College of Business

Mayberry Chair of Excellence

The mission of the W.E. Mayberry Chair of Excellence is to increase awareness and enhance the development of quality and quality-related practices in business and education on a local, state, and national level. This is achieved by conducting and disseminating research, implementing quality-related projects and activities, conducting workshops for practitioners, and instructing students in undergraduate and graduate classes. Dr. Curt W. Reimann, first director of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, serves as the chairholder. The chair is also supported by a highly distinguished board of advisors. The Mayberry Chair of Excellence was created at the College of Business Administration, Tennessee Technological University, in the 1993-1994 academic year. Be sure to visit our Quality Resources link for the web's best quality information. Please send your feedback by clicking on the following e-mail link: mayberry@tntech.edu.

Board of Advisors

Chairholder:

Mr. Jack Swaim - Former Director, Worldwide Quality, Imaging and Printing Group, Hewlett-Packard Company

Board of Advisors:

Mr. Joe Dehler - Former Vice President, Business Process Improvement, Carlson Companies
Mr. Gary Floss - Director, Quality Assurance and Continual Improvement, Marvin Windows and Doors
Mr. Steven Hoisington - Vice President, Quality and Reliability, Electro-Motive Diesels, Inc.
Mr. David Jones - Vice President/Co-founder, Edamar, Inc.
Ms. Jean Kinney - Associate Director, Corporate Purchases, The Procter & Gamble Company
Mr. Bill Nusbaum - Center Director, Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Program
Ms. Katie Rawls - President, Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence
Ms. Marie Williams - Member Emeritus - Former President, Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence

» Dr. Curt W. Reimann

Senior Scientist Emeritus and Former Director (1987-1995) of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and W. Eugene Mayberry Chair of Excellence, Tennessee Technological University, College of Business Administration

Dr. Reimann served as Director of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and Director for Quality Programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), from the inception of the Award in 1987 until his retirement in 1995. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, created by Public Law 100-107, was established to promote quality awareness, recognize excellent U.S. companies, and publicize successful quality strategies.

During his career at NIST, Dr. Reimann served as Deputy Director of the National Measurement Laboratory, the NIST organization responsible for the nation's basic physical, chemical, and radiation measurements and standards. Earlier, Dr. Reimann served as Director of the NIST Center for Analytical Chemistry, as Program Manager for Solid State Data, Office of Standard Reference Data and as Scientific Assistant to the Director of Commerce Gold Medal for leadership of NIST services in chemical measurements and the Silver Medal for leadership in the NIST energy conservation task force.

Dr. Reimann began his career at NIST in 1962 as a research chemist. Concurrent with his research activities, he was Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the University of Maryland for three years. Dr. Reimann received his B.A. in chemistry from Drew University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Michigan. After completing his doctoral work, he was a NSF-NRC Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University.

In 1989, Dr. Reimann was recognized by The Quality Review as one of the "Ten Most Influential Figures in Quality for 1988." In 1992, Dr. Reimann received a Distinguished Rank Award from President Bush. In 1993, Dr. Reimann was named a Fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Science. In 1994, he received the Quality and Productivity Management Association's Leadership Award. In 1995, he was the recipient of the Tennessee Governor's Quality Award. In 1996, a scholarship was established in his name at the University of Michigan Business School.

Dr. Reimann has served on a variety of business, professional, educational, and other advisory bodies including The Conference Board, the National Alliance for Business, the University of Minnesota's Juran Center for Leadership in Quality, the American Chemical Society, the Instrument Society of America's Standards and Practices Board and the United Way of America.

Since his retirement from NIST in December 1995, Dr. Reimann has served the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership. In addition to holding the W. Eugene Mayberry Chair of Excellence since 1996 at Tennessee Technological University, College of Business Administration, Dr. Reimann also served as Executive in Residence at American University's Kogod School of Business in Washington, DC.
» Dr. William Eugene Mayberry

"Everything about Dr. Mayberry indicates his commitment to excellence, and we think that commitment is well reflected in the College of Business and the university" - Dr. Angelo Volpe, President, Tennessee Tech University.

The Mayberry Chair of Excellence is named for Dr. William Eugene Mayberry of Cookeville, Tennessee. Dr. Mayberry is a Tennessee Tech alumnus and a former member of the board of trustees and former CEO of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Dr. Mayberry received his M.D. from the University of Tennessee. He was chosen as the chair’s namesake because of his outstanding achievements and his close ties to Tennessee Tech and the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee.

