Exploring a variety of methods for improving the economic performance of organizations, this multidisciplinary text covers macro- and micro-perspectives while considering strategic planning, systematic process analysis, leadership studies, group dynamics, and human motivation theories. It highlights "quality of relationships" as a guiding principle within the framework of public administration and stresses customer, client, and stakeholder satisfaction. With over 1000 literature references, tables, drawings, and equations, and appendices of laws and regulations, the book responds to the mandate for high performance and increased productivity.

In this book, the authors relate Total Quality Management (TQM) to the broader organisation and environment in the context in which TQM is located, bringing in consideration of organisational culture and structure, of employee relations and the balance of power between management and employees and the role of Human Resource Management. This involves a critical appraisal of TQM, considering both the way in which employees perceive its operation in practice and the question of 'who gains what' from TQM.

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a set of concepts, tools and applications which has been so successful in manufacturing industry that we are now witnessing experimentation in the transference of Total Quality Management to the public sector provision of government, health and education in North America, Europe and elsewhere. TQM is starting to set a new paradigm for management approaches in the public sector and "not for profit" enterprises. All key public service managers should at least need to know the basics of TQM, its possibilities and limitations for the public sector, and particularly the types of applications which could work for them. For all public sector managers this book provides: a clear understanding of the key concepts of TQM; a critical understanding of their relevance to the public sector; empirical evidence of TQM applications in government, health and education; and exploration of the public sector TQM possibilitites yet to be realized. It draws throughout on case examples from Britain, Canada, the USA and continental Europe which illustrate the application of TQM to the public sector.

In the past, when goods and services were simpler, measurement of quality was self-evident. As business became more complicated, so too did the implementation of quality management and our ability to measure it. Ultimately, the practice of quality strayed from being a business practice to become much more of an engineering discipline producing plen

Managing Quality provides a comprehensive review and critical analysis of quality management discourses and techniques by drawing on a number of management disciplines such as operations management, HRM, organizational behaviour, strategy, marketing and organization theory. The book: - introduces readers to key concepts and issues in quality management - provides an overview of both managerial and critical perspectives on quality management - presents the 'wisdom' of quality management gurus - documents the way quality is pursued in manufacturing, service and public sector organizations - compares and contrasts hard and soft technologies of quality management - critically reviews the rhetoric of TQM and business process re-engineering (BPR) - examines the consequences of quality on stakeholders - scrutinizes the language of quality management - documents the mundane nature of quality managemnt practices through the use of real life case studies Managing Quality is an up-to-date and student-centered treatment of quality management that will be essential reading for undergraduate students of operations and quality management. It will also be extremely relevant to all MBA students, and useful reading for students of HRM, organization theory and the sociology of organizations.