Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Capella University, 2008. / Adviser: Jean Gordon. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Hous.M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-103). Also available in print.

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Total Quality Management (TQM) and the implementation of its concepts and methods have been seen as to provide a promising way to improve management processes and building high quality products and services. Accordingly, during the past three decades many organisations have implemented TQM and its concepts as a way for improving their management processes and quality of services, and as a way for gaining competitive advantages. This research has made an attempt to study TQM implementation within the context of Saudi Arabia's public sector. The research examined the extent to which there was a need in the Saudi public sector for TQM implementation, and the extent to which the environment of the Saudi public sector was compatible for its implementation and for practising its concepts and methods. To attain the objectives of the research and to test the possibility of implementing TQM in the Saudi public sector, two types of data were gathered; namely, secondary and primary data. As a result, the research is based on both secondary and primary data analysis. The secondary data aims to manifest the notion of TQM and its principles, the approaches and concepts of quality management "gurus"; the differences between the public and private sectors; and the barriers to TQM implementation, with a particular reference to the public sector. Along with the secondary data, a generic model for TQM implementation in the Saudi public sector is proposed and a background to the Saudi public sector and the Ministry of Interior is provided. The results of the secondary data reveal that there is no an agreed or specific model in the literature offered by quality experts for TQM implementation, and that there are some critical issues in the Saudi Public Sector that need to be addressed in order to improve its management performance. The primary data, which was gained through a survey mode of inquiry within the Ministry of Interior, examines the compatibility between the Saudi public sector's environment with TQM's concepts and the extent to which there is a need for TQM implementation in the Ministry of Interior and the Saudi public sector in general. The primary data was gained through a questionnaire designed by the researcher encompassing the principles and elements of the proposed implementation model. The findings of the primary data and analysis reveals that the environment of the Ministry of Interior, with its current management systems and procedures, is inconsistent with the requirements demanded by TQM, and that it would need some modifications in order to implement TQM successfully. Based on the results of the above data, a number of findings, conclusions, and recommendations are provided, which should help to contribute to a successful implementation of TQM in the Saudi public sector.

Recent changes within British higher education have led to a refocus as to the purpose of such education. This movement has been particularly noticeable in the engineering disciplines. These changes have involved a move towards a more 'transformational' objective, where the emphasis is on the development of the full range of learning abilities within a student coupled with an external, or 'real world', orientation. To develop such learning abilities requires specific educational approaches that are based on student-centred processes and the preparation for lifelong learning. This new purpose, and its inherent educational methods, has implications for the type of quality improvement systems adopted. Robust approaches developed in manufacturing industries have been identified, and the thesis argues that quality systems based on developments in these industries can be used in higher education to create a culture that engenders this positive learning approach. This involves a move away from passive, quantitative quality monitoring systems that focus on the 'product' of learning, and move towards more qualitative, active and dynamic department-wide quality improvement systems that focus on the developmental 'process'. Traditional methods of addressing quality in higher education departments can be seen to focus on rudimentary control mechanisms, where action is post-process and reactive, and where the feedback loop often not closed, i.e. preventative and corrective actions, when identified, are not initiated. Such approaches add very little to the purpose of higher education (i.e. developing the range of 'transformational' learning abilities), as there is an overemphasis on evaluation and not enough emphasis on enhancement, development and preparation for continuous learning. The main thesis, therefore, links learning theory to quality theory, via the concepts of development cycles, lifelong learning and continuous improvement. To ascertain the validity of the theses required a research methodology that was based on an in-depth longitudinal action/applied research case study. The research involved a three and a half year study of the quality improvement systems of a manufacturing engineering department of a British university. The research introduced and investigated a strategy that would result in a move from the 'post-process/passive' student involvement to 'in-process/ active'. The case study found that the thesis was valid, in that particular students and members of staff adopted the quality improvement system (i.e. a change in observable behaviour). The contribution to knowledge involves the examination of the interaction between departmental culture and systems, where a 'cultural shift' is necessary involving (i) a change in the role of the undergraduate student (i.e. from passive members in the process, to central participants in the creation and improvement of quality), and (ii) a change in the focus of quality (i.e. from checking that learning was taken place, to promoting and preparing students for lifelong learning).

