bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impact of human resource management practices on the implementation of total quality management
Authors: Yang Ching‐Chow 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe perceived advantages of the implementation of TQM are generating improved quality and efficiency, increasing customer satisfaction, thus improving competitiveness. However, there is a high failure rate in the implementation of TQM. The key issue in this regard is that companies have devoted relatively little attention to human resources management (HRM). Several academics and practitioners have asserted that synergy and congruence among HRM practices are critical to the implementation of TQM. However, there is relatively little empirical evidence to support this contention. The purpose of this research is to conduct an empirical study on high‐tech firms, in order to analyse the impacts of HRM practices on the implementation of TQM.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, a research framework related to HRM practices, TQM practices, and quality performances was developed. Based on the framework, a questionnaire was designed and sent to the HR managers or chief executive officers (CEOs) of high‐tech companies in Taiwan to investigate the effect of HRM practices on the implementation and practice of TQM.FindingsThe study confirms that HRM significantly affects TQM practices. The study concluded that HRM practices have a significantly positive effect on the implementation of TQM. Implementing HRM practices can also have a significant effect on employee and customer satisfaction. It also positively affected “employees' quality awareness” and “corporate image”. The quality performances were also significantly affected by the implementation of TQM.Research limitations/implicationsThe research limitation is that the empirical study was on high‐tech firms in Taiwan only. However, the framework can be easily extended to other industries if survey results are available.Practical implicationsOverall, successful implementation of TQM can lead to an increase in customer satisfaction, and then benefit corporate image. It can also improve the satisfaction and quality awareness of employees. Enterprises that devote themselves to the implementation of TQM also need to perform HRM aggressively, if they are to increase the firm's performance significantly.Originality/valueIn this research, a conceptual framework related to HRM practices and TQM practices was developed, which is a valuable reference for future research. This study confirms the impacts of HRM practices on the implementation of TQM, and several key practices can be investigated.
The application of balanced scorecard in the performance evaluation of higher education
Authors: Chen Shun‐Hsing , Yang Ching‐Chow , Shiau Jiun‐Yan 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe Taiwanese higher education sector is presently facing a significant challenge with regard to supply and demand. The purpose of this paper is to examine how, in this scenario, the balanced scorecard (BSC) can be used for performance evaluation as a strategic management tool.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a case study that should carry appropriate mission and vision. With the existing resources and targets, five major strategic themes are constructed, including an adequate financial structure, an accord with customer expectations, an excellent learning environment, organisational learning and management, and high quality staff.FindingsTo achieve strategic themes it is necessary to propose specific and effective strategic targets. To evaluate progress and performance towards these strategic themes and targets, quantified performance measure indicators (PMIs) must be established in a specific and simple manner that allows all staff members to understand the orientation of the BSC in fulfilling their daily tasks.Originality/valueBSC conducting in higher education sector can be successful, and other management systems appliances are similar, must be supported by senior supervisors and cautious choice PMIs to assess the achievement of targets.
Wine tourism development and marketing strategies in Southwest Michigan
Authors: Wargenau Astrid , Che Deborah 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis research investigated wine tourism development and marketing in southwest Michigan, a longtime viticultural, but emerging wine tourism region. The aims involved discovering the motivations, expectations, and successes of Southwest Michigan Wine Trail member wineries in developing horizontal and vertical alliances.Design/methodology/approachSemi‐structured, in‐depth interviews were conducted with individuals in charge of the wineries’ marketing activities (i.e. marketing directors and members of the marketing departments, winery owners). These interviews were recorded and transcribed. Activities fostered through the horizontal and vertical alliances were identified.FindingsAlliances along the Southwest Michigan Wine Trail have furthered the development and marketing of wine tourism. The trail's member wineries have formed strong horizontal relationships, which include joint advertising, promotion, and production. They have also built vertical relationships with tour operators, lodging businesses, and restaurants that promote individual wineries as well as the wine region. Wine tourism has provided wineries with another sales outlet and established the wine region as a destination.Originality/valveThis study contributed to the limited literature on the development and marketing of wine tourism in Michigan and in other emerging wine regions in the United States. For those working to further such rural/agri‐tourism, this research indicated that there is considerable growth potential through an increased presence in restaurants and in packaging with accommodations. Adding new specialized wine tours, wine festivals,geographical target markets, and a focus on wine education on‐site and at educational institutions can expand wine tourism and sales.
Competitive pressures and strategic repositioning in the California premium wine industry
Authors: Taplin Ian M. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the changing competitive landscape in the wine industry, focusing upon how premium Napa valley producers are responding to such changes.Design/methodology/approachThe in depth interview technique with 11 privately owned premium wine producers was used, with interviews conducted in early 2005.FindingsWineries identify the growing concentration and consolidation amongst distributors and domestic US producers; increased foreign competition, particularly from Australia; and the trend towards homogenised taste following the increased power of numerical wine ranking surveys as principal concerns that they face.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight the dilemmas faced by wineries as they attempt to stress their locational advantage for reputation building but endeavour to differentiate their product from other wineries in Napa.Originality/valueAs a pilot project the paper indicates how even firms in high value added product markets are facing heightened competition and what they fear might emerge in the near future from foreign producers.
A dive into the depths of quality management
Authors: Lagrosen Stefan , Lagrosen Yvonne 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the fundamentals of quality management, to examine the deeper layers of quality management and propose a tentative framework of its profound foundations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual, reviewing the quality management literature and connecting it with contributions from service management, organisational consciousness studies and eastern philosophy.FindingsA model of quality management consisting of the levels of techniques, models and values has been the starting point. From this basis, an elaborated framework of the foundations of quality management, including different aspects of the values, functions and activity elements, has been developed.Originality/valueCurrent approaches to quality management might be too superficial, which could be the cause of many implementation failures. In this paper, a deeper understanding is sought. A novel framework has been proposed that can provide a basis for further research into the profound nature of quality management. Further, implications that should be useful for managers are discussed.
Critical success factors of knowledge management systems: a multi‐case analysis
Authors: Akhavan Peyman , Jafari Mostafa , Fathian Mohammad 
Published: July 2006

PurposeTo date, critical success factors for design and implementing knowledge management (KM) system in a multi‐case study research have not been systematically investigated. Most of existing studies have derived their critical success factors from single company perspectives and have not considered all factors in an integrated way in a multi case study research. This paper is aimed to bridge this gap.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study technique has been used in this paper for data collection to gain insights into the topic being investigated. For that, “grounded theory” research approach has been selected by which the collected data from real case studies (successful organizations in KM adoption) are categorized and analyzed through specific stages. The extracted concepts can demonstrate critical success factors of KM system within organizations.FindingsThe overall results from the real case studies were positive, thus reflecting the appropriateness of the proposed critical success factors. Also 16 concepts and a conceptual framework are the other findings of this research that clarify how to design and implement a KM system in an organization. The conceptual framework presents a roadmap for success of KM programs in the organizations.Practical implicationsThe set of critical success factors can act as a list of items for organizations to address when adopting KM. This helps to ensure that the essential issues and factors are covered during design and implementation phase. For academics, it provides a common language for them to discuss and study the factors crucial for the success of KM program in an organization.Originality/valueThis study is probably the first to provide an integrated perspective of critical success factors for implementing KM through a multi case study research. It gives valuable information and guidelines which hopefully will help the leaders to accomplish KM through their organizations in an effective way.
The impact of quality management in European companies' performance
Authors: Heras Saizarbitoria Iñaki , Arana Landín Germán , Casadesús Fa Martí 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse and show the influence on European companies' performance of the two most important models for quality management (QM) practice popularised in recent years: the ISO 9000 and the European Foundation for Quality Management models.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology is a qualitative survey carried out in Spain using the Delphi method, based on previous research work. The results of this research were analysed and triangulated with the results of other surveys carried out previously, as well as with information gathered during several in‐depth interviews of the experts that participated in the Delphi panel.FindingsIn the opinion of the panel of experts, the implementation of QM models in the studied region has had a positive influence on company results, mainly through the improvement of operations, efficiency and the costs of companies' internal activities.Originality/valueThis is one of the first papers that show us the different impact of this kind of QM model in Europe.
