Knowledge management and performance improvement: the roles of statistics and mathematics

Abstract

The study proposes a recommendation that links knowledge management and performance improvement. The company that is under study allows this recommendation to take place at its Foundry Group (FG). The recommendation is designed to help the FG overcome the concerns on the demonstration of a compliance for ISO 9001:2000 (regarding Requirement 8, which deals with performance measurement, analysis and improvement) and the illustration of a commitment to the Thailand Quality Award or TQA (with regard to Category 4, which deals with performance measurement, analysis and knowledge management). This recommendation relies on the extensive use of statistics and mathematics. The findings, together with the FG management team, encourage a shift in the group's paradigm on their existing customers and the roles of its sales workforce. Finally, the study shows that ISO 9001:2000 compliance and the TQA commitment can be concurrently achieved. The feedback from two external experts also supports this notion.