Desafios em qualidade
: um caso no setor do comércio

  • Nuno Miguel Dias Lopes (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

Competition in the globalized market is becoming increasingly intense. Companies need to stand out by offering differentiated value to customers in order to remain competitive. Customers are more demanding and expect high quality products and services and a more personalized and differentiated service. In this work, a case study was carried out at FCL Ferragens, a family business based in Viseu, with over 35 years of tradition and experience in the sale of hardware for construction and furniture. Two general objectives were defined: to understand the organization and its context; to define strategies aimed at improving internal efficiency, service quality and the organization's competitiveness. A qualitative, descriptive and cross-sectional methodology was used. Data collection was carried out by the researcher in his professional context, based on: (1) his own experience and knowledge of the organization; (2) on-site observation recorded in field notes; (3) document analysis (internal and external); (4) analysis of customer satisfaction (using MAXQDA 24 software); (5) analysis of the company's website and social networks. The study concludes that the implementation of quality tools, albeit partially, contributes to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement within the organization, namely by reducing waste, improving communication and optimizing internal processes. This implementation starts with an assessment of the organization's context, includes building an empowered, motivated and autonomous team, and culminates in continuous improvement practices in order to make the system increasingly robust and adapted to the organization's needs, since it depends to a large extent on the involvement of its human resources. Finally, it can be seen that the company under study integrates good levels of digitalization and has shown great resilience in the face of market challenges, which is reflected in the good results achieved, with good growth rates, financial strength and customer satisfaction. Knowing that SMEs face technological and knowledge gaps that separate them from larger companies, this research contributes to progress in this area of study by providing some practical, real-world tools.
Date of Award16 Jan 2025
Original languagePortuguese
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorClotilde Passos (Supervisor) & António Mendes Ferreira (Co-Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Quality management
  • Quality 4.0
  • Commerce and services
  • SME
  • Furniture
  • Construction

Designation

  • Mestrado em Gestão Aplicada

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