Total quality management and sustainable competitive advantage

Although it is generally accepted that Total Quality Management (TQM) can generate a sustainable competitive advantage, there is, surprisingly, little or no theory to underpin that belief. Therefore, the primary purpose of this paper is to explore the validity of the claim. By drawing on the market-based theory of competitive advantage, resource-based theory of the firm, and systems theory, we are able to conclude that the belief is warranted. We deduce that the content of TQM is capable of producing a cost- or differentiation-based advantage, and that the tacitness and complexity that are inherent in the process of TQM have the potential to generate the barriers to imitation that are necessary for sustainability.     

Meta-analysis of the relationship between quality management practices and firm performance—implications for quality management theory development

Quality management (QM) has received a high degree of attention in extant literature. Several research papers attribute superior firm performance to adoption of QM practices. The availability of a large number of research papers that investigate the impact of QM practices on performance provide an ideal setting for theory extension and refinement using meta-analysis techniques. In this paper a meta-analytic study is presented that fulfills two objectives. First, the paper formalizes performance implications of adopting QM practices and present hypothesized relationship between QM practices and performance. Second, a meta-analysis of correlation (Hunter and Schmidt, 1990) approach is used to examine the empirical research in QM to determine which QM practices are positively related to improved performance. The study also examines the presence of moderating factors in the association between QM practices and performance. The results support many hypothesized relationships and also point towards the presence of moderating factors in almost all QM practice–performance relationships. A discussion of the findings is presented and directions for further development of QM theory are proposed.     

Total quality management and statistical quality control: practical applications to waste stream management

TQM offers a completely new approach to problem solving in health care. The approach requires dedication and persistence in monitoring, understanding, and changing systems at a level that has never been reached before in the United States' health care system. Materiel management, purchasing, nursing, housekeeping, and administration now have the necessary tools to centrally study the medical waste stream flow at their facilities. The intent of this article is to display how TQM techniques can be applied to minimize a hospital's medical waste stream. The approach of studying medical waste as a defect generated during the process of delivering high-quality care enables a hospital to pinpoint causes of these defects, modify the parent system of the defect, and lessen the generation of medical waste defects. Successful implementation of these techniques as a continuous process will enable hospitals to be leaders in the preservation of their host communities' environments.     

Moving purchasing & supply management beyond a cost-focused identity

Practitioners and researchers recognize that purchasing and supply management (PSM) contributes value to business performance beyond reported cost reductions, though capturing and evaluating such contributions is often challenging. The goal of this research is to understand roadblocks impeding the recognition of PSM's contributions beyond cost reduction, and suggest potential solutions to these challenges. Social identity theory offers a conceptual framework to study PSM's self-identity and how it is perceived by others in the organization. Gaining acceptance for value-added metrics is critical to move perceptions of PSM's contribution beyond cost reduction and achieve its full potential. Social identity theory is used as a lens to assess the data and develop propositions. Using a qualitative interview method, the researchers identified important roadblocks hindering PSM's attainment of a broader value-based perception. PSM's identity is closely linked to cost-savings by itself, other functions and upper management. These perceptions are further reinforced by PSM through excessive cost reporting metrics. We provide two suggested solutions for PSM to expand its recognition beyond cost savings: 1) PSM must change its narrative and associated self-identity; and 2) PSM needs to develop metrics that are meaningful across multiple areas of the business.     

Total quality management and human resource systems: an international comparison

This paper takes advantage of a unique international data set to examine the determinants of the adoption and sustainability of total quality management techniques, focusing in particular on the role played by human resource professionals and practices. The data come from a 1991 survey conducted by Ernst and Young and the American Quality Foundation covering the use of TQM tools in the computer, auto, health care and banking industries in Japan, the United States, Canada and Germany.

The research distinguishes between two ways of implementing total quality management – one approach conceptualizes TQM as a relatively limited set of technical engineering changes while the second implements these technical changes as part of a larger transformation of the organization of work. We find support for the second approach in that the number of employees using quality tools and the number of quality tools in use is greater and lasts longer in firms that also have team-based human resource systems for frontline employees, with team structures, suggestion systems, meetings and group rewards. This central finding holds across all countries and industries studied.

We also find that achievement of these changes requires the commitment of organizational stakeholders to incorporate the interests of employees in strategic decision making. Though union presence alone does not predict the adoption or sustainability of these innovations, partnership between management and union does have a positive effect. The level of strategic influence of the human resource department also influences innovation, though in ways that differ across countries and industries.

The findings suggest the value of comparative studies and of research focused at exploring sub-national variation. The findings also suggest the value of a longitudinal study of the sustainability of innovation.     

