<p>Continuous improvement (CI) is a well-known approach within total quality management. Based on it, Continuous Improvement Behavior Model (CIBM) is a model that put behavioral patterns in work practice in focus, and is associated with learning process and routines across the whole organization. The purposes of this thesis are twofold: firstly, to analyse the differences in CI behavior between firms in Sweden and Hong Kong (HK); secondly, to analyse the reasons for these differences by using Hofstede’s culture theory. This study was based on data from the 2nd international CINet survey and IBM questionnaire survey, limited to the culture in Hong Kong (HK) and Sweden. The finding of this comparative study showed that there are significant differences in CI behavior in the following aspects:</p><p> The view in HK is that the interest of the group should prevail over the individual’s, because there has a proverb”unity is power” in Chinese culture. Firms in Sweden are more concerned with the interests of individual’s.</p><p> Employees in Hong Kong would like to use organizational formal tools and techniques to deal with a problem, although it is a society characterized by weak uncertainly avoidance. But firms in Swedish believe that problems can be solved without formal rules.</p><p> Employees in HK emphasizes cooperation and relationship in the process of working, while it is influenced by the culture of”guanxi” and collectivism. In comparison, Swedish employees care less about relationship.</p><p> People in HK pay much attention to the personal development, due to a competitive environment and a long-term orientated culture manifested as:”it is never too old to learn”. Swedes, however, want to study when it is necessary.</p><p> Managers in HK are willing to support CI activities by provide sufficient resources and self-discipline influenced by the Chinese culture of ”set an example”. Correspondingly, Swedish firms don't have the regulation about what manager necessary should do.</p><p>This is the first study that tries to explain the difference on CI behavior by using Hofstede’s culture theory in HK and Sweden, using a statistical method to test 34 behaviors in CI Behavior Model. It has to mention that there have 17 behaviors in the total behaviors which have been proved to be different, and 11 of these behaviors can be explained by Hofstede’s model in this thesis. There are also some other factors that can explain the differences in CI behaviors.</p><p>In this thesis, it is shown that size of company matters. Possible explanations provided by other cultural theories are also presented.</p>

The overall purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of Continuous Improvement (CI) in companies from Sweden, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Australia and United Kingdom.This paper used the 2nd international CI survey to analyze CI behavior. The analysis was made by comparing the tools in clusters defined by different CI abilities.The major finding is that different CI tool usage depends on the different CI ability

Continuous improvement (CI) is a well-known approach within total quality management. Based on it, Continuous Improvement Behavior Model (CIBM) is a model that put behavioral patterns in work practice in focus, and is associated with learning process and routines across the whole organization. The purposes of this thesis are twofold: firstly, to analyse the differences in CI behavior between firms in Sweden and Hong Kong (HK); secondly, to analyse the reasons for these differences by using Hofstede’s culture theory. This study was based on data from the 2nd international CINet survey and IBM questionnaire survey, limited to the culture in Hong Kong (HK) and Sweden. The finding of this comparative study showed that there are significant differences in CI behavior in the following aspects:  The view in HK is that the interest of the group should prevail over the individual’s, because there has a proverb”unity is power” in Chinese culture. Firms in Sweden are more concerned with the interests of individual’s.  Employees in Hong Kong would like to use organizational formal tools and techniques to deal with a problem, although it is a society characterized by weak uncertainly avoidance. But firms in Swedish believe that problems can be solved without formal rules.  Employees in HK emphasizes cooperation and relationship in the process of working, while it is influenced by the culture of”guanxi” and collectivism. In comparison, Swedish employees care less about relationship.  People in HK pay much attention to the personal development, due to a competitive environment and a long-term orientated culture manifested as:”it is never too old to learn”. Swedes, however, want to study when it is necessary.  Managers in HK are willing to support CI activities by provide sufficient resources and self-discipline influenced by the Chinese culture of ”set an example”. Correspondingly, Swedish firms don't have the regulation about what manager necessary should do. This is the first study that tries to explain the difference on CI behavior by using Hofstede’s culture theory in HK and Sweden, using a statistical method to test 34 behaviors in CI Behavior Model. It has to mention that there have 17 behaviors in the total behaviors which have been proved to be different, and 11 of these behaviors can be explained by Hofstede’s model in this thesis. There are also some other factors that can explain the differences in CI behaviors. In this thesis, it is shown that size of company matters. Possible explanations provided by other cultural theories are also presented.

