Define the terms alignment and integration. Why are they important?
> Many restaurants and hotels use “tabletop” customer satisfaction surveys. Find several of these from local businesses. What internal performance indicators might be good leading indicators for the customer satisfaction items in the surveys?
> Interview managers at a local airline, hospital, governmental agency, or police department to determine what types of performance measures or indicators they use. Can you construct a balanced scorecard for them?
> In making cheese, companies test milk for somatic cell count to prevent diseases. They also test for bacteria to determine how clean the milk is, and perform a freezing-point test to see whether the milk was diluted with water (milk with water in it free
> Talk to a local not-for-profit organization manager or small business owner about quality. How aware are they of quality principles and tools? What challenges do they see in trying to build quality into their organizations?
> Develop a hierarchy of the questions within the Balding Award criteria that would guide an organization starting to pursue performance excellence toward world-class performance. In other words, what key issues within the criteria would be more appropriat
> Find an organization that has implemented ISO 9000, Balding, or Six Sigma. Prepare a report on the implementation issues and challenges that the organization faced. How did they address them, and what was the result of their efforts?
> Interview your fellow students to identify a set of “best learning practices.” Develop a plan for sharing these throughout your school.
> Read the application summary for a recent balding recipient (which can be found on the balding website) and try to characterize what “quality engine” drives the organization.
> Talk to individuals that you know from some local organizations (companies, schools, government agencies) about the organization’s commitment to quality and performance excellence principles. What factors do they attribute to either the success or failur
> Examine some corporate websites and comment on the cultural values that are reflected by the information you find. How important do these organizations view quality to their success?
> Conduct some research to explain the traditional theories of leadership in Table 13.2 and their implications for quality and performance excellence.
> Joseph Conklin proposes 10 questions for self-examination to help you understand your capacity for leadership.43 Answer the following questions, and discuss why they are important for leadership. a. How much do I like my job? b. How often do I have to re
> Interview someone you know about the leadership characteristics of their supervisor. What leadership style does he or she appear to reflect?
> What types of performance measurements might be used by a fraternity or student organization?
> Using the information in this chapter, design a questionnaire that might be used to understand leadership effectiveness in an organization.
> Interview managers at a local company to determine which, if any, of the leading practices described in this chapter they follow. What advice would you give them?
> Provide examples from your own experiences in which leaders (not necessarily managers—consider academic unit heads, presidents of student organizations, and even family members) exhibited one or more of the six key leadership competencies described in th
> We emphasized that leadership is the “driver” of a total quality system. What does this statement imply and what implications does it have for future CEOs? Middle managers? Supervisors?
> What might the learning organization concept mean to a college or university?
> Discuss how the Balding framework promotes alignment and integration.
> How would you describe the culture of your college or university?
> What might be the value of creating a crisis mentality in an organization in order to motivate the need for improvement?
> What might be some warning signs of a weak quality culture? For example, one might be that senior executives rarely discuss quality.
> What might the term dysfunctional corporate culture mean? What implications does it have regarding quality?
> How can measurement be used to control and improve the daily operations of your college or university? You might conduct some research to understand what measures your school uses.
> We noted that creating a culture for quality and performance excellence is not rocket science. Summarize, in your own words, a simple explanation of what senior leaders need to do to accomplish it.
> What is your opinion on the future of quality? Do you agree with the comments made in the concluding section of this chapter? Why or why not?
> You have undoubtedly seen a flock of geese flying overhead. How do the following behaviors of this species provide insight about leadership? a. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift form the bird behind. By using a “V” formation, the whole floc
> We discussed the importance of social responsibility in this chapter. Consider the following social responsibility principles: accountability, transparency, ethical behavior, respect for stakeholder interest, and respect for the rule of law, respect for
> What can leaders do to support each of the eleven Balding Core Values and Concepts? Develop a list of leadership behaviors that align with each of the core values.
> State some examples in which leaders you have worked for exhibited some of the leading practices described in this chapter. Can you provide examples for which they have not?
> Explain how leaders can demonstrate each of the seven personal leadership characteristics cited in this chapter.
> Coyote Community College (a fictitious entity) is a comprehensive, two-year public college that serves and strengthens the greater Albuquerque, New Mexico, community by providing postsecondary education and learning opportunities to all who want to ident
> The Baldrige Materials folder on the Student Companion Site contains a document called “Baldrige Excellence Builder,” which is an abbreviated version of the Baldrige Criteria. It also contains a case study of a fictitious organization, Arroyo Fresco. Thi
> The Baldrige Materials folder on the Student Companion Site contains a document called “Baldrige Excellence Builder,” which is an abbreviated version of the Baldrige Criteria. It also contains a case study of a fictitious organization, Arroyo Fresco. Thi
> Many “course and instructor evaluation” systems consist of inappropriate or ineffective measurements. Discuss how the principles in this chapter can be used to develop an effective measurement system for instructor performance.
