Quality improvement activities Delegated Voluntary Taguchi Total quality teams teams SPC ISO 9000 techniques management Employee communication Departmental communication Supplier communication Customer communication Vendor performance Business control Quality costs Employee morale Product quality Table IV. Questionnaire Question

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to use survey data collected from 453 respondents, from over 40 countries, to determine the current levels of use of benchmarking as an improvement technique. It identifies where and how benchmarking is implemented within organisations and compares the popularity of benchmarking against other improvement tools. Finally, it provides an evidence based opinion on whether benchmarking is a fad or an established management technique. Design/methodology/approach-An on-line questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was translated into five languages and promoted by the Global Benchmarking Network, a network of benchmarking competency centres, representing 21 countries. The data were then analysed using SPSS statistical software. Findings-The analysis suggests that benchmarking (informal and formal) is used by a majority of organisations although best practice benchmarking is only used by a core minority. Benchmarking effectiveness compares favourably with effectiveness of other improvement tools and a majority of respondents intend to continue using benchmarking in the future. Research limitations/implications-The responses from some of the countries that participated were small in number. This study also relied on a single respondent from each organisation. Inter-country comparisons were not carried out. Practical implications-Benchmarking will continue to be used to support the improvement of operations. For organisations that currently use benchmarking the paper provides some insights into how to obtain the full benefits from benchmarking. For those that do not use benchmarking the paper highlights how other organisations are using benchmarking to obtain operational benefits. Originality/value-The paper presents a multinational survey of benchmarking. Carried out a quarter century after the start of benchmarking's growth, it helps to establish if benchmarking is an established improvement tool or a management fad. It also positions benchmarking relative to other improvement tools and is the most complete study on benchmarking adoption to date.

Business Excellence Models (BEMs) are used by organisations to assess and improve their work practices and paformance. The authors' research identified that there are currently 94 national QuaIitylBnsiness Excellence (BE) Awards used in 83 counmes. While the use of BEMs is widespread, it was identified that many organisations wanted guidance in terms of which improvement initiatives to implement to assist them on their BE journey. This paper discusses how the BEM can be used as an overarching framework for managing and/or aligning multiple improvement initiatives within the organisation. A new model is developed showing some of the main improvement initiatives that can be adopted towards achieving BE, which are arranged according to the common enahling criteria of BEMs and levels of BE maturity. This proposed model can be used as a pathway/mddmap to BE. In developing this model, a Literature review, a document review and several semi-sbuchlred interviews were conducted. Sixteen quality and BE experts were interviewed in New Zealand, Singapore, and Malaysia.

IntroductionIt is common sense that TQM should be tailored to an organization's needs. Even so, little research has been conducted identifying which organizational factors should be considered when planning a TQM approach. The research findings shown within this article aim to address this shortcoming by identifying the factors which most commonly affect the implementation of TQM. The article then concludes by summarizing how each factor can affect the "level of implementation difficulty".Among the many quality practitioners who have stated that TQM needs to be tailored to the organization are Atkinson[1] and Kees Van Ham[quoted in 2], Secretary General of the European Foundation for Quality Management. Atkinson stated that "organisations employ differing technology, have different histories and backgrounds, serve different markets with different products and employ people from different cultures, so the drive to improve quality has to be managed differently". Kees Van Ham stated with regard to implementing TQM, "Organisations differ in terms of history, markets, style of leadership and cultural environment. This implies that every organisation has to develop, its own, unique way".The characteristics of an organization can even affect the implementation of TQM at different sites within a company. This was emphasized by Van Der Akker[3], who described how TQM needed to be implemented differently within Aery Materials Group Europe because of the culture differences between the company's eight manufacturing plants and 15 sales offices.An organization's level of quality development is one characteristic which is often cited as a factor to consider when selecting which method of implementation to use. The number of quality awards (European Quality Company Award; America's Malcolm Baldrige Award; Japan's Deming Award), the different benchmarking quality databases and consultancy "health checks" are all indicators of the need for organizations to monitor this particular characteristic.As quality development is already well known as an important factor to consider (and is a subject in itself) it will not be discussed in detail here. The research shown within this article primarily concentrates on reporting the other, "less obvious", factors which are important to consider when implementing TQM.

Purpose-The purpose of this research is to investigate the use of business excellence in Asian organisations. The study examines the effectiveness of business excellence in the organisations that adopt it as well as the approaches used to deploy business excellence. Finally, the study investigates the attitudes of organisations with respect to business excellence awards. Design/methodology/approach-A questionnaire survey of 74 organisations across five Asian countries was carried out in order to collect quantitative data. In addition, qualitative data was collected from 21 discussion groups held in all five countries and from 13 interviews held with senior executives of organisations that had won business excellence awards. Findings-The organisations believe that business excellence is important in helping them reach their organisational goals. The results also show that participation in and winning business excellence awards is a key objective for many organisations in the region. However, the region still suffers from some barriers to long-term commitment to business excellence including lack of development of a business excellence culture, a lack of resources and a failure to fully educate the majority of staff in business excellence. Research limitations/implications-The study was directed at organisations that were deploying business excellence. It therefore provides an insight into their activities but it does not explore levels of adoption of business excellence in the study countries and consequently, does not investigate reasons for non-adoption in organisations that have not used business excellence. Practical implications-National productivity organisations and national award administrators have a crucial role to play in ensuring that Asian organisations are aware of business excellence initiatives and that the necessary support structures and activities to facilitate deployment are made available. Originality/value-While there are many studies on the adoption of business excellence in western countries, no such studies have been carried out in Asian countries to date. Even in the west, few studies have obtained the views of so many national award winners (30 in this study) and few have investigated the role of the award administrators. Given that the adoption of business excellence in Asia lags western countries, it is important to understand how it has been adopted in Asia and the perceptions of the organisations that have adopted it.