Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the issues involved in developing and applying performance management approaches within a large UK public sector department using a multiple stakeholder perspective and an accompanying theoretical framework. Design/methodology/approach – An...

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the formative development of construction supply chain guidelines or proposals in a UK region's schools' estates procurement process to more effectively address a forthcoming increase in investment. Design/methodology/approach – The research...

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the links and relationships between strategy and operations in local government improvement efforts under the umbrella of the Local Government Modernisation Agenda (LGMA) in England. More specifically, it explores the implementation of...

Companies are responding to the deeper structural changes taking place in the underlying system of commercial competition by becoming agile. Companies are fragmenting into key specialised business units that not only specialise in providing core functions, but have the expertise and skill to...

This paper adopts a critical perspective in seeking to inquire how TQM‐related models, developed initially in large organisations, are applied in the SME context. Using a grounded inductive approach, a study is made of 20 SME cases, where a quality model, the balanced scorecard, has been...

There is a paucity of research which seeks to develop TQM theories based on a deep and rich understanding of both socio‐political and technical issues. Resultant theories from such an inductive approach could potentially give a deeper insight into TQM, based on sound theoretical evidence....

The principles of TQM are becoming increasingly important in the public sector due to demands for increased levels of stakeholder satisfaction and government cost reduction and performance programmes. The aim of this paper is to investigate how the principles of total quality management (TQM)...

It is often claimed that existing quality models can represent the development of total quality management (TQM) within organisations. However, the more recent emergence of critical perspective literature in this area has shown that these models lack both a strategic formulation influence and a...

The aim of this paper is to evaluate whether the UK regional electricity companies (RECs) has used total quality management (TQM) as a “push” or as a “pull” change methodology. “Push” is the operational improvement role of TQM; “pull” is the strategic or direction giving,...

The aim of the paper is to review the internal communication process of an electrical utility organisation and propose a template for improving communications centred on learning organisation principles. It also looks at the contribution which good internal communications make to the development...