Six Sigma: The role of goals in improvement teams

The tenets of goal theory have been well established as a motivation mechanism in the management literature. However, some quality-management advocates, such as W. Edwards Deming, often criticize the use of goals. This research investigates the tension between goals and quality management in the Six Sigma context. We find empirical support that goals can be effective in Six Sigma improvement teams when teams adhere to the Six Sigma tools and method. However, challenging goals are counterproductive when Six Sigma teams do not use the tools and methods rigorously. This research reconciles the differences between quality management and goal theory by showing that the Six Sigma tools and method interact with goals.     

Strategic supply management,quality initiatives,and organizational performance

Researchers in supply chain management have found over the past two decades that supply management should be not merely a purchasing function but a strategic tool for supply chain integration. Supply management, the cornerstone of the integration of industrial supply chains, has evolved as a key research area. Based on quantitative and qualitative investigations of 225 electronics manufacturing firms, we examine the organizational impacts of strategic supply management (SSM) and the contexts of company size, process type, ISO 9000 certification, and quality management (QM) implementation that facilitate such an endeavor. We reveal that SSM is essentially a quality management initiative that requires bilateral efforts for continuous improvement and thus is not associated with the basic requirements of ISO 9000. We find that SSM improves on-time shipments, reduces operational costs, and leads to customer satisfaction and improved business performance. Developed based on contemporary premises in supply chain and QM, this research refines our understanding of the relationships among quality initiatives, SSM, and organizational performance.     

Performance analysis of a focused hospital unit: The case of an integrated trauma center

The concept of focus [Skinner, W., 1974. The focused factory. Harvard Business Review 52 (3), 113–121], notably operationalized in manufacturing entities like cells and focused factories, has also been adopted by the health care industry. Examples include patient-focused care systems and product/service lines. Despite its longevity, there is a paucity of studies analyzing the focus concept and its link to performance, especially in health care. This research is aimed at enhancing our understanding of how a focus-based approach to organization redesign in health care affects processes and practices, and what operational, clinical, and financial outcomes result from such a change. The research setting is a single case site within a large medical center for which costs for trauma care used to exceed income. Using a structured framework, we document the design and operation of this physically and organizationally integrated Level I trauma care center and compare it to its preceding operation. Its pre- and post-conversion performance is analyzed using symmetric event windows covering three-year periods before and after the focused hospital unit (FHU) was established. Under a sizable increase in workload, we find no change in mortality, moderate improvement in length of stay, and a large improvement in net operating margins. Surprisingly, the latter stem not from reductions in cost but in sharply increased hospital reimbursements. Previous studies of hospital restructuring involving focused patient populations have not conclusively supported a positive link between focus and outcomes. However, this investigation of a specific FHU suggests, conceptually as well as quantitatively, that focus can be an attractive element in health care system design.     

Assessing the effectiveness of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award model with municipal government

This study examines the applicability of the MBNQA 2002 criteria to the government sector and contributes to the growing body of literature that addresses the need for performance metrics for government organizations. As the MBNQA is being proposed and pilot tested in government organizations, this work provides support for the transference and application of the model to government services in a municipal government.This study demonstrates the first structural model test using Partial Least Square (PLS) of an instrument that was based on a one-to-one item to criteria correspondence. We collected data from a city government and used PLS to analyze the survey data and tested the MBNQA model fit. The findings of this study show that the proposed Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria-based instrument provides a viable set of measures for a municipal government to review and measure their business (organization) processes. These measures can enhance decision making about resource allocations because such measures allow evaluation of processes and a better understanding of the integration among these processes.     

浅谈湖北省出租汽车客运市场存在的主要问题及原因

湖北省出租汽车客运发展到目前,已成为道路运输和城市公共交通的重要组成部分,是一个非常重要的“窗口”行业,倍受各级政府、社会各界和广大人民群众的关注。出租汽车客运,是指用小型客车按乘客意愿提供运送服务,并按行时里程和时间计费的道路旅客运输经营活动。湖北省出租汽车客运行业的发展从二十世纪初出现第一辆出租汽车开始,经历了一个从无到有、由少到多、由弱到强的发展历程。     

服务质量管理模型的研究

服务质量是当前企业所面临的关键问题,服务质量的控制管理对企业效益具有重要意义。本文从服务质量管理的角度,构造了客户反馈条件下的服务质量管理模型,并通过建模分析提出了不同服务质量管理策略的最优选择方法,为企业提高服务质量管理效果提供参考。     

