Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

Thesis (D. Ed.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 194-201). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

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美國馬康巴立治國家品質獎 （MBNQA）的卓越績效標準被公認為是質量管理最佳實踐的準確反映。自1988年推出以來，為了保持其最佳實踐，MBNQA 準則標准通過多次修訂而不斷的更新，並協助美國組織檢測改進領域，為參與者帶來變化和積極成果。 本研究探討了台灣製造業質量管理與經營業績之間的關係。通過實施MBNQA績效卓越標準作為基準框架，本研究假設質量管理與強化領導力，戰略，客戶，知識管理，員工隊伍和運營的各個方面有強烈的相關性。 本研究採用個案研究法以及透過與副董事長和品保部經理深入訪談。結果顯示： • 雖然作為世界前五大繼電器工廠，目前個案公司的市場份額不足10％。儘管訂單有所增加，但由於中國經濟成熟，該公司未能實現達成訂單數量的目標。因此，他們正計劃開發一個採用智能化的現代化工廠，並於在2019年中完成。 • 為了提高市場份額和因為生產能力的限制，公司調整了資源分配。 2005年，他們降低了低利潤率家用電器繼電器的產量，並專注於汽車繼電器和綠色能源。兩者都為公司帶來更高的利潤，並被認為是未來的主要收入來源。 • • MB績效卓越標準的第七項核心價值（流程，以客戶為中心，員工隊伍，領導力和治理以及金融和市場）都顯示出了積極成果。但是在客戶服務，培訓方式，CSR活動等方面還可以再進一步提升。 / The Performance Excellence Criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) are widely acknowledged as an accurate reflection of quality management best practices. Since its introduction in 1988, in the effort to maintaining its best practices, the Baldrige Criteria have continuously evolved through numerous revisions and has assisted United States’ organizations in detecting areas for enhancements, bringing forth changes and positive outcomes for participants. By implementing The Performance Excellence Criteria for MBNQA as the benchmark framework for the case company in Taiwan, this study hypothesizes that high quality management is correlated with the improvements throughout dimensions of leadership, strategy, customers, knowledge management, workforce and operations. This study employs the methods of case study as well as in-depth interviews with the vice chairman and the quality assurance manager. The results show: • Being known as the fifth largest relay plant in the world, currently, the market share of the case company accounts for less than 10%. Even though there are orders coming in, the company has not been able to fulfill them due to the developed Chinese economy. Thus, they are planning to develop a modern factory adopting the use of intellectual standards to be completed by mid-2019. • For market share improvement and production capacity limitations, the company has adjusted their resource allocation. In 2005, they lowered their production of their low profit turnover home appliance relays and focused on automotive relays and green energy. Both resulted in a higher profit generation for the company and are believed to be the future primary source of revenue. • The seventh core value of the MB Performance Excellence Criteria under results (process, customer-focused, workforce, leadership & governance and financial & market) has all shown positive outcomes. However, aspects such as customer service, training methods, CSR activities still has room for further enhancements.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the continuous improvement process of the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCP). Results of surveys conducted annually by the TNCPE from postapplicants provided data from the state award applicants. Their responses offered indicators of satisfaction among different industry sectors (education, government, healthcare, manufacturing, nonprofit, and service) with the TNCPE services (criteria booklet, feedback report, site visit policy, TNCPE staff, and team of examiners). The survey data were obtained from the TNCPE office in Nashville, Tennessee in which award applicants were provided a series of survey questions. These questions involved the overall award program and the site visit experiences. Within the program award, data included 26 applicant responses while the site visit surveys included 107 applicant responses. In addition, an alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical tests. The major conclusions were: (1) there are differences in the industry sectors with the length of the site visit, team of examiners' team leader's leadership, and the clarity of the feedback report (control vs. influence). Other tests were not statistically significant.

RPA, AI och IPA blir allt mer populära verktyg inom företagande. Detta trots att det till stor del saknas teoretisk förankrad förståelse för vilka förmågor teknologierna besitter och hur de kan understödja företagsledning. Som ett svar på den bristande tillgängligheten av forskning kring ämnet, syftade denna studie till att på ett inkluderande och övergripande plan, samla teknologiernas förmågor och nytta. Varpå dessa kunde kopplas mot verksamhetsstyrning i form av konceptet TQM. Studien genomfördes som en kvalitativ enfallsstudie, där fallet utgjordes av ett internationellt teknikföretag som arbetar med applikationer kopplat till teknologierna. Den empiri som fallet erbjöd samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer, där företagets personal utgjorde studiens respondenter. Empirin jämfördes sedan med och kompletterades av den tidigare spridda teoretiska forskningen kring RPA, AI och IPA:s nyttjande och nytta. Ur sammankopplingen skapades en modell vilken gav en bred bild av teknologiernas nytta i relation till TQM och MBNQA-modellen som nyttjades för att konkretisera TQM. Resultatet antydde att RPA, AI och IPA kan utgöra viktiga verktyg för att stödja verksamhetsstyrning enligt TQM, och bidrog med en bred teoretisk referensram för teknologiernas förmågor i relation till verksamhetsstyrning. Studien belyste även behovet av mer forskning kring teknologiernas snabbt föränderliga förmågor i relation till verksamhetsstyrning och TQM. / RPA, AI, and IPA are becoming increasingly popular tools in the business sector. Despite their growing prevalence, there is a significant lack of theoretically grounded understanding of the capabilities these technologies possess and how they can support corporate management. In response to this research gap, the aim of this study was to comprehensively and inclusively gather the capabilities and benefits of these technologies. Subsequently, these factors were linked to business management through the concept of TQM. The study was conducted as a qualitative single-case study, with the case comprising an international technology company working with applications related to these technologies. The empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews, with the company's personnel serving as the study's respondents. This empirical data were then compared with and supplemented by existing scattered theoretical research on the utilization and benefits of RPA, AI, and IPA. From this synthesis, a model was developed that provided a broad view of the technologies' benefits in relation to TQM and the MBNQA model, which was used to concretize TQM. The results suggested that RPA, AI, and IPA can serve as important tools to support business management according to TQM, and contributed a broad theoretical framework for the capabilities of these technologies in relation to business management. The study also highlighted the need for further research on the rapidly evolving capabilities of these technologies in relation to business management and TQM.

