Yvonne Lagrosen and Frederick T. Travis
– The purpose of this paper is to explore possible connections between brain functioning and quality management.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore possible connections between brain functioning and quality management.
Design/methodology/approach
Five central principles regarding brain functioning according to neuroscience are conceptually described and related to principles and major concepts in quality management with a special emphasis on Deming’s system of profound knowledge.
Findings
The principles are shown to be related in a profound way. The first principle of coherence is closely related to appreciation for a system. The principle of homeostatic feedback loops concerns events that disturb the equilibrium of a system and is related to knowledge about variation. Neural plasticity is related to a theory of knowledge. The last two principles involve emotional and cognitive contributions to decision-making. They are closely related to the element psychology and one of them could lead to a further development of Deming’s system of profound knowledge.
Research limitations/implications
The paper adds to the understanding of the role brain integration has for success in quality management efforts. A limitation is that it is difficult to localise higher-order thinking in brain function. Nonetheless, the research is indicative and provocative as a window to stimulate research into the fundamental basis of quality management success.
Practical implications
The findings provide a deeper understanding of profound knowledge in quality management through relating it to how the brain is functioning, which is of value for quality managers and leaders striving for excellence for their organisations.
Originality/value
The connection of brain principles with Deming’s profound knowledge has not been elaborated in the literature before.
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Yvonne Lagrosen, Frederick T. Travis and Stefan Lagrosen
In this paper, research leading to quality management success is examined, elaborated, and highlighted in a new profound way by focusing on the most fundamental aspect of the…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, research leading to quality management success is examined, elaborated, and highlighted in a new profound way by focusing on the most fundamental aspect of the human dimension, the brain. The purpose is to examine the relationship between brain functioning and quality management success. In this examination, the role of core values, profound organizational learning and values of quality management are explained.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on a conceptual review of research in the areas of quality management success, values of quality management, core values and neurophysiology with focus on brain integration.
Findings
The relation of core values with brain functioning is described based on previous research. A framework with logical steps from brain integration, via core values, quality management values and quality management practices to quality management success is developed.
Research limitations/implications
The paper adds to the understanding of the role brain integration has for success in quality management efforts. A limitation is that it only builds on previous research.
Practical implications
The findings provide a deeper understanding of quality management success and should thus be valuable for quality managers and leaders striving for excellence for their organisations.
Originality/value
The importance and crucial role of brain integration for quality management success has not been elaborated in the literature of quality management before.
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Yvonne Lagrosen and Frederick Travis
The purpose of the paper is to examine variables to be included in a measurement instrument which measures workplace learning related to recent research into quality management…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to examine variables to be included in a measurement instrument which measures workplace learning related to recent research into quality management and brain functioning.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was conducted, investigating measures of workplace learning as well as the connections between brain functioning and management. Further studies will use the brain integration scale to compare levels of brain integration with measures of workplace learning.
Findings
The variables “empathy”, “presence and communication”, “continuity”, “influence”, “development”, “work-integrated learning” and “flow” were found to be relevant from the literature review to be tested for inclusion in the measurement instrument. A measurement model with these variables included has been developed.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is conceptual in its nature. Empirical studies are needed to validate the propositions.
Practical implications
The proposed measurement instrument can be used by managers to gain insight into underlying mechanisms in the organizational culture that influence employees’ learning and potential for development. Thus, it can aid managers to achieve profound learning in their organizations, which is necessary for continuously maintaining high quality of products and services.
Social implications
For society, the implementation of the proposed measurement instrument in companies could lead to better health and higher job satisfaction among employees.
Originality/value
Traditional ways of measuring working environment are rarely connected to brain functioning of the employees. Only requiring small resources, this approach adds to an understanding of underlying mechanisms.
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Dennis P. Heaton, Jane Schmidt‐Wilk and Frederick Travis
Clarifying constructs, methods, and measures for systematic research can advance knowledge about spirituality in organizations. In this paper, we define constructs of pure…
Abstract
Clarifying constructs, methods, and measures for systematic research can advance knowledge about spirituality in organizations. In this paper, we define constructs of pure spirituality, applied spirituality, and spiritual development. We survey research methods for exploring spirituality in organizations – including not only objective studies but also subjective experience for personal growth. We consider five indications of spirituality – health, happiness, wisdom, success, and fulfillment – and identify research instruments for each based on measures used in prior studies of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation program. Research is seen as valuable for assessing the practical applications of spirituality for the individual, organization, and society.
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The following are portions of a paper, bearing the title as above, which was read before the Royal Society of Arts on April 18th, 1945, by Sir Edward V. Appleton, LL.D., F.R.S.…
Abstract
The following are portions of a paper, bearing the title as above, which was read before the Royal Society of Arts on April 18th, 1945, by Sir Edward V. Appleton, LL.D., F.R.S., the Secretary of the Department; Sir Henry Dale, P.R.S., presiding.
