Course Project: Part 1 - Ishikawa Research Paper

Course Project: Part 1 - Ishikawa Research Paper (due at the end of Week 3)

Objective
This project involves researching and writing a short biography on Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa. Our text addresses many of the areas in the management and control of quality and provides a great amount of information on a number of different quality concepts. However, the authors only mention Dr. Ishikawa in passing. Just who is Kaoru Ishikawa? Prepare a 500-word biographical paper on Ishikawa, describing his contributions to quality. You should not limit your research to online materials. Two of his books are excellent sources: (1) What is Total Quality Control: The Japanese Way (1985) and (2) Guide to Quality Control (1976). Submit the completed paper to your Dropbox.

You will research this person’s life and work to determine the impacts that he has had in the world. You will define the quality leader’s significant contributions to modern quality practices in terms of major impacts in a specific organization. The project will enable you to understand:

Ishikawa's key ideas;
how Ishikawa has influenced quality practices throughout the world;
how his ideas fit into total quality management; and
the implications of Ishikawa's ideas for the future of quality.
The project will require sustained research effort until the paper is submitted. You are encouraged to begin work on the project during Week 1 and be prepared to submit the required project deliverables by the end of Week 3. A basic APA tutorial can be found in the Webliography, and a paper template can be found in Doc Sharing.