Evaluating the quality of the products released by the company is part and parcel of its existence. Unless a set of efficient quality assessment tools is introduced into the company’s framework of operations, the target customers are most likely to abandon the firm and move on to another organization. However, choosing an appropriate quality assessment and management (QAM) tool is a challenging task, as each has its limitations. A scatter plot is one of these tools (Tools & techniques for process improvement, 2015); helping identify the current tendencies in the quality assurance processes, it allows making forecasts concerning the number of defected items produced and analyze the existing data, therefore, defining the point at which a problem occurred or may occur.
The use of scatter plots is traditionally viewed as an efficient technique for making forecasts (Gray & Larson, 2014). Indeed, scatter plots allow for quick and efficient mapping of the key data by arranging it in a diagram. Defining the trend in the production process with the help of an analysis of the density of the points on the plot and providing an opportunity to locate the possible future outcomes with the use of a trend line (Black, 2011), the specified tool is especially useful for making decisions related to the further choice of resources and the analysis of the possible losses. For instance, the tool in question may help predict an approximate annual gross profit of a company (Tools & techniques for process improvement, 2015). More importantly, a scatter plot should be used as the means to spot the relationship between two specific factors, therefore, proving that a change in one of them will immediately result in alterations in the other one.
The tool in question, in fact, helped me locate a problem in the production process of a small organization and design the pattern for the further financial policy of the firm. As the company that I worked for approached the point at which it was supposed to enter the global market, a rapid decline in the overall quality rates of the goods produced became increasingly evident. It was suspected that, by switching to another supplier, the entrepreneurship suffered a decline in the quality-related statistics.
An analysis of the past ten years of the entrepreneurship’s operations showed that the company displayed a noticeable drop in its production quality in March 2015, the time that the first instance of cooperation with the new suppliers occurred. The specified estimation was carried out with the help of a scatter plot; particularly, the correlation between the number of defects and the choice of the supplier was identified. As the scatter plot showed, entrepreneurship was suffering from a significant drop in the quality of the materials supplied, which, in turn, triggered an overall downgrade in the products delivered by the organization.
The significance of a scatter plot as one of the tools used in quality management is not to be underestimated, as it helps locate not only the correlation between two factors but also provides a forecast for a company. Therefore, its use should be encouraged among the firm managers so that the quality rates could remain high. Moreover, a scatter plot creates solid premises for making forecasts regarding a variety of aspects of a firm’s operations; herein, its significance for businesses lies.
Reference List
Black, K. (2011). Business statistics: For contemporary decision making. New York City, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Web.
Gray, E. W., & Larson, C. F. (2014). Project management: The managerial process (6th ed.). New York City, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. Web.
Tools & techniques for process improvement. (2015). Web.