Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Master's Degree in Technology: Quality in the Department of Operations and Quality Management, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / Over the past ten years, intense global competition, changing customer needs and the changing business environment have forced many organisations to examine their organisational goals and to re-evaluate how to meet their challenges. Extreme global competition has forced many organisations to develop action plans to respond to an increasingly competitive market. One such action plan identified was the integration of quality practices and principles with strategic planning of the organisation. This research investigated the importance and usefulness of integrating quality practices in the strategic management process of organisations in the Printing and Packaging industry in the Ethekweni Municipality. This study included a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. The review of literature represented the qualitative research method, acknowledged the importance of, and advantages and disadvantages of integrating quality practices with the strategic management process. It also identified selected quality practices that can improve the strategic planning process. The quantitative method included a preliminary study and a main study. The preliminary study was conducted using questionnaires and interviews consisting of 10 and 5 organisations respectively. The main study consisted of questionnaires administered to 30 organisations. The results of the pilot study showed that although many organisations were aware of the integration, they did not have the support from employees, nor the time to implement it. The main study indicated that the majority of the organisations integrated the two practices. 97% of the organisations found that this integration was difficult initially, but with some perseverance achieved success, while 3% of the organisations did not implement the integration. The latter are now considering the integration process. Hence, it can be accepted that the integration of quality practices within the strategic management process has directed the organisation toward continuous improvement, a competitive advantage, a greater market share and sustainability, greater customer satisfaction and increased profitability and sales.

No description available.

The focus of this research study is to determine teacher's perceptions on Total Quality Management(TQM) in secondary schools in the Lobatse area, Kanye area and the South East District of Botswana. Lobatse is an urban area and this research was carried out in all the secondary schools of the town, whilst Ramotswa and Kanye are peri-urban areas. The schools in which this research was carried out consist of both Junior secondary schools and Senior secondary schools. TQM basically means conscious improvement, in this context on matters of education. Only well managed schools can provide quality education and "managed education" means quality education. School facilities, teachers, the principal, the students, learning materials, teaching methods, assessment and technology, forms the base in educational success in all comers of the global village. Therefore for the success of any form of education to be a reality, the above measures should always be available. A survey in the form of a questionnaire was carried out with the intention to get views from teachers form the locations mentioned above as samples. The perceptions are not radical from each other in general on matters pertaining to how education is administered generally in Botswana. However it is worth noting that to come up with a broad outline on important views from teachers, the questionnaire was systematically broken into subtopics each dealing with a specific area of interest in the profession. Those ranged from the biographical and demographical data that include among others ;gender, age category, school Location, school enrolment, academic qualifications among others. The study also dealt with all the measures that inculcate TQM as a tool to improve effectiveness, productivity and performance, the role of school management in the improvement of quality education, Total Quality Management principles and implementation of Total Quality Management in schools. Total Quality Management is also equated to Work Improvement Teams(WITs) and the Performance Management Systems(PMS).In this a strong academic relationship was realized since all theses programmes emphasize efficiency and productivity at workplace. If there is any difference among the three the there is a thin line of that hence the different ways they have been coined. Under Qualitative data, teachers were given a form to jot down their views and perceptions about Total Quality Management. This is a more open portion and views ranged from worries and concerns about the conditions of service that ranged from matters of accommodation, salaries and advancement in education like being sent for further education and being sent for courses to update themselves with the latest technology needs so as to increase accessibility of information in the process of teaching and learning in the classroom. Over and above other factors the research was a great success. / (M.Ed.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2004

The last decade has seen significant developments in highway asset management. A key component to successful asset management is long-term network investment planning. In order to successfully manage a significant quantity of aging roadway infrastructure and growing traffic volume, agencies are faced with challenges in developing reliable long term plans that maximize the network performance through value optimization. Current practice typically involves relatively independent planning for the bridge and pavement networks; with a very slight number of situations allowing for reliable trade-off analysis between the two. While a situation in which the choice to improve two structures rather than one pavement section may yield a greater percentage increase in the bridge network performance, than the opposite choice would for the pavement network - the reliability of this choice being right and at the right time significantly decreases over time. Introduction of mutually inclusive highway asset planning in this research, by integration of the bridges into an equivalent measure of the pavement network results in significant increases in the long-term planning reliability - is proposed. Data from the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario is used to demonstrate how this proposed approach would work. A key point of this Strategic Total Highway Asset Management Integration (STHAMi) approach is the Conceptual Structural Integration Factor (CSIF). Application of CSIF and Bridge Condition Index (BCI) integration into a pavement performance index allows for representation and treatment of bridges as equivalent pavement sections. This allows for a better comparison of the assets over time. Compared to the traditional approach of mutually exclusive network level planning, STHAMi resulted in a higher percentage of network treated per unit of value, coupled with consistently higher annual network performance over the long-term. In addition to significantly higher long-term sub-asset trade-off reliability, STHAMi offers potential for significant increases in organizational efficiency with respect to longterm highway asset planning. Key benefits include introduction of one pavement performance indicator as an all encompassing performance indicator for the complete highway asset, as well as the potential for long-term bridge network level planning execution within a pavement engineering oriented organizational unit. Further STHAMi development is recommended through integration of other network performance measures such as operational and safety indicators.

As the number of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures increases annually, the patient demographic is shifting to include younger patients with higher expectations for post-operative function. The aim of this study was to compare movement patterns during activities of daily living among TKA patients and a healthy, age-matched group using 3D motion analysis. Specifically, this analysis looked at walking on level and inclined surfaces, as well as sitting up and down from a chair. It was predicted that (1) TKA patients would exhibit reduced knee extension moments at the operated limb and increased adduction moments at the contralateral limb during gait, (2) walking downhill would result in greater differences between TKA and control groups, compared to level walking, and (3) TKA participants would have greater flexion angles, moments and power values at the hip, compared to controls, during the sit-stand tasks. Seventeen participants (age=62±6 years, BMI=30±3 kg/m2, time after surgery=11±5 months) were recruited from the Ottawa Hospital, having undergone unilateral TKA by the same surgeon. An age-matched control group was composed of 17 individuals (age=63±8 years, BMI=27±4 kg/m2) who were recruited from the local community. Three dimensional (3D) biomechanical assessment was conducted with all participants performing five trials of walking on level and inclined surfaces, stair ascent and descent as well as sit-stand tasks. Results from this study were focused on gait and sit-stand transitions, showing that TKA participants exhibited altered gait patterns on both walking surfaces, with significantly smaller knee flexion angles and moments, as well as reduced peak power at the knee. The TKA group also experienced reduced knee extension moments; however, this was only significant for downhill walking. Consistent with our hypothesis, downhill walking resulted in greater discrepancies between the groups compared to level walking. Contrary to our third hypothesis, TKA participants exhibited significantly smaller peak hip flexion angles and moments during the sit-stand task, along with reduced hip abduction angles and knee abduction moments. The reduced knee flexion kinematics and kinetics observed during gait tasks, combined with the differences in frontal plane mechanics observed during the sit-stand task suggest that altered loading patterns persist six to twelve months after surgery. This may be a result of continued pre-operative movement patterns as well as the surgery itself, and should be kept in mind when developing rehabilitation programs for this patient population.

No description available.

This research aimed at investigating strategies for construction performance improvement in Tanzania. The research established that the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy provides a feasible long term performance improvement strategy. Benchmarking was identified as a tool for initiating and sustaining the TQM programme. Labour productivity was selected as the key construction performance indicator. A framework for labour productivity benchmarking was developed, on the basis of current mean productivity (CMP) and target mean productivity (TMP). Construction labour productivity at macroeconomic level and site level were also investigated. Analysis at macro economic level over a twenty five year period between 1969 and 1993 indicated a continuous decline in productivity expressed in value added per person engaged. Site labour productivity was investigated for eight construction activities on 46 sites belonging to 23 different contractors. Two significant findings emerged in the analysis: first, the variability quantified by coefficient of variation was considerably higher than in similar studies elsewhere; and secondly the distribution was skewed to the left suggesting that productivity was low for most of the operatives. These characteristics were indicative of the productivity improvement potential in the Tanzanian building construction industry. A distribution modelling exercise established that Johnson SB distribution (with shape parameters, 11=1 and y=1) model well represented productivity distribution for most activities. From this distribution, it was established that about 85 per cent of operatives productivity was below the median, which provided a basis for quantifying the potential for improvement. The benchmarking model established that there was an improvement potential of about 133 per cent. This potential was verified through an opinion survey of operatives. Factors that influence operatives productivity were identified through an opinion survey. Factor related to motivation were ranked highest in the survey. Possible influence of various factors on productivity was quantified through regression modelling based on actual construction operation observations. This analysis indicated that productivity depended on productive time which is largely influenced by operative motivation, supporting the results of the opinion survey.

No description available.

Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2005.

The aim of this research is to examine the moderating effect of TQM practices on the relationship between organisational defensive routines and double-loop learning. The current literature supports the notion that organisational defensive routines thwart double-loop learning (Ritchie, 1999). Yet there is no empirical research at present which investigates the effect of organisational defensive routines on double-loop learning in organisations practising TQM. There is also no empirical study which compares the relationship between organisational defensive routines and double-loop learning in organisations practising TQM and those not practising TQM. / The significance of the study is addressed in terms of its theoretical and practical contributions. The study has empirically tested the concepts put forward by Argyris (1985, 1990b. 1993, 1994) and contributes towards the development of his theory. The Double-loop Learning Theory as propounded by Argyris (1985, 1990, 1993) states that organisational defensive routines hinder double-loop learning in organisations. Argyris (1994) further argues that the practice of TQM does not reduce the effect of organisational defensive routines on double-loop learning. On the other hand, the works of Terziovski, Howell, Sohal & Morrison (2000) and Morrison & Terziovski (2001) imply that TQM practices will improve the performance of an organisation through a reduction of organisational defensive routines. This gap in the TQM literature has provided the rationale for carrying out this study. / Quantitative method was adopted for this research. The method used in this research was classified as correlational research by Gay (1996). The independent variable of this research was organisational defensive routines. The dependent variable was double-loop learning. The moderating variable was TQM practices. / Mail questionnaires were sent to 1396 identifiable manufacturing companies in Penang based on the addresses given in seven directories of associations. Only one supervisor from each organisation was invited to be a respondent in order to achieve higher return rate. The return rate was 12.32% and the total number of respondents amounted to 172. / After testing the four groups of hypotheses, several findings are established. First, organisational defensive routines hinder double-loop learning in non-TQM firms only. / Second, the moderating effect of TQM practices on the relationship between organisational defensive routines and double-loop learning is effective only when the execution of the elements of TQM practices is high / Third, TQM practices could moderate the relationship between organisational defensive routines and double-loop learning because TQM practices and double-loop learning have high levels of positive correlation. / Fourth, it is tested that TQM practices are not affected by the duration of practising TQM. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2005.