A meta-analytical review of the relationship between total quality management practices and the operational performance of manufacturing companies

06.03.2018 tarihli ve 30352 sayılı Resmi Gazetede yayımlanan “Yükseköğretim Kanunu İle Bazı Kanun Ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılması Hakkında Kanun” ile 18.06.2018 tarihli “Lisansüstü Tezlerin Elektronik Ortamda Toplanması, Düzenlenmesi ve Erişime Açılmasına İlişkin Yönerge” gereğince tam metin erişime açılmıştır.Bizim gibi küresel bir toplumda, kalite algısının müşterilerin satın alma kararlarını büyük ölçüde etkilediği durumlarda küresel rekabet edebilirliği ve finansal büyümeyi sağlamak isteyen kuruluşlar acil olarak, kalite ve müşteri memnuniyetinde mükemmelliği garanti eden iş stratejileri benimsemelidirler. Üretim yönetimi literatürü bu tür beklentileri karşılayan çeşitli iş stratejilerine açıkça yer verse de, hiç şüphesiz Toplam Kalite Yönetimi'nin (TKY) bunlar arasındaki yeri çok farklıdır. TKY uygulamalarının operasyonel performans üzerindeki etkisine ilişkin bundan önceki çalışmalarda çelişkili bulgular elde edilmiştir. Bu çalışma, 1997 ve 2017 yılları arasında yayınlanan 21 çalışmanın meta-analitik incelemesi yoluyla, TKY uygulamaları (Baldrige Mükemmellik ödülünde ele alınan) ile imalat firmalarının operasyonel performansı arasında istatistiksel bir ilişki olasılığını araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Hem çevrimiçi hem de çevrimdışı veri tabanlarından titiz bir literatür taraması yoluyla elde edilen makaleler, bu analiz için özel olarak tasarlanmış spesifik ancak kapsamlı bir dahil etme / hariç tutma kriterlerine tabi tutulmuştur. Hunter ve Schmidt (2004) tarafından geliştirilen meta analizi kullanılarak, bütün TKY uygulamaları ile operasyonel performans arasında güçlü ve pozitif bir ilişki bulunmuştur. Ayrıca, herhangi bir etkiye sahip olmayan stratejik planlama ve orta etkiye sahip olan müşteri odaklılığı haricinde, diğer tüm TKY uygulamalarının (Üst Yönetim Liderliği, Bilgi ve Analiz, İnsan Kaynakları Yönetimi, ve Süreç Yönetimi) operasyonel performansla pozitif ilişkili olduğu ortaya konulmuştur. Heterojenlik testi sonuçları test edilen hipotezlerin neredeyse tamamının firma büyüklüğü, endüstri tipi ve coğrafi konum gibi moderatör değişkenlerden büyük ölçüde etkilendiğini göstermektedir.In a global society like ours where the perception of quality influences greatly the purchasing decisions of customers, organisations that seek to achieve global competitiveness and financial growth must as a matter of urgency, adopt business strategies that guarantee maximum performance excellence in quality and customer satisfaction. Although the operations management literature explicitly highlights business strategies with such prospects, Total Quality Management undoubtedly stands tall among the rest. Previous studies on the topic have however reported conflicting and ambiguous results regarding the effect of TQM implementation on operational performance. This study is therefore aimed at investigating the possibility of a statistical relationship between TQM practices (as captured in the Baldrige Excellence Framework) and the operational performance of manufacturing firms through the meta-analytical review of 21 studies published between 1997 and 2017. The study sample, obtained through a rigorous literature search of both online and offline databases, was subjected to a specific but extensive inclusion/exclusion criteria purposely designed for this analysis. Guided by the Hunter & Schmidt (2004) meta-analysis of correlation approach, the results of the study reveal a strong and positive relationship between aggregate TQM practices and operational performance. Furthermore, with the exception of Strategic planning that is non-significant and Customer focus that has a medium effect on operational performance, the other TQM constructs (Top Management Leadership, Information & Analysis, Human Resource Management and Process Management) are all positively related to operational performance. The test of heterogeneity also indicates that almost all the tested hypotheses were greatly influenced by the moderating variables; Firm size, Industry type, and Geographical location

Good Codes From Generalised Algebraic Geometry Codes

Algebraic geometry codes or Goppa codes are defined with places of degree one. In constructing generalised algebraic geometry codes places of higher degree are used. In this paper we present 41 new codes over GF(16) which improve on the best known codes of the same length and rate. The construction method uses places of small degree with a technique originally published over 10 years ago for the construction of generalised algebraic geometry codes.Comment: 3 pages, to be presented at the IEEE Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT 2010) in Austin, Texas, June 201

Time of haricot bean intercropping into the maize- based cropping systems under conservation tillage in the rift valley of Ethiopia

