| Course | APS-4020 Applied Quality Management |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Written assignment: planning and execution for competitive advantage |
| Length | About 504 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | B.S.B.A. in Operations Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for APS 4020 Module 2
Dependable Every Morning: A Quality-Based Strategic Plan for a Wholesale Bakery
Student Name
B.S.B.A. in Operations Management, Thomas Edison State University
APS-4020: Applied Quality Management
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Dependable Every Morning: A Quality-Based Strategic Plan for a Wholesale Bakery
Why a Plan Now
Last spring two supermarket chains moved their bagel orders, about 9 percent of our sales, to a larger bakery in Clifton. Their buyers said our products were good but our deliveries were sometimes late and bag weights varied. Quality had become a strategic problem.
Strategic Analysis
Goetsch and Davis (2020) describe strategic planning as a process that begins with understanding the organization's situation, then sets a vision, mission and broad objectives, and finally plans specific tactics. A SWOT analysis summarizes the situation.
The analysis shows that our product is not the problem; dependability is.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Recipes customers like; loyal deli and restaurant accounts; experienced bakers | Late deliveries on 6 percent of routes; bag weights vary; no quality data |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| Growing demand for fresh local products in supermarkets; two chains seeking new suppliers | Larger competitors with automated lines; rising flour and fuel costs |
Vision, Mission and Broad Objectives
Vision: to be the most dependable wholesale bakery in North Jersey, delivering fresh, consistent products before our customers open.
Mission: we bake bagels, rolls and breads to recipes our customers trust and deliver them complete, correct and on time every morning.
| Broad objective | Measure | Target in 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| On-time delivery | Deliveries arriving before the customer's opening time | From 94 to 99 percent |
| Weight accuracy | Bags within 2 percent of labeled weight | From 88 to 98 percent |
| Returns and refusals | Share of deliveries returned or refused | From 2.3 to under 1 percent |
Execution
Kaynak (2003) found in a study of manufacturing and service firms that total quality practices, including management leadership, training, employee relations and supplier quality, improved financial and market performance largely through their effect on operational performance such as quality and delivery. That supports focusing first on operations. Sousa and Voss (2002), reviewing quality management research, caution that practices should fit an organization's context, which for a small bakery means starting with a few measures everyone can see. Execution will include a route review with drivers to fix the 6 percent of late runs, weight checks at the bagging station every hour, recorded on a simple chart, a monthly meeting of bakers, packers and drivers to review the three measures and a quarterly call to each major customer.
Who Owns Each Objective
The night production supervisor owns weight accuracy, the delivery manager owns on-time delivery and the owner owns the returns objective, since returns reflect every part of the operation. Each owner will report monthly at a short meeting where the three measures are posted, and any measure that misses its monthly milestone for two months running will get a focused improvement project. Putting names next to objectives turns the plan from a statement of hopes into commitments the bakery can track.
Conclusion
The lost accounts showed that quality for our customers means dependability. A plan that sets a clear vision and three measurable objectives, and executes through operations, is the bakery's best path to winning back supermarket business.
References
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2020). Quality management for organizational excellence: Introduction to total quality (9th ed.). Pearson.
Kaynak, H. (2003). The relationship between total quality management practices and their effects on firm performance. Journal of Operations Management, 21(4), 405-435. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-6963(03)00004-4
Sousa, R., & Voss, C. A. (2002). Quality management re-visited: A reflective review and agenda for future research. Journal of Operations Management, 20(1), 91-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-6963(01)00088-2
APS 4020 Module 2 instructions, in plain terms
APS-4020's six written assignments, worth 20 percent together, are not tied to modules in the syllabus, so this page shows one alongside Module 2, which deals with planning and execution for competitive advantage. You will link quality to strategy, analyze an organization's situation, write a vision, mission and broad objectives that include quality and plan execution. Goetsch and Davis's chapter on strategic planning is the base, and research on quality practices and performance adds evidence. Make objectives measurable with baselines and targets, and show how execution reaches the operations that produce quality. Name who will own each objective and how progress will be reviewed. A SWOT table helps when each entry leads somewhere.
