Notes that researchers have cited various reasons for the high failure rate of total quality management (TQM) in manufacturing organisations and asks ± is TQM a wonderful philosophy or a disaster that was allowed to happen? Based on empirical case study material, this article considers the experience of a real manufacturing company which introduced TQM, with the assistance of an external firm of management consultants. The state of the company at the outset of the TQM initiative and the rationale which led it to go down the TQM road are examined. Considers the way in which the company sought to implement the tenets of TQM, the effect that the approach generated and its longer-term consequences. Further it will seek to elucidate why, in this instance, the TQM initiative, and with it the company, failed to survive in a competitive business environment. Finally, develops guidelines applicable to TQM implementation in companies which turn to that approach as a panacea for all their ills.

PurposeBased on a case study of a drugs manufacturing plant in the UK, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how best to improve manufacturing processes using a hybrid model of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Business Process Reengineering (BPR). Insights are provided to a phased implementation of TQM at the strategic, organisational, and process levels of the organization.Design/methodology/approachThe case method was utilized to demonstrate the implementation of a theoretical concept.FindingsManagers naively agree that process improvement failures may be due to the absence of executive‐level commitment and poor execution; however, it is evident from the paper's findings that the poor performance of process‐related techniques is based on the fact that they are often applied organisationally rather taking an operations, strategy and people focused, approach, which would require the interdependence that must exist between strategy and people, people and strategy; and strategy and operations.Practical implicationsThe paper, based on extensive research and consultancy work, suggests that the most effective mechanics for enhanced and sustainable improvement of manufacturing processes is through the so‐called old, redundant technique – a hybrid of BPR and TQM. Evidence from practice and academic research demonstrates that the high failure rate of improvement programmes based on BPR, TQM, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and more recently, Six Sigma, is because each of these models is not a stand alone operational tool, and thus a hybrid model, which encompasses two or more is usually the best approach to bring about dramatic improvement in operational quality, speed, cost and service and product reliability.Originality/valueThe paper shows that the high failure rate of improvement programs can be overcome through using a combination of models.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to address corporate governance structures. Effective corporate governance can lead to managerial excellence but managerial ethical excellence does not always exist without effective corporate governance. Embedded in both effective corporate governance and managerial excellence is the ''rightness of decisions'' or the ethical decision making process. This paper analyzes this key process in the case of the failure of Swissair.Design/methodology/approach -The authors examine the key corporate governance structure through an explanatory case analysis of Swissair. They look at the structure by applying institutional theory rather than agency theory. It is hypothesized that corporate governance structures must comply with the norms generated by various stakeholders as well as economic incentives. No one set of norms may dominate the compliance; otherwise a corporation loses legitimacy and resources. It is contended that this lack of compliance of all stakeholder norms led to the failure of Swissair. Findings -The authors examined the strategies for governance in Swissair leading up to its failure. Critical examination of the various elements of effective corporate governance results in a model presented here for assimilating appropriate norms of behavior into the corporate decision-making process. They purport that adoption of the model by corporations will improve decision making leading to improved survival and performance.Originality/value -The case analysis provides for the development of a model of corporate governance which includes consideration of all facets of society, its stakeholders and the norms the stakeholders generate. It is contended that companies must consider ethical, social and political norms of behavior in corporate governance structures as well as economic concerns.

Considerable research has been conducted to analyze the effects of elements such as information technology, efficiency, and innovation on the performance of a company (Bhatt & Grover, 2005;Bowonder et al, 2010;Ogrean et al, 2009;Piccoli & Ives, 2005). However, company success is dependent on effective communication particularly in a multicultural and competitive global environment yet the types of effective communication that impact competitiveness have not been well explored. Although companies are aware of the importance of communication, far less attention is paid to promoting the use of effective communication within and outside the organization as compared to other factors. The Macondo oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico provides a topical case study of how global companies can suffer performance losses due to ineffective communication. Traditional views of organizational competitive advantage have failed to directly address the importance of communication as a differentiator. This paper addresses the importance of effective communication in building and maintaining performance success (Tucker et al 1996) and explores three key types of effective communication in maintaining success through competitive advantage. These three types include the right combination of "soft" and "hard" information gathering, superior interpersonal communication and the appropriate use of information and communication technologies. We use the Macondo case study as a venue to test the successes and failures of communication on performance We find where there is a lack of effective communication an organization's global competitive ability is severely impaired. Further, we address how communication impacts the other elements that contribute to competitive advantage such as efficiency, responsive public Achieving competitive advantage through effective communication in a global environment 51 relations and innovation. We use the findings to present strategies and recommendations to help an organization use effective communication to achieve superior customer satisfaction, encourage innovation, motivate employees, and respond to crises more effectively.

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This paper focuses on the legacy which the quality gurus have left to managers seeking to embark on, and sustain, a corporate quality initiative. The paper demonstrates that the legacy consists of prescriptions which are not the subject of consensus and which fail to provide the holism demanded by the term “total” in total quality management (TQM). In addition, the paper considers the abstract requirements of an implementational model of TQM and the implementational models which are currently available, by offering a new model that accords with the philosophy underpinning TQM. In the final analysis, by using an empirical example of an attempt to implement TQM in the NHS, the paper further reveals that many of the barriers to implementation can best be removed through adherence to the new model rather than by following the prescriptions of the quality gurus.

The implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in the NHS has become an anachronism. Most NHS managers have lost interest in TQM as a strategy for improving organizational performance because of the general belief, that TQM fails to tackle the critical needs of organizations in trouble, particularly on issues such as improving organizational eý ciency and eþ ectiveness. This paper, through the use of a case study, suggests a common sense, practical approach to the implementation of TQM in healthcare; a Systems Management approach.