Field experiments were conducted at Welenchity experimental field site, Melkassa Agricultural Research Center from June to October during the years 2010 and 2011 cropping seasons. The aim of the study was to determine optimum time of intercropping haricot bean into the maize based cropping system under conservation tillage practices, Tied-ridge and Zero-tillage. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design, with tillage practices a) Tied-ridge and b) Zero-tillage as main plot and time of intercropping haricot bean 1) Planting haricot bean simultaneously with maize, 2) Planting haricot bean 15 days after maize was planted and 3) planting haricot bean 30 days after maize was planted as sub-plots. Intercropping was assessed on the basis of the performance of the main and component crops indices as grain yield, biomass weight, partial and total LER and competitive indices such as relative crowding coefficient (K), aggressivity (A), competitive ratio (CR) and system productivity index (SPI).There was no interaction between tillage practices and time of intercropping haricot bean in any of the indices studied. Main effects of tillage practices had no significant effects on all the indices considered during both 2010 and 2011 growing seasons, but grain yield, biomass weight, partial and total LER tended to be higher in the tied-ridge treatment during 2010 and vis-versa during 2011 seasons. The results obtained showed that the greatest intercrop yields of maize and haricot bean were obtained when both crops were planted at the same time. In both years, highest total land equivalent ratio (LERt) values were obtained when planting of maize and haricot bean was done at the same time followed by planting of haricot bean 15 days after maize was planted indicating the advantages of intercropping over the sole planting. Partial LERm was always higher than LERb during 2010 season and vis-versa during 2011 season. The results of competitive indices indicate that maize was the dominant crop in the mixture as measured by the positive values of A, and the high values of Km than Kb in the mixture. On the other hand, CR values of haricot bean were higher than maize in the mixture suggesting haricot bean was more competitive than maize in the intercropping system. Moreover, the data of SPI indicated that intercropping haricot bean at the same time with maize had higher SPI during both 2010 and 2011 season. In conclusion, intercropping of haricot bean simultaneously with maize exhibited an overall advantage over the other time of intercropping and sole cropping in terms of grain yield, partial LERm, LERb and LERt and competitive ratio indices and could therefore be recommended for Central rift valley areas of Ethiopia where maize and haricot bean are major crops

Afro-semio-aesthetics as an interpretative tool in contemporary Nigerian drama: John Iwuh’s The village lamb as a paradigm

It has been observed that people; readers and interpreters misjudge Nigerian playtexts. This is because African semiotics and aesthetics have been dominated and influenced by Western theorists and critics who often misconceive African semio-aesthetics in African playtexts. Thus the problem of this study centres on the interpreters’ perceptions of the aesthetic and semiotic sensibilities of African cultures as “primitive” and inferior. Hence, the study aims at evolving African semio-aesthetic approach that will evaluate, judge, and interpret artistic components and compositions from the point of view of the African and his cultural heritage. Objectives of the study include: to examine African foundations of semiotic and aesthetic analyses for interpretation of playtexts. The study adopts content analysis approach of the qualitative research method. The findings reveal that from the African semio-aesthetic standpoint, Nigerian drama are aimed at effective generation and communication of meaning. Hence, the need for evolvement and integration of African theories of interpretation to permit communication and generation of meanings in Nigerian drama. The paper concludes that cultural elements add to the construct and impact of the dramatic products. Hence, African semio-aesthetics should be applied as interpretative tool in studying contemporary Nigerian drama. The study recommends that African semioaesthetics should be key anchor as an interpretative tool in contemporary  Nigerian play texts

Development, validation, and testing of a physiotherapist initiated checklist of items for implementing pulmonary rehabilitation in Nigeria

Objectives: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program is beneficial to patients with chronic respiratory diseases. However, PR services are limited or non-existent in many resource limited settings of the world, including Nigeria. Equally important, is lack of local guidelines or checklists to support the implementation of these programs. This study was aimed at developing, validating, and testing a physiotherapist initiated checklist of items for implementing of PR in Nigeria.Materials and Methods: A panel of experienced cardiopulmonary physiotherapists was constituted to draw-up and agree on a list of items that they consider necessary for implementing of PR. The resulting items were collated as a checklist of items. The checklist was then locally validated by presenting it to a wider group of respiratory health-care professionals including chest physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, dieticians, and clinical psychologists, practicing within the study area. Each item was rated from strongly agree to strongly disagree on 5-point Likert scale. Thereafter, the performance of the items of the checklist was subjected to testing by assessing whether each item was addressed in the British Thoracic Society (BTS) PR guideline. This was done by rating each item with either a “yes,” “no,” or “not fully” to whether our checklists are included and described in the BTS guideline. Supporting evidence profile was also stated for some items, if applicable.Results: A consensus was reached by the panel of physiotherapists to arrive at a 16-item checklist. Each item was further provided with specific details and/or examples that are relevant for instituting PR in a Nigerian setting. All items on the checklist were considered valid by other respiratory health-care professionals, with a rating consensus agreement of between 80% and 100%. Furthermore, the testing of checklists based on inclusion and description in the BTS guideline showed that six items were addressed fully in the BTS guideline (rated “yes”), six were partially addressed (rated “not fully”), while four were not addressed (rated “no”).Conclusion: A checklist of items for the implementation of PR in Nigeria was successfully developed, validated, and tested. Nevertheless, there may be a need to develop a full guideline before instituting PR in view of the potential disparities with existing/established guidelines

