Abstract: Quality as a profession is currently undergoing one of the most important transitions in the last 40 years. Similar to how thought shifted to elemental-based thinking in the 1980s and moved toward a process approach in the 2000s, the evolving role of quality in Business is moving faster and faster, and quite frankly we are not prepared for it one bit. As current quality professionals move towards retirement and younger candidates begin to fill these roles, there is a substantial mismatch in the skills quality professionals hold, and the needs of organizations and leaders in the companies that employ them. In short, we are not teaching these candidates how to communicate and be a vital part of leading their organizations as their careers move forward. This lecture will be an education for up-and-coming professionals in both the quality and engineering space who are beginning to fit into larger roles where the line between black and white becomes more and more grey.
About the speaker
Dr. Herman Tang is a professor in the School of Engineering at Eastern Michigan University. He has taught nine graduate courses in quality and has overseen the Master of Science in Quality Management program, including the Lean Six Sigma Certificate, since 2015. Before joining EMU, he accumulated over 16 years of experience in vehicle assembly manufacturing at Chrysler (now Stellantis). Dr. Tang has authored four technical books. He holds a doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, as well as an MBA in Industrial Management from Baker College. An engaged member of ASQ, he currently serves as the Education Chair for the Ann Arbor Section.