David Lascelles

Total quality management adoption: revisiting the levels

Describes six levels of TQM adoption (or lack of it) which are termed uncommitted, drifters, tool pushers, improvers, award winners and world‐class. The levels are not necessarily the stages which organizations pass on their TQM journey, rather they are characteristics and behaviour which organizations display in relation to TQM at one point in time. Finds that the levels can be used as a positioning model to aid organizations in identifying their weaknesses and help them in taking the next steps forward in the continual challenge of continuous improvement. The characteristics underpinning the six levels are also helpful in highlighting different perceptions of progress at different levels of the organization, with respect to continuous improvement. Argues that the characteristics of the more advanced adoptions should provide the requisite inspiration to those less advanced to highlight the type of issues to which attention needs to be given.

Examining the Barriers to Supplier Development

The barriers to supplier development are examined under the broad headings of: poor communication and feedback, supplier complacency, misguided supplier improvement objectives, the credibility of the customer as viewed by their suppliers, and misconceptions regarding purchasing power. Key steps involved in a supplier development programme are listed.

Levelling out the future

Research carried out at the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology over a ten‐year period has led to the authors identifying six levels of TQM adoption. The article examines all six in detail, moving from level one: uncommitted, through to level six‐ world‐class. Agues that the levels are not inevitable for every organization as it progresses through a TQM project, but they do indicate common characteristics and behaviour in relation to TQM. Focuses on Uncommitted, Drifters, Tool pushers, Improvers, Award winners and World‐class organisations, giving examples of activity typical to each category. Concludes by inviting managers to consider the six levels of TQM adoption and place their organization in one of them.

The key issues of a quality improvement process

SUMMARY A recent study of the quality improvement process in a cross-section of UK manufacturing industry has been carried out. This paper discusses how organizations become motivated to improve their product and service quality, the ways in which the quality improvement process can get started, the barriers to improvement, and the key factors for success. It is pointed out that the quality improvement process is a form of organizational change which requires the intervention of powerful change agents, of which demanding customers are the most influential. To succeed, quality improvement needs the commitment and effective leadership of the chief executive and his senior management team. The quality improvement process should be part of a wider business improvement strategy rather than a stand-alone programme.

Quality Improvement: What is the Motivation?

Quality improvement is a strategic process which requires a breakthrough in the traditional resistance to change generally experienced in most companies. The management of quality improvement is in reality the management of organizational change. So how do organizations become aware that they need to change their approach, behaviour and attitudes to the issue of quality improvement? This paper discusses some possible quality improvement change agents, including: the Chief Executive; competition; demanding customers; a greenfield venture (which may be created artificially); and a restart situation. The case studies presented also outline the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of the change agents in specific situations.

Eight challenges of servitisation for the configuration, measurement and management of organisations

Purpose There is an extensive research literature on servitisation and the related field of product-service systems that has emerged independently from different fields including engineering, management, design and environmental studies. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a structured literature review to explore, identify and synthesise the multi-disciplinary research challenges in the journey towards servitisation. Design/methodology/approach The research approach is a systematic literature review using key word searches and citation tracking for research reported between 1990 and 2013 in research databases that cover the fields which have generated the body of knowledge. Findings One of the key findings from the extant literature on servitisation is that it suffers from three fundamental weaknesses. First, numerous studies are conceptual in nature with limited practicality. Second, there are relatively few empirical studies, and often the findings relate to a single case study based on the insights of a limited number of senior managers. Third, often the dynamics are insufficiently studied in these organisations because data for most cases are collected post-event. Research limitations/implications Based on the literature review and its shortfalls, this paper proposes a holistic framework of eight themes that require further attention from academic researchers in order that a more complete conceptual understanding of servitisation is developed to support practice. Practical implications Each theme in the framework has an associated list of questions that can be addressed through research and presented to managers as a challenge agenda to improve their servitisation efforts. That servitisation is associated with differentiation and competitive advantage makes this a valuable approach for managing corporate performance. Originality/value Research from multi-disciplinary sources is synergised in order to develop an overarching servitisation agenda that transcends domain-based boundaries. This paves the way for an approach to servitisation that is coherent and harmonious.