Analysis of the activities of quality managers

What does the day-to-day work of quality managers look like?

Quality managers support the company management in planning and controlling the company's development. They take on the tasks of quality management, process management and often also change management and organizational development.

Many of the quality manager's tasks have to do with strategic considerations, analyzing, evaluating and improving company processes.

Then comes communication, presenting and explaining innovations, coordinating with all managers involved and planning implementation. This also involves informing all those affected and involved about changes, explaining the reasons and objectives of the measures and training them in the new procedures or processes.
A further part of the work involves the preparation and support of certifications, e.g. in accordance with ISO 9001. The documentation of quality management processes, the preparation and implementation of internal audits and the support of external audits are also important tasks.

As the interface between all departments and offices or Group companies and the management, communication and coordination is another key area of responsibility for quality managers or quality managers. They visit the business units, negotiate practicable quality criteria with those responsible and support the managers in implementing the specifications. In contact with customers, suppliers, the public and politicians, they explore and coordinate the needs of the various interest groups and work with the management to develop appropriate measures that are in line with company policy and corporate objectives.

According to the job advertisements, the tasks are distributed as follows, for example:

The distribution of tasks can vary greatly depending on the job profile and type of company.

What is usually required in job advertisements for quality managers?

• Basic commercial or technical training
• Further training as a quality manager
• Professional experience in quality management
• Possibly professional experience in an industrial, manufacturing environment
• Knowledge of quality tools and methods, experience with ISO 9000, 9001
• Good knowledge of the environment
• Communicative, enthusiastic and solution-oriented personality
• Careful and efficient way of working
• Professional appearance, moderation and communication skills
• Very good knowledge of German and English, knowledge of French an advantage.
• Good knowledge of MS Office and Visio

Who is the "Quality Management" course suitable for?

Target group:

• Employees who perform tasks in quality and process management or are looking for an entry into quality management
• Quality management professionals who want to update their knowledge
• Managers and employees from quality assurance who want to take on more responsibility for quality management
• Managing directors, quality managers, process managers, etc. with responsibility for the establishment and further development of integrated management systems
• Specialists from production and incoming goods, AVOR etc. who are responsible for compliance with standards

Personal requirements:

• Entrepreneurial and strategic thinking
• Communicative skills
• Leadership qualities and organizational skills
• Interest in management systems

Course description:

Further important key points of the "Quality Management" course are described here:
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Admission to the courses

The admission requirements vary and must be clarified directly in each individual case. What is usually required are

• Completed apprenticeship or comparable training
• Several years of qualified professional experience
• Minimum age 25 years
• For a postgraduate NDS HF course, a higher professional education qualification such as HF, BP or HFP and at least 4 years of professional experience are usually required.
• A postgraduate MAS course at a university of applied sciences requires a Bachelor's degree or an equivalent diploma and at least 2 years of qualified professional experience.

Financing of further training

The course fees for the "Quality Management" course are to be paid either at the beginning of the course or by the semester. However, in individual cases it is also possible to agree individual installment payments.

Time spent on classroom teaching and learning (homework)

The larger courses last between half a year and two years. Classroom teaching takes place over approximately 20 to 60 days and is usually offered in the form of two- to three-day blocks.

The amount of learning and practicing required in addition to school lessons is around 4-6 hours per week.

Will I graduate?

For most courses, the following is required to pass the final examination:

• Attendance of at least 80% of the attendance hours
• Sufficient proof of performance or term papers during the course
• Often working on an independent diploma or master's thesis
• Passing the final examinations

General success factors for successfully completing an apprenticeship are

• Regular preparation and follow-up of the lesson material at home
• Committed cooperation in group work, case studies etc.
• Participation in learning groups for regular exchange
• Practise exam situations by working on previous exam tasks