"Quality lives on":quality initiatives and practices in Australia and Britain

Purpose-The purpose of this research is to explore the incidence of innovative approaches to quality in both Australia and Britain, the reasons behind their implementation, the ways in which they were undertaken and the success factors and the pitfalls encountered along the way. Design/methodology/ approach-A structured postal questionnaire was sent to 1,000 quality managers in both Australia and Britain. A response was received from 129 Australian and 175 British companies, who reported on why they did or did not introduce a new quality initiative within the past five years. Findings-A comparative analysis shows trends, similarities and differences, and future directions of quality in both countries. The paper concludes by identifying important lessons for senior management needing to make changes in this important aspect of any business. A high proportion of organisations in both countries are actively undertaking new quality initiatives. The impetus to change and the barriers to successful implementation were common to both countries. The type of initiative differed between the two countries, with a preponderance of ISO 9000 in Australia amongst a much wider choice of approaches than in Britain. There is a low take-up of Six Sigma in both countries, particularly in Australia. Originality/value-The paper offers a recent insight into quality approaches undertaken in both countries and identifies important lessons for senior management. © 2010 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.

A total quality management methodology for universities

This research document is motivated by the need for a systemic, efficient quality improvement methodology at universities. There exists no methodology designed for a total quality management (TQM) program in a university. The main objective of this study is to develop a TQM Methodology that enables a university to efficiently develop an integral total quality improvement (TQM) Plan. ^ Current research focuses on the need of improving the quality of universities, the study of the perceived best quality universities, and the measurement of the quality of universities through rankings. There is no evidence of research on how to plan for an integral quality improvement initiative for the university as a whole, which is the main contribution of this study. ^ This research is built on various reference TQM models and criteria provided by ISO 9000, Baldrige and Six Sigma; and educational accreditation criteria found in ABET and SACS. The TQM methodology is proposed by following a seven-step metamethodology. The proposed methodology guides the user to develop a TQM plan in five sequential phases: initiation, assessment, analysis, preparation and acceptance. Each phase defines for the user its purpose, key activities, input requirements, controls, deliverables, and tools to use. The application of quality concepts in education and higher education is particular; since there are unique factors in education which ought to be considered. These factors shape the quality dimensions in a university and are the main inputs to the methodology. ^ The proposed TQM Methodology is used to guide the user to collect and transform appropriate inputs to a holistic TQM Plan, ready to be implemented by the university. Different input data will lead to a unique TQM plan for the specific university at the time. It may not necessarily transform the university into a world-class institution, but aims to strive for stakeholder-oriented improvements, leading to a better alignment with its mission and total quality advancement. ^ The proposed TQM methodology is validated in three steps. First, it is verified by going through a test activity as part of the meta-methodology. Secondly, the methodology is applied to a case university to develop a TQM plan. Lastly, the methodology and the TQM plan both are verified by an expert group consisting of TQM specialists and university administrators. The proposed TQM methodology is applicable to any university at all levels of advancement, regardless of changes in its long-term vision and short-term needs. It helps to assure the quality of a TQM plan, while making the process more systemic, efficient, and cost effective. This research establishes a framework with a solid foundation for extending the proposed TQM methodology into other industries. ^

Aplicação da metodologia DMAIC a uma linha de produção de cartão canelado

O presente trabalho resultou da realização de um estágio curricular na empresa Fábrica de Papel e Cartão da Zarrinha, S.A.. O trabalho incide sobre a aplicação da metodologia DMAIC da abordagem Seis-Sigma a uma linha de produção de cartão canelado, mais especificamente a um tipo de não conformidade do mesmo, denominado por cartão com Warp (ou cartão com empeno). Através desta aplicação, foi possível encontrar as principais causas-raíz do problema em questão e delinear possíveis ações de melhoria para solucionar o mesmo. Durante a implementação desta metodologia foram utilizadas várias ferramentas de qualidade que permitiram uma melhor gestão e tratamento da informação de forma a agilizar alguns processos também como a comunicação interna. Sob a forma de resultados, além de se testemunhar a diminuição de placas e embalagens de cartão com warp, conseguiu-se também a sensibilização dos vários departamentos para a problemática em questão e, principalmente, para a utilização e consciencialização da metodologia Seis-Sigma e dos seus benefícios.

