Assignment guidance as promised
HI all as promsied I have outlined below what I am expecting from the assignment for assignment 1.
Please note you may choose to take a different tack than I am suggesting and this is perfectly acceptable. This guidance is loose and giving you some direction to channel your energies into developing ideas for your assignment. It is not set in tablets of stone so please do not get stressed or worried if you have already started and it is different to this. I say this with this in mind, this may be some peoples 1st unit or could be their last. Everyone is at different stages of the course and writing abilities.
Assignment 1 is based on a statement, your answer should be a discussion/debate/argument that explains why or why not using improvement methods from another industry may or may not work/be suitable etc. When undertaking a post graduate assignment you are expected to get your initial thinking around a topic from a lecture or module notes. The onus is then on your investigation and research to focus on finding appropriate sources of credible information to develop a discussion debate etc.
So in this instance we are referring to largely Six Sigma and LEAN, which have been used extensively in some cases to try to improve quality & safety in health care. Many countries have approached this on a large scale and this goes right ot individuals trying to make a difference. The assignment is not about six sigma and LEAN as such, these are improvement methodologies and there are many others. As they have been used in health widely in the past decade you are likely to find a vast amount of literature extolling its virtues and success and also there is masses written on the not so successful. I am not looking for a description of what they are and what they do per sae.
My suggestion is the following
Introduction giving some context, so what you are going to discuss and why
Background issues in health, why is it complex, who are the stakeholders, what are the main issues/challenges facing health and why, what are the issues in Q&S
Main Body- will examine unique characteristics of health including supply/demand, consumer expectations workforce (silos) culture etc
Then what has been done in health to make improvements to Q&S giving examples from the literature and taking a stance do you think they are suitable or not backing up your points with what is in the literature and what your experience may or may not be.
Conclusion a summary of what you have discovered and maybe some recommendations for the future of how to improve further or do we look to others rather than manufacturing etc

I hope this helps and am happy to answer questions on here or email me.