1. Describe the conditions that Xerox faced when deciding to launch Leadership Through Quality, is the customer strategy.

Xerox had lost sight of the customer Its products did not reflect the requirements of the customer such that competition had entered the market created by them and had achieved a market share which threatened the operations of Xerox.There was no proper policy focused on quality and there was need to for the company to review its present procedures to ensure quality at all stage while keeping the customer needs as based requirement for each process.There was lack of proper mechanism to capture feedback from customers while also lack of mechanism to support its client in operation of Xerox products. This caused a lack of repeat business and self-referral by the client for more business. There was lack of proper reward mechanism to support this part of the chain.There was need to focus the management structure on operating under proper quality targeted guidelines which also help to develop leadership skills and foster teamwork. There was lack of proper evaluation mechanism and indicators to ascertain that targets leading to quality were achieved to the satisfaction or higher than expectations of the client.

2. Discuss some of the tools Xerox uses to gather the views of the customer and assess customer satisfaction.Tools used: Customer visits Customer councils Focus Groups Executive Communication Exchange Surveys Customer queries and complaints Customer problem management system Market research3. Discuss Xerox's process focus and its relationship to business results.Xerox process focus details each process in the product life cycle and blends same with its core values which focus on internal and external stakeholder satisfaction. Each process is structured to be dependent on each other but also governed by the principle of quality. To ensure this quality, each process has its own benchmarking tools or guidance ones to ensure that the customer focus is present at each stage. At the marketing stage, the use of information input channels ensure that the right product is being sold in the right market to maximize on market share. Input come from user groups, customer councils, focus groups, ECEs, market research and benchmarking tools. These input shape the marketing strategy and ensure that the right product is sold to the right company. Eventually this helps to achieve the customer satisfaction desired. Xerox uses a further tool for managing customers through an account management process to ensure its presence alongside the customer but also keep in touch with the latter. This allow gathering information/feedback from the customer and define or re-define the customer requirement along time.Input from the Words of the customer can then be fed back in the production line to the research and development section. This ensure that work will be done according to what the market or the customer is requiring, hence ensuring a perenity of business and an always up-to-date product be developed. At the same time, this ensures that resources are being used optimally in development and various aspects such as quality, cost and delivery may be further refined or tailored to the expectations of Xerox and the client. This is achieved through quality function development and product delivery process.The next step in the cycle would be manufacturing, whereby Xerox further tests its products to check whether it conforms to the requirement of customers before going in the market. This is achieved through early warning and beta test, which have the advantage of ensuring that expenditure is not incurred in manufacturing products that will not be competitive and may jeopardize the stand of the company on the market. It ensures that only quality products which match client satisfaction will be available on the market while also not jeopardizing the companys reliability of providing products of high quality and deemed for customer satisfaction. It strengthen its position towards the client and other potential ones. Xerox ensures that from the customer point of view, its products will maintain a good level of installability and operability and hence remain customer friendly and reliable from the point of view of the customer.The next main step in the loop is the Customer operations whereby Xerox ensures through the Account management process that maximum presence and support is felt by the customer. This is achieved through customer surveys, market surveys, query, complaint and problem management systems. From the customer point of view, this will result to an increased reliability belief in not only the product of the Xerox but also in the services it can provide. Xerox builds more in terms of visibility while also ensures that the customer understand that it is supportive of the customers business. Eventually, this increases the probability to achieve customer satisfaction while ensuring that Xerox do not lose market share but actually be able to gain more through client referral. Information gathered at this step is again fed back into the loop and will eventually lead to defining the marketing strategies and restart of the cyle.At the end, Xerox ensure that its proximity and ability to satisfy the client is synchronized with the use of its resources. It ensures that the right products are produced for increased probability of sale and eventually return business and client referral.

4. Identify the activities and initiatives that Xerox uses to drive a customer focus into the organisation. Map each of these onto one or more of the stages of the Managing for Results Process in Display 2. Explain how each relates to the stage where you placed it.

Philosophy/valuesXerox six principles: We succeed through satisfied customers. We value our employees. We aspire to deliver quality and excellence in all we do. We require a premium return on assets. We use technology to develop market leadership. We behave responsibly as a corporate citizen.

Above set out the main beliefs that actually shapes the different operations of the company. They not only showcase the values for external operations (towards the client) but also the internal operations such as the relationship with employees. This ensure that the company operates in a framework which englobes all stakeholders and ensures satisfaction at all level. Here the customer focus, the good industrial relationship, the quest for quality, the needs of the investor (shareholder), its position towards competitors and it relationship towards the society are all englobed. This ensures that all operation of the company are backed by a sound, healthy philosophy and showcase the good values that the products of the company and its operations will have.This sets out the main guiding framework for all operations and hence the philosophy and values behind its operations towards all stakeholders.

Mission and VisionMission: Focusing on the Customer satisfaction

Goals Customer satisfaction Ensure repeat business and referred to other clients by present ones Ensure good market share and leadership

Strategies

Priorities Customer satisfaction Return on assets Market share

Objectives Increase revenue growth with greater focus on awareness and coverage. Develop more reliable new products in less time, at less cost. Improve productivity by simplifying the way we do business. Improve employee satisfaction and motivation through increased empowerment.

Measurements six-step Problem-Solving Process nine-step Quality Improvement Process Competitive Benchmarking an emphasis on error prevention and doing things right the first time techniques for determining the cost of quality

5. What other opportunities does Xerox have for driving a customer focus into the business?

6. Describe how Xerox's culture encourages and supports continual improvement and innovation?