KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

UNDERGRADUATE M&IS 34065

QUALITY ASSURANCE

3.0 CREDIT HOURS

SPRING 2008

I. TO THE STUDENT:

The main objective of this course plan, the syllabus, is to assist you, the student, in preparing yourself before coming to a class presentation, in being able to follow a lecture and participate in class, and in doing the adequate work after class. You are going to participate in informal, un-graded assignments in and out of the classroom that allow you to understand the basic theory behind operations management and the quantitative skill used to make decisions in operations. These assignments will prepare for formal, graded assignments where students are evaluated on their mastery of these skills.

That is the reason, that your instructor has prepared this syllabus with as much detail as possible. It is actually a tool that will enable you to get the most out of this course.

II. COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Quality and its impact on companies’ competitiveness have captured the attention of consumers, industrialists and government officials alike. Under the framework of total quality management, Quality Assurance will focus on process management and continuous improvement. Specific topics that will be examined are: the cost of poor quality; the definition, documentation and diagnoses of a process; measurement system analysis and process capability; Six Sigma as a business philosophy; tools for DMAIC; and the fundamentals of statistical process control.

III. COURSE PREREQUISITE:

M&IS 34060, Operations Management.  Students who have not successfully completed the course prerequisite must withdraw from this class.  While not a prerequisite, a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and basic statistical reasoning would be extremely helpful in doing homework assignments and understanding quantitative concepts. It is assumed that all students have successfully passed M&IS 24056, Fundamental of Business Statistics, as well.  Students who have not successfully completed the course prerequisite must withdraw from this class. You risk deregistration if you have not completed the course prerequisite.  I do not assumed total knowledge of the statistics course, but you should know concepts of sampling distributions, z and t-test statistics, and some competency with interpreting the results of hypothesis-testing procedures.

IV. RATIONALE:

Quality assurance and its related area of Total Quality Management (TQM) may be defined as a quality-centered, customer-focused, and senior-management based process that is designed to achieve an operational mission through quality improvements, enhanced customer relationships, and continuous improvement (Smith and Offodile, 2007).  TQM may be perceived as that basis of a culture, attitude, and resultant organization of a company that aims to provide its customers with products and/or services that satisfy their needs.  In this approach to management, customer satisfaction is seen as perhaps the company’s highest priority since it is management’s belief that it will only be successful if the customer is satisfied and results in retention with continued patronage.  If the customer is not satisfied with a product and/or service, then the end product and/or service does not process the quality attributes desired by the customer and the quality processes that produced it have failed.  Although Deming pioneered TQM in the mid-1940s, his 14 points of quality management formulated the basis of TQM.  The key elements of his philosophy to implement an effective TQM program consisted of six concepts, namely continuous improvement, employee empowerment, benchmarking, just-in-time, Taguchi concepts, and knowledge of TQM tools (Heizer and Render, 2007), which were the elements that were directly surveyed in the present study.  Perhaps continuous improvement of all these operational activities is at the heart of TQM.  Quality is not so much an outcome as a never-ending process of continually improving the quality of what a particular company produces (Chaudron, 2000; Porter, 1996, 2001; Smith and Flanegin, 2006; Smith and Offodile, 2007).  To meet dynamic customer-based needs, companies must be dynamic as well through reinvention and utilization of the concepts of customer relationship management (CRM).              

For continuous improvement to work, management must empower employees. Commitment and personal involvement is required from top management in creating and deploying clear quality values and goals consistent with the objectives of the company, and in creating and deploying well defined systems, methods and performance measures for achieving those goals (Pfeffer, 2001a, 2001b; Pfeffer and Veiga, 1999; Pfeffer, Hatano, and Santalainen, 1995).  These systems and methods guide all quality activities and encourage participation by all employees.  Once empowered, employees will feel that they are an active part of the organization’s decision-making process, which allows them to become self-motivated and thus achieve a greater pride in their work.

Benchmarking is the comparison of one company’s functional performance to that of other companies. It is a means for managers and employees to examine their processes and identify areas of differentiation. This information is then used as the basis for evaluating the company’s own targets and strategies to improve upon company performance.