Drivers and antecedents of manufacturing offshoring and backshoring—A German perspective

Discussions on the potentials and risks of the relocation of manufacturing activities to low-wage countries have resurged in recent years in the wake of a new globalisation debate. Manufacturing offshoring has become an increasingly interesting option for firms of all sizes. Besides the chances to improve the company's cost position, the risks of production offshoring are also evident. An analysis of the manufacturing offshoring and backshoring activities of 1663 German manufacturing companies shows that production offshoring has currently lost momentum. On the other hand, backshoring of once offshored manufacturing capacities is also a quantifiable phenomenon. Every fourth to sixth offshoring activity is followed by a backshoring activity within the following 4 years, mainly due to lack of flexibility and quality problems at the foreign location. A deeper, qualitative analysis in 39 German manufacturing companies shows that not all companies do pay sufficient attention to qualitative factors crucial for success and competitive advantage in their location decisions. Thus, managerial implications for a systematic location planning process are drawn from our findings.     

Purchasing management consulting services—From management autonomy to purchasing involvement

The purchasing of management consulting services is a challenging area for purchasing agents to become involved in. A study of six organizations shows large variations in terms of the extent and way in which they were involved ranging from ad hoc and clerical approaches to their systematic and central participation. Based on a comparison of the cases, enablers of purchasing involvement are discussed, including the status of the purchasing function, managerial use of and attitudes towards consultants, how the management consulting service and the purchasing situation are framed, and the implementation strategy. We conclude that what are generally regarded as sound purchasing practices can also work in the case of management consultants. This, however, requires a good understanding of the consulting service in the client organization. We suggest that the traditionally marginal role of purchasing agents may be better understood as a consequence of the characteristics of the consultant–client relationship than any essential characteristics of the consulting service.     

Supplier development and cost management in Southeast Asia—Results from a field study

This paper is about supplier development when international companies have production sites in Southeast Asia and look for opportunities to switch from international suppliers to local suppliers. We conducted a field study involving site visits to companies in Thailand and Vietnam, and interviews at corporate supply chain departments. Some key observations are: cost management was a dominant motive for taking local supplier development initiatives. Furthermore, local sourcing and local supplier development were important for international companies to improve access to local customer markets. Firms deliberately assessed whether a particular supplier would likely be able to improve sufficiently to warrant investing in supplier development, which typically involved a combination of initiatives, requiring the international firm to take considerable efforts. Local sourcing strategies and priorities for supplier development initiatives tended to focus on items with low supply risk and low volume. These findings are discussed based on transaction cost economics, and we suggest that firms use several ways to reduce the risk of transaction-specific investments in supplier development initiatives.     

Beyond environmental management—Perspectives on environmental and management research

In a recent article Richard Welford encouraged discussions about the status and future of environmentally related organization and management-research. The following contribution is an attempt to take up some of the challenges that our field faces. The purpose is to analyse the relationship between, on the one hand, a growing flora of environmental efforts and environmental solutions and, on the other hand, a management research that is developing on its own terms. The author's basic premise is that these two need to move closer to each other. A number of theses are also presented. The author's basic thesis is that organization and management theory does not need yet another new special subject; rather, it is environmental research that needs to more seriously include relevant management research. The second thesis is that there are no objective environmental problems (as most environmental researchers maintain), but that environmental problems are social constructions. The paper finishes with a number of conclusions in favour of a management focused environmental research, that is guided by an intention of ‘soft interventions’. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

协同制造和项目制造模式下BOM数据管理系统方案设计

大型装备制造业,在协同制造和项目制造方面的发展日新月异。在BOM数据管理信息化需求方面,协同制造要求提供BOM数据集中管理、分发使用的解决方案,而项目制造则在标准BOM、订单BOM和批次BOM的生成和工程变更同步上提出需求。文章针对大型装备制造业协同制造管理模式、项目制造管理模式的生产管理特征及其对BOM数据管理的需求进行了分析,并针对这些管理需求提出BOM数据管理系统解决方案。     

Tracing business and environmental effects of environmental management systems—a study of networking small and medium‐sized enterprises using a joint environmental management system

In Hackefors Industrial District in Sweden, 26 small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) have formed an environmental network and implemented a joint environmental management system (EMS) according to ISO 14001. Based on interviews with the environmental co‐ordinators at these enterprises, the effects on business and environmental efforts and impacts are analysed. It can be concluded that the joint EMS has resulted in better relations with important stakeholders, such as existing and potential customers. For example, three‐fifths said that their EMS had made it easier to receive a contract for the sale of products and services. Several environmental improvements have been observed and are presented in the paper, many of which are considered as consequences of the EMSs. Moreover, based on observations during the study, this paper discusses how boundaries and screening affect the connection between EMSs and environmental performance. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

Total quality management and the human resource professional: Applying the baldrige framework to human resources

The still evolving discipline of total quality management (TQM) has left many humanresource professionals confused about their role. The authors believe that the HR function personnel should spearhead company quality efforts, as well as assess the performance of their own function, by using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards framework.     