To stay competitive on today’s market and satisfy the constantly increasing customer requirements, working with continuous and cost-effective improvement is a requirement. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a model to continuously and cost-effectively improve the quality of a management system within trading business, taking the environmental aspect and impact of organizational changes up on personnel in consideration. The model has been developed based on theoretical management strategies and improvement methodologies: Process management, Change management, TQM, Lean, Continuous and cost-effective improvement, PDCA and Kaizen. The developed model should result in a high-qualitative management system that continuously should be improved and maintained, to streamline the supply chain and in turn be profitable. In order to enhance the sustainability of the model, it has been tested at a case company. From the results, conclusions can be drawn that concrete outcomes of the model implementation takes time, but it serve its purpose and generates in great results.

In today’s market, competition is driving companies to force themselves to constantly improve. New challenges due to higher competition force engineering companies to reduce costs, increase their efficiency and decrease time to market. Lean Product Development, involving powerful methodologies and tools to maximize customer value and eliminate waste, is being popularised. This Master’s thesis aims to analyse the possibilities of Lean Product Development in project orientated engineering companies. Semcon is a global technology company offering engineering services and product information. It strives to undertake more in-house projects and become a project delivery. A study was conducted investigating how Semcon and its division TDO can improve its in-house projects from a resource and time perspective based on Lean Product Development. Furthermore, it investigates how Lean Product Development can be introduced at Semcon and during what restrictions. To achieve a deeper understanding of the methodologies and its possibilities at Semcon, benchmarking was conducted at Autoliv, Saab EDS and Scania, companies that successfully have initiated Lean transformation in their PD processes. The study reaches the conclusion that by working with continuous improvement, great potential exists for Semcon to improve its organisation. No systematic approach for utilising new ideas exists today and improvements need to be better spread and standardised in the company. Benchmarking companies have shown remarkable results working with this methodology and by introducing it at Semcon, it should provide great possibilities. Furthermore, the study shows that TDO’s ambition is to add much value in the earlier phases of product development. According to TDO’s management as well as research within the field, these phases are where most costumer value is created. By working with even more front-loaded product development, utilising a broader design space, TDO will gain advantages such as closer customer interaction and more successful results. Set-based design is a methodology recommended for TDO to avoid long iterative loops. When investigating what limitations exist when trying to combine XLPM, Semcon’s project model, and Lean Product Development, no great obstacles are observed. In XLPM, the first tollgates are to be postponed in comparison to traditional product development, to better suit front-loaded product development. The benchmarking companies are working with similar stage-gate project models, and have with satisfying results managed to combine it with Lean Product Development. The study reaches the conclusion that by creating a visual organisation, using a so-called Obeya room, the best possibilities for introducing Lean Product Development at Semcon will occur. A larger transparency between projects and more spreading of knowledge is requested by Semcon consultants, which a visual organisation provides. An action plan for an Obeya room is presented involving tools that support essential Lean methodologies that are important for TDO, such as continuous improvement, standardisations and knowledge flow. Visual tools supporting the possibilities to conduct parallel projects and handle resources more efficient are presented. TDO is recommended to initiate its Lean journey with an Obeya room.

