Continuous Improvement for Value Management - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theContinuous Improvement for Value Management. Answer: Introduction The need to improve productivity and consequently profitability has prompted organizations to move from the traditional way of doing things where no much attention was given on anything, and things were taken to operate in the right direction as long as the company remained operational. However, with more information nowadays, details are being given to every action that the company engages in, this is for the reason that, everything done consumes money and resources which are never enough. And in the face of this limited resources, the need to use money sparingly has become apparent. Activities such as quality control, quality assurance, human resource management and value management have been adopted, more so by companies that want to remain a step ahead of their competitors (Ahmed, Loh and Zairi, 2009). Integration of such activities is meant to ensure that the work process is done in a sequential manner, devoid of acrimony and rancor, and in a way that ensures that the final prod uct or services are delivered in a secure and comfortable way, all to the benefit of the consumer. This paper will focus on continuous improvement in project management, activities involved, the benefits, challenges and other factors that relate to continuous improvement will be highlighted. Towards the end, conclusions will be made. Continuous improvement, also referred to as continual improvement is the process of practicing constant improvement in product production, service delivery or both. These activities are analyzed regarding efficiency, flexibility and effectiveness when it comes to satisfying consumers needs. This improvement can be achieved at once or incrementally over a given time frame. For effective implementation of a continuous improvement strategy, it is better to start with what is already available and already working within the organisation and improve on it. It is also imperative to note that, the process is not an easy one, persistence and perseverance must be there within the team tasked with this vital process, this owing to the fact that change is uncomfortable and people tend to resist it for fear of the unknown. Relationship Between Project Management and Continuous Improvement A project is an organized method through which specific goals and planned benefits are attained within a given target schedule of time and budget (Burke 2013). On the other hand, project management is defined as the process of initiating, executing and controlling the work of a team to make sure that it works towards the laid down objectives. The major challenge to any project management is the ability to harmonize project delivery within the constraints of time and resources (Schumacher, Mueller, and Keul 2011). Several factors are vital for project management to be successful among which continuous improvement is one. Continuous improvement ensures that in the phase of limited resources projects are delivered in a manner that is favorable to the organization and the clients, to the former in terms of investment costs, while to the latter in terms of quality of goods and services (Cleland and Ireland 2006). Tips for Continuous Improvement A change in behavior in a workforce does not come. Naturally, it must be cultivated. And in the same way, continuous improvement practices will not eventuate from a vacuum; they must be facilitated by those in authority constantly to ensure that workers embrace them fully. A good point to start from is making the workers realize that things can improve to the better both to them personally and the organization if continuous improvement is adopted. This can be achieved by educating them, to illustrate, by holding frequent seminars. Moreover, the establishment of an enduring culture is another practical tip for continuous improvement, it calls for relentless focus and commitment among the workers to getting things right, this is vital due to the fact that in the process of doing so, workers will at times be called to work outside their comfort zones. In addition, those in authority should promote a centric thinking culture among the workers; it need not be a complex process, it can be as easy as a slight thoughtful examination of areas within the organization that require improvement. A centric thinking culture is part of the worldwide known strategy of eliminating faults and repetitive errors among the workers. Moreover, parameters to measure continuous improvement should be instituted; this is owing to the fact that, it is impossible to improve that which is not measured. Over and above that, effective communication should be fostered to ensure that, all stakeholders, share and exchange information constantly and in a timely manner to maintain a collaborative relationship. These tips are vital and should be treated with utmost priority if continuous improvement, when used as a part of the wider project management scheme, is to be successful. Continuous Improvement Strategies The first strategy is the commonly known, plan, do, check and act model abbreviated as (PDCA) (Kartikowati 2013). Planning involves identifying an activity within the organisation that needs to be enhanced or an activity that can benefit from continuous improvement, for instance, it could be an improvement of a product to attract more sales or enhancement of service delivery. In conjunction with this, objectives necessitating the change are set. After that, the changes are implemented therefore bringing to an end the second part of the model. The third stage is that of checking and involves an assessment of whether the change is working or not, it is achieved through data analysis, and an examination of results derived from the change implemented to see whether the company is reaping any benefits or not. The final stage involves acting, if positive results are noticed, the change is applied on a large scale and continuous checks made to ensure that the benefits are enjoyed on a large scale. If no positive benefits are realized the change is disregarded, and the company goes back to the drawing board. Some situations where this model can be utilized include, when starting a new improvement model within the organization or when