Quality Management Practices in Indian SMEs

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an insight on the status of quality management practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of South India. A survey-based approach was adopted to understand the established quality management practices in the SMEs. A short survey instrument was designed by reviewing the literature on quality management initiatives in SMEs. Sample of 270 manufacturing SMEs across Southern India was selected through stratified random sampling technique. Projects with small teams, management commitment and involvement, communication, and culture change have high influence as success factors in implementing quality initiatives. Overall equipment effectiveness, root cause analysis, bottleneck analysis, and PDCA are often used tools and techniques by the organizations. High cost of training and limited knowledge were the reasons cited for not implementing quality initiatives. The study is an attempt to understand the quality management practices application in SMEs from a specific geographic location. The strength lies in bringing a different perspective from the present studies, whereas specific context of the study limits its generalizability. The findings of this chapter will help the industry to identify current quality management practices in SMEs to focus on improving their performance

Identifying drivers of sustainability initiatives in manufacturing organizations—an exploratory study from the Indian cement industry

In the current business scenario, firms need to increasingly focus on environmental sustainability issues, as a result of stricter regulatory enforcements that lay emphasis on cleaner production, and also due to growing pressures from the stakeholders. This paper aims at understanding the organizational factors that contribute towards the successful implementation of sustainability initiatives in a process industry setup. A qualitative case study from a major cement manufacturing firm located in India helps us to identify the key drivers in the context of sustainability. The case findings reveal that organizational culture and practices followed lead to the emergence of innovative and economically viable solutions, which help in achieving the sustainability targets. These exploratory results obtained can be further analysed in the backdrop of other industries

Measuring the service quality of services : tradonic servqual model

SERVQUAL and e-SERVQUAL have been considered the most effective and powerful approaches in evaluating the quality and gaps in the service delivered in traditional and electronic services, respectively, but neither SERVQUAL nor e-SERVQUAL can measure the overall service quality of the firm. Therefore, this chapter aims to propose and test a new scale that can measure the overall service quality of the firm. © 2018 by IGI Global. All rights reserved

Service research in Asia : research paradigm and productivity

This article traces the journey of service research by analyzing the articles contributed by researchers from Asia based on research productivity and research paradigm. The research analyzes top service journals from 2009 to 2016. The findings suggest high productivity of researchers from Taiwan. Survey research is widely used followed by mathematical modeling, lab experiments, interviews, conceptual modeling, theoretical modeling, and case study. Most researched topics observed such as customer satisfaction and relationship, service quality and performance, service marketing, service delivery, and service operations. The study provides valuable insights and highlights the contributions of Asian researchers to the field. © 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Impact of quality management tools and techniques : case of Namibian municipal water distributors

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding on the impact of quality management (QM) tools and techniques in water supply infrastructure maintenance and the generation of non-revenue water (NRW) by Namibian Municipal Water Distributors. Design/methodology/approach - In-depth interviews were selected as the primary data collection method, while secondary data were collected using document review and observations. In-depth interviews as primary method provided rich data and details on the subject matter from the respondents. Document review and observations provided a holistic perspective and understanding of the context within which the maintenance projects are handled by municipal water distributors. Findings - The study found that as the number of QM tools employed to analyze maintenance data increases, the generation of NRW by the municipality decreases. However, for the tools to be effective, they should cover applications such as problem identification, data analysis, process analysis, decision making, planning, quality control and statistical process control, this helped Namibian municipalities to produce low volumes of NRW. In contrast, municipalities using QM tools arbitrarily lead to high quantities of NRW generation. Originality/value - The World Bank recommends that NRW should be less than 25 percent of the total water produced, while in many countries NRW is up to 60 percent. Developed economies have made efforts to reduce NRW but efforts are still at nascent stage in emerging economies. This is the first study providing evidences of QM tools application in maintenance process and effect on NRW. © 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited

Quality management practices in SMEs : a comparative study between India and Namibia

