James Daniel D.

Swinton

BSA 2-9

Operations Management

Mr. Ferdinand Cruz is an Operational Manager in Manukan Company, a company who

operates and manages dressed chickens here in the Philippines. The company has been operating

for more than 10 years and making good with its profit. Suddenly the pandemic struck the economy

of the Philippines which forced the company to adjust to the crisis. Unfortunately, production of

the chicken was going in a downward trend due to the policy made by the government in

prioritizing importation of frozen chicken from other countries and addition to the unfortunate

event of the company, it has suffered recently a great fire in its production area which will take

two weeks for repairs

QUESTIONS:

1. What is total quality management to you?

Total quality management is a structured effort by the management and employees to

continuously improve the quality of their products and services through proper feedbacks and

research. It ensures that every individual is working towards the improvement of work culture,

processes, services, systems and so on to ensure long term success. TQM requires organizations

to focus on continuous improvement, or kaizen. It focuses on process improvements over the long

term, rather than simply emphasizing short-term financial gains. TQM is important because it

provides the assurance that customers will get what they expect, as well as a process for managing

unsatisfied customers, make needed corrections and prevent similar reoccurrences. Every business
owner and manager know the importance of satisfied customers, and how expensive it is to find

new customers compared to keeping current customers.

2. If you are in the position of Mr. Cruz, what will be your solution to ease the burden of

losing too much profit? Explain.

If I were in the were in the position of Mr. Cruz, the first thing that I will prioritize is the

renovation/restoration of the production area. It is of utmost importance that this issue be resolved

immediately because this is the company’s main source of income. Without the rehabilitation of

the burned area, it is impossible to recover our previous losses since it is where the production

takes place. It may also be necessary to implement downsizing or if not downsizing, making the

workers become part-time or temporary workers to trim costs.

3. How can you maximize the manpower of your area to supply the demand of production?

What I will do is to match tasks to skills/competency. As a manager, I should know the skills

and behavioral styles of my employees because it is essential for maximizing efficiency. I will

give responsibilities to qualified employees because I trust that they will perform the tasks well.

This gives your employees the opportunity to gain skills and leadership experience that will

ultimately benefit the company. In an effort to facilitate social distancing during the COVID-19

pandemic, flexible/remote work may also be considered by the company.

4. In this situation, can you still keep up the standards of quality of your product? Explain.

Yes, because no matter the circumstances, it is a company’s responsibility to keep up the

quality of the product. Our customers expect us to deliver quality products to them so we must not

fail them. Managing quality is crucial for businesses more so during the time of pandemic as

quality products help to maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty and reduce the risk and cost of
replacing faulty goods. Companies can build a reputation for quality by gaining accreditation with

a recognized quality standard, such as ISO 9001, published by the International Organization for

Standardization.