Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review and identify the dominating paradigms within management control theories in order to investigate adoptability of the European excellence model (EEM) as an alternative management control model or a framework. Design/methodology/approach – The...

Purpose – Recently, the operations management academic literature has seen articles focusing on the transfer of “lean” thinking or kaizen concept from the private to the public sector. In Spain, during the last 15 years, some local councils have also followed similar improvement...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ongoing development of quality management, and whether the concepts being discussed can be agreed – and what influence this might have on the quality movement and quality practice. Design/methodology/approach – Literature review and...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible impediments to radical innovation created by the pursuit of quality improvement in the dynamic hi‐tech sector. Design/methodology/approach – First examines contributions and limitations of extant literature. Then analyzes three...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that there are many sources to quality, not just the supplier; that quality is a complex concept which must be balanced against productivity and profits; that quality has to be considered within a network of relationships and contributions; and...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to revaluate the concept of ethics in management activity. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is a literature analysis and case study. Findings – From previous research, it has been inferred that the practice of ethics in management assures...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate if different applications of process orientation exist and how these are characterised. Furthermore, the objective is to investigate how the applications of process orientation relate to the line organization. Design/methodology/approach...

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to present and discuss the Kansei engineering (KE) methodology, and to reflect on the future development of KE. The paper presents a model of the KE methodology and illustrates how this model was applied on a simple example which all may understand –...

Purpose – The quality of life (QoL) index is a well‐known measurement schedule to compare citizens' life facilities across countries of the world. Based on rational and factual parameters such as gross national product and gender equity, it has to be reinforced with psychological aspects...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the definition of lean production and the methods and goals associated with the concept as well as how it differs from other popular management concepts. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a review of the contemporary...