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 SPC.
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
expected and end results of the program were, and what the strengths and weakness of the
program were. To receive maximum points, students should include the following in the
analysis:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The underlying philosophy of the quality program; did the company use Deming,
Juran, Crosby, another guru, or some combination?
If a particular philosophy was adopted, which points seemed to work well and which
did not. For example, of Deming's 14 points, which were most effectively utilized by
the company?
What types of management tools were adopted by the company in their quality
program?
What types of training were utilized by the company?
What were the costs/benefits associated with the quality management program?
Students are expected to use and appropriately cite in the paper all available resources at
their disposal. In addition, students are encouraged to conduct a literature search and a web
search about 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 and/or
tools of quality management that may be suitable for on-line delivery. You must receive
permission from the instructor for a specific alternative. Examples might include the
following:
 Prepare an online animated tutorial for the Funnel Experiment
 Prepare an in depth presentation on Deming, Juran, Crosby – compare and contrast
Grading
See the grading sheet on the last page of this syllabus.
List of Pre-Approved Companies
These companies are pre-approved, meaning that if you choose to complete your case study on
one of these organizations, 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 different company,
please contact the instructor first. It is OK 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.
Florida Power & Light
Florida Power and Light (FPL) is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States
servicing 5.7 million people in a territory covering about half of Florida. FPL has about
15,000 employees, operates 13 plants, 397 substations, and more than 53,000 miles of
transmission and distribution lines.
During the 1970's, the company was forced to increase utility rates repeatedly because of
increasing costs, slower sales growth, and stricter federal and state regulations. In 1981,
chairman of the board, Marshall McDonald, introduced quality improvement teams. In
1983, while in Japan, McDonald met the president of Kansai Electric Power Company, a
Deming Prize winner, who told him about their quality efforts. Company officials began to
visit Kansai regularly, and with their help, FPL gegan its Quality Improvement Program.
As a result of its efforts, in 1989 Florida Power and Light was the first US utility company to
be awarded the Deming Prize. Shortly following the award, the CEO of Florida Power and
Light retired and the new CEO immediately slashed the quality management program by
approximately 80%. Accordingly, Florida Power and Light simultaneously represents one of
the great success stories and one of the great failures of a quality management program.
Resources:
Hudiberg, J.J., Winning with Quality, Quality Resources, 1991.
"The Cost of Quality," Newsweek, 48-49, Sept. 7, 1992.
USAA
Spechler, J., Managing Quality in America's Most Admired Companies, Berrett-Koehler,
1993.
3M
Spechler, J., Managing Quality in America's Most Admired Companies, Berrett-Koehler,
1993.
City of Madison, WI
Joseph Sensenbrenner, mayor of Madison, Wisconsin (1983-89) had long recognized the
ingrained bureaucratic culture of government. Following a 1983 audit disclosing problems
at the city garage showing long repair delays and unavailability of equipment, Mayor
Sensenbrenner initiated a quality management program. After obtaining the cooperation
of the union president, Sensenbrenner formed a team of composed primarily of the
individual mechanics performing the repairs. Very quickly it was determined that the root
cause of the problem was insufficient stocking of parts. Tracking the process to determine
how to correct the problem was, however, another matter. It was a classic case of
bureaucratic pass the buck. However, after departmental barriers were eliminated, the
team was able to revise the purchasing policy from a 24 step process to a 3 step process.
As a result, the average repair delay was reduced from 9 days to 3 days and the
department observed a net annual savings of $700,000.
Resources:
Sensenbrenner, J., "Quality Comes to City Hall," Harvard Business Review, March-April
1991, pp.64-75.
Federal Express
Federal Express began operations in 1973 with a fleet of eight airplanes. By 1990, some
89,000 employees processed 1.3 million shipments daily. Within 10 years of its founding,
annual revenues reached $1 billion. The Federal Express management philosophy
emphasizes perople, service, and profit - in that order. The company has a well-developed
management evaluation system called SFA that involves a survey of emmployees, analysis
of each work group's results by the work group's manager, and a discussion between the
manager and the work group to develop written action plans for the manager to improve
and become more effective. Data from the SFA process are aggregated at all levels of the
organization for use in policy-making.
CEO, Frederick Smith, stated five criteria for a quality management program which the
company established in 1987:
1.
Establish clear quality goals.
2.
Measure accurately what is done.
3.
Identify critical points in the value chain, such as final sort points, and manage
flawlessly.
4.
Demonstrate discipline in operations.
5.
Provide immediate and accurate feedback to employees.
In 1990, as a result of Federal Express Corporation's quality initiative, they were the first
winner of the Malcolm Baldrige Award in the service catagory.
Stratton, B., "Four to Receive 1990 Baldrige Awards," Quality Progress, 19-21, Dec., 1990.
Spechler, J., Managing Quality in America's Most Admired Companies, Berrett-Koehler,
1993.
Hyatt Regency
Spechler, J., Managing Quality in America's Most Admired Companies, Berrett-Koehler,
1993.
Anheuser-Busch
Spechler, J., Managing Quality in America's Most Admired Companies, Berrett-Koehler,
1993.
ENGM 620
Quality Management
Grading: Project Reports
Project Topic
Project Team
Report
Points Awarded
Organization (30 pts)
Introduction of background and objectives
Continuity of project development
Conclusions clear and based on facts
Style/Format (20 pts)
Is the writing clear and concise?
Are there few errors in punctuation
and grammar?
Are all items that need citations appropriately
credited?
Analysis (50 pts)
Are goals & objectives clearly defined?
Are tasks well identified and assigned?
Are arguments and analysis clearly presented
and logical?
Is the project well researched?
Comments: