Penn State's QMM Graduates Are In High Demand

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA--When Stephanie Washburn took on a new managerial assignment with Kodak several months ago, she felt confident because of her background in Penn State's Quality and Manufacturing Management (QMM) program.

"The program allowed me to see the bigger picture in manufacturing," she said, "and allowed me to put together the different pieces, such as the financial aspect, the process or manufacturing, quality control and safety practices. It enabled me to pull all those pieces together and that's been essential in my new position."

Washburn, a 2000 graduate of the QMM program, a unique collaboration of the Smeal College of Business Administration and the College of Engineering, is manager of Kodak's Slit/Perf Metal Department, a part of the 35-millimeter film finishing production. She supervises approximately 165 employees and manages a $34 million a year business.

"In my current role, my communication with people is absolutely critical," Washburn added. "The communication and leadership course in the QMM program has enabled me to articulate the different parts of the business to all the employees. Communication impacts every aspect of my job. And the QMM program prepared me to communicate effectively."

The interdisciplinary graduate program was developed in the early 1990s and admitted its first class in 1996. The highly competitive and intense program, often referred to as "QMM Boot Camp,' leads to a Master of Manufacturing Management degree. Its curriculum emphasizes a team-based approach to a wide array of manufacturing management issues, including product design, process development, plant design, capacity management, product distribution, product costing, quality management, workforce organization, strategic planning, and supply chain management.

"True integration between our colleges of Business and Engineering is a key aspect of the program," said Gerald I. Susman, the Robert and Judith Klein Professor of management in the Smeal College of Business. Susman co-directs the QMM program with Clayton O. Ruud, professor of industrial engineering in the College of Engineering.

"Ten new courses were created specifically for the program. They were co-designed by faculty in the two colleges and some are co-taught. At many other schools, students select courses in business and engineering from a menu and integration is the responsibility of the student. Our QMM program is one of the few in the country that is fully integrated."

Ruud said the program allows students to integrate engineering and business issues by focusing on manufacturing in a way they can apply science and technology and see how it interfaces with business and management practices.

"Many engineering students hesitate to go into an MBA program because they're not sure how it relates to their interest in technology and engineering," he said. "They feel they'll be disconnected from their interest after they enter MBA training or while they're in it. QMM clearly integrates engineering and business issues and does it well.

"Engineering graduates directly out of school tend to dwell on technical details that often are below the radar screen of upper management and executives. We teach our students to be able to tailor their communications so that they can efficiently communicate the aspects of their ideas that are most important to executives and upper management. Thus, our graduates are not only well founded in technology and engineering principles, but are able to communicate the essence of those ideas to those who are making financial decisions in a company or to prospective investors."

Approximately one-half of the students in each QMM class are engineers, while the other half is made up of students with business and science backgrounds. The one-year progam has up to 45 students in each class. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of the coursework is done through a team approach.

"We emphasize the team approach because this is characteristic of what the students will face in the workplace," Susman said. "We design the teams to be as diverse as possible, including gender, race, cultural background, and undergraduate major. The students have to struggle with individual differences as they work on complex problems and complete them on time."

Mandar Dighe, a 1998 graduate, calls the QMM program "a perfect blend" between the business and engineering sides of manufacturing.

"I've found that the team-oriented approach and the communications work we did are critically important in the workplace," said Dighe, continuous improvement manager for the Supercharger Division of the Eaton Corp. in Athens, GA. "The program prepared me very well. It is a challenging and rewarding offering that is well rounded for manufacturing now and into the future."

While most QMM students are fulltime, Ron Patterson enrolled as a part-time student while working at Murata Electronics in State College. A 1998 QMM graduate, he is now project office manager in Global Solutions Production Procurement at IBM in Charlotte, NC.

"The QMM program has enabled me to apply business modeling theories and techniques to real life," he said. "It was extremely valuable. It expanded my view of business from manufacturing to realization strategy of manufacturing and to product realization and product development.

"In my role now I manage an outsource manufacturing and fulfillment vendor for IBM. It is a fairly unique arrangement in that we are operating a complete business supply chain partnered with another corporation. We're not just concerned with suppliers and the ability to manufacture, but we have to think about the entire supply chain, product development capabilities, IT structure, and the outsourcing of a lot of the products. My job is all encompassing, and what the QMM program gave me is a real benefit."

The program was honored last year by the Computer and Automated Systems Association of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (CASA/SME) when it was named the winner of the prestigious 2000 University Lead Award. An acronym for "Leadership and Excellence in the Application and Development" of integrated manufacturing, the Lead Award recognizes extraordinary efforts in meeting the world's critical need for manufacturing leadership education programs.

According to Susman, there is a demand for Penn State's QMM graduates, with most getting multiple job offers.

"Since the first class graduated, our students have done very well and advanced in companies," he said. "Some have accepted more senior positions and some already are plant managers. Our students are very successful."

Ruud feels there is a continuing need for manufacturing professionals.

"We are providing training requested by industry," he said. "Without manufacturing, our society will not be able to maintain our current standard of living. I believe there will be less and less blue-collar jobs in manufacturing in the future, but that there will be more and more professional jobs. We can be successful if we are smarter and better. Competing successfully requires well-educated manufacturing professionals."