The objective of the study was to quantify the evolving scope of quality management as practiced in a sample of companies in South Afiica, and to correlate this with corporate profitability. The empirical data in this study suggests that a more extensive scope of application and practice of quality management and related management practices is related to better organisational profitability. The significant correlations which were demonstrated are: • A focus on results by companies is inversely correlated with Operating Profit Margin. • Quality training, employee communications and internal coordination correlates positively with Net Profit Margin. • The rigorous use of quality standards correlates positively with Net Profit Margin. • Quality control and monitoring correlates positively with Return on Equity. Recommendations flowing from this study include that a broader paradigm of quality management is required, expressed as an integrated model for innovation and change which is holistic rather than fragmented. / Economics / M. Com. (Business Economics)

Study of the critical factors for TQM implementation throughout the years, and longitudinal analysis of secondary quality winners of prestigious awards such as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), is important. The longitudinal analysis in this research will enable verification that there are generic critical factors (CFs) for TQM implementation and generic critical areas of measurement (CAM) that if implemented fully and successfully will deliver excellence. Also, it will enable verification that these generic CFs help to ensure sustainable performance and this could help in answering how excellent organisations sustain their performance constantly. By studying what excellent organisations measure and what they place emphasis on throughout the year, the study will document measurements that have been used to sustain excellence and will consider empirically how these have led to tangible results over a period of twenty years; the study will examine MBNQA winners from 1988 until 2008. Finally, an excellence maturity assessment tool 'assessment software' was developed as result of examining winning case studies over a long period of time, lists of critical factors of implementation (CFI) and critical areas of measurement (CAM) were extracted and used accompanied by the EFQM Excellence Model, and Zairi's two model 'Index of Excellence' and 'Ladder of Excellence'. This formed the basis of the assessment tool developed; companies through this will be able to understand their level of excellence implementation and their position compared to world class organisations.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / SMMEs provide opportunities for employment and economic growth for South Africa. SMMEs need to be as prepared as their larger counterparts in the ever-changing local and global business environment. In order to become not only successful but also sustainable, the smaller enterprise must be aware of what is happening in both its external and internal business and operating environment. It is important for these smaller enterprises to take cognisance of changes in the political and legislative environments, as well as changes in customer expectations and competitor behaviour. Knowledge management tools such as competitive intelligence and particularly internal and external benchmarking are vital for the company’s survival. Concepts such as benchmarking for internal and external best practices, as well as competitive intelligence to gain important external decision-making knowledge, can be as beneficial to SMMEs as they are to the large corporate entities. However, knowledge management is largely ignored in the smaller company’s decision-making processes, due to financial and time constraints as well as a lack of the necessary skills to utilise knowledge management tools. Knowledge management can therefore be as important and beneficial to the smaller enterprise’s operations and decision-making mechanisms as it may be to corporations and large companies. The broad goal of this study is to review the literature on achieving best practice by implementing knowledge management in organisations. The examination of the literature and the subsequent description of the outcomes could be used to create awareness that, like larger companies, SMMEs need to process internal as well as external information in order to make strategic decisions. The utilisation of CI tools such as SWOT analysis, PEST analysis and benchmarking allow the company to systematically gather and interpret information. By using the Baldrige criteria, a systematic and continuous approach for learning and improvement is developed. This methodology (the literature review) provides a framework for gaining the knowledge that already exists (in books, journals and on the Internet). By disseminating this knowledge according to the methods described, it is hoped that the research will construct already existing knowledge into a new approach that might benefit the discipline as a whole. From the results of the study, it should become clear that certain aspects of enhancing CI in smaller enterprises require attention. Although there are organisations that assist SMMEs with relevant information, this information is scattered across various sources in different formats. Not much information and assistance is available to smaller enterprises that provides a clear framework of how to achieve internal CI practices by using the CI tools and business models such as benchmarking within the formal structure of the Baldrige criteria.

The objective of the study was to quantify the evolving scope of quality management as practiced in a sample of companies in South Afiica, and to correlate this with corporate profitability. The empirical data in this study suggests that a more extensive scope of application and practice of quality management and related management practices is related to better organisational profitability. The significant correlations which were demonstrated are: • A focus on results by companies is inversely correlated with Operating Profit Margin. • Quality training, employee communications and internal coordination correlates positively with Net Profit Margin. • The rigorous use of quality standards correlates positively with Net Profit Margin. • Quality control and monitoring correlates positively with Return on Equity. Recommendations flowing from this study include that a broader paradigm of quality management is required, expressed as an integrated model for innovation and change which is holistic rather than fragmented. / Economics / M. Com. (Business Economics)