Comparative Analysis: Quality Management Systems in Dell and Microsoft

This report provides a comprehensive comparison of the quality management systems implemented by Dell and Microsoft. It delves into the Total Quality Management (TQM) system used by Dell, highlighting its impact on customer service, inventory management, and supply chain operations. The report contrasts this with Microsoft's adoption of the Six Sigma approach, examining its application in software development, focusing on performance, functionality, and timely delivery. The analysis explores the benefits of each system, including increased efficiency, improved profitability, enhanced employee morale, and better vendor relationships. Furthermore, the report examines the specific advantages gained by each company, such as Dell's competitive edge through ISO certification and Microsoft's simplified processes and product adoption. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of quality management in the technology sector and its contribution to business development.

Running head: COMPARISON OF DELL AND MICROSOFT
COMPARISON OF DELL AND MICROSOFT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note
Table of Contents

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COMPARISON OF DELL AND MICROSOFT
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
The total quality management system............................................................................2
The quality management system used in Dell................................................................3
The quality management system used in Microsoft.......................................................4
Benefits of the system implementation in Dell and Microsoft......................................6
References......................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Dell is a multinational organization of American origin which operates in the field of
computer technologies. The company was established in the year 1984. The organization sells
products, supports and repairs computer related products. The company was named after the
founder of Michael Dell and has established itself as one of the largest technological
organizations in the world. The products that are so by Dell include, servers, data storage
devices, software, computer peripherals, cameras and HD TVs (Dell.com. 2018).
Microsoft Corporation is a multinational technology organization which has origins in
America and the headquarter is located in Redmond, Washington. The organization was
established in the year 1975 for the purpose of developing and selling basic interpreters. The
products developed by the company include, computer software, consumer electronic
products, personal computers and many more technology devices. The famous software of
the organization is Microsoft Windows and the Microsoft Office Suite (Microsoft.com.
2018).
The report is based on the comparison of two technology organizations namely, Dell
and Microsoft. The quality management related systems implemented in the organization are
discussed and compared. The difference between the previous systems of quality
management and the new systems will also be analysed in the report.
The total quality management system
The quality management related processes that will be discussed in the essay are total
quality management that has been implemented in Dell and the other process is the Six Sigma
approach which is implemented in Microsoft. These two quality management related systems
and their implementation related process will be discussed and analysed in the essay. The
ways by which the two organizations have implemented the quality management process will

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also be discussed. The benefits that have been provided after the implementation of these
processes to the productivity and benefits of Microsoft and Dell will be discussed in the essay
in detail. The two quality management related processes are beneficial to the operations of
the organizations (Ross 2017). The effects that the six sigma approach has on the operations
of Microsoft will be analysed. On the other hand, the effects that the total quality
management related approach has on the operations and the profitability of Dell will also be
analysed. Dell and Microsoft are two technology related companies which have their
operations globally. The increased changes in the technological environment leads to changes
in the operations and offerings of the companies to the customers. This factor increases the
importance of the implementation of quality management approaches in both the
organizations (Kwon, Lee and Shin 2014).
The quality management system used in Dell
Dell has been one of the most successful organization in the industry of technology
and computers. The organization is known for the innovative nature of customer service that
they provide to the customers and the unique configuration of their products. The increase in
growth of the organization has led to many challenges that are faced by Dell. These changes
are mainly related to the maintenance of customer relationships and the management of
inventory. Other major issues that have been faced by the company are related to supply
chain management and issues related to quality control. The major quality problems faced by
the company are related to high end and low end servers, desktop models and laptops (Jasti
and Kodali 2015).
The demands of the customers have increased in the recent business environment.
This has forced the organization to improve their quality to operate successfully in the
industry. All the members of the organization are responsible for the maintenance of quality

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in the organization. Total Quality Management is a theory that was developed by the quality
gurus who are passionate about the quality if the products and to remove the defects related to
the products as well. The total quality management related movement holds importance for
the development of technological organizations like Dell. This is the major reason behind the
organizations joining the various certifying organizations like, International Organization for
Standardisation to receive certificates like, ISO 9000 certification and many more (Camisón
and Villar-López 2014). The old system of management was then replaced with the
implementation of quality management techniques. The major problem had risen in the low
end servers, the desktops and the laptops. The checks had indicated that many machines
required servicing after a short time of their production in the market. At this time quality
management was introduced in the organization so that the products can be managed in an
effective manner. The company then went ahead and improved their operations to receive
certifications from the certification institute named, International Organization for
Standardization or ISO. The global certification presented by this organization deals with the
commitment of Dell to the quality of products (Weckenmann, Akkasoglu and Werner 2015).
The quality management system used in Microsoft
Microsoft specialises in the designing and delivery of many lines of enterprise and
consumer software products which form the core of its business activities. The design process
of the organization is different for the different types of products which are, OS, Database
applications, DTP applications, ERPs, Web services and many more. The process related to
software development is also divided into four processes which are, development, scope
definition, stabilization, delivery. The three goals related quality that are observed by
Microsoft are, performance, functionality and timely delivery. The major issues related to
quality that are experienced by the organization are, high interoperability costs, low reliability
and low scalability (Hornstein 2015). The other issue is the quality gap that has been

