TQM Extension Practices and Performance: A Case Study in Malaysian Aerospace Industry

This research examines the implementation of total quality management (TQM) extension practices and business performance using a case study on Malaysian aerospace industries. The study examines the organization effectiveness and efficiencies, and the level of company performance that complies with the international quality standard, role and regulation of the aerospace authority. Malaysian aerospace industries are expected to expand and significantly contribute to capture value-added high technology, national economic growth, and increasing challenge in a globalization competition marketplace which is expected to become fierce in the year 2015 and beyond. The main objective of this research is to investigate and measure ten variables of TQM, which are leadership, policy and strategy, people and result, partnership and resources, processes quality management, information and analysis, society result, human resources focused,customer satisfaction and requirement. This research also examines the company performance using the criteria of performance excellence such as MBNQA, EFQM, AS/EN9100, AQS D1-9000, National Institute Standard and Technology (NIST),International Aerospace Group of Quality (IAQG), International Aerospace Quality Standard (IAQS), Business Excellent Models (BEM) and others. The result of the reliability test i.e. the Cronbach’s Alpha was extremely reliable. Similarly, the model was accepted and significantly fit. It was found that the variables were significantly associated with the underlying latent variable which measured a total of 81% .The variance was explained by extraction factor sums squared loadings of the information yielded in business performance of Malaysian aerospace firms. The main findings showed that all the two (2) variables i.e. leadership and partnership resources are less influence the business performance of Malaysian aerospace industry. Therefore, it is suggested that firms need to formulate corrective action plans and continuous quality improvements to achieve excellence. Therefore, the following recommendations are identified: (1) improvement of internal and external partnerships, design, product, processes, quality,services, on time delivery; and (2) improvement of employee education, training and development; and focus on qualifying and certifying both personnel and facilities to the customer requirement needed and role regulatory of the international authority aerospace requirement. Consequently, these enable the Malaysian aerospace firms to secure long term contracts, gain trust from partners, have timely payments, ensure the suppliers and customers’ satisfaction, increase the performance level, get new investments from foreign customers, and do business globally. The novelty of this study are the understanding the excellent level of capability of business performance; realized the actual quality practices which have significant effect towards business performance; including the necessary improvements to be carried-out by the companies involved

AN OVERVIEW OF NEEDS THEORIES BEHIND CONSUMERISM

Wynn and Coolidge [2004] have hypothesized that one of the key reasons why the Homo Sapiens progressed to being modern man while the Neanderthal man didn�t, is that the former developed through innovation (from artefacts to advanced hunting methods) while the latter has left no trace of such evolution. Almost as if the Neanderthal man did not see the need to progress and accepted circumstances as fact. If this is true then the Homo Sapiens have not only developed psychological and objective needs but have progressively updated them as well. Maslow put it beautifully by saying �You will either step forward into growth, or you will step backward into safety�. This paper is the first part of a two part series. Here we provide an overview of needs theories and discuss them in the context of consumerism, consumption and opportunities for enterprises. In part two, needs and opportunities are linked to markets, benefits and strategies through a specific 3D model based on Maslow�s pyramid. To pave the way for this approach we also promote a model (PIE-Persons, Institutions and Enterprises) with the intent to help enterprises view consumers, institutions and their organisation as one interweaved entity. Needs theories are known to be crucial behind much of the understanding of human behaviour and in particular in the workplace and by the consumer. This paper examines the development of hierarchical needs theory from Maslow to Gough with the intent to better identify consumer needs, provide examples of current and past business opportunities and macroscopically show the progression from red to blue ocean strategies. The authors provide an overview of needs theories seeded through motivational theory also with the aim to uncover the differences in having (sometimes known as deficit needs) and being needs (sometimes known as growth needs) and then subsequently link them to enterprise strategies, improved consumer understanding and better market exploitation.Maslow, Herzberg, needs, motivation, having, being, uniformity, diversity

