BUSI 616 is Liberty's MBA course in total quality management. Its written work is thirteen forums (a 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with two scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture), seven short applied papers that build a quality improvement project around one organizational problem, and a 5 to 7-minute TQM presentation of no more than 10 slides.
Liberty's catalog lists the course as BUSI 616 Total Quality Management, 3 credit hours; Canvas and the course guide file print it as BUSI616.
What BUSI 616 covers
The catalog description: This course provides learners with an understanding of quality control and improvement systems. The course includes study of topics related to quality management approaches, design and implementation of quality-related procedures, and related technologies. The focus of the course is on enhancing goods, services, and the business environment.
The course builds an understanding of quality control and improvement systems: quality management approaches, the design and implementation of quality procedures, and related technologies, with a focus on improving goods, services and the business environment. The text is Goetsch and Davis, Quality Management for Organizational Excellence: Introduction to Total Quality.
There are no quizzes or exams. The short papers all use the organization and problem you choose in Week 1, and the presentation in Week 8 pulls them together. Week 1 runs Monday to Friday and Weeks 2 to 8 run Saturday to Friday.
Textbook named in the published guide: Goetsch & Davis, Quality Management for Organizational Excellence (2016). Check the current edition in your Canvas section.
BUSI 616 assignments, week by week
Every graded written assignment in the published guide has its own how-to guide below. Quizzes, exams, checklists and class introductions are left out because there is nothing to write.
| Week | Assignment | Points | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discussion Board Forum 1 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 1 | Contrasting Quality Philosophies | 50 | Approximately 500 words |
| 2 | Discussion Board Forum 2 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 2 | Strategic Partners and Alliances | 50 | Approximately 500 words |
| 3 | Discussion Board Forum 3 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 3 | Discussion Board Forum 4 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 3 | Customer Satisfaction | 50 | Approximately 500 words |
| 4 | Discussion Board Forum 5 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 4 | Discussion Board Forum 6 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 4 | Training Needs Analysis | 50 | Approximately 350 words |
| 5 | Discussion Board Forum 7 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 5 | Discussion Board Forum 8 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 5 | Quality Tool Application | 50 | Approximately 200 words of narrative |
| 6 | Discussion Board Forum 9 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 6 | Discussion Board Forum 10 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 6 | Application of PDCA Cycle | 50 | Approximately 500 words |
| 7 | Discussion Board Forum 11 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 7 | Discussion Board Forum 12 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 7 | Change Management Strategy | 50 | Approximately 500 words |
| 8 | Discussion Board Forum 13 | 35 | Thread 500 to 750 words; replies 450 to 600 words |
| 8 | TQM Presentation | 195 | 5 to 7 minutes; no more than 10 slides |
Week 1: Discussion Board Forum 1
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1.
Week 1: Contrasting Quality Philosophies
A 500-word paper comparing two quality theorists and their philosophies' relevance to competitiveness, with biblical integration and 3 references. How to write BUSI 616 Week 1 Contrasting Quality Philosophies.
Week 2: Discussion Board Forum 2
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 2 Discussion Board Forum 2.
Week 2: Strategic Partners and Alliances
A 500-word paper identifying your organization's strategic partners and alliances and how its culture affects them, with biblical integration and 3 references. How to write BUSI 616 Week 2 Strategic Partners and Alliances.
Week 3: Discussion Board Forum 3
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 3 Discussion Board Forum 3.
Week 3: Discussion Board Forum 4
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 3 Discussion Board Forum 4.
Week 3: Customer Satisfaction
A 500-word paper on who your organization's internal and external customers are, how their needs are identified and who is empowered to meet them. How to write BUSI 616 Week 3 Customer Satisfaction.
Week 4: Discussion Board Forum 5
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 4 Discussion Board Forum 5.
Week 4: Discussion Board Forum 6
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 4 Discussion Board Forum 6.
Week 4: Training Needs Analysis
A 350-word paper on how you would conduct a training needs analysis to bring about a quality change for your organizational problem. How to write BUSI 616 Week 4 Training Needs Analysis.
Week 5: Discussion Board Forum 7
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 5 Discussion Board Forum 7.
Week 5: Discussion Board Forum 8
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 5 Discussion Board Forum 8.
Week 5: Quality Tool Application
Apply one of the seven basic quality tools to your organizational problem and write a 200-word narrative of how it was applied. How to write BUSI 616 Week 5 Quality Tool Application.
Week 6: Discussion Board Forum 9
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 6 Discussion Board Forum 9.
Week 6: Discussion Board Forum 10
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 6 Discussion Board Forum 10.
Week 6: Application of PDCA Cycle
A 500-word paper describing the Plan-Do-Check-Act steps for continual improvement of your organizational problem, with biblical integration and 3 references. How to write BUSI 616 Week 6 Application of PDCA Cycle.
Week 7: Discussion Board Forum 11
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 7 Discussion Board Forum 11.
Week 7: Discussion Board Forum 12
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 7 Discussion Board Forum 12.
Week 7: Change Management Strategy
A 500-word paper on the change management strategies needed to implement your quality initiative, with biblical integration and 3 references. How to write BUSI 616 Week 7 Change Management Strategy.
Week 8: Discussion Board Forum 13
A 500 to 750-word thread and two 450 to 600-word replies, each with 2 scholarly sources, the textbook and Scripture. How to write BUSI 616 Week 8 Discussion Board Forum 13.
Week 8: TQM Presentation
A 5 to 7-minute presentation of your TQM project in no more than 10 slides with talking notes, posted to the forum and submitted. How to write BUSI 616 Week 8 TQM Presentation.
How BUSI 616 is graded
The published guide totals 1,010 points. The thirteen forums are 35 each (455), the seven short papers 50 each (350), the TQM presentation 195 and the checklist 10.
| Graded item | Points |
|---|---|
| Discussion Board Forums (13) | 455 |
| Contrasting Quality Philosophies | 50 |
| Strategic Partners and Alliances | 50 |
| Customer Satisfaction | 50 |
| Training Needs Analysis | 50 |
| Quality Tool Application | 50 |
| Application of PDCA Cycle | 50 |
| Change Management Strategy | 50 |
| TQM Presentation | 195 |
| Course Requirements Checklist | 10 |
The published scale puts an A at 940 to 1010 points.
Week timing in the published guide: Module/Week 1 begins on Monday and ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday. Modules/Weeks 2-8 begin on Saturday and end at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday.
How to approach BUSI 616
Choose your organization and a real quality problem in Week 1, such as long wait times, a high defect rate or repeated billing errors; every short paper from Week 2 on applies the course to it.
Weeks 3 to 7 each have two forums plus a paper, so plan the forum posts early in each week.
Questions students ask
What are the BUSI 616 short papers?
Seven papers of about 500 words (350 for the training needs analysis and 200 for the quality tool narrative), each with at least 2 scholarly articles for 3 references in total, a title page and reference list, and biblical integration, applied to your chosen organization and problem.
What is the BUSI 616 TQM presentation?
A 5 to 7-minute summary of your TQM project in no more than 10 slides with talking notes: 1 minute on the problem and reason for study, 3 or more minutes on the quality philosophy, the quality tool and the statistical process control used, and 1 or more minutes on the conclusion with biblical integration.
Working through BUSI 616 now?
Tell us the week and the assignment. A tutor who knows the course replies with a plan for the draft.