M.Com. / "Once in a generation, perhaps, something happens that profoundly changes the world and how we look at it. Business is no different. From time to time, someone develops a new way of operation that spreads from industry to industry. Those who adopt and adapt, prosper: those who do not, disappear. Well-known examples of such processes include the adoption of the factory system in the 18th century and the assembly line in the 20th century. Without quest ion, Total Quality Management (TQM) is an innovation on this scale" (Gilks, 1990:17-20}. Since the time of the Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century, countries within the Western world have regarded themselves as being the experts in most fields of Industry and specific~lly mass production. Although it was thought at first that increasing mechanization would lessen industry's dependence on human labour, this was often not the case with labour productivity being found to be crucial to the overall productivity of manufacturing concerns. Increasingly ingly there was a search for answers on how to optimally utilize the Human Resource with the aim of achieving higher productivity (Sperotto, 1991 :27-33). Enderle (1992:13) writes that with more and more research being undertaken and published about this field, a new management science was established: Organizational behaviour and structuring, as well as job design. Its main objective was to find out more about human psychological needs and aspirations and how this information would be put to use in the wordplay. This particular school of thought is known as the "scientific management" or 'socio-technical" approach.

M.Com. (Business Management) / The primary aim of the study was to ascertain whether an intervention relating to leadership and linked to the life and teachings of Viktor Frankl, eminent logo- therapist, would affect the way aspiring leaders construct leadership in terms of meaning. The research participants comprised 20 students registered for a Master’s degree in Business Management (M.Com. Business Management) at a metropolitan university in Johannesburg. The majority of the participants were male (80%) and between the ages of 31- 40 (70%), working in a wide range of industries. A qualitative approach was followed. The data was collected in three steps by means of (1) a questionnaire investigating leadership role-orientations, (2) a leadership development intervention, consisting of a presentation on the life, teachings and work of Viktor Frankl, and an appreciative inquiry (AI) on leadership with meaning, followed by (3) the same questionnaire that had been completed pre-intervention. For establishing possible change on an extrinsic (explicit) level the data was analysed using the framework analysis method (Ritchie & Spencer, 1994). For establishing possible change on an intrinsic (implicit) level, a comparative method was followed. The main finding of this study suggests that a meaning-centred leadership development intervention, using the example of the life and teachings of Viktor Frankl, may have an impact on the leadership role-orientation of aspiring leaders, changing from a predominantly career leadership role-orientation to that of a calling leadership role-orientation. The indication, however, is that this effect largely took place on an explicit (extrinsic) level and to a lesser extent on an implicit (intrinsic), internalised level.

The basic concept for this work is that, in a Total Quality environment, all data must be considered to be quality data in order to achieve a truly informed process of continuous quality improvement, throughout the whole range of organisational activity. In order to establish the place of this concept in respect of current theory, a number of quality control, quality assurance and Total Quality techniques and. strategies are examined. In each case, an attempt is made to define the data support necessary to ensure the best possible effectiveness in use. I'n some instances, IT tools are already available; their applicability is investigated and their limitations are established, with a view to future integration. Another issue which must be considered is the location of existing quality data throughout the many systems (both computerised and paper-based) which support the various areas of organisational activity. Of particular importance are the questions of which data is held, and how accessible it is for use in proble~ investigation and improvement planning. The above surveys are drawn together to guide the construction of a set of aims and objectives to be satisfied by an Integrated Quality System (lQS). These were then formalised into a functional requirement for a: generic IQS in line with current Total Quality theory. However, a theoretical system must, of necessity, be customised to suit the needs and working practices of real organisations. Hence, the findings of a study carried out at a manufacturing company by the members of the project team in which the author worked were used to establish user requirements for an IQS. The two sets of requirements, theoretical versus user, were then merged to provide a single, mutually satisfactory, functional requirement. In order to investigate the appropriateness of various aspects of the proposed I QS, elements of the functional requirements were implemented in a laboratory prototype. This prototype served a number of purposes: a) to clarify the perceived desires of the test site users; b) to investigate differences between vanous methods of eliciting software specifications (both functional and related to the mode of use) from users in terms of the final satisfaction achieved and the level of modification required during development; c) to establish some of the interface links which must be provided to merge IT systems currently in use to achieve a truly integrated system for Total Quality support; d) to consider the importance of certain "poor relation" quality related activities in the light of integrated Total Quality. The proposed IQS architecture is then revised in the light of the findings of the prototype and a modified structure is suggested. The recently published results of other researchers are considered and related to the modified IQS specification.

D.Comm. / This thesis deals with the challenges posed to management to ensure that quality services are provided to customers and investigates the approaches management should adopt.