Transformational Leadership 101: What All Industrial Engineering Graduates Should Know about the Six Stages of Quality Management System Implementation

A convenience sample of 306 executives in the American automobile industry was surveyed to assess their awareness and use of 17 quality tools and statistical methodologies. Seventy-two percent of the 93 executives who responded had undergraduate degrees in engineering. Descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and factor analysis were used to analyze the data. The results produced some unexpected findings that help in understanding the differences between traditional hierarchal (transactional) management cultures vs. the more modern learning organization (transformational) corporate cultures. One of these findings was that Hayes’ six stages of quality system implementation is an excellent framework for understanding, planning and implementing lean, six sigma, statistical process control, and other continuous improvement methodologies, tools, and leadership models. These results have major implications on how engineers are expected to work and contribute to the organization. To incorporate these findings and implications, three core courses in the industrial and manufacturing engineering curriculum were restructured: the introductory course for industrial and manufacturing engineering majors, the senior project preparation course, and a capstone course in quality. The results also have major implications for lifelong learning for engineers and are compatible with the teachings of others such as Taylor, Deming, Senge, and a study by Ernst & Young. The objectives of this paper are to: 1. Share executive survey results and findings 2. Demonstrate that the spectrum of leadership can be modeled by Hayes’ ―Six Stages of Quality System Implementation‖ and parallel versions of it 3. Demonstrate how the Six Stages of Quality System Implementation were used to redesign courses in the industrial and manufacturing engineering curriculum to strategically integrate lean, six sigma, statistical quality control, and quality tools. 4. Show that there is concurrent validity and synergism with other research and experts The paper is organized in the following parts: 1. Research results and implications for Industrial Engineers 2. Problem solving 3. Harmony of the six stages with leadership theory 4. Using the six stages to redesign the industrial & manufacturing engineering curriculum 5. The essence of transformational leadership Part 1 Research results The foundational research for this paper was based on dissertation research for the Doctor of Education in Organization Leadership at a reputable university: An Assessment of Executive Awareness and Corporate Use of Statistical Methodologies in the American Automobile Industry. 10 The motivation for the study was based on the author’s 15 years at General Motors (including 10 years in industrial engineering and industrial engineering management), 28 years P ge 22544.2 of teaching and consulting, and many years of commiserating among consultants and quality professionals about difficulty penetrating the boardroom. The initial research was also motivated by the QS-9000 mandated use of tools and statistical methods in the American automobile industry.