Assignment Paper

The goal of this project is to describe how you would implement a major program of organizational change as if you were a senior leader of the company, using one of the following approaches:

a) Total Quality Management Initiative (TQM)
b) Six Sigma
c) Continual Quality Improvement (CQI)
d) Organizational Learning
e) Kaizen
f) Systems Thinking

Another aim of this paper is to draw upon as much of the course material as possible, but specifically from Units 5 -8.

You will select a large company, one for which it is easy to get information to study via web based resources. Examples include Apple, Dell, GM, etc. Do not select a company you work for or have worked for.

The requirements for your paper are:

• Research the initiative you select and the business. What is at issue here is how to affect large scale organizational change. What is the company you selected doing in this regard?

• Answer/address these questions:

a) What is meant by TQM, Six Sigma or CQI?

b) What specific goals do you hope to achieve with this program? For example, improve Return on Investment, Market Share, reduction in errors, etc

c) How will these goals be measured?

d) How will the program be implemented?

e) How will the company be structured to achieve these results?

f) How will "buy-in" by the employees be gained?

g) What is the role of leadership/management in the implementation of TQM?

h) Discuss the implications for organizational culture

• It is important that you are as specific as possible and that you use terms and information gleaned from the text and from research! All research citations must be in APA formatting.

• Specific, real world examples are preferred where possible (discovered by research). For example, how did a company like Continental Airlines restructure themselves? How do these examples reflect concepts we are studying? If you must make assumptions to supplement the material you find, if insufficient real world examples exist, then please identify when you have done so.

Formatting:

• APA formatted using double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font.
• APA formatted title and reference pages.
• The suggested page length is 4-12 pages, excluding title, abstract, or reference pages.
• Normal headings
• Use of bullets acceptable, where appropriate. The entire work should not be bullets though.
• Graphics are fine as long there are not too many
• Citations in APA standard format. A minimum of 3 separate citations is required.
• In addressing the questions posed, it is preferable that your paper "flow" as a coherent narrative, rather than organizing your paper around the questions; embed your responses to the questions in the paper.