QMS Interview Assignment

Overview

As we learn about Quality Management Systems (QMSs), our ending class assignment will be a formal paper written in APA Style in Module 8. For this project and paper, you will find a business, agency, school, or healthcare facility in your region that has won an international, national or state level quality award, or holds an ISO 9001:2015 certification, or has an industry-specific quality management certification, such as an automotive or health care management certification. You can find Baldrige Award winners by searching their site by state. You will arrange to visit (in-person or virtual) the organization and interview someone in quality management (a quality management professional) and write a formal paper.

Overview of Project Tasks

1. Secure location and Quality Management personnel to interview.
2. Set date for interview.
3. Submit Proposal to professor.
4. Write questions and share with interviewee.
5. Arrive on time for conducting a professional interview.
6. Type up responses from interview and recording.
7. Write paper.
8. Submit paper.

Part 1: The Pre-Interview Proposal (Due in Module 2)

You will find the QM person to interview and secure their approval for an interview on their QMS. You must receive consent from the professor to move forward with the interview. NOTE: The sooner you conduct the interview, the more time you will have for transcribing the interview and writing your paper.

Format:

Write in formal writing style (no slang or informal language) in paragraph form, 1 inch margins, Times New Roman 12 font, double spaced.

In a Microsoft Word document, provide:

• the name and title of the person you will be interviewing and date you secured their approval to interview
• briefly introduce the facility include their name and location
• explain why you chose such facility
• explain which aspect of quality they excel (award?)
• open- and closed-ended questions (if you have them completed)
  
  

Part 2: The Interview (Complete by Module 4)

The interview can be conducted with Zoom, Skype or phone (virtually) or it can be done in person. The choice will be up to you and your interviewee. You should create questions for approval well ahead of the meeting and share with the person you will interview. This way they can be prepared for those more detailed, in-depth questions. Do not ask them to respond to each question by completing the answers on the Word document and return to you before the meeting; you will fill this in during the interview and can ask for a post-interview clarification if needed. You can also ask if it would be okay to record the interview so you can fill in any gaps from while you were taking notes.

Questions. Compile a list of open-ended and closed-ended questions that will be asked during the interview. Questions should be related to quality management (QM) and quality management systems (QMS)

For example: Does your organization have a system for conducting quality audits? Does your organization use procedures to describe the best way to conduct tasks? Did your organization experience specific difficulties transitioning to ISO 9001:2015?

Hints: Time will sneak up on you faster than you realize. Secure approval for an interview and write those questions sooner rather than later. Keep writing content on your project paper after each module concludes. Review and bookmark APA Style resources. Schedule an appointment with the UA Writing Center virtually.

Part 3: QMS Interview Assignment: Final Paper (Due in Module 8)

The final paper of the interview and organization’s QMS will be due in our last module topic. Your paper should describe the organization’s management system and what you learned from the site visit and our books and articles read on these topics. The questions asked in the interview should be included in an appendix and properly presented in the document.

Your paper will be in APA Style format. When presenting a theory or research and content from our articles or books, use APA format with appropriate in-text citations and references (utilize APA resources provided). This will be written in 3rd person, past tense as the research and books have been written. When you relay your site information, person to be interviewed, questions, etc. that will be in 1st person, personal. That would not be APA but it is appropriate for what we are doing for the proposal paper. The document itself will be formatted per APA (margins, headings, page numbers, title page, etc.).

Ex: As noted in Smith (2021), the organization’s QMS does follow the seven principles of quality management. Specifically they . . . .. Ms. Smith related during the planning process there were issues with XYZ.

Main Areas (Level headings and sub-headings hint – review books chapters and sub-sections).

Title Page.

Introduction. The introduction section should include the person interviewed (name, formal title, length of time in position, length of time in positions related to quality, etc.), the company background, location.

Body.  The body will include the company/organization’s management system, and the interview questions and responses and related class content (books articles).

Summary.  The summary section will be your reflection and conclusions.

References.  List all books and articles referenced in the paper.

Appendix A.  Appendix with all questions and responses listed.