Quality Management Areas Research Articles

Research framework for the impact of total quality management on competitive advantage

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to apply a more accurate competitive advantage construct to study the impact of total quality management on firms’ competitive advantage in the context of the weakening of the competitive advantage of firms that are renowned for the excellent quality management. It also aims to find a better explanation for the source of competitive advantage through mediating constructs.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use iterative methodology by reviewing, analyzing, synthesizing and refining the current state of the literature and propose a research framework which allows for overcoming the limitation encountered in previous empirical research.FindingsThe use of two second-order constructs including the incremental innovation performance and radical innovation performance which enable the researchers to have a better explanation about the mediating role of innovation performance.Practical implicationsThis study is seeking to contribute to the practice of total quality management area of research. Specifically, this study applies two second-order measurement scales of innovation in use, actualize the use of the new measurement scale of competitive advantage and explain clearly the role of total quality management on competitive advantage in the current context.Originality/valueThis is one of the few papers investigating the impact of total quality management on competitive advantage, developing the conceptual model that examines the mediating role of innovation performance.

A method for assessing soundscape in urban parks based on the service quality measurement models

The importance of the quality of the soundscape to the total environment of urban parks has been widely realized. With the purpose of exploring more efficient and effective approaches for the evaluation and analysis of the soundscape quality of urban parks, the quality assessment theories and methods that used in the areas of quality management and service industry are adopted in this study. A quality evaluation method for the soundscape is then proposed based on two well-known service quality measurement (SQM) models, Importance-Satisfaction (I-S) model and Improvement index (Ii) model. By simultaneously assessing both importance and satisfaction of soundscape elements in urban parks, this method can provide detailed and comprehensive information that can be used for guiding the soundscape design and improvement of urban parks. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a case study in Hong Kong. Based on the analysis of the data collected by questionnaire survey in this case study, the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated, and a practical decision-making strategy for soundscape quality improvement of urban parks is summarized. According to the authors’ best knowledge, this study is the first attempt to apply the SQM method of combining I-S model and Ii model to the soundscape study of urban park. The ideas and findings not only benefit the practical soundscape management, but also provide a valuable reference for the academic research of soundscape.

Translation and Quality Management: some implications for the theory, practice and teaching of translation

The aim of this article is to consider the issue of quality in translation. Specifically, the question under consideration is whether quality assurance in relation to translation is feasible and, if so, what some of the implications for translation theory, translation practice and the teaching of translation would be. To provide a backdrop against which the issue may be discussed, I present an overview of the two areas which seem most likely to hold potential answers, viz., that of translation theory and that of quality management. Section 1. gives a brief outline of some contributions to translation theory which would seem likely to be of interest in this connection and section 2. gives a linguist’s introduction to the part of the area of quality management which I consider relevant for present purposes. Section 3. is devoted to the case study of a small translation firm which has been certified under the ISO 9001 standard, and section 4. discusses the implications which quality management seems to hold for the field of translation in a broad sense. Finally, section 5. concludes the article.

A Holistic Framework for Conceptualizing Hospital Service Quality

Managing service quality has always been one of the most important areas of concern in hospitals. With the advancement of lifestyle, education and awareness among consumers, they are becoming more and more demanding. This is the reason why hospitals are spending huge amount in managing service quality that leads to satisfaction among patients and ultimately contributes in brand building. Thus the first and most important consideration is to determine and understand the various dimensions of service quality in the perspective of hospitals. Many researchers have studied these dimensions of hospital service quality but none of the studies cover all the possible areas of service quality management in a hospital set-up. This study aims to critically review the work of different researchers to determine and define the dimensions that would cover all areas of service quality management in hospitals. This study has developed a conceptual framework of hospital service quality by identifying 15 different dimensions: infrastructure, resource availability, waiting time, food, clinical procedures, administrative procedures, price, trustworthiness, information availability, patient safety, continuity, personalized attention, staff attitude, quality of outcome and religious needs. These 15 dimensions are further clubbed under three broad dimensions such as ‘infrastructural dimension’, ‘procedural dimension’ and ‘interactional dimension’. These dimensions can be used for measuring service quality management practices followed across different categories of hospitals like public and private or multi-specialty and super-specialty.

