Individual involvement and intervention are recognised as genuine concepts of a quality improvement programme and are critical to its success. The Andon system, which is an element of TQC, is being used by a growing number of organisations for highlighting trouble areas within the production...

Reports on a survey relating to the ongoing search for understanding of impediments to the more comprehensive and more rapid adoption, by Australian manufacturing industry, of modern quality management practices. Of the 338 valid responses to the survey analysed, it appears that possibly only 10...

Rework has become an endemic feature of the procurement process in construction, which invariably leads to time and cost overruns in projects. Thus, in order to improve the performance of projects it is necessary to identify the causes and costs of rework. The research presented in this paper...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe collaboration between businesses, universities and industry associations in Australia with the aim of developing an appropriate set of competencies for supply chain professionals. Design/methodology/approach – Three related initiatives are...

The successful businesses of the future are being created today by individuals and teams in tune with fast‐moving technologies, new markets and changing lifestyles. New disciplines have sprung up, new professions are born and new skills are in demand. There is a need to blend the new skills...

Over the past decade many manufacturing organisations around the world have been changing their structures from the traditional hierarchical pyramid structure to a flatter, more responsive and lean structure. Team work and employee participation have become the key tasks for managers in all...

Traditionally, resistance has been cast as adversarial ‐ the enemy of change that must be defeated if change is to be successful. While it is apparent that classical management theory viewed resistance in such a manner, recent literature contains much evidence that suggests resistance may...

Based on interviews conducted with senior managers of four German multinationals, discusses issues of technology management in the context of global manufacturing. An overview of the four companies and their competitive priorities is first presented. Then discusses the role of globalisation and...

Describes the changes that have taken place in the attitudes of the employees and the culture of a small Australian company as it moves towards total quality management (TQM). The company, MFB Products Pty Ltd, is based in Melbourne, employs 60 people and manufactures a range of racking systems,...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare Chinese high-tech firms with other international firms in terms of quality capability and competence. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses data from the GMRG fourth round survey and provides a method for differentiating and...