Authors: Cleopatra Deliou, Maria Malagkoniari

Title: The use of Cause and Effect Diagram (Fishbone) and its impact on Personal Quality Management: Case Study in a classroom during the pandemic of COVID – 19

Abstract

Background: Each individual in an organization has an important role to play and those employees who embrace quality as a personal value, often go beyond organizational and customer expectations. Quality Management tools support employees to identify processes to locate failures and find solutions to crucial problems.

Purpose: Personal quality and total quality management (TQM) are key success factors for organizational performance. The combination of individual and team quality management actions leads to motivated people in the workplace and can create high quality processes, relationships and outputs. The Cause and Effect Diagram (Fishbone) is one of the seven most known quality tools and it provides a systematic way of looking at effects and the causes that create or contribute to those effects. It helps an organization to identify, analyze and improve quality issues.

Methodology: This study examines the use of the Cause and Effect Diagram (Fishbone) quality tool in a classroom during the pandemic of COVID – 19. Students were asked to apply this specific Diagram on an individual level but also as a team project. Both projects worked as part of their assessment activities in a quality management course which was held online during the pandemic of COVID – 19. After the use of the tool by the class participants on personal and team level, students were also asked to assess its impact and provide feedback over the connection of this tool application to personal quality development. The researchers conducted an exploratory survey using a 5–item questionnaire which was distributed to the participants after they completed their individual and team assignments.

Findings: The researchers concluded that the attitude of the students towards the impact of this specific diagram on personal quality management can be considered positive and they perceive that it is a useful tool to apply on systematic basis on a personal basis but also inside their workplace.

The data proved that the use of the tool can get students to think more analytically, expand their thoughts and separate causes from effects - results in an issue. It also helped them to do more careful analysis and think critically about their life and their working environment.

On a team basis, the Cause and Effect Diagram helped the team members visually diagram the problems and allowed them to truly diagnose the problem, to separate a problem's content from its history, and facilitated team consensus around its causes. Finally, it is well – known that by team action are cultivated skills such as cooperation, team – thinking, determination, persuasion, creativity, inspiration, fast problem solving, synergy, immediate decision making and direct communication.

Research Limitations: Although there is an extended literature on the use of well – known quality tools such as the Cause and Effect diagram (Fishbone), there is limited research over their use on personal level and as a personal quality development tool.

Keywords: Total Quality Management, Personal Quality, Quality Tools, Cause and Effect Diagram, Personal and Team Projects

JEL Classification Codes: Μ19 (M: Business Administration and Business Economics/ Marketing/ Accounting/ Personnel Economics – Μ1: Business Administration – M19: Others)