An Overview of Needs Theories behind Consumerism

Wynn and Coolidge [2004] have hypothesized that one of the key reasons why the Homo Sapiens progressed to being modern man while the Neanderthal man didn’t, is that the former developed through innovation (from artefacts to advanced hunting methods) while the latter has left no trace of such evolution. Almost as if the Neanderthal man did not see the need to progress and accepted circumstances as fact. If this is true then the Homo Sapiens have not only developed psychological and objective needs but have progressively updated them as well. Maslow put it beautifully by saying “You will either step forward into growth, or you will step backward into safety”. This paper is the first part of a two part series. Here we provide an overview of needs theories and discuss them in the context of consumerism, consumption and opportunities for enterprises. In part two, needs and opportunities are linked to markets, benefits and strategies through a specific 3D model based on Maslow’s pyramid. To pave the way for this approach we also promote a model (PIE-Persons, Institutions and Enterprises) with the intent to help enterprises view consumers, institutions and their organisation as one interweaved entity. Needs theories are known to be crucial behind much of the understanding of human behaviour and in particular in the workplace and by the consumer. This paper examines the development of hierarchical needs theory from Maslow to Gough with the intent to better identify consumer needs, provide examples of current and past business opportunities and macroscopically show the progression from red to blue ocean strategies . The authors provide an overview of needs theories seeded through motivational theory also with the aim to uncover the differences in having (sometimes known as deficit needs) and being needs (sometimes known as growth needs) and then subsequently link them to enterprise strategies, improved consumer understanding and better market exploitation.Maslow, Herzberg, Needs, Motivation, Having, Being, Uniformity. Diversity, Part A

Organizational innovation in the multinational enterprise: internalization theory and business history

This article engages in a methodological experiment by using historical evidence to challenge a common misperception about internalization theory. The theory has often been criticized for maintaining that it assumes a hierarchically organized MNE based on knowledge flowing from the home country. This is not an accurate description of how global firms operate in recent decades, but this article shows it has never been true historically. Using longitudinal data on individual firms from the nineteenth century onwards, it reveals evidence of how entrepreneurs and firms with multinational activity faced with market imperfections changed the design of their headquarters and their organizational structures

Patronage Factors of Motor Vehicle Takaful in Kano State, Nigeria

The Nigerian insurance industry has been associated with low patronage, thus contributing less than 1% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The marketing and distribution segment of the Nigerian oil and Gas industry is facing multiple challenges including difficulty in transporting product through pipelines which necessitate the use of alternative means of transportation by road (Trucks). The main objective of this study is to empirically examine the determinants of patronage of motor vehicle Takaful by members of National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO-PTD) Kano State. The population of the study is 320 registered members of NARTO-PTD. Using Taro Yamane sample size formula, the study arrives at a sample of 178 respondents who were selected using simple Random Sampling Techniques. Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) method was employed to test the hypotheses of the study. The result reveals that while awareness is insignificant but perception and religiosity significantly affect patronage of motor vehicle takaful by members of NARTO-PTD in Kano State. The study recommends Takaful Companies to develop policies that will further encourage those highly religious and attract those that are not highly religious through organizing educative programs in masjids and other religious avenues and places of worship. Lastly, the study recommends developing policies that will strengthening the perception (NARTO-PTD) members toward Takaful

Asymmetric Release Planning-Compromising Satisfaction against Dissatisfaction

Maximizing satisfaction from offering features as part of the upcoming release(s) is different from minimizing dissatisfaction gained from not offering features. This asymmetric behavior has never been utilized for product release planning. We study Asymmetric Release Planning (ARP) by accommodating asymmetric feature evaluation. We formulated and solved ARP as a bi-criteria optimization problem. In its essence, it is the search for optimized trade-offs between maximum stakeholder satisfaction and minimum dissatisfaction. Different techniques including a continuous variant of Kano analysis are available to predict the impact on satisfaction and dissatisfaction with a product release from offering or not offering a feature. As a proof of concept, we validated the proposed solution approach called Satisfaction-Dissatisfaction Optimizer (SDO) via a real-world case study project. From running three replications with varying effort capacities, we demonstrate that SDO generates optimized trade-off solutions being (i) of a different value profile and different structure, (ii) superior to the application of random search and heuristics in terms of quality and completeness, and (iii) superior to the usage of manually generated solutions generated from managers of the case study company. A survey with 20 stakeholders evaluated the applicability and usefulness of the generated results

