How does Baldrige support Deming’s 14 Points?
> Identify some of the key processes associated with the following business activities for a typical company: sales and marketing, supply chain management, managing information technology, and managing human resources.
> The kaizen philosophy seeks to encourage suggestions, not to find excuses for failing to improve. Typical excuses are “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” “I’m too busy to work on it,” and “It’s not in the budget.” Think of at least five other excuses why
> A. Blanton Godfrey notes that many organizations are “wired for failure”; that is, their processes are not designed effectively or aligned with each other.58 He cites several examples. One is overscheduling at airports. During the 4:15 to 4:30 p.m. time
> Rosie’s Pizzeria is a privately held chain of neighborhood pizzerias with over 50 locations in the Midwest that offers full-service dine-in, carryout, and home delivery. Rosie’s competes against such national chains as Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and other l
> Think of a job you have had. Apply the Hackman and Oldham model to evaluate how the job design impacted your motivation and satisfaction, as well as organizational effectiveness.
> When simple theories such as those of Maslow, Herzberg, and McGregor explain motivation, why does the search continue for more complex ones or for ones that integrate several different theories, such as Porter and Lawler’s theory? What implications do th
> What motivates you to study and perform in the classroom? How do motivation theories apply to you personally? Discuss how these theories might lead to new ways of teaching and learning.
> An engineering service firm that performs repair and maintenance of laboratory equipment asks its technicians to write weekly journal entries describing their work experiences. The company owner reviews them each week and provides feedback to the technic
> Explain how a focus on the following can lead to high levels of employee engagement. Provide specific examples of professions that support each of these. a. Employees’ jobs benefit their customers and society as a whole. b. Employees find personal meani
> What things might you observe in an organization that has high levels of workforce engagement? What might you observe in one that has low levels of engagement?
> How can a fraternity or student organization use the workforce-focused practices in Table 4.1 to improve the organization? If you are involved in such an organization, develop a strategic “workforce” plan that supports performance excellence.
> The training strategy that Xerox used is summarized as follows: a. The training is uniform—common tools and processes are taught across all of Xerox, to all employees, creating a “common language within Xerox” that fosters cohesive team functioning. b.
> Often, the preamble to one’s call to a company will be a recorded message that says something like “For quality purposes, this call may be recorded.” What do you think the real purpose of such an approach is? Is it to improve quality or to monitor poorly
> Many companies today seek the best available applicants and train them in quality principles. What implications does this practice have for designing college curricula and choosing elective courses in a given program?
> Ron Hagler, the vice president of sales for Selit Corp., had just received a report on the past five years of quarterly sales data for the regions under his authority (see sales data shown in the Excel file C02 Quarterly Sales Case Data on the Student Co
> Recently, new “employee performance software” has been developed to track individual output. For example, British Airways uses it to ensure that customer service reps’ time in the break room or on personal calls doesn’t count on the clock. The technology
> Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, stated his passion for making people GE’s core competency yet he used a system in which executives in the bottom 10 percent of a forced performance ranking were eliminated. What do you think of this approach? H
> Most colleges and universities use a course/ instructor evaluation system. If your school has one, how is it used? Does it support continuous improvement or is it used strictly for performance appraisal? How might the evaluation instrument or process be
> The late Peter Drucker, arguably one of the most respected and influential writers on management in the twentieth century, observed: Whatever his limitations and shortcomings—and he had many—no other American, not even Henry Ford (1863–1947), had anythin
> Discuss the controversy over performance appraisal. Do you agree with Deming’s approach, or do you take the more traditional viewpoint toward performance appraisal? Why?
> Students in early grades often receive many kinds of recognition: stickers, candy, and so on, for good work. As we discussed, similar forms of recognition are common in the workplace. Yet little daily recognition is given at the high school and college l
> Employees at the Container Store are said to be paid about twice the national average. The CEO feels that he is receiving three times the productivity of an average worker at only twice the cost. Do you think that this is true? What are the pros and cons
> Discuss the conditions under which team incentives, gainsharing, and “pay for increased skills” reward systems may work. When is it a poor idea to install such systems?
> Consider the statement, “How one is evaluated determines how one performs.” What does this notion mean for your classes? Would your performance change if grades were abolished (as Deming strongly advocated)?
> How should teams deal with “slackers”? How would you deal with them in the context of a student project team?
> Walker Auto Sales and Service (WASS) is a full-service dealership for a major domestic automobile brand. Essentially, WASS provides three main services: new car sales, used car sales, and repair and maintenance service. Because of the competitive nature
> How might a jazz quartet be viewed as a metaphor for a team in a business situation?
> How might the concept of empowerment be employed in a classroom?
> Cite some examples of empowerment or lack of empowerment from your own experiences.
> Describe some examples of job enlargement or job enrichment that you have either seen or personally encountered in a job.
> What is your reaction to Clifton Leaf ’s comments in the opening paragraph of the chapter? Do you feel these hold for most other organizations?
> Distinguish among consumers, external customers, and internal customers. Illustrate how these concepts apply to a Chipotle’s restaurant, a Walmart, or a similar franchise or chain store.
> Summarize the six quality perspectives described in this chapter.