Purpose: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have now become an important part of economy for not only developed nations but also for emerging economies. Irrespective of the benefits that can be derived, SMEs in emerging economies still lack the will to implement quality management (QM) practices. Using a comparative study, the purpose of this paper is to understand the status of QM practices in SMEs of emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach: A survey-based approach was adopted to understand the established QM practices in the SMEs. A survey instrument was designed by reviewing the literature on QM initiatives in SMEs. A sample of 270 SMEs across Southern India and 189 SMEs in Namibia was selected through stratified random sampling technique. Findings: The overall response rate was 19.52 percent for India and 26.46 percent for Namibia, respectively. There were similarities and differences in responses from SMEs in both countries. Similarities are in terms of limited implementation of QM practices, and also less use of tools and techniques. Reasons for not implementing include unknown to the authors, and the high cost of training. Differences emerged in the type of market (Indian SMEs catering to one major customer), CSFs and business performance indicators. It was interesting to find that management commitment and involvement do not have a major influence as CSF for SMEs in both the countries. Originality/value: The research is the first attempt in bringing a comparative study about QM practices in SMEs from developing countries. The insights will help emerging economies to develop policies for education and training, and thus facilitate implementation of QM practices in SMEs. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

Analysis of TPM barriers using ISM-MICMAC approach

Total Productive Maintenance in the organizations is a challenging issue for Indian manufacturing industries. There is a rapid need to analyze the behavior of the barriers faced by Indian manufacturing industries for efficacious implementation of TPM. The purpose of this study is to recognize the mutual interaction among the barriers of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and to develop a hierarchy of barriers to TPM implementation. An interpretive structural modelling (ISM) - MICMAC methodology is employed to identify the inter-relationships among the barriers of TPM implementation. A hierarchy model of these barriers is developed; by driving and dependence power of the barriers. MICMAC methodology determines driving and driven barriers based on their driving and dependence power. © IEOM Society International

Exploring the adoption of lean principles in medical laboratory industry: Empirical evidences from Namibia

Purpose: As the demand for efficiency and quality in the health-care industry has increased over the past few years, adoption of Lean principles and tools in the medical laboratory industry has become increasingly crucial. The purpose of this study is to explore the level of adoption, barriers and enablers of Lean principles and tools in the Namibian medical laboratory industry. Design/methodology/approach: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out to examine the level of usage, barriers and enablers, impact of Lean tools and to suggest appropriate strategies for adopting Lean in the Namibian medical laboratory services. Findings: Research findings reveal that Lean tools are moderately implemented in most laboratories. Standard operating procedures, root cause analysis, overall equipment effectiveness and visual management are the important Lean tools used in the industry. Results of the survey also show that Lean tools had a positive impact on operational performance, employee motivation, turnaround time and cost reduction. Furthermore, top management involvement, adequate training and proper planning emerged as important enablers, while lack of support from the management, financial constraint and staff resistant to change are major barriers to the adoption of Lean principles in the Namibian medical laboratory industry. Research limitations/implications: The paper has inherent limitations of survey research, which the authors will overcome by using case studies with medical laboratories. Practical implications: The findings of the authors’ work will help in widening the application of Lean principles in more medical laboratories in Namibia and in other parts of the world. Originality/value: The paper is based on numerous health-care studies on Lean. This is one of the few papers investigating the adoption of Lean principles, specifically in medical laboratories, from an emerging economy such as Namibia. © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

Lean and its impact on sustainability performance in service companies: results from a pilot study

Purpose: The purpose of this empirical research is to understand the application of Lean practices (technical and social) and tools in the service sector, whose implementation is less studied, despite its economic relevance. The study aims to extend previous studies that focused on the relationship between Lean and operational and financial performance, and analyzing the impact on sustainability, encompassing economic, social and environmental perspectives. Design/methodology/approach: A pilot survey was conducted with Lean experts in European service companies. The authors have utilized various professional contacts on LinkedIn and a satisfactory response rate was obtained for analysis. Findings: The results of the study showed that there are several motivating factors for the implementation of Lean, the highlights being improving customer satisfaction, efficiency, delivery and cost reduction. The most frequently used Lean tools are related to the identification of improvement opportunities and causes of problems. The pilot survey also made it possible to identify the greater use of technical practices than social practices. The sustainability performance analysis showed that the better performance of service companies is in the economic dimension. Originality/value: The authors have identified no empirical studies linking Lean and sustainable performance in the service sector. This study bridges this cognitive gap through a pilot study and therefore makes an original contribution to the current literature. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited