How to survive a thesis defense in December?

Hi all
The thesis defense is like an examination in some ways. It is different in many ways, however. The chief difference is that the candidate usually knows more about the syllabus than do the examiner(s).

Some questions will be sincere questions: the asker asks because s/he doesn't know and expects that the candidate will be able to rectify this. Students often expect questions to be difficult and attacking, and answer them accordingly. Often the questions will be much simpler than you expect. In a curious relativistic effect, time expands in the mind of the student. A few seconds pause to reflect before answering seems eminently reasonable to the panel, but to the defender it seems like minutes of mute failure. Take your time.

What usually happens is that the examiners have read the work perhaps twice, and looked closely at some parts that interested them the most. These are usually the good bits. They are not out to fail you. It is a lot more complicated to fail you than to pass you.

In general, they feel good about the idea of a new, fresh researcher coming into their area. They have to show that they have read it and they have to give you the opportunity to show that you understand it (you do, of course). And they usually have a genuine interest in the work. Some of them may feel it is necessary to maintain their image as senior scholars and founts of wisdom.

Following your presentation, you are expected to answer questions from faculty and observers. This question period generally lasts about 15 minutes in English. Committee members and observers may ask questions from any area of your thesis work; however, the most common types are as follows:

* Clarifications
* Questions probing your understanding of the issues
* Questions about the validity of your assumptions
* Questions asking you to explain why you took a certain approach
* Questions about what would happen if something were changed
* Questions about the choice of your problematic
* Questions exploring the future use of your thesis

SEE YOU IN DECEMBER FOR YOUR ORAL PRESENTATION

ATTENTION

I WAS READING ALL YOUR REPORTS AND GRADING YOUR EXAMS
HERE ARE MY GENERAL COMMENTS:

• PLEASE IMPROVE YOUR GENERAL PRESENTATION


• ILLUSTRATE THEM MORE (ADD PICTURES, TABLES, CHARTS, ETC.)


• USE http://www.reverso.com/ TO TRANSLATE BUSINESS WORDS, PLEASE DO NOT INVENT WORDS OR USE FRENCH ONES


• FOCUS MORE ON THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS AND DEVELOP THEM MORE


• ATTENTION TO GRAMMAR


• ATTENTION TO SPELLING (CHECK IT ON WORD)


• ATTENTION TO PROOFREADING (READ IT BEFORE)


• TO FINISH I WAS HAPPY WITH YOUR WORKS BUT WE HAVE TO DO BETTER

• FOR COMPUB: YOU HAVE TO PRINT YOUR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND INCLUDE IT WITH YOUR OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT EXAM (NO MORE EMAILS)
  
  
  CONCERNING THE EXAM


• GO STRAIGHT TO THE POINT, NO CHIT CHAT


• GIVE EXAMPLES


• BE CLEAR AND SHORT

TQM illustrated

TQM system

delight

customer satisfaction cycle

Customer feedback

continuous improvement cycle

the executive summary

An executive summary previews the main points of an in-depth report; it is written for nontechnical people who don't have time to read the main report.

2-3 pages max. in English to hand back at the end of each case study, to your team leader.

Instructions

1. General introduction about the case study and your mission
2. List the main points the summary will cover in the same order they appear in the main report
3. Write a simple declarative sentence for each of the main points.
4. Add supporting or explanatory sentences as needed, avoiding unnecessary technical material and jargon.
5. Read the summary slowly and critically, making sure it conveys your purpose, message and key recommendations. You want readers to be able to skim the summary without missing the point of the main report.
6. Check for errors of style, spelling, grammar and punctuation. Ask a fellow writer to proofread and edit the document.
7. Ensure that the major ideas are covered succinctly.

Customer Satisfaction

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a leading indicator of consumer behavior, measuring the satisfaction of consumers across the U.S. economy. The ACSI interviews approximately 80,000 Americans annually and asks about their satisfaction with the goods and services they have consumed. Respondents are screened to cover a wide range of business-to-consumer products and services, including durable goods, services, non-durable goods, local government services, Federal government agencies, and so forth. Results from data collection and analysis are released to the public each quarter at regular intervals.

The resulting information is used in academic research, for corporate and organizational decision-making, by market analysts and investors, and by industry trade associations. ACSI data also aids consumers in making better-informed consumption choices.

read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Customer_Satisfaction_Index

What is Mass Customisation?

Mass Customisation is the customization and personalization of products and services for individual customers at a mass production price.
The concept was first conceived by Stan Davis in Future Perfect. It was then further developed by Joseph Pine in his book Mass Customization - The New Frontier in Business Competition .

Michael Dell is widely acknowledged as the person who started the "build-to-order" and "mass customization" craze. Where IBM et al were selling just one kind of a computer, Dell comes from no where and allows people to customize their own computers according to their own needs. And mass customization led to the stellar success of Dell computers. But mass customization was not planned by Michael. Like most innovations, it was born out of necessity.

read more: http://www.biztactics.com/blog/2005/01/mass-customization.php

TQM

Total Quality Management is a management approach that originated in the 1950's and has steadily become more popular since the early 1980's. Total Quality is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs.
The culture requires quality in all aspects of the company's operations, with processes being done right the first time and defects and waste eradicated from operations.

To be successful implementing TQM, an organization must concentrate on the eight key elements:

1. Ethics
2. Integrity
3. Trust
4. Training
5. Teamwork
6. Leadership
7. Recognition
8. Communication

read more: http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c021230a.asp

PDCA

BCG matrix

administrative details

Most classes will be part lecture and part class discussion
Some classes will be devoted entirely to case studies
Monthly exam
Monthly group report
Attendance and Participation (from a grading perspective)
Oral exam (Dec. & May)

course objectives

Dear emp 4

During this year we will cover together six case studies given by your administration. During my class we will discuss the major problematics and different aspects of finance, management, marketing, HRM, CRM, etc. You will have one exam per month, 2 oral exams per year and at the end of the case study you have to write a report in English. Class participation is CRUCIAL

operations management

Marketing functions
Consumer behavior
Advertising
Industry analysis
Finance: annual report
Human resource management
Business strategies
Management tools
Problem solving and decision making abilities


DURING CLASSTIME

No cell phone
No Internet
No reading
No eating
No chatting