Purpose -Although there are many quality measurement theories and models, all are imperfect; that is, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Particularly, some models cannot indicate accurate improvement priorities. The purpose of this study is to develop an integrated performance model that improves service quality and acquires accurate improvement priorities that promote customer satisfaction and eliminate resource wastage. Design/methodology/approach -This study applied a performance matrix and quality loss function (QLF) theory to determine priority items needing improvement. A questionnaire was designed to determine the priority of improvement objectives derived from certain questionnaire items that do not fall into the appropriate performance zone (APZ) of the performance matrix. Finally, the QLF was adopted to rank the improvement objectives in terms of priority. A large QLF area indicates customer satisfaction needs improvement. Findings -This study utilized an employee satisfaction survey to demonstrate this matrix, and found that it reflects the improvement priorities of different items and avoids the shortcomings of other models. In this case study, 11 items must be improved; furthermore, five items with the greatest QLF areas became the priority items for improvement. Originality/value -This performance matrix also considers the items of surplus resource investment, which can be included in improvements, thereby avoiding resource wastage.

Abstract:The outer coating of an optical fiber cable protects the optical fiber, and the contraction rate of the outer coating can affect the communication capacity and distance, so the contraction rate is often regarded as the key factor in defining the quality of an optical fiber cable. For this reason, using the example of the circular single-pin optical fiber cable manufacturing process of the largest optical communication manufacturer in the world, the Taguchi Method (TM) is used to screen the variables that have significant effects on the contraction rate of the outer coating. Furthermore, the optimization engineering of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is utilized for the empirical research to acquire a prediction model that can be used to optimize the optical fiber outer coating injection molding process. The research results show that the contraction rate predicted by the integration of the Taguchi Method and RSM is 2.28%. The empirical results reveal that the contraction rate of the outer coating indeed decreased from the original 3.83% down to 2.16%, indicating that the integration of the Taguchi Method and RSM could effectively improve the quality.

A This study based upon Zuellig Pharma Inc. in Taiwan has revealed that some TQM methods and tools can be very effective in guiding TQM implementation successfully for the marketing and sales division in a healthcare and pharmaceutical logistics organization. In addition, this study not only states the importance of the quality of employees but also discusses the integration and transformation of the marketing and sales division during the implementation process. From the training of employees to the formation of the marketing-sales team, the team performed extremely well in reducing costs, increasing profits, and meeting the expected target. More importantly, the commitment from management and the determination from this marketingsales team have significantly improved their own competitiveness through the heart of continuous improvement.

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Enterprise resource planning (ERP) has become critical to enhancing the competitiveness of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan by applying information technology to integrate internal information as well as external service capability of an enterprise to increase the flow speed and values and reduce the costs of human and managerial resources, manufacturing, management, and marketing. The success of ERP implementation depends on several factors, such as space, time, location, industry, and the like. It is critically important to collect information on the successful factors of ERP implementation and evaluate the performance of ERP in semiconductor-related industries in Taiwan. A statistical method based on Parasuraman et al. was applied to ERP implementation by providing a pair of performance indices, i.e., action and importance. In addition, a performance evaluation matrix, originally proposed by Lambert and Sharman, was revised to set up a standard by providing performance upper and lower control limits with the emphases of the Taguchi method and Shewhart control charts. Finally, quality function deployment (QFD) was used to remedy the weaknesses and develop corporate strategies to improve the ERP implementation.The major advantage of this proposed integrated approach is to evaluate the success of the implementation for a new system quickly at low cost. More importantly, by examining action and importance indices, the enterprise can decide how the resources should be deployed effectively and efficiently to further improve the ERP implementation.

With the pressure of intensive global competition and the trend of shortening product life-cycle, the procedure for new product development (NPD) has become the focus of business concerns and investment of large corporations and the key strategy to upgrade competitiveness of corporations. An effective NPD procedure can meet the demands on quality, time-to-delivery and cost limitations of a corporation. Measuring and analysing the performance of the existing NPD procedure and pinpointing and resolving the problems of the existing NPD procedure is the key to improve the NPD performance to meet a corporation's demands. Six Sigma is a systemic procedure commonly used to improve product quality. This paper proposes a model to evaluate and improve the performance of NPD procedures by following the systemic procedure of Six Sigma and applying criteria defined by application of performance matrix, factor analysis, and theory of constraints. The resulting model is then verified with real life NPD procedures from a certain semi-conductor equipment manufacturer such that corporative competitiveness can be enhanced through the elevating cycle of performance evaluation, problem excavation, causes analysis, and countermeasure determination and execution proposed by this paper.

Purpose-Aims to assess the effect of European Union performance directives related to CE marking on the machinery industry of Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach-This paper adopts a questionnaire to collect information. By means of a statistical scheme, performance indices of importance and difficulty, which meet the directives requirement, are designated. The performance evaluation matrix presented by Lambert and Sharma is modified using an introduced standardized system. Findings-Management in the industry needs simply to locate the difficulty and importance of the directive on a performance matrix. Performance levels can be assessed and the strategy for improving the performance of CE marking established. Originality/value-Provides information on the best countermeasure that can be obtained to serve as a reference for the industry to introduce CE marking.

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