bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Six Sigma arises from the ashes of TQM with a twist
Authors: Black Ken , Revere Lee 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper sets out to analyse the use of the Six Sigma methodology to improve quality in healthcare. It looks at how Six Sigma grew out of the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM).Design/methodology/approachSix Sigma is a quality improvement methodology that has been widely adopted by companies since the early 1990s and has grown exponentially in the healthcare industry during the past five years. Some of the main tenets of Six Sigma have emerged from the principles of TQM, including the notion that the entire organization must support the quality effort; that there should be a vigorous education effort; and that a quality improvement process should emphasize root cause analysis.FindingsIn spite of its early success, TQM “crashed and burned” for several reasons including the fact that financial benefits were difficult to assign to TQM efforts, root cause was not always determined resulting in recurring errors, there was no common metric to measure the level of quality attained, and quality efforts were sometimes aimed at processes or operations that were not critical to the customer. Six Sigma filled the vacuums created by these TQM failures in several ways. Under the Six Sigma methodology, quality improvement projects are carefully defined so that they can be successfully completed within a relatively short time frame. Financials are applied to each completed project so that management knows how much the project saves the institution.Originality/valueOn each project, intense study is used to determine root cause analysis; and in the end, a metric known as “sigma level” can be assigned to signify the level of quality. Six Sigma has a “critical to quality” dimension that keeps the quality effort focused on improving only those things that really matter to the customer.
Viewing Kaiser Permanente via the logistician lens
Authors: Towill Denis R. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to undertake a holistic comparison between NHS and Kaiser Permanente (KP) healthcare delivery systems.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews in detail the many papers and communications published on KP via the “logistics lens” which is focussed on smooth patient flow from onset of problem to completion of treatment.FindingsThe paper finds that healthcare “best practice” is readily related to conventional supply chain performance metrics and engineering change model attributes. Much of the apparent success of KP is due to cultural and organisational factors. A noteworthy example deserving wide dissemination and application is in the effectiveness of interfaces between clinicians and managers.Research limitations/implicationsThis review exposes the need for the NHS to be driven by end‐to‐end processing times rather than the present salami principle of separating in‐patient, out‐patient and other queues into neat statistics, which can be meaningless to an individual patient.Practical implicationsIntroduces clinicians and healthcare professionals to a range of tools and techniques for engineering “best practice”. This method is well understood and proven in other areas of application. Particular aspects of the KP study are thus confirmatory of what is actually happening in small pockets of the NHS.Originality/valueThe paper provides a new perspective on the performance of healthcare supply chains. New knowledge and deeper understanding of the mechanisms of success emerge from a study adopting a different viewpoint.
Touch‐screen versus paper‐and‐pen questionnaires
Authors: Wilde Larsson Bodil 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe aim of the paper is to compare the computer administration method (touch‐screen) with the original paper‐and‐pen approach when measuring patients' perceptions of care quality.Design/methodology/approachThe study group consisted of 199 patients who responded to touch‐screen and 219 who responded to paper‐and‐pen questionnaires, receiving care between January and March 2003 at two out‐patient clinics in one county in Sweden. The response rate was 75 per cent. A modified version of the quality from the patient's perspective questionnaire was used.FindingsTwo main findings emerged: first, both methods yielded almost identical results in quality of care ratings, and second, the touch‐screen method was perceived to be easier to use and to take less time to complete.Originality/valueThe paper shows that both methods are acceptable, but the touch‐screen method appears to be preferred by patients.
Changing the boundaries of the firm
Authors: Vosselman Ed G.J. , van der Meer‐Kooistra Jeltje 
Published: July 2006

PurposeTo develop a model in which alternative patterns of management control are confronted with situational and institutional features in the context of transactional relationships. The model could be of use to managers in making rational decisions regarding the boundaries of the organization.Design/methodology/approachThe model is developed by drawing on transaction cost economics extended with systems theoretical notions on trust.FindingsThree patterns of management control are identified: a market pattern, a bureaucratic pattern and a trust pattern. Furthermore, the transactional and institutional factors that determine the choice of a control pattern or elements therein are identified and confronted with the three management control patterns.Research limitations/implicationsAn extended transaction cost economics approach is rather static of nature and, therefore, could be criticized for its lack of attention to processes of gradual development. In practice, adoption and design of management control structures are only part of the story; there also is gradual development or evolution in management control. However, the implications of the model are restricted to rational decision making regarding the adoption/design of management control patterns.Originality/valueThe paper provides a relevant and usable model for the adoption and design of management control patterns.
