Considers TQM from a cultural perspective using the influence of Confucian work dynamism and Chinese cultural beliefs on Hong Kong companies. Asks if these cultural beliefs…
Abstract
Considers TQM from a cultural perspective using the influence of Confucian work dynamism and Chinese cultural beliefs on Hong Kong companies. Asks if these cultural beliefs conflict with modern quality management philosophy and presents the findings of research covering Chinese literature, experts in Chinese philosophy and Hong Kong TQM experts. Outlines research methods and concludes that there are relevant principles which can be used when implementing TQM.
Details
Keywords
Victor H. Y. Lo and T.K. Cheng
A survey instrument based on the fundamental concepts of TQM in BS 7850 was developed to measure employees’ motivation and behaviour towards practising TQM in Hong Kong…
Abstract
A survey instrument based on the fundamental concepts of TQM in BS 7850 was developed to measure employees’ motivation and behaviour towards practising TQM in Hong Kong. Principle‐component factor analysis was employed to analyse the data. Three factors were found, namely the technology, the system and the philosophy, with emphasis on different aspects of TQM. Factor scores were then computed and empirical results showed that there exist three dimensions of quality and that Hong Kong employees are more motivated by the technical aspects of TQM, such as reducing quality losses and continuous improvement. On the other hand, the philosophy aspect of quality has not been emphasized.
Details
Keywords
Victor H.Y. Lo and Alice Yeung
Operations management literature prescribes various practices in supply quality management (SQM). However, few studies have described the SQM practices being conducted in Asian…
Abstract
Purpose
Operations management literature prescribes various practices in supply quality management (SQM). However, few studies have described the SQM practices being conducted in Asian countries, especially in Hong Kong. The purpose of this study is to identify the critical SQM practices that conducted in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
We used in‐depth industrial interviews and extensive literature review to identify some critical items for evaluating SQM practices. Accordingly, an instrument was developed. We validated this instrument with 90 leading manufacturing related companies in Hong Kong by using SPSS 9.0.
Findings
Finally, we extracted ten critical factors for describing a SQM system. These factors could be clustered into three major groups namely supplier selection, supplier development and supplier integration.
Research limitations/implications
This paper has not discussed the relationships among SQM practices, supplier quality and organisational quality. For future study, it will be worthwhile to consider these interrelations.
Originality/value
The newly developed instrument could be used to measure the practices of supply quality management in Hong Kong.
Details
Keywords
EVERY method employed by librar ns to bring books to the notice of readers may be justified It is thus desirable to devote an occasional issue of THE LIBRARY WORLD to this…
Abstract
EVERY method employed by librar ns to bring books to the notice of readers may be justified It is thus desirable to devote an occasional issue of THE LIBRARY WORLD to this attractive subject. Our writers take differing views, but there is always a single aim in their work: to bring right book and reader into acquaintance. We might have to meet the challenge, which indeed one of our writers implies, that such book display may deflect the Library from its original, rightful purpose. Until these terms are defined such a challenge is a begging of the question. Often we have mentioned the question, For what public is the public library working? Was it intended to serve as an auxiliary, and then an extension, of the official education system? It has always indeed been more and less than that. Our founders were able to argue that libraries would withdraw men from beer and ill‐company, but from the first they probably failed to do that, and made their appeal to the intelligent elements in the community. As they developed and public education waxed, there grew up an enormous literature, available in early years in small quantity, the aim of which was entertainment only, and there survived—there survives still—a notion which was based on an earlier conception of books, that to read was somehow educative and virtuous, whatever was read. Librarians hold this notion in some measure to‐day, although the recent success of twopenny libraries which are mainly devoted to the entertainment type of literature must have made them revise the view somewhat.
Leo Yat Ming Sin and Suk‐ching Ho
Looks at consumer research in Greater China including Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Maps out the contributions within this area and guides future research. Examines the…
Abstract
Looks at consumer research in Greater China including Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Maps out the contributions within this area and guides future research. Examines the state of the art over the 1979‐97 period, with particular emphasis on the topics that have been researched, the extent of the theory development in the field and the methodologies used in conducting research. Uses content analysis to review 75 relevant articles. Suggests that, while a considerable breadth of topics have been researched, there remains much to be done, there is further room for theoretical development in Chinese consumer behaviour studies; and the methodologies used need improvement and further refinement.
Details
Keywords
Mauricio Castillo-Vergara, Diego Duarte Valdivia, Víctor Muñoz-Cisterna, Alejandro Álvarez-Marín, Cristian Geldes and Rodrigo Esteban Ortiz-Henriquez
This study developed a theoretical model to test the relationship between digital capability and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and its effect on innovation performance in small and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study developed a theoretical model to test the relationship between digital capability and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and its effect on innovation performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed theoretical model was evaluated using partial least-squares structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The data were obtained from a sample of 536 SMEs in Chile.
Findings
The proposed model presented two dimensions of digital capability: management and information and communication technologies (ICTs). Management models composed of enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management systems are essential for optimizing organizational management. Meanwhile, ICTs facilitate the smooth flow of information within an organization, leading to improved efficiency in production processes. I4.0 is encouraged by exposing SMEs to base technologies such as data analytics. These results confirm that I4.0 influences innovation performance.
Practical implications
SME managers should encourage the development of digital capabilities to transition toward I4.0, as this can make SMEs more competitive and innovative in changing and dynamic scenarios.
Social implications
I4.0 adoption and the development of digital capabilities can directly affect employment and national economic growth.
Originality/value
Most studies focus on the organizational factors affecting SMEs’ I4.0 adoption. They do not, however, address the role played by current digital capability in I4.0 technology adoption and its effect on firms’ innovation performance.
