Examine the questions in the Baldrige Criteria and discuss which ones relate to the concept of organizational sustainability as defined in this chapter? Why is sustainability an important issue in business?
> Choose a product or service to illustrate how several definitions of quality can apply simulate
> A reader wrote to Business Week (July 9 & 16, 2007, p. 16) and noted: “Americans have switched from Detroit Big Three vehicles to Honda and Toyota vehicles not for visual design features but for durability, reliability, good fuel consumption, and low ful
> Wow! That State University video was really cool. It has lots of majors; it’s close to home so I can keep my job; and Mom and Dad loved it when they visited. I wish I could know what it’s really like to be a student at State. Hmmm, I think I’ll ask Mom a
> We noted that high quality is not necessarily related to price. Discuss this, drawing from your own knowledge and experience, and provide examples where this may and may not be true
> Discuss the importance of quality to the national interest of any country in the world. Given China’s emergence as a global economic power, of what importance do you believe that quality will play in their future?
> Discuss how either good or poor quality affects you personally as a consumer. For instance, describe experiences in which your expectations were met, exceeded, or not met when you purchased goods or services. Did your experience change your regard for th
> Thinking of the Kano model, should organizations pay the most attention to dissatisfies, satisfiers, or exciters/delighters? Defend your choice with appropriate examples. Would this depend on the type of industry or environment in which an organization c
> The five dimensions of service quality are important to such retail stores as Walmart and Target. Assuming that these represent key customer requirements, what things might these companies do in designing their stores and operations to ensure that they m
> What expectations might a typical e-commerce customer have for a website? How might this differ from a brick-and-mortar store?
> How might a college or university segment its customers? What specific needs might each of these customer groups have?
> Recall the AT&T customer–supplier model in Figure 3.2. For each of the following departments in a typical company, discuss who are their internal or external customers and suppliers. a. Operations b. Information Systems c. Human
> Can you describe a customer-focused organization similar to the City of Fort Collins or K&N Management’s restaurants with which you have had personal experience? What aspects of the organization impressed you the most?
> What implications might Deming’s Profound Knowledge have for Wall Street traders whose buying and selling behavior reacts somewhat wildly to daily news and government economic reports?
> Harbor Community College (HCC) offers a 2-year food service degree program. Students learn how to set up and manage food service operations in hotels, hospitals, schools, businesses, and so on. One of the most important courses is Food Service Sanitation
> Melissa Clare works for a software company as a technical support representative. Her duties include answering the telephone, providing information to customers, and troubleshooting technical problems. Her supervisor told her to be courteous and not to r
> In a videotape made in 1993, Deming related a story of an executive who spent an entire day flying from city to city, changing planes several times, because her company’s travel department received a cheaper fare than if she had taken a direct flight. Ho
> Discuss how Deming’s 14 Points can apply to an academic environment. How can learning and classroom performance be improved by applying Deming’s philosophy?
> Suggest ways that management can recognize the existence of fear in an organization. What strategies might managers use to deal with and eliminate fear?
> A team of quality professionals has suggested a revised version of Deming’s 14 Points “for the twenty first century,” as given in Table 2.4. Contrast these with Deming’s version in T
> The following themes form the basis for Deming’s philosophy. Classify the 14 Points into these categories and discuss the commonalties within each category. a. Organizational purpose and mission b. Quantitative goals c. Revolution of management philoso
> Discuss the interrelationships among Deming’s 14 Points. How do they support each other? Why must they be viewed as a whole rather than separately?
> One of our former students who sews as a hobby observed that it’s often difficult to control thread tension (tightness versus slackness of the stitch) as the tension normally exhibits variation. She learned from experience that if she adjusts the tension
> List some examples of variation that you observe in your daily life. Would they be classified as common or special causes? How might they be reduced?
> Think of your experiences in a job that you have held. How might the principles and practices of quality management listed in Tables 2.2 and 2.3 be applied to improve this organization? Table 2.2: Table 2.3:
> Maggie is a night-shift staff pharmacist at a large hospital. Staff pharmacists work in the main pharmacy with limited patient and physician contact and spend much of their time on computers verifying orders and checking the medication counters. Collabor
> Review the Quality Profiles presented at the beginning of this chapter. List specific practices cited in these examples and how they support the quality management principles in Table 2.2. Table 2.2:
> Whose philosophy—Deming, Juan, or Crosby— resonates most with your thinking and experience? Explain why
> Think of a system with which you are familiar, such as your college, fraternity, or a student organization. What is the purpose of that system? What would it mean to optimize that system?