Learning quality through prices and word‐of‐mouth communication

This paper studies the effect of word‐of‐mouth communication on the optimal pricing strategy for new experience goods. I consider a dynamic monopoly model with asymmetric information about product quality, in which consumers learn in equilibrium from both prices and other consumers. The main result is that word‐of‐mouth communication is essential for the existence of separating equilibria, wherein the high‐quality monopolist signals high quality through a low introductory price (lower than the monopoly price), and the low‐quality one charges the monopoly price. The intuition is simple: low prices are costly, and will only be used by firms confident enough that increased experimentation (and therefore communication among consumers) will yield good news about quality and increased future profits. Additional results are the following: for the high‐quality seller, the expected price (quantity) is increasing (decreasing) over time; whereas for the low‐quality one, the opposite is true. Moreover, signaling becomes more difficult when consumers pay less attention to their peers' reports and more attention to past prices. Finally, word‐of‐mouth communication improves consumer welfare.     

A revenue management approach to demand management and order booking in assemble-to-order manufacturing

Revenue management is an order acceptance and refusal process that employs differential pricing strategies and stop sales tactics to reallocate capacity, enhance delivery reliability and speed, and realize revenue from change order responsiveness in order to maximize the revenue from pre-existing capacity. While previously considered primarily as a tool of service operations, revenue management has considerable potential for assemble to order (ATO) manufacturing environments. Increasing demand for customer responsiveness has created service-oriented manufacturing environments suitable for the application of revenue management methods. This paper applies revenue management concepts and techniques to ATO manufacturing environments and presents models for optimal pricing and capacity decisions.     

External communication behaviour of purchasers—effects on supplier management performance

This article presents findings of a research effort that focuses on the relationships among the external communication behaviour of purchasers, individual and contextual factors and the performance in supplier management. Communication quantity, openness and friendliness were identified as dimensions of individual communication behaviour. Information and relationship quality were used as the two dimensions of communication quality. The results, based on structural equation analysis, provide support for the positive influence of individual communication behaviour on communication quality and supplier management performance. Results suggest that relationship quality appears to be of great significance in the model. Oral communication capability and purchasers’ attitudes towards individual communication with suppliers also play important roles in explaining external communication behaviour of purchasers.     

HRM and performance—The role of talent management as a transmission mechanism in an emerging market context

This paper investigates the link between HRM practices, talent management (TM), and firm performance and examines the role of HRM/business strategy alignment in an emerging market context. Through survey evidence gathered from 198 respondent firms, this study shows that TM, when focused on a series of practices aimed at developing workforce networks and social capital, is a key transmission mechanism mediating the relationship between HRM and firm performance. HRM strategy and business strategy alignment increases these performance impacts but is not an essential component in the HRM‐TM‐performance link.     

Discounting inflation — a note

The aim of this paper is to clarify the confused issue of the effect of inflation on the discounting procedure for investment appraisal. The standard approach is considered, together with the impact of inflation, and the problem of how to adjust the standard approach to take account of inflation. The point is made that it is usually easiest to estimate expected returns in current prices, in which case the discount rate should reflect the real opportunity cost of capital, to avoid mixing real returns and nominal interest in a manner which leads to the rejection of worthwhile projects. An example is given of how the real rate of interest can be computed from the nominal rate of interest and the rate of inflation, and the difference this makes to discounting a sample project. The paper then illustrates how real rates of interest have frequently been negative over the past decade and how this implies that projects may be acceptable even if the sum of future undiscounted returns is less than the initial outlay. The conclusion drawn is that investors should maximize economic profit defined as the surplus over opportunity cost, which reduces the deterrent of nominally high interest rates, for the maximization of surplus over opportunity cost has the corollary of minimization of opportunity loss.     

离散制造车间的质量数据采集研究

在智能制造时代,质量数据具有数量大,结构模式复杂,变化多的特点,如果没有合理的质量数据采集方式,会造成质量管理的困难,增加质量管理成本。文章通过分析非关系型数据库特点,得到非关系型数据库是以后质量数据管理应用的重要工具的结论,最后介绍基于非关系型数据库的C/S架构的质量数据采集系统应用的实现。