Analysis of competitiveness level in an industrial company using a continuous improvement based approach

International audience

Diseño y aplicación de un modelo de remuneración variable para una empresa del sector de las telecomunicaciones

Actualmente encontramos una fuerte presión en las organizaciones por adaptarse a un mundo competitivo con un descenso en las utilidades y una incertidumbre constante en su flujo de caja. Estas circunstancias obligan a las organizaciones al mejoramiento continuo buscando nuevas formas de gestionar sus procesos y sus recursos. Para las organizaciones de prestación de servicios en el sector de telecomunicaciones una de las ventajas competitivas más importantes de obtener es la productividad debido a que sus ganancias dependen directamente del número de actividades que puedan ejecutar cada empleado. El reto es hacer más con menos y con mejor calidad. Para lograrlo, la necesidad de gestionar efectivamente los recursos humanos aparece, y aquí es donde los sistemas de compensación toman un rol importante. El objetivo en este trabajo es diseñar y aplicar un modelo de remuneración variable para una empresa de prestación de servicios profesionales en el sector de las telecomunicaciones y con esto aportar al estudio de la gestión del desempeño y del talento humano en Colombia. Su realización permitió la documentación del diseño y aplicación del modelo de remuneración variable en un proyecto del sector de telecomunicaciones en Colombia. Su diseño utilizó las tendencias de programas remunerativos y teorías de gestión de desempeño para lograr un modelo integral que permita el crecimiento sostenido en el largo plazo y la motivación al recurso más importante de la organización que es el talento humano. Su aplicación permitió también la documentación de problemas y aciertos en la implementación de estos modelos.

Traité complet de la culture, fabrication et vente du tabac : D'après les Procédés pratiqués dans la Pannonie, la Virginie, le Danemarck, l'Ukraine, la Valteline, la Guyane françoise, et ci-devant dans la Guyenne. Auquel on a joint d'autres objets d'economie rurale, qui, réunis ou substitués au tabac, en rendent la culture encore plus utile aux propriétaires, et tres intéressante pour l'etat. Ouvrage orné de six planches en taille-douce /

Lettering on binding reads Culture Du Tabac.

The influence of national culture on communication practices : a case study on Malaysian organisation

National culture is deeply rooted in values, which are learned and acquired when we are young (2007, p. 6), and „embedded deeply in everyday life. (Newman & Nollen, 1996, p. 754). Values have helped to shape us into who we are today. In other words, as we grow older, the cultural values we have learned and adapted to will mould our daily practices. This is reflected in our actions, behaviours, and the ways in which we communicate. Based on the previous assertion, it can be suggested that national culture may also influence organisational culture, as our „behaviour at work is a continuation of behaviour learned earlier. (Hofstede, 1991, p. 4). Cultural influence in an organisation could be evidenced by looking at communication practices: how employees interact with one another as they communicate in their daily practices. Earlier studies in organisational communication see communication as the heart of an organisation in which it serves, and as „the essence of organised activity and the basic process out of which all other functions derive. (Bavelas and Barret, cited in Redding, 1985, p. 7). Hence, understanding how culture influences communication will help with understanding organisational behaviour. This study was conducted to look at how culture values, which are referred to as culture dimensions in this thesis, influenced communication practices in an organisation that was going through a change process. A single case study was held in a Malaysian organisation, to investigate how Malaysian culture dimensions of respect, collectivism, and harmony were evidenced in the communication practices. Data was collected from twelve semi-structured interviews and five observation sessions. Guided by six attributes identified in the literature, (1) acknowledging seniority, knowledge and experience, 2) saving face, 3) showing loyalty to organisation and leaders, 4) demonstrating cohesiveness among members, 5) prioritising group interests over personal interests, and 6) avoiding confrontations of Malaysian culture dimensions, this study found eighteen communication practices performed by employees of the organisation. This research contributes to the previous cultural work, especially in the Malaysian context, in which evidence of Malaysian culture dimensions of respect, collectivism, and harmony were displayed in communication practices: 1) acknowledging the status quo, 2) obeying orders and directions, 3) name dropping, 4) keeping silent, 5) avoiding questioning, 6) having separate conversations, 7) adding, not criticising, 8) sugar coating, 9) instilling a sense of belonging, 10) taking sides, 11) cooperating, 12) sacrificing personal interest, 13) protecting identity, 14) negotiating, 15) saying „yes. instead of „no., 16) giving politically correct answers, 17) apologising, and 18) tolerating errors. Insights from this finding will help us to understand the organisational challenges that rely on communication, such as during organisational change. Therefore, data findings will be relevant to practitioners to understand the impact of culture on communication practices across countries.

