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.

First Intensive – 4/5/6 November

Friday	7:00pm – 8:30pm	Introduction to the subject, overview, assessment details and administrative issues Topic 1: Introduction to Business Performance Improvement
Friday	8:45pm-10:00pm	Topic 2: Process Thinking
Saturday	1:00pm-2:30pm	Topic 2: Process Thinking (continued)
Saturday	2:45pm-4:15pm	Topic 3: The Cost of Quality Topic 4: Complexity
Saturday	4:30pm - 6:00pm	Topic 5: Introduction to Variation
Saturday	6:15pm – 7:30pm	Topic 6: Team Based Problem Solving, The DMAIC Process
Sunday	9:00am-10:30am	Topic 6: Team Based Problem Solving, the DMAIC Process (continued)
Sunday	10:45am-12:30pm	Topic 7: Process Change/Reengineering, the DMADV Process Topic 8: Process Flow Management
Sunday	1:30pm - 2:45pm	Topic 9: Define Phase Detail
Sunday	3:00pm - 4:30pm	Topic 10: Measure Phase Detail

Second Intensive – 2/3/4 December

Friday	7:00pm – 8:30pm	Topic 11: Statistical Process Control, Six Sigma and Statistical Techniques
Friday	8:45pm-10:00pm	Topic 12: DMAIC Analyse Phase Detail
Saturday	1:00pm-2:30pm	Topic 13: DMAIC Improve and Control Phases Detail
Saturday	2:45pm-4:15pm	Topic 14: Lean Thinking
Saturday	4:30pm - 6:00pm	Topic 14: Lean Thinking (continued)
Saturday	6:15pm – 7:30pm	Topic 14: Lean Thinking (continued)
Sunday	9:00am-10:30am	Topic 15: Dealing with Intangible and ill-defined problems and issues (continued)
Sunday	10:45am-12:30pm	Topic 16: Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
Sunday	1:30pm - 2:45pm	Topic 17: Business Diagnostic and Organisational Review
Sunday	3:00pm - 4:30pm	Topic 18: Implementation Issues

The objectives of this subject are to provide students with:
1. Knowledge and understanding of contemporary foundation concepts and methodologies for improving business performance and operational capability;
2. An understanding of process thinking, how it is different to functional thinking and how it can be applied to identify opportunities for improvement;
3. An understanding of concepts and a working knowledge of tools and techniques for managing an organisation’s interface with its customers so as to create satisfied and loyal customers in a consistent and sustainable manner;
4. An understanding of the cost of quality concept and how it can be used to analyse costs structure and identify improvement opportunities;
5. An understanding of what process complexity is, how to identify it and how to use it to identify improvement actions;
6. Skills and working knowledge in team based problem solving, root cause analysis and the Six Sigma DMAIC process methodologies and supporting tools and techniques;
7. Skills and working knowledge in process redesign, Six Sigma DFSS, the DMADV process and supporting tools and techniques;
8. Skills and working knowledge of process flow management concepts, tools and techniques;
9. An understanding of Lean Thinking, concepts, tools and techniques including Toyota Production System concepts, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen and Kaikaku;
10. Understanding of concepts, tools and techniques relating to the management of variation, statistical process control and Six Sigma related statistical concepts;
11. Skills and working knowledge in the use of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis technique;
12. Skills and working knowledge of the seven quality problem solving tools;
13. Skills and working knowledge of the seven management tools for dealing with intangible issues;
14. An understanding of issues that need to be dealt with when conducting and implementing the outcomes of an improvement project in an organisation;
15. An understanding of the issues that need to be dealt with in trying to implement operational excellence and business performance improvement methodologies within an organisation;
16. Complete a project illustrating the successful application of methodologies, tools and techniques covering in the course.

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

Business Performance Improvement is offered a 2 x 3 day intensive program and uses a mix of learning methods.
Participants will be introduced to certain concepts, techniques or issues through formal lecture presentations. It is expected that lecture presentations will be interwoven with questions, comments and discussion initiated by participants.
Management games, group work, individual work, case studies and presentations will be used to provide opportunities to reinforce concepts and practice techniques or skills.
Two theory assignments and a practical “real world” application project will be used to reinforce the learnings in this subject.