Strengthening the Three Lines of Defence in Terms of More Efficient Operational Risk Management in Central Banks

Abstract This paper is the result of the author`s many years of multidisciplinary research in the areas of quality management and operational risk management. The main focus of the research is aimed at strengthening the model of the “three lines of defence” in terms of more efficient management of operational risks - those that arise as a result of inadequate and unsuccessful processes and systems, human factors, as well as those that can appear as a result of external events. The strengthening of the three lines of defence model is brought about through the synergy of quality management principles, the principles of risk management, and the total quality management approach. In essence, the term strengthening may be interpreted as a process of continual improvement. Business operations based on the principles of quality management and risk management allow central banks to be able to continuously improve their overall business performance. The principles of quality management contain properly aligned and matched best solutions from current management theory and practice. Designed to work together - and this essentially means in a consistent, synchronized and synergistic manner, the principles are translated into a series of requirements and guidelines of international standards suitable for implementation. Through their synergy, the principles of quality management and risk management, as well as approaches to total quality management form a clear, applicable and sustainable paradigm of successful management of central banks. Incorporation of the principles of quality management in central bank systems and processes would significantly strengthen the three lines of defence, in terms of efficient operational risk management, which this paper aims to show in a clear and comprehensive manner. Although any central bank is a specific institution, all the principles of quality management and risk management can be applied to its operations. In addition to the numerous and highly significant benefits and synergistic effects that the application of quality management and risk management principles bring to central banks, what should also be highlighted is their impact on a new way of thinking regarding successful central bank governance, which generates a new attitude towards its responsibilities, objectives, employees, and the environment. A new way of thinking produces new behaviours and an improved business culture and can ensure the sustainable success of central banks and other financial system entities. Bearing in mind that the process of risk management is an integral part of the working of central banks, the most effective results are achieved when the “process owner” is also the “risk owner”. This paper shows that the integration of these two roles contributes to the full effectiveness and efficiency of the processes and risks management. It is clearly demonstrated that this unity of the roles, along with a quality culture, a risk culture, and risk-based thinking is embedded in all management processes - from defining policies, objectives, and plans, all the way to their operational implementation and that this ensures the fulfilment of requirements, needs, and expectations of customers and other relevant stakeholders. In all of this, the management of any central bank plays the most important role, not only because of the importance and complexity of the issues in question, but also because of their full responsibility to manage risks in a proper, effective, conscientious and dedicated manner, as that is the key precondition for achieving sustainable success.

Emergence of Asia and Australasia in operations management research and leadership

With Australasian countries/regions included within the umbrella of Asia for the purpose of this study, we examine all papers having authorship from Asia published in a set of journals generally recognized as the most relevant leading journals in the field of OM and map the leadership role of Asian authors, institutions, and countries/regions. We examine leadership within the dominant areas of OM research in Asia and chart the patterns of growth in research from Asia over the years 2001–2015. The results show that the Asian countries/regions of China, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, and South Korea account for a major portion of the papers having authorship from Asia. We find a number of authors and institutions from these leading Asian countries/regions ranking high on various network centrality measures and serving as hubs of connectivity and productivity in research. Asian OM research is found to be focused most on the areas of supply chain management, quality management, and manufacturing. Our examination reveals a trend of rapid increase in the number of papers with Asian authorship appearing in these journals and countries/regions of the Asia Pacific gaining prominence in the global OM research domain. We identify and discuss country and regional focus in OM research from Asia, emerging trends, and future research opportunities.

Career in agricultural engineering: A prologue

The future of agriculture depends on the next generation of problem solvers. Creative and skilled individuals, like we, can use their knowledge of agriculture and life sciences, along with the problem solving skills of engineering, to create new systems and solutions for the 21st century. Agriculture is changing faster than any time in history. That’s why, if we are interested in helping direct the future of agriculture, a degree in agricultural engineering is what we need. In this paper, agricultural engineers are people who like hands-on problem solving and design implementation. They like to work in teams to solve societal problems related to agriculture. Agricultural engineers solve problems related to agricultural equipment, water quality and water management, biological products, livestock facilities, food processing and many other agricultural areas.

