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A shot in time appraisal of the development of TQM within a relatively small manufacturing unit (100 people). Details the unit’s original position, what methodology was used and who took responsibility for the implementation. Details the benefit gained by the exercise and a perspective from a team of people striving for continual improvement.

To examine the likelihood of successfully implementing activity‐based costing (ABC) in a university setting.

A case‐based method is adopted, through the survey of participants in one ABC implementation.

A positive association was identified between successful implementation and the involvement and support of senior management, though perceptions were found to vary according to the precise role of participants in the implementation process.

The data relate to a single Australian university, so that the findings are not necessarily generalisable elsewhere.

The alignment of the ABC system with the university's competitive strategy, continuous improvement programs and organisational culture, is important to a successful implementation.

The study compares the perceptions of users and preparers to the implementation process and identifies significant differences between the two groups.

There is a growing interest in applying continuous quality improvement (CQI) methodologies and tools to medical education contexts. One such tool, the “Are We Making Progress” questionnaire from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework, adequately captures the dimensions critical for performance excellence and allows organizations to assess their performance and identify areas for improvement. Its results have been widely validated in business, education, and health care and might be applicable in medical education contexts. The measurement properties of the questionnaire data were analyzed using Rasch modeling to determine if validity evidence, based on Messick's framework, supports the interpretation of results in medical education contexts. Rasch modeling was performed since the questionnaire uses Likert-type scales whose estimates might not be amenable to parametric statistical analyses.

Leaders and teachers at 16 of the 17 Canadian medical schools were invited in 2015–2016 to complete the 40-item questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the ConQuest Rasch calibration program, rating scale model.

491 faculty members from 11 (69 percent) schools participated. A seven-dimensional, four-point response scale model better fit the data. Overall data fit to model requirements supported the use of person measures with parametric statistics. The structural, content, generalizability, and substantive validity evidence supported the interpretation of results in medical education contexts.

For the first time, the Baldrige questionnaire results were validated in medical education contexts. Medical education leaders are encouraged to serially use this questionnaire to measure progress on their school's CQI focus.

Online stores sell thousands of products and services. Despite all care, mistakes can occur. These mistakes can have severe implications for the seller. A contract once formed is normally binding on the parties. The seller gets bound to sell at the mistaken price. Can an online seller get out of the contract on the ground that the price was a mistake? The only court judgement on the theme is Chwee Kin Keong v. Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd, a judgement of the Singapore High Court. With reference to the judgement, the case explores pricing mistakes by online stores.

A number of factors ranging from economic conditions to managerial self‐interest have contributed to today's unprecedented merger boom. But the tide may be turning as the public policy debate over mergers heats up. Most scenarios show a long‐range drop in merger activity. However, the need for an informed, rational national policy on mergers remains.

This paper describes the findings of a case study undertaken to investigate the status of total quality management in a UK higher education institution (HEI) using the self‐assessment methodology developed by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). The case study strategy involved six schools within the same HEI. Provides evidence to encourage implementation of staff development strategies which provide education and training to deans, assistant deans and all personnel involved in quality and performance improvement on the effective use of the EFQM model and the integration of the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency model with the EFQM model. The need to critically evaluate emerging models for quality and performance improvement prior to selection and implementation is emphasized. This study identifies a comparison of the EFQM methodology with the educational criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award as a key area for further research.

Informed by multiple disciplines, theories, and methods, higher education scholars have developed a robust and diverse literature in many countries. Yet, some important (organizational) sociological perspectives, both more established and more recent, are insufficiently linked. In particular, we identify two theoretical strands – institutional and relational – that, when joined, help to explain contemporary developments in global higher education and yield new organizational insights. We review relevant literature from each perspective, both in their general formulations and with specific reference to contemporary higher education research. Within the broad institutional strand, we highlight strategic action fields, organizational actorhood, and associational memberships. Within the relational strand, we focus on ties and relationships that are especially crucial as science has entered an age of (inter)national research collaboration. Across these theories, we discuss linkages between concepts, objects, and levels of analysis. We explore the methodological approach of social network analysis as it offers great potential to connect these strands and, thus, to advance contemporary higher education research in a collaborative era.

This research aimed to verify how the performance measurement system (PMS) and the quality management system (QMS) work in small and medium Brazilian enterprises in the light of the typology proposed by Garengo (2009).

Using a qualitative approach PMS’s and QMS’s managers were interviewed. The data from the first interview were analyzed using the technique of content analysis and have been subsequently triangulated with other data collected. The study was conducted by means of two questionnaires, two semi-structured interviews, and the analysis of the performance measures used by five small/medium manufactures based in the State of São Paulo.

It was found that in four out of five companies, PMS does not function singly, but along with QMS, mainly with respect to performance indicators. In spite of that intrinsic operation, the systems are in different stages of evolution. It was also found that in three out of five companies, quality management area is responsible for coordinating the process of PMS use, without effective participation from the controlling and/or accounting areas in this process.

The typology of Garengo (2009), used to check the stage of the PMS, was validated and can be used by practitioners to diagnose and improve the PMS in their enterprises; companies with QMS certified by ISO, particularly with higher degree of quality management maturity, can be encouraged to implement or improve the PMS in their organizations.