MANAGEMT 7012NA - Business Performance Improvement

Ngee Ann Academy - Quadmester 3 - 2017

This course provides students with the knowledge and skill-set required to formulate and implement sustainable improvement strategies aimed at improving business performance and overall competitiveness. It provides a practical appreciation and understanding of the various improvement strategies and techniques that have come to prominence during the past few decades, including Total Quality Management, Business Process Re-engineering and more recently Six Sigma and Lean Thinking. It considers these approaches and their use against the broader agenda of how to achieve sustainable improvement and the development of sustainable sources of competitive advantage. In particular, students are introduced to the idea of 'process thinking' and related concepts such as cost of quality, complexity, variation etc. i.e. considering the business and identifying improvement opportunities by viewing it from a process perspective. Students are also introduced to methodologies for business review and diagnosis - similar to the approaches used by the major management consulting firms. The later stages of the subject considers implementation issues arising with business performance improvement strategies to ensure that organisations are able to learn and achieve cumulative improvements over time, rather than temporary 'fad chasing' as is often the case.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code MANAGEMT 7012NA
    Course Business Performance Improvement
    Coordinating Unit Adelaide Business School
    Term Quadmester 3
    Level Postgraduate Coursework
    Location/s Ngee Ann Academy
    Units 3
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Course Description This course provides students with the knowledge and skill-set required to formulate and implement sustainable improvement strategies aimed at improving business performance and overall competitiveness. It provides a practical appreciation and understanding of the various improvement strategies and techniques that have come to prominence during the past few decades, including Total Quality Management, Business Process Re-engineering and more recently Six Sigma and Lean Thinking. It considers these approaches and their use against the broader agenda of how to achieve sustainable improvement and the development of sustainable sources of competitive advantage.
    In particular, students are introduced to the idea of 'process thinking' and related concepts such as cost of quality, complexity, variation etc. i.e. considering the business and identifying improvement opportunities by viewing it from a process perspective. Students are also introduced to methodologies for business review and diagnosis - similar to the approaches used by the major management consulting firms.
    The later stages of the subject considers implementation issues arising with business performance improvement strategies to ensure that organisations are able to learn and achieve cumulative improvements over time, rather than temporary 'fad chasing' as is often the case.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Mr Max Zornada

    Max is a Management Educator and Consultant with extensive experience teaching MBA, Executive Education and Management Development Seminars and as a hands-on practitioner, consulting to major corporations on a range of Operational Excellence issues, throughout Australia, the US, Middle East, UK, Western Europe and Asia.

    Max Zornada is an Adjunct Lecturer in the University of Adelaide Business School where he currently teaches Operations Management and Business Performance Improvement in the MBA Program. He has taught Project Management, Quality Management, E-Business and Managing Innovation and Technology, and Statistical and Quantitative Thinking. He also delivers the “Business Fundamentals” modules in the Professional Management Program for the Executive Education Unit and the Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Advanced, Green Belt and Black Belt programs.

    He has presented the TQM and Data Analysis and Statistical Business Modelling subjects in the Australian Graduate School of Management's (AGSM), University of New South Wales, Executive MBA and is a member of the AGSM’s Operations Excellence Executive Education team. Max was a Visiting Professor in the MBA program at the Consorzio MIP at the Politecnico di Milano in Milan early in 1998, where he taught Business Process Reengineering.

    Max is also the Director of the Australian based Management Consulting and Education firm Henley Management Group. In this capacity he has presented many in-house Executive Programs for major corporations on topics such as Business Process Improvement, Six Sigma, Lean Thinking, The Balanced Scorecard, Operations Management, Project Management, Work Management in Australia and internationally.
    Prior to founding HMG, Max spent several years with the London based international management and technology consultancy PA Consulting Group, after holding various managerial and professional engineering positions in the chemicals processing and petrochemicals industry with Adelaide and Wallaroo Fertilisers, ICI and Santos.