> Compare the Deming Chain Reaction (Figure 2.1) with which suggests the relationships between quality and profitability. Discuss the sim hilarities and differences. Which do you think is the better model, if you had to choose one to present to a senior
> How can you internalize and practice quality at a personal level in your daily activities?
> Choose an organization that you have read about or with which you have personal experience and describe their sources of competitive advantage. For each, state whether you believe that quality supports their strategy or does not support it
> In this chapter, we noted that much of the work performed in traditional manufacturing organizations now involve service. Provide some examples of this, drawing upon the functions
> What role has the Internet played in improving service quality? What barriers to service quality might it have?
> How are people and information technology used to improve service in your college or university?
> Cite some examples from your own experience in which you felt service quality was truly top-notch, and some in which it was not. What do you think might be some of the fundamental differences in the infrastructure and management practices of these organi
> Sandra Wilford was recently promoted to General Manager of the Golden Suites Hotel, San Diego. She had previously been an assistant manager at the corporation’s hotel in Denver. The Denver hotel was truly a team-based organization. Sandra had seen the be
> Select a service activity with which you are familiar. If you were the manager of this activity, what “conformance to specifications” criteria would you use to monitor it?
> Provide specific examples of how the differences between manufacturing and service organizations are evident in a school or a hospital.
> Provide some specific examples that illustrate how the three major themes cited in the American Society for Quality’s 2015 futures study are reflected in today’s business news.
> Consider the following views of quality: a. a strategic asset and competitive differentiator b. a proactive continuous improvement activity c. a tool to fix problems d. a risk mitigation activity e. a compliance activity How would you order these in
> What do you think are the most important lessons that managers can learn from studying the history of quality management?
> What definition of quality is implied by the following consumer advertisements? Explain your reasoning. a. An ad for Rosetta Stone language software that features dozens of languages, covers a range of five levels (beginning to advanced), provides live
> PC World Magazine changed its method of rating new products to base scores only on product performance, design, and features, dropping price as a criterion, although it will be clearly stated. Their reasoning was “When we used price as a criterion, high-
> Discuss how the factor of the frequency with which you anticipate using a product might impact the quality and price that you are willing to pay and how it relates to the value-based definition. Provide some examples to justify your reasoning.
> A top Ford executive stated “You can’t have great value unless you have great quality.” Comment on this statement. Do you agree? Why or why not?
> Think of a product or a service that you are considering purchasing. Develop a list of fitness-for-use criteria that are meaningful to you
> Christina worked at a retail store in a shopping mall. Her manager made the job quite stressful. She never had the schedule for the next week completed on time, so Christina and other employees were never able to plan adequately. They would say, “Well, i
> As we noted in the chapter, process items in the Baldrige Criteria are assessed on four dimensions: approach, deployment, learning, and integration. The following are opportunities for improvement that an examiner team identified in the Leadership Catego
> Discuss the implications of the Baldrige Criteria for e-commerce. What are the specific challenges that e-commerce companies face within each category of the criteria?
> Create a matrix diagram in which each row is a category of the Baldrige Award criteria and four columns correspond to a level of organizational maturity with respect to quality: Traditional management practices Growing awareness of the importance of qua
> Discuss how the Baldrige Core Values and Concepts define a high-performance culture. How might they be used as a starting point for self-assessment, without actually answering the formal questions in the Baldrige Criteria?
> Refer to the example of how K&N Management addressed some of the questions in the Senior Leadership category of the Baldrige Criteria in this chapter. Explain what practices address each of the specific questions: a. How do senior leaders set your organ
> We introduced the Baldrige Core Values and Concepts in this chapter. Look back at Deming’s 14 Points and System of Profound Knowledge in Chapter 2, and discuss how Deming’s philosophy is reflected in the Core Values and Concepts.
> Obtain a copy of the current Baldrige Criteria. Examine the questions asked in the Criteria. Select what you believe are the “top 10” most difficult questions for an organization to answer and justify your reasoning.
