Strategic Plan Development Paper – Riordan Manufacturing

Introduction

In this paper our learning team will evaluate the strategic plan for Riordan Manufacturing. We will evaluate the role that Total Quality Management has at the strategic level; including the mission, goals of the organization and the organizational objectives. In addition to that, the team will look at and develop a long term strategy for globalization for Riordan Manufacturing. Further, we will look at the complexity of Total Quality Management as the organization makes decisions to join the global markets and take advantage of the opportunities that Riordan Manufacturing for future growth. Riordan Manufacturing offers high quality products in injection moldings, and there is a large demand for the products that the company offers.

Review and Summary

Riordan Manufacturing Company is in the field of plastic injection molding. Their creations of plastic moldings have won many acclamations. They are a large organization that operates in California, Georgia, and China. They are very enthusiastic about quality control, precision, and detail. They are a leader in developing the latest trends and in trying to produce plastic products to enhance their customer’s needs. Riordan employs over 550 workers. There major customers are automobile makers, aircraft makers, beverage makers and bottlers, appliance makers, and department of defense.

Mission Statement

Riordan’s mission statement includes being a solution company to find solutions to help aid their customers, have top quality products, responsive pricing, and great attitude toward business. Riordan also strives to maintain a great working environment for employees and wants them to be well informed and a great working team together to achieve goals. They also strive to be focused on increasing probability to allow the company to continue to grow. Riordan manufacturing is also a global company and has facilities over seas and in China.

Strategic Level (TQM)

Riordan Manufacturing Company is definitely dedicated to improving its image and also wanting to show itself as a leader in its industry. Through strategic planning they are able to accomplish their goals, and mission of the company. Some of their objectives are to be innovative and to keep being an industry leader in their field. Riordan also wants to achieve success through providing great support to their customers and helping solve issues for them. Riordan is clearly a leader in their industry and its goal and mission is to continue to be a leader in its organization while developing new ideas and being a solution to its customer and not a problem. They also are striving to be a great company with knowledgeable employees that are very informative of the workings of the organization and its products.

Total Quality Management (TQM) as a Strategic Level Objective

“TQM is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions (marketing, finance, design, engineering, and production, customer service, etc.) to focus on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives). (Hashmi, 2006) Based on Riordan’s mission and goals TQM is a natural fit for their organization to meet its goals. That is why Riordan has opted for a SixSigma approach to business. Riordan is committed to continual improvement and open communication. Communication among and between all levels of the organization is a choice that Riordan’s management team has committed to in an effort to improve quality of work, product and customer service. In addition to continuous improvement, customer (product) focus and management commitment; Riordan has empowered its employees to participate and be a valuable component of recommendations and change. Finally, in this type of production it is critical that decisions be based on facts.

“Six Sigma, leading edge R&D and exceeding ISO 9000 standards define the attitude and abilities of Riordan Manufacturing.” (Riordan, 2006) This statement is communicated to all employees, customers and visitors via Riordan’s company Intranet site. It is obvious the company’s commitment to TQM is strong through its implementation of a Six Sigma approach. “Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process — from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.” (Six Sigma, 2006) This is a very aggressive and comprehensive approach to utilizing TQM as a strategic objective for the company. With this strategic objective Riordan Manufacturing is positioning itself as an organization to continue its success, improve its current position and products and hopefully increase its market share.

Impact Globalization May Have on TQM Position

Globalization may impact the Total Quality Management in a couple different ways. The way the managers may organize in one area of the company, may not be the same in another area of the organization. Different employees react differently when it comes to management styles. This is especially true doe the employees from a different culture or ethic background. Managers at Riordan Manufacturing have to take into consideration the differences of their employees and manage accordingly. If this does not happen, the TQM of the company may suffer because the productivity of the company may decrease because of the differences that may arise. As globalization grows, it is important for organization to understand the needs employees have and try to manage in such a way to meet those needs.

Globalization and Complexity of TQM

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive and structured approach to organizational management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback. TQM requirements may be defined separately for a particular organization or may be in adherence to established standards, such as the International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 9000 series. TQM can be applied to any type of organization; it originated in the manufacturing sector and has
since been adapted for use in almost every type of organization imaginable, including schools, highway maintenance, hotel management, and churches. As a current focus of e-business, TQM is based on quality management from the customer’s point of view. (TQM Def 2006).

TQM processes are divided into four sequential categories: plan, do, check, and act (the PDCA cycle). In the planning phase, people define the problem to be addressed, collect relevant data, and ascertain the problem’s root cause; in the doing phase, people develop and implement a solution, and decide upon a measurement to gauge its effectiveness; in the checking phase, people confirm the results through before-and-after data comparison; in the acting phase, people document their results, inform others about process changes, and make recommendations for the problem to be addressed in the next PDCA cycle. (TQM Def 2006)

Riordan Manufacturing realizes the importance of the ISO 9000 registration and how important it is to comply with international standards of business to demonstrate the high quality product that the company has to market. Riordan Manufacturing complies with the international standards, audits it’s own systems internally, and keeps quality records, and writes specifications to ensure the company meets all of the TQM procedures required to stay competitive on the international markets. As soon as any company enters the international markets the process is much more complex because of the registry process and compliance with the ISO standards and or the continual desire for ongoing improvement, and meeting the requirements for yearly registry.

Summary

Riordan Manufacturing offers high quality products in the plastic projection molding industry and has recognized the importance of Total Quality Management, and the role that is plays in their organization. Riordan Manufacturing is committed to producing a high quality product and has dedicated a team to keep quality records which will comply with ISO standards, and continually improve the company’s processes. Due to their commitment to quality, the company’s products will remain competitive in the world markets and long term sales will increase and the company’s will continue to flourish in the international markets.