Asian Journal on Quality

Owe Anbacken; Su Mi Dahlgaard Park

2005 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982688200500020

This paper presents the empirical research results conducted in a Swedish care organization for elderly and handicapped. The objective of the research was to empirically assess the implementation and practices of a quality system (ISO 9000) from an organizational change and development perspective. The empirical data were collected through multiple methods; interviews were carried out with key‐persons and leadership in the organisation and surveys were conducted to all employees. Interactive methods have been applied to various groups in the organisations e.g., directors, supervisors, and the leadership of the quality project and the local politicians. The empirical findings indicate, among others, taht the implementation processes were received and perceived differently in the different parts of the care organisation due to different leadership strategies and employee involvement policies. Other critical factors such as acceptance, resistance, motivation, commitment, the role of leadership, learning possibility, etc. have also been investigated, analysed and discussed. Finally some recommendations on how to approach organisational change as well as strategies for implementing a quality system in the care sector are presented.

Anne Martensen; Lars Gronholdt

2005 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982688200500021

It is generally accepted that leadership is the foundation for creation of a company’s business results. However, empirical evidence is lacking. This paper examines the relationship between leadership and key performance results based on Return on Leadership Model. The model links Denison’s four leadership traits to people results, customer results, and ultimately key performance results. Further specified, the model is a structural equation model with nine latent variables, each measured by a set of indicators, observed by survey questions. To validate the model, an empirical study was conducted, and 379 managers from medium‐sized and large companies in Denmark participated. The estimation of the model shows that the model structure explains return on leadership very well, and the findings support the developed model. We are able to quantify the relationships from leadership to people results, customer results and key performance results and, in this way, the data presented here provide evidence that leadership is linked to key performance results. Several results and applications of the model are shown. The findings provide new knowledge about how leadership can be linked to performance, and how excellent leadership creates key performance results.

John Lilja; Hakan Wiklund

2005 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982688200500022

Consumption has generally become more fragmented, hedonic and individual specific, satisfying not only functional but also emotional needs. In parallel, customer satisfaction is now thought to be both a cognitive and affective response, and the closely related concept of job satisfaction is commonly seen as an emotional reaction. The reasoning within quality management does, however, still lean heavily toward cognitive judgements (i.e. performance ratings), the emotional component clearly being under explored. Further, performance variables have shown not to be significant in predicting satisfaction for certain “experience products”, the effect fully mediated by emotions. as a consequence a cognitive judgement based quality cocnept has lost its ability to predict satisfaction, which clearly contradicts with the modern quality definition, stressing quality as the ability to satisfy the customer. Emotions have however entered the quality discourse and it has been proposed that having customers that are merely feeling satisfied will not suffice. Instead, there has been a plethora of executive exhortations in the trade press calling on business to “delight the customer”. Strategies for doing so have however usually been imprecise and unclear, and the different drivers of delight and satisfaction are not well explored. This paper aims to complement the previous cognitive dominance by exploring the multiple emotional responses involved in customer satisfaction. A conclusion being that we currently are measuring something, in terms of satisfied, that is more or less independent of what we aim for, in terms of delight. It is also most likely that ‐ depending on the situation, product, and person – other positive and negative emotions are more important outcomes of purchase and usage than merely satisfaction. It is questioned whether a single, summary response such as satisfaction is feasible or even desirable.

Kit Fai Pun; Ruel L.A. Ellis; Laverne Chan

2005 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982688200500023

There have been growing concerns about whether proper measures are in place to ensure the delivery of quality services and the operations in research and educational institutions. This paper describes various quality models and discusses their relevance into the total quality concepts and quality management systems (QMS) in education. It then illustrates how a QMS and the accompanied quality manual be developed in a research and educational institution using the Centre for Enterprise Research Integration (ERI) at The University of the West Indies, Trinidad as a case. Through personal interviews with the Centre’s personnel, views on the operation and determinants of the QMS were acquired. Results showed that the people’s resistance to changes, conflicts on academic freedom, and difficulties on measuring performance wee the obstacles to QMS implementation. People involvement and proper communication are determinants of QMS implementation. The system also rests on having a tailored quality manual that entails the documentation of processes and procedures for ascertaining the delivery of quality services and operations in the Centre. The development of quality manual is briefly described in the paper.

Long‐Chin Lin; Wen‐Chin Chen; Chin‐Huang Sun; Chih‐Hung Tsai

2005 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982688200500024

The IC packaging industry heavily relies on shop floor information, necessitating the development of a model to flexibly define shop floor information and timely handle manufacturing data. This study presents a novel data model of product manufacturing flow to define shop floor information to effectively respond to accelerated developments in IC package industry. The proposed data model consists of four modules: operation template setup, general process setup, enhanced bill of manufacture (EBOMfr) setup, and work‐order process setup. The data model can flexibly define the required shop floor information and decision rules for shop floor product manufacturing flow, allowing one to easily adopt changes of the product and on the shop floor. However, to handle floor dynamics of the ICD packaging industry, this work also proposes a WIP (i.e. work‐in‐process) system for monitoring and controlling the product manufacturing flow on the shop floor. The WIP system integrates the data model with a WIP execution module. Furthermore, an illustrative example, the MIRL WIP System, developed by Mechanical Industrial Research Laboratories of Industrial Technology Research Institute, demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Rolf Kenneth Rolfsen; Kenneth Kongsvold; Kari Hovin Kjølle; Ståle Karlsen