> In 2012, the House Appropriations Committee of the U.S. Congress targeted dozens of federal programs for elimination to reduce the federal budget by at least $1.5 billion. Unfortunately, even though the portion of its budget that came from federal fundin
> Discuss how the Baldrige Core Values and Concepts (see Chapter 10) are reflected in each question of the Baldrige Criteria for Strategic Planning using the Baldrige Excellence Builder available in the Baldrige Materials folder on the Student Companion Si
> Carla works at a typical quick service restaurant (QSR). She is never involved in any problem-solving activities because the system dictates they must defer to managers when problems arise. In addition, she has never been asked to provide any input at th
> What are the core competencies of your school, college, or university? How are they leveraged from a strategic perspective?
> Propose three applications for each of the seven management and planning tools discussed in the chapter. You might consider some applications around school, such as in the classroom, studying for exams, and so on
> A Conference Board study found that CEOs identified the top global challenges they face as (1) improving human capital within their organizations, (2) improving operational excellence, and (3) enhancing innovation. Suggest some strategies that a typical
> Contrast the following vision statements in terms of their usefulness to an organization. a. To become the industry leader and achieve superior growth and market share. b. To become the best-managed electric utility in the United States and an excellen
> Try to match the following companies with their actual mission statement in question 2. Could you think of more appropriate mission statements for any of these organizations? a. Volvo b. AT&T c. The International Red Cross d. Caterpillar e. DHL World
> Examine the following mission statements. Do you think they have a true purpose or are they merely cosmetic devices because someone felt that no major organization can be seen without one?22 a. Our single focus will continue to be helping customers all
> The Johnson & Johnson credo was written in 1943 by its chairman Robert Wood Johnson: “We believe our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses, and patients, to mothers and fathers, and all others who use our products and services. In meeting their
> The Six Sigma philosophy seeks to develop technical leadership through “Belt” training, then use it in team-based projects designed to improve processes. To what extent are these two concepts (technical experts versus team experts) at odds? What must be
> How can lean concepts be applied in a classroom?
> Discuss what would be the most appropriate tool to use to attack each of these problems: a. A copy machine suffers frequent paper jams and users are often confused as to how to fix the problem. b. The publication team for an engineering department want
> Jerome, his wife Sandy, and their two daughters were vacationing and visited a popular restaurant, Captain Mark’s Seafood Shack, that has several locations in the eastern United States. The hostess was friendly, and their table location was removed from
> Discuss how DMAIC might be used in your personal life. For example, how could you use it if you wanted to lose weight or improve a skill such as playing a musical instrument?
> List some of the common processes that a student performs. How can these processes be improved using a process improvement approach?
> “Resistance to change” is a common theme in the behavioral sciences. What part do you believe that resistance to change plays in management’s fostering of successful versus unsuccessful adoptions of Six Sigma approaches? What impact does workers’ resista
> Suggest a set of CTQs that might influence overall service satisfaction for service at an automobile dealership.
> Some of the key processes associated with business activities for a typical company include sales and marketing, supply chain management, managing information technology, and managing human resources. What types of Six Sigma projects might be considered
> A consultant told the story of two Six Sigma teams that made separate presentations on how they would improve processes in their own areas. At the end of the second presentation, the consultant asked a basic question that stopped both Black Belt team lea
> In 1995, Jack Welch, who was then CEO of General Electric, sent a memo to his senior managers telling them that they would have to require every employee to have started Six Sigma training to be promoted. Furthermore, 40 percent of the managers’ bonuses
> How can a manager effectively balance the key components of a Six Sigma implementation design related to who, what, where, when, why, and how it could be done?
> How might a Six Sigma project be done to improve a registration process in a university? An admission process?
> The January 22, 2001, issue of Fortune contained an article “Why You Can Safely Ignore Six Sigma,” that was highly critical of Six Sigma. Here are some of the criticisms levied against Six Sigma: a. the results often don’t have any noticeable impact on
> Jessica shopped at two different retail clothing stores in a shopping mall. At store A, she was greeted by a girl on a ladder working on changing the promotions for the next day who did not ask if she needed help with anything. She walked to the back to
> Skilled Care Pharmacy, located in Mason, Ohio, is a $25 million privately held regional provider of pharmaceutical products delivered within the long-term care, assisted living, hospice, and group home environments. The following products are included wi
> Provide examples of costs to create computer software for internal use. Should firms capitalize or expense these costs?
