Essay Sample on Measuring TQM Performance

The automotive industry is very competitive as car manufacturers seek to exceed consumer expectations in terms of performance, quality, and cost. The increased competitiveness necessitates the need for benchmarking, which entails a systematic process for the measurement of a company's processes, products, and services against similar variables of the industry leaders. One of the companies that have emerged as an industry leader is Toyota through the production of high-quality vehicles that exceed consumer expectations. The evidence supporting their market position is their lean operations, which focus on efficiency and quality, and therefore a subject of benchmark from other companies. The report will focus on how Mazda benchmarks Toyota in the development of its products.

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The Rationale for and the Objectives of the Benchmarking

Benchmarking is defined as the determination of comparators through data collection that enables the identification of relative levels of performance. Toyota and Mazda are both in the same industry and therefore industry benchmarking is the most appropriate. In particular, competitor benchmarking will be utilized and encompasses a comparison of products, services, methods, and processes of direct competitors (Rashed & Un, 2018). Toyota and Mazda are direct competitors since they are involved in the production of vehicles targeting the same consumer segment. It, therefore, means that competitor benchmarking is the most appropriate for the comparison of the products and services of these two car manufacturers. It is important since Mazda can access the superior practices of competitors such as Toyota (Lye, 2018). It, therefore, means that superior practices can be integrated into the firm's operations. It is motivating since there is the availability of targets that have been realized by others. It also enhances the experiences of the company and increases the knowledge base.

Comparison Elements

The benchmark report will focus on the product performance of a specific product. The aim of the product performance benchmark is the comparison of a firm's products with the best in the industry and ultimately establishing areas of improvement. Instead of a company's performance measures, benchmarking entails the emphasis on the product and its position in the market. The product performance metrics involved in the comparison include sales revenues and customer satisfaction. The data will be collected from online websites such as Statista.com and Clark.com.

The Performance Indicators, and Targets

Key performance indicators (KPI) are defined as measurable values that showcase how effective a firm is in the realization of its critical business objectives. The KPIs are utilized in the assessment of the company's success in the achievement of targets. The following are the KPIs:

• The target is to realize an improved performance in terms of sales revenue by at least 50%.
• An increase in customer satisfaction.

Data for the Performance Indicators

Mazda is benchmarking Toyota in terms of product performance, which includes sales revenue and customer satisfaction. Initially, Mazda has been benchmarking BMW due to the similarities in the priorities. However, their priorities have changed to now benchmarking Toyota. It is evident in how it has benchmarked Toyota Camry to create the new SkyActiv-X engine (Lye, 2018). There is also Mazda Demio and Toyota Vitz. Collecting data from Statista.com, it is possible to collect information about industry leaders in the automotive industry. It, therefore, helps find the comparability between Toyota and Mazda. Toyota has significantly higher sales that Mazda (Wagner, 2020). It means Mazda will need to implement an efficient process demonstrated by Toyota to improve its revenue. Figure 1 below illustrates the sales revenue of different firms in the automotive industry. It evident that Mazda can benchmark Toyota since it has the highest market share and therefore boosts increased sales revenue.

Another product performance is in terms of customer satisfaction. One of the problems car manufacturers are facing is proving to customers that their products meet the required value and quality. It had been reported by ACSI in 2019 that there has been a decline in customer satisfaction among the automobile sector. As a result, there were interviews with 4,805 customers after recently acquiring a vehicle (Johnson, 2019). Despite a 3.7% drop in customer satisfaction, there was still a significant difference between Toyota and Mazda (Johnson, 2019). Figure 2 below illustrates the customer satisfaction scores for Toyota and Mazda in the year 2018 and 2019.

Conclusion

The benchmark shows that Toyota is significantly ahead of Mazda is various aspects, such as sales revenue and customer satisfaction. There are best practices that Mazda can adopt from Toyota to enhance its competitiveness in the auto industry. For instance, it needs to improve customer satisfaction. One of the reasons why Mazda stopped benchmarking BMW was the reduced driver engagement. Mazda to improve its driver engagement, as seen through the benchmark of the new Toyota Camry. The improvement of customer satisfaction will improve its brand and, ultimately, sales revenue.

References

Johnson, C. (2019, August 20). The best & worst car brands for customer satisfaction in 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2020, from https://clark.com/cars/best-worst-car-brands-customer-satisfaction/

Lye, G. (2018, February 20). Mazda now benchmarks Toyota instead of BMW. Retrieved from https://paultan.org/2018/02/20/mazda-now-benchmarks-toyota-instead-of-bmw/

Rashed, S., & Un, N. A. (2018). Implementation of Benchmarking Concepts in the Manufacturing Industry of Bangladesh. Global Journal of Management and Business Research: Administration and Management, 18(4). Retrieved from https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume18/1-Implementation-of-Benchmarking.pdf

Wagner, I. (2020, April 6). Revenue of the leading automotive manufacturers worldwide in FY 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/232958/revenue-of-the-leading-car-manufacturers-worldwide/