For companies further removed from the long-term satisfaction of customers, it's easier to let quality control slide. Yet there are plenty of ways in which growing manufacturers can pursue both quality and sales volumes simultaneously. Artisan instrument makers the Santa Cruz Guitar Co (SCGC) prove a relevant example. Although the California-based company is still a small-scale manufacturing operation, SCGC has grown in recent years from a basement operation to a serious business. 14 - Craftsmen employed by SCGC 800 - Custom guitars produced each year Owner Dan Roberts now employs 14 expert craftsmen, who create over 800 custom guitars each year. In order to ensure the continued quality of his instruments, Roberts has created an environment that improves with each sale. To keep things efficient (as TQM must), the shop floor is divided into six workstations in which guitars are partially assembled and then moved to the next station. Each bench is manned by a senior craftsman, and no guitar leaves that builder's station until he is 100 percent happy with its quality. This product quality is akin to a traditional assembly line; however, unlike a traditional, top-to-bottom factory, Roberts is intimately involved in all phases of instrument construction. Utilising this doting method of quality management, it's difficult to see how customers wouldn't be satisfied with the artists' work. Yet even if there were issues, Roberts and other senior management also spend much of their days personally answering web queries about the instruments. According to the managers, customers tend to be pleasantly surprised to find the company's senior leaders are the ones answering their technical questions and concerns. While Roberts has no intentions of taking his manufacturing company to industrial heights, the quality of his instruments and high levels of customer satisfaction speak for themselves; the company currently boasts one lengthy backlog of orders.
For companies further removed from the long-term satisfaction of customers, it's easier to let quality control slide. Yet there are plenty of ways in which growing manufacturers can pursue both quality and sales volumes simultaneously. Artisan instrument makers the Santa Cruz Guitar Co (SCGC) prove a relevant example. Although the California-based company is still a small-scale manufacturing operation, SCGC has grown in recent years from a basement operation to a serious business. 14 - Craftsmen employed by SCGC 800 - Custom guitars produced each year Owner Dan Roberts now employs 14 expert craftsmen, who create over 800 custom guitars each year. In order to ensure the continued quality of his instruments, Roberts has created an environment that improves with each sale. To keep things efficient (as TQM must), the shop floor is divided into six workstations in which guitars are partially assembled and then moved to the next station. Each bench is manned by a senior craftsman, and no guitar leaves that builder's station until he is 100 percent happy with its quality. This product quality is akin to a traditional assembly line; however, unlike a traditional, top-to-bottom factory, Roberts is intimately involved in all phases of instrument construction. Utilising this doting method of quality management, it's difficult to see how customers wouldn't be satisfied with the artists' work. Yet even if there were issues, Roberts and other senior management also spend much of their days personally answering web queries about the instruments. According to the managers, customers tend to be pleasantly surprised to find the company's senior leaders are the ones answering their technical questions and concerns. While Roberts has no intentions of taking his manufacturing company to industrial heights, the quality of his instruments and high levels of customer satisfaction speak for themselves; the company currently boasts one lengthy backlog of orders.
Chapter1: Taking Risks And Making Profits Within The Dynamic Business Environment
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1CE
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Based on the case study of the picture I posted, please conduct a detailed SWOT analysis on Santa Cruz Guitar Co
Transcribed Image Text:For companies further removed from the long-term satisfaction of customers, it's easier to let
quality control slide. Yet there are plenty of ways in which growing manufacturers can pursue
both quality and sales volumes simultaneously. Artisan instrument makers the Santa Cruz Guitar
Co (SCGC) prove a relevant example. Although the California-based company is still a small-scale
manufacturing operation, SCGC has grown in recent years from a basement operation to a serious
business.
14 - Craftsmen employed by SCGC
800 – Custom guitars produced each year
Owner Dan Roberts now employs 14 expert craftsmen, who create over 800 custom guitars each
year. In order to ensure the continued quality of his instruments, Roberts has created an
environment that improves with each sale. To keep things efficient (as TQM must), the shop floor
is divided into six workstations in which guitars are partially assembled and then moved to the
next station. Each bench is manned by a senior craftsman, and no guitar leaves that builder's
station until he is 100 percent happy with its quality. This product quality is akin to a traditional
assembly line; however, unlike a traditional, top-to-bottom factory, Roberts is intimately involved
in all phases of instrument construction.
Utilising this doting method of quality management, it's difficult to see how customers wouldn't
be satisfied with the artists' work. Yet even if there were issues, Roberts and other senior
management also spend much of their days personally answering web queries about the
instruments. According to the managers, customers tend to be pleasantly surprised to find the
company's senior leaders are the ones answering their technical questions and concerns. While
Roberts has no intentions of taking his manufacturing company to industrial heights, the quality of
his instruments and high levels of customer satisfaction speak for themselves; the company
currently boasts one lengthy backlog of orders.
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