Grading:

Quizzes

There will be a total of 6 unscheduled quizzes during the semester. The points for the lowest one quizz will not be included in your grade. The quizzes will be around 3-5 minutes long, typically having 5-10 multiple-choice and short questions. Each quiz will cover material that is due to be covered in that class as well as the material that was covered in the previous class. There will be no make-up for missed quizzes, unless the absence is for participation in university-sponsored activities (e.g., intercollegiate athletics, cheer leading, required out-of-town conferences) which conflict with the quiz date. In this case, your organization must notify me in writing within the first week of the semester, and I will make alternative arrangements for you. 

Examinations:
There are two exams, each worth 125 points. There are normally no make-up exams. The only exception to this involves students absent for participation in university-sponsored activities (e.g., intercollegiate athletics, cheerleading, required out-of-town conferences) that conflict with the scheduled examinations. In this case, your organization must notify me in writing within the first few weeks of the semester, and I will make alternative arrangements for you. An unexcused absence for an examination will result in a grade of "0" for the missed examination.

Group Project and presentation (3 students per group)

A hand in-group assignment will be a project that you will work in groups of three. Select a quality issue that you want to study and spend some time brainstorming the possibilities.  Describe the current process thoroughly. What are the causes of the problem and what are the effects.  Identify the various options. Analyze each option, raising the pros and cons. Collect the data using observations, published information, questionnaire, or interviews. Analyze the data using the tools that you have learned in this course. Make recommendations to improve the process, and estimate the performance improvement you expect.

The project may be in context to a product or a service that this organization provides to an internal or external customer(s). Or you can write a case describing a ‘quality related’ problem faced by a business organization. Keep your project manageable. We will decide on projects and groups in the first class.

By February 7, each group needs to send me one page (single space) synopsis of the project they will be working on and the company with whom they will be working. The written report is due April 18. You are required to hand in a typewritten project report. The report should be professional in all respects. It should have an executive summary of the major findings and recommendations, and a write-up that provides the details of the analyses, recommendations and results. There is no page limit. You may include exhibits to present supporting material like graphs, tables, charts, and any other pertinent information to your analysis. Each group will have 15 minutes to present their analysis of the project, followed with questions. Any student missing class during the three days when presentations are scheduled will automatically lose 10 points.

Your report will be assessed against the following criteria:

1.Quality of the recommended actions as measured by:

consistency between the problems/opportunities identified and the actions

specificity of the proposed actions

viability of the proposed actions

2. Use and understanding of the tools that you have learned in class

Journal Entry

Identify article(s) in magazines, journals, newspapers etc. that illustrate a concept from the course and write a brief, one to two page (1.5 space) paper that describes the concept and shows its application to real world organizations. Grade will be allotted for your understanding of the topic and relevance to the course material. The dates for journal entries are March 7 and March 28. 

Class Participation and attendance

All reading assignments for the semester are listed in the course outline. You are expected to have read the assignments prior to the class meeting, since the discussion in class will assume that you are knowledgeable of the material.

Class participation is evaluated on the individual's initiative of being the lead discussant, class discussions, and involvement in the learning process. Your participation in class will provide the basis for my judgement of your normal level of day-to-day preparation. You should be prepared in each class (assigned text and cases) to participate voluntarily and when called upon. It is your responsibility to advise me and get assistance if you are unable to participate. Behavior that is considered as disrupting the class will be marked negatively.

Regular attendance is essential. A missed class will result in a loss of five points from your class participation score. However, you can makeup for the missed class (only excused absence) by submitting a written case analysis (3-4 pages, single space) that will be assigned from the book. Missing three or more classes will result in automatic failure in the course.

Grade A = total points 450 or higher

Grade B = total points between 400 and 449.9

Grade C = total points between 350 to 399.9

Grade D = total points between 300 to 349.9

Grade F = below 300

P.S. – Since most of our communication will be through email, please send me an email before your second class, so that I can add you to the class email list. Thanks!