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Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 13
understanding of purposes and goals and use of complementary measures and
information for planning, tracking, analysis, and improvement at each of the three levels
6. Amazingly, many colleges and universities would not be classified by Senge as "learning
organizations." To do so, they would have to begin to practice what they teach. For
example, colleges of business and engineering would have to go beyond just teaching
about enhancing performance to applying it to their academic and administrative
7. Student opinions may vary, but by this time in the course, they should be “convinced” of
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROJECTS, ETC.
1. This project will provide some interesting contrasts in cultural values, as students “surf”
the Web for answers. You might point the students to some of the websites of Baldrige
winners and some of the subjects of cases in this text, as a starting point.
2. Students will likely find a great deal of variation in terms of commitment to quality and
performance excellence principles. In addition, there will be a lot of variation as to the
“keys to success” of those that do have an on-going commitment. For more process-
oriented manufacturing or service organizations, expect to see the five “universal” best
practices exhibited, including:
a. Cycle-time analysis
Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 14
Also, such organizations would seek to avoid or tear down barriers to successful
implementation, such as:
a. lack of what Deming called “constancy of purpose”
3. Answers will vary, depending on which organizations the students study. This project is
4. This can be an interesting “hands on” project that may be beneficial to the students who
are the interviewees, as well as those who are interviewing. It is likely that few students,
5. See the answer to Review Question #8, above, as a resource for this project. Small and
large companies differ in a number of ways in which they can implement TQ, whether
they use a Baldrige, Six Sigma, or ISO 9000 approach. Small companies have less access
to specialists, such as financial, technical (such as Six Sigma “Black Belts”), and human
6. This project suggests that the quality life-cycle of development, perhaps using Figure
14.2, the Baldrige Roadmap to Performance Excellence, would provide a visual model of
the process for pursuing performance excellence from start to (Baldrige Award-winning)
Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 15
acquiring new technology, using customer satisfaction measures in strategic planning,
increased training for all levels of employees, and focusing quality strategy on “building
it in” and “inspecting it in.” Once these fundamentals are in place, they can move on to
practices such as department-level improvement teams, training employees in problem
solving and other specialized topics, listening to supplier suggestions about new products,
7. Students who talk to managers or owners of a local not-for-profit organizations or small
businesses about quality will find that awareness of quality may be high, but the specific
ANSWERS TO CASE QUESTIONS
I. Distinguished Ad Agency
1. Novedad and the Steering Committee made mistakes in the initial development of the
protocols and documentation and the early implementation stage because of the pressures
to perform a “quick fix.” Much of the documentation had been written by the quality
manager and edited by the president. Review by managers and supervisors, who were
2. Despite the fact that early implementation steps were handled well, with gaps and
shortfalls identified and proposed solutions recommended, implementation was chaotic.
Because of time, it was assumed that acceptance and adoption would be automatic. There
Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 16
were numerous indications that things were not proceeding as planned. Managers, not
wanting to appear unsure of their changed responsibilities and authority, clung to the
status quo. Training—when done—focused on lower level employees, which left
3. Now that Novedad and the Steering Committee have received their “wake-up” call, a
number of steps should be taken to revise and implement an improved, workable quality
management system. These include:
a. Define the need for making improvements – include communicating the scope of the
problem, types of complaints and errors being made, types of waste being experienced,
and benefits of improvements. This might be done by sending a letter from the president
to all employees, and by posting information prominently in work areas.
b. Develop and transmit the purpose for the improved quality management process – it
Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 17
and confidence to tackle the more challenging problems. For example customer
complaints might be handled, and processes for preventing them might be developed.
II. The Parable of the Green Lawn1
1. This parable shows that many of the common failings of TQ transformation efforts and
attempts to improve business processes are common to everyday experiences away from
the job, as well. As "Pogo," the character who played the title part in a 1960's and '70's
cartoon series used to say, "We have met the enemy, and he is us!"
2. Many common problems encountered on the path to TQ are contained in this story:
• Equating higher price with higher quality
• Jumping right into a program without first preparing the groundwork by finding and
eliminating obvious system problems that can prevent success
• Trying to treat the symptoms, rather than the causes
• Not having time to do the job right the first time but always having time to redo it
Conversely, Ms. Slo did the following:
• Carefully analyzed conditions that might contribute to her success.
• First prepared the groundwork by finding and eliminating obvious system problems
that could prevent success
Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 18
• Treated the causes, not the symptoms
• Took time to do the job right the first time so as to avoid redoing it
• Did not judge performance by isolated incidents
• Understood her own process, eliminating the need for copying tools and programs
from others
III. The Yellow Brick Road to Quality
1. The quality analogies to Dorothy’s adventures are pretty clear.
A. Dorothy’s call to action was precipitated by a crisis -- the tornado that transported her to
an alien land.
