Asian Journal on Quality

Sangeeta Sahney

2012 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982681211265490

Purpose – The growing popularity of quality management has left no sector untouched, and educational services are no exception. In the face of the innumerable demands that the stakeholders place, educational institutions like other organizations are realizing the significance of customer‐centered philosophies. The enhancement of quality and the attempt to define, conceptualize, implement and measure it are areas of focus, and are being addressed by policy makers, educational planners and administrators. This paper is an attempt towards identification of the elements that would help design quality for the higher educational system. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a theoretical foundation, this paper is an empirical study conducted on select higher educational institutions to identify the various design characteristic constructs which would form the quality element/components for an educational system, and which, if implemented, would help design quality in education. The literature review helped conceptualize the variables that would constitute quality components for education. These were empirically tested and a comparative assessment made between internal and external customers of the educational system, the internal customers being the faculty and the administrative staff, and the external customers being students and the industry. Such an emphasis on customers of the educational system would assure a customer‐centric design of the educational system, something which is prima facie to “quality management”. Findings – The study helped identify the quality components, which would help design quality for institutes of higher education. Practical implications – The paper could be useful to policy makers, educational planners and administrators in developing a system that could lead to customer satisfaction. Originality/value – While studies have been conducted on customer requirement and the constructs, research on what would comprise the quality components is lacking. A study on this could help design an educational system that would lead to quality management in education and thereby lead to customer satisfaction.

Goutam Kumar Kundu; B. Murali Manohar

2012 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982681211265463

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to present a unified model by combining lean and CMMI‐SVC best practices. The model would be very useful for CMMI‐SVC organizations that plan to implement lean best practices. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the review of the contemporary literature on lean concepts and the CMMI‐SVC v1.3 model, including books, journal articles and handbooks. A group of practitioners and experts with theoretical and practical expertise on the CMMI framework, software process improvements as well as lean principles and services were involved to find out which lean principles are applicable to service organization and also the compatibility of lean and CMMI‐SVC v1.3 practices. Findings – The authors have presented a unified model by combining CMMI‐SVC v1.3 and lean best practices which can be applied to service organizations. In the future they would like to implement their unified model within IT service organizations to check its feasibility and effectiveness in real world. It would also provide an opportunity to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the unified model, based on which it can be further refined and matured. Originality/value – The model has been designed in such a way that lean practices can be plugged‐in to CMMI‐SVC model process areas. By including lean practices to CMMI‐SVC model, the process improvement initiatives will be aligned with the business objectives. The unified model will be useful to the organizations that would like to implement lean concepts within the CMMI‐SVC framework.

Jayachandra Bairi; B. Murali Manohar; Goutam Kumar Kundu

2012 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982681211265472

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and implement an efficient capacity and availability management tracker for information technology (IT) service delivery management that can be applied by analyzing base‐lined data, using quantitative project management and knowledge discovery techniques, for taking decisions on a monthly basis in resource allocation, optimum resource utilization and efficient service level management. Design/methodology/approach – A ticket forecasting model has been developed. Also data were collected from fixed price running IT service delivery programs with about 200 or more full‐time employees working in each program, limited to four large service lines. Using Monte Carlo simulation, the data were base lined and applied to a capacity and availability management tracker. The results were then analyzed and conclusions drawn. Findings – The findings suggest that the service provider was able to share the resources across the organization as needed based on demand, and overall the bench strength of the organization was drastically reduced. Also they were able to achieve better service level management. This has contributed to profit margin improvement in the organization. Research limitations/implications – The relatively small sample size (three programs and four service lines in one IT service organization) has impact on research implications. Practical implications – The results have implications for practice in promoting IT tools and technique for capacity and availability management in an IT service provider. It is suggested that senior management may need to concentrate on adapting a positive approach promoting the usage of new IT tools and techniques in order to achieve IT service improvement, better performance and margin improvement. Originality/value – This study has addressed the consequences of initiating an organization‐wide knowledge‐based process performance model for a popular strategic IT initiative. The study has answered the questions on better resource utilization and efficient service level management.

Akbar Allahyari; Morteza Ramazani

2012 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982681211265508

Purpose – Employment and performance of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems process is a technical‐social change affecting strategic and operational levels of a company and therefore its performance will fulfil expected productivity of the organization using these systems. Therefore, it is necessary to examine effective factors in ERP acceptance before its performance. This study aims to investigate the effective factors in ERP acceptance. Design/methodology/approach – This research considered 14 key effective factors in ERP acceptance in LME companies. The research method was descriptive and a survey was carried out. In order to obtain the research goals statistical methods, descriptive‐deductive, have been utilized in this study. The author used the Friedman test to score research variables and the Mann‐Whitney test to examine the current gap between manufacturing‐service companies. Findings – The results of the research indicate the acceptance of ERP in the integration of applications, integration of information systems, increase in demands for real and on‐time information, information generation for decision‐making and ultimately for costs. Originality/value – The paper provides useful information on employment and performance of ERP systems.

Jyoti Prakas Majumdar; B. Murali Manohar

2012 Asian Journal on Quality

doi: 10.1108/15982681211265517

Purpose – Total productive maintenance (TPM) is a very powerful program of equipment maintenance in manufacturing industries and is a direct part of total quality management (TQM). In the manufacturing industry, TPM is a very effective tool for improving product quality as well as productivity. A good number of manufacturing industries have so far adopted a TPM program in countries like Japan, as a part of their quality drive. However, in many manufacturing industries in India it has not been successfully implemented. For successful and effective implementation of TPM in manufacturing industries in India, understanding and awareness of the various possible causes behind its failure is essential. This paper aims to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach – In this general review paper, after reviewing literature the authors consolidate, highlight and classify the probable reasons responsible for the failures of TPM in many Indian manufacturing industries. Findings – In this paper, the various causes of failure of TPM in a number of manufacturing industries have been classified into three major categories of problems or issues at three different stages: organizational issues during the foundation stage; TPM implementation issues during the formation stage; and operational issues during the TPM running stage. Practical implications – The recommended guidelines may definitely contribute to the Indian industry and also industries in other developing countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Consequently, the work has economic and commercial impacts. Economic, because it would allow to improve the productivity of the companies, and commercial, because it would facilitate the interchange and the positioning of products. In addition, it can have a high impact on the industrial relations of the workers and unions. Originality/value – If management is aware of such probable problems, and becomes careful about them, the TPM programme can also be widely and effectively adopted in many Indian manufacturing industries, and they can achieve improvement in business competitiveness through improved product quality and increased productivity.