Risk Management and Quality

Risk Management and Quality Management: Learnings from Other Industries

Theresa A. Atkins

University Of Phoenix

DHA/712

Riordan Manufacturing is a mid-size American company that was founded in 1991, employs 550 people and has projected annual earnings of $46 million. Riordan has three manufacturing locations, two in the United States and one in China. Riordan stresses the importance of strategic planning in business. Competitive advantages, sustainability, innovation and ethical and social responsibilities will be addressed, as well as cultural and structural leadership and assessment and feedback controls.

Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. needs strategic plans because Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. is like any other business organization; divided into two governing sections of business operations a management section and a functional section. Strategic planning is conceptual and delivers the highest results for business decisions and practices. “Strategic management is a set of managerial decisions and actions that determines how the long-run performance of a corporation” (Wheelen, 2010, p. 4). Strategic plans possess four phase focus on internal, external, and overall policy implementation of their management systems. The four phases of strategic management are financial planning, forecast based planning, externally oriented strategic planning, and strategic management (Wheelen, 2010). The approach was developed to assist large corporations participate in more than one industry; this approach assists in creating and maintaining a competitive advantage, decrease risk, decrease errors, and potentially prevent economic ruin of an organization.

Riordan Manufacturing has more than just a fiscal or legal responsibility to their stakeholders. Riordan has offshore operations in Hangzhou, China, a country well-known for its less than stellar human rights record. As an American company, the company has a responsibility to ensure their business operations...