CTC 301 Continuous Improvement

1. CTC 301 Continuous Improvement

2. Continuous Improvement • TQM • ISO • Assessment

3. Continuous Improvement • Discussion

4. Comments & Suggestions: Industrial Advisory Board • Include more outside speakers • Emphasize ethical use of computers, including software and hardware, personal shopping on company computers • Have student join college clubs that are service-oriented • More discussions of actual cases • Class best held in senior year • Have outside people present their experiences • Include guest speakers that were actually affected by someone’s lack of ethics • Case studies from real-life experiences • Work place etiquette-dealing w/ the opposite sex • E-mail etiquette (tone, punctuation)

5. Comments and Suggestions • To illustrate the topic of continuous learning, present items that are common now that people in the middle of their careers had to learn after school (LEED in buildings) • Most students do not have wives and kids yet. But balancing career and family life could be a topic • Is corruption/kickbacks discussed? And how/why to avoid it? Dispute resolution • Research actual corruption in the industry. Discuss how things could have been done different. • With the projects ongoing on campus; have you had any labs to review the projects? • Global world topics: Construction and development in other countries EX China (high speed rail), Dubai (architecture & sizing of projects)

6. Comments and Suggestions • Ethics examples are good but also include daily life examples as college students (develop a list) • There are so many examples daily in the news of bad ethics or lack of attention to detail or poor quality. Discussion of these current examples each week may be helpful. • Should stress the avoidance of temptation to do work other than employers work on company time. Should not be guilty of theft of services • Important components to include (thrift, work ethic, honesty, civility, planning, considering long-term implications, accuracy, quality, attention to detail, how will you hire people, how will you fire people, what will you do if you get fired, what will you do when you make a mistake) • Review/discuss codes for various professions • Legal issues

7. Comments and Suggestions • Students need cases that they can relate to (such as downloads of movies or music from the internet of pirated material) • Develop pride in the work they do • Take ownership of their work • Deliver the product as per the specifications • Being aware of professional ethics. I don’t think that engineers always think of themselves as on the same level as doctors and lawyers, but we should • Try role-playing specific ethical dilemmas, with the instructor as moderator. Put students on both sides, one as the person who may have violated an ethical role, another who must hear it and make a decision. Keep it fun

8. Comments and Suggestions • I like the idea of encouraging teamwork with group projects; even more the tactic of switching up the groups. • Glad to hear that students are required to take a writing course. We see many resumes that are well written, with cover letters that are poorly written. • Must also maintain competitiveness in today’s global economy • Communications and writing skills need to be emphasized, especially when e-mailing • Maybe have a panel of engineers from outside to give their views on professionalism/ethics in the workplace. • Integrate positive uses of cell/text for professional uses only. • Integrate non-verbal communication skills to aid and assist.

9. Comments and Suggestions • Discussions on over-use of technology • Solving math problems on a cell phone calculator is unprofessional in front of a client • Texting during meetings is unprofessional • Transparency: Not hiding your identity from your customers. Being open about all issues. • Perhaps a course or section of a course on social media • Clarify professionalism components (quality, timeliness, communication skills, respect for others). • Service component (engineers w/o borders; habitat for humanity) • Create a model organization-set up a “mole” to try to influence “unethical behavior”

10. Comments and Suggestions • Simple in-class assignment where no technology can be used • Have students interview outside professionals to learn how to interview better and learn about people in the industry. • Speakers from outside of SUNYIT/ attend seminars/meetings outside of SUNYIT • Expand guest speakers as much as possible • Include discussion on public involvement; learning to deal with irate confrontational citizens would be key

11. Continuous Improvement • Homework-None

12. Topics for Presentations • Search for valid and useful “professionalism” websites (Williams/Lewis) • Explore ideas to promote student activity in professional societies (Meszko/Sedlacek) • History of Assessment (Gordon/Prine/Fane) • Evaluate incorporation of student e-portfolios (Richards/Duffy) • Appropriate use of technology in the workplace (Domazet) • Staying competitive while maintaining ethical behavior (Lyons/Ryan) • Relating ethical situations to student experiences (Perkosky/Thall) • Interpersonal relationship (dealing w/ different personalities, etc.) (Peters/Delgado) • History of ISO (Suer) • History of TQM (Seho/Hanmer) • Balancing career and family (null)