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Discusses an application of total quality management (TQM) concepts in education. Applies the concepts to a quality management programme for industrial and engineering managers. Covers both the aspects of syllabus design and the operation and monitoring of the programme with this application. The application is based on the ISO 9000 quality assurance management system. Proposes that the concepts and ideas presented will help educators ensure that the objectives of the programmes will actually be pursued.

Many graduates, especially those in the more practical disciplines such as engineering and social science, often take up employment in a manufacturing or service enterprise, doing work of a managerial/administrative nature. Even recent graduates will often find themselves managing a sub‐system of an organisation such as materials purchasing, finished stocks, or quality control. This is particularly true in the smaller companies of the developing countries, where the graduate is usually one of a few professional employees reporting directly to the owners.

Many lower‐level management jobs do not allow managerial talent to manifest itself. Management training exercises are required to identify and develop this talent. These exercises are invariably handicapped by participants providing what they think is the required response rather than their true impression. Ghiseili's Self Description Inventory offers an effective method of identifying and assessing the strength of those personal qualities, traits and abilities which lead to effective management. To explore its application in evaluating a management training exercise, two business games were used as the management training exercise using a total of 158 participants, mainly practising managers. The Self Description Inventory is successful in describing the effects of a management training exercise. A close study of the Ghiselli questionnaire itself may help with the development of management training materials.

Presents the results of a study on the value of producing a standard type quality manual using the definition mode zero (IDEF0) format. IDEF0 was developed for the integrated computer‐aided manufacturing (ICAM) program of the US Air Force. ICAM was established with the objective of improving the productivity of aerospace contractors, and IDEF0 is a graphic modelling tool for generating instructions that are clearer and easier to understand. A pilot test and a survey were conducted to gauge the response of local workers in terms of how readily they were able to understand the contents of a quality manual written in both a conventional language and the IDEF0 format. The results of the pilot test and survey are very encouraging, with around 70 per cent of the subjects reporting high efficiency, clarity and legibility of the quality manual writing using the IDEF0 format.

Some of the work on managerial skills and traits is reviewed. This covers the problem of establishing the traits and skills involved in effective management and the difficulties encountered when attempting to measure them. The work of Ghiselli is used as the main reference for managerial traits, and that of Mintzberg for managerial skills. Problems of assessing these qualities when selecting managers at entry and higher levels are discussed and some comments on cross‐cultural differences are also included. The work on traits and skills can help those involved in management development to design more effective training programmes to develop or enhance a particular management skill.

This article examines how cultural values influence managerial styles. Differences between Western and Asian cultures are discussed. Managerial practices in companies in Hong Kong that are run by both local Chinese and by Western management are discussed, and compared with American and Japanese style of management. The relative importance of cultural values and the level of industrialisation in the society is considered, and the influence of the level of technology on management style, with particular reference to changes that have taken place in management of Hong Kong enterprises as they have developed, is also discussed. The general conclusion appears to be that the management style is a function of the level of industrialisation, but is tempered by cultural characteristics.

The primary objective of this paper is to ascertain the impact of supplier quality management (SQM) on the quality performance of manufacturing companies operating in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) area of Southern China.

Path analysis is used to build a model that demonstrates how SQM contributes to quality performance and also the constructive effect of supply quality on organizational quality performance. Data were collected from 138 manufacturing and manufacturing‐related companies in the PRD. Hypotheses were formulated by means of the published literature and interviews with experienced industry personnel.

The path model indicates that SQM practices contribute significantly to quality performance and also illustrates the constructive effect of supply quality on the overall quality performance of the organization. Results also indicate that TQM philosophies can act as an essential driver in SQM implementation.

The study is confined to the PRD of Southern China and only examines the interrelationships between the constructs of TQM values and SQM practices. Several insignificant paths between SQM and quality measures should be further investigated.

The model developed can be used to help companies improve their current supplier management systems and can also aid the implementation of new supplier quality management systems. The findings should also be useful to those companies seeking to source from the PRD.

The paper explores the role that SQM plays in minimizing operating costs, in shortening delivery times, and in improving overall quality performance along a demand chain. The results reinforce the need to enhance the competitiveness of the business units along a demand chain through better management of the supply functions.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of privacy and perceived security on the level of trust shown by the consumer in the internet. It also aims to reveal and test the close relationship between the trust in a web site and the degree of loyalty to it.

First, there is an explanation of the main attributes of the concepts examined, with special attention being paid to the multi‐dimensional nature of the variables and the relationships between them. This is followed by an examination of the validation processes of the measuring instruments.

Specifically, the study reveals that an individual's loyalty to a web site is closely linked to the levels of trust. Thus, the development of trust not only affects the intention to buy, as shown by previous researchers, but it also directly affects the effective purchasing behavior, in terms of preference, cost and frequency of visits, and therefore, the level of profitability provided by each consumer. In addition, the analyses show that trust in the internet is particularly influenced by the security perceived by consumers regarding the handling of their private data.

The results of this study provide several managerial implications for companies in this sector. Suggestions are offered for national and international organizations involved in regulating these markets.

The results of this research remedy, to a certain extent, the scarcity of empirical studies that have designed and validated measuring scales for the concepts of privacy, security, trust and loyalty to the internet, as well as testing the relationships between them.

The discipline of Operational Research (OR) has always been important in the management field. It has a problem‐ solving/decision‐support focus; it guides the development of many management disciplines, such as management accounting, logistics management, and information systems design, to name a few. It is, in brief, a vital subject for guiding management practices and management development. Because of that, it can appear disturbing to note that contemporary OR has been facing a number of challenges and is obsessed with a number of theoretical/methodological concerns. Two recent examples illustrate this situation:

The purpose of this study is to present a conceptual framework to guide the design, development, implementation and evaluation of education and human resource development (HRD) efforts in Ghana.

This paper draws on the concept of a tempered radical approach to provide a framework for a critical HRD (CHRD) and explore ways by which this view can contribute to developing HR who possess the requisite tools and character to function efficiently in the 21st century and beyond. This paper followed a multidisciplinary integrated literature review approach. This paper also reviewed relevant models and theories that align with the goals of this research to provide a broader view of the problems with HRD in Ghana and to help develop a framework that seeks to provide a sustainable guide for those involved in HRD activities in Ghana.

A positive outcome from the synergistic alignment between modern science and indigenous ecological knowledge moderated by the principles of CHRD will result in economic growth and development. HRD’s contribution to economic growth and development and its consequential benefit to the actors will depend on how best CHRD goals are accomplished.

The mediating role of the tempered radicalism will help modify the swiftness with which education and HRD programs are executed in Ghana.

This paper presented the tempered radicalism approach as the quintessential model for education and HRD initiatives in Ghana. The application of tempered radicalism in HRD literature is novel.