Students should allocate approximately eight hours per week of study time to do appropriate readings, project work and assignments in addition to attendance at scheduled lecture sessions.

Topic 1	Introduction to Business Performance Improvement Readings: “A Note on Quality: The Views of Deming, Juran and Crosby” (1986) Harvard Business School, Note 9-687-011 Frederick Winslow Taylor, From Economist.com, Feb 6th 2009 Scientific management, From Economist.com, Feb 9th 2009 Alfred Sloan, From Economist.com, Jan 30th 2009 Lloyd P. Provost and Gerald J. Langley, "The Importance of Concepts, in Creativity and Improvement", Quality Progress, March 1998
Topic 2:	Process Thinking Readings: • Keen, Peter G.W. and Knapp, Ellen M. (1996) “Every Manager’s Guide To Business Processes” Pages 1-36,Harvard Business School Press. • Hammer, M and Stanton, S. (1999) “ How process enterprises really work”, Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec vol 77, no. 6, pp 108-118. • Majchrzak, A and Wang, Q (1996) “Breaking the functional mindset in process organisations”, Harvard Business Review, September-October, vol 74, no 5, pp 93-99. • Zornada, Max (2006) “Process Mapping”, Problem Solving and Process Improvement Tools and Techniques Guidebook, Version 4, Pages 15-21. Case Study Hi-Tech Leasing Corporation
Topic 3	Topic 3: Understanding Cost Structure and The Cost of Quality Readings: • Author unknown (date unknown) “Cost of Quality Analysis as an Element of a Quality Improvement Drive” PA Consulting Group. • Cokins, Gary (2006) " Measuring the Cost of Quality for Management", Quality Progress, September 2006.
Topic 4:	Complexity Reading: Fuller, Timothy F. (1985) “Eliminating Complexity from Work: Improving Productivity by Enhancing Quality”, National Productivity Review, Autumn 1985, pp 327-344.
Topic 5:	Introduction to Variation and Flow The Dice Game - In class simulation
Topic 6:	Team Based Problem Solving, the Six Sigma DMAIC Process Readings: • Zornada, Max (2006) “Problem Solving and Decision Making in Organisations”, Problem Solving and Process Improvement Tools and Techniques Guidebook, Version 4, Pages 6 - 14. • Zornada, Max (2006) “The Seven Tools of Quality”, Problem Solving and Process Improvement Tools and Techniques Guidebook, Version 4, Pages 33-56 (skim through briefly) • D. Steele, Andrew D., "Six Sigma Toolkit At Your Service", Six Sigma forum magazine, February 2004. Case Study South Eastern Food Packagers
Topic 7:	Overview of the DMADV Process/ Process Change Readings: • Manganelli, R.L. & Klien. M.M. (1994) “The Business Process Reengineering Framework - A Historical Perspective” Extract from The Reengineering Handbook, AMACOM. • Kaplan, Robert B. and Murdock, Laura (date unknown) “Core Process Redesign” McKinsey Quarterly. Case Studies: Hi-Tech Leasing Corporation: Joan’s Story
Topic 8:	Process and Workflow Management Process Readings: • Godfrey, Michael R. and Bandy, Brent D., "Applying Little’s Law and the Theory of Constraints" Six Sigma forum magazine, February 2005. Case Study: Bob Smith Auto-Service Centre – Part 2
Topic 9:	Define Phase Detail Readings: • Donald P. Lynch, Suzanne Bertolino and Elaine Cloutier (2003) “How to Scope DMAIC Projects”, Quality Progress, January 2003. • Robert A. Gardner, "Resolving the Process Paradox", Quality Progress, March 2011. Case Study: NatPlas Part 1