Employee perceptions of the rewards associated with six sigma
Authors: Buch Kim , Tolentino Ann 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper examined employee perceptions of the rewards associated with their participation in a six sigma program. Six sigma is an approach to organizational change that incorporates elements of total quality management, business process reengineering, and employee involvement.Design/methodology/approachA survey was completed by 215 employees (34 percent response rate). Respondents rated the extent to which they felt their participation in six sigma was “instrumental” for a range of outcomes, as well as valence (desirability) of each outcome (based on the VIE concept of instrumentality). The outcomes were classified into four categories: extrinsic, intrinsic, social, and organizational.FindingsValence ratings revealed that all 12 outcomes were perceived as desirable. Instrumentality ratings showed that extrinsic outcomes were rated significantly lower than intrinsic, social, and organizational outcomes. Additional analyses revealed significant differences on all four outcome categories between participants and non‐participants in the six sigma program.Practical implicationsThe positive valence and instrumentality ratings for participants indicate they believe their participation will lead to valued outcomes for themselves and their organizations. However, employees who choose not to get involved in six sigma do not perceive that their participation would have led to desired outcomes. The results also show that while participants value extrinsic rewards, they do not see six sigma as instrumental in their receipt. These perceptions have important implications for attracting and retaining program participants.Originality/valueWhile much has been written about the use of reward systems in supporting a successful six sigma effort, this study empirically examines how employees actually perceive the rewards associated with their participation. It also identifies which types of rewards are most instrumental for participants and non‐participants.
Situated human agency, institutional entrepreneurship and institutional change
Authors: Koene B.A.S. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper evaluates the influence of the institutional context on the dynamics of institutional change and the possibilities for human agency in this process.Design/methodology/approachA comparison of the emergence of the temporary work agency industry in five countries is used to illustrate the influence of three elements of the institutional context: high/low pressure field emergence, societal confidence, and power and discretion of the emerging industry.FindingsThe analysis reveals how these three elements affect the dynamics of new field development. It shows the interaction between institutionalising and de‐institutionalising pressures and the dialectical nature of the process when comparing the developments over time between different national (institutional) contexts.Research limitations/implicationsPropositions for further research are formulated. Combining the effects of the three situational variables three models of industry institutionalization are established: autonomous development, constrained development and societalisation.Practical implicationsThe findings illustrate the situated condition of human and organizational agency in processes of institutional entrepreneurship. Our analysis also shows how early externally constraining effects slow down early institutionalisation of a new organizational field, but at the same time trigger processes of institutional structuration that strengthen the institutionalising role of the industry in the long run.Originality/valueThe comparative analysis helps to see how the dynamics of institutional renewal are affected by institutional context and highlights the situated nature of effective human agency.
Organizational change in stakeholder business systems: the role of institutions
Authors: Cheng Philip , Millar Carla C.J.M. , Ju Choi Chong 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is threefold: to contribute to the increasing global debate in organization theory about corporate ethics; to focus on the importance of measurement costs and its influence on organizational change in stakeholder systems; and to provide a framework for overcoming the inherent ambiguity and increased measurement costs associated with stakeholder business systems.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is to analyze the importance of institutional certification and indirect measurement indicators, which are defined as indices to develop a dynamic framework capable of evaluating change in stakeholder business systems.FindingsThe stakeholder business system, a dominant system in continental European countries, as well as various countries in Asia, requires involvement by multiple actors, including financial markets, banks, employees, government.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is necessary to analyze in more depth the way organization value can be measured and how stakeholders can interact with the organizations involved in external certification, in facilitating organizational change. There is also a need to further research the dynamics of the relationship between market, institutions and social structure in organizational change.Originality/valueA general contribution of the paper is that it illustrates that all industries have “indices”, which are more tacit, implicit than the traditional, transparent market indicators and signals.
