A Formal Total Quality Initiative

In 1995-96 the department began a formal total quality initiative to bring together its several paths of customer-driven program improvement, complete with outside consultant and properly constituted steering committee. The steering committee members have put in a great deal of voluntary time, but the fact is that they truly wanted to do so, that the project in general has become exciting to them. The committee has proceeded slowly and carefully with a draft vision statement, crafting it on what existing documentation under department governance materials identified as the unit's mission.

Simultaneously, they completed their charter, including a quality orientation to such things as prompt attendance at meetings and continual attendance at meetings if one wanted to remain on the committee. Although the vision statement would remain a draft document until responded to by the entire department at the start of next semester, the TQS initiative's goals would be carefully derived from it and, in turn, objectives developed. Next the committee would pick objectives on which it was possible for reliable baseline measurements to be acquired, analyzed, and ready in presentation form for the departmental meeting at the beginning of the semester. Lastly, the goal was that after responding to the vision and the objectives, the department would identify the most effective choices for the first improvement project teams. Then as the new semester unfolded, the committee and the project teams would undergo training from their consultant in effective team processes.

This process has gone forward, resulting especially in a departmentally endorsed vision statement which provides a very careful blueprint for anyone who wants to read it and two improvement project teams--one for teaching in the department's large enrollment core courses, and one for research.

Our Vision

Management & Information Systems attracts the best students and faculty in the world.

We achieve this distinction by continuously improving our teaching and research. Our students are known for their ability to contribute to their employers, think conceptually, understand business and other organizations, learn and use leading-edge technology. We create and publish highly regarded research with the goal of extending knowledge applicable to information technology, operational processes and organizational management. These efforts are recognized by department funding from government, business and other sources.

We extend the concept of diversity to understand that scholarly excellence is achieved in a variety of ways. Our faculty workloads enable the department to achieve significant improvements in teaching, research, outreach, and service with attention to the respective needs of tenured, tenure-track, full- and part-time temporary faculty.

Our commitment to superb teaching, meaningful research, value-added outreach, and dedicated service reflects our concern for people and society. We rely on a system of distributed leadership and teamwork. We foster people's willingness to continuously improve, creating an ethical atmosphere based on integrity. Feedback from a wide range of customers, including students, employers, colleagues, journal editors and consumers of our research, and administration, is integral to the improvement of our teaching, research and service.

Celebration of individual and departmental successes is a vital part of our continuous improvement process.

The Department of Management & Information Systems
College of Business Administration
Graduate School of Management
Kent State University
Kent, OH 44242-0001
(330) 672-2750