Influence of knowledge and quality on business performance of companies in Serbia

U radu su prikazani rezultati istraživanja o utjecaju znanja i kvalitete na poslovne performanse poduzeća. Podaci su prikupljeni anketiranjem 296 menadžera iz 140 poduzeća u Srbiji. Znanje i kvaliteta su pokazali jak i pozitivan utjecaj na poslovne performanse poduzeća u Srbiji. Varijable "Skupno znanje" i "Sistemski pristup kvaliteti" pokazale su da imaju najveći utjecaj na varijable "Mogućnosti zaposlenih" i "Razvojne performanse". Radno iskustvo kao moderator pokazalo je da ima značajan učinak na relacije između dimenzija znanja i kvalitete i dimenzija poslovnih performansi. Faktorskom analizom dobiveno je dvokomponentno rješenje, gdje prva komponenta okuplja varijable znanja i kvalitete, a druga varijable poslovnih performansi, i utvrđena je jaka korelaciona veza između ove dvije komponente. Ovim istraživanjem je potvrđen značaj znanja i kvalitete u unapređenju poslovanja i konkurentnosti, gdje se fokus stavlja na radnika, sa svojim znanjem, iskustvom i spremnošću da se prilagođava promjenama u poslovanju.The paper presents results of research on the impact of knowledge and quality on business performance of companies. Data was collected by interviewing 296 managers from 140 companies in Serbia. Knowledge and quality showed a strong and positive impact on the business performance of companies in Serbia. Variables "Group knowledge" and "Systematic approach to quality" proved to have the greatest impact on variables "Employee performance" and "Development performance". Work experience as a moderator has shown to have a significant effect on relations between dimensions of knowledge and quality and dimensions of business performance. Factor analysis has shown two-component solution, where the first component gathers variables of knowledge and quality, and the second one variable of business performance, and a strong correlation was established between these two components. This study confirmed the importance of knowledge and quality in business improvement and competitiveness, where the focus is placed on the workers, with their knowledge, experience and readiness to adapt to changes in the business

Important TQM Implementation Contributors in Pakistani Petrochemical Sector

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">This study discusses quality practices in Pakistani Petrochemical sector to understand TQM practices and their implementation in Pakistan. It helps to understand the role of leadership, vision &amp; plan statement, employee participation and education &amp; training as important constructs of TQM. It shows how these constructs help to speed up the TQM implementation in petrochemical sector like other constructs of TQM and finally company moves towards quality approach. The responses of executives, managerial staff and workers were received using questionnaire and online surveys which are sent through Google Drive. Data of 106 respondents was taken in this study and analyzed by SPSS18. Study shows that Total Quality Management culture is less understood by employees, thus less adopted and implemented in Pakistan. Petrochemical companies fail to adopt the TQM philosophy and processes, hence reducing productivity and profits. This research paper is very helpful for executives for TQM implementation in petrochemical sector.</span></p

Integrating TQM Practices And Knowledge Management To Enhance Malaysian Digital Banking

Purpose-The purpose of this study is to develop an integrated model of total quality management (TQM), knowledge management (KM) for Malaysian digital banking financial crime mitigation to enhance bank reputation. Design/methodology/approach-The quantitative study has been carried out in Malaysian banks. Data were collected from 100 employees the executive management team level and above in banks dyads working in Malaysia and is analyzed through structural equation modeling technique using SPSS 22.0 and SmartPLS 2.0. Findings-The results reveal that Integrating Total Quality Management Practices and Knowledge Management Processes helped in Enhancing Malaysian Digital Banking Reputation, which combat financial crimes through strengthening its anti-money laundering and terror financing capabilities, so as to maintain their global competitive edge in this domain. Research limitation/recommendation – the study is only focusing on the digital banking service in Malaysia. There have digital bank where are different with digital banking and also digital banking service in Malaysia might have some different compared to other countries. Hence, there have not standardization of digital banking to be measured. Practical implications – This Findings of study can be utilized by banks to Enhance digital banking reputation, which has been identified as a key to growth and development. Originality/value This study complements the previous researches and seeks to extend literature in digital banking. Malaysia still in earlier stage of adopting digital banking. Hence, reputation can influence decision and confidence of customer