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experienced in the software of the company. The gaps in the quality of products in Microsoft
are mitigated with the help of development methods like, Joint Application Development.
Microsoft has introduced lean systems for the control of quality throughout the entire
development cycle of the organization. The process is related to the allocation of severity and
priority to the defects that have been identified. The importance and effect of the defect on
the implementation of the technology is the severity and the defect mainly signifies the
importance of the technology to the business. The main priority of the production process of
Microsoft has always been zero-defect release (Hitomi 2017). The leakage of bugs in the
production cycle has been controlled by the organization with the help of quality control
methods. The sales of the organization have shown major improvements after the
implementation of the quality control related process. The assurance of right quality of the
products have helped Microsoft in increasing their sales and further reduce the costs related
to maintenance. The customer dissatisfaction levels have also been decreased in the process
and this has further driven the sales of the organization. Total quality management is a
completely customer focussed procedure and it helps in the involvement of employees in the
process of continual improvement (Mangan, Lalwani and Lalwani 2016). The total quality
management procedure uses the strategy, effective communication and data so that the
discipline related to quality can be can be integrated into the culture of the organization and
the organizational activities can also be improved in the process. The Six Sigma approach has
been implemented by Microsoft for the quality management related operations. The five key
steps that are related to the implementation of six sigma approach are related to the definition
of needs with the partners of implementation. The designing of the process related to
business, training the participants of the process, implementation of the methodology and
deployment of technology. This has led to the successful implementation of quality

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management related process and has further helped in increasing the productivity of
Microsoft (Firescu and Popescu 2015).
Benefits of the system implementation in Dell and Microsoft
The quality management systems of an organization provide many benefits after
successful implementation and integration into the various organizational processes. The
efficiency levels of the various work processes increase and the organization starts thinking
more about the actions and the operations. Specific guidelines are created for the tasks so that
the processes can be completed in a structured manner. The profit levels of the organizations
also increase after the implementation of quality management related systems. The
productivity and the efficiency of the organization increases which in turn increases the
profits and revenues. The risks related to various processes in the organization also decreases
(Izvercian et al. 2014). The employees receive a high level of morale boost from the
management of the organization with the help of the quality management systems. The
decisions related to the various products of the organization can be taken easily after quality
management procedures are implemented. The relationship of the organization with the
vendors and the suppliers develop which in turn improves the supply chain related activities.
The maintenance of records related to the various work processes also becomes easier. The
challenges related to customer satisfaction can be faced easily by the organization with the
maintenance of the quality of the products. The management and review process of the lower
level employees has become an easy task for the managers of the organization. The processes
and procedures of the organization related to production are well established after the
implementation of quality management techniques (Ranjan, Sugathan and Rossmann 2015).
The implementation of total quality management in Dell has helped the organization
in gaining competitive advantage in the industry. The businesses and operations of Dell have

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improved after they have gained the certification from ISO. The company has been able to
create a position in the market based on the designs that they have created based on the
environment impact. Dell has been trying to manufacture products which can help in the
environmental sustainability related initiatives that are taken by the organization. Energy
efficiency has become one of the major issue behind the creation of products by Dell. The
company has strived to deliver its promise related to its sustainability goals and reduction of
risks (Saeida Ardakani et al. 2015). The products of the company are designed in such a
manner so that they become energy efficient in nature and they help the customers to use the
products intelligently. The supply chain related activities of Dell have also improved after the
successful implementation of the quality management systems. The responsibility and the
diversity of the suppliers of the company have shown huge levels of improvement after the
quality management techniques have been applied by Dell. The operations of the company
have become transparent which has helped in the improvement of their operations (Chen,
Rennekamp and Zhou 2015). The commitment of the company towards responsible
behaviour related to the environment has increased. The global supply chain of Dell has been
improved based on the principles that have been set by the company based on total quality
management systems. The packaging quality of the products have been improved so that the
impact of the operations of Dell can be reduced. The implementation of total quality
management has therefore improved the operations and profitability of Dell in the industry
(Schilling and Neubauer 2017).
The Quality management related approach undertaken by Microsoft helps in
addressing the pain points of the company with a combination of training and learning tools.
The quality management related operations of the company includes the project managers,
the management and the team members. The Six Sigma approach has been implemented by
Microsoft for quality management in the organization. The benefits that have been gained by

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Microsoft so that it can differentiate its benefits from the competitive offerings are, the
simplified processes related to the various products (Chen, Rennekamp and Zhou 2015). The
speed and the ease related to the adoption of the products offered by Microsoft by the
customers of the company are also a result of the quality management process. The products
of the organization are powerful and the technologies used are also collaborative in nature
which has given Microsoft a unique competitive position in the market. The implementation
of quality management techniques has helped Microsoft in providing specific benefits to the
customers of the organization. The increase in customer satisfaction has helped the company
in gaining faster return on their investment (Izvercian et al. 2014). The risks and resistance of
the users have also decreased. The costs of the company related to training provided to the
employees and support required by customers have decreased. Microsoft has become much
more productive and the collaboration and communication between the employees has
increased. The costs related to the various organizational processes have been reduced by the
quality management process. The personal productivity of the employees has increased which
has further increased the revenues and productivity of the company. The process workflow of
Microsoft has improved and this has helped in the development of the production processes
of the organization (Camisón and Villar-López 2014).

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References
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