Complex estimation of bending elasticity of hemp woven fabric after washing treatment
Authors: Mihailovic T. V. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the elasticity of hemp woven fabric under action of bending force, before and after washing treatment.Design/methodology/approachBending elasticity was monitored in three different ways: through the value of bending modulus, on the basis of fabric's resistance to creasing expressed through the value of quality number, and through the value of bending deformation components. On the basis of the results obtained from the mentioned three types of investigations, the complex criterion of quality of washed and unwashed hemp fabric, from the aspect of their elasticity, was formulated.FindingsValues of complex criterion as well as the values of bending modulus, quality number and total recurrent deformation pointed to the conclusion that investigated hemp fabric has, not good, but satisfied bending elasticity, especially after washing treatment. The values of bending deformation components served for establishing Frenkel's model of elastic behaviour under action of bending force of washed as well as unwashed hemp fabric.Practical implicationsShows that the way on which Frenkel's model was established might be interesting because of its simplicity.Originality/valueProvides information on the elasticity of hemp woven fabric before and after washing.
An experimental study on fabric softness evaluation
Authors: Zhang Peihua , Liu Xin , Wang Lijing , Wang Xungai 
Published: July 2006

PurposeTo examine a simple testing method of measuring the force to pull a fabric through a series of parallel pins to determine the fabric softness property.Design/methodology/approachA testing system was setup for fabric pulling force measurements and the testing parameters were experimentally determined. The specific pulling forces were compared with the fabric assurance by simple testing (FAST) parameters and subjective softness ranking. Their correlations were also statistically analyzed.FindingsThe fabric pulling force reflects the physical and surface properties of the fabrics measured by the FAST instrument and its ability to rank fabric softness appears to be close to the human hand response on fabric softness. The pulling force method can also distinguish the difference of fabrics knitted with different wool fiber contents.Research limitations/implicationsOnly 21 woven and three knitted fabrics were used for this investigation. More fabrics with different structures and finishes may be evaluated before the testing method can be put in practice.Practical implicationsThe testing method could be used for objective assessment of fabric softness.Originality/valueThe testing method reported in this paper is a new concept in fabric softness measurement. It can provide objective specifications for fabric softness, thus should be valuable to fabric community.
Structural relationships between organizational service orientation, contact employee job satisfaction and citizenship behavior
Authors: Varela González José , García Garazo Teresa 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of how organization service orientation (OSO) influences job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of customer‐contact employees.Design/methodology/approachQuestionnaires were carried out in 149 hotel firms. One customer‐contact employee and the manager provide the data in each hotel. The constructs were measured using existing scales. Structural equation models were used to examine the effects.FindingsThe empirical results enable one to identify the dimensions of OSO on which the managers of hotel firms should place greater emphasis in order to stimulate employee job satisfaction and OCB.Research limitations/implicationsThe results are limited by the specificity of the geographic context. It would be of interest to complete the model by incorporating other variables, such as employees' trust of management, role conflict and role ambiguity, and measures of performance such as service quality.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that managers must use service communicative leadership and service encounter practices to influence directly employee OCB and human resource management to improve employee job satisfaction and OCB.Originality/valueThe paper provides empirical evidence about the positive effect of the OSO on employee job satisfaction and citizenship behavior in the hospitality industry.
Reexamining the link between employee satisfaction and store performance in a retail environment
Authors: Keiningham Timothy L. , Aksoy Lerzan , Daly Robert M. , Perrier Kathy , Solom Antoine 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis research seeks to examine the generalizability/robustness of the findings in an exploratory study of the service‐profit chain using data from another Western European retailer operating in the same business sector.Design/methodology/approachThis study applies correlation and regression analyses on data gathered from 38,513 employee surveys from 107 grocery “superstore” locations to explore the link between employee satisfaction and business performance.FindingsThe findings differ significantly from those of the exploratory study. When looking at the relationship between employee satisfaction and store profitability, the correlation is found to be effectively zero. When controlling for the size of store, however, the relationship is found to be positive.Research limitations/implicationsThe results are based on cross‐sectional employee satisfaction data.Originality/valueThe original findings have received considerable exposure, being published first in the International Journal of Service Industry Management and later in the International Journal of Operations & Production Management. The results of this examination call into question the generalizability of the conclusions of the exploratory study using a larger data set in the same business sector and continent.