A holistic fuzzy approach to create competitive advantage via quality management in services industry (case study: life-insurance services)

Purpose In today’s highly competitive business environment, the main approach of all businesses is to optimally provide customers’ requirements and gain their satisfaction and trust. The process of value creation for customers consists of value chain activities which are concentrated on providing maximum level of customers’ needs. The purpose of this paper is to propose a holistic model by which the quality, the transferred value to customers and the firm’s competitive advantage would be improved simultaneously under budget constraint. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a combination of several quality management (QM) tools including SERVQUAL, Kano’s model, quality function deployment and knapsack problem. Moreover, the triangular fuzzy logic is used throughout the model to address data uncertainty and increase the model flexibility. The proposed model includes five steps which are implemented in the case study of life-insurance services. Findings The lack of coordination and cooperation between the people working in the inherently related sections leads to incorrect decisions and also the failure in implementation of adopted decisions. Hence, the interface between quality and strategic management should be well considered in organizations. The model generates an integrated vision to the process of decision making in this interface. The framework has several significant outcomes which would be used by both researchers and practitioners. Research limitations/implications The study shows that the individual elements of decision-making process in the interface between quality and strategic management are related to each other, recommending the need to coordinated and consistent effort between different parts of a firm. The results are limited by the sample size and geography of the survey. Originality/value This paper is among the few in the literature that have presented a holistic and step-by-step approach to the decisions on the intersection between two areas of quality and strategic management, recommending the managers to not have insular look to the issues and try to make a sufficient and efficient relationship between the different sections. This study is an important step in reflecting these relations and the need to create an integrated decision model.

Seven stories of performativity and advocacy: a review of the published work of Stephen Town

Purpose – Stephen Town has been a thought leader and change agent in the academic library world for more than 20 years, who has produced a very large body of work in the areas of quality management and performance measurement that has been disseminated internationally. Town’s retirement from full-time employment at the University of York provides a timely opportunity to review his contribution to the field. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The review outlines Town’s career path and professional interests and then appraises his published output, concentrating on his contributions to thinking and practice in the areas of benchmarking, information literacy, service quality, and measuring the value and impact of academic libraries and information services. The discussion is organized thematically to illustrate the evolution and development of his interests and ideas over the review period and also references-related work by other authors to set his work in context. Findings – The study found many examples of innovative and creative work that had influenced thinking and practice in the library profession, including the development of models, frameworks, and tools with the potential to improve the effectiveness of service benchmarking, information literacy education, library advocacy, relationship management, staff evaluation, and impact measurement. Research limitations/implications – The volume of published work necessitated some selectivity in the material covered, but the review provides sufficiently comprehensive coverage of the areas specified to represent the work effectively. Originality/value – Town has produced a substantial number of publications as a practitioner-researcher that have not previously been reviewed independently as a coherent body of work.

국내 CM기업의 리스크 인자별 관리 업무 프로세스 분석을 통한 표준업무체계 개발

Construction management firms in Korea have mainly focused on the key management areas of time, cost, quality and safety management in line with a rapid change of construction industry recently. However, a risk management is considered comparatively less important found from our research on an investment by the firms for training, system establishment. This has been identified that the construction management firms have taken an approach of dealing with risks with their experience, insight rather than managing risks with a systemized principles or proper tools. Therefore, the current system for risk management was identified by analyzing risk factors and work process in this research and systemized process for risk management of the identified risk factors was suggested. This research is expected to be a basis on establishing standard gudiance for risk management and risk management tools.

A review and comparative analysis of the Russian Federation Government Quality Award

Purpose – The paper aims to present a review and comparison of the Russian Federation Government Quality Award (RFGQA) with the three major business excellence models, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Award and Deming Prize. Design/methodology/approach – The paper briefly reviews the RFGQA through a desk-top research method. Then, it adapts the comparative approach used in a similar study by Vokurka et al. (2000). Thus, the comparative analysis consisted in contrasting two characteristics of the RFGQA with those of the MBNQA, EFQM Award and Deming Prize, namely, award descriptors (i.e. objectives and criteria) and emphasis placed on excellence criteria (i.e. weighting). The study also includes a mapping assessment to explore up to what extent the RFGQA addresses the criteria of the major models. Findings – Although the RFGQA was designed based on the concept and structure of the EFQM model, the results of the study indicate that there are still differences among them, especially in terms of internal business processes. RFGQA finds more differences with the MBNQA and Deming Prize excellence models than with the EFQM. Practical implications – This research would benefit organisations and managers in Russia, as they will be able to acquire a deeper knowledge on the RFGQA. This may facilitate its awareness and implementation. Originality/value – The paper expands the current knowledge in the area of quality management and models for business excellence, as it is among the very first investigations to have studied the RFGQA model.

품질정책과 품질전략에 관한 비교 및 고찰

ABSTRACT Purpose: The terminology of or is widely used in quality management areas. But few people know and use that word with the accurate concept. Th is paper compares the concepts and suggests the contents for quality policy and quality strategy. Methods: This paper compares the concepts between policy and strategy t hrough the literatures and suggests the contents for quality policy and quality strategy by explora tory study. Results: This paper suggests the contents for quality policy and qualit y strategy which are useful to establish the quality planning in companies. Conclusion: Strategy and policy are intimately related, and so confused in applications, therefore distinguishing both concepts clearly is necessary for effective use of them. T his paper will help the right use of both concepts by showing the examples. Key Words: Quality Policy, Quality Strategy ● Received 4 September 2015, 1st revised 9 September 2015, accep ted 11 September 2015Corresponding Author(yshyun@hnu.kr))ⓒ 2015, The Korean Society for Quality ManagementThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits u nrestricted non-Commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.* 본 논문은 2014년 강원대학교 학술연구조성비로 연구하였음(과제번호-120141364)

Evaluating innovation performance and quality practices relationship: A review from different industries

This study explores previous research studies in the area of quality management and innovation performance. The study explains why different quality practices like leadership, process management, supplier relationship, customer focus and strategic planning are used for better innovation performance in firms and also explains different scenarios in which the quality practices have a positive or negative influence on innovation performance. The paper firstly categorized these studies according to the journal in which these studies are published then further divide them according to their research design into quantitative, qualitative and review types. The studies are analyzed on set criteria of industry, quality indicators, outcome indicators and results. The trends identified in this paper shows that irrespective of type of industry most studies have found a positive relationship between quality practices and firms innovation performance and in cases where the relationship is weak or negative is because of various contextual factors like uncertainty in business environment, firm size, financial resources and firms culture that has modified this relationship.

Overcoming resistance against quality control – a philosophical-empirical approach

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the added value of philosophy in understanding and overcoming resistance to quality control.Design/methodology/approach– The paper describes a case in which the philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd was applied to give advice on a standardisation project within a company. The authors evaluate the project and resistance to it after six years, using the same philosophical approach.Findings– Economic goals of quality control were achieved without any substantial employee resistance by addressing non-economic aspects. Apparently, social needs are not necessarily detrimental to economic goals. On the contrary, it is difficult to achieve economic goals if the social aspects are not being addressed.Research limitations/implications– Though based on one case study only, the findings suggest that a multi-aspect approach to quality management is very promising.Practical implications– The approach is not just a TQM tool but rather a way of addressing various aspects in a systematic and balanced way. Familiarising managers with this approach should help them to balance financial and other aspects without making those other aspects instrumental to achieving financial targets.Originality/value– The paper presents a new multi-aspect approach to quality management, based on philosophy in business research. It seems that the value of this approach reaches beyond the area of quality management and can be important to organisation studies in general.

Air quality policy in the U.S. and the EU – a review

The high level of atmospheric pollution is a global problem that has taken on particular significance in recent years and will continue to grow in the near future. Air pollution directly affects the health, living organisms, vegetation, water, soil and buildings. Additionally, it moves easily even over long distances. Certain air pollutants influence the climate, cause negative processes in the protective ozone layer and contribute to the greenhouse effect. Therefore it is important to protect the air by taking actions to ensure its best possible quality. In this paper, the development of air quality policies in the United States of America and European Union was analyzed and it was shown how these legislations were implemented and also the air quality policies in these states were compared. Although the U.S. and EU have achieved significant improvements in air quality, the area of air quality management in both regions still requires a more integrated and ambitious approach.

Quality Cost Monitoring Models in Practice of Woodworking Company in Slovakia

Abstract Since the 1950s, a considerable amount of attentions has been given on the cost of quality in theory and practice. Quality is now seen as an economic category, which can be measured. The paper is focused on the comparison of two models that monitor quality cost - the model PAF (prevention, appraisal a failure) and the process cost model in the selected woodworking company in Slovakia. There were evaluated advantages and disadvantages of these models, solutions and appropriate steps for improvement of management in the area of quality cost were proposed. The importance of this paper can be considered mainly from the point of view to pay attention to the monitoring the quality cost in practical conditions of enterprises. It can be concluded that both models have a great economic benefit for the business. Thanks to them, there were discovered gaps in the area of quality management of the woodworking company which defence the success of the company on the timber market of Slovakia. These gaps can be eliminated through setting the administrative measures and solutions in the investigated area.

