Education - Seeking Information / Recommendations on CQE/CQM

[Curt de Mich]

I have recently been promoted to Management Rep. from Lead Auditor. I have tried a few searches online for Quality related education with little success. . Any information on CQE/CQM would help a great deal.

Thanks,
Curt

[Marc]

Those are ASQ certifications. Their Web Site should have all the details. Or.... Are you asking for opinions on their relevance?

[Curt de Mich]

Mark,

Both I guess. I have heard good and bad about ASQ certifications. I realize opinions will vary greatly but I would be interested in hearing yours. I would like to find some sort of on-line training if you have any information it would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Curt

[Kevin Mader]

Curt,

First, a question: are you also a CQA or interested in becoming one?

My opinion, the CQA is more valuable to a Management Rep than either the CQE or CQM. However, studying for the two will help you to better understand QM Systems.

For the CQA:

The Quality Audit, by Charles Mills
The CQA Primer, authored by Wohrtman and published by the Indiana Quality Council

For the CQE:

Quality Planning and Analysis, by Juran/Gryna
The CQE Primer, authored by the same folks above
Total Quality Control, by Armand Feigenbaum
Statistical Quality Control, by Grant/Leavenworth

For the CQM (I have not taken this test or studied for it as I don’t think it is personally worth it)

I recommend the following:

Out of the Crisis, by W. Edwards Deming
The Leader’s Handbook, by Peter Scholtes
The Team Handbook, Peter Scholtes
Fourth Generation Management, by Brian Joiner
Management Challenges for the 21st Century, by Peter Drucker
Punished by Rewards, by Alfie Kohn
No Contest, Alfie Kohn
Abolishing Performance Appraisals, Tom Coens and Mary Jenkins
Total Quality Control
Quality Planning and Analysis
Certified Quality Manager (something close to this title if this is wrong, but I have the book so if you can’t figure it out, let me know and I’ll get it for you)
Search on the internet for: “One more time: how do you motivate employees?” by Fredrick Herzberg published by Harvard Business Review.

Well, that should keep you busy a while.

Regards,

Kevin

[Curt de Mich]

Thanks Kevin,

You're right I think that will keep me busy for some time. I have not decided on either CQE/CQM or CQA I am just looking around to see whats out there that will best suit my needs and the needs of the organazation I am currently with. All opinions and information is a help. Of the reading material you suggest wich would you start with. Again thanks for the info.

Curt

[Kevin Mader]

Curt,

When I took the CQA and the CQE, I asked the group present (mostly strangers) which certification was most ‘practical’. In the discussion before the test, consensus was that the CQA was and for these two reasons:

- QMS are generally less technical, the CQE is very technical and gives limited exposure to auditing.
- Auditing is a ‘Check’ mechanism in the QMS, the CQA give you the knowledge (certified) to accomplish this (in actuality, you will learn through studying and the certificate is ancillary)

Well, some food for thought.

As for which book to start with, that really depends on which avenue you pursue first. But as a general statement, I would start with Out of the Crisis. It is as good in life as it is with management theory. For a more applications type read on management theory and how systems work, I would start with the Leader’s Handbook followed closely by Fourth Generation Management and Total Quality Control (more traditional I suppose, but an excellent resource).

Regards,

Kevin

[Sam]

Regardless of opinions certification lends credence to the decision making process.
Kevin provided a great reading list. I would also consider the list that comes with each type of certification; "The Body of Knowledge". Also your local ASQ chapter provides classes in each type of certification. And don't forget your lead auditor courses, AIAG courses and customer specific courses.

Enjoy