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The purpose of this paper is to investigate multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) processes within a flow-line production-improvement activity. Investigation can lead to understanding of how a process improvement framework influences the decision and fulfillment of the potential to successfully change the operation process.

The improvement process selection (IPS) framework is built systematically by incorporating all related decision criteria with suitable tools required to select improvement alternatives. The process consists of three phases: identification, prediction, and selection. The IPS framework is validated through a case study of a company that was carrying out a flow-line production-improvement project.

The developed framework is used to prioritize the problem scope and select the solutions from various options. The case study illustrates the process through which the developed framework provided a systematic approach in identifying the solutions and achieving the desired performance improvement. Prediction result analysis shows the framework achieved sustainable process improvement changes and prevents management levels from higher risks in failure improvement. The feedback of the case study has verified the robustness of the framework.

Quantitative improvement tools, such as MCDM employed in the IPS framework are vital for better understanding of the improvement impact of changes. Thus, the improvement solution alternatives can be analyzed in more comprehensive ways by considering numerous performance metrics in order to select the best improvement alternatives.

The IPS framework can assist the company in determining optimal decisions in relation to selection of improvement alternatives. As a result, production performance can be affected positively.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the contributions of ISO 9000 initiatives towards improving manufacturing performance in the Indian manufacturing industry.

In this study, 96 manufacturing organizations have been extensively surveyed, to ascertain contributions made by ISO 9000 initiatives in the Indian manufacturing industries towards realizing manufacturing performance improvements. The correlations between various ISO 9000 implementation issues and manufacturing performance improvements have been evaluated and validated by employing various statistical tools.

The research focuses on the significant contributions of ISO 9000 implementation success factors like top management contributions, continuous improvement practices and ISO 9000 implementation initiatives, towards affecting improvements in manufacturing performance in the Indian industry. The inter‐relationships between various ISO 9000 implementation success factors with the manufacturing performance improvement parameters have been evaluated, to efficiently manage the ISO 9000 implementation program to realize organizational objectives of growth and sustainability.

The study establishes that focused ISO 9000 implementation over a reasonable time period can strategically contribute towards realization of significant manufacturing performance enhancements.

The study stresses the need for improving the coordination between manufacturing function and other organizational quality improvement initiatives in the organizations, to establish manufacturing as a competitive strategy for meeting the challenges of highly competitive environments.

The findings suggest that effective ISO 9000 initiatives can significantly contribute towards realization of strategic manufacturing performance improvements for competing in the highly dynamic global marketplace. These interrelationships can be used to understand the effect of various ISO 9000 success factors towards realization of organization objectives of growth and sustainability.

The study highlights the strong potential of ISO 9000 implementation initiatives in affecting organizational performance improvements. The achievements of Indian manufacturing organizations through proactive ISO 9000 initiatives have been evaluated and critical ISO 9000 success factors identified for enhancing the effectiveness of ISO 9000 implementation programs in the Indian context.

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance and also to examine the link between quality improvement and organizational performance.

The paper uses data from perceptions from managers in 255 electrical and electronics (E&E) firms in Malaysia and it develops regression and correlation analysis to test the relationships between soft factors, quality improvement and organizational performance.

The following soft factors were found to have significant influence on quality improvement: management commitment; customer focus; employee involvement; training and education; and reward and recognition. Organizational performance was significantly influenced by the following soft factors: management commitment; customer focus; and employee involvement. Finally, this paper empirically shows that firm performance will increase when the organizations implement more quality improvement practices.

The results of this paper can be used by managers to prioritize the implementation of the soft factors. For instance, those factors that are found to have a positive impact on quality improvement practice and performance can be recommended to managers so that they can allocate resources to improve these factors to achieve higher organizational performance.

This paper identifies the soft factors that can influence the quality improvement practice and organizational performance in E&E Malaysian firms.

Micro-enterprises have a vital role in the development of a nation by creating employment, encouraging entrepreneurship, balancing social income and educating the workforce. Yet, micro-enterprises face significant operational challenges such as low productivity, high production costs and long changeover times. These challenges are often overlooked by researchers and practitioners but have a drastic impact on micro-enterprises' operational performance. With over 95% of the economy consisting of micro-enterprises, it is vital to improve operational performance and competitiveness of the micro-enterprises.

Considering the data availability and practical challenges of gathering data from micro-enterprises, an action research methodology was selected as a suitable research method. Following the initial diagnostic visits, planned interventions were prepared and results were observed to gather data and draw conclusions.

Findings suggest that commonly adapted performance improvement initiatives by large enterprises cannot be directly applied in micro-enterprises to enhance operational performance. Micro-enterprises lack the critical resources and company culture to easily adapt these initiatives. On the other hand, when these performance improvement initiatives are filtered according to specific needs of micro-enterprises, continuous improvement initiatives were often found to be effective in improving operational performance. Specifically, 5S, single-minute exchange of dies (SMED), suggestion schemes, layout improvements, management coaching, visual management, empowerment were found to be useful and suitable to address command and control culture, low productivity, unorganised workspace, undelegated authority, low skilled employees and unwillingness to take responsibility problems.

Further research is required to investigate the specific factors that affect the adaptation of continuous improvement initiatives such as culture and industry type.

This research extends and contributes the current literature on continuous improvement initiatives by revealing how performance improvement initiatives need to be filtered according to the specific needs of micro-enterprises, and how these initiatives can be used to address specific problems to improve operational efficiency. It provides a conceptual framework to guide the decision-making process on operational performance improvement in micro-enterprises.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of human factors in quality management on quality improvement practices and organisational performance in the Yemeni industrial sector.

