Describes how focusing on total product quality (TPQ) can provide a new form of competitive differentiation, bearing in mind the move towards product parity. Considers that the role of marketing is vitally important in building TPQ, as a good quality product can be so easily let down by poor...

The first part of this paper presents, from a conceptual point of view, the responsibility centres and we used a theoretical and methodological approach that allows us to understand the role generally played by the responsibility centres, profit centres in particular, concerning the optimization...

The relationship between the operational behaviour of a service system and the type of management control system used by the service company is addressed. A number of case studies are used to demonstrate that when the management control systems are not well adapted to the service strategy, the...

In modern market economy, organizations have to take decisions in a flexible, dynamic manner. In the economic environment, the relationship between product - market and competition is becoming more and more complex, as the socio-economic environment itself becomes more diversified and complex....