DEPAUL UNIVERSITY

The Kellstadt Graduate School of Business

Winter Quarter 2001

MGT 508: Quality Management Systems

Naperville Campus

INSTRUCTOR:Dr. Rohit Verma

Office:DePaul Center 7039

Phone: (312) 362-6145

Fax: (312) 362-6973

Email:

Home Page:

Course Description

The foundation of this course is on the emergence of Total Quality Management (TQM) as a strategic focus in firms seeking excellence and a competitive edge. The course applies TQM concepts, Malcolm Baldrige criteria for performance excellence, Six-Sigma concepts and ISO9000 quality evaluation criteria to examine issues in managing quality in both manufacturing and service businesses. Emphasis is placed on TQM principles, continuous improvement and process reengineering concepts, and managerial roles and responsibilities throughout the design, implementation and operation of quality processes. Case studies illustrate the issues related to the implementation of successful quality management programs.

Course Materials

  • The Six Sigma Way: How GE, Motorola, and Other Top Companies are Honing Their Performance, by Pande, Neuman, and Cavanagh, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, 2000.
  • Harvard Business School Case Study Packet.
  • 2001 Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.

PerformanceEvaluation:

In-Class Quizzes (35%)

There will three in-class quizzes (Feb 19th, Feb 26th and Mar 4th) based on topics covered in class during the previous class sessions. Quizzes will contain short answer questions and/or mini-cases.

Assignments (15%)

Conceptual or data collection exercises will be assigned to students during each class session. The purpose of the assignments is to bring "real world" issues into the classroom setting. Aggregate information collected from students will be presented/discussed in class.

Take Home Final Examination (35%)

The FINAL CASE will probably be based on Melcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. The student GROUPS (size = 3) will have to critically examine and evaluate quality management systems of a company which has applied for the Baldrige Award.

Here is my general guideline for evaluating case write-ups:

Analysis
  1. Does the write-up contain analyses of major issues?
  2. Does the analysis incorporate concepts from class discussions and readings?
  3. Does the analysis show the relationships among important factors in the situation?
  4. Are assumptions made in the analysis stated explicitly?
  5. Does the analysis isolate the fundamental causes of problems?
Recommended Action
  1. Are the criteria for selecting recommendations stated?
  2. Is the plan of action integrated in a logical way and linked to the analysis?
  3. Does the action plan recognize the importance of timing?
  4. Is the action plan specific and complete?
Exhibits
  1. Are analyses in the exhibits done correctly?
  2. Do the key exhibits support and add to the text on key points/issues?
Overall Evaluation
  1. Is the paper logically consistent and effectively structured so it sells its recommendations?
  2. Is there a high likelihood that the recommendations will achieve their intended results?

Class Project (15%): Industry Analysis

The objective of this project is understand and learn from the quality management practices of “world class” companies in both manufacturing and service sectors. Specifically, the project involves the following:

  1. Select an industry, and a particular company in that industry
  2. Describe the market structure (customer needs; major players in the market,…)
  3. Describe the quality management standards/concepts/practices in the industry
  4. Describe how your chosen company practices quality. Critically examines how their practice compares to the rest of the industry. Also provide directions for further improvement.

The students teams (size = 3) will have to present their research approx. 20 minutes followed by a 10 minutes of question/answer session. Approx. half of the presentation time should be spend on the analysis on the chosen company.

No written report is required however the teams should submit a copy of the visual aids and references used in the presentation.

Note: The presentations will be peer-reviewed by all participants in the class.

Class Participation

This is an applied course and consequently, the majority of time will be devoted on the discussion of the selected topics. Most of the learning in this course will take place through the interaction among students and with the instructor. Hence, active participation in discussions in a must. This requires a careful reading of all assigned material and a reasonable amount of preparation for discussion ahead of each class session.

Plagiarism

According to the DePaul University Bulletin, and the DePaul University Student Handbook:

Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited. Plagiarism refers to the use of materials from books, notes, and in other sources, in the student’s written work without due credit to the sources used; it is the presentation of materials as if these are the student’s own. Cheating refers to securing or giving help in a test, unauthorized copying of tests, assignments, reports, team papers, etc....

SCHEDULE

February 10

Session I (10 a.m. – 1 p.m.)

Introduction

Determinants of Product and Service Quality

Finkelman and Goland. The Case of the Complaining Customer, Harvard Business School Press, #90304.

