How do managers, in their role as decision makers, design and implement systems for management of quality? Proposes that there is no one, definitive answer to this question, given various industrial environments and their operating constraints, diverse market conditions and numerous management...

States that, although there has been considerable progress with the implementation of total quality management in Australia and New Zealand over the past 15 years since it was pioneered in the manufacturing sector, there is still not a widespread acceptance and implementation of it. As a result,...

Discusses the key actions which need to be taken by an organization if they wish to progress from ISO 9001 or ISO 9002 registration to a quality award prize winners status. There is a large gap between the ISO 9001 requirements and the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM) Model of...

Explores the importance of quality management in achieving global competitiveness. Emphasizes the need for developing countries to revitalize their economies through quality management practice. Uses Deming principles of quality management and dialectical materialism inquiry system to...

Examines the associations between ten integrated quality management constructs and the resulting product quality. Analyzes responses from plant managers of 449 auto‐parts firms using stepwise regression. Notes three primary predictors (customer focus, empowerment, and supplier quality...

The value of winning the Baldrige Quality Award to the shareholders of the firm has been the subject of a debate motivated by bipolar perceptions and an opposing set of viewpoints held by both industry leaders and academic professionals. One of the key concerns that must be addressed to place...

In this paper, we demonstrate how data envelopment analysis (DEA) could be used in benchmarking studies. Our study is based on an empirical survey of small family‐owned businesses. This survey identified the separating variables between “high performing” and “low performing” firms in...

This paper examines research design issues in quality management studies. Potential research problems are identified and suggestions provided on how these problems could be addressed through effective research design techniques. A good research design enables the researcher to address the right...

The main contribution of this paper is to integrate into one model management and organizational fields that are normally analyzed separately: contingency factors, organizational design variables, strategic approaches and quality management approaches. The essential core of the model is...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of a quality management system (QMS) for the assurance and improvement of value in an inter‐organizational business relationship. The study is carried out in the public transportation industry where service provision has been...