Measuring customer loyalty with multi‐item scales
Authors: Söderlund Magnus 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe contemporary interest in customer loyalty has resulted in a proliferation of multi‐item scales containing an aggregated mix of items that appears to reflect different aspects of loyalty. The most common application of this aggregation approach is to include two specific loyalty facets, repatronage intentions and word‐of‐mouth intentions, in the same loyalty measure and to proceed as if they reflect the same underlying construct. The purpose of this paper is to examine – and question – this practice in conceptual, methodological, and empirical terms.Design/methodology/approachTwo empirical studies in service settings were conducted and multi‐item measures were used to collect data on repatronage intentions, word‐of‐mouth intentions, and satisfaction. A structural equation model approach was used to compare an aggregated measurement approach with an approach which models the two loyalty constructs as two separate factors.FindingsThe results indicate that repatronage intentions and word‐of‐mouth intentions can indeed be seen as two discrete constructs.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that caution is called for when the investigator is measuring customer loyalty with multi‐item measures. Indeed, the lumping together of such facets as repatronage intentions and word‐of‐mouth intentions is likely to conceal significant aspects of loyalty per se and its relation to other variables in the nomological net.Originality/valueOnly a very limited number of existing studies measure customer loyalty with multi‐item scales and with an explicit assumption that several discrete facets of loyalty exist.
Sorting out the standards: what every records and information professional should know
Authors: Pember Margaret 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore the types of standards that exist for records and information management and examples of their use in practice.Design/methodology/approachThe article is based on literature and the author's own knowledge.FindingsFinds that standards provide a reference point for measurement, a global best practice benchmark against which to evaluate any record‐keeping program.Originality/valueThis article explores the types of standards that exist and examples of their use within records and information management. An overview of the value of standards as an essential tool of RIM practice is provided.
An archival/records management perspective on PDF/A
Authors: Sullivan Susan J. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis article sets out to explain the purpose of PDF/A, how it addresses archival and records management concerns, how PDF/A was designed to have “desirable properties of a long‐term preservation format”, and the future of PDF/A.Design/methodology/approachThe contents of this article are based on the author's knowledge and experience of the subject.FindingsIt is emphasized that PDF/A must be implemented in conjunction with policies and procedures, including quality assurance procedures to ensure acceptable replication of source material.Originality/valueThis article will be of interest to anyone working with PDF files. Work has already begun on PDF/A Part 2 which will be based on PDF 1.6. Application notes and a listing of frequently asked questions will be made publicly available to assist developers of PDF/A applications to better understand the requirements of the file format and provide implementation guidance.
Ethical dilemmas: the “bread and butter” of educational leaders' lives
Authors: Cranston Neil , Ehrich Lisa C. , Kimber Megan 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on research into the ethical dilemmas faced by school heads from seven independent schools in Australia.Design/methodology/approachData for the research were gathered by semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with the Heads, all of whom were experienced school leaders. All the schools had religious affiliations.FindingsThe findings are broadly consistent with the conclusions reached in other Australian and international studies dealing with school leaders which suggest that ethical dilemmas, usually concerning issues to do with staff or students, are so common now that they have become the “bread and butter” of educational leaders' lives. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the struggles school leaders experience when faced with such dilemmas and the forces at play as they seek to resolve them Typically, the dilemmas are not about “right” versus “wrong”, but “right” versus “right” options.Research limitations/implicationsIt is clear that the ethical dimensions of the work of school leaders require further investigation as ethical dilemmas are almost a daily occurrence for them as they strive to make complex decisions in the best interests of their school communities.Practical implicationsProfessional development in the areas of ethics and ethical decision‐making for school leaders is indicated. Problem‐based learning offers potential in this regard.Originality/valueThe research reported in the paper adds to, and builds on, the growing body of research into ethics in education, particularly how ethical issues emerge when school leaders are required to make complex decisions in contexts where individual, group and organisational interests may be in conflict.