Posted: August 5th, 2017

Preparing for employment in the current environment and increasing responsibilities within modern business

Required

Sower, V.E. (2011). Essentials of Quality. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

ISBN: 978047050959 Read Chapter 1 in textbook Read EBSCO article: “What Matters Most: Time, Cost or Quality?” (2013). MultiLingual, 24(8), 14. Read EBSCO article: Colvin, G. (2014). MARY BARRA’S (UNEXPECTED) OPPORTUNITY. Fortune, 170(5), 102-110.

Quality Management

Welcome to our classroom! I hope you are as excited as I am to get started this term. We have so much learning to do and I know you will leave this classroom with many tools and techniques pertaining to quality to take with you to the workplace. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s begin with a few tips to get you started. First, be sure that you have reviewed the course syllabus, the course policies, and the announcements. Starting here will give you a solid look at what is expected this term. The announcements will be updated frequently and will contain details pertaining to the course and what to expect each week. Be sure that you take the time to review the announcements thoroughly and check them often to ensure that you are not missing any important information.

Each week you will have a discussion and assignment to complete. The forums do require that you respond to at least two (2) of your classmates, so be sure that you are proactive and participating. There will be a midterm project and a final project this term. The midterm project and the final project are already available for you to review, so I would suggest taking a look at these to ensure that you are prepared. You may even find that starting early on these will be beneficial to you.

Be sure to review the PowerPoint lectures and the written lectures each week as these will help you tremendously in preparing for your projects. These will also be great tools in assisting you along the way as you complete your work. Allow yourself time throughout the week to get through all of the material as you will find it to be helpful.

There are many references listed throughout your lecture materials as well as within your assignments. In the instance you would like to review any of these materials, simply log into the Grantham University library by clicking on the Resources tab from the main page. You will then log into EBSCOHost. Once you have accessed the database, simply copy and paste the title of the article and press enter to search and you should now have the file accessible to review.

Sample Questions

Each week at the conclusion of the first lecture, I will provide you with a few sample questions to prepare you for your learning. Be sure to review these questions and answers to ensure that you are grasping the concepts of the materials at both the start and finish of each week. If you feel your response would be different from that of which I have indicated, you may want to take another glance at the course materials for the week.

We study quality _______________________

to prepare for employment in the current environment. to prepare for increasing responsibilities within modern business. to emphasize the small role it plays in services and production Both a and b. Neither a or b. Answer: 4

From the 18th to the 20th century industry moved from the craftsman concept to the concept(s) of __________________________________.

specialization of labor scientific management mass production a and b only a, b, and c Answer: 5

The invention of interchangeable parts made adherence to _____________________ vital.

Quality Specifications Management Design None of the above Answer: 2

_______________is credited with inventing the term quality.

Socrates Deming Shewhart Plato Taguchi Answer: 4

Customers within an organization are _______________.

External Internal Unimportant Unknown Secondary Answer: 2

Keep an open line of communication open with your instructor and your classmates. Online learning does not mean that you are alone. Utilize the forum for open discussion about course concepts and your learning. If there are issues or you find yourself confused, utilize the Ask the Professor forum or send a personal email to me for assistance. I am here to assist you along the way and look forward to working with you this term.

Introduction to Quality

This week we get started with learning about the importance of quality. You might find that your initial idea of what quality is may change by the time that you complete this course. Don’t worry as this is a good thing and you will be looking at products and services in a new light over the next eight weeks. I am excited to share my knowledge with you this term and look forward to working with you, so let’s get started.

In week one, you will be introduced to what quality is and what that means within the workplace. Some might assume that the quality standards for one product would be the same as for another put out by the same company, however, this would be a tad inaccurate. You will learn this week about the importance of understanding and knowing your products and services individually, as well as knowing and understanding your customers.

Consider a service that has recently been provided to you and think about how you felt after leaving the location. Were you satisfied? The company that provided the service certainly hopes you were, however, they may never truly know unless they see you come back again. This is common for many companies and this alone can be challenging to a company. It is important as a business owner to know and understand your customers to determine their needs. It is also important to determine whether or not you have satisfied these needs. Failing to do so can mean trouble for your company down the road.

Personal Experience

Have you ever had to make a phone call for technical support or assistance with a bill? What happened during the time in which you initially made the call to the time in which you received a representative? Did you experience many phone prompts? Did you endure a long wait time? What happened when you were able to speak to a customer service representative? If you are like many others, you spent a few minutes making your way through the prompts to finally hear a human voice on the other end.

If you waited for a period of time to final talk to someone, your attitude might have changed from the time in which you initially called in. I know that there have been times where I have been less than friendly with the representative on the other end simply because it took them 10 minutes to answer my call about an issue that I should not have had to call about in the first place. But, there have been times where the voice on the other line provided exactly the service that I needed and turned by attitude around. It is times like these that keep me coming back as a customer.

Repeat customers show a company that they are doing their job well. However, just because a customer does indeed come back, does not mean that the customer is entirely content. Some may come back simply due to price or convenience. However, these customers may not be spreading the word-of-mouth advertising that you might hope for your company. Taking the time to learn about your customers and what they are looking for in a product or service is essential to your organizations growth and success.

Edward Deming

In the early 1950’s, Edward Deming became a very popular name among companies looking to provide quality to their customers (Sower, 2011). In fact, Mr. Deming established what is known as the Deming chain reaction. This theory was presented in order to show a company the impact that quality has on their organization. The chain reaction is a series of events starting with the improvement of quality. Taking the time to improve quality will lead to a decrease in costs. When costs decrease, productivity improves. Because productivity has improved, there is an increase in market share. This increase in market share leads to a successful organization that continues to grow. When a company grows, more jobs become available. This chain reaction creates a successful business and works within the economy (Sower, 2011).

Again, think about the companies that you do business with. Do you feel the chain reaction applies to them? If a company is not growing, chances are there could be a glitch along the chain which will eventually lead to failure. As a business owner, think about the changes you might make to improve your product or service to ensure that you are following the trail to success. Chapter 1 will provide you with an introduction to quality and those who played an important role in its development over time. You will be able to examine the difficulty of defining quality. You should be able to discuss the differences between defining quality for manufactured goods and for services upon completing this week’s reading. You should also be able to discuss the major contributors to the quality profession as well as provide an explanation behind the key quality management terms. Upon completing your chapter reading, be sure to review the supplemental materials that are found in your learning material.

Resources:

Sower, V.E. (2011). Essentials of Quality. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

W1 Discussion “Quality in the Workplace” Quality Management Quality in the Workplace

This week you have learned what quality is and the role that it plays within the workplace. Thinking about your workplace, where might you find a need for quality improvement? This could be a department, a product, a service, etc. If you are not currently employed, you may use a previous employer or a fictional example. Use documentation to support your ideas.

Your initial response should be a minimum of 150 words. Your work should be in your own words and should include research to support your response. Be sure to avoid Wikipedia as a resource as this is not a reliable source. Include your resources at the end of your response. Once you have completed your response, you will want to respond to at least two (2) of your classmates responses. Please remember that your responses to your classmates should be substantive and should promote additional discussion within the classroom. Simple “I agree” responses will not be counted towards your participation grade.