Just-in-time (JIT) is an inventory management concept that strives to eliminate sources of manufacturing waste by “producing the right part in the right place at the right time” (Block and Hirt, 2002, p. 197).  JIT focuses on minimizing inventory levels to realize costs savings from reduced carrying costs.  The use of a JIT program can improve quality by streamlining the production process through continual improvement by eliminating all non-value added tasks. 

Taguchi-based tools were leveraged by management that viewed quality as an asset as compared to the negative viewpoint of avoiding the economic implications of poor quality.  Taguchi-based tools and methods for dealing with quality problems centered on the design stage of product development and include quality robustness, the quality loss function, and target-oriented quality.   Taguchi-based approaches related losses in monetary units to quantifiable product characteristics by showing that costs increase as product quality moves from what the customer desires.  Therefore, applications of such methods are based on the premise that the product be produced at the specifications wanted by the customer to reduce costs and maintain customer satisfaction.

In order to implement TQM, management and employees must understand the tools of TQM and the philosophies behind quality management.  There are many techniques available to monitor and improve processes and it is critical that these tools are examined to determine and eliminate problems.  One of the most popular methods of ensuring processes meet standards is through statistical process control (SPC) techniques.  These techniques allow management to monitor standards, makes measurements, and take corrective action as a product and/or service is being produced.  A means of ensuring that an operation is producing at the expected quality level is through inspection.  The goal of inspection is to detect a bad process, not correct it.  It is a means of identifying deficiencies so that they may be examined to prevent such variations from occurring in the future.  In dealing with tangible products, specific quality targets are frequently easy to understand, measure, and eventually implement.  However, the intangible aspects of management towards quality of knowledge-based products and/or services present unique challenges to the practice of TQM.

Knowledge of operations management, in particular total quality control, prepares managers to face the competitive challenge of effectively managing organizational resources. Operations management merges topics from accounting, marketing, industrial engineering, human factors, management science, and statistics into a blend of analytical tools and strategic issues.

The main objective of this course is to enable students to become better managers, particularly if they find themselves working in either service and/or operations management. A sizable part of the and international work force is employed in operations related jobs. These jobs are important and challenging, and they can lead to rewarding and successful careers. To achieve this objective, several goals were established and are presented in part III.

 
> <b>V. OVERALL COURSE OBJECTIVES:<b>

1.       Provide an introduction to the concepts and definitions of quality assurance, including various quality management philosophies.

VI. DETAILED COURSE SYLLABUS:

A.    COURSE/INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:

COURSE TITLE:   M&IS 34065

INSTRUCTOR:        Alan D. Smith, Ph.D,

                                    University Professor of Operations Management  

                        Office: A-403 BSA    Office Phone: 330-672-1163

                                    Cell Phone:    330-206-3557

                        e-mail: smitha@rmu.edu

OFFICE HOURS: Monday and Wednesday: 2:00 –3:45, 5:00 to 5:45 PM

                        Other hours by appointment.

TEXTBOOK:

            Evans, R.J. and Lindsay, W.M. (2007). The Management and Control of Quality.   (Sixth Edition). ISBN: 0-324-20224-5

C. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND MEANS:

The student's performance in the course will be evaluated in both course theoretical concepts and analytical techniques by means of two exams, one intermediate exam given during the seventh week of classes, and a final exam given in the last week of classes.  These exams will consist primarily of general operations management theory and principles, or problems formulated to be solved, analyzed and interpreted using various analytical techniques discussed in the course. They may include questions requiring definitions, short essay responses, true/false questions, and/or multiple-choice questions.  The students must demonstrate their practical understanding of theory, mathematical algorithms and other concepts related to the course. In addition to in class tests, instructors may incorporate other criteria to evaluate students.  Periodically unannounced quizzes may be given at the beginning of a class or selected homework assignments may be collected.  At least two literature reviews are required to acquaint students to referred articles in their discipline that uses operations management and quality assurance techniques.  Each review must be typed and have a photocopy of the original article attached to your final report, which will consist of the following major headings: 

a. Citation

b. Research classification

c. Statement of problem

d. Types of operations management/decision science techniques

e. Evaluation of the usefulness of the above operations management/decision science techniques

f. Personal evaluation.

