Briefly Explain How A Company Can Achieve Lower Production C ✓ Solved

Briefly explain how a company can achieve lower production costs c

Briefly explain how a company can achieve lower production costs and increase productivity by improving the quality of its products and services. Support your comments with references from the literature and cite your sources using APA 6th edition formatting. Explore the Centers for Disease Control's Gateway to communication practice and social marketing. Part A: Read the section on 'Audience' and discuss in detail three things you learned and how this information will guide your public relations and marketing strategies. Part B: Read the sections 'Entertainment Education' and 'Research and Evaluation' and discuss in detail three things you learned.

Paper For Above Instructions

Introduction

Improving product and service quality is not merely a customer-facing endeavor; it is a strategic lever that reduces production costs and increases productivity. Quality initiatives such as total quality management (TQM), Six Sigma, and lean production identify and eliminate defects, streamline processes, and align organizational practices around continuous improvement (Deming, 1986; Pande, Neuman, & Cavanagh, 2000; Womack & Jones, 1996). This paper explains how quality improvements reduce costs and boost productivity, and it summarizes lessons learned from the Centers for Disease Control’s Gateway to communication practice and social marketing website, focusing on the Audience, Entertainment Education, and Research and Evaluation sections (CDC, n.d.-a; CDC, n.d.-b; CDC, n.d.-c).

How Improving Quality Lowers Costs and Raises Productivity

Quality improvements reduce direct and hidden costs associated with defects, rework, warranty claims, and inefficient processes (Crosby, 1979). By preventing defects through robust process design and controls, organizations avoid the expense of correcting errors after production (Juran & Godfrey, 1998). For example, Six Sigma and statistical process control reduce variation and defect rates, resulting in fewer returns, less scrap, and lower inspection costs (Pande et al., 2000).

Higher quality also improves productivity by stabilizing processes and enabling more predictable throughput. Lean principles remove non-value-added activities, reducing cycle time and increasing output per labor hour (Womack & Jones, 1996). Deming’s systemic focus emphasizes that management must design systems that produce quality; when systems are better designed, workers can produce more with the same resources (Deming, 1986).

Quality certification and standards (e.g., ISO 9001) formalize process controls and encourage continuous improvement, often producing measurable cost savings and productivity gains (International Organization for Standardization, 2015). Garvin’s dimensions of quality (performance, reliability, conformance, durability, etc.) provide a framework to prioritize improvements that yield the largest cost and productivity benefits (Garvin, 1987). In sum, investment in quality reduces waste and variation, increases first-pass yield, shortens lead time, and enhances customer satisfaction — all of which lower unit costs and increase effective productivity (Oakland, 2014).

Operational Mechanisms Linking Quality to Cost and Productivity

Key mechanisms include defect prevention (reducing rework/scrap), process standardization (reducing variability and training time), and cross-functional problem-solving (faster root-cause resolution) (Juran & Godfrey, 1998; Pande et al., 2000). Improved supplier quality reduces inbound defects and procurement overhead. Enhanced product reliability lowers after-sales servicing and warranty reserves, improving margins and effective output per resource committed (Garvin, 1987).

CDC Gateway — Part A: Audience (Three Lessons and PR/Marketing Guidance)

Lesson 1: Segment audience by behavioral and psychosocial factors — The CDC Gateway emphasizes that meaningful segmentation goes beyond demographics to include behaviors, beliefs, and barriers to action (CDC, n.d.-a). Guidance: In PR and marketing, build personas that reflect behavioral drivers; tailor messages and channels to segments most likely to adopt desired behaviors (Kotler & Lee, 2008).

Lesson 2: Audience insights drive message framing — The Gateway shows that audience research (qualitative and quantitative) should inform which benefits, values, and tones resonate (CDC, n.d.-a). Guidance: Use formative research to craft value propositions and framing strategies that reduce resistance and increase perceived relevance, improving campaign efficiency and conversion rates (Slater & Rouner, 2002).

Lesson 3: Channel preferences and trusted sources matter — The CDC stresses identifying where audiences get information and whom they trust (CDC, n.d.-a). Guidance: Allocate PR and marketing resources toward channels and influencers that the target audience trusts; this optimizes reach and reduces wasted spend on low-impact channels.

CDC Gateway — Part B: Entertainment Education and Research & Evaluation (Three Lessons)

Lesson 4: Entertainment-education leverages storytelling to change norms — The Entertainment Education section details how narratives, characters, and plotlines influence norms and behaviors over time by modeling and social learning (CDC, n.d.-b). Application: Integrate narrative-based content in campaigns to model desired behaviors and demonstrate benefits in relatable contexts, increasing engagement and behavior adoption.

Lesson 5: Theory-driven design improves message effectiveness — The entertainment-education guidance links interventions to behavioral theories (e.g., social cognitive theory), increasing the chance of sustained change (CDC, n.d.-b). Application: Anchor creative concepts in theoretical constructs (self-efficacy, outcome expectations) to strengthen persuasive impact and measurable outcomes (Bandura, 2004).

Lesson 6: Research and evaluation are essential for accountability and optimization — The Research and Evaluation section emphasizes formative research, process evaluation, and outcome evaluation as pillars of effective campaigns (CDC, n.d.-c). Application: Design PR/marketing programs with built-in metrics and iterative testing to optimize messaging, reduce wasted spend, and demonstrate ROI to stakeholders (Patton, 2008).

Integrated Implications for Business Strategy

Combining quality improvement with audience-centered communication strategies produces synergistic effects: product/service quality reduces costs and supports stronger reputation claims; audience-focused PR/marketing amplifies perceived value, increasing demand and economies of scale (Garvin, 1987; Deming, 1986). Using entertainment-education and rigorous evaluation allows companies to build credibility and continuously refine messaging, which in turn can support premium pricing, lower acquisition costs, and higher utilization of productive capacity.

Conclusion

Improving quality is a cost-saving and productivity-enhancing strategy when implemented through systems thinking, process control, and continuous improvement methods (Deming, 1986; Pande et al., 2000). Communicating those quality gains effectively requires audience segmentation, theory-driven creative approaches (including entertainment-education), and robust evaluation to ensure messages reach and influence intended stakeholders (CDC, n.d.-a; CDC, n.d.-b; CDC, n.d.-c). Together, operational excellence and targeted, evidence-based communications produce measurable reductions in unit cost and increases in organizational productivity.

References

  • Bandura, A. (2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Education & Behavior, 31(2), 143–164.
  • Crosby, P. B. (1979). Quality is free: The art of making quality certain. McGraw-Hill.
  • Deming, W. E. (1986). Out of the crisis. MIT Center for Advanced Engineering Study.
  • Garvin, D. A. (1987). Competing on the eight dimensions of quality. Harvard Business Review, 65(6), 101–109.
  • International Organization for Standardization. (2015). ISO 9001:2015 quality management systems—Requirements. ISO.
  • Juran, J. M., & Godfrey, A. B. (1998). Juran's quality handbook (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  • Oakland, J. S. (2014). Total quality management and operational excellence: Text with cases (4th ed.). Routledge.
  • Pande, P. S., Neuman, R. P., & Cavanagh, R. R. (2000). The Six Sigma way: How GE, Motorola, and other top companies are honing their performance. McGraw-Hill.
  • Womack, J. P., & Jones, D. T. (1996). Lean thinking: Banish waste and create wealth in your corporation. Simon & Schuster.
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.-a). Gateway to communication practice and social marketing: Audience. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.-b). Gateway to communication practice and social marketing: Entertainment Education. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.-c). Gateway to communication practice and social marketing: Research and Evaluation. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/

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