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This study explores a pedagogical approach to teaching students a collaborative information delivery process in the context of BIM. The objectives were to understand how students approach this complex, open-ended problem of planning their collaborative process and then identify strategies for improving their process through a plan-do-check-act cycle and reflecting on the applicability of industry standards.

The authors present a longitudinal case study based on qualitative data from the 3 consecutive years of teaching a senior undergraduate course in a construction engineering program.

The findings offer a rich picture of how students approached this collaborative process and emphasize the complex nature of teaching BIM as information management process. The authors present instances of how students made sense of BIM standards through applied experience. The findings also demonstrate the value of an outcome-based approach whereby knowledge is gained through an iterative plan-do-check-act cycle. Here, the BEP and model deliverables served only as vehicles to test and apply a range of skills by making them more explicit.

The research contributes to the literature on mechanisms that support students in planning, managing and improving collaborative information strategies in a BIM context. Specifically, the authors illustrate a tension in how to pedagogically deploy industry-oriented process planning methods to establish relevance for students in order to effectively engage in interdisciplinary teams.

In this paper, the authors argue that teaching students how to plan, design and enact effective BIM collaboration information delivery is firmly nested within pedagogical management and communication skills. The authors illustrate with examples how students make sense of BIM approaches by making them concrete and meaningful to their own experience.

This paper aims to outline the current status of the implementation of sustainability practices in the context of Italian public universities, highlighting the strengths and gaps.

Based on a qualitative approach, an exploratory study design has been outlined using the model of Glavič and Lukman (2007) focusing on the Deming Cycle. The Plan–Do–Check–Act components of the model were used as a framework for collecting and analyzing data from the official Web sites and other related Web pages of Italian universities.

The results of this exploratory study allow one to depict a university system addressing the challenge posed by international agendas in a fragmented way, even if many universities are showing a strong commitment to the sustainability challenge. Sustainability is mainly detected at the “Do” dimension, when referring to training programs and research projects associated to the sustainability issue.

Limitations of the data collection method are addressed when the timeliness of update of Web sources and the different emphases that universities can put on Internet disclosure are considered. However, the study contributes to the debate on sustainability by providing findings at a national level, which were derived from the official Web sites of Italian public universities. Furthermore, the study could have implications for policy makers and universities’ decision makers.

The study points out the importance of managing the sustainability process in all its phases (planning, activities, monitoring, further actions), and highlights the elements that are relevant for measuring and monitoring the process of implementation of sustainability in the specific context of higher education.

The paper can contribute to increase the academics’ awareness of the sustainability actions, and stimulate them to fill the gaps.

This study explores sustainability issue in the Italian university system, and it is based on a Web-based method of data collection, whereas other contributions are based on case studies.

World Health Organizations (WHO) (2023) states that governments and employers have a responsibility to uphold that right by providing work that simultaneously prevents workers from experiencing excessive stress and mental health risks. The business environment continues to produce a lot of stress on workers, which includes internal pressures to achieve results and employees suffer the consequences. Some companies have turned to mindfulness as a technique that helps mitigate these consequences and have joined Kaizen as a process improvement technique in the work environment. Therefore, this study has a research purpose: “to comprehend the possible linkage between Kaizen philosophy from an individual perspective, with Mindfulness ZEN Buddhism technique to understand the individual benefit (well-being) of each employee in organizations.” The answer to this represents the research gap in this article. The research questions governing this study are as follows: RQ1: Does Mindfulness is used as Kaizen technique of personal-individual improvement in 21st-century organizations? RQ2: What elements and characteristics of Kaizen and mindfulness can be found working together? And RQ3: Which qualitative impact of mindfulness and Kaizen in the workplace outcome (well-being, performance of the job (process)) and relationships with other employees)?

This research used a qualitative approach due to the recent phenomenon studied. In a certain way, it was used a mixed-method (combination of qualitative data – web search secondary data analysis and qualitative research-Convergence Model). First, it was done an intensive web search with the aim to identify companies' corporate mindfulness programs, along with companies which have applied mindfulness and Kaizen programs. It was identified a group of big companies with global and international presence (“famous” for their products and services) in diverse industrial and service sectors, country of origin and business locations; with the purpose of getting a holistic vision of all organizations which have practice Kaizen and mindfulness. Therefore, this study explored secondary data related to both practices, analyzing reports or briefings published in management magazines and official WEB pages and/or business magazines.

As a result of the triangulation of the data with its secondary data convergence model and qualitative research, a theoretical framework was reached that shows the benefits of the two combined twin techniques of Kaizen and mindfulness. The worker experiences a path that goes from concentrating on the execution of their processes, following their operating standards (Standardize, Do, Check, Act [SDCA] cycle), going through the evolution to continuous improvement or Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, experiencing work with concentration-awareness and reducing your daily stress, maintaining high sensitivity to the work process and your environment and finally, discovering an essential life purpose. Finally, worker experiences benefit when there is wide application of both with the SDCA and PDCA cycles such as high motivation, constant learning from your mistakes, day-to-day learning and the Munen Musso (not using the mind).

The main limitation is the qualitative methodological bias and secondary data research. In addition, to have a theoretical sample. However, the richness of the data helps to overcome this limitation. On the other hand, the qualitative research interviews are for a certain geographical area, therefore, the results cannot be generalized.

