This course is an advanced treatment of two related concepts that are vital to the success of an enterprise; quality and productivity. As a key ingredient of competitive strategy, quality encompasses many attributes of a product or service - such as its design, its features, fit and finish, durability, safety, and customer treatment. In highly competitive settings, a firm that achieves and sustains high quality levels for its goods and/or services, while remaining at least as efficient as competitors in processes used to produce these outputs, tends to outperform its competitors. Beginning with an examination of connections between quality and productivity, this course examines their underlying philosophic, strategic, and human issues. The coverage includes emergent practices for continuous improvement including Kaizen, Six Sigma, customer relationship management, and strategic planning.

This course is an advanced treatment of two related concepts that are vital to the success of an enterprise; quality and productivity. As a key ingredient of competitive strategy, quality encompasses many attributes of a product or service - such as its design, its features, fit and finish, durability, safety, and customer treatment. In highly competitive settings, a firm that achieves and sustains high quality levels for its goods and/or services, while remaining at least as efficient as competitors in processes used to produce these outputs, tends to outperform its competitors. Beginning with an examination of connections between quality and productivity, this course examines their underlying philosophic, strategic, and human issues. The coverage includes emergent practices for continuous improvement including Kaizen, Six Sigma, customer relationship management, and strategic planning.