2,632 research outputs found
What are the impacts of implementing ISOs on the competitiveness of manufacturing industry in China?
Based on the proposed ‘PIE’ analytical framework, this paper argues that the preparation, implementation and evaluation of international standards (ISOs) affect the competitiveness of (foreign-financed) export-oriented manufacturing industry in southern and southeastern China, both in the short- and long-term. During the period of preparation, the decision to adopt ISOs is mainly driven by market demand and/or by the decisions of established competitors. Negative effects due to the diversion of scarce resources and institutional resistance to change during the period of transitional implementation are offset by the overall enhancement of the firm's productivity in the long run. ‘Tailoring for the external audit’ and ‘second-best’ practices are two strategies commonly employed by Chinese firms to lower the transaction costs involved in ISO audits
Optimising processes of IT organisation through software products’ configuration management
The present paper is focused on the efficiency of processes within IT firms which design software products, by finding optimum management solutions for these types of activities. In order to achieve this, we focus on software products configuration management, with specific objectives in documenting and ensuring visibility to the product’s configuration and of the stage of achieving its physical and functional characteristics. Through configuration management, technical and administrative rules are established and applied for designing, developing, producing and supporting the elements of the product’s configuration, in each stage of its lifecycle. The conclusions of this research are focused on evaluating economic effects obtained by implementing the quality management system, according to the ISO 9001:2000 quality standard, while developing software products, at the level of IT firm.configuration management, quality management, product lifecycle, software quality
Developing an IS Quality Culture with ISO 9001: Hopefully, a Never Ending Story
We present an approach to develop IS Quality Culture, in the context of ISO 9001. The research design begins with semi-structured interviews with eight auditors, followed by action research. We confirmed that auditors recognize the importance of five distinct IS Quality dimensions: information/data, software, administrative, service, and infrastructure. However, the audit practice reveals the risk of considering IS as mere support, disregarding the cultural aspects of IS Quality. Our contribution addresses this gap by providing an audit checklist and an approach accessible to IS non-experts. An IS Quality Culture is vital in regulatory environments, and may raise the audit effectiveness and confidence in ISO 9001 as an improvement model. ISO 9001 diffusion and acceptance by more than one million companies worldwide creates an exceptional opportunity to continuously development of the IS Quality Culture. The obtained findings can also contribute to the discussion of the next ISO 9001 revision, expected to be published in 2016
Methodology for Process Improvement Through Basic Components and Focusing on the Resistance to Change.
This paper describes a multi-model methodology that implements a smooth and continuous process improvement, depending on the organization's business goals and allowing users to establish their improvement implementation pace. The methodology focuses on basic process components known as ‘best practices’. Besides, it covers following the topics: knowledge management and change management. The methodology description and the results of a case study on project management process are included
ISO roadmap for software products
The complex nature of ISO 9001 standards has been an obvious limitation for implementation. ISO 9001
accreditation provides external and internal advantages. The external benefits include increased market access and
customer confidence. The internal advantages include quality improvements in both the product and process.
However, this research demonstrates that the current ISO guideline for software products has not completely
fulfilled the expectations in its implementation within the software organisation. Numerous companies are
experiencing difficulties with ISO implementation and maintenance. Based on the analysis provided by this
research, poor communication and an unsystematic approach were identified as the main current problems
associated with ISO implementation. In addition, it also shows that the organisations often underestimate internal
organisation factors, such as resistance to change. The existing difficulties in maintaining applied quality systems
have resulted in a lack of control and monitoring. This thesis introduces an ISO Roadmap and corresponding
Checklist for software products. The main goal of this ISO Roadmap is to provide enhanced transparency and
assistance in the application of ISO 90003:2004 in order to make ISO implementation more manageable, visible
and understandable for all people involved within the organisation. The result of this research provides the
software industry with an initial step towards better systematisation and control for ISO implementations. This
should help the software industry to better navigate through the ‘ISO jungle’ and facilitate an improved approach
for implementation and maintenance activities. This research relied heavily on the development of the literature
review, ISO 90003 standards, and knowledge from interviewees ... [cont.]
