CMQ/OE Certification Guide
Your comprehensive roadmap to becoming a Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence.
The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE) program is designed for professionals aiming to lead and champion process improvement initiatives. This course covers the seven distinct domains of the ASQ Body of Knowledge, providing a holistic understanding of quality management. Successful CMQ/OEs facilitate team efforts, support strategic planning, and analyze organizational challenges to boost productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction while lowering costs.
Seven Core Areas Covered:
- Leadership: Exploring organizational structures, leadership challenges, team dynamics, and ethical conduct.
- Strategic Planning: Covering strategic models, business environment analysis, and effective deployment.
- Management Methods: Delving into communication, project management, and quality systems.
- Quality Management Tools: Equipping you with problem-solving tools, process management, and Cost of Quality.
- Customer-Focused Organizations: Focusing on customer identification, segmentation, and relationship management.
- Supply Chain Management: Addressing supplier selection, risk management, and performance.
- Training and Development: Focusing on needs analysis, training plans, and evaluating effectiveness.
The CMQ/OE examination rigorously assesses your comprehension of the Body of Knowledge for quality and organizational excellence.
Exam Format:
- Delivery: Computer-delivered (English) or Paper and Pencil (English, Mandarin).
- Questions: 180 multiple-choice (165 scored, 15 unscored) for computer; 165 for paper.
- Duration: 4.5 hours total appointment (4h 18m exam time) for computer; 4 hours for paper.
- Passing Score: Minimum of 550 out of 750 points.
- Resources: This is an open-book exam. You can bring approved reference materials.
Exam Question Breakdown:
| Domain | Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| Leadership | 28 |
| Strategic Plan Development and Deployment | 22 |
| Management Elements and Methods | 31 |
| Quality Management Tools | 30 |
| Customer-Focused Organizations | 21 |
| Supply Chain Management | 17 |
| Training and Development | 16 |
Eligibility Requirements:
- Experience: 10 years of on-the-job experience in one or more areas of the CMQ/OE Body of Knowledge.
- Decision-Making Role: A minimum of 5 years of this experience must be in a decision-making position.
- Educational Waivers: The 10-year requirement can be partially waived based on your education:
- Diploma from a technical/trade school: 1 year waived.
- Associate’s degree: 2 years waived.
- Bachelor’s degree: 4 years waived.
- Master’s or Doctorate degree: 5 years waived.
Recertification:
To maintain your CMQ/OE certification, you must recertify every three years. This is typically done by accumulating 18 Recertification Units (RUs) through professional development activities, such as attending seminars, publishing articles, or completing relevant courses. Alternatively, you can recertify by retaking the exam.
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