Most purchasing professionals generally agree that the acceptance of significant gratuities is inappropriate and should be discouraged. Managers need effective methods of monitoring and controlling such activities. This study examined the impact of certain individual and organizationally controlled variables on the acceptance of gratuities. Consequently, the study was able to identify some approaches that can be used by management for control purposes.
The results indicate that formal, written policies do have a significant impact on reducing the acceptance of gratuities. However, if these policies are not also applied to sales personnel in the same organization, their impact may be diminished significantly, if not lost altogether. The engagement of upper level management in questionable activities was found to be positively related to the acceptance of gratuities by buyers and purchasing supervisors. Ironically, while it seems logical that input from purchasing personnel in the development of purchasing ethics policies should reduce the propensity to accept gratuities by department personnel, the study produced no evidence that supported this conclusion.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to utilize quality function deployment (QFD), Benchmarking analyses and other innovative quality tools to develop a new customer-centered undergraduate curriculum in supply chain management (SCM). Design/methodology/approach -The researchers used potential employers as the source for data collection. Then, they used QFD and benchmarking to develop a Voice of Customer matrix. Using information from the matrix, a new customer-oriented SCM undergraduate programme was designed. Findings -The researchers outline a practical solution to the problem of designing academic programmes which satisfy the main expectations of potential employers (customers).Research limitations/implications -The study is specifically concerned with the design of an SCM curriculum, but the researchers argue that the design methodology could be applied in other academic contexts. Practical implications -The application of QFD and benchmarking as a joint analysis tool is an interesting approach in education because the information is analysed from different perspectives simultaneously. The new programme successfully meets customer/employer expectations and requirements.Originality/value -This study demonstrates the effective application of quality design tools to enhance academic programmes. The approach can clearly be extended to other areas for the design of specific courses and programmes. The most important needs in programme design are those of identifying the programme's main customers and of clarifying their expectations.
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.