关于采煤机导向滑靴质量提升的研究

本文针对采煤机导向滑靴使用过程中出现的断裂故障,通过调查与分析,从结构设计、热处理及机械性能等方面对导向滑靴的质量性能提升提出几点思考,为导向滑靴的设计及生产提供一些参考。     

基于SPC的喷漆线产品质量改善

针对汽车配件制造企业喷漆车间中的喷漆线,应用统计过程控制(SPC)技术对影响喷漆线产品质量的因素进行分析,着重对影响喷漆线产品质量的人为因素进行量化,并建立方程进行研究,找出了影响喷漆线产品质量的主要因素,并提出了相应的改进意见。     

论质量改进的对象,主体及过程

质量改进的对象主要是管理;质量改进的主体主要是企业的领导和管理人员;质量改进的过程是创新的过程,持续的质量改进是全面质量管理的核心和灵魂。     

中国兵器工业第X基地薪酬体系的问题分析与改进措施

本文以国有科研企业为研究对象,通过对中国兵器工业第F基地实地研究,剖析了基地原有的薪酬方案,并探索适合基地发展和管理要求的薪酬实践,重新提出了改进方案。本文首先从薪酬管理在现代人力资源管理中的基础作用入手,紧紧围绕基地的薪酬现状,提出了研究的基本思路、内容与方法,概括介绍了多种薪酬理论,为进一步研究基地的薪酬改进方案奠定了理论基础;随后论文着重分析与评价了基地的薪酬现状,指出薪酬方案改进的必要性。在薪酬方案的设计中,从战略的角度介绍了薪酬方案设计的指导原则和一般程序。最后在前两部分理论和研究的基础上,结合现实管理需要,对薪酬方案进行了改进。     

基于PDCA循环的研究机构科研质量的过程改进模型研究

科研过程质量改进是研究机构科研质量改进活动的重要组成部分,也是研究机构的组织改进与科研员工改进的必由之路。本文回顾了过程质量管理理论和PDCA循环,分析了研究机构的科研过程与科研变量,设计了基于PDCA循环的研究机构科研质量的过程改进模型,筛选了研究机构科研过程改进的质量管理方法与工具,最后通过实证案例研究,验证了上述理论研究成果。     

物流服务质量管理体系的构建

文章从现代企业物流质量管理的基本概念出发,对企业物流质量管理的有关理论问题进行了初步思考,并结合我国企业实际分析了强化物流质量管理的基本途径。     

试论企业质量管理与人员素质的关系

提高职工素质,是企业提高产品质量的关键。提出人是的第一资本,开发和利用人力资源,充分发挥人的主观能动性,是企业的永恒主题。     

通信运营企业的质量管理的再提高

现在通信运营企业为了提高服务质量,不断的加强员工培训,制定客户服务规范,使出了浑身解数,但是仍不见服务质量有显著的提高,用户对企业服务质量的投诉仍居高不下。本文就针对通信运营企业再次提高服务质量的问题,提出了价值链质量管理,鼓励企业实行内部营销,以建立一个完整的质量体系,而不是仅仅关注企业中某一个直接面对客户的职能部门。     

质量改进在车间生产中的应用

为满足市场需求和用户需要,企业借助各种资源扩大产出,使生产过程中产品质量问题的发生频率呈上升趋势。产品质量问题既严重阻碍生产进程,又导致成本增加,还容易引起用户的不满和对产品失去信心。文章通过在生产过程中融入全面质量管理的理念和方法,使产品质量得到有效保证和提高。     

企业完善质量管理体系的探讨

文章就如何进一步完善企业质量管理体系进行了探讨,从加强对质量管理体系过程的监视和测量、做好管理评审、建立健全企业标准体系等方面提出完善管理体系的方法,从而使企业在通过ISO9001质量管理体系认证后能够获得持续的实际利益。     

TPM在设备管理中的实践

TPM（Total Productive Maintenance）——全面生产维修,是以提高设备综合效率为目标,以全系统的预防维修为过程,以全体人员参与为基础的设备保养和维修管理体系。文章重点探讨了在具体实施TPM管理体系过程中,如何在设备保全上采取措施,并以此来提高设备维修管理水平。