Nigerian drama in performance as a panacea for nation building: A critical appraisal

No Abstrac

Bridging the Gap Between Theatre Practice and Islamic Studies: An Interdisciplinary Engagement

Theatre is seen as all-encompassing because it delves into every aspect of life as the case may be. On the other hand, Islamic studies deals also, with every aspect of life because it is religious based. To an extent, most Islamic scholars agreed that it a total way of life. But as agreeing as it seems with both disciplines, there exist disparities and misconceptions about theatre and drama by those with religious bigotry. They have misconstrued the discipline of theatre as misleading and misguiding. There is no denying the fact that some persons in any area of study may try to misbehave sometimes, but that may not be concluded as everybody in the particular field of study is wayward. This menace has contributed in painting the theatre discipline black, thus affecting the practice. It is against this backdrop that the study aims at constructing the bridge of understanding between both disciplines, engaging interdisciplinary paradigm. Hence, in order to achieve this, the study adopts the survey approach of quantitative research methodology to investigate how some Muslims have misconstrued theatre and the possible mediation into the challenge. The findings of the study reveal that people, especially Muslims misunderstood theatre because the character and behaviour most people in the discipline portray. The paper thus, concludes that there is need for theatre artists to re-mould the mode of dressing and general behaviour for societal acceptance. Hence, the study recommends that, Islam and Muslims have a very important role in this reconstruction bid between theatre and Islamic studies

Determinants of Divorce in Muslim Community in Gondar City Administration

Background: The trend of divorce shows that the situation is getting worse worldwide. This higher rate of divorce has tremendous impacts on psychological, social, economical and spiritual lives of the divorcees, their children, their parents, the communities and the nation at large. Contrary to this fact, there is no well-organized research conducted on determinants and consequences of divorce on the divorcees, particularly among the Muslim couples of Gondar city administration;  Objective: This research aimed to investigate the causes of divorce among the Muslim couples in Gondar city administration. Methods: to achieve the research objectives both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. Quantitative data were collected by using structured questionnaire from 361 respondents who were selected randomly from 16 Jemia†associations proportionally. Binary logistics regression and different types of descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the quantitative data.  In addition, qualitative data by in depth interview and focus group discussion were collected and analyzed in line with the objective of the research and the emerging themes from the data.Results: financial problem, early marriage, age disparity, family interferences, frequent misunderstanding and conflict, sexual incompatibility and substance abuse are major causes of divorce among the Muslim couples in Gondar city administration. Couples with financial problem have 4.0 odds ratio; early marriage increases the odds of divorce among couples by 3.6 times. For each additional number of years age difference between couples, the odds of divorce will increased by a factor of 1.619. Family interference, and repeated misunderstanding and conflict will increase the probability of divorce by the odds of 2.96, and 2.94 respectively. Moreover, couples with substance abuse and sexual incompatibility had 2.9 and 2.3 odds of divorce respectively.Conclusion: there are different socio-cultural, economical and psychological causes of divorce among the Muslim couples in Gondar city administration. Recommendations: the reduction on the incidence of divorce seeks interventions from religious organizations and marital councilors in addition to couples commitment. Key Words: Determinants of divorce, Muslim couples & Gondar city administration.Â

A Review of Stream Regimes Manipulation System Effects on Drainage Basin and Remedies

Naturally, a drainage basin harbours stream flow and channel characteristics in an open system. Urbanization effects on hydrological cycles and on stream morphology and dynamics, as in Anderson (1970) causes naturalized changes in channel characteristics as explained (Mrowka, 1974; Sehumm1977) and flood plain characteristics. These man’s efforts and their consequences draw several attentions to changing channel morphology and hydraulic geometry of stream channels by studies such as in Troxell and Leopold(1971), Hammer(1972), Knox(1977), Knight(1979), Morisawa and Vemure (1976), Morisawa and Laflurem(1979), Ebisemijiu (1989). Such situation reviewed in this paper have disturbed the entire watershed and channels as emaciated in the works of Simon (1992), Simon and Hupp (1992), Oyegun (1994), Church (1992), Pizzuto (1994), Elliot and  Gyetuai (1999)