ENGM 620

Quality Management
Case Study
Outline
In addition to individual homework and reading assignments, students will
work individually or in teams to complete one case study of a company
involved in some form of quality management. Alternatively, students may
select to do an in-depth study of one of the major quality leaders or develop a
set of materials for online delivery of an application in SP.
Students will select one of the following companies for an in depth
analysis of that company!s quality management activities. In their
analysis, students should identify the motivating factors that led the
company to adopt a quality management program, what the e"pected
and end results of the program were, and what the strengths and
weakness of the program were. #o receive ma"imum points, students
should include the following in the analysis$
%. #he underlying philosophy of the quality program& did the company
use 'eming, (uran, ros)y, another guru, or some com)ination*
+. If a particular philosophy was adopted, which points seemed to work
well and which did not. ,or e"ample, of 'eming!s %- points, which
were most e.ectively utili/ed )y the company*
0. 1hat types of management tools were adopted )y the company in
their quality program*
-. 1hat types of training were utili/ed )y the company*
2. 1hat were the costs3)ene4ts associated with the quality
management program*
Students are e"pected to use and appropriately cite in the paper all
availa)le resources at their disposal. In addition, students are encouraged
to conduct a literature search and a we) search a)out the company.
Alternative Projects
In lieu of a written report on a quality management application in industry,
students may select an alternative project having to do with locating and
preparing components and3or tools of quality management that may )e
suita)le for on-line delivery. You must receive permission from the
instructor for a specifc alternative. 5"amples might include the following$
Prepare an online animated tutorial for the ,unnel 5"periment
Prepare an in depth presentation on 'eming, (uran, ros)y 6 compare
and contrast
Grading
See the grading sheet on the last page of this sylla)us.
ist o! Pre"A##roved Com#anies
#hese companies are pre-approved, meaning that if you choose to complete
your case study on one of these organi/ations, you do not need to discuss your
selection with the instructor prior to completing the assignment. If you prefer
to complete your case study on a di.erent company, please contact the
instructor 4rst. It is 78 to complete a case study using the point of view of a
particular time. If you choose to do this, make it clear in your paper.
$lorida Po%er & ig't
,lorida Power and 9ight :,P9; is one of the largest electric utilities in the
<nited States servicing 2.= million people in a territory covering a)out
half of ,lorida. ,P9 has a)out %2,>>> employees, operates %0 plants,
0?= su)stations, and more than 20,>>> miles of transmission and
distri)ution lines.
'uring the %?=>!s, the company was forced to increase utility rates
repeatedly )ecause of increasing costs, slower sales growth, and stricter
federal and state regulations. In %?@%, chairman of the )oard, Aarshall
Ac'onald, introduced quality improvement teams. In %?@0, while in
(apan, Ac'onald met the president of 8ansai 5lectric Power ompany, a
'eming Pri/e winner, who told him a)out their quality e.orts. ompany
oBcials )egan to visit 8ansai regularly, and with their help, ,P9 gegan its
Cuality Improvement Program.
As a result of its e.orts, in %?@? ,lorida Power and 9ight was the 4rst <S
utility company to )e awarded the 'eming Pri/e. Shortly following the
award, the 57 of ,lorida Power and 9ight retired and the new 57
immediately slashed the quality management program )y appro"imately
@>D. Accordingly, ,lorida Power and 9ight simultaneously represents
one of the great success stories and one of the great failures of a quality
management program.
(esources)
Eudi)erg, (.(., Winning with Quality, Cuality Fesources, %??%.
G#he ost of Cuality,G Hewsweek, -@--?, Sept. =, %??+.
*SAA
Spechler, (., Managing Quality in America's Most Admired Companies,
Ierrett-8oehler, %??0.
+M
Spechler, (., Managing Quality in America's Most Admired Companies,
Ierrett-8oehler, %??0.
City o! Madison, -.
(oseph Sensen)renner, mayor of Aadison, 1isconsin :%?@0-@?; had long
recogni/ed the ingrained )ureaucratic culture of government. ,ollowing
a %?@0 audit disclosing pro)lems at the city garage showing long repair
delays and unavaila)ility of equipment, Aayor Sensen)renner initiated a
quality management program. After o)taining the cooperation of the
union president, Sensen)renner formed a team of composed primarily of
the individual mechanics performing the repairs. Jery quickly it was
determined that the root cause of the pro)lem was insuBcient stocking
of parts. #racking the process to determine how to correct the pro)lem
was, however, another matter. It was a classic case of )ureaucratic pass
the )uck. Eowever, after departmental )arriers were eliminated, the
team was a)le to revise the purchasing policy from a +- step process to
a 0 step process. As a result, the average repair delay was reduced from
? days to 0 days and the department o)served a net annual savings of
K=>>,>>>.
(esources)
Sensen)renner, (., GCuality omes to ity Eall,G Harvard usiness
!eview, Aarch-April %??%, pp.L--=2.
$ederal E/#ress
,ederal 5"press )egan operations in %?=0 with a Meet of eight airplanes.
Iy %??>, some @?,>>> employees processed %.0 million shipments daily.
1ithin %> years of its founding, annual revenues reached K% )illion. #he
,ederal 5"press management philosophy emphasi/es perople, service,
and pro4t - in that order. #he company has a well-developed
management evaluation system called S,A that involves a survey of
emmployees, analysis of each work group!s results )y the work group!s
manager, and a discussion )etween the manager and the work group to
develop written action plans for the manager to improve and )ecome
more e.ective. 'ata from the S,A process are aggregated at all levels of
the organi/ation for use in policy-making.
57, ,rederick Smith, stated 4ve criteria for a quality management
program which the company esta)lished in %?@=$
%. 5sta)lish clear quality goals.
+. Aeasure accurately what is done.
0. Identify critical points in the value chain, such as 4nal sort
points, and manage Mawlessly.
-. 'emonstrate discipline in operations.
2. Provide immediate and accurate feed)ack to employees.
In %??>, as a result of ,ederal 5"press orporation!s quality initiative,
they were the 4rst winner of the Aalcolm Ialdrige Award in the service
catagory.
Stratton, I., G,our to Feceive %??> Ialdrige Awards,G Quality "rogress,
%?-+%, 'ec., %??>.
Spechler, (., Managing Quality in America's Most Admired Companies,
Ierrett-8oehler, %??0.
0yatt (egency
Spechler, (., Managing Quality in America's Most Admired Companies,
Ierrett-8oehler, %??0.

An'euser"1usc'
Spechler, (., Managing Quality in America's Most Admired Companies,
Ierrett-8oehler, %??0.

ENGM 620
Quality Management
Grading) Project (e#orts
Project #opic
Project #eam


(e#ort Points
A%arded

7rgani/ation :0> pts;
Introduction of )ackground and o)jectives
ontinuity of project development
onclusions clear and )ased on facts
Style3,ormat :+> pts;
Is the writing clear and concise*
Are there few errors in punctuation
and grammar*
Are all items that need citations appropriately
credited*
Analysis :2> pts;
Are goals N o)jectives clearly de4ned*
Are tasks well identi4ed and assigned*
Are arguments and analysis clearly presented
and logical*
Is the project well researched*
Comments)