THE ROLE OF QUALITY PLANS IN ENHANCING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE (A CASE STUDY OF DANGOTE GROUP PLC)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

            Most firms view the use of quality planning as a method that promotes and sustains the performance of the organization. Quality planning enables performance to be an effective agent for change in the organization and the improvement of overall quality within the organization (Marcoux & St-Onge 2004). How an organisation performs in term of employee productivity is essential to the achievement of the organization change programs and quality planning in particular (Chang 2006). The change in many firms has been pushed into force by the management since all central business activities, for instance, the role of administration, basic leadership, vital plans, should have been in line with quality and be consistently improved as association conditions and heading change. The thought of value has moved into the idea of execution planning that changes all organizations’ exercises and build on to general sufficiency and hierarchical supportability (Evans & Lindsay 2008).

Quality planning fuses essential management systems, assets, and its usage remains as a test and support to top administration. Recent investigations have guaranteed that the effective usage of TQM systems could create enhanced items and administrations, and decreased costs, more fulfilled clients and workers, and enhanced financial performance (Hendricks & Singhal, 1997).

There have been different universal investigations on quality planning by different researchers more than enough, the strategy has been described; similarities among strategy can be perceived. Ignificant procedures have been welcomed under each of these standards for cases associations rely upon their customers and thus ought to comprehend present and future customer needs, customer prerequisites and endeavour to surpass customer desires ought to be met (Biazzo & Bernardi, 2008).

Quality planning is and has turned into a technique that is acknowledged to guarantee execution and survival in the propelled present day economies as indicated by Katller and Armstrong (2004). As indicated by Deming (1995), he had contended prior that the accomplishment of value administration endeavours relied on the viable combination of different administration subsystems. Quality is a fundamental component of achievement in any organisation. It has turned out to be troublesome for assembling organizations to deal with improving the nature of their capacities, item and administrations and how associations are overseen. Quality alludes to magnificence in merchandise and ventures, particularly to the degree they comply with necessities and fulfill clients (Islam. A. & Haque, A. F. M.2012).

The manufacturing business segment is the biggest part in the management business that serves the necessities of various classifications of individuals. At the moment, quality planning has turned into the new technique to strengthen upper hands and hierarchical execution; it is the centre of the accomplishment of the organization (Ooi et al., 2011). Getecha (2013) opined that assembling organizations practice adds up to quality administration methodology and somehow have extremely poor usage levels. Getecha (2013) contends that aggregate quality administration methodology tried had no significant impact on hierarchical execution. By and by, quality planning system may assume an enormous part yet poor execution levels and reception rate in the operations in the assembling area clarifies the irrelevant impact. The present investigation looks to build up how add up to quality management strategies and execution of manufacturing industries in Nigeria, particularly Dangote Group Plc.

Cantrell (2011) revealed that organizations top administration can utilize administration approach in light of some of, or all the eight of the quality administration standards cherished in ISOs total quality management that give rules and decides that administer activity in associations, to consistently enhance execution while tending to the necessities of the client and different partners. These essential standards are top administration duty; nonstop change and development of items and administrations; shared useful provider connections, representative strengthening, process approach, true basic leadership approach, frameworks way to deal with administration and client centre (Su et al., 2008).

Okwiri, (2012) stated the basic standards are felt in an organization by activities that happen in organization setting, these are alluded to as system. Partners needs require the incorporated use of the costs, data based technique, and framework based methodology, client based procedure and providers based system. Organizations regularly embrace structures and models in view of the major standards and system keeping in mind the end goal to concentrate on procedure arranging and arrangement in the entire association. Cases of structures that organizations may embrace are quality administration framework (for example, venture asset arranging), ISO principles affirmations, self-appraisal models and business greatness models (Kakooza et al., 2015).

An organization can actualize any of these structures and models to accomplish more prominent adequacy of authoritative frameworks prompting more prominent profitability and partner fulfilment. Quality planning approach can give a structure through which organizations can accomplish the interests of their partners, convey merchandise and ventures that fulfill customer necessity and accentuate in general process administration as opposed to conformance to systems. The normal result is enhanced performance (Okwiri, 2014).

1.2       Statement of the Problem

Manufacturing organizations are generally characterized by widespread misuse of funds, due to lack of proper internal management. Hence, some of the public corporations have either been privatized, commercialized or adopted quality planning and management strategy to make them more efficient and profitable (Ochieng & Ahmed, 2014). Also, many organizations have implemented quality management strategy with the intention of improving organizational performance and satisfying their customers (Talib et al., 2013). Wickramasinghe (2012) argues that many research studies have concentrated on the effect of implementing total quality management strategy on performance and benefits of the quality management strategy to organizations.

Basir, Davies, and Rudder (2011) assert that results of many of the studies conducted have been contradictory with regard to organizational benefits and organizational performance. This agrees with the findings of Costa and Lorente (2007). Several international, regional and local studies contemplate have underscored the part of quality planning practices in improving consumer satisfaction in a firm (Crosby, 2000; Oakland, 2003; Denning, 2006; and Feigenbaum, 2006). These studies have, however, concentrated on the impact of quality planning strategies on the performance of profit making organizations but not on manufacturing companies. Past studies have also focused on financial institutions but little has been done on manufacturing industries.

In consideration of the preceding discussion, it is clear that previous studies have not provided adequate evidence on the relationship between quality planning and organizational performance. In addition, important parts of planning, procedures for enhancing quality planning, and influence of quality planning on organisational performance of manufacturing firms in Nigeria have not been adequately researched on. Therefore, this study sought out at filling the highlighted loopholes by investigating the relationship between quality planning and organizational performance a case study of Dangote Group Plc.

1.3       Objectives of the Research

The objective of this study is to investigate the role of quality planning and organizational performance a case study a case study of Dangote Group Plc. However, the specific objectives are:

i)               To find out the important parts of quality planning that promote organizational performance

ii)             To examine the procedures for enhancing quality planning in Dangote Group Plc

iii)           To determine the influence of quality planning on organisational performance

1.4       Research Questions

The following questions were generated during the course of this study:

i)               What are the important parts of quality planning that promote organizational performance?

ii)             What are the procedures for enhancing quality planning in Dangote Group Plc?

iii)           What is the influence of quality planning on organisational performance?

1.5       Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated for this study:

i)               There is a significant relationship between important parts of quality planning and organizational performance

ii)             There is no significant correlation between procedures for enhancing quality planning and organizational performance

iii)           There is a significant influence of quality planning and organisational performance

1.6       Significance of the Study

The significance of quality planning in the production systems cannot be over emphasized more so, in a competitive environment such as Nigeria, it is imperative for firms to emphasis quality control to enjoy competitive leverages so that their product could compete favourably with the imported goods. However, the attitudes of Nigeria manufacturing towards quality planning are less encouraging. This is evidence in poor quality products. They do not make available to consumer or consumers it is then store of inverse importance to the manufacture  as the study has the overall objectives at attaining suggestion which they can effectively handle the challenges of quality planning measure in their production activities.

1.7       Scope of the Study

Quality planning as a chosen topic is relevant to the manufacturing industry in Nigeria. Although quality planning is an activity that is relevant to all business organizations and employees of the manufacturing sector, the study is therefore restricted to the staff and management of Dangote Group Plc, since it is the case study for this research work.

1.8       Limitations of the study

Due to the time and resources constrains, the survey respond might have respondent who are not really aware on customer satisfaction and the response will be negative. Respondent also may ignore certain question. Financial constraints, since the researcher spent funds on traveling and paying for stationery. However, the researcher used personal savings.