> What is the role of steering teams in many leadership systems?
> Explain the concept of a leadership system. What elements should an effective leadership system have?
> What is strategic leadership? How does it differ from the common concept of leadership?
> Summarize the key leadership practices for performance excellence.
> List and explain the key competencies and personal characteristics that strong leaders possess.
> Define leadership. Why is it necessary for a culture of performance excellence?
> How does the ISO 26000:2010 standard guide organizations in CSR?
> What is corporate social responsibility and why is it important for organizations?
> How does transactional leadership theory differ from transformational leadership theory? Why is transformational leadership more relevant to quality and performance excellence?
> How do emerging leadership theories differ from traditional theories? Summarize them and their importance in leadership for performance excellence.
> How might a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis be of use for identifying measures in a balanced scorecard? What types of questions might you ask?
> What are best practices? What are the major conclusions and implications of the Best Practices report of Ernst & Young and the American Quality Foundation? How do they relate to Deming’s philosophy?
> Why is it important to customize performance excellence approaches to each organization?
> What are common barriers to change?
> What lessons can be learned from Wainwright Industries about changing an organization’s culture?
> Discuss the role of middle management and the workforce in achieving quality and performance excellence.
> Describe questions that organizations must ask and steps they must take in change management processes.
> Explain the difference between strategic change and process change.
> What is self-assessment? Why is it valuable? What issues should self-assessment address?
> Explain the notion of a learning organization. How does the Balding Criteria provide a framework for organizational learning?
> Under which perspective of the balanced scorecard would you classify each of the following measurements? a. On-time delivery to customers b. Time to develop the next generation of products c. Manufacturing yield d. Engineering efficiency e. Quarterly sal
> Describe the typical life cycle of a quality initiative and the Balding “Roadmap.” Why are they important for senior leaders to understand?
> List the important principles for successfully implementing performance excellence approaches.
> What is culture? How are cultural values reflected in organizations?
> What must small businesses and not-for-profits do to successfully establish a total quality focus?
> Why have small businesses and not-for-profits been slow to adopt quality initiatives?
> Why is follow-up important as a part of self assessment processes? What two key activities should comprise follow-up? What advice should managers heed to leverage self-assessment?
> State some examples of how organizations address societal responsibilities.
> What is governance? Why is it important that organizations have a strong governance system?
> Explain how CSR is reflected in the Balding Criteria.
> A large hospital identified the following strategic priorities: Patient accessibility Patient safety Clinical excellence few hassles for patients and families Workforce well-being Family-centered care Operational efficiency suggest some measures that ali
> What types of measurements, either formal or informal, do you use to manage your personal life? How might your personal measurement system be improved using the principles discussed in this chapter?
> Describe how entrepreneurs lead organizations.
> Describe the six legal forms of organization and the choice of appropriate organizational structure.
> Explain what entrepreneurs do in the planning process for new ventures.
> Define entrepreneurship and explain why it’s important.
> Explain what disruptive innovation is and why managing it is important.
> Discuss techniques for stimulating innovation.
> Describe what managers need to know about employee stress.
> Explain how to manage resistance to change.
> Define organizational change and compare and contrast views on the change process.
> Discuss contemporary issues in planning.
> Define Queuing Theory
> Compare and contrast approaches to goal setting and planning.
> Explain what managers do in the strategic management process.
> Discuss the nature and purposes of planning.
> Discuss contemporary issues in managerial decision making.
> Discuss group decision making.
> Describe the types of decisions and decision-making conditions managers face.
> Explain the three approaches managers can use to make decisions.
> Describe the decision-making process.
> Discuss the factors that lead to ethical and unethical behavior in organizations.
> Discuss how society’s expectations are influencing managers and organizations.
> What is Linear Programming?
> Describe what managers need to know about managing in a global organization.
> Explain globalization and its impact on organizations.
> Describe current issues in organizational culture.
> Describe how organizational culture affects managers.
> Define organizational culture and explain why it’s important.
> Discuss how the external environment affects managers.
> Explain what the external environment is and why it’s important.
> Describe the key employability skills gained from studying management that are applicable to your future career, regardless of your major.
> Describe the factors that are reshaping and redefining management.
> Discuss contemporary issues in control.