Profiles of organisational culture in Indonesian construction companies

Although relatively few studies have been undertaken analyzing the drivers of performance for construction companies in producing and delivering satisfactory quality of project works, findings from previous research reveal that there is a significant correlation between the company’s organisational culture and the quality performance of contractors. It has also been noted that the nature of organisational culture is a major determinant factor for quality improvement. This paper presents a summary of the results of a pilot study investigating the organisational culture profiles of five Indonesian construction companies. The survey utilizes the Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI), which is based on the Competing Values Framework (CVF). This instrument assesses six important and significant traits of organisational culture: dominant characteristics, organisational leadership, management of employees, organisational ‘glue’, strategic emphasis, and criteria of success. These assessed cultural dimensions identify the most close-fitting perspective of a company’s inherent culture drawn from four possible types: clan, adhocracy, market, or hierarchy culture. Further discussion is presented, which describes the companies’ dominant cultural profiles in terms of strength and congruence and how an effective quality management system operates within the dominant culture type. This analysis contributes to the finding that a suitably ‘strong’ organisational culture impacts positively on construction organisation success within its own specific sector.

Chinese teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) academics' perceptions about research in a transitional culture

Research capacity building has become a prominent theme in higher education institutions in China and across the world. However, Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics' research output has been quite limited. In order to build their research capacity, it is necessary to understand their perceptions about research. This case study presents the perceptions about research of six Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics in a context of growing institutional demands for research. One-on-one interviews of 35-60 minutes' duration were conducted with these academics from an institution in north China. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews indicated that the Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics held positive perceptions about the teaching-research nexus. However, the value of research to them seemed to be limited to teaching and career advancement. They also expressed varied concerns about the institutional research requirements. The findings suggested several implications for the institution's administrators to further enhance academics' research capacity building.

Culture as a driver of entrepreneurship : contrasting independent entrepreneurship versus employee entrepreneurship

Principal Topic Counties in Northern Europe, such as Sweden, Finland and Denmark, have comparatively low per capita rates of entrepreneurship as measured by independent new venture start-up rates – as for example measured by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Total entrepreneurial activity (TEA) rate. However, the latest 2011 GEM data reveals that these same countries have comparatively very high Employee Entrepreneurship Activity (EEA) rates – that is a high rate per capita of employees involved in new product development or new enterprise activities. This observation has prompted us to investigate the role of national culture in driving independent versus employee entrepreneurial activities. Prior research has established that national (and regional) culture plays an important role in forming an “entrepreneurial culture” that encourages (or discourages) independent business start-ups and TEA (e.g. Davidsson, 1995; Beugelsdijk, 2007). However, the relationship of culture and EEA has not received research attention. Moreover, empirical relationships between elements of national culture and independent entrepreneurship have revealed some surprising results. For example, Wildeman et al. (1999) report an unexpected higher share of individual business ownership in countries that have higher uncertainty avoidance, higher power distance and lower individualism according to Hofstede’s dimensions of culture. They speculate that dissatisfaction can be a source of entrepreneurship: in countries with a high power distance, a high uncertainty avoidance and low individualism, there may be relatively more business owners since enterprising individuals cannot satisfy their needs within existing organizations. Yet it remains a rather open question whether entrepreneurial behaviour in existing organisations provides a satisfactory explanation for these empirical findings. Methods We will conduct a cross sectional study of the influence of national culture according to the five / six dimensions of Hofstede (1980; 2001) on both TEA and EEA for the 54 countries that participated in GEM 2011. Since it is well established that the opportunities for entrepreneurship vary substantially with a country’s level of economic development, we intend to conduct separate analyses for the three categories of development – innovation driven economies, efficient driven economies and factor driven economies. We also intend to restrict our assessment of TEA to opportunity driven entrepreneurship, as necessity driven entrepreneurship has a different relationship to the “entrepreneurial culture” that is the focus of our study. We will control for a range of factors such as GDP growth, ease of doing business index and unemployment. Results and Implications Descriptive analyses of the GEM TEA and EEA data reveal clusters of countries that appear to be have similar national culture. We are yet to conduct regression analyses.

