Food quality attributes arising from farming methods are important to many Canadians. The credence nature of these quality attributes necessitates some form of quality assurance for accurate signalling to consumers. This thesis examines the appropriate role for private, third party, and government actors in credible quality assurance systems for production-derived attributes. Concurrently, it explores the nature of trust that Canadians put in various organizations for quality assurance. In a nationwide survey, Canadian consumers obtained significant benefits from government verification of pesticide free and environmentally sustainable grains contained in pre-packaged sliced bread. The data was collected using a discrete choice experiment. Farmers, third party, and government organizations were similarly trusted for accurate information about farming methods. The dimensions of this trust varied across organizations. Government standards relating to environmental sustainability were perceived as most effective. Results obtained using a latent class multinomial logit model showed that respondents who most valued production-derived food quality also received the greatest benefit from government verification and significant negative utility from supermarket or third party verification. In relative terms, the difference in utility between third party and government verification represents 141% of the value of the environmentally sustainable attribute and 87% of the pesticide free attribute. The results suggest that significant consumer benefit can be achieved if government were to take a leading role in quality assurance for production-derived quality.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (M.Hous.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Also available in print.

The objective of the reported research is to investigate the contribution which can be made to Quality Management System design and implementation through the application of discrete event simulation methods. Today's highly competitive world has forced manufacturing and service organisations to find ways to reduce costs while maintaining customer satisfaction and making continuous improvement to both products and/or services as well as processes. In approaching these demands the establishment of quality systems standards, such as ISO 9000, has been considered as one of the possible solutions. From another point of view, businesses have been making increasing use of simulation modelling as a powerful technique to reduce the risk in the process of decision-making by evaluating and analysing alternative strategies and solution in system design and improvement. Having considered the importance of quality management systems and standards as well as the capabilities of computer systems a generic simulation model for Quality Management Systems, as defined by the relevant standards, is defined and its use in a case study is demonstrated and evaluated in detail. The overall result of the research illustrates the feasibility of using computer simulation in the area of quality management and great benefits achieved by this application.

This thesis concerns ideas and practices about quality assurance systems, quality enhancement and performance indicators in higher education. The quality of higher education is important in a country's economic and social development and its enhancement is a major objective of any higher education system. There has been an increasing demand for institutions of higher education to be accountable and make their activities more transparent to their consumers and to society as a whole. Therefore, institutions have become more explicit about their aims and the methods used to achieve such aims. Also, the monitoring of inputs, processes and outcomes of a University has now become widely accepted. The context for the study of quality management in higher education is the 'Eduardo Mondlane' University (UEM) in Mozambique. This thesis aims to analyse the quality assurance procedures currently in existence at 'Eduardo Mondlane' University (UEM), to examine recent and ongoing efforts to build capacity, to consider a range of options for increased efficiency and effectiveness, and to make recommendations for quality management at UEM. Examples of British Universities already engaged in quality assurance initiatives are analysed and their relevance to UEM is discussed. This thesis comprises nine chapters. The first chapter contextualizes the thesis by considering the historical background to Mozambique. Chapters two and three discuss styles and strategies of managing quality, and ways of monitoring the performance of educational institutions. Chapter four examines arrangements in selected U.K. Universities for quality assurance. Chapters five to eight outline the methodology used to collect the research evidence and discuss the main results from the survey research conducted at UEM. Four main aspects of quality assurance at UEM form the focus of the research: the quality assurance of admission procedures, the quality assurance of teaching and learning, the quality assurance of student development and support, and a framework for quality enhancement. The concluding chapter presents a summary of the main findings as well as recommendations for quality enhancement at UEM. A list of performance indicators is provided along with suggestions for further research on quality assurance at UEM.

The civil engineering industry in South Africa has seen a steady decline in the number of professionals during the last few decades, however it is expected that the government and private sectors are to spend over R200 billion on infrastructure in the next few years. This increases the demand on civil consulting engineering firms to achieve greater productivity, with reduced time and human resources, which has had a profound effect on the quality of service delivered to clients. These firms need to gain a competitive advantage by consistently providing Service Excellence, which is superior to their competitors. One way of achieving this is by benchmarking firms against their competitors. In this research paper the Service Quality and Service Recovery procedures of Company X in Port Elizabeth were benchmarked against its competitors using a customised form of the recognised SERVQUAL research instrument - the SERVPERF questionnaire. The results proved to be invaluable because the survey revealed insightful information which can be used to their strategic benefit. Civil consulting engineering firms need to be aware that Service Excellence is an imperative in the service industry, but do not necessarily have to be perfect. Firms simply need to outperform their competitors to be rated as market leaders. Strategies to improve the Service Quality and Service Recovery of the firm under review are suggested and this work concludes with suggestions for future research projects, which may be beneficial to the researcher, the civil engineering industry and the economy of South Africa.

No description available.

No