MGT 449 All DQs

Week 1

What is poor quality? What are some effects of poor quality? How do the effects of poor quality affect an organization?

What would the world be like without quality? What would be the impact on domestic and global markets?

Which factors of globalization are affecting quality?

How might globalization affect your product or service and organization as it tries to achieve quality?

Week 2

In general, which components of a strategic plan relate to quality? How does an organizations strategic plan incorporate its process improvement plan, which may include reducing waste or increasing efficiency? Provide an example of an organization you are familiar with to illustrate this relationship.

What is a SWOT analysis? Consider an organization you are familiar with or an organization you select through research. How would a SWOT analysis be incorporated into the quality process during the planning phase?

As part of the continuous improvement process, what are some reasons a company would want to develop a strategic alliance with its supplier?

What is the definition of a customer? What are some examples of internal and external customers? Is the measurement of customer satisfaction different for internal customers than for external customers?

Week 3

How may ISO 9001 improve quality for the organization and the consumer?

How can just-in-time manufacturing (JIT) be incorporated into your organization? How would JIT manufacturing affect quality in your organization?

What factors contribute to the quality orientation of an organization? How might an organization incorporate quality into its culture? What are the biggest challenges you would face when creating a quality culture in your own organization?

What are two or three quality management tools used in data collection? What types of quality management tools do you utilize to make personal or business decisions? How do you use these tools in the decision-making process?

Week 4

What is a process? Identify some processes in your organization and briefly map the terms, process inputs, outputs, and goals. How does process improvement affect a firm's strategic plan?

Define process analysis. What steps would you take to analyze a process? What are the best methods to evaluate and improve a given process?

How might your organization use data to reduce variation in a process? What do you think the results would yield? Provide an example of a time your organization, or an organization with which you are familiar, gathered specific data and applied quality management tools to analyze and make recommendations about quality.

When recommending a quality improvement strategy, what key elements should be included in a process improvement recommendation presentation? How would you present the recommendations, and what data and tools would you use during the presentation?

Why has your organization analyzed and implemented quality improvement strategies in the past?

Week 5

What are the most important steps an organization must follow to implement a quality program? How does the role of management affect implementation?

How does a formalized quality program create a competitive advantage for an organization? How would you recommend an organization overcome resistance to change when implementing such a plan?

What changes would you make to improve the quality in your department or organization?

What challenges do you foresee in creating and implementing a quality management system in your organization?