While the quality literature abounds with prescriptions for how quality should be managed, no one has proposed an organization-theory explanation for how quality is managed in organizations. This paper proposes a system-structural model of quality management that relates organizational quality...

We consider Just-in-Time (JIT) to be an overall organizational phenomenon. Accordingly, we developed and tested a model that includes both JIT practices and the infrastructure practices hypothesized to provide an environment in which JIT practices perform more effectively. Canonical correlation...

This survey discusses applications and research of the Management Sciences in institutions of higher education. It includes four specific areas: (1) Planning, Programming and Budgeting Systems, (2) Management Information Systems, (3) Resource Allocation Models, and (4) Mathematical Models. In...

This paper proposes a relationship between manufacturing strategy and organizational culture, based on an examination of the research literature. Survey data were collected from 822 respondents in 41 plants in the transportation, electronics, and machinery industries in the U.S. These plants...

This study investigates two mechanisms of knowledge creation--one that is method driven and the other that is psychologically driven. Results show that the two mechanisms have different effects on the learning behaviors and knowledge created in Six Sigma projects. The method mechanism directly...

Linear programming formulations for piecewise loglinear estimation of efficient production surfaces are derived from a set of basic properties postulated for the underlying production possibility sets. Unlike the piecewise linear model of Banker, Charnes, and Cooper (Banker R. D., A. Charnes, W....

An innovative business practice attributed to the information technology (IT) industry is the aggressive use of employee stock options to compensate executives and other employees. In this study, we investigate whether the greater use of stock options in the IT industry can be explained on the...

We present evidence on components of productivity change in the public accounting industry toward the end of the 20th century. Using revenue and human resource data from 64 of the 100 largest public accounting firms in the United States for the 1995--1999 period, we analyze productivity change,...

The year 2000 (Y2K) countdown provided a uniquely visible instance of spending on information technology (IT) by U.S. companies. With public attention riveted on potential Y2K malfunctions, managers were forced to evaluate their IT and make decisions about whether to modify or replace existing...

In recent years, the practitioner literature in operations management has seen a dramatic surge in articles on quality management. It reflects the increased emphasis on quality by U.S. firms, which has been attributed largely to increased competition faced by them. The question of how quality is...