Revitalising Quality at Bp Retail

Introduction:

Oakland (2003) argues that within any organization, every single employee must interface and work as a team with his co-workers to achieve excellence and competiveness, but for that to happen, firm executives have to be really committed and aware of the benefits of quality.

In this week Hand-in assessment, the how effective was the approach in "Revitalising Quality" adopted at BP retail and the role of firm executives will be evaluated.

BT Retail is from far the United Kingdom largest provider of communications service and employs over 60 thousands employees.

The Seven Steps for Quality Revitalization at BT Retail:

The main reason organizations are in business is to satisfy consumer markets needs and expectations. Failing to do so, firms risk in losing potential customers and even the ones already on board.

Been BT a service provider company, there was a need to reshape the way of doing business with the aim to become a reference in communications systems by:

* Designing quality systems with focus on cornerstone of any business that is customer satisfaction. The rule of thumb was that simple like this: Customers complain has to be taken seriously and satisfied. The bonus system was linked to the degree of customer satisfaction.

* Setting up operational strategy aiming to at same time reduce operating costs while delivering good services for customers.

* Development and deployment of continuous improvement initiatives aiming to delight customer and motivate the workforce while still delivering high returns to company shareholder. For this initiative a balance scorecard were introduced for senior staff and their targets linked and aligned to that BSC.

* Doing the basics well, so that there's no rework or waste generation. Quality is seen as a way to live and everyone commitment.

* Establishment of performance accelerator as a platform for BT continuous improvement and business excellence.

* Involving all employees in continuous improvement forums and training program with focus on customer's satisfaction.

* Establishment of innovation programs aiming to improve company effectiveness.

These seven steps to revitalize quality aligned with most fundaments of TQM. Just to cite few examples: For Dale (1999) cited in Psychogios & Priporas (2007), TQM is the reciprocal collaboration of each individual within an firm and related business partners and processes with objectives of producing goods and/or services, that are in accordance or exceed consumer needs and expectations.

In addition, Tenner and de Toro (1992) cited in Siddiqui et al. (2009) asserted