Quality and Risk Management in Agri-Food Chains

The book Quality and Risk Management in Agri-Food Chains consists of 10 chapters, including an introduction chapter and an epilogue. Every chapter starts with a useful summary, and presents a well-defined and delineated subject in the area of food quality and risk management. The different chapter subjects are well-chosen and present complementary perspectives on the theme of the book. Moreover, all chapters 2–9 can be read on their own, depending on the interest of the reader. After the introduction which addresses key fields of attention in quality and risk management, chapter 2 starts with a useful overview of the subject area and provides the reader with key definitions of the major quality and risk management concepts. Section 2.2 describes key developments in quality management (QM) strategies since World War II, goes into customer, management and operational aspects of QM and gives an insightful description of typical QM requirements (and available tools!) for different stages of the food chain. Section 2.3 further specifies the developments in the quality strategy of companies: from quality control, through ISO standards, through total QM, to dynamic or integrated QM and how the introduction of these quality strategies took place in three countries: Denmark, The Netherlands and Germany. Chapter 3 furthers the overview perspective given in chapter 2 by presenting major principles of (EU and German) food law, including regulations on monitoring, risk assessment and prevention. It also more specifically pays attention to labelling issues (e.g. organic labelling, geographical indications and ‘without gene technology’ labelling). Further most important fraud issues are reflected upon.

Software Support of Quality Management in the Service Sector

Over the past decade, increase the dominance of the service sector, especially in more developed countries, including Slovakia. According to the World Bank data (2014), the services sector contributes to gross domestic product (GDP) in these countries more than 50%, for example in 2012, it is the Slovakia and Czech Republic 61%, in Poland and Hungary 65%, in Germany 71%, in UK 78%, in Japan 73%, in USA 79%. In order to be able to stay in such highly competitive environment, it is necessary to pay attention to the quality of services, as an important tool of corporate competitiveness. Quality in the service sector has significantly changing nature, which is related to continuous growth and changing of customer requirements and expectations. For this reason it is necessary that service companies place emphasis on the area of quality management. Help for these companies are different software tools, of which aim is to facilitate and make the entire quality management system more effective. The aim of this article is to point out the possibility of using the BOC Management Office tools in quality management and their benefits form the view of firms that use these tools. Between main benefits belongs: all the information from one source; the possibility of using the tools from the simple modelling to different scenarios, analysis and simulation; assessments of performance indicators; which resulted in increasing the work efficiency.

A first step towards engineer-oriented adaption of the Repertory Grid Technique

Different approaches and methods exist to determine product perceptions from the perspective of the customer. These are more or less suitable to provide specific product requirements for product development. Specifically in the area of quality perception, it is difficult to determine target-oriented and product-improvement requirements. One possible approach is the Repertory Grid Technique, which originates from psychology and was developed in 1955 by George A. Kelly. Today, it is applied in market research and provides important suggestions for determining the perception and positioning of products. Equally, initial studies have shown the applicability of the Repertory Grid Technique in the area of quality management. The results are sometimes difficult to interpret, and only provide limited constructive information to support product development. In this paper, various Repertory Grid studies are presented and compared with regard to the quality of their results. Through feedback loops, the technique is gradually modified and improved based on the quality of their results.

Optimal Charging Strategies under Conflicting Objectives for the Protection of Sensitive Areas: A Case Study of the Trans-Pennine Corridor

This paper analyses the application of road user charging for the reduction of local pollution in environmentally sensitive areas. The key question is to investigate the interdependencies between the price setting strategies of neighbouring institutions with conflicting objectives and what the optimal strategy would be if environmental considerations are included. The analysis is carried out using a large network case study with two transport sensitive areas of different type in the Trans-Pennine corridor: the Peak District National Park, as a sensitive ecosystem and area of high recreational value, and the Sheffield Air Quality Management Area (AQMA), as an area with very high population density. Different combinations of user charging between both areas and the surrounding motorways have been analysed. For each combination, cordon charges and distance based motorway tolls have been determined that optimise the welfare gains under the objectives given in that scenario. The overall welfare of the region would be maximised under a global co-operative regulation scenario including all players. However, left to their own devices, the authorities might be tempted to play a Nash game and set the tolls at a level that results in a positive outcome for the local area but reduces the net welfare for the entire network compared to a co-ordinated introduction of charges. If motorways are not tolled, overall welfare can even be reduced due to wide diversion of traffic in the area. Regarding environmental impacts, substantial improvements within the sensitive areas and on the motorways for which charges have been applied can be achieved, although the reductions in environmental costs over the case study region are small. In conclusion, a charging instrument can be successful in reducing local environmental problems but implementation in isolation of surrounding areas needs to be avoided.