7 research outputs found

    Changing Quality Controls: The Effects of Increasing Product Variety and Shortening Product Life Cycles

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    In veel bedrijfstakken (bijv. auto’s, elektronica, kleding) is de complexiteit en onvoorspelbaarheid van productieprocessen in de afgelopen jaren toegenomen als gevolg van de voortdurend toenemende variëteit aan producten en de steeds korterwordende product levenscycli. Tegelijkertijd zijn er aanwijzingen dat producenten in deze bedrijfstakken meer moeite hebben met het op peil houden van de kwaliteit van hun producten. Dit onderzoek bestudeert de invloed van toenemende product variëteit en korterwordende product levenscycli op kwaliteitsbeheersing. Het empirische deel van het onderzoek bestaat uit case studies bij twee autofabrikanten en een truck fabrikant, en uit een enquête die gehouden is onder West-Europese toeleveranciers in de automobiel industrie. Dit onderzoek maakt gebruik van een model (Simons’ four levers of control model) dat afkomstig is uit de management control discipline en dat niet eerder toegepast is bij onderzoek binnen het vakgebied kwaliteitsmanagement. Dit model is geschikt gebleken voor toepassing binnen kwaliteitsmanagement, omdat het model inzichtelijk kan maken hoe omgevingsfactoren van invloed zijn op kwaliteitsmanagement. Uit de onderzoeksdata is gebleken dat in situaties van korterwordende product levenscycli het gebruik van participatieve en coöperatieve kwaliteitsmanagement systemen toeneemt, zoals verondersteld op basis van het onderzoeksmodel. Echter, in situaties van toenemende product variëteit is de veronderstelde toename van participatieve kwaliteitsmanagement systemen niet gevonden.In many industries (e.g. cars, electronics, clothing) manufacturing complexity and unpredictability have increased in recent years because of increasing product variety and shortening product life cycles. At the same time, manufacturers in these industries appear to have more problems with maintaining high quality levels. This research is a study of how the two trends of increasing product variety and shortening product life cycles affect quality management systems. The empirical part of the research consists of case studies at two car manufacturers and a truck manufacturer, and of a questionnaire survey among a sample of Western European automotive suppliers. This research takes a novel approach to quality management research by applying a model from the field of management control (i.e. Simons’ four levers of control model). The application of this control model in the field of quality management is found to be useful in explaining how contextual factors influence the management of quality in organisations. In situations of shortening product life cycles, the empirical data clearly support the increased use of participative and cooperative quality control systems, as hypothesised by the research model. However, in situations of increasing product variety the hypothesised increase in participative control systems has not been found

    A Study On The Applicability Of SERVQUAL Dimensions Of Web Sites

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    A survey has been undertaken amongst students of two universities (Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Northeastern University Boston, USA) to study what quality factors are perceived as important in relation to their use of web sites. The results of the questionnaire survey are analysed in relation to the five service quality (SERVQUAL) dimensions (tangibles; reliability; responsiveness; assurance; empathy) as developed by Zeithaml et al [1]. There is evidence that the same dimensions are applicable to E-Business, although the underlying aspects have to be specified within the E-Business context

    A transparent role of information systems within business processes: A case study

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    Service organisations still struggle with the adoption of a road to excellence. Evidence exists that processes and systems in service organisations are not always as advanced as in manufacturing organisations. Adding a quality smile to the face of the service provider will not solve the problems that are caused by defects in the underlying work processes and systems. Attention to the hardware in service organisations, i.e. to the service design, should instead create a more reliable process flow and time for the service staff to develop improvement activities and spend more time with customers. The way service organisations started to take excellence seriously is by making their processes transparent, eliminating undesired steps and deleting loops. In this paper the focus is on expanding this approach by adding information systems and information sources into a process map. This seems to be a promising approach for small and medium sized service organisations, without having to invest in expensive and rigid business process automation