Creating a framework for eliciting consumer satisfaction in Second Life

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyUsing consumer satisfaction as an example of complex communication and a virtual world as a mediating platform, a novel framework for eliciting consumer satisfaction has been developed. Consumer satisfaction is a key element for business success, while the elicitation of satisfaction perceptions from consumers can help vendors to assess and to improve their business performance. The objectives here are: how consumer satisfaction is defined, understood and measured; how virtual worlds function, both as a platform and a product; how users typically perceive their experiences in virtual worlds; and how consumer satisfaction metrics can be translated into a virtual environment. Second Life is used as an enabling technology for gathering requirements as well as for the construction, refinement and validation of the framework. Second Life is a virtual world, a multi-user, 3D, immersive environment, which has its own internal economy. The choice of using this social virtual world was due to Second Life being a resilient and widely used platform. The main contribution of this thesis is a framework that can be used to identify and categorise the complex and inter-related factors that affect the use of Second Life in terms of consumer satisfaction perceptions. Another contribution here is a novel approach to Search Engine trend analysis, which focuses on the number or search results returned as opposed to the number of queries for a given search phrase. Based on the research conducted by the author and knowledge gained from the literature, a framework has been developed which identifies interrelated components that provide a wider context to perceive the user experience of Second Life. The approach taken by the framework enables it to be used as a means to comprehend Second Life both as a product and as a platform. A Straussian Grounded Theory approach was taken to data gathering, analysis and interpretation in the context of the framework; further refinements are made to the framework as a consequence of emergent themes revealed through the process of analysing the gathered data. Guidance is given in brief as to how the framework can be adapted to reveal consumer satisfaction perceptions from other internet based services

The development of product design guidelines based on a new conceptual framework

The work described provides the development, implementation and evaluation of engineering product design guidelines suitable for engineering product designers. The motivation arises from collaborative efforts that continue to be made by the Least Economically Developed Countries (LDC) and the Most Economically Developed Countries (MDC) towards the development of the engineering design field. It is argued here that product design guidelines which are derived from existing product design methods enhance the capability of engineering designers to shorten time to market, deal adequately with product design constraints and boost supply chains. The sample for the proposed study is comprised of companies in Botswana (a least economically developed country) and the United Kingdom (a most economically developed country). The research has been conducted using a mixed qualitative research approach comprised of aspects from the framework method, cluster analysis and Kolb's model. The findings have identified five themes central to the product design process which are incorporated into the engineering product design guidelines. Case study work was conducted to validate the approach. The following claims are made for contributions to knowledge: 1. A conceptual framework which is a graphical co-ordinate system of engineering and management techniques required by nine engineering product design methods. The conceptual framework is arranged according to two orthogonal axes that describe the structure of the product design process and incorporate the need function form structure, the divergent convergent structure, the product design drivers, product realisation process and product development lifecycles. 2. The product design method notation which is a register of the expressions derived from the conceptual framework and is used to communicate and aid in the selection of a group of techniques being implemented, or intended for implementation by design teams; and 3. The configuration scheme which provides a clear link between components, subassemblies, products, projects, programmes and policies. The critical point put forward by this work is that the conceptual framework is only comprehensible today because the engineering product design methods in the public domain have imparted knowledge about the functions of physical products (described here as part of the need function form structure) at the expense of human needs and the interactive forms of human responses to physical products. The contributions of this research provide a holistic and coherent means of integrating design methodologies for the benefit of design teams in Botswana. The approach is, however, universal and may also be beneficial for design projects in the most economically developed countries