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Since sustainability is an optimization between physical (both natural and man-made), economic and social dimensions of development and conservation, plans, policies and applications in rapidly growing metropolises play a pivotal role for manifestation of this challenge. This article consists of three inter-related parts. First, core issues of a sustainable master plan are identified from a wide range of readings of the current literature. Second, as one of the most populated and rapidly growing metropolises of the world, Istanbul's master plans between 1980 and 2009 are evaluated in terms of their convenience to the core issues of sustainability. Finally in context of sustainability, the actual position of Istanbul is criticized on the basis of some additional qualitative and quantitative data. The above-mentioned core issues are: urban compactness, sustainable transportation, conservation of historical heritage, a clear balance between nature and man-made environments / permeability of the built environment (for natural corridors), protection of vulnerable natural assets, rehabilitation of natural ecosystems, natural resource management, a place-based economy, control of the population pressure over the environment, (low-income) housing, provision of social equity and cultural diversity. Consideration of these issues aids in analyzing the main policies of the three master plans (1980, 1995 and 2009) in context of sustainability on the one hand and picturing today's Istanbul, on the other. In fact the gap between planning and the actual situation is a characteristic problem for developing countries where illegal developments are almost legitimate. In these countries, planning also suffers from guiding development in sustainable terms due to lack of institutional capacity, participation and inadequate legal arrangements. In brief, this article focuses on the reasons and consequences of such a gap in the case of a rapidly growing metropolis.

This chapter introduces and discusses spirituality in the workplace from the lens of corporate culture. Organizational members represent the core embodiment of businesses, while their performance signifies vitalization of strategic goals that heavily depends on their sense of wellbeing and belonging to their organizations. In that sense, organizations must indulge on positive cycles to comprehend, tune, and affix on members' well-being for sustainable longevity and profitability. For this chapter, strategic management capsulates implementation of premeditated objectives via systematic establishment of agendas and deployment of assets. In the same vein, spirituality is centered around the self-induced nature of organizational member behaviors. Elaboratively, authors provide a condensed corpus of research to identify and touch base with the multidisciplinary nature of spirituality in differentiating business types. Accordingly, select constructs are exemplified within the general and sub-fields of management to characterize the linkages of spirituality spanning across service and production focused industries. Based on their expertise, authors exemplify tourism and hospitality literature for the representation of service-focused businesses and provide mini-review of the housed organizational spirituality literature. As a secondary focus, authors discuss the employee, management, and organizational level similarities of spirituality by largely focusing on organizational member perceptions. Distinctively, this work exemplifies the prolific studies to help distinguish longstanding “belief-centric” devotions from organizational spirituality of exemplified industries. The chapter finishes with suggestions for future studies.

The purpose of this paper, brake friction material samples with six different contents were produced using three different fiber types consisting of variable proportions of huntite mineral and basalt, glass and steel fibers. The friction properties and formation of the transfer film in these friction materials were investigated.

Friction materials were produced using a hot molding method from materials containing 10%–15% huntite in varying proportions, consisting of basalt, glass and steel fibers. The densities and hardness values of the samples were measured. Friction tests were performed using a brake pad friction material tester to determine tribological properties. After the friction tests, microscopic examination of the sample surfaces was performed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and three-dimensional (3D) surface profilometer devices.

Huntite mineral content and fiber type affected the friction coefficient. With an increase in the amount of huntite, the friction coefficient increased in the friction material samples formed with glass and steel fibers. The fiber type and amount of huntite also affected the transfer film formation. The surface roughness values of all the friction materials decreased with an increase in the amount of huntite. The surface roughness values of the samples with glass fibers were higher than those of other samples.

The importance of using huntite minerals and different fiber types in automotive brake friction materials is emphasized. This will help industrial companies and academics study the tribological properties of friction materials.

As markets, economies and institutions are increasingly globalized, there is a growing understanding of the need to introduce intercultural learning alongside business learning. Participating in a study abroad program is potentially one of the most important experiences for any college student. Such programs provide students the opportunity to immerse themselves in different cultures and gain new perspectives. The purpose of this paper is threefold: to identify the main factors that students consider when selecting a program; to integrate quality function deployment (QFD), benchmarking and Hoshin Kanri in the analysis of student expectations and to examine the implications for research and practice.

The study was based on primary data collected from 180 students at four universities. To design an approach that helps students in the selection of a program that best satisfies their expectations, a self-designed questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were analyzed using the techniques of QFD/benchmarking. Finally, a long-term strategy is proposed based on the Hoshin Kanri theory.

The great variability in student expectations presents a challenge in designing a methodology of selection; however, it does help in identifying the most important student expectations. A key, balanced relationship among academic quality, having fun and cost cannot be ignored in this study because they represent the factors that are altogether influential in the decision to study abroad. In the current literature, the key variables of study abroad programs are discussed; however, most studies fail to incorporate student expectations. This paper will fill this gap by incorporating both key academic variables and the voice of the customer (student).

Given the diversity of the population, the authors developed several methodologies to standardize the array of student responses to the questionnaire. Using this standardization along with several total quality management (TQM) tools allows us to simplify and categorize the different student expectations. The gathering of students’ expectations directly provided by students (voice of the customer) allows international programs to focus on the real problems and expectations that have been acknowledged, thus yielding student satisfaction with their experience, most importantly, in their field of study.

For universities, the current study identifies new means by which to improve the quality of international programs with the use of TQM tools including QFD, benchmarking and the Hoshin Kanri Planning Process with an evidence-based real case.

This paper presents a conclusive application of QFD, benchmarking and Hoshin Kanri and an analysis of how these tools can help international programs with future improvements incorporating the needs of students in their programs. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first application of these techniques to improve the international experience for business undergraduate students.