    Mystery shopping: A tool to develop insight into customer service provision

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    Reaching service excellence through a focus on the customer, demands more than just measuring customer satisfaction by means of questionnaire surveys. Nowadays, it is not sufficient anymore to have service excellence in services, processes and relationships. Now is the time to create excellence in customer experiences, as the only way to create competitive advantage in the market. Organisational change should then be driven by a broader focus on customers’ expectations and multiple ways of measuring customers’ satisfaction. The case of a service company in The Netherlands (a temporary employment agency) illustrates the way to service excellence as an organisational change process. The case supports the need for a broad focus on measurements in order to be able to monitor and to direct organisational changes. Customer satisfaction data based on surveys are needed, however, they will not be sufficient for continuing the change process over time. To achieve that, other measurements like mystery shopping may give more stimuli to change. Therefore, this research argues that mystery shopping can be a useful instrument in addition to the more often-used survey methods

    Perceptions About The ISO 9000 (2000) Quality System Standard Revision And Its Value: The Dutch Experience

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    The aim of the research reported in this paper is to assess the relative value of the 2000 version of the ISO 9000 series of quality management system standards in comparison to the 1994 version. 773 organisations in the Netherlands which have all been certified to the ISO 9000 standard were surveyed (a response rate of 21.4%) and of these only 22 had not yet converted to the 2000 version of the standard. Amongst the major findings are an overall positive perception of the value of the ISO 9000 (2000) quality system standard and a consistently higher appreciation of the 2000 version compared to the 1994 version

    The E-Business Research Network: summary of the results of the Dutch pilot survey

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    A project has been started with the intention to develop an E-Business Research Network on E-business related research in business and management. The initiative has been taken in co-operation between Erasmus University and UMIST to develop a project in which the first stage concerns the development of a database of researchers and their activities in e-business related research in business and management. The next stage will be to investigate the needs in companies in relation to e-business. It is hoped that an Internet-based database will stimulate interaction and communication between the supply and demand sides of e-business related research. This assumption is based on our previous research in Quality Management conducted in the early to mid 1990's. This paper describes the project and also summarises the results of the first pilot questionnaire based on responses from researchers at universities in The Netherlands

    Effect of SP-B peptides on the uptake of liposomes by alveolar cells

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    Background: Exogenous surfactant has been accepted worldwide as a therapy of RDS in premature and term infants. Exogenous surfactant is usually derived from lung extracts containing phospholipids and the surfactant proteins SP-B and SP-C. Synthetic peptides of SP-B and SP-C are being tested with the aim to develop a completely synthetic surfactant preparation. Nevertheless, the effects of these peptides on the endogenous surfactant metabolism remain unknown. Objectives: The effect of synthetic SP-B peptides on uptake of surfactant-like liposomes was investigated in alveolar cells. Native SP-B and seven SP-B peptides were included: monomeric and dimeric SP-B1-25(Cys-11 → Ala-11), SP-B63-78and Ala-SP-B63-78(Cys-71 → Ala-71;Cys-77 → Ala-77)and their serine mutants. Methods: In vitro, alveolar macrophages (AM) and alveolar type II cells (ATII) were incubated with liposomes containing SP-B or one of its peptides. In vivo, rats received intratracheally various SP-B peptides (SP-B/lipid ratio 1:33 w/w) incorporated in fluorescent surfactant-like liposomes. One hour after instillation, AM and ATII were isolated and cell-associated fluorescence was determined using flow cytometry. Confocal laser microscopy was performed to ensure internalization of the liposomes. Results: In vitro uptake by AM or ATII was not influenced by the SP-B peptides. In vivo, SP-B1-25and Ser-SP-B1-25increased the uptake by AM whereas dSP-B1-25decreased the uptake. Neither SP-B1-25nor dSP-B1-25affected total uptake by ATII. The overall uptake by SP-B63-78variants was not changed. Conclusions: Surface-active synthetic SP-B peptides do not interfere with the normaluptake of surfactant by ATII. Copyrigh
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