> Go to the website of the International Accounting Standards Board (www.ifrs.org). Search for the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) summaries. Identify the most recently issued international financial reporting standard and summarize brie
> Go to the website of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (www.fasb.org). Identify the most recently issued financial reporting standard and summarize briefly (in one paragraph) its principal provisions. Also search under Project Activities to identi
> Bookman Co. develops digital accounting systems and provides accounting-related consulting services. a. On January 1, Year 1, Bookman signs a contract with Brock Florists to install a system and provide consulting services over a two-year period ending
> Use the following hypothetical data for Walgreens in 2021 and 2022 to project revenues, cost of goods sold, and inventory for Year 11. Assume that Year 11 revenue growth rate, gross profit margin growth rate, and inventory turnover will be identical to 2
> The notes to a firm’s financial statements reveal that the obligations for postretirement health care benefits at the balance sheet date total $2.1 billion. The fair value of plan assets for these benefits at the same date is reported at zero, with an un
> Using the following key, identify the effects of the following transactions or conditions on the various financial statement elements: I 5 increases; D 5 decreases; NE 5 no effect.
> Exhibits 1.19–1.23 of Integrative Case 1.1 (Chapter 1) present the financial statements for Walmart for 2017 to 2020. In addition, the website for this text (www.cengagebrain.com) contains Walmart’s January 31, 2021, F
> Given the following information, compute December 31, Year 1, projected benefit obligation (PBO) and fair market value (FMV) of plan assets for Lee Company. What amount of asset or liability will be reported on the balance sheet at December 31, Year 1?
> Choosing the functional currency is a key decision for translating the financial statements of foreign entities of U.S. firms into U.S. dollars. Qing Corporation, a U.S. firm that sells car batteries, formed a wholly owned subsidiary in Mexico to manufac
> U.S. GAAP requires firms to account for equity investments in which ownership is between 20% and 50% using the equity method. Ace Corporation owns 35% of Spear Corporation. Spear Corporation reported net income of $100.4 million and declared and paid div
> Firms invest in marketable securities for a variety of reasons, one of the most common being the need to temporarily invest excess cash. Describe how to account for these investments on the balance sheet and in comprehensive income assuming that they are
> Assume Swift Company acquires a machine with a fair value of $100,000 on January 1 of Year 1 by signing a five-year lease. Swift must make payments of $16,275 each December 31. The appropriate interest rate on the lease is 10%. Compute the following assu
> Rock of Ages, Inc., a large North American integrated granite quarrier, manufacturer, and retailer of finished granite memorials, reported a Year 4 net loss of $3.2 million. In that year, the firm reported a pretax litigation settlement loss of $6.5 mill
> Checkpoint Systems, a leading provider of source tagging, handheld labeling systems, retail merchandising systems, and bar-code labeling systems, stated the following in a press release: GAAP reported net loss for the fourth quarter of Year 4 was $29.3 m
> A firm’s income tax return shows income taxes for 2020 of $35,000. The firm reports deferred tax assets before any valuation allowance of $24,600 at the beginning of 2020 and $27,200 at the end of 2020. It reports deferred tax liabilities of $18,900 at t
> A firm’s income tax return shows $50,000 of income taxes owed for 2020. For financial reporting, the firm reports deferred tax assets of $42,900 at the beginning of 2020 and $38,700 at the end of 2020. It reports deferred tax liabilities of $28,600 at th
> Fair Value Measurement and Other Comprehensive Income For its fiscal year ended February 1, 2020, Zumiez, Inc. shows a line item for $1.059 million labeled “Net change in unrealized gain on available-for-sale debt securities” as part of other comprehensi
> Massachusetts Stove Company manufactures wood-burning stoves for the heating of homes and businesses. The company has approached you, as chief lending officer for the Massachusetts Regional Bank, seeking to increase its loan from the current level of $93
> Using the following key, identify the effects of the following transactions or conditions on the various financial statement elements: I 5 increases; D 5 decreases; NE 5 no effect.
