Quality It And Business Operations

This book discusses action-oriented, concise and easy-to-communicate goals and challenges related to quality, reliability, infocomm technology and business operations. It brings together groundbreaking research in the area of software reliability, e-maintenance and big data analytics, highlighting the importance of maintaining the current growth in information technology (IT) adoption in businesses, while at the same time proposing process innovations to ensure sustainable development in the immediate future. In its thirty-seven chapters, it covers various areas of e-maintenance solutions, software architectures, patching problems in software reliability, preventive maintenance, industrial big data and reliability applications in electric power systems. The book reviews the ways in which countries currently attempt to resolve the conflicts and opportunities related to quality, reliability, IT and business operations, and proposes that internationally coordinated research plans are essential for effective and sustainable development, with research being most effective when it uses evidence-based decision-making frameworks resulting in clear management objectives, and is organized within adaptive management frameworks. Written by leading experts, the book is of interest to researchers, academicians, practitioners and policy makers alike who are working towards the common goal of making business operations more effective and sustainable.

"This book gives both scientists and practical experts an insight into the many different facets of IT service quality management"--Provided by publisher.

Done correctly, Total Quality Management (TQM) will increase your profits and preserve your resources, make your customers and employees happy, and it is the ethical thing to do. The key, of course, is to do it right. Unfortunately, when quality efforts fail to fulfill their potential, business leaders begin to doubt the efficacy of making the pursuit of quality a primary organizational priority. The most consistent mistake: starting small and implementing only part of the plan. Examples of partial efforts ending in disappointment or disaster abound. As a result, the only thing "total" about TQM processes has been the level of frustration. Quality is Everybody's Business makes it possible for people at all levels of your organization to understand the underlying theory and the specific mechanics of continual improvement. In an easy-to-read style, the book shows you how to untangle seemingly complex theory into guidelines for everyday managing and leading. The authors provide a comprehensive presentation of the practical details and the reasoning behind defining, implementing, and maintaining a 100% employee involvement process. Taken as a whole, the articles presented in this book address the theory and the practice of TQM in an integrated manner. Once your customers experience quality, they will continue to look for the quality option. Done correctly, TQM can be defined and implemented in six-to-eight months - and that includes actively involving everyone on the payroll in the process and seeing positive bottom line results virtually immediately. Whether your organization has a TQM process in place or is just beginning to implement one, Quality is Everybody's Business gives you the tools to make it a complete quality process.

Score your highest in Operations Management Operations management is an important skill for current and aspiring business leaders to develop and master. It deals with the design and management of products, processes, services, and supply chains. Operations management is a growing field and a required course for most undergraduate business majors and MBA candidates. Now, Operations Management For Dummies serves as an extremely resourceful aid for this difficult subject. Tracks to a typical course in operations management or operations strategy, and covers topics such as evaluating and measuring existing systems' performance and efficiency, materials management and product development, using tools like Six Sigma and Lean production, designing new, improved processes, and defining, planning, and controlling costs of projects. Clearly organizes and explains complex topics Serves as an supplement to your Operations Management textbooks Helps you score your highest in your Operations Management course Whether your aim is to earn an undergraduate degree in business or an MBA, Operations Management For Dummies is indispensable supplemental reading for your operations management course.

This book is the first to seriously consider quality issues in smaller firms, based upon well-conducted research and careful theorizing. Subjects covered include: * the relevance of formal quality standards such as BS 5750 to small firms * definitions and implementations of 'quality' in a business context, from formal standards to Total Quality Management * interviews with a selected sample of over 150 owner-managers * detailed case studies of small firms * analysis of self-generated quality strategies * the variety of formal methods of quality control.

The global economy is witnessing previously unseen levels of competitiveness, forcing business leaders to contend with unprecedented challenges. No longer can companies seize and hold a customer base by operating adequately. In order to enjoy a competitive advantage, an organization must operate at exemplary levels of performance in every facet of business and maintain that degree of excellence indefinitely. This is achieved through careful alignment of operational systems and the use of innovative process management initiatives. “Unless an organization is uniquely qualified to deal with its customers by understanding its own strengths and weakness,” writes internationally renowned operational management expert Christopher K. Ahoy, “it will be unable to understand what is required to move from the current paradigm of doing business.” In Customer-Driven Operations Management, Ahoy distills the most current business theories and practices that will help you weed out and eliminate operational inefficiencies and put in place the necessary metrics for providing products and services better, cheaper, and faster than ever. Ahoy walks you through the steps of creating a world-class organization, which include Mapping your company's processes to target weak points Realigning management systems from functional to process-focused Setting benchmarks throughout the process to help quantify levels of success Establish a system of knowledge management for the seamless alignment of teams and departments Improving process management using Lean, Six Sigma, and other methodologies Create a sound strategic planning initiative to eliminate future surprises With diagrams and figures to highlight salient points, Customer-Driven Operations Management clarifies and simplifies the otherwise daunting task of enacting major changes in your company's operations systems.

Providing clear guidance for anyone servicing internal or external customers, this book offers a framework for analyzing and managing quality using a comprehensive closed-loop approach. This book cuts through the complexities of the mantra ‘better, cheaper, faster’ (BCF) and offers procedures for the evaluation of customer needs, the determination of performance metrics, and the design of effective customer satisfaction surveys. It details basic statistical techniques and packages the framework, procedures, and methods into a management construct that includes external quality certification systems and internal performance management systems. Importantly, the book also describes how these systems can be implemented in a virtual workplace. This quality management book will be essential to service-oriented firms (financial, government, healthcare, hospitality, etc.), as well as any firm with internal customer service processes such as human resource management, purchasing, and accounting. Professionals at all levels, corporate trainers, and students will welcome this book’s common set of principles and tools, accompanied by many case studies that illustrate how they are applied in various environments.