The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook (3rd ed.)

Citation

Narasimhan, K. (2009), "The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook (3rd ed.)", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 53-54. https://doi.org/10.1108/13683040910961234

Russell T. Westcott is an ASQ Certified Quality Auditor and Certified Quality Manager. He has written books on ISO 9004:2000 and Project Management in addition to being a co‐editor of the previous edition of this book among other things. He is President of R.T. Westcott & Associates, guides clients in implementing ISO 9001, applying for quality awards, initiating lean practices, etc.

This handbook comprises 19 chapters grouped into six parts, and is well supported by 132 exhibits (figures and tables), a 51‐page glossary, and Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence Body of Knowledge for 2006 forms Appendix A. The accompanying CD‐ROM contains sample examination questions.

Leadership is the theme of Part I that comprises four chapters. The first three chapters cover respectively in some depth issues related to organizational structure and culture, challenges faced by leadership (roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers, managing change, conflicts and empowerment), and teams and team processes (types of teams, developing teams and assessing their performance). The fourth chapter is a brief one on ASQ Code of Ethics.

Part II comprises three chapters and its theme is Strategic Plan Development and Deployment. Chapter 5 briefly covers the traditional strategic planning, Hoshin Planning, and Scenario planning. Business Environment Analysis is the topic of the next chapter, and the major components such as stakeholder analysis and internal capability analysis considered are briefly dealt with. Chapter 7 focuses on deploying the strategic plan, acting upon it and assessing the performance of the outcomes as well as the process itself to highlight areas for improvement.

Part III comprises five chapters and its theme is Management Elements and Methods. Chapter 8 deals with the topic of Management Skills and Abilities in 68 pages. Issues covered include principles of management, management theories and styles and the interaction between them, the interdependence of functional areas, and managing human resources, finance, risk and knowledge. The next two chapters respectively focus on reviewing effective communication in a global economy and managing projects using proven techniques/tools. The next two chapters are devoted to quality systems and quality models (Baldrige National Quality Award and ISO 9000:2000) and theories of quality Gurus (Crosby, Deming, etc.).

Quality management tools are the theme of Part IV and are covered in three chapters. Chapter 13 deals with problem‐solving tools and gives a brief description of the seven basic tools, seven management and planning tools, process improvement tools such as the root cause analysis, five whys, and failure mode effects analysis (FMEA), innovation and creativity tools such as mind mapping and the theory of the solution of inventive problems (TRIZ), and cost of quality. The focus of chapter 14 is process management and it covers process goals and analysis using flowcharts and process maps, lean tools such as cycle‐time reduction, value stream mapping, and mistake‐proofing, and theory of constraints. A comprehensive table of tools applicable to process management and their purpose is provided. Chapter 15 covers assessment and metrics issues such as sampling, statistical analysis, reliability and validity of data collected.

Part V comprises two chapters and deals with customer‐focused organizations. The first chapter focuses on how to identify internal and external customers and segmenting them based on single and multiple criteria: age, demography and customer preferences. The following chapter deals with customer relationship management. It shows how to anticipate customer needs and expectations, translate that into operational requirements using quality function deployment (QFD), and tracking customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Parts VI and VII respectively cover supply chain management (supplier selection, communication and performance, and logistics) and training and development: training plans, needs analysis, curriculum development and delivery, and training effectiveness and evaluation.

As the editor acknowledges, the Handbook provides more width than depth of knowledge and the readers should refer to the additional resources listed at the end of chapters for a deeper study of a particular issue of interest. It is a really useful book for quick reference.