Take Home
TAKE HOME EXAM – TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
The popularity of Southwestern University’s football program under its new coach, Bo Pitterno, surged in each of the 5 years since his arrival at the Stephenville, Texas, college With a football stadium close to maxing out at 54,000 seats and a vocal coach pushing for a new stadium, SWU president Joel Wisner faced some difficult decisions. After a phenomenal upset victory over its archrival, the University of Texas, at the homecoming game in the fall, Dr.Wisner was not as happy as one would think. Instead of ecstatic alumni, students, and faculty, all Wisner heard were complaints. “The lines at the concession stands were too long”. “Parking was harder to find and farther away than in the old days” (that is, before the team won regularly); “Seats weren’t comfortable”. “Traffic was backed up halfway to Dallas”; and on and on. “A college president just can’t win,” muttered Wisner to himself.
At his staff meeting the following Monday, Wisner turned to his VP of administration, Leslie Gardner. “I wish you would take care of these football complaints, Leslie.” he said. “See what the real problems are and let me know how you’ve resolved them. “Gardner wasn’t surprised at the request. “I’ve already got a handle on it, Joel,” she replied. “We’ve been randomly surveying 50 fans per game for the past year to see what’s on their minds. It’s all part of my campuswide TQM effort. Let me tally things up and I’ll get back to you in a week.”
When she returned to her office, Gardner pulled out the file her assistant had compiled the table below. “There’s a lot of information here,” she thought.
Overall Grade
A
B
C
D
E
Game Day
A. Parking
90
105
45
5
5
B. Traffic
50
85
48
52
15
C. Seating
45
30
115
35
25
D. Entertainment
160
35
26
10
19
E. Printed Programs
66
34
98
22
30
Tickets
A. Pricing
105
104
16
15
10
B. Season Ticket Plans
75
80
54
41
0
Concessions
The popularity of Southwestern University’s football program under its new coach, Bo Pitterno, surged in each of the 5 years since his arrival at the Stephenville, Texas, college With a football stadium close to maxing out at 54,000 seats and a vocal coach pushing for a new stadium, SWU president Joel Wisner faced some difficult decisions. After a phenomenal upset victory over its archrival, the University of Texas, at the homecoming game in the fall, Dr.Wisner was not as happy as one would think. Instead of ecstatic alumni, students, and faculty, all Wisner heard were complaints. “The lines at the concession stands were too long”. “Parking was harder to find and farther away than in the old days” (that is, before the team won regularly); “Seats weren’t comfortable”. “Traffic was backed up halfway to Dallas”; and on and on. “A college president just can’t win,” muttered Wisner to himself.
At his staff meeting the following Monday, Wisner turned to his VP of administration, Leslie Gardner. “I wish you would take care of these football complaints, Leslie.” he said. “See what the real problems are and let me know how you’ve resolved them. “Gardner wasn’t surprised at the request. “I’ve already got a handle on it, Joel,” she replied. “We’ve been randomly surveying 50 fans per game for the past year to see what’s on their minds. It’s all part of my campuswide TQM effort. Let me tally things up and I’ll get back to you in a week.”
When she returned to her office, Gardner pulled out the file her assistant had compiled the table below. “There’s a lot of information here,” she thought.
Overall Grade
A
B
C
D
E
Game Day
A. Parking
90
105
45
5
5
B. Traffic
50
85
48
52
15
C. Seating
45
30
115
35
25
D. Entertainment
160
35
26
10
19
E. Printed Programs
66
34
98
22
30
Tickets
A. Pricing
105
104
16
15
10
B. Season Ticket Plans
75
80
54
41
0
Concessions