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Quality Service and the Taguchi Philosophy

Timothy C. Krehbiel, Miami University

Genichi Taguchi has made major contributions to the fields of quality philosophy, engineering, experimental design, and data analysis. Taguchi’s contributions to the field of quality philosophy are his most significant. The Taguchi philosophy has greatly expanded and clarified the concepts of robust products and ontarget performance. These two quality concepts have been widely embraced by manufacturers in Japan, Europe and the United States, […]

A TQM Study: Integrating the Importance-Performance and Intra-Organization Impact Analyses

Hesan A. Quazi, Bemidji State University
Arthur L. Dolinsky, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Daniel F. Twomey, Fairleigh Dickinson University

This study demonstrates the value of employing a TQM perspective in institutions of higher education. Using data collected from a Mid-Atlantic university, Importance-Performance Analysis and Intra-Organizational Impact Analysis are introduced. An integration of the results of the two analyses identifies those areas within the university where cooperative arrangements are necessary to achieve improved performance and customer satisfaction. download .pdf

Goal Programming: An Effective Tool In Commercial Bank Management

Victoria Jedicke, Northern Illinois University
William L. Wilbur, Northern Illinois University
Ahmed K. Rifai, Northern Illinois University

Organization theorists tell us that all of the constituents of organizations have individual goals which they expect to be satisfied by organizational activity. They also tell us that the supporting environment has goals for the organization which must be satisfied if the organization is going to continue to receive environmental support in the form […]

Incorporating Reasoning by Analogy as a DSS Tool

T. M. Rajkumar, Miami University
Dale Young, Miami University

This paper reports a study that incorporated a reasoning by analogy (RBA) system into a business simulation game of the microcomputer industry. The RBA system was designed to support a manager’s intuition and judgement by facilitating the use of analogies. Users search for comparable (i.e., analogous) firms through a simple pattern-matching routine built into the system. We argue for including RBA tools […]

The Uncertain Legal Status of Employee Participation Committees

Edwin W. Arnold, Auburn University-Montgomery
Marcia Ann Pulich, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

The recent National Labor Relations Board ruling upholding the Electromation decision has further clouded the legal status of a significant number of employee participation committees and programs implemented by industry in its effort to improve productivity, quality and competitiveness. Employers are concerned that their efforts to improve productivity and quality through new team-oriented work systems could be impaired if employee committees are defined […]

Responses from a Corporate Mail Survey: Effects of Charitable Contributions and Personalization

Bob T. Wu, Bowling Green State University
Susan M. Petroshius, Bowling Green State University
Kenneth E. Crocker, Bowling Green State University
James S. West, Bowling Green State University

The effects of the manipulation of a promised contribution to a university and the personalization of a cover letter on response rate, response speed, and response quality were examined using a commercial population. The results indicate that both the promised contribution to a university and personalization increased response rate and response speed of returns. The influence of the manipulated variables on response quality […]