Activities & Accomplishments

» 2001-2002
The Mayberry Chair’s purpose is to increase awareness and enhance development of performance excellence related practices in business and education on a local, state, and national level. This is achieved by conducting and disseminating research, implementing projects and activities, conducting workshops for practitioners, and instructing students in undergraduate and graduate classes. The Mayberry team, consisting of Chairholder Curt W. Reimann, President Robert Bell, Dean Bob Niebuhr, Mayberry Professor of Management R. Nat Natarajan, and Mayberry Graduate Assistants Chad Meador, Nick Brown, and Sandra Robbins, has contributed to this mission during the past year. Activities carried out in 2001-2002 include:

The Mayberry Advisory Board met during October 29 and 30, 2001. On that occasion, members of the Board interacted with students at the College of Business Administration (COBA) reception and participated in visits to various classes within COBA. They also took part in a panel discussion organized by MBA students.

The Board members attended a presentation by Dr. Bonita Barger on the Online course, Human Resources Management, offered by her for the Regent’s Degree Program.

At the recommendation of several Mayberry Advisory Board members, the Mayberry Chair of Excellence implemented a private, online discussion board in Spring 2002. The Mayberry message board serves as a medium to facilitate topical discussions and to distribute internal announcements to all Board members.

The Mayberry Chair is collaborating with the Tennessee Tech School for Interdisciplinary Studies and Extended Education, with a focus on strategic planning.

The Spring Mayberry Lecture was delivered by Roy Bauer, VP of Systems Manufacturing at Pemstar, on April 4, 2002. His talk, titled “Malcolm Baldrige at the Olympic Games,” in Johnson Hall Auditorium, was well attended and received by faculty and students from the Business departments (see report in this newsletter).

Dr. Reimann served on the Technical Committee for the Juran Center for Leadership in Quality, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. He worked with Professor Roger Schroeder on the Body of Knowledge project.

Dr. Reimann serves on the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Juran Medal Committee. Dr. Reimann served as a member of an ASQ group to assess the future of quality.

Mayberry Graduate Assistant Nick Brown served on the Tennessee Quality Award (TQA) Board of Examiners for 2001; Chad Meador and Sandra Robbins are serving on the 2002 TQA Board of Examiners.

Mayberry Graduate Assistant Chad Meador and Dr. Susan Elkins, Dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Extended Education,Tennessee Tech, attended the Quest for Excellence Conference (see article in this newsletter).

President Bell served on the Panel of Judges and Board of Directors for the Tennessee Quality Award Program. Dr. Nat Natarajan served on the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2001.

Dr. Reimann taught a special topics class on Performance Excellence for senior undergraduates.

Dr. Bonita Barger has incorporated the Baldrige Organizational Profile as the diagnostic and organizational analysis tool in the MBA Business Research course taught by her. She and Dr. Nat Natarajan have written a paper on this instructional innovation and its benefits. It will be presented at the Decision Sciences Institute National Conference in San Diego in November, 2002 (see article in this newsletter).

In Fall 2001, Dr. Nat Natarajan was appointed to the position of Mayberry Professor of Management.

Dr. Nat Natarajan presented papers at the annual meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute in San Francisco, and the EUROMA 2002 conference in Copenhagen. He also visited Tennessee Tech’s partner university in Pori, Finland, and the Graduate School of Management at St. Petersburg State University in St. Petersburg, Russia.
» 1998-1999
The W. E. Mayberry Chair of Excellence was conceived in 1989 and created at the College of Business Administration, Tennessee Technological University in the 1993-1994 academic year. Its purpose is to increase awareness and enhance development of quality and quality-related practices in business and education on a local, state, and national level. This is achieved by conducting and disseminating research, implementing quality-related projects and activities, conducting workshops for practitioners, and instructing students in undergraduate and graduate classes. The Mayberry team consisting of chair-holder Curt W. Reimann, Dean Robert R. Bell, Mayberry Faculty Associate R. Nat Natarajan, and Mayberry Graduate Assistants, Danny Cooper and Brent Palk, has been working hard toward this mission. In pursuit of this mission, we have completed the following activities in 1998-1999:

The Mayberry Board conducted its annual meeting on October 27, 1998. On that occasion, Board members participated in the annual Mayberry Symposium on “Leadership and Careers in Y2K and Beyond” with Dr. Reimann serving as the moderator. A large number of graduate and undergraduate students attended this event and benefited from the discussion and experience sharing by the Board. (see report in this newsletter)

The Mayberry lecture series was inaugurated. Professor James Evans of the University of Cincinnati delivered the first Mayberry lecture on March 23, 1999. His talk on creative thinking and problem-solving in the Johnson Hall Auditorium was well attended by students and faculty (see report in this newsletter). During his visit he also conducted a faculty development workshop.