2005 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982688200500025

Utilization of information and communcation technologies is commonly accepted as important to value creation in the knowledge economy. Nevertheless, empirical findings from our business case studies often show that while sophisticated technological tools may be developed, the potentials are not realized. It is evident that technology is subject to adaptive and emergent strategies of use, diverging from the original intention. Within this space of opportunities, we elaborate the importandce of constructing strategic concepts as communication tools to support organisational implementation of technologies. We use the concept of organisational implementation as a way of taking the technology into use in order to support changes and value creation in the user organisation. In this paper we present our findings related to how use and experiences are conditioned by the users’ expectations. We have conducted a business case study in order to understand and explore how users employ and use a particular wireless technology infrastructure. On behalf of the infrastructure vendor, we have studied three different organisations that use this technology. The overall research goal of our joint research project was to find out what is good use and for whom. We find that users struggle to go beyond the expectations they had when they were conceptualising and telling us about their prarctice. We have good indications that a narrowed consciousness was also conditioning the users’ use of the technology. In this paper we draw the conclusion that technological implementations towards changing work practices and value creation must not be viewed by the company solely as a knowledge acquisition process, but as a process of knowledge creation. Organisational implementation is an ongoing process, a learning process at both the organisational and individual level. Flexible tools and technologies are constituted and shaped in interaction and communication in the workplace. Based on that knowledge, we build up an argument for an organisational implementation framework, including strategic discussions, learning spaces, and concept constructions.

Kang Koon Lee; Sangbok Ree; Young H. Park

2005 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982688200500026

Six Sigma uses DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology as the process of a solving problem. Enterprises already propelling Six Sigma successfully, such as Motorola, GE and consulting companies, also traditionally propose DMAIC methodology. But, from activating Six Sigma, enterprises and Six Sigma‐consulting companies propose Six Sigma methodology matching indirection part of office and R&D part. As an exmaple, DFSS (Design For Six Sigma) is part of R&D application in GE. This study investigates Six Sigma methodology corresponding to the Right Process of the kernel factor. Especially for the optimum design of R&D, the study revises the definition of DFSS and the general organization through Lean DFSS methodology research and analysis.

Salvatore La Rosa; Eva Lo Franco

2005 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982688200500027

Today’s society requires companies to act more and more effectively for the general good, by respecting human rights and the environment. Innovative and enlightened companies try to meet this need through the adoption of several initiatives. Accordingly, the International Standard Organisation is now working on attempts to unify these initiatives and to formulate an internationally recognised standard, providing guidance to companies on social responsibility. Currently the SA8000 international standard is the most often used tool – based on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) philosophy – which guarantees the respect of fundamental workers’ rights. Since 2003, Italy holds the world record for its number of SA8000 certified companies. This paper discusses the findings of a two‐stage survey of the Italian SA8000 certified companies carried out over the last two years. The focus of the survey is on both reasons and effects of the implementation of SA8000 standard. In the first stage the rate of response was very high while in the second stage it was satisfactory. The results provide a clear picture of the companies and their degree of achivement and awareness of the fundamental principles of human resource management. A section of the survey deals with some issues related to the Public Sector.

Shiaw‐Wen Tien; Ming‐Lang Wang; Chih‐Hung Tsai

2005 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982688200500028

This study develops an exploratory model to evaluate the relationship between origins of corporate competencies and business performance, which targets small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan, analyzes 36 competence items in four functional dimensions: marketing, product design and development, manufacturing, and human resources management. The results from 760 valid samples from managers of Taiwan’s SMEs reveal that in marketing competence and manufacturing competence were ranked high by Taiwan’s SMEs managers. Elements contributed to manufacturing competence regarding reducing the number of suppliers has not been emphasized by Taiwan’s SMEs managers. At the very top of the prevailing management competitive priority list are: (1) product or service quality, (2) timely delivery, (3) quality control improvement during the process, (4) increasing reliability of tranportation, (5) introduction of new concepts and continuous improvement, and (6) improving after‐sale services. The four competence dimensions are found highly correlated to business performance, which reflects the policy adjustments that Taiwan’s small and medium‐sized enterprises have made in the changing business environment to respond to the global market.

Shiaw‐Wen Tien; Yi‐Chan Chung; Chih‐Hung Tsai; Yung‐Kuang Yang; Min‐Chi Wu

2005 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982688200500029

A life‐cycle assessment (LCA) is based on the attention given to the environment protection and concerning the possible impact while producing, making, and consuming products. It includes all environmental concerns and the potential impact of a product’s life cycle from raw material procurement, manufacturing, usage, and disposal (that is, from cradle to grave). This study assesses the environmental impact of the ultra pure water process of semiconductor manufacturing by a life‐cycle assessment in order to point out the heavy environmental impact process for industry when attempting a balanced point between production and environmental protection. The main purpose of this research is studying the development and application of this technology by setting the ultra pure water of semiconductor manufacturing as a target. We evaluate the environemntal impact of the Precoat filter process and the Cation/Anion (C/A) filter process of an ultra pure water manufacturing process. The difference is filter material used produces different water quality and waste material, and has a significant, different environmental influence. Finally, we calculate the cost by engineering economics so as to analyze deeply the minimized environmental impact and suitable process that can be accepted by industry. The structure of this study is mainly combined with a life‐cycle assessment by implementing analysis software, using SimaPro as a tool. We clearly understand the environmental impact of ultra pure water of semiconductor used and provide a promotion alternative to the heavy environmental impact items by calculating the environmental impact during a life cycle. At the same time, we specify the cost of reducing the environmental impact by a life‐cycle cost analysis.