Design plans for Quick Fit Furniture PLC Essay

The business environment today has become highly competitive. Any business willing to sustain itself through tight competition and impressive profitability in the long run has to devote its efforts in attracting new customers as well as retaining existing ones. Latest empirical research has demonstrated that the only way businesses can attain above goals is through long term customer satisfaction. It is against this reason that the term customer satisfaction attracted more attention in the last two decades.

This paradigm shift in attention was due to benefits associated with customer satisfaction. Additionally, several studies have also supported the hypothesis that customer satisfaction increases price loyalty, positive word of mouth advertisement and boosts customer loyalty. Undoubtedly, customer satisfaction can be directly linked to customer retention and growth of a firm’s share in the market.

To revitalize customer satisfaction, it is essential to carry out a customer satisfaction survey. This type of survey will point out the grey areas that have made customers to be unsatisfied. This forms one of the action plans and a basis for instituting measures that will eventually help in satisfying the customer.

Notably, customers are unsatisfied because the orders taken are not completed in time. According to Matzler, Bailom and Hinterhuber (2004, pp. 271-277), customer satisfaction surveys are relevant since they either confirm or discount notions that have been held in an organization. In this particular case, customers are not satisfied because orders taken are not completed in time as agreed upon.

The company needs to modify the mission statement and core values to reflect the value it places on its customers. The employees would then be extensively trained on how to meet customer demands; for example, sticking to the deadlines. Motivation levels act as measures of performance, and therefore, it is proposed that new means of motivation be instituted in the organization.

Some of the motivation measures would be like supports mechanisms. According to Cooper and Burke (2002, p. 300), some employees are affected by problems in the work place and from their families. These can affect the performance of the organization, and therefore, it is crucial for the organization to come up with support mechanisms.

The processing time of furniture has been a problem leading to failure to comply with the demands of customers. It is highly recommended that modern technology be integrated in processing of orders. For example, computation may help for easy retrieval of orders and technology of making furniture. Most importantly, it is proposed that there be a focus on quality of all outcomes. Since the company deals with processing of stock and delivering to customers, quality processing methods and transportation should be enhanced.

Goals and objectives for Quick Fit Furniture PLC

All of the plans to enhance customer satisfaction must be customized or fitting to the customers, must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed. These must be reflected in the objectives and goals set in achieving or implementing the plans. The following are objectives that must be achieved as pertaining to the specific problem:

1. In a period of three months, the company is to carry out customer survey to elicit views from the customers on the positive and negative about the company in dealing with the customers.
2. Design minimum levels of assistance for the employees during their difficult times so as to enhance performance continuity in the company.
3. In a maximum period of one year, the company is to review its technology and modify or improve so as to enhance quick deliveries and easy processing of orders from customers.
4. The company is to change its mission statement and core values to reflect value for the customers.
5. Important information meant for the customers, and which can attract them to the company would be placed in strategic places such us on walls and on simple booklets.
6. To assess quality of the stock to be delivered to the customers for the purposes of improving to enhance customer satisfaction.
7. In a period of not more than one year after carrying out the customer satisfaction survey, employees will be trained on how best to handle the customers to improve on customer satisfaction in the company.
8. The company is to assess the processing methods used in the company for the purposes of improving them and ensure the customers are satisfied to the maximum.

Implementation of the objectives for the company

Quick Fit Furniture PLC deals with making of furniture, and therefore, the implementation of the objectives must fit the particular items made. Implementation of objectives must fit the objectives set and must follow a timeline set. According to Bahr (2010, p. 87), there must be commands and control mechanisms that make sure that the set objectives are achieved as desired. The following are some of the instruments for implementation of the objectives for Quick Fit Furniture PLC:

1. The customer survey would be focused on middle aged people who are likely to be customers of Quick Fit Furniture, and which will take a population of 250 people.
2. A human resource person would be employed who would be tasked with training employees in the organization and who would design a way of assisting the employees with some of the difficulties they face in life. The person is to make follow-ups on all decisions that are made at top level management to give the employees all the motivation needs they have.
3. New furniture making technology and computers would be bought. The furniture making technology would be designed to improve the speed of completing an order. The computers would be used to compute data contained in the orders so as to minimize possibilities of forgetting some details in the order.
4. The human resource person would also be tasked with assessing the dynamics of the market and compare with the quality in the furniture. If there is any lapse, he or she would recommend to the management on what to be changed improving quality.
5. The mission and core values will be changed with a major focus of giving the customer another sense about the company.

Meeting the operational plan

Muller (2011, p. xii) defines the concept of Just-In-Time (JIT) as a means of enhancing inventory control system. It is a method that has been used in slashing operating costs as well as introducing lean techniques in manufacturing. These methods would be used in decision making as well as manufacturing of furniture in the company. The following are steps that are to be instituted to ensure that there is enough monitoring and controls in the company:

1. Sufficient means of input and efforts to ensure that the customers get what they ordered and there is enough quality in the deliveries.
2. The company will ensure that there would be no budgetary constrains or commitment overlaps in coming up with quality furniture. Even in the use of technology, the company will only buy those as needs arise so as to remain within the budgetary levels.
3. Commitment levels would be increased in the personnel in the company and not on budgetary in meeting deadlines and quality.
4. There will always be funds that would be allocated to address particular problems; however, the funds would be drawn from the miscellaneous funds kitty in the budget.
5. Employees would be advised against overspending or budgeting for purchases of materials if the decision is not supported by top management.

Merit and Distinction descriptors

All decisions that will be made in the company must be implemented according to set timelines. This is to ensure that all decisions are attained within the specified time and there is no overlap of information or commitment. However, the decisions will be put after high consultations at the top level management and which will be informed by the assessments and customer surveys carried out. The following is a table showing timelines and how major decisions would be achieved.

References

Bahr, H. 2010. The politics of means and ends: Policy instruments in the European Union. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing.

Cooper, C. L. & Burke, R. J. 2002. The new world of work: Challenges and opportunities. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Matzler, K., Bailom, F. & Hinterhuber, H. H. 2004. “The asymmetric relationship between attribute-level performance and overall customer satisfaction: A reconsideration of the importance-performance analysis.” Journal of Industrial Marketing Management, 33(1), 271-277.

Muller, M. 2011. Essentials of inventory management. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.