There is a research about the essences and processes of Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation and its effects on organization performance. The results from the research report indicate that the adoption of TQM in China is extensive (Yusuf, Gunasekaran &amp; Guo, 2007). Although many Chinese manufacturing firms began to implement TQM from 1978 onwards, China still lacks effective TQM systems and applications at the business level (Zhao, 1995). TQM is an effective method to improve business performance. It is expected that quality management will help quality people in manufacturing firms and industries, not only in China but also in other developing countries. This thesis aims to identify differences between Chinese and French companies regarding three of five cornerstones of TQM. They are customer focus, process focus and continuous improvement. The aim is to explain why differences exist and also examine how the companies are performing in TQM aspects as well. In this thesis the authors follow a research design and collect data from interviews and documentation to provide the theoretical framework and obtain empirical evidence for the thesis. Based on the findings, the authors compared the two companies regarding the three cornerstones. The reasons why there are the differences between the two companies are mainly social policies and the companies’ development stages. From the study, the authors raised some new ideas of cornerstones. Compared with Gauttam (2010), who gave an idea of The Four Pillars of TQM, the authors think that the processes are as significant as the customers. Thus, the authors made a new theory model to state their understanding of the relationship between TQM cornerstones, which is a contribution to theoretical framework.

In the construction industry, onsite labour is one of the most variable and costly factors which affect project profits. Due to the variable nature of construction labour and its correlation with profits, construction managers require a comprehensive understanding of the activities of workers onsite. For project success, it is important that workers are spending the majority of their time installing materials which advance the project. This material installation time is known in the construction industry as “direct-work” or “tool time”. Site management should continuously seek to improve the direct-work rate through the life of the project. A review of the literature indicates that no workface assessment method exists in the literature which provides: (1) a detailed description of worker activities, and (2) a continuous productivity improvement process to help management identify productivity inhibitors affecting site labour, to develop a plan to reduce or eliminate these issues, and to measure improvements as a result of these changes. In response to this need, this research has focused on the development of a workface assessment method called activity analysis. Activity analysis is a continuous productivity improvement process which efficiently measures the time expenditure of workers onsite and identifies productivity inhibitors that management must reduce or eliminate to provide workers with more time for direct-work activities. Six case studies were conducted to verify the feasibility of the activity analysis process. Further, cyclical data from two major construction firms was collected and statistically analyzed to validate the hypothesis that activity analysis can improve direct-work rates. It has been concluded that activity analysis, as a continuous productivity improvement process, is both feasible and when continually applied to a construction site, can significantly improve direct-work rates through the life of a project.

This study was an attempt to add to existing research by estimating the ability of third-party examiners to assess whether or not an organization successfully implemented strategies based on the criteria of the Texas Award for Performance Excellence (TAPE). The TAPE is given each year by the Quality Texas Foundation and recognizes organizations that demonstrate superior performance as it is defined by customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. The TAPE is a state-level award for quality that uses the same criteria as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence. This research was an analysis of the TAPE process at the level of examiners, also known as the Board of Examiners. The Board is made up of approximately 150 experienced professionals from several types of business sectors and is responsible for evaluating organizational self-assessments. In this quantitative study, data were converted from the Quality Texas Foundation into a database. Because the set of the TAPE applicants included in the study consisted of the entire population of TAPE applicants selected from 2001 to 2004, descriptive statistics were appropriate for producing informative data that could be analyzed for variation and stability in the scoring process. Exploration of patterns in descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance were the primary tools used in this particular study along with Cronbach’s Alpha as an indicator of reliability. Since scoring for the TAPE is based on an individual examiner’s best subjective assessment, it was impossible to have one objective score against which all the other scores could be measured. The team consensus score was therefore used as the true score for measurement. Establishing reliability of examiners’ scores was a problem due to the fact that organizations and teams did not repeat. Results from the study led to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to make a determination on what influences examiners’ scoring consistency. More data will need to be collected in such a way so as to make it possible to identify that impact consistency of examiner scores.

