Quality Management: How to Handle Senior Management

¶ … Quality Management: How to Handle Senior Management When Goals Cannot be Met

In this case, the problem is two-fold. The goal will not be reached for the project, but more money is also needed. Going to leadership and letting them know that a goal will not be met is one thing, but coupling that with needing more money can make the entire situation very difficult. Moving forward on the bank's remote deposit capture project is vital, but if what is presented to Harold and Tricia is not acceptable, that will only put the project farther behind and call the abilities of the team into question. Rather than risk that, tackling the issue head-on and asking to have the deadline extended would be the best option. This has to be done from a standpoint of preparedness, though, and requires documentation of why more money is needed as well as a clear reasoning behind why more time is needed.

One of the ways to show why more time and/or money is needed is through project quality management (Kim, 1993; State, 1989). Another way to work with this issue is through project human resource management (Kim, 1993). The management of people and projects are very closely entwined, and that is especially accurate in this case. The actual problem with this case is that there is not enough money and not enough time to give Harold and Tricia (who are both in senior management) the remote deposit capture system that they want at the quality level they desire. Both more money and more time are required, but how to ask for those things is a serious concern. If this is not done correctly, there could be many problems faced by the remote deposit capture team and by the company as a whole.

Workers who cannot meet their goals sometimes find that they struggle with the idea of losing their job. They may also struggle with the idea of telling their leaders that they cannot meet these goals, because they fear being fired, demoted, or simply not treated with respect. While these are both understandable concerns, the best way to handle a lack of ability to reach a goal (for whatever reason) is through honesty. Telling a leader that one cannot meet a goal should be done in a clear and factual way, without finger-pointing, arguing, or blaming (Bogue & Sanders, 1992). In addition, it is also important to address these kinds of issues as soon as one knows that they will occur, so as not to "spring" bad news on a leader at the last minute. By being upfront and early with news that a goal will not be reached, it is possible to mitigate much of the damage that could otherwise occur.

In this case, there are several solutions that could be considered. However, most of them are related to either blaming someone else for the problems or looking for ways to "get away with" stretching the deadline. The best solution, though, is to focus on project quality management. By doing this, one considers what would be best for the overall project and the project's end-user (in this case, the consumer). By focusing on the consumer's needs and how the project can meet those needs, it becomes easier to see that the project will not meet the needs of the consumer if it is not done correctly - regardless of how long that takes. If Harold and Tricia consider project quality management in their dealings with the remote deposit capture team, they will be willing to work on a compromise with the team in order to make sure that the remote deposit capture is as good as it can be when it goes to market and consumers have the opportunity to purchase it.

Another consideration with this scenario is human resource quality management. People are a very vital and valuable resource for any company, and if a company neglects its people or pushes them too hard, they may leave the company because they cannot handle the strain. If they do not leave but they do not feel valued, they may do substandard work or spend too much time trying to push a product to market (Bogue & Saunders, 1992). All of those problems can be avoided with human resource quality management, because employees will all be treated fairly and equitably within the company. When employees are valued, they will be much more interested in helping the company with its success, and that means everyone involved with the project and the company wins.

Planning is an important part of managing quality, but there are some things for which planning simply does not work. If a project goes over budget, for example, more money has to be raised or provided. Most likely, that was not something that was provided for in the original plan, but that does not mean that individuals in that organization cannot come up with a better or new plan that will allow for the raising of more money. Often, it is necessary to work with a new plan, simply because of the changing of the timeline. In this case, Harold and Tricia were very focused on getting the product to market as soon as possible, but the team ran out of money because suppliers spent more than they had expected. This was the fault of the suppliers, but more money is still needed by the entire company in order to make sure the project can go forward as planned.