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Macau Periodical Index (澳門期刊論文索引)
- Author
- Ahmed, AM; Zairi, Mohamed
- Title
- En route to excellent: An empirical study of TQM application and maturity in 'average organizations'
- Journal Name
- Euro Asia Journal of Management
- Pub. Info
- Dec. 2003, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 139-157
- Abstract
- Abstract : TQM maturity and sustainability are equated with the principle of excellence, which is gaining wider acceptance in the business community. The problem with finding a common and acceptable definition of the excellence and sustainability is the real purpose behind this paper. Excellence as a concept has always been associated with successful organisations competitively and commercially. This paper will deliberately focus on the experience of what has been termed 'average' organisations, which is demonstrated by using Zairi's framework called 'the Ladder of Excellence' and an Intelligent Computer Based System (ICBS) to support the self-assessment process. Against various principles and criteria of excellence, various benchmarking data and practices are examined to identify common traits, patterns of performance and to identify gaps against median standards and practices exhibited by successful organisations. The paper concludes by providing useful guidelines that assist average oragnisations in their pursuit to excellence. Paragraph Headings: 1. Introduction 2. Ladder of excellence 3. Main components 3.1. Category 1: Leadership 3.2. Category 2: Policy and strategy 3.3. Category 3: People 3.4. Category 4: Partnerships and resources 3.5. Category 5: Process 3.6. Category 6: Customer results 3.7. Category 7: People results 3.8. Category 8: Society results 3.9. Category 9L key performance results 4. The developed system components 4.1. Expert domain 4.2. Knowledge acquisition 4.3. Knowledge base 4.4. Inference engine 4.5. Working memory 4.6. User interface 4.7. Inter-process communication link 4.8. Database 5. Case studies 5.1. Company 1 5.2. Assessment methodology 5.3. Company 2 5.4. Company 3 5.5. Company 4 5.6. Company 5 6. Conclusion Figures: 1. EFQM model 2. The developed system components 3. Company 1 assessment results 4. Company 2 assessment results 5. Company 3 assessment results 6. Company 4 assessment results 7. Company 5 assessment results