A three‐year study, partly funded by the Quality, Design and Education Division of the Department of Trade and Industry, has been carried out on the general subject of quality improvement. As part of this work a literature survey of the English language papers was conducted on such issues as...

The barriers to supplier development are examined under the broad headings of: poor communication and feedback, supplier complacency, misguided supplier improvement objectives, the credibility of the customer as viewed by their suppliers, and misconceptions regarding purchasing power. Key steps...

Discusses the key actions which need to be taken by an organization if they wish to progress from ISO 9001 or ISO 9002 registration to a quality award prize winners status. There is a large gap between the ISO 9001 requirements and the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM) Model of...

This paper, based on interviews undertaken with consultants experienced in e‐commerce engagements, has identified ten process which are critical to the success of e‐commerce. The processes are: order fulfilment, revenue generation/collection, financial control, IT/Web changes, business...

Quality Circles are organisational options that are aimed at helping employees at all levels to achieve greater job satisfaction; they seek to increase productivity and product quality through direct employee participation. The underlying assumption is that such participation will result in...

The management of quality is a major consideration in the factors governing the demand for products and extends into all parts of the company. This was the theme of the National Quality Campaign, launched by Lord Cockfield in April 1983. One initiative of the campaign was to hold a series of...

Commitment to the management of quality is central to success and the improvement of market share, as demonstrated by analysis of quality case histories (relating to seven companies) presented last year as part of the Department of Trade and Industry's National Quality Campaign. In each case the...