Assessing managers' awareness of TQM

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to analyze the rationale and the development of a measure that can be used in assessing managerial awareness and understanding of the concept of total quality management (TQM) within organizations. Design/methodology/approach: A total of nine “soft” concepts of TQM were identified among the leading literature in quality management. The awareness of each one of these items was investigated among nearly 400 managers. The quantitative evidence was further analyzed by factor analysis and reliability tests. Findings: The statistical analysis provided a distinctive and consistent, statistical measurement of the “soft” side of TQM. This measure consists of three items: continuous improvement and training, total employee empowerment and involvement and quality driven culture, which represent the whole concept of TQM approach. Research limitations/implications: The separate measurement of the “soft” side of TQM can result in a loss of information. It can be argued, however, that this measure can offer information of possibly different facets of a single phenomenon such as TQM. Originality/value: Whilst, the technical (“hard”) aspects of TQM are well documented and clearly measured, there is a general disagreement of what exactly composes the philosophical (“soft”) side of TQM. This disagreement provokes a major methodological problem with TQM being associated with the statistical measurement of its principles and concepts, which synthesize its whole theory. Thus, this study analyzes the method, which was used to develop a potential quantitative measure of the “soft” side of TQM that could be adopted in assessing managers' awareness of it.</p

Protean Diversity: A Complex Adaptive Systems Perspective on Individuals within Organizations

As organizations are becoming more diverse in terms of the sociological and psychological characteristics of their workforces, diversity emerges as an important issue in contemporary work settings. As a result, workforce diversity research has evolved significantly over the last decades. However, today there is still a consensus that the variegated contemporary organizational settings require scholars and practitioners alike to develop a more nuanced understanding of diverse employees. In this vein, this conceptual paper examines workplace diversity through a complex adaptive systems (CAS) perspective. We introduce the concept of protean diversity as an application of CAS to diversity research in order to explain how individuals act on their differences through the manifestation of personal and interpersonal dynamics. Our work contributes to organizational theory and practice by offering new ways to identify both research methods and managing techniques that scholars and practitioners may apply to study and manage diverse individuals as CAS. © 2020 European Academy of Managemen

Identifying Starters' Interpersonal-Transferable Skills Needs: A Multidisciplinary Comparative Study in Six European Countries

The paper presents the results from a study of a multidisciplinary research project (funded by the Leonardo Da Vinci Community Programme) to develop innovative methods for assessing and training career starters' interpersonal-transferable skills (ITSs). For the purpose of this project ITSs refer to skills such as: interpersonal communication, group decision making, leadership, directing groups and involve the mobilisation of psychological resources such as emotional intelligence abilities, interpersonal perception and others. The project adopted an interdisciplinary approach in bringing together scientists in the key areas of Total Quality Management, Psychology of Emotion, Interpersonal relationships, Human Resource Management, with vocational organisations, career starters and Businesses from various sectors. Aims. The aim of this first phase of the project was to identify and compare interpersonal /transferable skills of career starters from different education backgrounds (University and Vocational education) and disciplines (Business, Technical, Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences). Specifically, it aimed to survey the opinions of graduate students, career starters, educators and employers in six European countries (Hungary, Greece, Italy, Slovak Republic, Spain, and the UK) to determine needs for ITSs training. Methodology. A 120-item structured questionnaire was completed by four large samples (N=550) of the respective populations in the six countries. The questionnaire was constructed by a multidisciplinary team of psychologists, human resource scholars and career advisors in order to allow the identification of the need and importance of a number of ITSs. The administration of the questionnaires was undertaken by 11 educational and vocational organisations in the six countries. The paper presents: Results from multivariate analyses (exploratory factor analyses, multiple regression) on the structure of ITSs skills needs in the education and vocational sectors Findings from comparison among the six countries Results from comparison of interpersonal skills needs of graduate students from different disciplines (e.g. Humanities and Sciences) Findings from the tertiary and education sectors. The discussion will focus on how these findings help the development of innovative methods in the assessment and train specific such skills in career starters. The application of these findings for the improvement of University curricula and delivery methods will also be discussed (for further information see: http://www.apu.ac.uk/appsci/psychol/leonard

Emotional intelligence abilities and traits in different career paths.

