GSCM588 Final Project Proposal Outline 1. Title 2. Name of organization (you can use a pseudonym) 3. Background/overview of organization Size of company Type of industry Product or service Brief synopsis of quality management processes 4. Introduction to the problem Identify the quality issues that need to be addressed o Performance issues o Customer service issues o Other 5. Opportunities Potential gains from successful quality management processes A few examples of the organization's goals might be to increase quality levels, lower costs of quality, improve customer satisfaction, increase morale, and increase productivity. Feel free to add to this list. 6. Possible quality management initiative Six Sigma Lean principles TQM Balanced scorecard (quality focused) Other? 7. Linkage to course TCOs and specific topics in the Syllabus 8. Sources to be used Identify at least three for the outline assignment Notes Please be sure to complete all parts of the outline for full credit. Your submission should be 3-4 pages. Submit it in 12-point Times New Roman font. Make sure you provide the citations and references in APA format. GSCM588 Course Project Requirements Topic Selection 1. Select a specific organization of interest to you and identify a quality management related problem(s) in the firm. Examples may be poor quality levels, high cost of quality, poor product or service design, high levels of internal or external failures, and so on. Feel free to add to this list if you need to. 2. You are taking on the role as a quality management consultant and the executives of your chosen organization have asked you to submit a recommended direction to implement a quality management initiative to address the quality management related problem(s) you identified above (e.g., Six Sigma, lean principles, TQM, SPC, balanced scorecard, etc.). 3. You also need to identify which of the course TCOs and specific topics in the Syllabus are related to the problem you identify. Research Sources 1. All papers must have a minimum of eight scholarly sources (other than textbook) cited within the text of the paper and identified in the References section. 2. Additional research sources can be attached in an appendix. 3. All sources must be in two place: They need to be identified in the References section and must also have a corresponding citation in the body of the paper. 4. To access and use EBSCOhost for your research, use this link: http://proxy.devry.edu/login? url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip&custid=ns123107 Paper Format 1. All papers should be single sided, double spaced, and written in 12-point Times New Roman font. 2. The paper should be between 10 and 12 pages, excluding the cover page, reference pages, and appendices. 3. The first page should include the title of the work, student name, address, telephone and e-mail address, course number, date, and instructor's name. 4. Follow APA style for general format and citations. 5. Paper sections must adhere to the guidelines below and each section must be labeled in the text. 6. The language should be clear, concise, and precise. 7. The tone should be professional, consistent, and not filled with jargon. 8. Grammar and syntax (sentence structure) must be correct. 9. The report must be free of misspellings and typos. Tables and Figures 1. All figures and tables must be referred to in your text before they appear on the page. a. 2. Figures and tables should appear on the same page as the text that refers to them, or on the next page. All figures and tables need captions. Captions go below figures and above tables. Quotations and Citations 1. Quotations and citations are crucial components of a research paper. 2. Failure to properly cite research sources and borrowed ideas is plagiarism. 3. Papers submitted without citations and references will be returned to the student with no grade. 4. Refer to the APA style guide for assistance with properly citing quoted and/or borrowed materials and ideas. Milestones WEEK ACTION REQUIRED Week 1 Look forward in the weekly readings and lectures and familiarize yourself with course content and then select an organization and problem area to research for ideas. Submit a written project proposal containing the following. Week 2 Weeks 3-6 1. Follow the example GM588 Final Project Proposal outline provided in Doc Sharing. Continue to work on the class project; seek instructor help as required. Conduct library research on your topic. 1. Identify a minimum of eight scholarly resources for your project . 2. All resources for the paper should come from the DeVry library and must be of scholarly/journal quality. 3. Use the librarians for assistance in accessing materials. Please note: Articles found online (consulting company websites, Internet magazines, or other blogs) will not be considered acceptable scholarly resources. Conduct your research through a library where you can be assured that the sources are of scholarly quality. For example, please do not use Wikipedia! Week 7 Submit the completed project to the assignment area for grading. Project Outline Please print out the Course Project Outline available in Doc Sharing and use it as a checklist while constructing your paper and again before you turn it in. Your paper must include the following sections. SECTION POINTS DESCRIPTION Title Page 5 This should contain the title of your quality management research paper; your name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number; the course number and title; the instructor's name; and the date. Introduction 10 Provide an overview of the organization and give enough information about the firm to acquaint an unfamiliar person (no matter how famous the company). Identify the company's name, location, size, and market segment (business line), and give a brief history. Identify the essential issues, events, or actions to help frame the problem and subsequent discussion points. Problem Statement 15 Identify and clearly state the problem (the quality management issues that you have selected to research). The problem statement should identify the major reason(s) for the recommended direction to implement a quality management initiative. A well-formed problem statement has the following. 1. Focus: The problem should be well defined and specific enough for the reader to gain a clear idea of the quality management area and the direction of your study and research. 2. Structure: If the problem statement is sufficiently focused, it will provide a basis for decisions about which information to include and which to exclude from the paper. 3. Significance: The significance section is the area where you need to answer the magic question: \"So what?\" The significance makes your research worth it to the reader. It is great if you can link this more to quality and productivity issues and provide numbers to support your direction. Literature Review 30 You must address a minimum of eight scholarly resources in this section (excluding the textbook). Provide an analysis and synthesis of the various authors from the research that significantly informed your analysis and proposed solutions. You may have found conflicting opinions or theories related to your topic area. Identify and discuss any such contrasts and/or describe in detail significant agreement among your sources. Your literature review should be separate and distinct from your analysis section; it is a summation of your research. The \"best practices\" of quality management that were covered in the course and that link with your direction should be cited in this section. Use subtitles as necessary. Citations are a must! Explore the problem in depth and with scholarly rigor. Provide an identification and description of the potential root causes of the problem or issue. Be sure not to address only symptoms of your problem. Diagnose the problem and its origins as best you can. Analysis 30 A critical element of this section is to apply the best practices of quality management concepts and models from the textbook, class discussions, and researched sources. Discuss the concepts, ideas, or insights that are most valuable in helping you make sense of the causes of the problem. Support your analysis with reference to appropriate research material. Citations are a must! Recommendation s Identify the quality management initiative and recommended direction that you have chosen. Explain its relevance and significance in how it will address the quality management issue(s) and reason(s) that you identified in the problem statement area. 30 Citations are a must! Note: Please remember in this section you also need to touch on how you will be able to measure success. Think of the \"lead-lag\" indicator concepts from the course readings and lectures. Reflection 10 In this section, you are to reflect on your learning from this assignment. Identify the areas that you found most interesting and also identify areas that you feel will assist you most in your career. You must use no fewer than eight library resources outside your textbook. All references must be cited in two places: within the body of your paper and on a separate reference list. Choose references judiciously and cite them accurately. Cite all sources using APA format. Please note: Citing an author's work within your text documents your research, identifies the source for readers, and enables readers to locate the source of information in the alphabetical reference list at the end of the paper. References 10 To use the ideas or words of another person without crediting the source is plagiarism. Plagiarism in its purest form involves copying passages either verbatim or nearly verbatim, with no direct acknowledgment of the source. The most common form of plagiarism is to paraphrase information from your source material. Paraphrasing does not relieve you of the obligation to provide proper identification of source data. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to make sure all quotes, ideas, or conclusions not your own are given proper acknowledgment in your text. A key thought to remember is \"If you did not write it, cite it!\" Total 140