How does IATF 16949 add value to ISO 9001? An empirical study
This article analyses the added value of IATF 16949–a standard for qualitymanagement in the automotive sector–with respect to ISO 9001, the most popularstandard for quality management worldwide. An exploratory qualitative study wascarried out based on a multiple case study. Eight companies operating at differentlevels of the Spanish automotive sector supply chain were analysed and 27 interviewswere conducted–17 with managers of these companies and 10 with auditors andconsultants. Multiple internal and external sources of documentation were alsoanalysed. Thefindings show that IATF 16949 adds value to a moreflexible ISO9001 infive main areas: market, customer service in the supply chain, operationalperformance, staff, and technology. Overall, IATF 16949 is seen as a‘license tooperate’for automotive sector suppliers, for whom ISO 9001 seems to have lost itssignalling value. This study sheds light on the raison d’être of sectoral standards forQMSs such as IATF 16949 and contributes to the literature on the neo-institutionalapproach to QMSs and explains some of the main weaknesses of ISO 9001.This article is a result of the Research Group funded by the Basque Autonomous Government (Gruposde Investigación del Sistema Universitario Vasco; GIC 15/176
9Solutions product quality system
Abstract. Quality management (QM) is an important managerial tool in production and service environments. It covers the social and technical factors affecting quality of products and services within an organization. Global competition and increasing customer demands emphasize the importance of QM in different organizations. If applied correctly, QM can be a success factor for a company, by increasing customer satisfaction and profitability of the company.
The thesis is a constructive research in nature and performed in a case company. The objective of the study is to examine the current state and the biggest challenges regarding QM in the case company and to suggest improvement proposals based on theory and empirical findings. The study addresses QM and its utilization in the case company in the form of a quality management system (QMS). The literature review familiarizes with the concept of quality the QM principles, and its involvement in company’s functions, such as product development (PD). The empirical part of the research examines the current state of QM at the case company with the use of theme interviews. Also, three benchmarking interviews contribute to empirical study, highlighting the best QM practices from technology companies of similar magnitude.
The empirical part of the study demonstrates that in the case company quality is managed with several procedures, but systematic and documented system, as well as clear, strategy-based quality policies and objectives, are missing. The lack of systematic QM complicates detecting problems in PD and other organizational functions, leading to both direct and indirect quality costs. Thus, the existing literature’s perception of reactive QM applies to the case company for the most part. The study aims to solve QM related challenges in the company by utilizing the key points of existing literature and benchmarking observations. Existing literature emphasizes the concepts of quality planning and continuous improvement as the most important factors for an organization to move towards preventive QM, including planning for the quality management system. The QMSs of the benchmarking companies differ, but their unifying factors were observed to be process management, clear documentation of the system, clear objectives, and systematic QM in PD processes. Evaluating the theory and empirical findings demonstrates, that QM at the case company can also be developed with the implementation of a process-based QMS.
The proposed improvement model covers those basic QM methods, that the case company should assimilate to develop a QMS. The development proposals include quality planning, measuring organizational performance and process management, which together create a body for the QMS. Also, recommendations for QMS documentation procedures and audits are presented. Together, the improvement proposals offer the case company a concrete model for initiating quality work and developing the quality of products and services.Tiivistelmä. Laadunhallinta on tärkeä johtamisen apuväline sekä tuotanto- että palveluympäristöissä. Se kattaa ne organisaation sosiaaliset ja tekniset tekijät, jotka vaikuttavat tuotteiden ja palveluiden laatuun. Nykyinen globaali kilpailu ja asiakkaiden kasvavat laatuvaatimukset korostavat laadunhallinnan tarvetta erilaisissa organisaatioissa. Oikein sovellettuna laadunhallinta voi olla menestystekijä yritykselle, parantaen asiakastyytyväisyyttä ja yrityksen kannattavuutta.