Two studies tested hypotheses about differences in emotional intelligence (EI) abilities and traits between followers of different career paths. Compared to their social science peers, science students had higher scores in adaptability and general mood traits measured with the Emotion Quotient Inventory, but lower scores in strategic El abilities using the emotional intelligence test MSCEIT, as well as neuroticism, and openness. Neuroticism mediated relationships between career path and El traits but not El strategic abilities. In the second study participants in science and business career paths had higher scores in positive affect and in several work-related El traits and lower scores in work-related El abilities than their science counterparts. The results raise questions about the mechanisms that may sustain the observed differences in self-perceptions and about the validity of some El measures. They also have implications for El skills assessment and training in Higher Education graduates and career starter

Roadmap on optical rogue waves and extreme events

Nail Akhmediev et al. ; 38 págs.; 28 figs.The pioneering paper 'Optical rogue waves' by Solli et al (2007 Nature 450 1054) started the new subfield in optics. This work launched a great deal of activity on this novel subject. As a result, the initial concept has expanded and has been enriched by new ideas. Various approaches have been suggested since then. A fresh look at the older results and new discoveries has been undertaken, stimulated by the concept of 'optical rogue waves'. Presently, there may not by a unique view on how this new scientific term should be used and developed. There is nothing surprising when the opinion of the experts diverge in any new field of research. After all, rogue waves may appear for a multiplicity of reasons and not necessarily only in optical fibers and not only in the process of supercontinuum generation. We know by now that rogue waves may be generated by lasers, appear in wide aperture cavities, in plasmas and in a variety of other optical systems. Theorists, in turn, have suggested many other situations when rogue waves may be observed. The strict definition of a rogue wave is still an open question. For example, it has been suggested that it is defined as 'an optical pulse whose amplitude or intensity is much higher than that of the surrounding pulses'. This definition (as suggested by a peer reviewer) is clear at the intuitive level and can be easily extended to the case of spatial beams although additional clarifications are still needed. An extended definition has been presented earlier by N Akhmediev and E Pelinovsky (2010 Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 185 1-4). Discussions along these lines are always useful and all new approaches stimulate research and encourage discoveries of new phenomena. Despite the potentially existing disagreements, the scientific terms 'optical rogue waves' and 'extreme events' do exist. Therefore coordination of our efforts in either unifying the concept or in introducing alternative definitions must be continued. From this point of view, a number of the scientists who work in this area of research have come together to present their research in a single review article that will greatly benefit all interested parties of this research direction. Whether the authors of this 'roadmap' have similar views or different from the original concept, the potential reader of the review will enrich their knowledge by encountering most of the existing views on the subject. Previously, a special issue on optical rogue waves (2013 J. Opt. 15 060201) was successful in achieving this goal but over two years have passed and more material has been published in this quickly emerging subject. Thus, it is time for a roadmap that may stimulate and encourage further research. © 2016 IOP PublishingNational Priority Research Program, project 6-021-1-005, of the Qatar National Research Fund. The work in China was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant No. 61275001 and by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, under Grant No. 2014A030313799. Australian Research Council (DE130101432, DP140100265 and DP150102057). The work of JMSC was supported by MINECO under contract TEC2012-37958-C02-02, and by C. A.M. under contract S2013/MIT-2790. JMSC and NA acknowledge the support of the Volkswagen Foundation Agence Nationale de la Recherche through projects ANR- 2010-BLANC-0417-01 and ANR-2012-BS04-001, the Région Bourgogne, and the Labex ACTION program ANR- 11-LABX-01-01. The work of JMSC was supported by MINECO under contract TEC2012-37958-C02-02, by C A M under contract S2013 / MIT-2790, and by the Volkswagen Foundation. French National Research Agency (Grant No. ANR-12- BS04-0011 OPTIROC), and the Labex ACTION (Grant No. ANR11-LABX-01-01). S R acknowledges FONDECYT grant N 1130709. Fond National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), the Methusalem project and the Interuniversity Attraction 463 Poles program of the Belgian Science Policy Office, under 464 Grant No. IAP P7- 35 Photonics@be. ANR TOPWAVE, FOPAFE and LABEX CEMPI (ANR-11-LABX-0007) projects, by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the Nord-Pas de Calais Regional Council and Fonds Européen de Développement Régional (FEDER) through the ‘Contrat de Projets Etat Région (CPER)’ and the ‘Campus Intelligence Ambiante (CIA)’. The Einstein Center for Mathematics Berlin under project D-OT2, Collaborative Research Center 123 PlanOS, and Nieders. Vorab Z3061. Spanish MINECO (FIS2015-66503-C3-2-P) and ICREA ACADEMIA. Mardsen Fund of New Zealand. ANR international program, project ANR-2010-INTB-402-02, ‘COLORS’. Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR, Project No.2012BFNWZ2). We acknowledge support from the Laboratoire d’Excellence CEMPI (Centre Européen pour les Mathématiques, la Physique et leurs Interactions).Peer Reviewe