Coffin‐Manson constant determination for a Sn‐8Zn‐3Bi lead‐free solder joint
Authors: Sun Peng , Andersson Cristina , Wei Xicheng , Cheng Zhaonian , Shangguan Dongkai , Liu Johan 
Published: July 2006

PurposeTo determine the Coffin‐Manson (CM) equation constants for fatigue life estimation of Sn‐8Zn‐3Bi solder joints, since Sn‐8Zn‐3Bi solder has a melting temperature of around 199°C which is close to that of the conventional Sn‐Pb solder which has previously been used in the electronics assembly industry.Design/methodology/approachThree dimensional finite element (FE) simulation analysis was used for comparison with the experimentally measured data and to determine the CM constants. Low cycle fatigue tests and FE simulations were carried out for these lead‐free solder joints, and eutectic Sn‐37Pb solder was used as a reference.FindingsThe CM equation for Sn‐8Zn‐3Bi solder joints was fitted to the lifetimes measured and the shear strains simulated. The constants were determined to be 0.0294 forC, the proportional constant, and for the fatigue exponent,β, −2.833.Originality/valueThe CM equation can now be used to predict the reliability of Sn‐8Zn‐3Bi solder joints in electronics assembly and the knowledge base for the properties of the Sn‐Zn solder system has been increased.
High strain rate testing of solder interconnections
Authors: Tsai K.T. , Liu F‐L. , Wong E.H. , Rajoo R. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper aims to present a new micro‐impact tester developed for characterizing the impact properties of solder joints and micro‐structures at high‐strain rates, for the microelectronic industry, and the results evaluated for different solder ball materials, pad finishes and thermal histories by using this new tester. Knowledge of impact force is essential for quantifying the strength of the interconnection and allows quantitative design against failure. It also allows one‐to‐one comparison with the failure force measured in a standard quasi‐static shear test.Design/methodology/approachAn innovative micro‐impact head has been designed to precisely strike the specimen at high speed and the force and displacements are measured simultaneously and accurately during the impact, from which the failure energy may be calculated.FindingsThe paper demonstrates that, peak loads obtained from the impact tests are between 30 and 100 percent higher than those obtained from static shear tests for all combinations of solder alloy and pad finish. The SnPb solder alloy had the maximum energy to failure for all pad finishes. Of all the lead‐free solders, the SnAg solder alloy had the highest energy to failure. Static shearing induces only bulk solder failure for all combinations of solder alloy and pad finish. Impact testing tends to induce bulk solder failure for SnPb solder and a mixture of bulk and intermetallic failure in all the lead‐free solder alloys for all pad finishes. In general, the peak loads obtained for solder mask defined pads are significantly higher than those for non‐SMD (NSMD) pads. The results obtained so far have highlighted the vulnerability of NSMD pads to drop impact.Practical implicationsThe work provides a new solution to the microelectronics industry for characterizing the impact properties of materials and micro‐structures and provides an easy‐to‐use tool for research or process quality control.Originality/valueThe new micro‐impact tester developed is able to perform solder ball shear testing at high speeds, of up to 1,000 mm/s, and to obtain fracture characteristics similar to those found in drop impact testing using the JEDEC board level testing method JESD22‐B111 – but without the complexity of preparing specialized boards. This is not achievable using standard low‐speed shear testers.
Intermetallic compound formation and diffusion path evolution in eutectic tin‐lead flip chip solder bumps after aging
Authors: Hsiao Li‐Yin , Duh Jenq‐Gong 
Published: July 2006

PurposeIn the flip‐chip technology (FCT) used in current microelectronic packages, a Ni‐based under‐bump metallurgy (UBM) is widely used due to its slow reaction rate with Sn. In this study, solders joints of eutectic Pb‐Sn with a Ni UBM were employed to investigate the intermetallic compound (IMC) formation after aging at 150°C for various periods of time.Design/methodology/approachThe compositions and elemental re‐distribution in the IMC formed due to the interfacial reaction between the Ni/Cu UBM and eutectic Sn‐Pb solders were evaluated with an electron probe microanalyzer. The interfacial morphologies were revealed with the aid of a field‐emission scanning electron microscope through a special etching technique.FindingsAt the centre of the chip side, two IMCs were found between the solder and Ni metallization. The scalloped‐like IMC was determined to be (Cu, Ni)6Sn5, while the nodule‐like IMC was (Ni,Cu)3Sn4. However, at the edge of the chip side, three IMCs were revealed. The scalloped‐like IMC was (Cu1−y,Niy)6Sn5, the nodule‐like IMC was (Ni1−x,Cux)3Sn4, and the layer‐type IMC was (Cu1−z,Niz)3Sn.Originality/valueOn the basis of the elemental distributions from the quantitative analysis of the IMC and the related phase transitions during the IMC formation, two distinct diffusion paths are proposed to illustrate the interfacial reaction and phase transformation between IMCs and solder in Sn‐Pb joints aged at 150°C. These diffusion paths demonstrated two kinds of phase equilibrium, including (Cu1−z,Niz)3Sn/(Cu1−y,Niy)6Sn5/solder and (Ni1−x,Cux)3Sn4/(Cu1−yNiy)6Sn5/solder.