<p>Syftet med föreliggande studie var att utvärdera participation i ett förändringsarbete inom hälso- och sjukvården, i ett projekt för kvalitetsutveckling och processorientering inom vårdkedjan i Höglandsområdet, Jönköpings läns landsting.</p><p>Den övergripande målsättningen med projektet var att utveckla ett processorienterat och därigenom mer helhetsorienterat vårdsystem, för att uppnå bättre kvalitet för äldre vårdtagare, som ofta har behov av behandling vid olika enheter i vårdkedjan.</p><p>Syftet med studien var också att utvärdera hur participation förhåller sig till ständigt förbättringsarbete och lärande i riktning mot en processorientering av vårdkedjan och ökat fokus på patienten.</p><p>Vårdinstanserna i vårdkedjan inom samtliga sex kommuner och primärvårdsområden i Höglandsregionen, såväl som en medicinklinik och en rehabiliteringsklinik vid två olika sjukhus, har medverkat i studien. 55 personer, som representerade de olika yrkeskategorierna inom vårdkedjan, har deltgit i utvärderingen. Studien utfördes med hjälp av fokusgrupper och materialet analyserades ur ett fenomenografiskt perspektiv.</p><p>Resultaten visar att participation på alla nivåer i organisationen är en förutsättning för ett uthålligt kvalitetsutvecklingsarbete och en processorientering av vårdkedjan. Omfattningen av participationen avspeglas i omfattningen av ständigt förbättringsarbete och lärande.</p><p>Kritiska faktorer var ledningens förmåga att kommunicera med och informera de anställda, ledningens engagemang i fråga om att driva ett strukturerat och långsiktigt förändringsarbete, ett tydligt processägarskap inom vårdkedjan och adekvata resurser. Resultaten genererade åtskilliga intressanta frågor för fortsatt forskning och utveckling.</p>

The 2001 Institute of Medicine's (I.O.M.) landmark report, Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century observes that, "[though] medical science and technology have advanced at a rapid pace,...the health care delivery system has floundered in its ability to provide consistently high-quality care" (I.O.M. 2001). The report recommended six quality aims for a twenty-first century health care system; one of them being patient-centered care. It explains patient-centered care as "providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions" (I.O.M. 2001). This research is aimed at directly addressing this I.O.M. recommendation and seeks to understand quality care in the context of the I.O.M. guideline which clearly states that to achieve quality "the patient is the source of control of interactions" with the provider system. The objectives of this project are: (i) to gain a deeper and clearer understanding of the ways patients as customers of an outpatient clinic evaluate health care providers, and (ii) to determine if varying definitions of service quality exist with in a clinic containing a complex constituency. The project site chosen was the set of outpatient clinics at USF Health that makes for a complex site (e.g. eighty different specialties, outpatient surgical units, practicing and academic environment, multi-disciplinary teams at work involving multiple levels of health care professionals and complex inter-personal relationships) to carry out this research. The formal hypothesis can be stated as follows: H1: There exist identifiable differing classes of patients with varying perceptions of Service Quality in an outpatient setting. The subsequent research questions that the research aims to address are that, given that differing patient classes can be identified, do they have an impact on the overall patient-perceived quality and how significant is the impact? The project will contribute to a change in the approach at the clinic from a profession-centered to a patient-centered effort. It will raise the awareness among clinicians about how patients view quality care which can then be integrated into the system, institutionalized over time and thus help them improve their ability to provide quality care as preferred by patients. It will also serve to educate and empower the patients by increasing their participation and strengthening their role as partners with clinicians in a health care system. According to a review of the consumer health literature (Hibbard 2003), patients who collaborate with their health care providers and play an active role in their health care have improved health outcomes. It also enables future work in metric identification to promote continuous improvement in care provision. Though the research was conducted at a specific outpatient setting, it will have wider applicability as it can be a model worth emulating more broadly. The study also contributes to the academic literature that clearly indicates that there is a recognized need for more research on the delivery of outpatient care (Hammons 2003). Additionally, the study can be applicable and useful in other environments with complex constituencies (e.g. university classrooms, public transportation and travel industry).