In March 1999, Dr. Reimann, Dean Bell and the Mayberry Graduate Assistants visited the Y12 plant in Oak Ridge where Dr. Reimann gave a presentation on quality and the basic framework and goals of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

In March 1999, Dr. Reimann conducted a workshop on Performance Excellence in Education for Putnam County school principals and administrators.

In October 1998, Dr. Reimann made a presentation to the Nashville chapter of American Society for Quality.

In October 1998, Dr. Reimann and Dean Bell conducted a workshop titled “Global Competitiveness: Role of the Baldrige National Award” for the Global Competitiveness Council in Nashville.

In October 1998, Dr. Reimann participated in a panel discussion on Total Quality Management organized by the Upper Cumberland Chapter of APICS, the Educational Society for Resource Management.

Dean Bell interviewed Dr. Reimann concerning the history of the quality movement, the Baldrige award, his interaction with other quality leaders and his thoughts on key quality and performance excellence issues (see report in this newsletter).

Former Mayberry graduate assistants Brian Bowman and Cass Larson have graduated and become the first Mayberry Alumni. Brent Palk and Danny Cooper are the new graduate assistants.

Mayberry Graduate Assistants, Brent Palk and Danny Cooper have been accepted to serve on the TQA board of examiners for 1999.

Dr. Reimann and Dean Bell team-taught MBA elective class on quality and productivity in Spring 1999 and Dr. Reimann makes presentations to several other classes during his visits in Fall and Spring.

Several Mayberry Board members have visited and lectured in classes in the College of Business Administration, Tennessee Technological University.

Maintained websites for the Mayberry Chair and The Tennessee Quality Award.

Dean Bell serves on panel of judges and board of directors for TQA and he continues to serve as an examiner for the Baldrige Award. Dr. Nat Natarajan serves on the board of examiners for TQA.

Article by Dean Bell and Bernie Keys, “Interview with Curt Reimann” was published in the Summer 1998 Volume of Organizational Dynamics.

Published the Mayberry Chair Newsletter.
» 1997-1998
The W. E. Mayberry Chair of Excellence was conceived in 1989 and created at the College of Business, Tennessee Technological University in the 1993-1994 academic year to increase awareness and enhance development of quality and quality-related practices in business and education on a local, state, and national level. This is achieved by conducting and disseminating research, implementing quality-related projects and activities, conducting workshops for practitioners, and instructing students in undergraduate and graduate classes. The Mayberry team of Curt W. Reimann, Dr. Nat Natarajan, Robert R. Bell, graduate students and other faculty have been working hard toward this mission. In pursuit of this mission, we have completed the following activities in 1997:

Created new international criteria to promote international market development and competitiveness in the state of Tennessee. The criteria are in their pilot year being tested as Category 8 of the Tennessee Quality Award (see other article).
Our staff worked as part of a team which produced an interactive multimedia CD-ROM for the 1996 Tennessee State Quality Award winners.

Organized and promoted several seminars on issues relating to quality, assessment, and education presented by the Mayberry Chairholder, Dr. Curt Reimann.

Developed a brochure for Tennessee Quality Award examiner recruitment.

Dr. Reimann and Mayberry graduate student assistants have taught the Tennessee Quality Award process to MBA and undergraduate classes.

Members of the Mayberry team have contributed articles on Quality and International Initiatives; "Planning for Quality Education", an International Quality Congress Proceedings article presented in Mauritus (1998), and "Creating Global Competitiveness Initiatives using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award—the Tennessee Experience" for a Society Advancement of Management International Conference, presented April 3, 1998.

Members of the Mayberry team have attended the Quest for Excellence-the official Conference of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Dr. Nat Natarajan, the Mayberry Faculty Associate contributed an invited article on Total Quality Management to the Encyclopedia of Manufacturing and Production.

Mayberry graduate assistants Cass Larson and Brian Bowman have served as members of the 1997 Tennessee Quality Award Board of Examiners.

Developed and maintain websites for the Mayberry Chair and The Tennessee Quality Award.