Macro‐micro modelling of moisture induced stresses in an ACF flip chip assembly
Authors: Yin C.Y. , Lu H. , Bailey C. , Chan Y.C. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper discusses the use of modelling techniques to predict the reliability of an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) flip chip in a humid environment. The purpose of this modelling work is to understand the role that moisture plays in the failure of ACF flip chips.Design/methodology/approachA 3D macro‐micro finite element modelling technique was used to determine the moisture diffusion and moisture‐induced stresses inside the ACF flip chip.FindingsThe results show that the ACF layer in the flip chip can be expected to be fully saturated with moisture after 3 h at 121°C, 100%RH, 2 atm test conditions. The swelling effect of the adhesive due to this moisture absorption causes predominately tensile stress at the interface between the adhesive and the metallization, which could cause a decrease in the contact area, and therefore an increase in the contact resistance.Originality/valueThis paper introduces a macro‐micro modelling technique which enables more detailed 3D modelling analysis of an ACF flip chip than previously.
Learning from east to west and west to east
Authors: Mi Dahlgaard‐Park Su 
Published: July 2006

PurposeParallel with increasing awareness of importance in learning during the last few decades, numerous theorists from various disciplines have tried to shape ideas concerning learning seen from their perspectives. One negative consequence of these efforts has been observed as increased confusion and disputes among the theorists as well as practitioners due to “lacking of common ground” in their search on learning. Hence, the aim of this paper is to explore some critical aspects of learning, among others, root thinking, meaning of learning, nature, processes and outcomes of learning in order to identify possible common ground(s) in between various schools of thought.Design/methodology/approachThrough a literature survey the characteristics of learning in terms of the processes, the nature and the outcomes of learning are investigated. Besides the chosen contemporary literature on learning, ideas and philosophies of John Dewey (1859‐1952) and Confucius (551‐479, BC) have been explored in order to identify possible root thinking in the West and in the East.FindingsIt is found that not much new knowledge has been accumulated since Confucius and despite multiple schools of thought in current research, the majority of western theorists base their ideas on Dewey's thinking. The meta learning wheel has been suggested to be a common ground for learning.Originality/valueThe originalities of this paper are: both contemporary as well as classic literatures in learning are investigated; both Western and Eastern literatures are investigated.
A review and comparison of six sigma and the lean organisations
Authors: Bendell Tony 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to review and compare six sigma and the lean organisation approaches to process improvement. The basis for combination and compatibility is evaluated and a holistic approach proposed.Design/methodology/approachThe examination is based on the author's extensive practical consulting and training experience with diverse six sigma, lean and business process improvement programmes in numerous companies across Europe and worldwide, as well as theoretical development of his previous published work.FindingsThe paper contends that the current literature on the compatibility and combination of six sigma and lean is limited and disappointing when examined for a common model, theoretical compatibility or mutual content or method, but that they can be effectively combined into one system.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is experience‐based and not supported by a specific‐quantitative investigation.Practical implicationsCompanies pursuing six sigma and lean implementation programmes need to carefully examine how the proposed initiatives relate to each other and other initiatives before fully committing, or at least to review the programme, to enable sensible programme design and management.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on six sigma and lean programmes in practice, rather than the theoretical basis or motivationally based argument.
Lean production, six sigma quality, TQM and company culture
Authors: Dahlgaard Jens J. , Mi Dahlgaard‐Park Su 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe authors analyze the principles and results of lean production and compare the lean production philosophy with the six sigma quality process and the principles of total quality management (TQM). At the end of the paper, it is discussed how to build the necessary company culture for having success with these principles/management philosophies.Design/methodology/approachLiterature search and comparative analysis complemented with a Danish case on wastage in a core process.FindingsIt is shown that the lean production philosophy and the six sigma steps are essentially the same and both have developed from the same root – the Japanese TQM practices. The improvement process from six sigma, the DMAIC process, can be regarded as a short version of the Quality Story, which was developed in Japan in the 1960s as a standard for QC‐circle presentations. We conclude that the roadmaps of lean production and six sigma quality are examples of new alternative TQM roadmaps. We also conclude that especially with lean production and six sigma quality there seems to be too much focus on training people intools and techniques and at the same time too little focus on understanding the human factor, i.e. how to build the right company culture.Originality/valueThe detailed and historical analysis of six sigma quality, lean production and TQM combined with a focus on the human factor and the needed corporate culture.