executing change. Another model that can be employed is the six sigma model. Six Sigma is a measure of quality within an organisation and aims to achieve perfection. It is defined as a data-driven approach method of eliminating defects and any deviations from the optimum level that can be attained apropos to the organisation standards. The six sigma model encompasses the following processes one, defining the basis of the problem which is more often than not the reason why the company is not achieving its laid down goals (Bendell 2006). Two, measuring the extent of the deviations, third analyzing what can be done, fourth, improvement, which is usually done after an analysis has been done and the necessary steps have been highlighted. And then finally, controlling to ensure that whatever that is being done is done within the limits of the organizations, standards, which could be, legal, financial or moral (Roesser 2007). Total quality management is the most widely used method of quality management. Though it started in the manufacturing sector, it can be utilized to fit any business setting. It generally focuses on the customers feedback in enacting a change. All members of an organisation participate in the process of bringing amendments in terms of service delivery or product production to suit the customer needs (Dale 2015). The principle behind this method is that, as long as the customer needs are not entirely satisfied, there still exists room for continuous improvement. It has the following characteristics; first, it is fully focused on the client, two, it involves all employees, three, it is process centered as a number of steps must be undertaken. Three, communication is its basic ingredient without which it is rendered useless and finally, decisions are made on a factual basis that is void of bias. Advantages of Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement introduces benefits to the organisation in a domino fashion, in that, one benefit introduces another benefit, advantages that come with continuous improvement are described below. One, improved quality, this goes a long way towards ensuring that the company benefits in making more sells, attracting and retaining customers (Ritzn, Beskow and Norell Bergendahl 2009). This is owing to the fact that customers desire value for their money and will therefore only spend on those activities that ensure value. It is a common trend for people to abandon a business that is providing sub-standards goods and services to another company. And because every organisation longs to maintain and attract more customers, continuous improvement should be integrated into a daily operation. The continuous improvement provides organizations with an opportunity to improve their services and products more so where quality management is adopted, and changes are implemented on the basis of customers needs (Rostow 2009). Improved employees satisfaction, continuous improvement ensures that wrongs are not repeated as changes are implemented every other time (Lebas 2015). Conflicts between the management and the employees are therefore reduced; this creates a workforce that is jovial and one full of morale. Happiness in the place of work increases creativity, and workers come up with new ways of doings, it improves service delivery in the place of work as the relationship between the workers and customers is improved to the positive. Over and above that, happy employees have been found to be productive and tend to stay in the organisation for a long time since they already have the job satisfaction they so long for. Lowered cost, with continuous improvement, a project manager is able to know of activities that bring wastage and improve on them continuously. In addition, the time required for each activity is identified, and when the same activity is to be undertaken later, he will be having an effective plan beforehand that will come in handy towards helping him to deal with the problem. In conjunction with this is the reduction in time and cost overruns a common problem in project management and delivery can be overcome (Savolainen 2009). Challenges of Continuous Improvement The following are the problems that are commonly encountered when carrying out continuous improvement. One, difficulties of fostering a collaborative team culture, the fact the whole team undertaking a given project needs to work together for success to be cited means that collaboration cannot be underestimated. It is, however, imperative to note that some teams or groups of people will at times fail to develop chemistry meaning that they will not be able to work together, in such situations, efforts of the company in bringing about continuous improvement are thwarted (Grol and Wensing 2004). Two, lack of a continuous improvement model. An organisation that lacks such a model will at the end fail to reap benefits of continuous improvement; this is for the reason that workers and more so if new people are integrated into the company. They will not be able to work in regards to the companys policies for they will lack a guiding framework to direct them (Drucker 2009). In conjunction with this, is the lack of ability to prioritize on activities which require necessary improvement. Such an action requires a man who is well intelligent to identify those activities that are consuming more resources and prioritize on them. Finally the lack of resources, money must be invested for continuous improvement to be successful. Activities such as training and testing of samples need to be performed; they consume money and time which the organisation must be willing to spend on. To illustrate, in a construction site, the project manager will, for instance, have to allow his men to make concrete for tests only. Such concrete will consume money and will not be used in the construction process (Neville 2005). To conclude, continuous improvement has emerged as a critical component of any organisation that wants to grow and realise more benefits. However, this does not come for free as those in authority are supposed to support all endeavors required for it to work. Over and above that, continuous improvement and effective project management have been found to be Siamese twins; it is almost impossible to talk of one and leave the other out. 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