CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1.
Background to the Study
The product is generally considered to take a very
significant position among the four marketing-mix elements. Since it is
regarded as what a company or business enterprise offers to the market, it
occupies a special position in the hearts of decision-makers and management.
According to Kotler (1997), the product does not only mean the tangible object
in a package. It refers to the entire image of the product including,
packaging, design, colour and after-sale services.
The product is what brings an enterprise into
operation and it also determines whether the enterprise stays on or packs up.
It follows then that the viability of a product is also the viability of the
enterprise.
Kotler reiterates that the success of a product in
the market starts right from its ‘creation’. It depends on how the product is
brought into existence. This actually explains why most of management’s
attention is devoted to the making of the physical product. It is therefore the
responsibility of management to plan and develop the right type of product for
the market. This can be achieved by developing new products/services or improving
on the performance of the existing ones. All these activities are aimed at the
viability of the product. That is, the ability of the product to perform to
customers’ satisfaction, thus leading to its continued
profitable existence in the market. All these centre on the notion, ‘Quality’.
This view is
corroborated by Allen (1991). He asserted that the new vogue is to tailor both
products and delivery according to the features which are seen to have value to
the customers. According to Allen (1991), the backbone of all these (marketing)
activities, i.e. promotion, pricing, distribution etc. is not just a matter of
product quality, rather, it is a matter of service quality. This is even more
essential for business organisations and enterprises, considering the volatile
environment in which they operate nowadays. The American Management Association
estimates that the average company loses as many as 35% of its customers each
year, two-thirds of which is due to poor service quality.
Quality is a common
universal word, usually used equivocally in everyday language to depict
varieties of meanings. It may be ambiguously interpreted as excellence,
efficiency, performance, profitability, productivity, effectiveness, value,
luxury, high standard and specifications etc. As a subject of managerial
discipline, quality can be defined both in a narrow sense and in a broad sense.
It has evolved over the years, to become a matured discipline.
In a narrow sense,
Quality is a measure of the degree to which the product meets its technical and
design standard, which may relate to materials used, performance, reliability,
durability or any quantifiable characteristic. This can be referred to as
quality control, which became very important among companies
in the 1960s. It focuses on the use of inspection in finding and correcting
defects during the making of the physical product.
Appleby (1981) stressed
the need for quality control in industries, especially as competition becomes
intense and consumers become discriminating. Quality according to Appleby
(1981), determines the direction or objective, whereas control is the
statistical element with which the product quality is measured.
The broadened concept
of quality according to Smith (1994) later started with the emergence of the
idea of what is referred to as Total Quality Control, which he believed, lays
more emphasis on improvement rather than control. A total quality revolution
occurred, and thus emerged, on the business scene, what is now referred to as
Total Quality Management (TQM). According to Smith (1994), the revolution
emphasized the totality of all the quality approaches over the years, and
stressed the critical role of management in quality improvement. It rethinks
Quality as holistic, rather than products alone. In this regard, Smith also
argues that it is helpful to think of quality as an umbrella concept which
integrates a whole spectrum of improvement initiatives such as service
enhancement, cost reduction, value analysis and others. Thus quality is
considered as a viable tool for enhancing the performance of the sales force
towards achieving accelerated business improvement.
Total quality is
defined as the ability of a good/service to satisfy customer expectations with
respect to the product’s design. It relates to how well the
design takes the user into consideration, how closely the product conforms to
the design standards, and what additional service is needed to keep the product
operational and alive.
Quality, although,
understandably difficult to measure, serves as a competitive variable among
firms in similar industries, and even in different industries. According to
Cole (1994), one of the most consistent themes to be found in mission
statements/goals/objectives of organizations is ‘quality’. It encompasses all
efforts to achieve a competitive edge and ever changing victory in the economy.
Peters and Waterman (1982) found quality to be an important element among
excellent companies in Japan. The increase in global competition in the 1980s
even forced many firms to reassess the quality level of their entire goods and
services production systems. This led to a massive national focus and increased
international importance attached to quality. Oladunni (1998) added that the
current globalization process no doubt creates the need for continuous
improvement in productivity and quality necessary for an effective use of new
technologies.
One can therefore say
without equivocation that Nigerian firms today have evolved in response to the
increased competitiveness both locally and globally, in one way or the other
(Aluko et al, 2007). These have led to the continued profitable stay of some
products in the market and even survival of some firms on one hand, and ‘untimely
death’ of some products and firms caused by poor sales performances and then
market failures, on the other hand.
It is from this view of the dynamic and
competitive business environment that effective quality delivery is of great
significance, especially to service rendering enterprises such as the emerging
fast food retail outlets in modern day Nigeria. The survival of the
organization therefore does not only entail the making of the products, but
also the continuous improvement and profitable existence of the products
facilitated by effective quality control and improvements efforts.
All these are issues that form the
backbone of quality control and improvements practices in any organization.
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