisfaction: A business will implement upgraded processes and improved quality control with Six Sigma methodologies. This results in an improved finished product. That, leads to higher customer satisfaction.Customer loyalty: Happy customers are loyal customers to a brand and they come back to make future purchases. To achieve a loyal customer, the product should remain consistent in its quality.

• Improved bottom line: Good word-of-mouth references are given by happy customers. Happy customers always returns for more. All of these translates into an improved revenue stream.

• Employee satisfaction: One of the benefits of Six Sigma is how it can direct employees to a common cause. Six Sigma offers leaders a chance to clarify and rationalize the message. Also, improved results can create a sense of companionship. It leads to better results.

b) NO, six sigma is not a "cure all" methology for all problems.It can help, but it must be implemented appropriately. If your problems arise from the way your company is organized, or from the way the team or workers are managed, then Six Sigma may not be the best solution.