Roadmap on optical rogue waves and extreme events

The pioneering paper ‘Optical rogue waves’ by Solli et al (2007 Nature 450 1054) started the new subfield in optics. This work launched a great deal of activity on this novel subject. As a result, the initial concept has expanded and has been enriched by new ideas. Various approaches have been suggested since then. A fresh look at the older results and new discoveries has been undertaken, stimulated by the concept of ‘optical rogue waves’. Presently, there may not by a unique view on how this new scientific term should be used and developed. There is nothing surprising when the opinion of the experts diverge in any new field of research. After all, rogue waves may appear for a multiplicity of reasons and not necessarily only in optical fibers and not only in the process of supercontinuum generation. We know by now that rogue waves may be generated by lasers, appear in wide aperture cavities, in plasmas and in a variety of other optical systems. Theorists, in turn, have suggested many other situations when rogue waves may be observed. The strict definition of a rogue wave is still an open question. For example, it has been suggested that it is defined as ‘an optical pulse whose amplitude or intensity is much higher than that of the surrounding pulses’. This definition (as suggested by a peer reviewer) is clear at the intuitive level and can be easily extended to the case of spatial beams although additional clarifications are still needed. An extended definition has been presented earlier by N Akhmediev and E Pelinovsky (2010 Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 185 1–4). Discussions along these lines are always useful and all new approaches stimulate research and encourage discoveries of new phenomena. Despite the potentially existing disagreements, the scientific terms ‘optical rogue waves’ and ‘extreme events’ do exist. Therefore coordination of our efforts in either unifying the concept or in introducing alternative definitions must be continued. From this point of view, a number of the scientists who work in this area of research have come together to present their research in a single review article that will greatly benefit all interested parties of this research direction. Whether the authors of this ‘roadmap’ have similar views or different from the original concept, the potential reader of the review will enrich their knowledge by encountering most of the existing views on the subject. Previously, a special issue on optical rogue waves (2013 J. Opt. 15 060201) was successful in achieving this goal but over two years have passed and more material has been published in this quickly emerging subject. Thus, it is time for a roadmap that may stimulate and encourage further research

Exploring TQM awareness in the Greek national business context: between conservatism and reformism cultural determinants of TQM

This paper develops the theoretical understanding of the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) in business environments that differ from those from where it emerged. Business systems that are less developed tend to adopt more 'sophisticated' and formal strategic initiatives. The adoption of TQM by Greek organizations is a prime example. However, less has been said about the understanding of TQM or its cultural determinants in such environments. This paper, based on the results of 73 semi-structured interviews conducted with managers working in Greek public and private organizations, argues that there are two antithetical business-cultural 'forces' - conservatism and reformism - that seem to substantially affect the awareness and application of total quality concepts. Both features create pressures in the system, either restraining or promoting TQM implementation. In this context, the tension between traditional business culture and a modernization logic is the key to understanding the development of TQM.No Full Tex