Tämä diplomityö on luonteeltaan konstruktiivinen tutkimus, joka suoritettiin kohdeyrityksessä. Työn tavoitteena on selvittää kohdeyrityksen laadunhallinnan nykytila ja suurimmat haasteet, sekä esittää kehitysehdotuksia kirjallisuuden ja empiiristen havaintojen pohjalta. Tutkimus käsittelee laadunhallintaa ja sen hyödyntämistä kohdeyrityksessä laatujärjestelmän muodossa. Kirjallisuuskatsaus perehtyy laadun käsitteeseen, laadunhallinnan periaatteisiin sekä sen merkitykseen yrityksen funktioille, kuten tuotekehitykselle. Empiirinen osa tutkimuksesta tutkii laadunhallinnan nykytilaa kohdeyrityksessä teemahaastattelujen avulla. Myös kolme benchmarking-haastattelua ovat osana empiiristä tutkimusta, tuoden esiin parhaita laadunhallinnallisia käytäntöjä vastaavan kokoluokan teknologiayrityksistä.
Tutkimuksen empiirinen osa osoittaa, että laatua hallitaan kohdeyrityksessä eri toimintamallien avulla, mutta järjestelmällinen ja dokumentoitu laatujärjestelmä sekä selkeät, yrityksen strategiaan perustuvat laatulinjaukset ja -tavoitteet puuttuvat. Systemaattisen laadunhallinnan puute vaikeuttaa ongelmien havaitsemista niin tuotekehityksessä kuin muissakin organisaation toiminnoissa, johtaen sekä suoriin että epäsuoriin laatukustannuksiin. Täten kirjallisuuden käsitys reaktiivisesta laadunhallinnasta pätee suurin osin myös kohdeyrityksessä. Tutkimus pyrkii ratkaisemaan laadunhallinnallisia haasteita yrityksessä hyödyntämällä olemassa olevan kirjallisuuden pääkohtia sekä havaintoja benchmarkingista. Olemassa oleva kirjallisuus korostaa laatusuunnittelun ja jatkuvan kehittymisen konsepteja tärkeimpinä tekijöinä organisaation kehittyessä ennakoivaan laadunhallintaan, sisältäen myös laatujärjestelmän suunnittelun. Benchmarking-yritysten käyttämät laatujärjestelmät poikkeavat toisistaan, mutta niiden yhdistävinä, laatua edistävinä tekijöinä havaittiin prosessijohtaminen, selkeä järjestelmädokumentaatio, selkeät tavoitteet sekä järjestelmällinen laadunhallinta tuotekehitysprosesseissa. Kirjallisuuden ja empiiristen havaintojen vertailu osoittaa, että myös kohdeyrityksen laadunhallintaa voidaan kehittää prosessipohjaisen laatujärjestelmän toteuttamisen avulla.
Ehdotettu kehitysmalli kattaa ne perustavanlaatuiset laadunhallinnan menetelmät, jotka kohdeyrityksen tulee sisäistää laatujärjestelmän kehittämiseksi. Kehitysehdotukset sisältävät laatusuunnittelun, organisaation suorituskyvyn mittaamisen ja prosessijohtamisen, jotka yhdessä luovat rungon laatujärjestelmälle. Myös suositukset laatujärjestelmän dokumentaatiomenetelmistä ja auditoinnista on esitetty. Yhdessä kehitysehdotukset tarjoavat kohdeyritykselle konkreettisen mallin laatutyön aloittamiseksi, sekä tuotteiden ja palveluiden laadun kehittämiseksi
Why do people buy virtual items in virtual worlds? an empirical test of a conceptual model
While organizations in software industry want to portray themselves as professional in terms of
following standards and methods, they may also have needs for improvising and short-cutting when
necessary. Such dilemmas of dual logics are sometimes internally resolved by evolving a false belief of
what is done (practice) being in correspondence to what is said (standards), regardless of what an
empirical investigation might show, something that can have poor business implications and also poor
social implications. Particularly focusing on this latter point, the meta-methodology of total systems
interventions (TSI) has been used for integrating critical systems theory with total quality
management, improving social conditions in parallel with improving business processes. Although
TSI is not designed for liberating organizations where nobody see themselves in need of liberation, the
hypothesis of this paper is that it is possible to design quality management systems as “conflict
machines”, causing sufficient social tension for more or less automatically changing “fake quality”
into “real quality”. The hypothesis is investigated by applying design research in a Scandinavian
public sector organization. The findings consist of statistical and interpretative evidence for the
success of the approach, making a contribution to how TSI can be applied in the software industry
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