Corporate Social Responsibility in the Framework of Quality Management

AbstractQuality management system (QMS) provide a framework for implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy in all management levels of organization, that create basis for establishment of sustainable development policy and related activities. Key for organizational excellence is the combination of focusing on quality in the process level and following the needs of stakeholders, giving the valuable contribution to the well-being of society.The aim of the research is to analyse concept of CSR in the context of organizational quality management system. This article presents the literature review on CSR definitions, organization excellence and sustainability concepts. The research showed that implementing employee-related CSR activities in quality management system of organization is the best alternative which helps to minimize staff rotation and improve the quality of processes and the overall performance of organization. Quality management system framework allows maintaining, monitoring and evaluating continuous effect and execution of CSR principles, and including CSR strategies in organizational policy

Sustainability and continuous improvement of organization: Review of process-oriented performance indicators

Nowadays, organizations are trying to have, not only a competitive advantage in the market, but also in sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process of measuring organizations' sustainability using process-oriented indicators. The research seeks to address the following research question: How are process-oriented indicators linked to an organization' strategy in the context of sustainable development? This research is based on reviewing the literature on organizational performance analysis in the context of sustainable development. The literature review highlights the main elements of organizational performance analysis and linkages to the overall business strategy. There are many ways of how to conduct an in depth assessment of an organization's performance regarding sustainability. The research shows the elements that are integrated in the process and the organization' performance analysis. These elements are—objectives, metrics, data measures, indicators and key performance indicators (KPIs). The research shows that growing organizations with a strategic focus on sustainability integrate these elements in the process analysis

External audits and official controls – what’s the difference in their usefulness and credibility?

Purpose – The study aims to determine whether audited organizations experience differences between external audits and official controls. Design/methodology/approach – A survey among 100 organic food producers was conducted to explore differences regarding the usability of external audits and official controls. The survey was conducted in 2020 using the computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) method supplemented by the computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) method. Organizations processing organic farming products in Poland were chosen for the study. Findings – Three primary benefits associated with external audits and official controls were identified, i.e. (1) enabling and initiating activities related to the improvement of the organization, (2) improving the financial performance of the organization and (3) enhancing credibility. For most organizations, the assessment of these features was at the same level for both external audits and official control. However, if these assessments differed, commercial audits were assessed at a higher level than official controls. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to only one specific type of manufacturing organization and one European country. Originality/value – The literature review shows some conceptual differences between audits and official controls, but the results of this study show that the business environment does not perceive these differences as significant. Thus, the value of the study is reflected in the conclusion that both external audits and official controls are considered useful and credible approaches to monitoring the quality within the organization, which allows us to state that external evaluation is generally seen as an opportunity to improve the performance of the organization

Sustainable Approach to Certification of Persons: Ensuring Reliability and Quality

Nowadays, sustainability issues are gaining more and more topicality in the context of improving organizational processes, including in the field of conformity assessment. In the field of certification of persons, competence assessment institutions have also become interested in using new approaches as the quality of assessment execution does not fully meet the requirements of stakeholders regarding the ability of a person to apply the acquired knowledge and skills in situations related to the professional activity. The aim of the research is to analyze the aspects of professional competence assessment related to the certification of persons and its performance according to the stakeholder requirements in order to develop a new sustainable approach to the process of certification of persons that would ensure the quality and reliability of its execution. Qualitative and quantitative research methods have been used to analyze the elements of the concept of certification of persons and the main elements of the concept of professional competence. As a result of the research, a new sustainable approach to certification of persons is offered, where certification of persons transforms from a conformity assessment procedure into a professional competence assessment process and ensures that a person’s ability is assessed not only in accordance with the industry requirements, but also with the stakeholder needs

The role of Consumer and Customer Journeys in Customer Experience driven and open innovation

Customer and Consumer Journeys, touchpoints and Consumer Goals have been widely discussed among Customer Experience theorists and practitioners, establishing that a hierarchical relationship between those exist. Customer Experience driven innovation evaluates opportunities mainly within touchpoints in Customer Journeys. However, there is still a gap in understanding how exactly those elements are interlinked and impact each other. This research article aims to create this understanding by answering three research questions: "To what extent, and how do Customer Journeys impact Consumer Journeys and vice versa?" and "Are touchpoints (including other actors) a sub-set of Consumer or Customer Journeys?" and "Where in the hierarchy should Customer Experience driven innovation opportunities be identified?". Phenomenological interviews with participants of the Cambridge Venture Camp 2021, organized as part of the ERASMUS+ programme of the European Union within Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education were chosen for the research methodology. Grounded theory and open coding were used to interpret the collected data. In this article, we demonstrate how Consumer Journeys impact Customer Journeys, and that Customer Journeys do not impact other journeys directly, but rather by adjusting the higher-order goals of the Consumer through the response to the stimuli in the touchpoints. A theoretical model is proposed that highlights the interconnectivity of the different experience elements, and how to interpret Customer Experience driven innovation within the hierarchy

Institutional attention to European policy agendas: Exploring the relevance of instrumental and neo-Institutional explanations.

This article addresses how European policy initiatives in higher education, research and innovation are diffused in the European higher education research and education area. Based on an instrumental and an institutional perspective, specific expectations are developed as to how policy diffusion might unfold, and, through an in-depth analysis of the strategic plans of 19 higher education institutions in Latvia and Norway, the article identifies factors that potentially mediate European policies into the strategic agenda of universities and colleges. The findings show that European Union membership and policy area seems to matter for the attention given to European policy initiatives, while administrative capacity at institutional level have less or quite mixed effects. The article concludes that both instrumental and institutional perspectives are of value in explaining how European policy diffusion takes place