Quality is not what you think

There was a claim a few years ago that quality is free – higher quality leads to higher profits. It only requires a second’s thought to see that this claim is quite absurd. Harrods makes less profi t than Wal-Mart, the Savoy

Hotel was not as good an investment as Forte Travelodges, and Anita Brookner earns less from her novels than Jeffrey Archer. Not many people need, or will pay for, the level of quality which Harrods, the Savoy and Anita Brookner provides.

I expect that several management consultants have already switched on their computers to communicate with the editor of this newspaper. They will write that I have completely misunderstood what is meant by quality. Other people would say that the Waterside Inn at Bray provides better quality meals than McDonald’s. That is how the Michelin restaurant guide judges quality when it gives three stars to the Waterside Inn and does not list McDonald’s at all. It is also what ordinary people mean by quality, and is why your partner will be happier if you celebrate your wedding anniversary at the Waterside than at McDonald’s.

But that ordinary meaning of quality is not what business consultants mean by quality. What they mean is quality relative to customer expectations, or quality relative to what you set out to achieve. By these standards, McDonald’s quality is outstanding, and that is why McDonald’s is such a successful company. There is a sense in which this is right. But because there is no observation which could ever disprove this claim, it gives you no practical help.

So does the pursuit of quality mean these fi rms should change what they do? Should McDonald’s offer duck à l’orange, or the Waterside Inn offer even more delicious food at even higher prices? I don’t know and nor does anyone. And the instruction to pursue quality creates confusion among simple people who thought that quality meant what it usually means. It had precisely that effect at British Home Stores, which thought it had to move upmarket, only to discover that Marks and Spencer customers were happy at M@S and British Home Stores customers didn’t want to pay the extra.

From the Financial Times

 

N o t e s. Harrods is a famous department store in London; Wal-Mart is a chain of American discount stores. The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel in London; Forte Travelodges is a chain of cheap motels found on motorways in Britain. Anita Brookner is an ‘intellectual’ British novelist; Jeffrey Archer is a popular, best-selling novelist. The Waterside Inn is a very good restaurant.

 

Exercise 3. Look through the whole article and do the following.

a) Find five organizations/people producing or selling mass-market products.

b) Find five organizations/people producing or selling quality products.

c) Say what type of business the organizations/people are in.

 

Exercise 4. If a claim is absurd, it is

a) reasonable.

b) ridiculous.

c) interesting.

 

Goals of management

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions.

a) Why will some business consultants not agree with the writer’s defi nition of quality?

b) What is their definition of quality?

 

Exercise 2. Which of these statements are true and which false? Correct the false ones.

a) The Michelin restaurant guide is based on the ‘ordinary’ definition of quality.

b) Ordinary people would probably give the ‘ordinary’ definition of quality.

c) Your partner would probably give the ‘ordinary’ definition of quality.

d) The business consultants’ definition of quality is wrong.

e) The business consultants’ definition can be proved.

 

Exercise 3. Complete the statements.

a) McDonald’s quality is very, very good. It is o……...

b) If you aim for quality, you p…….. it. The corresponding noun is p…….. The writer doesn’t know if the p……. of quality means that businesses should change what they do.

c) When people get confused about something, there is c……...

d) Managers at British Home Stores thought it had to improve the quality of its products and move u…….., but this was a mistake. People weren’t willing to pay more: they weren’t willing to p……. t……… e………...

Exercise 4. Match a word or a word partnership from box A with the Russian equivalent from box B.

A	B
1. management consultant	a) платить наценку, надбавку
2. to pay the extra	b) перейти в верхние эшелоны рынка
3. to judge quality	c) добиваться качества
4. business consultant	d) ожидания потребителей
5. to pursue quality	e) консультант по вопросам управления
6. customer expectations	f) утверждение, заявление
7. claim	g) оценивать качество, судить о качестве
8. to move upmarket вопросам бизнеса	h) консультант по вопросам бизнеса

Exercise 5. Create a sentence for the each word or word group given in еx. 4.

System approach

Exercise 1. Revise the active vocabulary from the unit. Create a sentence for the each word or word group given.

Accomplish, advancement, attain, carry out, challenge, charisma, contribute to, enforce, feedback, impact, to lead work groups toward high performance, interact, to delegate power, persuasion, leader’s authority, to overcome obstacles and achieve higher performance, reward, to keep things running smoothly and efficiently, subordinate, female leadership, vision, to have the capacity to motivate people, to empower, to set clear and challenging objectives, hostile, task-oriented leader.

 

Exercise 2. Study the following words and word groups concerning leadership. Match them with their definitions. Find their Russian equivalents in your bilingual dictionary and do the exercise that follows.

Exercise 3. Which expression from ex.15 and ex.16 describes each of these situations?

1. Clorox’s Cindy Ransom decided as factory manager to revamp operations at the Fairfield, California, plant. A team was given responsibility for establishing everything from training programs to work rules. Soon Ransom and her 100 employees were recognized by Clorox as the most improved plant.

2. Millard S. Drexler has transformed The Gap into the most popular and profitable clothing chain in the US. He pushed new designs, tight controls and customer service. He is primarily motivated by task accomplishment.

3. My favourite boss was a woman who was younger than me. She was a leader who was fair but firm and was willing to deal with difficult issues immediately. Her employees, who all spoke very highly of her, were very motivated. She had a clear strategy for the business, and enormous energy which enabled her to work harder than other people.

4. Sara Brown is the manager of Far Easten imports for a major steel corporation. There is an opening for a person working under her in her department who will supervise the field sales personnel. For this position, the personal characteristics of intelligence and a working knowledge of steel product marketing are important.

5. The company’s boss is always ready to enhance satisfaction and job performance. In many situations he works with subordinates to help them acquire the skills and confidence needed to perform tasks and achieve return.