Managers at many levels find that there is a quality crisis in their part of the organization
that must be systematically dealt with. Often, they feel that they are in an alien land when
they are expected to lead their organization along the road to quality. Organizations need
to make backup plans if they are to avoid “Dorothy-like” disasters.
Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 19
E. Dorothy and company experience several encounters with near disaster while trying to
get the broom, including Dorothy's incarceration. In a struggle to extinguish the
Scarecrow's fire (incited by the Wicked Witch), Dorothy tosses a bucket of water, some of
which hits the Witch and melts her. Dorothy is rewarded with the broomstick and returns
to Oz.
This set of episodes has some interesting parallels with the quality journey. Managers
who are involved with quality efforts can sometimes get side-tracked and hung up with
F. Returning to Oz, the group talks with the Wizard, expecting him to help Dorothy return to
Kansas. After defrocking the Wizard, they find out he does not know how. The Wizard
tries to use a hot air balloon to return and accidentally leaves Dorothy and Toto behind
upon takeoff. Glinda arrives and helps Dorothy realize she can return to Kansas on her
2. Development of the flowchart is left to the student.
Instructor Reserve Materials
Cases
I. Equipto, Inc.
1. In launching a major change to the corporate culture, careful planning needs to be done.
At Equipto, a personable middle manager was chosen as division TQ director. Three days
Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 20
2. Details were not given on the content of the training, but it is likely that it was more team
based than SPC oriented because of Bob Green's influence. Up-front training was very
popular in the 1980's (and still is in some organizations). However, the advantage of JIT
training is that team members can immediately put their skills into practice and see
results. The “large scale” training effort may have caused the company to lose some
momentum.
3. SPC generally should be introduced to operating levels of employees soon after they have
learned problem-solving skills in their teams. However, training and use must be tailored
4. It is certainly possible for TQ to be implemented successfully and to have market
conditions to turn down. TQ is no guarantee of corporate financial success. However, if
5. The company should stay with its TQ focus. Frequently, corporations that institute a TQ
process quit too early, thus damaging employee morale and losing momentum in quality
II. LANB - Quality in Banking – Case A
1. Los Alamos National Bank (LANB) was established as a community bank in order to fill
a gap that was obvious in a non-typical small town in the USA. Los Alamos was built by
Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 21
Senior leadership has modeled its commitment to the community through being involved,
personally and professionally in the community, and through their long-term commitment
2. LANB focuses on employees as valuable assets. It empowers them to handle customer
complaints, gives them extensive training, and rewards them with fair compensation and
profit sharing in the same plan as senior management. In addition, senior management
breaks down the hierarchical barriers by not claiming traditional top management
“perks,” such as reserved parking places close to the building.
It is especially important for a service organization, such as LANB, to focus on
employees for the long-term quality and success of the business. It is known that
3. Technology supports the bank’s mission, as it strives to be more “customer driven” than
its competitors. It is organized to identify customer needs more readily and more
III. LANB - Quality in Banking – Case B2
1. LANB feels that a sustainability commitment is a good business practice for a number of
reasons. Customers in the region are a unique mix of highly educated scientists and
Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 22
2. LANB is moving beyond its core computational technology needed for everyday banking
transactions to “green” technology. It is making the effort to recycle water, reduce paper
waste through electronic communication, and reduce its “carbon footprint” through the
use of hybrid vehicles.
IV. Can Six Sigma Work in Health Care?
Despite the potential of Six Sigma, a number of steps must be taken before project work
can be started. Six Sigma must be introduced to the hospital staff and physicians. A
framework must be established to manage the initiative.
The agenda for the meeting with Colin might include background, information sharing,
and next steps, as follows.
- Corporate history and organizational profile
- Information about key management, including senior leaders, and directors of the
four target areas of patient services, quality assessment, financial management, and
human resources
- Level of commitment to quality and understanding of the meaning and philosophy of
The following are some of the questions which would need to be answered before
proposing a Six Sigma implementation plan.
Building, and Sustaining Quality and Performance Excellence 23
3. Do those leaders understand that changes must/will occur in the corporate culture
which will affect them, as well as everyone in management and non-management
positions in SLRMC?
4. Are the leaders willing to invest financial and human resources in establishing Six
Sigma as a long-term commitment to a quality policy?
5. How will the Six Sigma process and results help to meet strategic objectives, thus
providing strategic benefits to the organizaiton?
6. How will processes be aligned with Six Sigma projects and approaches?
7. What will be the challenges and advantages of using Six Sigma to solve problems
versus how that is currently done?
8. How will Six Sigma projects and results be measured and aligned with current or
future perfomance measurement processes?
9. To what extent will the workforce and managers at all levels have to be trained in
process thinking and a focus on results?
10. How will workforce training, rewards, and recognition for the Six Sigma initiative be
structured?
The infrastructure to support Six Sigma at SLRMC would depend somewhat on what was
already in place in patient services, quality assessment, financial management, and
human resources. However, it would be necessary to take into account the steps required
