QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY INTO THE FUTURE

Dr Kamran Moosa is the CEO of PIQC Institute of Quality. He was the first elected Chairman of Quality & Productivity Society of Pakistan. He is also the honorary Vice President Research & Publications of the Middle East Quality Association (MEQA) and senior member of American Society for Quality. He has over 20 years of experience as an academician, trainer and consultant in the field of Quality Assurance & Management particularly the implementation of TQM in the industry. In 1995, he was selected by the APO Japan as a national expert on TQM . He has served and is serving in the editorial/ reviewer boards of American Society for Quality, Journal of the Chartered Quality Institute UK, and Quality & Reliability Engineering. He is an author of 3 books and presently contributing in many national and International quality forums for the development and progress in the field of Quality Assurance and Management.

ABSTRACT

This presentation provides an analysis of key issues pertaining to Quality and Productivity Management in the context of Pakistan.  It covers the following:

1. SWOT Analysis:  an analytical overview of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats with respect to Quality and Productivity in Pakistan.
2. Quality and Productivity are identified as the two most important Dimensions of Competitiveness.
3. Four elements of competitiveness are discussed: (1) Technological Strengths (especially in R&D, Production, Services and Transfer of Technology), (2) Management Strengths (Leadership, Policies, Systems, and Benchmarking), (3) Financial Strengths (Financial, Human and Information), and (4) Opportunity Grabbing Effort (Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Response Rate)
4. Organizational Capabilities Development in functional areas include both technological and management current capabilities, and elimination of gaps.  Performance Management must not only measure the current capabilities but more importantly the required capabilities for the present and future.
5. Competitiveness and Quality relates to the concept of Market segmentation.  The Post-WTO scenario requires more knowledge of market and regulatory requirements.
6. Conformity Assessment is carried out to meet legal and customer requirements in accordance with the standards of the client and its country.  It involves three parties, i.e. the Supplier, the Consumer, and the Regulators.
7. Reliability of the Conformity assessment chain is a market differential.  The traceability of reliability extends to certifiers, accreditors, and mutual recognition agreements among accreditors.  Weak points in Pakistan are identified.
8. The Changing Paradigms are discussed for organizations and government in order to meet the challenges of the future tougher competition in the local as well as international markets.  These include:  (1) Future Role of the Quality Manager and Quality Departments, (2) Restructuring for Quality and Productivity Management, (3) R&D Essentials, (4) Conformity Assessment, (5) Performance Improvement within Government, (6) Legal Framework, (7) Academic Alignment, and (8) Collaborations, Partnerships and Mergers.