Hello Andrew
Having totally resolved (as an UNPLANNED consequence of SPC)
environmental impact that was threatening the continutity of a business
due to EPA scrutiny, I would stronly suggest teaching people about SPC
if they have an inverest in managing the environmental impact of their
organisations. See my short article:
http://intergon.net/phd/BoxerTQMEnv1991.html
People need to be led through correct application of statistics.
Statistics frighten most people, but once they realise how easy it is
and how powerful a tool SPC is they engage with it with enthusiasm. You
need someone friendly, sincere and enthusiastic to help them through the
process.
The rest (project management, finance, org design) is simple management
stuff - you can get any accountant to teach these things.
Read and watch the late Dr W Ewards Deming's books and videos. On one
video he said to Ford managers, "how do you know that? ... you don't
know that! ... you have not measured that! ... you do not understand it
... you do not know anything!" (90 year olds have earned the right to be
grumpy with complacent fools). I take a more gentle approach, but only
after I have shown my friends a Deming videos - or Philip Crosby
videos.
The syllabus needs to include:
- normal distributions as opposed to not normal distributions
- how to confirm normal distribution
- calculating mean and standard deviation
- determining process capability
- various charts
Up to this point use MS Excel to calculate mean, standard deviation,
control limites, etc. Then and only then (after they have understood
the basics) introduce SPC software.
Lionel
Lionel Boxer CD PhD MBA BTech(IndEng) - 0411267256
Research Fellow -
lionel.boxer@rmit.edu.au
Centre for Management Quality Research
Read The Sustainable Way - see
http://intergon.net/tsw
Improvement Implementation:
http://intergon.net
>>>
Andrew.A.King@Dartmouth.EDU 24/11/2005 1:50 am >>>
Out of curiosity, what principles would one teach in an EMS course?
project management?
statistical process control?
project finance assessment and skills? (NPV, options, etc.)
organizational design?
Also, how does the E in front of Management System change the content
of the course? Put another way, what is different from a course on
management?
AK
P.S.
My own answers: Yes, yes, yes, yes, The E only means that one adds a
couple of class sessions on environmental issues, stakeholder relations,
and environmental science.
Andrew King
Associate Professor of Business Administration
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College
202 Chase Hall
Hanover, NH 03755
Cell: 603-359-0369