Continuous Improvement And Ethical Business Practices: Case Study Of Tata Steel Essay.

1. What is Continuous Improvement? Who would be involved in this process and what would they be doing to enable improvements? Support your answer with examples from the case.

2. Describe the type of culture Corus is developing. How will the vision plan help to develop this culture?

3. Analyse how achieving its KPIs will help Corus to give its customers satisfaction.

4. Evaluate the key benefits of CI in helping Corus to become a more innovative and customer focused organisation.

Continuous Improvement and Involvement of People

About Continuous Improvement and involvement of people in this process and how they would be enabling improvements.

In a general context, continuous improvement is ongoing cycles wherein efforts are put to improve products, services and other processes. Further, these efforts could be seek an incremental improvement over time or breakthrough where improvement is done all at once. The widely used tool for the same is a four-step quality model which is known as PDCA cycle. Furthermore, at all three levels the CI cycle works and in fact all the employees of an organization are involved in this process. By taking an insight from the case, it can be described that Corus has adopted the Kaizen concept and for that the firm will utilize the PDCA cycle. The top management will do the planning regarding the CI and for that they will identify an opportunity and they will plan for a change. Then they will order the middle management to implement the change on a small group of employees or at any smaller area which requires improvement. Later, gathered data will be used for analyzing results which was generated out of change and then they will determine whether it created a difference or not. Lastly, if the change would be successful then the Corus will implement it on a wider scale and will analyze the result on a continual basis. This way, the firm could enable the improvements in the company.

Describing the types of culture which Corus is developing and finding out the ways in which vision plan will help to develop this culture

Corus is planning to develop the Kaizen concept where the organization will turn into hierarchal culture. The reason is that, company is planning to bring continuous improvement in small process of its business in order to bring the efficiency in the production and innovations. Furthermore, the vision of the company is to be globally recognized as Canada’s most influential entertainment company. With this vision, company could build this culture in the organization because to be globally recognized one has to be efficient in its working and production and that could only be achieved if they have all the effective processes. Moreover, affectivity and efficiency could be brought in only by having continuous improvement in the all the processes of the firm. Moreover, to adopt CI on a regular basis, management has to keep a close control over every activity. Hence, the evolvement of hierarchal culture in the firm will start. Therefore, the vision of the company will help in developing this culture in Corus.

Types of Culture in Corus and the Role of Vision Plan

Key performance indicators of Corus are totally based upon the needs and requirements of customers, like, providing the customized solutions to the customers according to their needs. They do the meeting on a daily basis just to find a solution how to make the customer satisfy with their products and services. Moreover, the major KPI of the company is that they have adopted best practice. Furthermore, they do lean production which gives the result of reduced waste, improved product quality, recued rework time, becoming competitive by lowering dwn the cost. Therefore, these KPIs will help out the Corus to provide customer satisfaction. Moreover, by doing CI, company could generate some more KPIs in order to provide higher customer satisfaction but the firm must make sure that those KPIs should be working according to the needs and requirements of customers.

The company has already made a decision of introducing Kaizen in their firm for continuous improvement which depicts that the firm already knows the exclusive benefits of CI. Moreover, there are many more benefits linked to CI which the firm must know about them in order to keep this culture in the organization despite of any circumstances. Further, to become more innovative and customer focused organizations, it is essential to do CI on a regular basis as it will increase the productivity and will improve the quality. Thus, it will help in getting more customer loyalty. Furthermore, cost will be reduced as well as the employee turnover rate which is good sign for the firm. 

In a basic term, ethical business practices are some of the actions performed and attitudes held by a business and its employees and those are considered professionally and morally responsible. These certain types of practices typically seek for the promotion of the goals of the firm by not sacrificing the common good of its employees, competitors and customers. Furthermore, it usually includes several programs for ensuring fair hiring and promotions of the employees, treating customers in fair manner, and being honest in regards to certain programs for increasing sales. According to case study, Tata Steel upholds its commitment for the sustainable and environmental practices, thus, it is carrying out its business by adopting ethical business practices. Moreover, this kind of practice also examines that applied ethics and professional ethics which analyze the ethical principles and morals as well as the ethical problems which get arise at a business environment. In order to excel in the competitive market, it is important for the company to adopt the ethical business practices because without ethics, a firm does not have any existence.

Key Performance Indicators of Corus and Customer Satisfaction

From the case study, it is clear that Tata steel upholds the commitment of being sustainable and also has also adopted the environmental practices the firm cares about the society among which it works and also it cares about the future generation so that they can get the benefit out of resources which we are using in today’s world.  Therefore, the company is concerned about the sustainability and hence, sustainable practice has been adopted by the firm. Furthermore, by adopting this practice company could get maximum benefits which will be helpful for them in order to compete in a highly competitive and dynamic market. Further, by adopting the sustainability criteria, Tata Steel will be able to develop the society wherein they can make the Earth a better place to live. Furthermore, sustainability will also bring economic development because, the particular nation is getting benefitted because there will be abundance of resources in that particular country for longer period of time. Therefore, by adopting these practices, company’s recognition will get increases and this way it can remain ahead in the competition going on in the market.

LCA was first introduced by Tata Steel in India and it was the new concept in India. The accuracy of LCA of this company could be analyzed by comparing it with the other steel production firm. This way the firm could get the clear picture regarding its LCA than carbon footprint of the material.