The Six Core Elements of Business Process Management

The previous chapters gave an insightful introduction into the various facets of Business Process Management. We now share a rich understanding of the essential ideas behind designing and managing processes for organizational purposes. We have also learned about the various streams of research and development that have influenced contemporary BPM. As a matter of fact, BPM has become a holistic management discipline. As such, it requires that a plethora of facets needs to be addressed for its successful und sustainable application. This chapter provides a framework that consolidates and structures the essential factors that constitute BPM as a whole. Drawing from research in the field of maturity models, we suggest six core elements of BPM: strategic alignment, governance, methods, information technology, people, and culture. These six elements serve as the structure for this BPM Handbook.

The Researcher Librarian Partnership : building a culture of research

Increasingly, the library and information science (LIS) practitioner is being challenged to incorporate research into the context of their professional work. This paper reports on the Researcher-Librarian Partnership, a research-mentoring program that was initiated by the International Federation of the Library Association and Institutions. Six new LIS practitioners within their first seven years of professional practice took part in the program. Each was partnered with an experienced LIS researcher who provided mentoring and support. During the 12-month program the new professionals designed and implemented a research project on a topic of interest. This paper outlines the details of the program providing observations on how research mentoring can be a powerful way to ensure all stakeholders – practitioners, educators and professional associations – can plan an active role in supporting the development of a research culture within the profession.

A candidate gene association study for growth performance in an improved Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) culture line

A candidate gene approach using type I single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers can provide an effective method for detecting genes and gene regions that underlie phenotypic variation in adaptively significant traits. In the absence of available genomic data resources, transcriptomes were recently generated in Macrobrachium rosenbergii to identify candidate genes and markers potentially associated with growth. The characterisation of 47 candidate loci by ABI re-sequencing of four cultured and eight wild samples revealed 342 putative SNPs. Among these, 28 SNPs were selected in 23 growth-related candidate genes to genotype in 200 animals selected for improved growth performance in an experimental GFP culture line in Vietnam. The associations between SNP markers and individual growth performance were then examined. For additive and dominant effects, a total of three exonic SNPs in glycogen phosphorylase (additive), heat shock protein 90 (additive and dominant) and peroxidasin (additive), and a total of six intronic SNPs in ankyrin repeats-like protein (additive and dominant), rolling pebbles (dominant), transforming growth factor-β induced precursor (dominant), and UTP-glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase 2 (dominant) genes showed significant associations with the estimated breeding values in the experimental animals (P =0.001−0.031). Individually, they explained 2.6−4.8 % of the genetic variance (R2=0.026−0.048). This is the first large set of SNP markers reported for M. rosenbergii and will be useful for confirmation of associations in other samples or culture lines as well as having applications in marker-assisted selection in future breeding programs.

Systematic literature review of incidence rates of low-speed vehicle run-over incidents in children

Aim: To systematically review the literature investigating the incidence of fatal and or nonfatal low-speed vehicle run-over (LSVRO) incidents in children aged 0–15 years. Methods: The following databases were searched using specific search terms, from their date of conception up to June 2011: Cochrane Library, Medline, CINAHL, Embase, AMI, Sociological Abstracts, ERIC, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, Urban Studies and Planning; Australian Criminology Database; Dissertations and Thesis; Academic Research Library; Social Services Abstracts; Family and Society; Scopus; and Web of Science. A total of 128 articles were identified in the databases (33 found by hand searching). The title and abstract of these were read, and 102 were removed because they were not primary research articles relating to LSVRO-type injuries. Twenty-six articles were assessed against the inclusion (reporting population level incidence rates) and exclusion criteria, 19 of which were excluded, leaving a total of five articles for inclusion in the review. Findings: Five studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. The incidence rate in nonfatal LSVRO events varied in the range of 7.09 to 14.79 per 100,000 and from 0.63 to 3.2 per 100,000 in fatal events. Discussion: Using International Classification of Diseases codes for classifying fatal or nonfatal LSVRO incidents is problematic as there is no specific code for LSVRO. The current body of research is void of a comprehensive secular population data analysis. Only with an improved spectrum of incidence rates will appropriate evaluation of this problem be possible, and this will inform nursing prevention interventions. The effect of LSVRO incidents is clearly understudied. More research is required to address incidence rates in relation to culture, environment, risk factors, car design, and injury characteristics. Conclusions: Thevlack of nursing research or policy around this area of injury, most often to children, indicates a field of inquiry and policy development that needs attention.