The results of this research can shed light on operations managers in the use of techniques for continuous improvement and improvement of people's quality of life, such as mindfulness. In Mexico, they are beginning to be used jointly (twin techniques) to comply with Regulation 035 of psychosocial risk, the researchers are sure that in other countries it will be used in the same way to comply with regulations. However, the research findings show the benefits that can be provided to workers in organizations by applying Kaizen and Mindfulness together.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, according to the literature review, this is the first article that explores the relationship between Kaizen and Mindfulness as twin techniques that help improve the individual quality of life of employees in organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to determine, first, the level to which ISO 9001 certified manufacturing companies adopt process management and improve quality, second, the latent factors of process management and quality improvement, and finally, the relationships between the latent factors extracted.

A research project was carried out in 196 ISO 9001 certified manufacturing companies operating in Greece. A structured questionnaire was designed and pilot tested and then addressed to management representatives of the companies. Descriptive statistics were used in order to determine the level of process management adoption and the level of quality improvement. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were also applied to extract the latent factors of process management and quality improvement and to assess their reliability and validity. The relationships between the latent factors were determined through structural equation modelling.

Two latent factors were extracted with respect to process management (the core process management practices and the supporting quality tools) and one latent factor with respect to quality improvement. The findings revealed that the ISO 9001 certified manufacturing companies implement to a high degree of the core process management practices, in contrast to the supporting quality tools. Notwithstanding, significant quality improvement is achieved. According to the structural model, the core process management practices have a strong, positive and direct effect on quality improvement. The supporting quality tools have an indirect effect on quality improvement through their significant correlation with the core process management practices.

This paper describes a reliable and valid model that analyzes process management in two latent factors (the core process management practices and the supporting quality tools). The model also depicts the effects of these latent factors on quality improvement of ISO 9001 certified manufacturing companies.

On 15 December 2000, the International Organisation for Standardisation published a new series of ISO 9000 standards. There are significant changes in this third edition standard. Several specific surveys and analysis revealed the key concerned areas of the certified companies and the significant changes in the new standard are on the key system areas. Develops a new model explicatory to assist those certified organisations to link their concerned areas with that of the new standard. In this model, management activity is the key element. The information can be used in the analysis to determine the areas for continual improvement. Reveals that top management are still weak in the adoption of quality management systems, establishment and implementation of the quality policy and objectives. Recommends use of SMART approach. At the same time, certified organisations spend a lot of effort for the compliance with the process approach management. Discusses the benefits of using process approach management. Besides the plan‐do‐check‐act approach in continuous improvement, introduces the Xerox Management Model. Finally, introduces the consideration of improving quality management systems in areas of effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, flexibility and adaptability, rather than product.

Offers a case study describing how the Fossil and Hydro Power (F&HP) Organization of the Tennessee Valley Authority ‐ a finalist for the 1995 Presidential Award for Quality ‐ has taken information from feedback reports and other sources, and developed a strategy for implementing areas of opportunity into its core business. The strategy expands the plan‐do‐check‐act logic into a plan‐do‐knowledge‐act model which couples assessment information with theory ‐ in the form of the conceptual guidelines of the Baldrige criteria ‐ to create knowledge. Details how the model has been implemented at F&HP over the past three years, and describes the resulting accomplishments.

Investigating the beginning of project management (app. 30 BC) with a focus on business models similar to the “PDCA” cycle, the purpose of this paper is to find an approach which could be used as a new standard procedure for the eradication of projects in Lean project management.

Based on literature research of models similar to Walter A. Shehwart’s three-step and Edward W. Deming’s four-step (PDC(A)) wheel, the investigated models are interconnected to form a new concept which represents an innovative cycle logic proposed to be applied in Lean project management. This new cycle logic is rolled out on three different levels, which are transferred from the Lean management hoshin kanri model to Lean project management. In addition to literature research, semi-structured interviews were performed to get an indication as to the integration of Lean management (with a focus on PDCA) in project management today.

It was found that the “Check Plan Do” cycle is a Lean variant of the “Plan Do Check Act” model that is already used in consulting projects in practice, partially appears in project management standards, in governance models of ambulance, fire services, human aid and military forces and in quality management models of Six Sigma, design for Six Sigma and an excellence model of the European Foundation for Quality Management. To ensure continuous improvement it was found that the new CPD cycle can be used on different “planning” levels in analogy to the hoshin kanri logic.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, a discussion as to how the PDCA cycle can be adapted to Lean project management, considering the implication of business models similar to the PDCA wheel, has not yet been conducted within the field of project management.

This paper aims to explore whether the principles behind improvement methods and the underlying learning orientations of ambidexterity have the potential to support the managing of ideas for implementation.

By combining improvement methods and ambidexterity, this study presents a pragmatic framework for innovative working with a scientific underpinning linked to organizational learning.

The descriptive stages in the plan-do-check-act method for improvement are instructive in their focus on progress and helpful in untangling the more explanatory nature of ambidexterity to frame innovative working.

Although the framework’s usefulness for innovative working is subject to future studies, the implementation, validation and results of the framework in pilot research may contribute to the body of knowledge.

The proposed framework can be used in teaching the key role of strategic leadership to explore and exploit over time. The framework has the potential to guide innovative working in practice by making better use of the employees’ tacit knowledge in such a way that they are empowered to explore new ways of defining problems and searching for solutions to improve organizational performance. The results of the implementation will impact the employees’ quality of life.

This study advances the current understanding of how the seemingly contradictory activities of exploration and exploitation can model an integrative learning approach.