Propósito
Este estudio desarrolló un modelo teórico para probar la relación entre la capacidad digital y la Industria 4.0 (I4.0) y su efecto en el desempeño de la innovación en pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYME).
Diseño/método/enfoque
El modelo teórico propuesto se evaluó mediante el uso de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales de mínimos cuadrados parciales y análisis comparativo cualitativo de conjuntos difusos. Los datos se obtuvieron de una muestra de 536 pymes de Chile.
Resultados
El modelo propuesto presenta dos dimensiones de la capacidad digital: la gestión y las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC). Los modelos de gestión compuestos por sistemas de planificación de recursos empresariales y de gestión de relaciones con los clientes son esenciales para optimizar la gestión organizacional. Por su parte, las TIC facilitan el flujo fluido de información dentro de una organización, lo que conduce a una mejora de la eficiencia en los procesos de producción. La I4.0 se fomenta exponiendo a las PYME a tecnologías de base como el análisis de datos. Estos resultados confirman que la I4.0 influye en el rendimiento de la innovación.
Originalidad
La mayoría de los estudios se centran en los factores organizativos que afectan a la adopción de la I4.0 por parte de las pymes, pero no abordan el papel que desempeña la capacidad digital actual en la adopción de la tecnología I4.0 y su efecto en el desempeño innovador de las empresas.
Implicaciones prácticas
Los gestores de las PYMES deben incentivar el desarrollo de capacidades digitales para realizar la transición hacia la I4.0, ya que esto puede hacer que las PYMES sean más competitivas e innovadoras en escenarios cambiantes y dinámicos.
Implicaciones sociales
La adopción de la I4.0 y el desarrollo de capacidades digitales pueden afectar directamente al empleo y al crecimiento económico nacional.
Details
Keywords
- Industry 4.0
- Technology
- Innovation
- Small and medium-sized enterprises
- Enterprise resource planning
- Customer relationship management
- Industria 4.0
- Tecnología
- Innovación
- Pequeñas y medianas empresas
- Sistema de planificación de recursos empresariales (ERP)
- Sistema de gestión de relaciones con los clientes (CRM)
- O300
- O30
- O320
- O330
WE are always averse to indulging in any controversy that involves the booksellers. At the Brighton Conference a well‐known representative of the Booksellers' Association…
Abstract
WE are always averse to indulging in any controversy that involves the booksellers. At the Brighton Conference a well‐known representative of the Booksellers' Association delivered an address in which he asked for the co‐operation of booksellers and librarians. Our present President, Mr. Jast, assured him on behalf of the meeting that it will be forthcoming whenever possible. In America the Association of Booksellers works in the closest harmony with the libraries, using their publications, and booksellers and libraries mutually advertise and otherwise assist each other. It is rather painful to read in The Publishers' Circular, which may or may not represent British booksellers as a whole, that the Editor regards libraries as an expensive method of disseminating fiction which ought to be bought by readers; that libraries interfere with and compete with booksellers in a disastrous manner, and more to the same effect.
Identificar los aspectos que los Actores Sociales consideran en la construcción de futuros compartidos en las comunidades. En su aplicación en los países emergentes, especialmente…
Abstract
Propósito
Identificar los aspectos que los Actores Sociales consideran en la construcción de futuros compartidos en las comunidades. En su aplicación en los países emergentes, especialmente en el Sur Global, a menudo se pasan por alto las particularidades socioculturales de las comunidades y los actores, generando fricciones o conflictos sociales. Este artículo presenta dos elementos críticos que contribuyen al debate: a) la importancia de entender a los Actores Sociales dentro de un modelo de generación de futuros comunitarios en los países emergentes; b) los factores relevantes que influyen en los actores en un ejercicio de construcción de futuros en las comunidades.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
A partir de la investigación cualitativa, se utilizó un estudio de caso de prospectiva comunitaria del futuro: El futuro de Puerto Gaitán 2037 (Meta, Colombia). Se aplicó un método de recolección de información a partir de la observación de los participantes y el análisis de la documentación. El método de análisis fue el DQA (Análisis Cualitativo Deductivo).
Hallazgos
La participación de Los Actores Sociales presenta un modelo de cinco elementos relevantes que influyen en los actores para la construcción exitosa de futuros en las comunidades. Los primeros cuatro factores, revelados por la teoría, existen en la realidad. Asimismo, se demuestra un quinto factor: el Pensamiento a Largo Plazo, que se evidencia en un Modelo de aplicación de Estudios de Futuros para el contexto específico, aplicable al caso de comunidades en países del Sur Global.
Originalidad/valor
Si bien existen ejemplos aislados de recomendaciones respecto a estudios para generar el futuro de las comunidades, este es el primer estudio que presenta factores concretos que contribuyen a orientar la construcción de futuros comunitarios desde Actores Sociales, especialmente en países del Sur Global como Colombia. También es uno de los primeros estudios en utilizar el DQA como método de análisis en un tema de Estudios de Futuros.
Details
Keywords
IN October a well‐known literary periodical appeared for a single number in a bright‐red cover to signalise a certain change. Two months earlier we had altered our size, type and…
Abstract
IN October a well‐known literary periodical appeared for a single number in a bright‐red cover to signalise a certain change. Two months earlier we had altered our size, type and cover‐colour; for the last exchanging the decorous consistent grey of our outer garment for the summer yellow in which our two Conference numbers appeared. Some readers found this too gaudy, although the three colours which have most “attention value,” as the advertisement experts say, are yellow, red and Cambridge blue. We compromise on orange, which has warmth, and we hope will have welcome.