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After the “quantity era,” today higher education has entered into the “quality era” and as “the gate keepers of quality,” quality assurance agencies (QAAs) are playing more and more irreplaceable important roles and their social status are becoming more and more prominent. However, how to guarantee the quality of the QAAs? Who can review the QAAs? The purpose of this paper is based exploration of these questions.

Following the founding of the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR) for Higher Education, the Asia Pacific Quality Register (APQR) became the second in the international quality assurance (QA) networks to implement QA register, in 2015 with initiative of Asia-Pacific Quality Network.

This paper first retrospects the history and process of APQR, and subsequently the implementation of APQR is described in detail from the two aspects of the criteria and the procedure, and at the end, the paper concludes with a summary of the three characteristics of this first formal implement of APQR: APQR is an international register open to all the QAAs; APQR emphasizes characteristics evaluation of diversity; and APQR highlights the combination of quantitative assessment and qualitative assessment.

Today on the international stage of QA, APQR has emerged as “the watchman of quality” in the Asia-Pacific region as counterpart of EQAR in Europe. How far away does such newly emerging form of guaranteeing the QAAs’ quality go forward, what is its future prospects and other concerning issues, are some of the question that need enthusiastic attention and contribution.

The reasons for the high level of interest in quality standards and quality management have arisen because of the continued growth in world trade and the need of countries for an ever‐increasing strategy to have access to the world markets. The far‐reaching political changes in many countries, coupled with the transition to market economies and the desire to participate in the global market‐place, contribute well to the interest. The design of questions in the questionnaire was based on the people’s thinking, concepts or philosophies of the published ISO quality standards. The amalgamation of these useful thoughts, concepts and philosophies would help in developing some quality management strategies that will lead to business excellence performance. This paper outlines the methodologies and bases used in the design of a questionnaire for the investigation of ISO 9000 quality management system status in Hong Kong. The survey itself also assesses the state of development of quality management aspects and identifies the business management strategies that suit the needs of Hong Kong.

To analyze the changes in the perceived benefits of ISO 9000 with the passage of time.

An empirical survey of 399 companies conducted in 2002 in Catalonia (region of Spain).

ISO 9001: 2000 registered organizations report benefits to a lesser extent than their ISO 9001/2/3: 1994 registered counterparts across all studied benefit categories. Considering that the new standard is supposed to be a much improved version of the old one, these findings are then contrasted with the results of an almost identical survey performed in 1998. The discussion demonstrates that the perceived benefits of the ISO 9001/2/3: 1994 implementation have also decreased over time.

These findings may indicate that ISO 9000 will eventually fade away due to the lack of short‐term reasons to implement yet another version in the future, unless substantial long‐term benefits are proven. In July 2002, when this survey was conducted, the number of ISO 9001: 2000 registered companies was still small, constraining more in‐depth research in this field.

This is one of the first papers trying to analyze the benefits and the implications of ISO 9001: 2000. On the other hand, it is probably the first paper that evaluates the evolution of such benefits over time.

Seeks to analyze changes in the perceived benefits and costs of ISO 9000 implementation over time.

Results of two surveys, performed in 1998 and 2002, with 283 and 399 Catalonian companies participating, respectively, are presented, compared and analyzed.

There has been a significant decrease in the perception of ISO 9000 implementation benefits from 1998 to 2002. However, most companies still believe that ISO 9000 is beneficial overall. ISO 9000 implementation and maintenance costs have substantially decreased in the same four‐year period.

In July 2002, when the second survey was conducted, the majority of the participating companies were still registered to one of the old versions of the standard, namely ISO 9001/2/3:1994. The findings support the notion that ISO 9000 standards are limited in providing a set of concrete benefits over time.

The outcome of the study contributes to a better understanding of the temporal nature of the impact ISO 9000 requirement standards have had on companies.

This is one of the first papers that analyses the benefits and costs of ISO 9000 implementation over time.

Understanding the contribution of the use of proper language to thinking development and learning processes, served as the basis of this study. The purpose of this study is to learn from parents, teachers and teacher-trainees whether their view of efficient teaching also relies on the teacher’s use of proper language.

In total, 308 teacher-trainees, teachers and parents participated in this mixed-method study. Completing a questionnaire with open and closed questions, they were asked to rate a teacher’s professionalism via a written reflection, thereby gauging their perspectives in regard to important teacher characteristics.

The main finding was that teachers’ intercultural knowledge and understanding of their students’ diversity were perceived as significantly more important than their language register. Participants did not argue that language was not important, but did not necessarily refer to it while assessing the teacher’s professionalism. No significant differences were found between the chosen three groups of participants.

Although this study included a large number of participants, it is the first of its type. As far as is known, no other study has been published in regard to people evaluating teachers’ professionalism on the basis of their language level as expressed in written reflections.

From previous studies, it is taken for granted that people will evaluate teachers’ professionalism according to the language they use. Nevertheless, this study presents different perspectives that might allow the development of different and teaching and assessments methods.

Addresses the question of whether registration is appropriate for the sales and marketing divisions within companies in the light of Kodak Ltd′s experience of registering the marketing, sales and Customer service department of their Health Sciences Division to Marketing Quality Assurance. Looks at the reasons behind their registration, considers that weekly meetings and newsletters were essential in keeping the process flowing smoothly. Highlights the emphasis placed on Training, especially the audit sessions. Describes how improvements have been measured by benchmarking, using employee and customer Surveys.

The applicability of ISO 9000 as a quality system for part of a medical physics and bioengineering service is discussed. Its link with concepts of total quality are considered. Prerequisites for implementing such a system are top management commitment and staff awareness of its value.

Outlines how Girobank adopted TQM management techniques for the financial services sector. Illustrates the way Girobank gained commitment to the project from management and employees in Girobank′s operations directorate through workshop training sessions. Diagrams shows how quality projects can translate into direct financial benefits and improvements in customer satisfaction ratings. Lists the achievements of the project during the past three‐and‐a‐half years and concludes with a summary of the benefits of embracing TQM at Girobank.

This monograph presents some findings, based on four pieces of work funded by the Department of Trade and Industry, on the influence of the National Quality Campaign on UK industry. Amongst the main conclusions are that the campaign material has been relatively successful in reaching its prime target of senior management, the majority of respondents have found the material to be useful and believe that the campaign has benefited their organisation in terms of increased awareness of the importance of total quality management and that few chief executives are actively involved in the process of quality improvement. It is also pointed out that respondents have been selective in their choice of material and chief executives were more discriminating than their subordinates. The selection of material appears to be dependent upon brochure content, respondents′ position in the organisational hierarchy and respondents′ perception of the relevance of material. There is little doubt that people have high expectations of Government in continuing to promote national awareness of quality management and disseminating quality‐related information. The monograph goes on to explore possible future initiatives along the lines of a Pan‐European dimension.

The article examines the usage and relative importance of quality measurements in the UK’s largest service companies. The authors analyse the relationship of both internal and customer‐based quality measurements to the importance placed on accreditation to an ISO 9000 standard. The effect of process structure is explored by categorising the service firms as being in front‐room or back‐room dominant service sectors. The authors find that the service firms, which consider accreditation to be important, have a different emphasis on quality than other service firms do. Significantly, their emphasis shifts from one that is in line with their process structure to a more balanced one, where both internal and customer‐based quality measurements receive similar attention. This leads them to conclude that accreditation to an ISO 9000 standard can make a profound difference to the way quality is perceived and measured in large service firms.