Organizational justice, role stressors job satisfaction and turnover intention among IT professions in Thailand's ICT industry

Although turnover intention has been studied widely in Western countries, such studies are still small in number in Asia countries like Thailand. The aims of this quantitative research were: to empirically determine the significant predictors of organizational justice (distributive justice and procedural justice) and role stressors (role ambiguity, role conflict, work-overload and work-family conflict); to examine the mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between predictors and turnover intention, and to investigate the applicability of the Social Exchange Theory (SET) in explaining turnover intention in Thailand. A survey was conducted among 342 IT professionals in 21 ICT organizations located in Thailand‟s ICT industry‟s four sub-sector (Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Technology Information (IT) Services and Communication). Data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Out of the 13 hypotheses regarding turnover intention, seven had significant direct effects (distributive justice, procedural justice, role ambiguity, role conflict, work-overload to job satisfaction; job satisfaction to turnover intention). The finding of this study revealed that there is a positive significant relationship between distributive justice and procedural justice with job satisfaction. This study also revealed that there is a negative significant relationship between role ambiguity, role conflict, work-overload and work-family conflict with job satisfaction. This study found a statistically negative significant relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. The study also found that job satisfaction was a full mediator of the relationship between distributive justice, procedural justice, role conflict and work-family conflict with turnover intention. Finally, job satisfaction partially mediated the relationship of role ambiguity and work-family conflict with turnover intention. The present study also highlighted the implications of the study, future research work as well as its limitations

An examination of quality management practices, human-oriented elements, and organizational performance in the Malaysian higher education institutions

The study of quality management practices (QMPs) and organizational performance (OP) in higher education institutions are gaining attention due to the demand for excellence. However, there is no clear consensus on the comprehensive model for QMPs and OP. To examine this issue, grounded by the Systems Theory, this study proposes a framework by decomposing quality management practices, human-oriented elements (satisfaction, commitment, loyalty) and organizational performance. A total of 251 head of departments from twenty public universities in Malaysia participated in this study. Data was collected through personal-administered survey questionnaires. The Partial Least Squares approach to Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was the main statistical technique employed in this study. The study exposes that QMPs were found to have a significant relationship with OP and Human-oriented Element (Satisfaction) while Human-oriented Element (Commitment) was found not to have a significant relationship with OP. As expected, the hypotheses of interrelationship amongst all the constructs of Human-oriented Elements (satisfaction, commitment, loyalty) were supported. For the mediation test, the finding indicated that the QMPs and Human-oriented Element (Loyalty) had a positive and significant relationship through the mediating effect of Human-oriented Element (Satisfaction). The results also revealed that the Human-oriented Element (Commitment and Loyalty) were found not to mediate the relationship of QMPs and OP. Several plausible reasons were discussed. Based on the findings, the theoretical and practical implications as well as limitations and direction for further research are also discussed

Πως τα εργαλεία ανθρώπινου δυναμικού μέσω της ποιότητας μπορούν να επηρεάσουν την ικανοποίηση των εργαζομένων

Διπλωματική εργασία--Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2018Σκοπός: Στόχος είναι να εξεταστεί ο τρόπος με τον οποίο τα εργαλεία ανθρώπινου δυναμικού μπορούν μέσω της ποιότητας να επηρεάσουν την ικανοποίηση των εργαζομένων. Το συγκεκριμένο θέμα εξετάζεται τόσο σε θεωρητικό όσο και σε πρακτικό επίπεδο. Τα εργαλεία ανθρώπινου δυναμικού όπως για παράδειγμα οι εκπαιδεύσεις και τα σεμινάρια έχουν τη δυνατότητα μέσω της άσκησης εποπτείας και εφαρμογής πρακτικών ποιότητας να οδηγήσουν τελικά σε καλύτερη απόδοση τους εργαζόμενους λόγω του αισθήματος ικανοποίησης που νιώθουν από την εργασία τους. Μεθοδολογία: Αρχικά, γίνεται μια εισαγωγή στο επιλεγμένο θέμα, παρουσιάζονται οι τρεις κύριες θεματικές τις οποίες επιχειρεί η γράφουσα να καλύψει, δηλαδή τα εργαλεία ανθρώπινου δυναμικού, η ποιότητα και η ικανοποίηση των εργαζομένων υπό τη σκοπιά των τρόπων επίτευξής της. Γίνεται εκτενής βιβλιογραφική επισκόπηση για τους παράγοντες που επηρεάζουν την ικανοποίηση και την απόδοση των εργαζομένων. Η μελέτη εστιάζει κυρίως στην πτυχή της ποιότητας των υπηρεσιών, της ικανοποίησης των εργαζομένων και της απόδοσης που επιδεικνύουν ως συνέπεια της εφαρμογής ποιοτικών εργαλείων ανθρώπινου δυναμικού. Στη συνέχεια, εντοπίζεται ένα ερευνητικό κενό κυρίως όσον αφορά τον κατασκευαστικό κλάδο και τους τρόπους αξιοποίησης της ποιότητας για επίτευξη αύξησης της ικανοποίησης και της απόδοσης των εργαζόμενων. Τέλος, καταγράφονται οι υποθέσεις της έρευνας, τα αίτια επιλογής της μεθόδου του ερωτηματολογίου, η δομή και η μεθοδολογία στατιστικής ανάλυσης με την χρήση του Microsoft Excel και του SPSS 24.0. Αποτελέσματα: Από τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας προκύπτει ότι η πλειοψηφία των εξεταζόμενων ερωτημάτων που αφορούν την ικανοποίηση των εργαζομένων παρουσιάζουν στατιστικά σημαντική διαφορά με τη μεταβλητή της ποιότητας τόσο ως προς την εφαρμογή προτύπου ISO στην εξεταζόμενη τεχνική εταιρία όσο και στην προτίμηση εφαρμογής κάποιου προτύπου συνεχούς βελτίωσης (CI). Δεν προκύπτουν στατιστικά σημαντικά αποτελέσματα για την σύνδεση της ποιότητας με την αποδοτικότητα των εργαζομένων στην πλειοψηφία των εξεταζόμενων ερωτημάτων του ερωτηματολογίου. Συμπεράσματα: Η υπόθεση της έρευνας ότι στις επιχειρήσεις που εφαρμόζουν ποιότητα αυξάνεται η ικανοποίηση των εργαζομένων επιβεβαιώνεται από τους στατιστικούς ελέγχους της παρούσας έρευνας. Αντίθετα, η υπόθεση ότι στις επιχειρήσεις που εφαρμόζουν ποιότητα παρουσιάζεται αύξηση της αποδοτικότητας των εργαζομένων δεν επιβεβαιώνεται και χρήζει περαιτέρω έρευνας και μελέτης

Business excellence models in UK Universities: two contrasting case studies

The overall aim of the research was to explore the reason(s) for the apparent disparity in acceptance and adoption of Business Excellence Models (BEMs) in UK universities and to identify ways to help quality assurance staff make the best use of these models. BEMs provide organisations with management frameworks based around quality and are praised for allegedly improving global competitiveness and performance. BEMs are also criticised for allegedly being fads, over-promising and contradicting the nature of HE. This study also investigated whether BEMs were seen as fads and what makes them sustainable. Two contrasting case studies in London were examined: a research-intensive Russell Group university and a teaching-focused newer (Post 92s) university. 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Vice Chancellors/Pro-Vice Chancellors; senior managers; heads of department and professional services/quality assurance staff. In contrast to previous literature, only one interviewee thought BEMs were fads. All the Russell Group interviewees thought BEMs were applicable to the HE sector whereas some interviewees from the newer university were more sceptical. Advocates of BEMs cited their intrinsic value as well as operational benefits. Critics said BEMs were too complicated and conflicted with academic freedom. Although all the participants agreed that effective leadership was vital for successful implementation, they disagreed on what this meant. Some emphasised motivation and inspiration but others highlighted the need to occasionally force change. Participants generated six criteria for evaluating BEMs. Four of these ((a) improved student experience; (b) adequately trained and mentored staff; (c) increased community engagement and (d) compatibility with league table requirements) are found in previous literature. Two ((a) strong personal tutoring and (b) students informing resource allocation and report generation) are not. Participants also identified seven Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that influenced their institution’s choice of BEM. Three of these (team, process and collaboration) are found in previous literature. Four (location, brand, personal tutoring and transparency) are not. Finally, a conceptual framework was developed to explain how BEMs can be sustained. Three elements of the framework match previous literature (human resource management, institutionalisation and feedback). Four (leadership, resource allocation, monitoring and collaboration with the Student Union) are new

