Jerome P. Lavelle

The Effect of Top-Manager Personality on a Total Quality Management Environment

Abstract Current literature suggests that two of every three implementations of total quality management (TQM) fail. By any standard, this is an abysmal rate of success, one whose annual direct dollar and opportunity costs are staggering. During his years of lecturing on TQM, W. Edwards Deming continuously emphasized top managers responsibility for creating an environment in which TQM can succeed. Our research was undertaken to help shed light on why so many efforts fail. The focus was to empirically investigate the relationship between top-manager personality preferences and “TQM characteristics” in a companys environment. By studying top-manager personality, we sought to capture the innate characteristics of the most important decision-maker in an organization. A nationwide survey of 457 top managers resulted in 111 usable responses. The statistical analysis compared top managers personality scores from the Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) with survey information regarding TQM characteristics in their firm. TQM characteristics were measured by a survey tool that indicates the degree to which Demings philosophies are followed in the organization. From our data we were able to conclude that top managers with a strong N-preference as measured by the MBTI (managers with a long-range perspective who are possibility-driven) lead companies whose organizational environments are conducive to TQM success.

Implementation of Cross-Disciplinary Teams of Business and Engineering Students for Quality Improvement Projects.

Abstract In companies that espouse the TQM philosophy, all employees are asked to promote a common attitude and have a common set of problem-solving skills. Today we see organizations using cross-functional, cross-discipline teams within the TQM framework to solve interconnected and cross-boundary problems. In this study, we integrated 29 engineering students enrolled in an advanced industrial management course and 45 business, statistics, and human ecology students in a management of quality course to form cross-discipline teams, which identified and conducted semester-long quality improvement projects for local businesses and organizations. This article discusses the structure used and educational results of that cross-discipline team experience from the instructors and the students perspectives.

ENHANCING ENGINEERING ECONOMY CONCEPTS WITH COMPUTER SPREADSHEETS

ABSTRACT This note provides a perspective on the use of spreadsheets in the engineering economy classroom. It highlights some challenges and potential rewards of their use to augment, support and/or re-enforce concepts traditionally taught from an engineering economy textbook.

AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF ENGINEERING ECONOMY PEDAGOGY

Abstract This work presents the results of a recent two-part survey of how engineering economy is taught in U.S. universities. A mail and email survey of faculty and staff that teach engineering economy was conducted in 1995 through 1997. For the surveys two parts, this produced 45 and 28 complete responses, respectively. Three categories of questions were asked pertainingto 1) the faculty that teach it, 2) the course content and mechanics itself, and 3) the students that take the course. This paper also includes results from a previously unpublished survey done in 1989. All of these results are compared with two similar studies done in 1984 and 1989. Potential pedagogical implications are summarized as they relate to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of engineering economy teaching in U.S. universities.

A method for the incorporation of parametric uncertainty in the weighted evaluation multi-attribute decision analysis model

We develop an extension of the classic Weighted Evaluation (WE) Multi-Attribute Decision Analysis (MADA) model that allows for uncertainty in the parameters of the model. Uncertainties in attribute importance weights and alternative evaluation ratings are represented by independent uniform, triangular or beta random variables; and an iterative multi-variate integration scheme is used to evaluate the mean, variance and skewness of the resulting Probabilistic Weighted Evaluation (PWE). These moments are used to compute two-term Edgeworth and normal approximations to the distribution of: (a) the PWE for each of several alternatives that are to be analysed separately; or (b) the difference between PWEs for selected alternatives that are to be analysed on a pairwise basis. The proposed methodology is used to compare probabilistically three alternative solutions to the Mexico City Airport Siting Problem of Keeney and Raiffa (Keeney, R. L. and Raiffa, H., Decisions with Multiple Objectives. Wiley, New York, 1976).

Estimating Engineering Design Costs

ABSTRACTTodays economic forces are driving engineering firms to competitively bid for fixed-price design contracts. In this environment, accurate engineering cost estimates are critical to making those bids profitable and to successfully manage and financially control the project. This article summarizes the methods and research related to predicting engineering design costs. Various estimating methods are described, including conceptual estimates, detailed “activity analysis” approaches, and a variety of parametric tools that forecast design costs based on other measures such as construction cost. It is argued that the literature is characterized by a lack of empirical data and that todays engineering firms rely on data that is so old that technology is likely to have changed critical cost relationships. This study also provides an explanation of how design estimates are actually developed in todays engineering firm. Two empirical studies are reported. The first investigates the estimating methods, ac...