David Longbottom

Excellence in knowledge management: an empirical study to identify critical factors and performance measures

Knowledge management (KM) has emerged in recent times as a phenomenon with wide‐ranging implications for organizational innovation and competitiveness. Supporters argue that as organizations understand the value of KM, they have the opportunity to establish long‐term internal strengths, which will lead to external competitive advantage. Further, we find the current literature advocates that KM can be implemented in every organizational discipline. KM is approached from several different perspectives, and a number of these are used to structure our paper and identify emerging factors in: strategy, human resources management (HRM), information technology (IT), total quality management (TQM), and marketing. This paper presents a summary of key responses to a recent survey of FTSE 100 companies conducted by the authors, which shows that KM is an extremely popular management topic, yet relatively few organizations have serious implementation programs in place. Also presented are findings from longitudinal studies of six case organizations, which have been approaching and deploying KM over the last three years. The academic arguments for organizations to be proactive in KM are strong and compelling. Our research identifies the critical factors that respondents feel are vital for successful KM implementation, and these provide a basis for a further stage of the study which considers how best to develop appropriate performance measurements.

The need for education and training in the use of the EFQM model for quality management in UK higher education institutions

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.

Benchmarking in the UK: an empirical study of practitioners and academics

Presents the results of a study undertaken to investigate the status of benchmarking within the UK. Results from primary research show that some very successful projects have been undertaken, and that levels of interest among practitioners is high. Presents evidence of the impact of benchmarking projects on performance improvement, and identifies the critical factors for transfer of best practices between organizations. Results also reveal, however, that benchmarking may not be so well established as has been suggested within the literature. Presents evidence to show current trends, which reveal that many projects are narrowly focused, may be wrongly selected, and may miss vital opportunities for improvement. Identifies four areas for future discussion and research. These consider the important areas of the link between benchmarking and the strategic planning process, the development of customer benchmarking methods, the critical factors for transferring best practices across organizations, and the adaptation to post‐modern attitudes to benchmarking.

Leadership best practices for sustaining quality in UK higher education from the perspective of the EFQM Excellence Model

– To deepen the understanding and to encourage further research on leadership best practices for sustaining quality improvement in UK higher education institutions (HEIs)., – The literature on leadership provides the theoretical context for the survey of quality managers from 42 UK HEIs. A mix of questionnaires, interviews, and hypothesis testing, was used to explore the critical factors for effective leadership and to obtain descriptive accounts of leadership best practices, which led to the development of a conceptual framework for effective leadership for academic quality., – Identifies and categorizes leadership practices into “weak”, “good”, “best”, and “excellent” on the basis of efficiency and effectiveness of each practice in sustaining academic quality improvement. It provides a conceptual framework for improving “weak” leadership practices., – The exact nature of the association between “effective leadership” and sustainable “levels of academic quality improvement” has not been explained. This requires further research. International generalization of the findings would require the sample size of 42 UK HEIs to be extended to include institutions from other countries with similar education systems – such as the USA and Australia., – Academic quality planners will become more aware of the need to improve the tasks and activities constituting leadership processes. The emphasis on a structured approach to self‐assessment of leadership performance has the potential to reverse the ranking of leadership second to processes in UK HEIs., – It provides explicit definitions of “weak”, “good”, “best” and “excellent” leadership practices, which UK HEIs adopting the excellence model developed by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) may find useful in the assessment and improvement of leadership performance towards academic excellence.

Managerial leadership for total quality improvement in UK higher education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness of the critical role of “managerial leadership” in total quality management (TQM) implementation in UK higher education institutions (HEIs), and to encourage further research on how to sustain management and leadership best practices for total quality improvement in higher education.Design/methodology/approach – A critical review of the literature on managerial leadership provides the theoretical scope which led to the setting of research objectives. The objectives were achieved through a survey of academics and non‐academics responsible for teaching and research quality improvement in a sample of 42 UK HEIs between the period 2000 and 2005. A mix of questionnaires, interviews, inductive analysis and hypothesis testing, was used to explore, describe and to explain the nature of the relationship between the degrees of efficiency and effectiveness of quality management practices in the participating UK HEIs.Findings – The analysis of the survey re...

