<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</p>

<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.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:51:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4153.pdf: 2182125 bytes, checksum: a074f91bda22478d2c98528b9d3de6ff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-27 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The organizations face problematic situations that involve the analysis of a significant number of correlated variables to reduce the variability of production processes. There are many approaches, methods and techniques to support problem solving, however has achieved distinction in literature and adopted by Six Sigma companies, one of whose goals is to identify and eliminate the causes of variation in product and process through the use of techniques statistics. The Multivariate Data Analysis (MDAs) belongs to a set of techniques that examine both the relationship between several variables, have not been included in intensive training programs in Six Sigma. This research is qualitative and descriptive, whose purpose is to confirm the dimensions criticism from Firka (2011) and Montgomery (2010) agree that the use of statistical methods to problems of manufacturing in the context of Six Sigma programs, through the study of multiple cases. These research findings confirm the association between the use of technical barriers in the MDAs to factors of management and sociology, such as the lack of management support, focus on short-term results, the methodological factors (selection and validation of variables and results) and the statistical assumptions (multivariate normality, multicollinearity and homoscedasticity). / As organizações enfrentam situações problemáticas que envolvem a análise de um conjunto significativo de variáveis correlacionadas para reduzir a variabilidade dos processos produtivos. Há muitas abordagens, métodos e técnicas de apoio à solução de problemas; entretanto tem obtido destaque na literatura e adotado pelas empresas o Seis Sigma, cujo um dos objetivos é identificar e eliminar as causas de variação do produto e processo por meio do uso de técnicas estatísticas. A Análise de Dados Multivariados (MDAs) pertencem a um conjunto de técnicas que analisam simultaneamente a relação existente entre diversas variáveis, ainda pouco difundidas nos programas de treinamento em Seis Sigma. Esta pesquisa tem caráter qualitativo-descritivo, cujo objetivo é confirmar as dimensões críticas apontadas por Firka (2011) e Montgomery (2010) que comprometem o uso de métodos estatísticos em problemas da manufatura no contexto dos programas Seis Sigma, por meio do estudo de casos. Os resultados desta pesquisa confirmam a associação entre as barreiras no uso de técnicas MDAs a fatores de ordem gerencial e sociológica, tais como, a falta de suporte gerencial, foco em resultados de curto prazo, fatores de ordem metodológica (seleção e validação das variáveis e dos resultados) e aos pressupostos estatísticos (Normalidade Multivariada, Multicolinearidade e Homocedasticidade). Palavras chaves: Analise de Dados Multivariados (MDAs). Fatores Críticos. Melhoria Contínua (MC). Projetos Seis Sigma.

<p dir="ltr">The study aims to prove the need for higher quality production of weight plates which fall under US6746380B2 (expired May 10, 2021), assigned to USA Sports Inc. Literature justifies quality control standards. Selected literature validates posed hypotheses, and a product study is completed using weight plate specimens selected for physical quality testing to prove the common (repeated offense) existence of weight plates which fall out of the designated weight tolerance. Findings of physical product testing are collected and set against each other to determine differences in levels of quality control. Through extensive product testing (quantified within the study’s research methodology), novel quality control ideals are identified for product improvement in the study’s recommendations. Next steps are suggested to improve the understanding and utilization of quality control to work toward creating a sustainable and consistently high-quality product. Findings from the study are available to be used amongst companies in the fitness industry who produce weight plates.</p>

Många företag står idag inför en affärssituation med stigande konkurrens,krympande marknader, och ökade kundkrav. Framför allt sitter många fast i ett föråldrat sätt attdriva sin verksamhet på, som är dåligt anpassat för den allt tuffare marknaden. Den rekommenderadelösningen stavas ofta ”inför kvalitetstänk och börja jobba med förbättringar”. Det kandock vara lättare sagt än gjort för företag utan tidigare erfarenheter från en sådan strategi, ochmed eventuella betydande brister i sin ordinarie organisationsstruktur. Demotikos AB i Stockholmär ett exempel på ett sådant företag.Avsikten med detta examensarbete är att ta fram ett förbättringsprogram särskilt anpassat förDemotikos AB genom att analysera olika kvalitetsfilosofier och koncept, samt att göra en utförlignulägesanalys av företaget. Målet är att presentera ett förbättringsprogram tillsammans meden implementationsplan som är väl anpassad till företagets utgångsläge och förutsättningar ochsom samtidigt stämmer väl överens med rådande forskningslitteratur. Företaget har dessutom enönskan om att den insamlade kvalitetsinformationen i rapporten ska kunna ligga till grund för enkvalitetsintroduktionsutbildning för företagets anställda.Företagets behovsbild samt problemområden kartlades vi en nutidsanalys. Därefter utgick manfrån kartläggningen och jämförde den med vilka effekter olika förbättringsprogram kunde åstadkomma.Efter ett program hittades gick man vidare till att utvärdera olika arbetsmetoder ochverktyg. Till sist undersöktes en lämplig implementationsplan. / Many companies are today facing a business situation with rising competition,shrinking markets, and increasing customer demands. Above all, many are stuck with an outdatedapproach on how to run their business, an approach that is poorly adapted to the ever moredemanding market. The recommended solution is often spelled "implement a quality mindsetand start working with improvements". However, this can be much easier said than done forcompanies without any experience of such a strategy, as well as any significant deficiencies in itsregular organizational structure. Demotikos AB in Stockholm is an example of such a company.This thesis is aiming to produce an improvement program for Demotikos AB by analyzing differentquality philosophies and concepts, as well as making a detailed situation analysis of thecompany. The goal is to present an improvement program together with an implementation planthat is well adapted to the company’s current condition and at the same time consistent withcurrent research literature. The company also wish to be able to use the collected quality data inthe report as a basis for a quality introduction for its employees.The company’s needs as well as problem areas were identified, through a present day analysis.The result were compared it with what effects various improvement programs could present.After an appropriate program was found the project went on to evaluate various methods andtools. Finally, a suitable implementation plan examined.