Chester Whitney Wright (1879–1966) received his A.B. in 1901, A.M. in 1902 and Ph.D. in 1906, all from Harvard University. After teaching at Cornell University during 1906–1907…
Abstract
Chester Whitney Wright (1879–1966) received his A.B. in 1901, A.M. in 1902 and Ph.D. in 1906, all from Harvard University. After teaching at Cornell University during 1906–1907, he taught at the University of Chicago from 1907 to 1944. Wright was the author of Economic History of the United States (1941, 1949); editor of Economic Problems of War and Its Aftermath (1942), to which he contributed a chapter on economic lessons from previous wars, and other chapters were authored by John U. Nef (war and the early industrial revolution) and by Frank H. Knight (the war and the crisis of individualism); and co-editor of Materials for the Study of Elementary Economics (1913). Wright’s Wool-Growing and the Tariff received the David Ames Wells Prize for 1907–1908, and was volume 5 in the Harvard Economic Studies. I am indebted to Holly Flynn for assistance in preparing Wright’s biography and in tracking down incomplete references; to Marianne Johnson in preparing many tables and charts; and to F. Taylor Ostrander, as usual, for help in transcribing and proofreading.
Travis L. Wagner and Bobbie Bischoff
This chapter deploys qualitative interviews with employees of rural South Carolina cultural institutions to assess the state of their rural community archives in order to…
Abstract
This chapter deploys qualitative interviews with employees of rural South Carolina cultural institutions to assess the state of their rural community archives in order to understand both the practices and needs of the institutions within their relationship to larger, traditional archives with the aim to better understand national trends around community archives.
The research uses open-ended qualitative interviews based on snowball sampling focused on cultural institutions in populations defined as “rural” by the state of South Carolina. Using snowball sampling allowed for communities to self-identify other cultural institutions previously overlooked in surveys of rural South Carolina archival holdings.
Findings from the interviews provide new community-defined understandings of both practices and needs of rural community archives. Valuable insights include the following:
A clear awareness on the part of rural community archives of their relationship to larger practices of archiving
Notable moments of creativity by rural community archives concerning long-term self-sustenance
A continued need for low-cost, low-barrier methods of digital outreach for both preservation and communication
A more direct stream of access to grant funding favoring community archival practitioners over user-based research funding
A clear awareness on the part of rural community archives of their relationship to larger practices of archiving
Notable moments of creativity by rural community archives concerning long-term self-sustenance
A continued need for low-cost, low-barrier methods of digital outreach for both preservation and communication
A more direct stream of access to grant funding favoring community archival practitioners over user-based research funding
While many examples of community-based archival practice exist within British, Australian, and New Zealand research, such studies remain sparse and entity specific within the United States. This continued lack of case studies and models for understanding and aiding rural, community archives within the United States is only amplified when divided by regions and states. By focusing directly on the concerns of practitioners working to preserve and make available localized histories, this research illuminates both the incredible agency of rural community cultural institutions while re-conceptualizing the needs of such groups.
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In this study, workplace spirituality is discussed in the context of remote work and the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the focus is on the changes in the meaning and function of…
Abstract
In this study, workplace spirituality is discussed in the context of remote work and the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the focus is on the changes in the meaning and function of employees in the organization during the evolutionary process of industrialization and management paradigms. Afterward, conceptual frameworks for spirituality and workplace spirituality are presented, and in the last section, academic studies that deal with workplace spirituality with distance or hybrid work arrangements are included. Early studies offer insights and recommendations on conceptualizing, developing, and managing workplace spirituality. They all emphasize that spirituality is necessary for remote work as a tool to overcome stress and mental health problems and increase employee well-being. Unfortunately, the remote work and workplace spirituality literature is relatively narrow and needs to be expanded.
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THE Woolwich Borough Council have made the retirement of Dr. Baker from the post of Borough Librarian the opportunity of adopting the reactionary policy of dividing the Woolwich…
Abstract
THE Woolwich Borough Council have made the retirement of Dr. Baker from the post of Borough Librarian the opportunity of adopting the reactionary policy of dividing the Woolwich library system into three independent parts. They do not propose to fill Dr. Baker's post, and have made three members of the staff librarians‐in‐charge of the Woolwich, Eltham, and Plumstead libraries. Within recent years West Ham and Lewisham have adopted a similar policy; while an opposite course has been taken by Southwark and Westminster. It is obvious that an already limited income will be even more inadequate when it is administered in three separate parts. A small temporary advantage may accrue to certain localities of the borough, but the library service of the borough as a whole is bound to suffer. There is plenty of evidence that the greatest library service can be given to a district when the libraries form one organic whole. So much for the present; now for the future. Woolwich is growing rapidly in some localities, and when the inevitable library extension is required, what is going to happen ? Each of the older districts is going to be mulcted of a part of its already far from adequate share in order to finance still another separate administration. Instead of the Borough library service under one administration becoming increasingly efficient with the growth of the district, it is going to remain a series of small and comparatively ineffective units. Then there is another aspect of the question which touches us even more closely professionally. If library systems are going to be divided in this way, men and women are not going to be found willing to go through the long and special training necessary for an administrative librarian, because the position of “librarian‐in‐charge” is no return for such training. In this way, if this policy is going to spread, a much more serious blow still will be struck at the library efficiency of the country.