Group Case: Hank Kolb, Director of Quality Assurance: Your analysis should begin by identifying the key problem or opportunity for improvement as presented in the case. As you develop your analysis, you should identify the root causes of the problem and alternative courses of action for the decision makers in the case. After evaluating the options, you should recommend a solution and an implementation plan for resolving the problem.

As part of your analysis, you should address the following specific questions.

1. What are the causes of the quality problems presented in the case? You may find it useful to organize and display your answers using a fishbone diagram. [Note: There is an example of a fishbone diagram on page 307 in the JC15 textbook. You should use one of the standard sets of labels for the main categories on the diagram, such as "Machinery, Manpower (People), Methods, and Materials", or "Production, People, Processes, and Parts", or something similar. The "tail" of the fishbone diagram, near where the word "Analyze" is located in the example on page 307, is often labeled as "Mother Nature" or "Other" to provide a place for causes that do not fit into the other four main categories.]