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The purpose of this paper is to survey and analyze current process improvement (PI) approaches, their empirical results reported in the literature, and develop accordingly a conceptual framework and implementation guidelines.

A literature review of the popular business database to search for case studies and empirical research on PI methods was conducted. The empirical evidence on success and failure factors were inferred and tabulated. Based on synthesis of the lessons learned from this empirical evidence along with concepts drawn from economics, and operations management, a conceptual framework is developed.

It was found that the framework would serve as a diagnostic tool for identification of, and recovering from root causes of problems and inefficiencies faced in business environments. The framework proposed synthesizes and extends earlier PI tools and basic approaches used for mitigating disruptions faced in operations practice. The framework design consists of three main phases: Specify; Analyze; and Monitor closely. Accordingly, it is denoted by SAM.

Decision makers can be altered to both the success factors and causes of failure of different PI approaches, and a framework is provided along with implementation guidelines that help assure practical effectiveness of PI efforts. The guidelines provided for practicing managers comprise two categories: specific; tool‐based, and general; system‐based.

The contribution of this paper is two fold: first, empirical evidence on the drivers of success and failure of four main PI approaches, were synthesized. These include: six sigma, benchmarking, reengineering and process mapping. Second, based on this empirical evidence, a conceptual framework that guides both the choice and implementation of business process improvement programs is developed. The proposed framework and its implementation guidelines help assure actual effectiveness of PI practice.

Telecommuting continues to be a topic of interest for practitioners and researchers alike. There are significant numbers of employees currently involved in telecommuting around the globe. Organizational implications, global workforce implications and the scarcity of scholarly publications make this research topic one that warrants our further investigation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the literature to identify the substantive work, examine the state of this phenomenon as of to date, particularly the failure and success factors, provide valuable insight to the practitioners and research directions to researchers

An extensive literature review was conducted in an effort to identify the significant, substantive work to date. We reviewed two major business data bases and limit our review to refereed journals because of the rigorous review process that these articles go through before publication.

A schema was identified to help categorize topics found in the literature. A framework model is proposed to further explore the relationships between the motivating factors for telecommuting and the resulting outcomes from telecommuting programs.

The literature review and the model should be useful information for both practitioners and researchers in a variety of disciplines including management, communication, and information technology.

Few published papers have attempted to thoroughly review the telecommuting literature. Many of the articles concentrate solely on the individuals who telework. This review, looks at many facets of the telecommuting phenomenon like the workers, their managers, the organization as well as the technological and environmental issues.

The purpose of this paper is to test a method for improving decision‐making at a tactical level – i.e. at the shop floor level. This is done by testing the use of the binary sorting algorithm (BSA) to improve decisions concerning quality improvement efforts among machine operators in a plastics manufacturer.

The method used was the “action‐research” approach since the researchers were actively involved in the training, implementation, and use of the BSA.

It was found that using the BSA to prioritize quality improvement efforts by machine operators reduced the “scrap‐from‐line” rate in a plastics manufacturer.

The study should be replicated in different companies and industries using multiple methods because action‐research is limited in its generalizability. Also, since the researchers are actively involved in the process, our observations could not be considered objective.

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first application of the BSA to improve decision‐making at a tactical shop‐floor level in a manufacturing company.

Addresses quality management issues of both conceptual and practical significance. The contribution is twofold: first, conceptual issues and critical relationships which have been overlooked in the current literature are discussed, as well as their policy implications. Second, a contingency approach for managing quality is proposed to guide implementation, and to help reduce the deviations between the desired and the actual outcomes of quality programs. The contingency model developed provides a basis for advancing both theory and practice.

The general principles of TOC can be applied to improve the performance of service organizations. A classified model is proposed for such applications based on Schmenner’s classification of service organizations. The flow of “material”, inventory and throughput is identified at various service organizations of the four quadrants of the service matrix. The definition of these terms might be dependent on the service. Since system constraint is at the heart of TOC, the recognition of the nature of organization constraint is the first step towards continuous improvement.

As health care moves from a fee‐for‐service environment to a capitated arena, outcome measurements must change. ABC Children’s Medical Center is challenged with developing comprehensive outcome measures for an employed physician group. An extensive literature review validates that physician outcomes must move beyond revenue production and measure all aspects of care delivery. The proposed measurement model for this physician group is a trilogy model. It includes measures of cost, quality, and service. While these measures can be examined separately, it is imperative to understand their integration in determining an organization’s competitive advantage. The recommended measurements for the physician group must be consistent with the overall organizational goals. The long‐term impact will be better utilization of resources. This will result in the most cost effective quality care for the health care consumer