Quality Function Deployment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Quality Function Deployment - Essay Example QFD also differs in the fact that it concentrates more on adding new features and components according to customer needs and expectations rather then simply focusing on eliminating features or components not required by the customer. The QFD institute describes QFD as a comprehensive quality design method that: The following essay will start with a brief look on the evolution of QFD and its expansion to the rest of the world. This will be followed by a discussion on the framework of house of quality (HoQ) as well as the elements that forms part of the HoQ. The next sections will then cover the advantages and the benefits offered by the method which will be followed by a discussion on the drawbacks of the method. The roots of QFD can be traced back to United States in 1940s with the emergence of 'value engineering'. Due to limited reources at General Moters (GM), alternative designs were considered and it often resulted in better product and lower cost. This led the management at GM to investigate and develop effective ways to improve value and resulted in launching of the program 'value analysis' (VA) in 1947 with tremendous success. In 1954, Department of Defense's bureau of Ships embraced a similar approach in it procurement activities and named its programme 'value engeenering'. However, Jiang, Shiu and Tu mention that even though the initial concept of quality originated in the United States, early industrial applications predominantly took place at Japanese companies (30). After the World War II, Japan's industry was devastated and Japanese begun rebuilding the industry with the help of Americans. Quality was given a significant importance, leading to the establishment of statistical quality control in Japanese manufacturing industry. The quality management activities at the time were concerned with quality of the product during the manufacturing process or after. During this time, Professors Shigeru Mizuno and Yoji Akao focused on developing a quality assurance method that would integrate customer satisfaction into the product even before the product was manufactured. Based on this concept, Mizuno and Akao subsequently published their first book on the topic in 1978 (Jiang, Shiu and Tu 33). In 1966, Mr Kiyotaka Oshiumi of Bridgestone Tire in Japan was presented with a process assurance items table. This table had a fishbone diagram showing the links from the substitute quality characteristics, which were converted from true qualities (customer needs), to the process factors. A further field of 'Design Viewpoints' was later added to this table. (Akao and Mazur 21) Although the idea was presented to various companies for trails, it did not generate much public interest at the time. Akao and Mazur mention that the approach at the time was still inadequate in terms of setting the design quality (21). However, this changed with the creation of quality chart by the Kobe Shipyards of Mitsubishi Heavy Industry in 1972. Their table indicated the true quality (customer needs) in terms of function and then showed the relationship between these

Womens Political Participation in Iraq Research Proposal

Womens Political Participation in Iraq - Research Proposal Example In this vein my dissertation explores whether these expectations have been achieved five years down the lane since the Iraq war. My initial research in the field of investigation of 'women and political participation' as I sifted through academic and political commentaries pertaining to the issue of women and empowerment reveals that there is a recurring trend of the problems that women face throughout the globe. It is also possible to see that the women's participation in the democratic process in Iraq can be divided into historical phases. Whereas the decade of the sixties witnessed a growth in the number of more politically aware women in the country's economic, political and civil spheres of the society particularly through the public/government sector. The advent of the Bathist party in the early seventies also saw the "Education for all" initiative which made women's liberation a supreme tenet of its agenda based upon the prevalent socialist ideology .This is did little for the private sphere as the Muslim Shariah laws were discriminatory against women. Things did not look good for the development of the "Women's liberation" in the mid eighties which witnessed an Iraq tumultuously struggling in the Iraq-Iran conflict and the birth of an increasingly secularist state which targeting the clerical fundamentalist minority of the country's political arena. The subsequent suppression of this fundamentalist element caused social conservatism so where as the women were active economically but politically their position weakened and this caused the decade to witness an increased breach of women's rights and liberties. The nineties saw a wave of religious fundamentalism backed by the public sector and there was an increase in Burqa and Hij ab clad women and there were less women in the work force and colleges. The decaying economy and the decreased salaries were equally pivotal in discouraging women's work and education. It is often said that the condition of women's liberation and empowerment was worse under Saddam's regime than compared to Afghan women under the Taliban and it is often argued that the political and economic status of women was greatly brutalized under Saddam.At the end of the war it is estimated that only 25% of Iraqi women are literate and nearly 20% of the women are employed. (UNESCO estimates). Literature Review Proposed Division of Chapters in the literature review It is intended that this literature review will consist of 4 chapters Chapter 1, Women Political Participation Global facts and figures; this will include the number of seats that