Also, computer assignments on each major analytical technique and/or quantitative topic are suggested to achieve the outcomes of the course. Computer assignments must have written evaluations along with attached computer printouts. Suggested software packages include, but not limited to, MS-Excel, OM Excel, QSB⁺, MANAGEMENT SCIENTIST, and/or LINDO.

The following is the weighing scheme for the above-mentioned activities:
> &nbsp; <p>

Graded Activities % of Course Grade:

                                                                                                TOTAL 100

Please note that timely submission of work is required.  With the exception of emergency situations, which will need to be verified, homework assignments, research projects or presentations must be done by the assigned date.

D. SPECIFIC CLASS POLICIES: 

FOLLOWING POLICIES APPLY TO ALL STUDENTS IN THIS COURSE

We will follow the University Policy on Academic Integrity.  Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.   In addition, it is considered to cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

Course Withdrawal:

For the Spring 2008 semester, the course withdrawal deadline is March 30, 2008.  Withdrawal before the deadline results in a “W” on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

Students with disabilities:

University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access course content.  If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments.  Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through the Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas for more information on registration procedures).

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE – SPRING 2008 – SECTION 001

GUIDELINES FOR THE QUALITY ASSURANCE PAPER:

In addition to improving the students writing skills, the aim of the paper is to enable students to examine in depth how quality concepts have a bearing on current business operations.  Accordingly, you will be expected to scan current business periodicals to find a news item about a company as a basis for your paper.  You will then be expected to go to the library to gather further information on the company/people involved.  Possible sources of information are Business Week, Fortune Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Moody’s Industry Reports, Dunn and Bradstreet, Harvard Business Review, Quality Progress, Quality Digest, Journal of Operations Management, or the Internet, to name a few.  However, the emphasis of the course will be on generating a quality work with as many peer-reviewed citations as necessary.

Cover page example:

          M&IS 34065 Quality Assurance

THE TITLE

Name

Campus

Date

 Style requirements:

The paper must contain several levels of headings.  Headings should not be underlined and no period should be used at the end.   Main Headings should be used to designate the major sections of your paper.  An initial heading such as “INTRODUCTION” should not be used. Main headings should be on a line of their own, centered, with all the letters capitalized.   Secondary headings should be on a line of their own, typed flush to the left margin, with major words beginning with capitals.  The headings will essentially be an outline of the paper.  Two or three major headings should be sufficient; and if subheadings are required, there should be at least two for each major heading.

Page numbering should start with page 2 of your text with the page number in the upper right corner with your name in the upper left corner.

General requirements:

1.            The paper must be free of spelling errors.

2.            The paper must be grammatically correct.

3.            Appendices must be used for all tables and diagrams.

4.            Sources can be acknowledged in the text by quoting the author (or periodical), and the year in which the article (or periodical) appeared, in parentheses.  For example: Several studies (Adams, 2007; Brown & Haley, 2008; Collins, 1999) support this conclusion.

5.            Page numbers are included only to designate the source of direct quotations.   For example: Bloggs has said that the MBA "is a most worthwhile qualification"(1974, p.3).

6.            Footnotes must not be used.

Appendix:

Each appendix must be labeled as follows:

1.            The appendix number must be centered at the top of the page.

2.            A short identifying title of the appendix should immediately follow the appendix number.

Reference:

The reference section is an alphabetical listing, by author, of all the sources used, referenced, or quoted in the text.  The reference must be titled as such and the title must be centered.  The contents of the bibliography must comply with the following (please consult the APA guidelines for more details):

1.             For books: Author’s last name, initials. Title of the book in quotes or underlined. Name of publisher, city, state, year of publication.

2.             For periodicals: Author’s last name, initials. Title of article or paper.  Name of publication, year, volume number, and page numbers.

3.             For Internet references: Name of Web page and its Internet address.