> What practices do Motorola and Mid-American Transplant in the Quality Profiles use to help them achieve high quality?
> What factors have contributed to the increased awareness of quality in modern business?
> Describe some approaches that organizations use to conduct Baldrige self-assessments.
> Think about the “supply chain” for filling a doctor’s prescription. Describe the different types of customers involved in the process.
> What are the characteristics that distinguish Baldrige Award recipients from other organizations?
> Explain the concepts of approach, deployment, learning, and integration in Baldrige assessment.
> Describe the Baldrige Award process. How does it ensure that organizations are truly worthy of receiving the Award?
> What is organizational sustainability? Why is it vital to business success?
> List the Baldrige Core Values and Concepts. Why do you think they are important for any organization to pursue?
> Explain the logic of the Baldrige Criteria framework and why each element is important in any organization.
> Describe the key issues addressed in each of the seven categories of the Criteria for Performance Excellence.
> Why can Baldrige, ISO 9000, and Six Sigma be used together in an organization?
> What are the similarities and differences among Six Sigma, ISO 9000, and the Baldrige approaches?
> What is the role of national culture in adapting the Baldrige framework to a particular country?
> Construct a list of at least 10 different names for a “customer,” for example, buyer, client, and so on.
> Explain the differences between the Baldrige framework and the EFQM framework.
> What are some of the impacts that the Baldrige program has provided, both in the United States and around the world?
> Summarize the purposes of the Baldrige Award.
> Explain the difference between strategies, strategic objectives, and action plans.
> What are strategic challenges? Why is it important to understand them in strategic planning?
> What is the purpose of the Baldrige Organizational Profile? Summarize the information contained in the Organizational Profile. Why is knowing this information important?
> What factors are examined in an environmental assessment?
> Define mission, vision, and guiding principles. What is the purpose of each?
> Explain the elements of a typical strategic planning process.
> A service representative of a major U.S. airline told a customer about an internal memo that had been circulated called “No Waivers, No Favors,” which promises significant and negative consequences to any employee giving a customer special treatment outs
> Summarize the key practices for a strategic focus on performance excellence.
> Why is strategic planning important for all organizations?
> Explain the strategic role of work systems design. How should outsourcing and vertical integration decisions be made from a strategic context?
> What are core competencies? Why is it important to understand them?
> What types of organizational structures are common in TQ-based organizations today?
> Describe the types of organizational structure commonly used. What are the advantages or disadvantages of each?
> Describe the key contextual factors that affect organizational structure. What implications do they have for quality?
> List and explain the seven management and planning tools.
> Why is it important to address human resource plans in strategic planning?
> How does catchall play an important role in policy deployment?
> Many organizations, such as banks, offer significant incentives to attract new customers, such as $150 to open a new checking account. However, existing customers rarely receive incentives to stay. What do you think of such practices? What are the implic
> Explain the concept of hushing kanji and provide a simplified description of this process.
> What is strategy deployment? How does it differ from strategy development?
> What is a strategy? What does a good strategy provide for an organization?
> Explain the knowledge and management expertise that Green Belts, Black Belts, and Master Black Belts should have?
> Explain the role of projects in Six Sigma. How Six Sigma teams are typically organized?
> List and explain the five categories into which all quality problem solving can be classified. Provide some quality-related examples in each category.
> What is Kempner and Trego’s definition of a problem?
> Explain the theoretical basis for the six-sigma 3.4 dpmo measure. How does it relate to process capability concepts?
> List the key principles of the Six Sigma philosophy. How does it differ from TQM?
> What is Six Sigma? Briefly outline its history at Motorola and General Electric.
> A person who runs an auto repair shop related that he routinely washes cars or changes the oil for his best customers at no charge. What are the benefits of such a policy?
> Nashville Custom Guitars (NCG) is a small-scale manufacturing operation, producing fewer than 800 instruments a year. The company does not have a formal quality department nor has it consciously tried to apply the principles of TQM. Nevertheless, a tour
> Why is Lean Six Sigma especially useful in services? Cite some examples.
> How did Lean Six Sigma evolve? How does it differ from the original concept of Six Sigma?
> Describe the key tools used in lean production.
> Explain the steps of the Deming cycle.
> Why is brainstorming an important tool in the Improvement phase of DMAIC?
> What is root cause analysis? Describe some tools that are useful in identifying a root cause.
> What is a value stream map and how does it differ from an ordinary flowchart?
> Explain different types of check sheets and how they are used.
> What is an operational definition? Why is it important?
> State the typical elements that make up a project charter.
> Are you loyal to any particular businesses? Why or why not?
> What is a SIPOC diagram? How is it used in DMAIC?
> Explain the concept of Pareto analysis. How is a Pareto distribution created?
> Explain the structure and purpose of the A3 Report that Toyota created. How does it support the DMAIC process?
> Discuss factors that should be considered when selecting Six Sigma projects.
> Explain the four themes that different improvement methodologies share. How are they reflected in the Deming cycle, creative problem-solving process, and DMAIC?
> Provide some examples of low-tech and high-tech measuring instruments used in quality control.
> List and explain the four major categories of quality costs. Give examples of each.
> Why are cost of quality programs valuable to managers?
