This exploratory research on a decade of Total Quality Management in one factory opens up the black box of the learning curve. Based on the organizational learning literature, we derive a quality learning curve that links different types of learning in quality improvement projects to the evolution of the factory's waste rate. Only 25% of the quality improvement projects---which acquired both know-why and know-how---accelerated waste reduction. The other 75% of the projects either impeded or did not affect waste reduction. In complex and dynamic production environments, locally acquired knowledge is difficult to disseminate. The combination of know-why and know-how facilitates its dissemination.learning-curve, organizational learning, quality, TQM, technological knowledge, experimentation, knowledge transfer
Little is known about the processes that make TQM effective. Why are some quality improvement projects more effective than others? We argue that TQM processes affect the way people create new knowledge, which in turn determines organizational effectiveness. We explore this by studying 62 quality improvement projects undertaken in one factory over a decade. Using a factor analysis we identify three learning constructs that characterize the learning process: scope, conceptual learning, and operational learning. We use OLS regressions to study the impact of these learning constructs on project performance. Conceptual and operational learning are found to play a crucial role in achieving goals, creating new technological knowledge, and changing factory personnel's attention. Contrary to the common practice of relying on operational learning, we suggest the application of conceptual learning as well, particularly if the technology is poorly understood. It facilitates the codification of knowledge, which enhances its dissemination for both present and future use.Quality, Organizational Learning, Technological Knowledge, Learning by Experimentation
The definitive book on leadership in the digital era: why digital technologies call for leadership that emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and inclusivity. Certain ideas about business leadership are held to be timeless, and certain characteristics of leaders—often including a square jaw, a deep voice, and extroversion—are said to be universal. In Leading in the Digital World, Amit Mukherjee argues that since digital technologies are changing everything else, how could they not change leadership ideologies and styles? As more people worldwide participate equally in business, those assumptions of a leader's ideal profile have become irrelevant. Offering a radical rethinking of leadership, Mukherjee shows why digital technologies call for a new kind of leader—one who emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and inclusivity. Drawing on a global survey of 700 mid-tier to senior executives and interviews with C-level executives from around the world, Mukherjee explains how digital technologies are already reshaping organizations and work and what this means for leaders. For example, globally dispersed businesses can't reserve key leadership roles for people from exclusive groups; leadership must become inclusive, or fail. Leaders must learn to collaborate in a multipolar world of networked organizations, working with co-located and non-co-located colleagues. Leaders must lead for creativity rather than productivity. Focusing on practice, Mukherjee outlines goals and strategies, warns against unthinking assumptions, and explains how leaders can identify the mindsets, behaviors, and actions they need to pursue. With Leading in the Digital World, Mukherjee offers the definitive book on leadership for the digital era.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.