Tata Steel is known as one of the leading corporation of the world and it has done many activities which has benefitted the nation and its society. Furthermore, there are numerous contributions of the firm for sustainable and ethical business practices. So these contributions are being evaluated in this section. Tata Steel has five core values which define the ethics of the company: integrity, understanding, excellence, unity and responsibility. These values are evident in everything that it does and drive the ethical behavior of the company. For Tata Steel, taking responsibility for tackling the challenges of sustainability follows naturally from this ethical stance. Tata Steel produces the good which could be recycled easily. For instance, the impact of making steel can be viewed as an investment in a material which will be used again and again, rather than a one-off, making steel a very ‘green’ material. Sustainability is about much more than CO₂, but one of the major challenges of sustainability is to reduce CO_2. Thus, it is the major contribution of Tata Steel because it got abide by the rules which was made by the law. 

Benefits of Continuous Improvement

Microprocessor is basically an integrated circuit which carries all the functions of a central processing unit or CPU of a computer. This product is the key part of the device and its role is to control the communication, storage, etc. Further, it is also used in various devices like computers, mobiles, home appliances, etc. Microprocessor was first invented in the year of 1971-1972 and till then it has been evolved in numerous version. Some of the versions are as follows: 

Innovation is needed for betterment and it should be done on a regular interval in order to stay ahead of the competition. Further, a microprocessor of Qualcomm requires the innovation because it consumes lot of battery hence, it is not power efficient. Moreover, it also works slowly and to remain ahead, it is important to bring innovation in the current microprocessor.

During the brainstorm session, various ideas were generated by the team members and those are as follows:

• Power efficient microprocessor should be innovated.
• Size of the microprocessor must be contracted so that the device’s size could be reduced.
• Single type of microprocessor must be invented for all types of devices. Whether it may be computers, laptops, mobile or any other device.

The two ideas which have been shortlisted are as follow:

• Power efficient microprocessor should be innovated.
• Single type of microprocessor must be invented for all types of devices. Whether it may be computers, laptops, mobile or any other device.

Risk during the innovation includes:

1. Incompatibility of existing hardware and software with new microprocessor.
2. Lack of resources like lack of latest technology in all parts of world.
3. Uncertain circumstances like change in the company’s policy.

For mitigating these risks, company must develop the strategies such as analysis of device’s company in which the microprocessor chip will be installed and accordingly the firm could develop their product. Moreover, alternative plans could be made in case the actual plan fails. Resources should be gathered in advance to mitigate the risk of resource deficiency.

The innovation will be made in such a way that it does not harm the environment or waste the resources.

The company will require the resources such as human resources, financial resources and technological resources for implementing this new idea.

Deadline for the task allocated is 6 months and under this the planning and implementation will be done. Moreover, key action require for the implementation is the accurate planning and motivation to the employees.

During this implementation, employees may be required to stay more in than the office hours and this may impact their health and temper. To avoid this, company must provide proper comfort to the employees and also motivate them on a timely basis.

Free flow communication structure will be followed in the company to enhance more communication in order to avoid any uncertainties.

The firm will set the standards for the new microprocessor in order to check the whether actual meets with standards input.

Market testing will be done on a sample of people in order to check its speed and how people react to it. For that, a sample will be taken of few technology savvies and on them this trial will be tested.    

Kaizen is the practice of continuous improvement. Kaizen was originally introduced to the West by Masaaki Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success in 1986. Today kaizen is recognized worldwide as an important pillar of an organization’s long-term competitive strategy. By improving standardized programmers and processes, kaizen aims to eliminate waste.

5S engages people through the use of 'Standards' and ‘Discipline'. It is not just about housekeeping, but concentrating on maintaining the standards & discipline to manage the organization - all achieved by upholding & showing respect for the Gemba every day. The 5S of Kaizen is as follows:

• Sort: Sort out & separate that which is needed & not needed in the area.
• Straighten: Arrange items that are needed so that they are ready & easy to use. Clearly identify locations for all items so that anyone can find them & return them once the task is completed.
• Shine: Clean the workplace & equipment on a regular basis in order to maintain standards & identify defects.
• Standardize: Revisit the first three of the 5S on a frequent basis and confirm the condition of the Gemba using standard procedures.
• Sustain: Keep to the rules to maintain the standard & continue to improve every day. 

The difference between sustaining and disruptive innovation is commonly misunderstood by many in business. The main differentiation that it makes is that sustaining innovation comes from listening to the needs of customers in the existing market and creating products that satisfy their predicted needs for the future. Disruptive innovation creates new markets separate to the mainstream; markets that are unknowable at the time of the technologies conception. Furthermore the two examples of each type of innovations are as follows:

1. Disruptive innovation: The Transistor Radio and pocket calculators
2. Sustaining innovation: Mobile phones and LCD screen. 

Creativity is related to ‘imagination’, but innovation is related to ‘implementation. Please find the more comparison: 

Total Quality Management (TQM) is the continuous process of reducing or eliminating errors in manufacturing, streamlining supply chain management, improving the customer experience, and ensuring that employees are up-to-speed with their training. To be successful implementing TQM, an organization must concentrate on the eight key elements:

1. Ethics
2. Integrity
3. Trust
4. Training
5. Teamwork
6. Leadership
7. Recognition
8. Communication 

There are two key organizational principles of organizational learning which underline the Toyota Motor Corporation’s managerial approach and production system and those principles are as follows:

1. Managers of the company take responsibility for employee learning
2. Organizational structure of the company has been designed in such a way that it promotes or facilitates learning to the employees. 

References

Journals and Books

Fan, S. T., Lo, C. M., Poon, R. T., Yeung, C., Liu, C. L., Yuen, W. K. and Chan, S. C. ‘Continuous improvement of survival outcomes of resection of hepatocellular carcinoma: a 20-year experience.”. (2011). Annals of surgery, 253(4), 745-758.

Rampersad, G., Quester, P. and Troshani, I., ‘Managing innovation networks: Exploratory evidence from ICT, biotechnology and nanotechnology networks.’ (2010). Industrial Marketing Management, 39(5), pp.793-805.