Real quality: Does the future of TQM depend on internal marketing?

Abstract This paper seeks to contribute to the debate about the current status and future directions for Total Quality Management (TQM) and Business Excellence. The review of literature examines the foundations of TQM and Business Excellence, the critical issues involved in implementation, and the evidence of impact on performance. The primary research seeks to investigate these issues further by studying TQM implementations in companies over a number of years. Primary research includes a longitudinal case study analysis of 20 organisations (1996–2004), a discourse analysis based on interviews with staff engaged on TQM implementation, and a questionnaire survey. The results identify that there are significant issues with the way TQM is being implemented, and that these may be contributing to negative feelings and a reduced level of interest. Our conclusions suggest that in many cases TQM has lost its way. We discuss the reasons for this and propose that a root and branch review is necessary to re-vitalise interest. This we believe will require a significant re-positioning of TQM, a different approach to implementation, and a return of focus to its core values.

Service improvement: lessons from the UK financial services sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate service improvement initiatives within a major UK bank, and assess issues which may have contributed to the current financial crisis.Design/methodology/approach – Primary research includes a survey of bank staff and longitudinal on site interviews and observations over a period of five years.Findings – It is found that service improvement initiatives have focused on the use of popular business models, SERVQUAL, balanced scorecard, and European Business Excellence Model (latterly with elements of Lean). Results show that participant perceptions towards these models are generally negative, with a high incidence of failure to achieve expected results and negative organisational consequences. The paper examines the reasons for this and assesses alternative approaches now being piloted.Research limitations/implications – The results are case specific and may therefore not be generalised. The findings however present some rich insights into issues arising in...

Can emotional scaling methods improve quality in services

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the role that deep emotional feelings play in relation to process/service re-design and process/service improvement. It suggests that attention to these dimensions may be vital for successful and sustainable outcomes. It investigates whether these dimensions are accommodated within popular change methods such as the European business excellence model (EBEM) and the balanced scorecard (BS). Design/methodology/approach – An emotional value (EMVAL) scale is tested and applied using survey methods on a large sample of staff engaged in change and improvement initiatives. For the purposes of comparison, two separate business units are selected; one unit following EBEM/BS methods; one unit following EMVAL. Findings – The findings show that significant improvement in employee perceptions of successful outcomes occurs when applying EMVAL methods. There is also evidence of tangible performance improvement in the form of customer satisfaction, reduced cost, and efficiency gai...

Discourse and Knowledge Matters: Can Knowledge Management Be Saved?

The Knowledge Management (KM) literature is reviewed with a focus on theory, finding a core issue in the lack of a widely accepted and understood definition of knowledge. Theories are categorised on the bisecting continua of personal vs. organizational knowledge, and reified knowledge vs. knowledge as social action. It is argued that a fresh approach based on the Discourse Psychology framework, and its research tool of discourse analysis, would shed new light on the primary issues. Social interaction – and therefore, language – is considered by many KM theorists to be essential to knowledge sharing and creation, yet language has not been the locus of investigation. DP views language as the site of social action, and reality construction. Consequently, a study of talk in interaction is likely to reveal more about the nature of knowledge and in particular its psychological formulation, with implications for its management.

Real Service Improvement: An Empirical Investigation of Service Improvement Initiatives within a UK Bank

This chapter investigates the outcomes of service improvement initiatives undertaken within a major UK bank. It reports on the processes and outcomes from the perspective of bank employees engaged with the change initiatives. The chapter draws on the data to make recommendations for a shift in focus and a new approach Primary research consists of a survey of bank employees (sample 224) followed by depth interviews and observations. The research finds that bank change initiatives have focused on particular change models in recent years, and that there is a general feeling that these, in the majority of cases, have not achieved the expected results. The chapter investigates the reasons for this and draws on the evidence to suggest alternative approaches which are more grounded in empirical studies.