Total Quality Management

DESCRIPTION:
The role of quality as a system for establishing global competitive position. The impact of tools and integration of customer, human resources and management issues. Topics include the role of management, cost of quality, methods to keep the product and process excellent, the excellence models, the ISO 9000 standards, and the philosophies and ideas of the leading thinkers in quality management.

RATIONALE: 
Quality is a strategic concern for enterprises and organizations and is seen by them as a competitive advantage. Quality management education is the main driver of cultural change programs, and influences the organizational climate and style of management. This course complements other business areas, such as operations, supply chain and logistics, marketing, sales, purchasing, human resources, finance, computer information systems and information technology.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
As a result of taking this course, the student should be able to:
1. Apply key principles of total quality management to analyze and evaluate an actual organization’s quality program. (application, analysis, evaluation)
2. Analyze and integrate key principles of complex systems thinking in a well-designed total quality program. (analyze and synthesis)
3. Assess and recommend the necessary interdisciplinary synergies involved in evaluating and improving a business system’s quality program to help assure sustained strategic alignment between the internal and external environments. (evaluation)

METHOD OF TEACHING AND LEARNING:
In congruence with the teaching and learning strategy of the College, the following tools are used:
• Classes consist of lectures, case studies, and in-class discussion of related material.
• Office Hours: Students are encouraged to make full use of the office hours of their instructor in order to consult and discuss issues related to the course content.
• Use of the Blackboard learning platform: in order to enhance the teaching and learning process, instructors may use the site to post their announcements, upload related course material, lecture notes, assignment instructions and additional resources. By using this interface effectively, students are also provided with the opportunity to retrieve, process, analyse and communicate information.