The Mayberry Board conducted meetings on October 28, 1998. On that occasion, Board members participated in a panel discussion on best practices and contemporary issues in business with Dr. Reimann serving as the moderator. A large number of graduate and undergraduate students and local business leaders attended this event and benefited from the discussion and experience-sharing by the Board.

Several Board members have lectured in classes at Tennessee Technological University.

Board Member Ken Best chaired the 1998 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Regional Conference in Chicago.

Published the Mayberry Chair Newsletter.

Publications & Newsletters

National Quality Award

Dean Bell Serves as U.S. Representative to National Quality Award

During 1996 and 1997, Dean Bob Bell spent the last week of November and first week of December in Mauritius, a small island nation in the Indian Ocean. He served on the Panel of Judges for the Mauritius National Quality Award. Mauritius is a small democracy, with an economy much like that of Hawaii. Tourism is the largest business, with agriculture (sugarcane) and textiles next in importance. In an attempt to develop closer economic ties to the European Economic Community and the U.S., Mauritius designed a national quality award to identify its most competitive businesses. The award is patterned after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and after the Tennessee Quality Award. Each year since 1994, Mauritius has invited a U.S. representative who is familiar with both awards to serve on the Panel of Judges for their national award. Bell has served on the Board of Examiners for the Baldrige Award and serves on the Panel of Judges and the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Quality Award.

In Mauritius, Dean Bell led site visits to the companies that were finalists for the 1997 award. He worked with the Panel of Judges to select the award winners who were announced at the World Quality Congress held in Port Louis, Mauritius, on December 2-4, 1997. Bell also spoke at the Quality Congress and presented lectures at the University of Mauritius. The trip was funded by the World Bank.

TNCPE Glossary

Attributes: An inherent characteristic of a product, program, or service such as its cost, color, function, duration, etc.
Benchmarking: An improvement process in which an organization compares its performance against "best-in-class" organization, determines how those organizations achieved their performance levels, and uses information to improve its own performance. The subjects that can be benchmarked include: strategies, programs / services, operations, processes, and procedures.
Conformance: An affirmative indicator or judgment that a product, program, or service has met the agreed-upon requirements of * A customer, or * A relevant specification, contract, or regulation.
Continuous improvement: The ongoing improvement of programs, services, or processes through incremental and breakthrough improvements.
Customer (external): A person or organization who receives a product, service, or information, but is not part of the organization supplying it (also called a patient in the health care sector and a student in the education sector).
Customer (internal): A person or unit who receives output (product, service, or information) from another person or unit within the same unit -or from another unit within the larger organization of which it is a part.
Cycle time: The interval required to complete a task, or function, starting from the beginning of the first step until the completion of the last.
Data management: The process by which the reliability, timelines, and accessibility of an organization's database is assured.
Empowerment: The condition whereby employees have the authority to make decisions and take action in their work areas without prior approval. For example, a park employee can issue a refund of an entrance fee if the customer has a complaint.
Improvement cycle: An action or series of actions (taken as a result of an organized and planned review) which make the process better. To ensure that continuos improvement becomes a way of life, all processes should provide for periodic improvement cycles.
Partnering: The establishment of a long-term relationship between two parties characterized by teamwork and mutual trust, enabling both parties to focus on the needs of a mutual customer. Partners have risks well as benefits. An organization can establish partnering agreements with its unions, suppliers, customers, local businesses, and / or educational institutions. "Cooperation" differs from partnering in that the relationship is less formal, either by choice or due to the fact that the parties involved are not part of the formal organization.
Performance standard: A goal against which actual performance is measured.
Process: A particular method of doing something, generally involving a number of steps or operations.
Quality assessment: The operational techniques and activities used to evaluate the quality of processes, practices, programs, and services.
Quality control: The operational techniques and activities used to ensure that that quality standards are met.
Quality values: The principles and beliefs that guide an organization and its people toward the accomplishment of its vision, mission, and quality goals. Examples might be "meeting our customers' needs is always our first priority" or "we build quality widgets, at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always quality widgets."
Root cause: The original cause or reason for a condition. The root cause of a condition is that cause which, if eliminated, guarantees the condition will not recur.
System: A set of well-defined and well-designed processes for meeting the organization's quality and performance requirements.
Workforce: The union and non-union employees of an organization, as well as the labor union(s) where applicable. The term "workforce" is generally used to describe non-management employees, unless otherwise indicated.

College of Business

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