WRITING ASSIGNMENT: APPLICATION ESSAY (MSM 6645)

TOPIC: QUALITY MANAGEMENT

This course's application essay involves identifying a problem that is amenable to analysis and possible correction using the methods of quality management (QM). The result should constitute an initial plan, or first step, in carrying out an actual QM change initiative in your organization, if feasible, or in a prior organization in which you have experience, if you must take that route. If you write on a prior organization, your case will be retrospective and hypothetical in nature.

Any feasible organizational problem to solve involves a measurable component: In concept, you would measure the relevant aspect of the process in question before planning your intervention. After implementation (which, in this course, is strictly hypothetical, albeit realistic), you would re-measure to assess the impact of your intervention. Feasible problems may involve reducing the variance of a routine process as a pathway toward increasing quality (Six Sigma in concept); streamlining a step-by-step process using value stream mapping; creating a way to capture and translate the voice of the customer for your organization; conducting a root cause analysis of a complex process; or implementing any of the Japanese QM techniques outlined in class.