Topic 10:	Measure Phase Detail - Performance Measurement and Variation Readings: • McCabe, William J. (1989) “Examining Processes Improves Operations”, Quality Progress Magazine, July 1989. • Zornada, Max (2006) “Appendix: Understanding Variation”, Problem Solving and Process Improvement Tools and Techniques Guidebook, Version 4, Pages 159 - 175. Class Exercises The Funnel Experiment
Topic 11:	Statistical Process Control, Six Sigma & Statistical Techniques • Boardman J. and Boardman, Elleen C., (1990) “Don’t Touch that Funnel”, Quality Progress Magazine, December 1990. • Nolan, Thomas W. and Provost, Lloyd P. (1990) “Understanding Variation”, Quality Progress, May 1990. • Berenson and Levine, "Chapter 18; Statistical Applications in Quality and Productivity Management", from Basic Business Statistics.
Topic 12	Analyse Phase Detail Readings • James J. Rooney and Lee N. Vanden Heuvel (2004) “Root Cause Analysis for Beginners”, Quality Progress, July 2004. • Zornada, Max (2006) “Problem Solving and Decision Making in Organisations”, Problem Solving and Process Improvement Tools and Techniques Guidebook, Version 4, Pages 6 - 14. • Lifetime Reliability Solutions, "Understanding How to Use The 5-Whys for Root Cause Analysis" • Dolan, Tom, "Best Practices In Process Improvement", Quality Progress, August 2033. • Box, George.," Scientific Method: The Generation of Knowledge and Quality", Quality Progress, January, 1997.
Topic 13:	Improve and Control Phase Detail Readings • Gilbert, Jeffrey B. " Did I Really Improve, or Is It Just Variation?", Quality Progress, October 1997. • Harvey, Jean.," Switching From Improvement to Innovation on the Fly", Quality Progress, January 2007.
Topic 14:	Lean Thinking Lean Approaches to Improvement/Lean Analysis Methods Readings: • Spear, Steven and Bowen, Kent H (1999) “Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System”, Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct 1999. Case Study: Deaconness-Glover Hospital (A) Exercise: HTLC Case Study – VSM Extension • Van Patten, James (2006), “A Second Look at 5S”, Quality Progress, October 2006. • Len Tischler, Len (2006), “Bringing Lean to the Office”, Quality Progress, July 2006. • James J. Rooney, Lee N. Vanden Heuvel and Donald K. Lorenzo, "Reduce Human Error", Quality Progress, September 2002. • Upton, David M., Staats, Bradley R., (2011) "Lean Knowledge Work", Harvard Business Review, October, 2011. • Shook, John (2009), "Toyota's Secret: The A3 Report", MIT Sloan Management Review, Summer 2009, Volume 50, No 4
Topic 15:	Dealing with Intangible Problems Readings: • Zornada, Max (2006) “The Seven Quality Management and Planning Tools”, Problem Solving and Process Improvement Tools and Techniques Guidebook, Version 4, Pages 124-154.
Topic 16:	Failure Modes and Effects Analysis Reading: • Vandenbrande, Willy, W. (1998) “How to Use FMEA to Reduce the Size of Your Quality Toolbox”, Quality Progress, November 1998.
Topic 17:	Business Diagnostic and Organisational Review Readings: • Bradach, Prof. Jeffrey (1996) “Organisational Alignment: The 7-S Model”, Harvard Business School Note 9-497-045. • Porter, Michael (1985) “Understanding the Value Chain”, from Competitive Advantage, Free Press New York. Case Study: Bob Smith - Part 1
Topic 18:	Implementation Issues Readings: • Groocock, J (1988) “The Toledo Syndrome” from The Chain of Quality.

