Topic Selection

1. Select a specific organization of interest to you and identify a quality management related problem(s) in the firm. Examples may be poor quality levels, high cost of quality, poor product/service design, high level of internal/external failures, etc. Feel free to add to this list if you need to.
2. You are taking on the role as a quality management consultant and the executives of your chosen organization have asked you to submit a recommended direction to implement a quality management initiative to address the quality management related problem(s) you identified above. For example: Six Sigma, Lean Principles, TQM, SPC, Balanced Scorecard, etc.
3. You also need to identify which of the course TCOs and specific topics in the syllabus are related to the problem you identify.

Research Sources

1. All papers must have a minimum of 8 scholarly sources (other than text book) cited within the text of the paper and identified in the references section.
2. Additional research sources can be attached in an appendix.
3. All sources must be in two places. They need to be identified in the reference section must also have a corresponding citation in the body of the paper and vice-versa.

Paper Format

1. All papers should be single sided, double-spaced and in12-point type font Times Roman.
2. Length of the paper to be between10 – 12 pages, excluding cover page, reference pages and appendices.
3. The first page should include the title of the work, student name, address, telephone and e-mail address, course number, date, and instructor’s name.
4. Follow APA style for general format and citations.
5. Paper sections must adhere to the guidelines below and each section must be labeled in the text.
6. Language should be clear, concise, and precise.
7. Tone should be professional, consistent, and not filled with jargon.
8. Grammar and syntax (sentence structure) must be correct.
9. Report must be free of misspellings and typos.

Tables and Figures

1. All figures and tables must be referred to in your text before they appear on the page.
   1. Figures and tables should appear on the same page or the next page as the text that refers to them.
2. All figures and tables need captions. Captions go below figures and above tables.

Quotations and Citations

1. Quotations and citations are crucial components of a research paper.
2. Failure to properly cite research sources and borrowed ideas is plagiarism.
3. Papers submitted without citations and references will be returned to the student with no grade.
4. Refer to APA style guide for assistance with properly citing quoted and/or borrowed materials and ideas.