Data were collected via a quantitative survey with a questionnaire distributed to 261 managers from 87 industrial companies. Replies from 210 managers give a response rate of 80 per cent. Data were analysed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 16.0, including factor analysis, reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis. Structural equation modelling was carried out using Amos to evaluate the model and hypotheses.

Human factors influence positively quality improvement practices and organisational performance. Quality improvement practices positively influence organisational performance. Human factors indirectly and significantly influence organisational performance via the mediator of quality improvement practices.

The findings will be useful to both researchers and managers, especially those in Yemeni industrial companies. For further work, this study can be expanded to cover companies in other Middle East countries, and it may include more human factors.

The study is one of a few that investigate the influence of human factors on quality management. Additionally, this study is the first to carry out such research in the Yemen and the Middle East region.

The purpose of this paper is to identify ISO 9001's contribution to the five enablers of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model.

Empirical research was conducted in Cypriot ISO 9001 certified organizations to evaluate the motives that lead them to certification, the difficulties they faced during the standards' implementation and their performance improvement in the five enablers of the EFQM excellence model. Companies were asked to evaluate their performance in 85 issues related to these Enablers both before and after certification.

The results of the survey indicate the “most” and the “least” important improvements from ISO 9001 certification in the five enablers of the EFQM excellence model. The results also prove that performance improvement is statistically significant in all enablers and it is also significantly related to the companies' motives for certification.

Future research should focus on the least important improvement areas of certification and the appropriate methods and techniques to boost performance in these areas towards excellence, either during the implementation of the standard or after certification.

Shows the average improvement from ISO 9001 certification in key excellence areas. It also highlights the areas on which companies should focus after certification in order to improve their performance towards excellence.

Examines the performance improvement of certified organizations in relation to the five enablers of the EFQM excellence model.

In order to achieve competitive business goals, every enterprise needs to evaluate the current level of information systems performance and their utilization. The evaluation measures the technical capacity and operational capability of enterprise information systems and diagnoses their effectiveness in business goals and efficiency in resources. An integrated evaluation system is developed based on the continuous improvement model of information systems performance. The system has been applied to performance measurement of information systems with a huge set of data from Korean industries, and proven reliable and practical

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the performance improvement outcomes that result from the interaction of a performance regime and its context over more than a decade.

A series of partial free disposable hull analyses are performed to graph variations in performance for 13 services in 444 municipalities in one province for over a decade.

There are few examples of mass service improvements over time. This holds even for relative bottom performers, as they do not catch up to average municipalities over time. However, there is also little proof of service deterioration during the same period.

A limitation results from the high churning rate of the indicators. The relevance of refining indicators based on feedback from practitioners should not be dismissed, even if it makes the task of proving performance improvement more difficult. It is possible that the overall quality of services on the ground improved, or stayed stable despite diminishing costs, without stable indicators to capture that reality.

Not all arrangements incentives and structures of – performance regimes – are equally fruitful for one level of government to steer a multitude of other governments on the generalized path to improved performance.

With the insight that was not available to public managers putting together these performance regimes in the beginning of the 2000s, the authors offer a proposition: mass performance improvement is not to be expected out of intelligence regime. It neither levels nor improves performance for all (Knutsson et al., 2012). Though there are benefits to such a regime, a general rise in performance across all participants is not one of them.

Performance improvements are assessed under difficult, yet common characteristics in the public sector: budgetary realities where there are trade-offs between many services, locally set priorities, no clear definition of what constitutes a good level of performance, and changes in the indicators over time.

Increasingly line managers are expressing frustration at receiving incomplete performance solutions, weak return on investment, and less than expected results from performance support departments that claim to have the answer for improving business results. Often there are complaints that departments such as human resources, training, information technology, and quality operate in silos and compete against each other for success rather than working together to deliver complete solutions to performance problems. Proposes that we eliminate silos and deliver complete performance solutions by adopting a new performance vision, an enterprise learning and performance strategy, and a common human performance improvement (HPI) process. Provides a definition of HPI and a five‐phase HPI process as a starting point for performance improvement departments. Critical outcomes of the process are diagnosing workplace and learning barriers to performance and designing and implementing blended performance solutions that deliver comprehensive results. New roles, competencies, and approaches to developing performance improvement expertise are required in implementing performance interventions using an HPI process. Provides a glossary of performance terms and a checklist of recommended steps for starting the transformation to HPI.

A performance management system has been implemented by Cancer Care Ontario (CCO). This system allows for the monitoring and management of 11 integrated cancer programs (ICPs) across the Province of Ontario. The system comprises of four elements: reporting frequency, reporting requirements, review meetings and accountability and continuous improvement activities. CCO and the ICPs have recently completed quarterly performance review exercises for the last two quarters of the fiscal year 2004‐2005. The purpose of this paper is to address some of the key lessons learned.

The paper provides an outline of the CCO performance management system.

These lessons included: data must be valid and reliable; performance management requires commitments from both parties in the performance review exercises; streamlining performance reporting is beneficial; technology infrastructure which allows for cohesive management of data is vital for a sustainable performance management system; performance indicators need to stand up to scrutiny by both parties; and providing comparative data across the province is valuable. Critical success factors which would help to ensure a successful performance management system include: corporate engagement from various parts of an organization in the review exercises; desire to focus on performance improvement and avoidance of blaming; and strong data management systems.

The performance management system is a practical and sustainable system that allows for performance improvement of cancer care services. It can be a vital tool to enhance accountability within the health care system.

The paper demonstrates that the performance management system supports accountability in the cancer care system for Ontario, and reflects the principles of the provincial governments commitment to continuous improvement of healthcare.