The course aims at preparing students on the theoretical, methodological and quantitative management of the application of Total Quality Management. The course provides knowledge, methodologies and tools to manage organizations for a continuous improvement, developing the ability to set and to achieve the strategy of quality in any public or private organizational context. The course includes the integration of managerial elements with quantitative aspects, introducing students to the statistical techniques for quality control.

Quality: conceptual framework and evolutionary dynamics. From the “control" to the "management" of quality. The Quality principles and its evolution to Total Quality Management (TQM).

Customer care: the theoretical approach. Customer centricity: from the identification of design requirements to the measuring methods of customer satisfaction.

Processes and improvement. The process. Functions and processes. The management for processes. The methodology for the implementation of the management of process. The measuring and monitoring system of processes.

The concept of improvement. The tools of improvement. The methodologies of improvement.

Leadership and human resources. The role of the leader. The role of human resources.

Relationships of mutual benefit with suppliers. Vertical/horizontal  integration.

The main Quality models.

Technical Standards and standard bodies. Certification and accreditation.

System certification. Corporate Quality Management System. Environmental Quality Management System. Health and Safety Quality Management System. Corporate Social Responsibility Quality Management System and its tools.

Towards Integrated Management Systems. High Level Structure (HLS) and Risk Thinking.

The product certification.

The approach to quality in the Italian food industry. System and product certification in the food industry.

Towards the excellence: the fundamental concepts of excellence. The "European Foundation for Quality Management" (EFQM) model.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

The course material provided by the teacher is available, together with other supporting activities, within the Moodle platform blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

The course involves the use of different teaching methods:

- frontal lessons;

- group works and preparation of papers on case studies;

- classroom discussions.

In particular, during the course,  group works will be carried out in order to involve students in the analysis of business cases.

Students will be divided in groups and each group will deepen the analysis of a business case. Each group will have to produce a written elaborate which will later be presented and discussed with the rest of the class.

Compulsory attendance  is not expected. However attending students (at least 75% of hours attended) will benefit from a different evaluation method.

Course books

1. Federica Murmura, "Dai sistemi d’integrazione ai sistemi integrati. L’introduzione degli ERP in azienda", Ed. Franco Angeli, Milano, 2009.

2. Lecture notes and other course materials made available on Moodle platform> blended.uniurb.it.

Assessment

The evaluation is realized through an oral exam in  which the student must demonstrate that he has acquired the full ownership of the concepts covered during the course and the necessary skills/competencies identified as an appropriate result objectives to implement strategic and operational systems and tools for the promotion of Quality policy in organizations. In addition, the student must be able to present the arguments rigorously and using appropriate language.

The final evaluation of attending students (75% of hours attended)  will be formulated taking into account the written paper, the presentation in the classroom and the discussion of the topic during the group work. To this end, the student must demonstrate that he/she has acquired full knowledge and competence of the concepts related to the subject matter, that he/she can speak with an appropriate language, that he/she  knows how to apply the concepts learned in the analysis and critical assessment of the case studies.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Assessment

The evaluation is realized through an oral exam in  which the student must demonstrate that he has acquired the full ownership of the concepts covered during the course and the necessary skills/competencies identified as an appropriate result objectives to implement strategic and operational systems and tools for the promotion of Quality policy in organizations. In addition, the student must be able to present the arguments rigorously and using appropriate language.

The final evaluation of the non-attending students will be formulated  through an interview, according to the same methods defined for the attending students.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.