SBM1202 Project Quality, Risk, Procurement Management Report Analysis

This report analyzes project quality, risk, and procurement management within the context of launching a new vitamin supplement in the Asia Pacific market. It begins with an introduction to quality management and its importance, followed by a discussion of major issues in quality management such as distribution of manufacturing activities, resistance to change, available resources and time, and globalization. The report then delves into root cause analysis, identifying the underlying causes of quality problems and proposing solutions. Finally, it outlines best practices in quality, risk, and procurement management, including the use of ERP solutions, consumer-focused policies, and the establishment of accountability. The report emphasizes the importance of proactive quality management and the need for organizations to adapt to changes in the business environment and customer needs. The project focuses on providing a QRP plan, discussing project background, objectives, quality, communication, time management, risk management plans, assumptions, constraints, and a detailed work breakdown structure with roles and responsibilities. The report concludes by highlighting the key factors for successful project execution.

Project Quality, Risk & Procurement Management
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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Major issues in quality management..........................................................................................4
Root cause analysis....................................................................................................................7
Best practices.............................................................................................................................9
Best practices of quality management....................................................................................9
Best practices in Risk management........................................................................................9
Best practices procurement management.............................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
This project will continue the project management strategies adopted and described for the
purpose of starting a new vitamin supplement in the Healthcare market in the Asia Pacific. In
the previous report, a brief description of the manner in which project should be initiated was
described. This project will be focused on quality management, risk management, and
procurement management but the main focus will be on quality management. Quality
management can be defined as the process of evaluating all the activities and task and making
sure that all these activities and tasks are desired level of Excellence so that best quality
product and services can be produced. Quality management is one of the most important parts
of project management because the revenue generation capacity of any project is dependent
upon the quality of goods and services provided to customers. If the quality presented to the
customer is appropriate according to the price charged by customers and it would have good
standing in the market otherwise it would not be able to produce profits for the company
(Goetsch & Davis, 2014). There are various factors in relation to quality that should be
considered in quality management and there are various factors that will be considered and
discussed in this report. The main focus of this report would be on issues that are faced
during the process of quality management and what are the root causes of these issues. With
the help of analyzing these issues, a project can be made better as these issues can be easily
identified and eliminated.
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Major issues in quality management
In the current scenario, Asia Pacific has proposed to start a new line of vitamin supplements
in the health market and the whole project Management process is based on this scenario.
Therefore it can be said that this is a project related to manufacturing and quality
management is of significant importance in the case of manufacturing goods and services.
There are various issues that can be reached by a manufacturing project in relation to quality
of final product, processes, management activities, etc. conducted in the process of
manufacturing. There are some of these issues that will be faced by the Asia Pacific in the
production of vitamin supplements.
Distribution of manufacturing activities-
Generally, the process of production is not conducted by a single department and there is a
various department that is involved in this process. Quality management becomes very
difficult in case there are not a specific people that are responsible for overseeing the quality
of processes implemented by management in order to produce particular goods or services. In
addition to that, there is no proper accountability and responsibility for managing the quality
of products and services (Colledani et.al, 2014). For example, in the case of project failure,
line department manager might say that all quality procedures are followed by their
department and not by other departments. The same statement will be given by all other
managers and management of the company would not be able to identify the main root cause
of quality failure. Therefore instructed organization and manufacturing courses are one of the
most important limitations that can create issues in the quality management of the company.
Resistance to change
The business environment is changing in the direction of growth and development in every
aspect of the business. The best example of this change is changed in the technology used in
the process of manufacturing through the automation of human labor. Majority of operations
are currently conducted with the help of machines. Quality of product and services produced
by the automation of human labor can be improved substantially as the majority of quality
errors arises due to human behavior in the production process (Ross, 2017). In addition to
that, there has been various changes and management techniques and procedures used by
managers in past and in the current business environment. It is essential for every
manufacturing organization to change their business model according to changes in the
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business environment. New Business Strategies and models have included the concept of
quality management which is very essential for the current competitive business environment.
Resistance to change and following old technology or business strategies will affect the type
of product and services produced by a company.
Available resources and time
A production process cannot achieve its full potential and desired quality unless essential
resources and time are put into such a production process. It is true that resources available to
every organization are very limited and each of the organization has to distribute these
resources in each department of the company. Generally, all the resources in the production
process are allocated to daily operations none of such resources are contributed towards
quality improvement (Akgün, Ince, Imamoglu, Keskin & Kocoglu, 2014). Top management
of the company and line managers should understand that not allocating any budget to quality
management will require an additional budget at the end of the production process to improve
the quality of product that is already manufactured. It should be considered by the
management that the cost of correction is always higher as compared to the cost of
precaution. Therefore if the proper budget was allocated to the quality management of the
company and company code not required to incur the cost of correction.