How the APS 4020 Module 2 example is put together
The paper opens with lost accounts and the buyers' reasons, which make quality strategic. Goetsch and Davis's planning steps structure the paper, beginning with a SWOT table that shows dependability, not product, as the weakness. A vision, mission and three measurable objectives follow, with baselines and targets in a table. Kaynak's study supports executing through operations, and Sousa and Voss's review supports adapting practices to context. Execution includes a route review, hourly weight checks, monthly cross-function meetings and customer calls. Each objective is given an owner, with monthly reporting and a rule for launching an improvement project when a target slips. The SWOT table shows the problem is dependability, not product.
Where the marks sit in the APS 4020 Module 2 rubric
Credit in this assignment comes from a strategic analysis grounded in evidence, a vision and mission that make quality central, measurable objectives, an execution plan that reaches operations and APA writing. Papers that connect customers' reasons for leaving to objectives show strategic thinking. Research linking quality practices to performance strengthens the case. Specific execution steps with owners and measures show practical judgment. Clear tables help readers check the plan. Mentors also look for ownership and review, since objectives without owners rarely move. A strategy table such as a SWOT earns credit only when it points to the objectives that follow from it, so link each weakness to a target. Clear ownership of each target also earns credit.
APS 4020 Module 2 help: mistakes that cost marks
Students lose points by writing vision statements with no measures, by listing SWOT items unrelated to quality or by ending with objectives but no execution. Start with evidence of a competitive problem, analyze the situation, state a vision and mission that customers would recognize, set measurable objectives and explain how operations will achieve them. A free first draft of your APS-4020 Module 2 assignment can be built on your organization. Put a name and a review date next to each objective so the plan can be followed. Test every objective by asking whether a customer would notice if it were met; if not, choose a different measure.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More APS 4020 and B.S.B.A. in Operations Management sample papers
- APS 4020 Module 1: Written Assignment: What Organizational Excellence Would Mean for a Wholesale Bakery
- APS 4020 Module 3: Discussion: Day-Old Bread, Honest Labels and a Bakery's Responsibilities
- APS 4020 Module 4: Written Assignment: Leading the Change From Inspection to a Quality Culture
- APS 4020 Module 5: Discussion: Should a Wholesale Bakery Seek ISO 9001 Certification?
- APS 4020 Module 6: Written Assignment: Check Sheets, a Pareto Chart and a Fishbone for Bakery Returns
- APS 4020 Module 7: Written Assignment: Control Charts for Bagel Bag Weights
- APS 4020 Module 8: Written Assignment: A Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle to Get the Trucks Out on Time
- APS 4020 Module 9: Discussion: What Lean Means for a Bakery That Already Bakes to Order
- APS 4020 Module 10: Final Project: Quality Management in a Local Organization, a Paterson Wholesale Bakery
- OPM 4150 Module 5: Final Project: A Logistics Strategy for a Restaurant Supply Distributor
- OPM 3010 Module 3: Written Assignment: Where to Build a Second Bakery
- OPM 4200 Module 5: Case Assignment: Taming the Bullwhip With Dealer Data
APS 4020 Module 2 questions, answered
Where can I find a free APS 4020 Module 2 sample paper?
The written assignment above builds a quality-based strategic plan for a wholesale bakery that lost supermarket accounts.
What are the steps of strategic planning in quality management?
Analyzing the situation, setting a vision, mission and broad objectives, and planning specific tactics and execution.
How do quality practices affect firm performance?
Kaynak found they improve financial and market performance largely through better operational performance.
What should a quality objective include?
A measure, a baseline and a target with a date, such as on-time delivery from 94 to 99 percent in a year.
What does the APS-4020 midterm cover?
The first five modules, tested in two proctored hours with multiple-choice items and short essays.