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.
Title Page and Executive Summary. Use the formatting on the posted sample. The executive summary is the same as an abstract, but with a managerial audience in mind. After the abstract, include the following sections (at least one paragraph per section):
Introduction (no header). Describe the organization, its mission, and its market or purpose. Select a process to improve. Define the process narrowly enough to make it manageable.
Strategic Considerations (primary section header; use secondary section headers for each of the strategic components noted here). Outline your industry’s KSFs and the relevant aspects of the external environment (PEST framework). Perform a SWOT analysis.
Process Steps (primary section header). Reintroduce the process to improve. Explain the process in step-by-step fashion. Consider what triggers the process, what occurs first, what occurs next, and so forth, through the point of producing a product or service.
Process Context (primary section header). Discuss the process from the perspective of either the 7-S framework or the 6-Box framework. Start with that component of the framework that serves as the locus (location) of the selected process. Then identify other processes in each of the other components that may affect the selected process or that may be subject to its effects.
Measurement (primary section header). To conclude this essay, discuss how you propose to measure the relevant attribute of the selected process, both before and after your intervention. Be sure to consider how your selected measure connects to the organization vision.
Standards. See the posted APA-styled sample paper to help prepare the title page, page headers, executive summary, and references with precision. Refrain from using tables, graphs, or bulleted lists. The minimum length is 1,400 words, from the introduction to the end of the measurement section, excluding any content in quotation marks or parentheses. Common errors in these essays include font, font size, lineation, margin settings, and indentation. Cite at least the textbook and five qualifying sources based on the criteria listed in the syllabus. Proofread your work!
To amend your essay (before the deadline), type “AMENDED SUBMISSION” at the top of the new version.