Globalisation
The globalization of product and services has enabled organizations to move to a different
location for the production of goods and services. For example, Asia specific can go to China
or India for the process of production because labor is available at a cheaper rate as compared
to other parts of the world. This will definitely increase the complexity of supply chain
management which will have a direct impact on the quality of products manufactured at this
location. It is not essential that all the quality management processes are adopted by
manufacturing units at all these locations. The main purpose of moving to another country
product for the process of production was to decrease the overall cost of manufacturing. In
such a scenario, it is possible that quality management procedures are not implemented in
such units in order to reduce the cost to a minimum level.
Other issues-
1. Too much pressure implemented on quality management can also affect the overall quality
produced by the company as in these scenario theories of quality management and applied
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and practical aspects are ignored (Chang, 2016). Quality management Strategies and policies
should be implemented in accordance with the nature of the business and there will be some
quality errors up to a certain level that can be tolerated by the management.
2. Rigidity and processes can also create an issue for Quality Management. For example, if a
particular set of processes are implemented by the Asia Pacific for production of vitamin
supplements then it would create rigidity in the processes and changes according to quality
management will not be properly included in the process of production.
3. Motivation and integrity of employees towards the company are also very important
factors that can affect quality management processes. If employees not motivated then he
would not follow the quality management procedures as such manager would be focused on
completing the task at hand in any condition (Oakland, 2014).
4. All the organizations are required to see the quality of a product and services from the
perspective of the customer. The final product will be sent to customer and revenue will be
generated from the customer, therefore, it is important that every quality management process
is intended to satisfy the intended customer of product and service.
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Root cause analysis
This segment of the report will identify the root cause of quality problems in a project
management process. This identification of root cause will help the Asia Pacific to conduct a
Project Management process without any quality management problems. In addition to that,
the segment will also provide a specific solution for each of the root causes identified that can
affect quality management processes undertaken in the current project. Following are some of
the root causes that should be considered by the management of Asia Pacific starting the
process of manufacturing vitamin supplements.
Lack of organization
Cause- It is already evaluated that lack of responsibility and accountability between different
departments of the organization can affect the overall quality of the product and services
produced by them. The root cause of this quality issue is the organizational structure of the
company. If the organizational structure of the company is not specific that these qualities
issue will arise from the implementation of every project undertaken by an unstructured
company.
Solution- best solution for this cause is to follow a specific type of organizational structure.
One of the best methods that would be suitable for quality management processes would be a
divisional structure (Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). In addition to the specific roles and
responsibilities would be assigned to employees in relation to quality management.
Lack of Training
Cause- generally all the organization provide employees training in relation to the various
type of activities that will be performed by search employee in the organization. In this
training program, there is no focus given to quality management procedures and policies as it
is generally ignored by all organizations. These are one of the most important training
programs and ignoring these can create a lot of issues in relation to quality management
(Turner, 2014).
Solution- Management of the company should include training in relation to quality
management as it is not possible for the quality management department to regulate and
oversee each and every activity done by every employee. There should be some level of self-
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guard or self-leadership among employees that will help to bring the level of quality
management in an organization.
Lack of participation from top management
Cause- Operational management employees and management level employees adjust the
following instructions given by top management employees in order to achieve the particular
goals and objectives. The strategic decision is generally taken by top management and quality
management is one of the strategic decisions that should be taken by top management.
Taking decisions in relation to quality management is not enough, top management should
also oversee the functions to evaluate whether policies are followed by employees and
managers or not.
Solution- In this case, top management of the company should include the topic of quality
management in their board meeting and form steering committee for specific projects that are
critical to the business for the purpose of quality management (Larson & Gray, 2015).
Lack of discipline-
Cause- Quality of product and services can be maintained only if specific quality
management processes are followed by the organization. The only the formulation of
strategies cannot improve the quality of product and services produced by the company
important to follow these strategies strictly. Generally, three Strategies and policies are taken
for granted and not followed by management of the organization, especially at the operational
level (Kerzner, 2018).
Solution- establishment of accountability and responsibility for each department help in
bringing the level of discipline in operations of employees. In addition to that, the quality
management officer should also be appointed for every project undertaken by the company.
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Best practices
Best practices of quality management
 First of all management of the company can use ERP solutions which have quality
assurance capabilities for the purpose of achieving Quality Assurance objective. These ERP
solutions will identify major problems that are embedded in the manufacturing process with
the help of data available in relation to manufacturing.
 The policies and procedures adopted for the purpose of quality management should be seen
from the perspective of the consumer. The decision to purchase or not purchase a particular
product or service lies with the customer, therefore quality management processes should be
designed accordingly (Ingason, 2015).
 The motivation of the employee can also increase the level of quality assurance activities
followed by them. These employees can be motivated by monetary incentives if the desired
quality is maintained by the department.
 Quality Assurance department can be created by management if the company has enough
resources for implementation of quality assurance policies in each of the project undertaken
by the company.
 At last management of the organization can follow principles given by ISO 27001 or any
other standard that ensures that final product or service produced by the company have a
certain level of quality that will be preferred by customers.
Best practices in Risk management
 First of all the project management team should involve each and every stakeholder in the
process of project development and execution. It will help in getting inside from each of these
stakeholders in order to reduce the risk.
 Communication is also another key factor that should be included in the process executed
in the project under development (Pheng, 2018). With the help of communication material
misstatement for errors can be easily communicated to project team members. This will help
in reducing the cost of erection and also save time as repetition of work and be avoided.
 Risk identification is an important process that will help in dealing with a different kind of
fish that can arise during the lifetime of a project. This identification will also help in
implementing the control that is required for the process of risk mitigation.
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 Strictly and specific risk management policy should be made by management for overall
organization and for specific projects for its planning process. This will help in providing a
direction to the project management team in relation to risk management (Dale & Plunkett,
2017).
Best practices procurement management
 Procurement management can be defined as the process that enables management of an
organization to purchase products and services external suppliers in order to produce a final
product in a project management process.
 It is important for project management team and top management of the organization to
evaluate each of the suppliers on the basis of various factors such as quality of raw material,
price, availability, dedication toward the customer, timely delivery etc.
 Quotations shall be requested from each of the suppliers that are willing to supply goods
and services to the company. Detailed examination of the quotation shall be conducted by
experts in the field of procurement management.
 Evaluating the relationship of a particular supplier with other organizations and customers
will also help in getting to know the two characteristics of the supplier. It is important
because final product and services cannot be produced if the raw material is not procured at
time of requirement (Johnson, 2014).
 At last, an agreement should be prepared by management before entering into a supply
contract with a particular supplier. All the terms and conditions orally agreed upon by both
parties should be included in this contract.
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Conclusion
It can be concluded that quality management is very essential for every business organization.
The Asia Pacific is considering to launch a vitamin supplement in the health market which
will require a lot of financial another type of resources. Therefore it is important that the
quality of the product, policies, and procedures are evaluated before execution of actual
activities of a project. This report has identified various causes and issues information for
quality management in projects. It has also suggested some solution for each of the causes so
that project management process in the Asia Pacific can be executed with the highest quality.
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References
Akgün, A. E., Ince, H., Imamoglu, S. Z., Keskin, H., & Kocoglu, İ. (2014). The mediator role
of learning capability and business innovativeness between total quality management and
financial performance. International Journal of Production Research, 52(3), 888-901.
Chang, J. F. (2016). Business process management systems: strategy and implementation.
Auerbach Publications.
Colledani, M., Tolio, T., Fischer, A., Iung, B., Lanza, G., Schmitt, R., & Váncza, J. (2014).
Design and management of manufacturing systems for production quality. CIRP Annals-
Manufacturing Technology, 63(2), 773-796.
Dale, B. G., & Plunkett, J. J. (2017). Quality costing. Routledge.
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Ingason, H. T. (2015). Best project management practices in the implementation of an ISO
9001 quality management system. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 194, 192-200.
Johnson, P. F. (2014). Purchasing and supply management. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Kerzner, H. (2018). Project management best practices: Achieving global excellence. John
Wiley & Sons.
Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning,
scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2015). A Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge: PMBOK (®) Guide. Project Management Institute.
Oakland, J. S. (2014). Total quality management and operational excellence: text with cases.
Routledge.
Pheng, L. S. (2018). Project Risk Management. In Project Management for the Built
Environment (pp. 159-176). Springer, Singapore.
Ross, J. E. (2017). Total quality management: Text, cases, and readings. Routledge.
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