Total Quality of Management

6

CHAPTER

Market Orientation

THE KINGPIN: CUSTOMER

M

any organizations still practice the traditional ‘Product-out’ profit-oriented

strategy, which is self-defeating in the present competitive market. The pro-

found knowledge from TQM philosophy clearly points out that profit is the outcome

of efficacy of the customer-satisfaction process as a whole. Mechanical approach

towards ‘customer satisfaction’ as a routine chore cannot yield sustainable results.

It is critical to understand the difference between customer focus and customer

orientation. Customer orientation is the all-pervasive culture across the organization

to serve the customer, whereas the customer focus is generally a stand alone the

policy or means to somehow satisfy the customer. Compromises, omissions and

let downs are quite common in the customer focus policy. The right approach is to

institutionalize a customer-oriented strategy, which accords customer the status of

Kingpin in the integrated organizational planning and processes. The concept has

been depicted in Fig. 6.1, the concurrent task of continuous improvement of quality

and customer satisfaction embraces every activity in design/redesign, supplies,

production, process control, cost control, delivery, service, market research, etc.

Way back in August 1950, Dr. Deming at a conference in Mount Hakone Japan

exhorted the Top Management to include the ‘consumer’ as the most important

part of the production system.

Monitoring customer feedback is an essential element that helps understand

the changing needs of the customer as well as dynamic and altering market forces.

Any feedback indicating customer dissatisfaction, unstated or new requirements

of customers whether tangible or intangible, must be reviewed & acted upon

promptly at all integrated interfaces. Many organizations or professionals even

today talk of ‘customer loyalty’, an expectation that smack of obsolete thinking. It

is too much to ask for loyalty from customers who today, thanks to the Internet

and other technological innovations, have multiple alternative choices of products

and services. Now the real issue is whether the company is loyal to its customers or not.

In order to be loyal to its customers the company must display its perpetual concern

towards them, and make continuous effort to take care of all their changing needs

and aspirations. This is what customer orientation is all about!

z Customer

Research

z Product Design/

Redesign

z Marketing/Sales

z Planning

z Supplier Teaming

z Receive

Materials/

Inputs

z Inspection

z Methods

z Production/

Assembly

z Process Control

z Cost Control

z Inspection

z Delivery

z Sales Outlets

z After Sales

Service

z Customer

Relations

C

O

N

S

U

M

E

R

FEEDBACK

Figure 6.1: Customer Orientation in All Organizational Activities