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This paper seeks to categorise the terminology currently in use within the quality management discourse. Aspirational definitions are studiously avoided, rather a critical perspective of the existing discourse is analysed. Three main terms are found to be most prominent in the current discourse, namely TQM, organisational excellence and business improvement. These terms are critiqued, compared and contrasted using a critical perspective and five point analysis framework. It is concluded that TQM has an established theoretical base on which enabling practice can be established. Dilution of this term could lead to yet more faddishness within the quality movement. Organisational excellence (OE) is currently a key stage on the TQM journey and is composed of contributions from various management discourses. There appears to be an emerging dynamic to develop OE beyond that of an aspirational stage point. Business improvement is considered to be a synonym for TQM, where omission of the word quality, especially in manufacturing circles, can be advantageous in that quality assurance connotations are avoided.

Describes the economy of Northern Ireland and the role of the Northern Ireland Quality Centre. Explains the Northern Ireland Quality Award, and the need to develop the criteria to bring it in line with the European Quality Awards. Examines how the alignment was achieved; and concludes with a list of recommendations.

In this paper the business excellence model is examined from a critical perspective by analysing the results from a three year university/organisation partnership. The organisation, a major service based electrical utility, wanted to adopt a total quality culture that was based on broad based learning principles, rather than a narrow mechanised approach. Instead of using short term initiatives the organisation entered into a learning partnership with the university. One of the approaches used was that of the Business Excellence Model. However, rather than apply the model as the ultimate panacea, it was carefully deployed and any advantages and disadvantages were noted and analysed by the TQM team and the researchers. A balanced scorecard approach was used to cover deficiencies in the Business Excellence Model.

The aim of this paper is to explore how quality management can act as a foundation and key catalyst for developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) within organizations. CSR is an emergent discourse within organizational research and praxis. It has parallels to sustainable development, environmental protection, social equity and economic growth. Although some organizations consider CSR to be a peripheral and sector specific issue, it is becoming increasingly mainstream, supported by government legislation. Key questions arising are, is there a conflict between profit earning and CSR? How can CSR be implemented without impairing business performance? Can CSR build on existing quality management based business initiatives from a philosophical and practical manner? The critique and case study analysis within this paper shows how the ethical basis of quality management can be used to develop CSR within organizations. Quality management models and methodologies established on the broad principles of quality are seen as a foundation and catalyst for effective CSR in organizations.

The aim of this paper is to improve the understanding and inter‐relationship of both the people and technical aspects of knowledge management. Studies in knowledge management indicate that there can be an over‐emphasis on technology to the exclusion of adequate people/quality planning, or, strong people/quality programmes from a knowledge perspective, hindered by inadequate enabling technologies. Understanding of these issues in practice and academia is currently hindered by a paucity of systematic empirical research, addressing the relationship between the cultural and technological aspects of knowledge management. A survey questionnaire was constructed and tested via a pilot phase. The questionnaire was then distributed to over 1,000 organizations, across three industrial sectors. The findings indicate that a strong relationship exists between KM and other organizational factors, namely organizational culture and internal technical culture. Further analysis of these elements revealed that factors internal to the organization are impinged upon by macro‐environmental elements.

The purpose of this paper is to explain how value is co-created in a many-to-many (MTM) context. The authors use a case study of a non-governmental service delivery consortium engaging multiple actors to examine how value is co-created beyond the buyer-supplier dyad.

An explanatory case study of a consortium of seven UK non-governmental organisations (NGOs) delivering public service contracts is presented. Multiple data collection methods are combined; semi-structured interviews (n=30) and focus groups with internal stakeholders (n=5), participant observations (n=4) and document analysis.

The authors use three illustrative empirical examples to show how different sources, types, enablers and mechanisms of VCC are evident during service provision activities. The findings show how different service provision activities utilise different dimensions, leading the authors to suggest that dimensions of VCC may be context dependent.

As consortia differ in their context and function, the findings may not be generalisable. Nevertheless, they provide specific examples of sources, types, enablers and mechanisms of value co-creation (VCC) that may be applicable to private, public and NGOs.

Understanding how value is co-created with multiple stakeholders can offer competitive advantages likely to lead to improved sustainability, impact and performance.

The empirical study offers a reconceptualisation of VCC in a MTM context. The paper combines disparate perspectives of VCC to offer a more holistic perspective.

Northern Ireland Electricity is the largest listed plc in Northern Ireland. This article describes how the organization has managed its approach to total quality management since privatization, in 1992. Examines specifically the third stage of a three‐stage approach, describing the strategic and operational integration of total quality management/business improvement. Describes the strategic partnership with the University of Ulster and discusses how this relationship has focused the organization on a journey of soul searching and learning. Explains how the self assessment approach, linked to balanced scorecards and performance planning review cycles, allows employee involvement in setting and achieving objectives. Finally, describes how the adoption of a learning based approach to business improvement, integrating thinking and doing, allows a fuller understanding of the issues and contributes to better results.

In April 1998, the legal status of further education colleges in Northern Ireland changed (Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997). Their new legal status offers colleges the opportunity to develop a greater business focus while preserving a robust framework of public accountability. Colleges will need to respond in a balanced fashion to the competing demands made by multiple stakeholders. In order to assist colleges to respond to these challenges, the Department of Education (NI) has commissioned the Business Development Service, an agency within the Department of Finance and Personnel, to provide consultancy to those colleges which wish to explore the use of the business excellence quality model (developed by the European Foundation for Quality Management 1988‐1991). This paper evaluates the relevance and validity of this approach for all 17 further education colleges in Northern Ireland.

The aim of this paper is to critique and review the role of individuals and teams in idea generation as part of the overall organisational creativity and innovation process. Key objectives are to determine organisational development needs and research agendas in this area. Organisations continue to emphasise the need for increased creativity and innovation within their employees and markets. However, the literature and organisational practice relating to these areas remains somewhat lacking in regard to the front end of creativity and innovation, namely idea generation. First, this paper briefly reviews the creativity literature from individual and team perspectives, identifying the need for more research into idea generation as part of creativity. Second, this paper reviews the idea generation literature and identifies agendas for further research.

As pressure for companies to improve their environmental performance has intensified in recent years, research attention has shifted away from establishing a link between environmental practices and performance towards consideration of other factors that might facilitate performance improvements. The purpose of this paper is to: first, to investigate whether internal support processes interact with pollution prevention by positively moderating the relationship between pollution prevention and environmental performance; and, second, to assess whether the relationship between pollution prevention and cost performance is mediated by environmental performance.

It uses a cross-sectional survey of 1,200 UK-based food processing firms to gather information on environmental practices and performance. Regression analysis was conducted on a sample of 149 responding firms to assess the hypothesised relationships.

Support was found for two of the four moderated relationships hypothesised namely, suggesting that internal support processes support the environmental performance of some pollution prevention practices. Strong support for a mediated relationship between pollution prevention, environmental performance and cost performance was provided by the results.

This study provides an original contribution to the literature on the performance outcomes of environmental practices by considering a number indirect relationships between environmental practices and performance. This has implications for the interpretation of the relationship between environmental practices and performance.