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The conventional wisdom of managers in the US dictates that improving product quality will increase the cost of making the product which will either increase the price or reduce the profits. Shows that improving the quality of a product or service will not necessarily increase its manufacturing cost. Obtains information on fundamental theories and case histories from business literature and uses evidence to support the hypothesis from the case histories of several US companies which have achieved higher quality with lower quality costs and improved profitability. Examples from the literature include the case histories of companies such as Florida Power & Light, Globe Metallurgical, Motorola, and Westinghouse Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division. These examples indicate increases in return on assets, improved customer satisfaction, increased market share, and increased revenues and profits. Suggests that a company which can achieve successfully both higher quality and lower cost will have improved productivity, lower manufacturing costs, better quality, greater customer satisfaction, a higher market share and greater profitability.

The failure rate of TQM interventions exceeds 75 per cent. Contends that it is missteps in the implementation of TQM – and other associated change efforts such as process re‐engineering – that undermine the likelihood that the intervention will contribute in a significant and lasting way to the competitive effectiveness of the organization. Using three case examples of TQM efforts, suggests that the implementation process must succeed in unhooking the organization from its traditional hierarchical and functional moorings and reattach it to horizontal, cross‐functional processes. To do this, the intervention process must address six distinct but interconnected stages of unhooking and reattachment and do so in a logical, sequential way.

THE VALUE OF ABSTRACTS AND THEIR USE ‐ MCB is not a company to rest on its laurels. In the vernacular of modern‐day management literature, the company can rightly claim to be a learning organization; one that seeks to regenerate and develop itself in accordance with current trends, most notably those in customer and market requirements.

This paper is the second from a series of three, addressing human resource practices using best practice examples. The analysis covered is based on the experiences of organizations that have won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) in the USA. The sub‐criteria covered in this benchmarking comparative analysis covers the following areas: human resource planning and management; employee involvement; employee education and training; employee performance and recognition; employee wellbeing and satisfaction. The paper concludes by reflecting on the likely implications for health‐care professionals working in the human resource field.

Since 1987, 17 businesses have won the US Baldrige Quality Award, established to promote awareness of quality management among US businesses. Assesses the financial and competitive performances of these 17 companies. Previous research with respect to the quality‐performance relationship has shown a positive relationship between quality improvement and financial or market share performance. Finds that while substantial improvements in operations performance characteristics among Baldrige Award winners have coincided with the implementation of quality improvement programmes, these improvements have not always resulted in financial success. Firms should therefore view quality improvement programmes as a method for building a strong competitive foundation, not as a panacea guaranteed to result in economic health.

The idea of providing quality products that are responsive to customer needs is not new. Before the Industrial Revolution, artisans interacted directly with customers to make products based on uniquely articulated requirements. The process of fulfilling demand was simple. But when mass production, product standardization, and division of labor became the norm, this closed‐loop relationship was severed.

Discusses recent developments and innovations in total quality management (TQM). Defines and outlines principles of TQM as advanced by leading management theorists and looks at the role of process variation. Examines why TQM has been adopted in the Aerospace and Defence Industries and how they have defined the practice. Finally, looks at the application and results of TQM implementation at one aerospace company.

In this special abtracts edition of the Journal of European Industrial Training, material has been selected from a wide range of international journals which form part of the Andar coverage list. Such an editon provides an ideal forum to expose industrial trainers to a wide variety of relevant articles, some from journals with which there may be familiarity, others, the RSA Journal for example, which may be less well known, but on occasion provide quality, pertinent information, of interest to those involed in industrial training.

Briefly reviews previous literature by the author before presenting an original 12 step system integration protocol designed to ensure the success of companies or countries in their efforts to develop and market new products. Looks at the issues from different strategic levels such as corporate, international, military and economic. Presents 31 case studies, including the success of Japan in microchips to the failure of Xerox to sell its invention of the Alto personal computer 3 years before Apple: from the success in DNA and Superconductor research to the success of Sunbeam in inventing and marketing food processors: and from the daring invention and production of atomic energy for survival to the successes of sewing machine inventor Howe in co‐operating on patents to compete in markets. Includes 306 questions and answers in order to qualify concepts introduced.

At different points in time, energy harnessed from nuclear technology for commercial purposes has been qualified as atoms for peace, too cheap to meter, unsafe, sustainable, and emission free. We explore how these associations – between nuclear technology (a category used in a descriptive way) and qualities such as emission free (a category used in an evaluative way) – are materially anchored, institutionally performed, socially relevant, and entrepreneurially negotiated. By considering all these factors, our analysis shows that it is possible to understand how and why categories and their meanings continue to change over time. We flesh out the implications of these observations and suggest avenues for future research.