Search results

Examines the emerging ideology of total quality management and summarizes its implications for further and higher education institutions (FHEIs). Rather than prescribing a set of generic implementation steps, it is suggested that there are other, more significant factors to be considered. These factors are related to the context in which the initiative takes place rather than where it should begin. Discusses four necessary issues, namely, the removal of abstraction from the concept of quality in further and higher education, organization‐wide understanding of customers and their perceptions, the importance of assessing the current quality level and the need for strategic quality planning. Also cites classical organizational facets such as structure, culture, human resource management and leadership among the determinants of TQM success. Concentration on these key matters attenuates the importance of the method of implementation. Argues that to disregard these prerequisites for success is to risk long‐term damage to the organization and considerably reduce the likelihood of sustained and self‐generating organizational improvement. Concludes by questioning the real levels of commitment which exist in FHEIs at present.

The article examines the emerging paradigm of total quality management and summarises its underlying theory and principles. The relationship between quality assurance and total quality management is discussed with reference to ISO 9000. Higher education institutions are aligned with a service organisation model and the resultant implications for the development of a TQM culture are outlined. These issues include the emphasis on a team ethos, a greater focus on the marketplace, the identification of customers, the pursuit of continuous improvement and the strengthening of feedback linkages from the environment. Potential problems with the adoption of such service sector models are mentioned in the context of scholarship and the commercial quality terminology of “zero defects” and “right first time” thinking.

Synthesizes 12 factors from the literature which are likely to influence organizational transition from ISO 9000 registration to TQM. All 12 factors relate to the roles and responsibilities of senior executives. Applies some of these factors to a sub‐group of 37 selected companies further to test four hypotheses formulated in an earlier paper. These factors define many of the conditions necessary for the continuance of TQM and are subsequently used to identify those companies which were likely to encounter problems sustaining their TQM initiatives. Presents further empirical data from the second phase of a longitudinal study of these companies over the period 1992‐1996. These data show which companies were continuing with TQM and which (ten) had declared it a failure. Highlights a further 13 which are at risk of having terminal problems with TQM. Rather than use these data for “headline” purposes, recommends deeper exploration to identify possible causes of difficulty.

Extends previously published work which discussed a survey of senior executives in 682 organizations and concluded that commitment to ISO 9000 implementation left considerable room for improvement. Reviews the peculiar ISO 9000 implementation difficulties of small organizations as reported in the literature elsewhere. Provides further analysis of the previous survey data, especially the attitudes and behaviours of senior executives, revealing differences in ISO 9000 implementation practice associated with organization size, sector and country of ownership, based loosely on the work of Argyris comparing espoused behaviours with behaviours in use. Small organizations are shown to have particular problems in terms of understanding the purpose of ISO 9000, methods of measuring its business impact, and knowledge of where the potential benefits might lie. While not using consultants any more often, small organizations do permit them to write more of their system documentation. Conversely, small organizations have a greater tendency to subject the whole organization to the scope of the standard, yet they are less likely to go beyond ISO 9000 to TQM. Sectorally, textiles, general manufacturing and engineering show most positive orientation to ISO 9000, with retailing and services least. Concludes that small organizations should assess themselves against these findings to ensure that a comparative lack of resources is not merely an excuse for lack of resolve.

This paper is the first of two which seek to further the debate about the role and value of ISO 9000 as a route to TQM. In particular, outlines a framework by which the next phase of a longitudinal study of 115 ISO 9000 registered organizations may be conducted. Shows that very little empirical work has been published which explores this transition beyond ISO 9000 to TQM. Moreover, what literature does exist is divided on the issues, for example on whether or not it is beneficial to obtain ISO 9000 before embarking on TQM, or vice versa. Examines the importance of two aspects of senior executives’ mindset, namely their understanding of ISO 9000 and their motivations for pursuing it. Presents preliminary data which suggest that these two factors may have an important influence on future progress towards TQM, and postulates that the success of organizations already practising TQM will be dependent on their levels of understanding and their differing motivations. The second paper will complete this discussion by dealing with other factors relevant to this transition as raised by other authors and concludes by outlining tangible ways in which an organization can build on ISO 9000 to proceed towards TQM. Factors discussed in these two papers will form the basis of analysis of the next phase of this longitudinal study, which was initiated in 1991.

Reports on research into the attitudes and behaviours of senior executives with respect to ISO 9000. The study was carried out in Northern Ireland among 682 organizations in the public and private sector using a postal questionnaire as the survey instrument. Reviews the criticisms and concerns about ISO 9000 and highlights the importance of senior executive commitment. While commitment is shown to be a complex concept which has yet to find universal agreement, it is suggested that some of the current criticisms of the standard may be symptomatic of lack of such commitment. Outlines some behaviours indicative of commitment in an ISO 9000 context. Finds that understanding of the purpose of ISO 9000 is an important preliminary step in this implementation process. While most senior executives have a passing awareness with the name of the standard, they do not appear to be so clear about its purpose. Finds that high levels of consultancy intervention have made no significant improvement in terms of either understanding or measurement of financial benefits of ISO 9000. Concludes that the real test of senior executive commitment will arise during the phase beyond ISO 9000 registration.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

The aim of this paper is to argue for the values of familial caring and relationships in addition to the provision of social media technology during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong.

The discussion of this paper has adopted an inter-disciplinary approach by integrating health care system and psychological analysis, based on cultural philosophical argument through the hermeneutic approach of classical texts and critical analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the dilemma between the public health measures for COVID-19 and sustaining elderly social psychological health through familial connection. From a Confucian perspective, the practice of filial piety (xiao, 孝), which demands taking care of parents, is essential for one’s moral formation, and for one’s becoming a virtuous (ren, 仁) person. The necessity of taking care of elderly parents by adult children is not something that can be explained in terms of consequentialism. Indeed, the rising trend of instrumental rationality seems to weaken rather than strengthen the sense of filial obligation. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic which tends to separate connections between family members, the author argues that we should emphasize the values of familial caring and relationship because it enhances the elderly’s characteristic of resilience.

This paper shows that while social media technology has mitigated the negative effect of social distancing, such online relationships should never replace the bodily connections between the elderly and their family members from a Confucian perspective.

It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.