Session II (2 p.m. – 5 p.m.)

Quality Management Philosophies

Criteria for Performance Excellence

March and Garvin. A Note on Quality: The Views of Deming, Juran and Crosby, Harvard Business School Press, #9-687-011.

2001 Criteria for Performance Excellence (download from

February 23

Session I (2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.)

Six Sigma Quality Management Approach

Heskett. GE: We Bring Good Things to Life, Harvard Business School Press, #9-899-162

Session II (6 p.m. – 9 p.m.)

Balanced Scorecard Approach

Kaplan and Norton. Balanced Scorecard: Measures that Drive Performance, Harvard Business School Press, #92105.

Kaplan and Norton. Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System, Harvard Business School Press, #96107.

Kaplan. City of Charlotte (A) and (B), Harvard Business School Press, #9-199-036 and #9-199-043

February 24

Session I (2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.)

ISO9000, QS9000, ISO14000 Quality Standards

Gleave and Haywood-Farmer. COM DEV XI’AN: ISO9000 Registration, Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, #9A98D009.

Klein and Kanter. Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige, Harvard Business School Press, #9-396-219.

Session II (6 p.m. – 9 p.m.)

Quality in the Information Age

Prahalad and Krishnan. The New Meaning of Quality in the Information Age, Harvard Business School Press, #99508.

Klein, Sasser, and Jones. The Ritz-Carlton: Using Information Systems to Better Serve the Customers, #9-395-064

March 9

Session 1 (2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.)

Customer Focus, Leadership and Strategic Planning for Quality

Senge "The Leader's Work: Building Learning Organizations" Sloan Management Review, Fall 1990.

Johnson, Schlesinger, MacIssac and Jick. Xerox Corporation: Leadership Through Quality (A), Harvard Business School Press, #9-490-008.

Session II (6 p.m. – 9 p.m.)

Human Resource Development and Group Dynamics

Leonard and Straus "Putting Your Company's Whole Brain to Work" Harvard Business Review, July-August 1997.

Strebel "Why Do Employees Resist Change" Harvard Business Review, May-June 1996.

March 10

Session 1 (10 a.m. – 1 p.m.)

Process Management

Shapiro, Watkins, and Rosegrant. Measure of Delight: The Pursuit of Quality at AT&T Universal Card Services, Harvard Business School, #9-694-047.

Session II ( 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.)

Project Presentations

March 21

FINAL CASE WRITE-UP ASSIGNMENT DUE

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About the Instructor: Rohit Verma

I am an Assistant Professor of Operations Management in the Department of Management at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. I also teach in the Digital Technology Management track of the International MBA program of the Helsinki School of Economics, Finland. I was a Visiting Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing, University of Sydney, Australia for the period of July - December 1998.

I hold a Ph.D. in operations management and an M.S. in engineering from the University of Utah, and a B. Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (India). My research interests include Product/Service Design, Quality and Process Improvement, quantitative research methods and Business Education. My research has appeared in the Journal of Operations Management, Omega, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of Service Research, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Journal of Hospitality and tourism Research, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly and Powder Technology and has been funded by the Marketing Science Institute, American Production and Inventory Control Society, DePaul University Research Council, and the United States Forest Service. Professionally, I have consulted with the First Chicago/NBD corporation and independent management consulting firms on issues related to product & service design, experimental design, quality/process improvement and computer simulation.

I Love teaching. Over the past six years, I have taught many classes in Operations/Quality Management, Service Management, and Quantitative Methods. I feel that the nature of the businesses cannot be understood by a simple equation or by taking a single perspective. Business Administration is not a simple process and a multi-disciplinary approach is needed to address complex management issues. Often more than one tool (quantitative or qualitative) is necessary to completely analyze and solve business problems. My teaching style is, therefore, applied and interdisciplinary in nature. I bring a variety of illustrative videos, computer programs and articles from academic and practitioner-based publications to class, to provide further insight into business management related issues. My teaching approach is a combination of formal lectures, discussions and problem solving sessions, case analysis, field trips and guest lectures. I try not to "tell the answers" but try to help students so they can "find” the answers themselves.

As a facilitator of learning, I don't mind spending long hours with the students. However, I do not believe in giving easy examinations or lowering the standards of the class. As a teacher, it is my job is to help students learn, in addition to letting the students complete the requirements for graduation.