5W1H

5W1H is a well-known quality management technique that is based on six trigger questions: What? Why? Where? When? Who? and How?.

These are useful in collecting information to ensure the fulfillment of a certain action plan, diagnose a problem and design solutions. It can be generically view in two ways, with the change of the end question:

- To find the root problem cause:

o What is the problem?

o Why does it occur?

o Where is it located?

o When does it occur?

o Who is involved?

o How did it appear?

Strategy for productivity improvement

Strategy for productivity improvement research the eight final recommendations for productivity improvement are summed up as follows:

Strengthen work measurement and methods improvements: Works study and industrial engineering practices need to be strengthened in apparel factories. The dependence on past time standards must give way to scientific work measurements and method improvements. Factories could gradually wove towards a fully developed industrial engineering department.

Initiate supervisor and manager training: A study of the factors associated with productivity levels clearly establishes that the factory management must adopt modern practices to achieve higher productivity.

Set up operations training cell: It is absolutely essential to start an in house operator training program for skill as well as work culture, so that the operators are made aware of how to achieve world- class performance

Strength quality system: It is important that factories implement quality systems for the total organization. The aim should be to eliminate rejects and to reduce repair levels substantially.

Strategic technology up grade: Technology level has shown significant positive correlation with productivity. Factories need to use more specialized machines in spreading, cutting, sewing, and finishing areas. It is important that the factories draw up a strategic plan for the technology up grading

Introduce productivity measurement systems: After implementing the above stated recommendations for productivity improvement, the factory should be ready to implement productivity measurement and comparison systems. This will help the factory to record, measure and communicate performance at different levels as to provide data for internal and external benchmarking.

Strengthen production planning and scheduling: As the management team is likely to equipped with better techniques, operators are well trained and productivity measurement systems are put in place, so that the factory can concentrate on strengthening production planning and scheduling. The aim should be the maximum utilization of productive resources of the factory.

Introduce incentive scheme:  The productivity gains will not be sustainable if the workers and staff do not reap the benefits of higher productivity. As the factories are likely to have already gained substantially through implementation of the recommendation on productivity measurement, it is the right time to draw up an incentive plan for the workforce that encouraged higher performance and rewards it suitably.

 

Source: Bheda, 2009

Consumer behaviour and the marketing mix

Consumer behaviour provides a range of concepts to help fashion marketers think about their customers, and marketing research provides the techniques to measure those concepts. Consumer behaviour is also closely integrated with all other aspects of fashion marketing, but most notably with the selection of target markets and the development of marketing mixes.

The study of consumer behaviour not only provides a framework for identifying consumer needs and target markets, but it also enables the anticipation of consumer responses to marketing action. When studying the consumer the interest lies not only in describing what is the case, but also in predicting future behaviour.