Individual assignment 1	30%
Individual assignment 2	30%
Group Project	30%
Participation	10%

A minimum of sixty percent (60%) of the total value of a course’s assessment will be devoted to individually submitted work, which may be in the form of assignments, examinations or presentations. Students must attain, at least, an average value of fifty percent (50%) for all individually assessed items in order to pass the overall course.
Attendance
The MBA program is largely undertaken through face-to-face class sessions to facilitate interactions between the lecturing staff and fellow students. Accordingly there is an expectation that you will attend all of the scheduled classes. If work commitments, illness or other circumstances require you to be absent from some lectures, please inform your lecturer in advance by either phone or email so that you may discuss the topic(s) to be covered in the class session and the tasks you need to complete before the next session. It is your responsibility to make arrangements with the lecturer or other students to catch up on information discussed in class, however, it is unlikely that lecturers will be able to repeat a class to cover your absence.

Please note that if you have not attended at least 80% of the class sessions for a course you will forgo your right, on academic grounds, to any supplementary assessment opportunities.
Email Address
When you enrol in the MBA program you are automatically assigned a student email address. It is important that you check this account regularly as email is the primary form of communication between the School and its students. Alternatively you can forward your student email to a nominated account eg. work or home. Please refer to the student handbook for further details on how to do this. Important Note: if you have your email forwarded to another account and the address changes, you need to ensure that you update your forwarding details, otherwise you will miss out on important information.

Individual Assignments
The first individual assignment will be handed out in class during the first intensive and will be due on Monday 21st November 2016
The second individual assignment will be handed out during the second intensive and will be due on the Monday, 19th December 2016
Assignment word lengths should be no more than 1,500 words.
Group Project
Students will be required to progress a team based improvement project during which they apply the concepts covered in this subject in their workplace.
Participants will be required to submit a report detailing the project that they have undertaken, showing application of the concepts covered during the Business Performance Improvement subject.
The task will be to progress either a problem solving based project or a process improvement based project using the Problem Solving/Process Improvement Storyboard Process and drawing on any other concepts covered in the subject as required.
Your project should show evidence of the use of concepts, methodologies, tools, techniques covered in Business Performance Improvement.
Project Report
The final project report is to be submitted on the due date and provide detail of progress to date. The general expectation is that the project should have been progressed at least to the recommendation stage during the time allocated. (ie. The end of the Improve I phase on the storyboard).
It is suggested that the report follow the storyboard based structure in presenting what has been done. It should also specifically highlight:
• The context. ie. some information on the organisation, the current situation, the issue, problem or process;
• The process/problem selected, why it was selected, why it is important that it be addressed/looked at;
• The business case and objective of the project
• The team;
• A description (supported by relevant data, calculations, analyses) of how the team went through the process improvement/problem solving methodology (Include summaries and conclusions in the report, raw data and calculations in Appendices);
• Outcomes and conclusions of the process;
• Recommendations.
In some cases, teams have been able to implement their recommendation and see results before the project report was due. If this is the case, feel free to include information about the after situation. (Even if your recommendations didn’t work!)
The report should typically be no more than 2,500 words. (excluding diagrams and materials presented in appendices). It will be due in at the final intensive, Sunday 4th December 2016.
Participation
The participation component will be based on participant contribution to class exercises and discussion. In particular, participants will be expected to have prepared adequately for class by completing required homework exercises, cases and readings.

5.4 REQUIREMENTS

Attendance

Statutory obligations in Singapore are such that attendance in person is a compulsory condition of passing a course. Our specific requirements are that students must attend at least 80% of class sessions to be graded for that course. For these purposes each intensive weekend is defined as comprising 5 sessions with 1 on Friday evening and 2 on each of Saturday and Sunday.

Presentation of Assignments:
The preferred format for submission of assignments is hardcopy to be handed in during class at the designated times except for assignment 2 which should be emailed.
Assignments should be written on A4 paper, stapled together with a staple in the top left hand corner of the paper.
Do not place assignments in folders, binders, plastic envelopes or bind into booklet form. This just makes it more difficult to mark.
Please must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
Please attach an ‘Assignment Cover Sheet’, which is signed and dated by you before submission.
All group assignments must be attached to a ‘Group Assignment Cover Sheet’, which must be signed and dated by all group members before submission. All team members are expected to contribute approximately equally to a group assignment.
Lecturers can refuse to accept assignments, which do not have a signed acknowledgement of the University’s policy on plagiarism.
Late Assignment Submission
Students are expected to submit their work by the due date to maintain a fair and equitable system. Extensions will generally only be given for medical or other serious reasons. All requests for extensions must be emailed to the lecturer in charge of the course before the due date. Each request will be assessed on its merits. A late assignment (without prior arrangement) will be penalised by a 5% mark reduction for each day that it is late.