    Based in Adelaide, Max maintains an active local, Australian and International consulting and Management Education practice, with a focus on capital intensive (petrochemical, energy and chemicals) businesses, and business improvement in financial services and services organisations in general. In recent years, a major focus of his consulting activity has been Six Sigma, Lean Thinking and Process Improvement implementation across a broad range on industries, including financial services transaction processing centres, telecommunications, aerospace, IT and mining.
    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    By the end of this course student will be able to:

    1. Apply contemporary concepts and methodologies to improve business performance and operational capabilities
    2. Explain and apply Six Sigma and Lean process methodologies, supporting tools and techniques to an identified workplace problem.
    3. Demonstrate excellent communication skills and a collaborative approach to work.
    4. Identify opportunities for business improvement and diagnose the need for change.
    5. Make business decisions and provide justification.
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1, 2, 3 & 4
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    2 & 4
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    3
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    2, 4 & 5
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    3
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    3 & 5
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Text Book:
    There is no recommended textbook for this subject. A comprehensive course pack will be provided for this subject. The reference book listed below has been used as a textbook for this subject in the past. However, due to the significant increase in price during the past 2 years it is now longer recommended as an essential book.


    Reference Book:
    • James R. Evans, William M. Lindsay, (2011) Managing for Quality and Performance Excellence, 8th Edition ISBN-10:0-324-78320-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-324-78320-9, Thomson Learning.

    3.2 RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
    Six Sigma and Lean Specific:
    • Pyzdek, Thomas (2003) The Six Sigma Handbook, McGraw Hill
    • Gygi, Graig., DeCarlo, Neil., and William, Bruce (2005) Six Sigma for Dummies, Wiley Publishing Inc.
    • Gygi, Graig., DeCarlo, Neil., and William, Bruce (2005) Six Sigma for Dummies Workbook, Wiley Publishing Inc.
    • Liker, Jeffrey K. and Meier, David (2005) The Toyota Way, McGraw-Hill
    • Liker, Jeffrey K. and Meier, David (2006) The Toyota Way Field Book, McGraw-Hill
    • DeCarlo, Neil (2007) A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma, Penguin Group
    • George, Michael L., Rowlands, David., Prices, Max and Maxey, John (2005) The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Tool Book, McGraw Hill
    • Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T. and Roos, Daniel (2007) The Machine That Changed the World (2007 reprint of 1990 book), Free Press.
    • Womack, James P. and Jones, Daniel T. (2003) Lean Thinking, Simon and Schustster.
    • Womack, James P. and Jones, Daniel T. (2005) Lean Consumption, Simon and Schuster.
    • Sayer, Natalie J. and Williams, Bruce (2007) Lean for Dummies, Wiley Publishing.
    • Breyfogle III, Forrest W., Implementing Six Sigma, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
    • Pande, Peter S., Neuman, Robert P. and Cavanaugh, Roland R. , The Six Sigma Way
    • Pande, Peter S., Neuman, Robert P. and Cavanaugh, Roland R. , The Six Sigma Way Team Fieldbook
    • Gitlow, Howard S., Levine, David. And Popvich, Edward A. (2006) Design for Six Sigma for Green Belts and Champions, Prentice Hall.

    Statistics Specific
    • Levine, David M., (2006) Statistics for Six Sigma Green Belts with Minitab and JMP, Prentice Hall.
    • Berenson, Mark L., Levine, David M., and Krehbeil, Timothy C. (2006) Basic Business Statistics, Concepts and Application, Prentice Hall.
    • Berenson, Mark L., Levine, David M., and Ramsey, Patricia P. (1995) Business Statistics for Quality and Productivity, Prentice Hall.
    • Keller, Gerald (2005), Statistics for Management and Economics, 7th Edition, Thomson Learning.
    • Devor, Richard E., Chang, Tsong-how, Sutherland, John W. (2007) Statistical Quality Design and Control, 2nd Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall.

    Business Improvement and Team Work
    • Pfeffer, Jeffrey and Sutton, Robert I. (2006) Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths and Total Nonsense – Profiting from Evidence-Based Management, Harvard Business School press.
    • Harrington, J (1991) Business Process Improvement, McGraw Hill.
    • Joiner, Brian (1996), The Team Handbook, 2nd Edition, Straus Printing Company
    • Scholtes, Peter R., The Leader’s Handbook.
    • Goldratt, Eliyahu M. and Cox, Jeff. The Goal, Gower.
    • Weisbord, Marvin. Productive Workplaces
    .

    Magazines:
    • Quality Progress Magazine, published by ASQ (American Society for Quality)
    • iSixSigma Magazine, published by iSixSigma
    • Harvard Business Review (occasionally)

    Web Sites
    www.iSixSigma.com
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes

    No information currently available.

    Workload

    No information currently available.

    Learning Activities Summary

    No information currently available.

  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary

    No information currently available.

    Assessment Detail

    No information currently available.

    Submission

    No information currently available.

    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

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