Assessment Overview -

The assessment is designed for students to apply quality management concepts, methods and tools. The assessment involves writing a 2500 word short business report responding to assessment questions related to specific case material. Submit your report with a cover sheet showing the course name and number, assessment number, your name and student number. Assessment details, case material and guidance will be provided on the course website.

Feel free to discuss your assessment ideas in the course discussion forum, before you complete and submit the assessment.

Assessment Context and Case Material -

Video interview with LEGO CEO Knudstorp about investments in Asia (including Australia), viewed on

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/b/d2c47b07-981e-4cf5-a918-7bc194c54545

LEGO also need a subcontractor in Australia. You are the new manager of a small niche manufacturer Smart Pack Ltd. in Australia with 60 employees. You report to the owner of the business who has no active involvement in the business, but has clear expectations about how it will be managed. LEGO has contacted the owner of Smart Pack Ltd. and suggested that the Smart Pack Ltd. assembles small LEGO sets, in small production series, specially developed for the Australian market. However, Smart Pack Ltd. will need to have a Total Quality Management system in place to become a subcontractor to LEGO. The owner has given you twelve months to successfully implement Total Quality Management at the firm.

Check out the following case material.

The Quality Story at LEGO according to Jørgen Christensen, Quality Director at LEGO, Billund, Denmark  -

http://newfutureformula.com/f/papers/quality-story-of-lego.pdf

Assessment Task -

You are required to write a 2000 word short report to the owner of Smart Pack Ltd. that describes how the organisation will implement Total Quality Management.

1. Describe how you will prove to the owner that you have successfully implemented Total Quality Management. The proof must be able to be observed or measured. This must be supported by appropriate references.

2. Write an Action Plan that lists the steps in implementing Total Quality Management at Smart Pack Ltd. This is a simple list of sequential steps, supported by at least one reference.

3. Describe each of the steps by stating in plain Australian English what will be done, why it will be done, and who will do it. It should be clear to the reader what is involved in each of the steps. This must be supported by appropriate references.

Note: The organisation Smart Pack Ltd. is fictitious. You can invent information about the organisation. Do not use up a lot of words doing this, and try to keep it realistic. Always remember that the purpose of the report is to demonstrate what you know about quality management and about the implementation of Total Quality Management. It is not about demonstrating in-depth knowledge about manufacturing management beyond what you see in the LEGO videos provided on the course website.

• You should conduct research to identify a suitable implementation process. Inspiration and further advice to guide your research and application will be provided on the course website.
• Use the organisation Smart Pack Ltd. as a way to demonstrate your knowledge of the course content, including the textbook and additional reading you have done. This involves extensive referencing of theory available from these sources.
• Provide an executive summary, introduction, conclusion and recommendations. Use appropriate headings for the body of the report.
• Use at least eight (8) references from the course materials and your own reading that is specifically 'quality management' references. These should be from peer reviewed journal articles and quality management textbooks. The eight (8) references described above are in addition to any references you provide that give information about LEGO and Smart Pack Ltd.
• Use in-text referencing and a reference list, following the CQUniversity Harvard Referencing or APA Style Guide provided on the course web site on Moodle.
• You are encouraged to use bullet points, illustrations and diagrams to reinforce your argumentation where appropriate.

Your short report must contain the following:

• Title Page
• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Body/ Discussion
• Conclusion/Recommendations
• References
• Appendices.