Does TQM impact on role stressors? A conceptual model

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model to examine the multidimensionality of total quality management (TQM) practices and its impact on role stressors. Design/methodology/approach - The background of TQM philosophy and theory of role stressors serve as starting-points to develop the conceptual model. From the extensive literature review, six practices of TQM and two components of role stressors were identified to construct the model. Findings - The model based on TQM with respect to role stressors provides a basis for assessing the level of role conflict and role ambiguity under which the use of different aspects of TQM should be retained or revised. This finding suggests that TQM is not a panacea that can be unthinkingly applied, but must be practised with a clear sense of the impact on role stressors. Practical implications - Given that role stressors are often detrimental to organizational functional efficiency, it is appropriate for management to invest time and effort to diagnose effects of implementation of TQM practices on role stressors. For this analysis, this model will prove valuable. Originality/value - This conceptual model provides an insightful foundation for the analysis of multidimensionality of TQM practices on role stressors. The model examines the independent influences of TQM practices on role stressors and treats role conflict and role ambiguity as dependent variables. This design stands in contrast to other researchers' study of conflict and ambiguity as independent variables

Appraising Project performance and Total Quality Management (TQM) practices in the Libyan oil and gas sector

The aim of this study was to appraise project performance and Total Quality Management (TQM) in the Libyan oil and gas sector. In achieving this aim , the study developed five objectives which are: to review current definitions and models of Project Performance in relation to theory and practices, to examine current definitions and models of TQM in a project context, to identify methodological norms in this research domain and propose a way forward , to analyse the interrelationship between TQM principles and project performance practices for oil and gas industry related projects and, finally, to model and propose the predictive value of TQM principles that could be used to enhance project management performance in the Libyan oil and gas industry. The research adopted a mixed methods approach. An extensive literature review was conducted on the history of the oil and gas industry, review of the energy sector in Libya, socio-economic development in Libya, social context and human development in Libya, the current practice in the Libyan energy sector, the importance of TQM, leaders in the Quality Management movement, TQM and performance, project and PM performance and TQM and PM performance. A conceptual framework was developed from the literature. Subsequently, twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with project managers and professionals from three oil and gas companies from different categories of the oil and gas industry. The conceptual framework was improved after the analysis of interview findings, and then a questionnaire was used to launch the next stage of the study. One hundred and thirty-one questionnaires were analysed by SPSS V16 in order to examine the relationship between TQM practices and project performance in the Libyan oil and gas industry related projects, and to predict the model of TQM practices to project performance in the Libyan oil and gas related projects. Key findings of this research were that there was a positive significant relationship between TQM practices and project performance in oil and gas-related projects, and the interesting finding was that the hard TQM practices have more impact on Project Management Performance (PM performance) than the soft practices. Additionally, the predictive models were developed and the highest had a value of (R2=0.776). . Consequently, this research has made an important contribution to PM performance in the oil and gas industry by developing a framework of TQM practices that positively impact on PM performance. The practical applications of this research mean that managers can focus on those practices to achieve maximum PM performance in the oil and gas industry. The study highlights opportunities for future research including more in-depth exploration of the TQM practices in other oil and gas industry categories as well as the impact of the interrelationships of the practices on insights into PM performance