ISO 9000 Series Certification Over Time: what have we learnt?

The ISO 9000 experiences of the same sample of organisations over a five year time period is examined in this paper. The responses to a questionnaire sent out at the end of 1999 to companies which had a reasonably long term experience with the ISO 9000 series quality system are analysed. These companies were ISO 9000 series certified before 1994 when the authors conducted their first survey on the same sample. The main aim is to explore the links between the motivation for undertaking the ISO 9000 series and continued certification, with the impact on the type of TQM practices that have been adopted after certification, and what kind of gains have been achieved. Challenges faced by these organisations over time are also addressed.sustainability;longitudinal research;total quality management;ISO9000

High Performance Work Systems

Research, summarized and classified in the work of Delery and Doty (1996), Guest (1997), Paauwe and Richardson (1997) and Boselie et al. (2001), suggests significant impact of Human Resources Management (HRM) on the competitive advantage of organizations. The mainstream research on this topic reveals encouraging results on organizational level. Also in relation to Total Quality Management (TQM) there is research evidence that 'best practices' and/or 'high performance work systems' (HPWS) can be identified having positive impact on the performance of an organization (Waldman, 1994; Hendricks and Singhal, 1997 and 2001; Blackburn and Rosen, 1993). Delery and Shaw (forthcoming in 2002) allege a need for "research on research" in the area of HPWS and performance, more precisely research on organizational-level research methods. We argue that further "research on research" on the perception of the individual employee may also reveal new (methodological) insights in the effects of HRM and/or TQM practices on performances in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to (1) review methodological problems in empirical literature on HRM/TQM and performance and to (2) test the stability of HRM/TQM factors (or constructs) over time. We have the opportunity to analyze longitudinal data (1998 and 2000) of individual employee perceptions from the Ernst & Young company in the Netherlands. The HRM/TQM constructs appear to be relatively stable over time, just like the relationship between these constructs and performance.employee morale;total quality management (TQM);employee satisfaction;high performance work systems (HPWS);human resource management (HRM)

Mystery Shopping: In-depth measurement of customer satisfaction

This paper will discuss the phenomenon Mystery Shopping in the fieldof customer satisfaction measurement techniques. By using theliterature about Mystery Shopping definitions and restrictions of thisinstrument will be presented. Also, possible ways to present and usethe gathered data will be shown. After the literature part of thepaper some practical research will be presented. A Dutch Flexcompanyintroduced the instrument Mystery Shopping in addition to the alreadyused measurement methods like customer satisfaction measurement withuse of questionnaires. Some of the first results of the MysteryShopping visits will be presented.customer satisfaction;mystery guest;service quality

Employee Perceptions of HRM and TQM and the Effects on Satisfaction and INtention to Leave

There is a growing interest in theory and in practice with regard to the relationship between human resource management [HRM] and total quality management [TQM] as well as the relationship between these two perspectives and business performances. Empirical research suggests significant effects of HRM/TQM on the performances of an organisation. The majority of research in this area is focused on the effects of HRM/TQM at the organisational level. Research on the perceptions of individual employees might obtain new insights for further discussion on the effectiveness of HRM/TQM in an organisation. The authors have the opportunity to analyse a relatively large database with recent data of individual employee perceptions from a knowledge-intensive organisation in The Netherlands. This analysis gives new insight in relation to concepts like 'co-operation', 'information', 'leadership', 'salary', 'work conditions', and 'goal setting' in relation to employee satisfaction and the intention to leave the organisation.employee morale;human resources management (HRM);total quality management (TQM)

Empirical Evidence for the Relation between Customer Satisfaction and Business Performance

This paper focuses on the analysis of empirical data on customer satisfaction and the relationship with hard organisational performance data. The organisation is a Flexcompany with its headquarters in The Netherlands, but also operating in other countries in Europe. The empirical data on customer satisfaction and business performances stem from 1998 and 1999. Based on the empirical data it can be concluded that it is possible to find evidence for the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and organisational performance indicators, although the relationship is not very strong. Various factors might influence the timelag between a change in customer satisfaction and an expected effect in sales, margin, or other output indicators. However, the analyses do give answers to questions related to the quality dimensions as underlying factors behind the items in the customer satisfaction questionnaire and some indications for the changing behaviour of the customer in relation to his perception.customer satisfaction;business performance improvement;customer behaviour

Employee Perception on Commitment Oriented Work Systems

Human resource management (HRM) does matter! Prior empirical research, summarized and classified in the work of Delery and Doty (1996), Guest (1997) and Boselie et al. (2000), suggests significant impact of HRM on the competitive advantage of organizations. The mainstream research on this topic reveals encouraging results on organizational level. Further research on the perception of the individual employee may reveal new insights in the effectiveness of HRM in organizations. Now we have the opportunity to study recent empirical data of a Dutch employment agency. These data on individual employee level provide us new insights in the perception of commitment oriented HR systems and their relationship with perceived job security and employee trust. High scores on employee participation, payment system, training and development, information sharing, and support of the direct supervisor result in employee trust and high scores on perceived job security.human resource management;performance;commitment (versus control) systems;employee trust;perceived job security

Mystery Shopping: In-depth measurement of customer satisfaction

This paper will discuss the phenomenon Mystery Shopping in the field of customer satisfaction measurement techniques. By using the literature about Mystery Shopping definitions and restrictions of this instrument will be presented. Also, possible ways to present and use the gathered data will be shown. After the literature part of the paper some practical research will be presented. A Dutch Flexcompany introduced the instrument Mystery Shopping in addition to the already used measurement methods like customer satisfaction measurement with use of questionnaires. Some of the first results of the Mystery Shopping visits will be presented

A Study On The Applicability Of SERVQUAL Dimensions Of Web Sites

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

ISO 9000 Series Certification Over Time: what have we learnt?

The ISO 9000 experiences of the same sample of organisations over a five year time period is examined in this paper. The responses to a questionnaire sent out at the end of 1999 to companies which had a reasonably long term experience with the ISO 9000 series quality system are analysed. These companies were ISO 9000 series certified before 1994 when the authors conducted their first survey on the same sample. The main aim is to explore the links between the motivation for undertaking the ISO 9000 series and continued certification, with the impact on the type of TQM practices that have been adopted after certification, and what kind of gains have been achieved. Challenges faced by these organisations over time are also addressed

High Performance Work Systems

Research, summarized and classified in the work of Delery and Doty (1996), Guest (1997), Paauwe and Richardson (1997) and Boselie et al. (2001), suggests significant impact of Human Resources Management (HRM) on the competitive advantage of organizations. The mainstream research on this topic reveals encouraging results on organizational level. Also in relation to Total Quality Management (TQM) there is research evidence that 'best practices' and/or 'high performance work systems' (HPWS) can be identified having positive impact on the performance of an organization (Waldman, 1994; Hendricks and Singhal, 1997 and 2001; Blackburn and Rosen, 1993). Delery and Shaw (forthcoming in 2002) allege a need for "research on research" in the area of HPWS and performance, more precisely research on organizational-level research methods. We argue that further "research on research" on the perception of the individual employee may also reveal new (methodological) insights in the effects of HRM and/or TQM practices on performances in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to (1) review methodological problems in empirical literature on HRM/TQM and performance and to (2) test the stability of HRM/TQM factors (or constructs) over time. We have the opportunity to analyze longitudinal data (1998 and 2000) of individual employee perceptions from the Ernst & Young company in the Netherlands. The HRM/TQM constructs appear to be relatively stable over time, just like the relationship between these constructs and performance