Quality Management of Leisure

1. Introduction

This report provides information obtained through several site visits at Leisure Coast Fruit Market & Deli (Leisure Coast), some academic Quality Management theories from the relevant journal articles and books, and some background information from Leisure Coast website.

This report will pay particular attention to the Quality Triangle as a basis and discuss how to apply the core principles of Quality Management into this Australian retail business to increase its sustainability. Meanwhile, this report will offer some explanation for how this organisation can achieve "cost down, value up and always" in its Quality Management by using the Quality Management tools like 5S, 5 Whys and Fishbone Diagram.

2. Background

Leisure Coast is a family owned and operated retail business located in Fairy Meadow, just 5 minutes from the city of Wollongong and 75 kilometres south of Sydney. It has been servicing the community and business of Illawarra for over 40 years. It carries a wide variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, and specialist deli products with its motto "Good Food, Good Taste, Great People" (Leisure Coast Fruit Market & Deli 2012).

Figure 2.1. The Quality Triangle, adopted from Styger, 2011

The triangle shows some core principles of Quality Management (see the Figure 2.1.). To meet customer's needs is the key to achieve the Quality Management goals, so customer is the focal point in the Quality Triangle. However, during the process of fulfilling customer's needs, the organisations may face the cost fluctuation and value fluctuation. Therefore, how to achieve "cost down, value up and always" in the business operation is the key to improve their Quality Management performance sustainably.

3. Quality Management Tools

Quality plays an important role in current organisation overall strategy. It is a common practice for most companies to use Quality Management tools to improve both product and process (Liang, 2010). This report will use 5S, 5 Whys and Fishbone Diagram as Quality Management tools to continually increase Leisure Coast's value and reduce its cost in its Quality Management.

3.1 5S

5S is an important Quality Management tool based on a "place for everything and everything in its place" philosophy. It includes 5 "pillars" (sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain) to reshape the thinking of the workplace and provide a foundation for all improvement (Linda, 2007). By using 5S, organisations can estimate the performance of its priorities, reduce waste and slack, and eliminate root causes for the key problem (James, 2006).

3.2 5