International Journal for Quality Research

6

Authors: Lulzime Kamberi, Makfirete Ameti, Alina-Andreea Dragoescu Urlica, Laura-Ioana Coroama-Dorneanu, Sandra Stefanovic

This paper reports on a study conducted at at the University of Tetovo (UT), Northern Macedonia and USAMVBT "Regele Mihai I al Romaniei" from Timisoara, Romania, analysing the effect of peer feedback in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching and learning. The authors hypothesized that peer feedback was not percieved as a genuine strategy for learning languages, while it could be put forth as a useful strategy for improving not only language skills but also critical thinking, as well as empathy. Based on the participants' responses, the students' perceptions were anlyzed with an aim of encouraging them to become more confident learners, to improve their English language proficiency and to gain feedback skills. The study was conducted throughout the second semester of the academic year 2018-2019. Acknowledging convenience sampling, the 21 (n=21) subjects who participated in this study included 14 (n=14) students from the seventh semester of the UT, English Language and Literature Department and 12 (n=12) students from USAMVB "King Michael I of Romania" from Timisoara, Romania. The effects and perceptions of peer feedback were discussed from the students' perspective and from our corroborated points of view. Data were collected using student questionnaires in which participants were asked to reflect back on their experience on peer feedback throughout their studies. Student responses were subjected to a modified content analysis to identify the main themes and topics. Semi-structured interviews with 12 students were undertaken to substantiate the essential findings of content analysis.

12

Authors: Douglas C. Rodrigues, Lucas S. Goecks, Taciana Mareth, André L. Korzenowski

Multivariate statistical control usually applied in industries that operate in continuous production processes. Thus, the objective of this work is to present a procedure for statistical process monitoring in flexible environments, which have a finite production horizon and p correlated observed variables. A systematic review of the literature on control charts conducted. Subsequently, a model proposition built and a simulation process performed; Thus, a method was conceived, which then validated through the Monte Carlo simulation. As an application of the proposed method, a case study was carried out in a metal-mechanic company in southern Brazil, which operates in the vertical transport segment. The results demonstrated the efficiency of the control chart in identifying and signaling out of control points, having a behavior similar to the expected behavior of its performance measure, ARL. The research contributes to the proposition of a multivariate control chart with variable dimensions for flexible production environments.

14

Authors: Dominik Zimon, Marcin Jurgilewicz, Mariusz Ruszel

The main purpose of the research was to determine to what extent the standardized energy management system according to ISO 50001 influences the improvement of processes implemented in supply chains operating in Poland and Slovakia. The research was based on a online survey. Survey recipients were representatives of the top management of the surveyed organizations. Based on the research and literature analysis, it can be concluded that the standardized energy management system has a positive impact on the improvement of the SCM. The considerations presented in the article should be helpful for enterprises and supply chains, whose representatives of the top management are considering implementing the requirements of the ISO 50001 standard. It is worth noting that the renowned literature on the subject lacks research and studies on the impact of the implementation of the ISO 50001 standard on the functioning of enterprises and supply chains in Eastern Europe. The obtained research results will therefore contribute to the development of the theory as they provide answers to new research questions and should prove useful for both practitioners and theorists.

14

Authors: Petronela Švikruhová, Zuzana Kapsdorferová, Ľudmila Dobošová, Radka Kataniková

In recent years, there have been significant changes in the world economy. Due to the predominance of supply over demand, rapidly spreading knowledge, the globalization of the business environment, the importance of quality in project management has increased dramatically around the world. The primary objective of this scientific paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the quality management system in selected internal processes in the international IT company. The result will be a rationalization of internal processes, thereby reducing the workload of the software services team. This article is focused on the application of the DMAIC method on a specific Lean Six Sigma project within the international IT company.

14

Authors: Mate Damić, Dora Naletina, Luka Buntić

The relationship between organizational innovativeness and ISO 9001 is still ambiguous in the literature. This paper aims to shed light on this understudied issue by observing how different levels of ISO 9001 quality management system internalization influence organizational innovativeness. To answer this question we analysed the relationship between internal motivation for implementation of ISO 9001, internalization of ISO 9001 and organizational innovativeness in one hundred and fifty seven ISO 9001 certified organizations from four European countries (Austria, Croatia, Italy and Romania). We found out that higher levels of internalization of ISO 9001 have a positive relationship with organizational innovativeness, while higher levels of internal motivation for implementation of ISO 9001 have a positive influence on ISO 9001 internalization. Through analysis of internal motivation as an important antecedent of ISO 9001 internalization and its relationship with organizational innovativeness, our findings can help organizations to reconcile the need for achieving innovativeness and quality at the same time. Future research should try to broaden the research sample and conduct a longitudinal study in order to analyse the influence of other institutional factors on the relationships proposed in our research.

16

Authors: Nayara Nicole de Sene Pereira, Evandro Eduardo Broday

Brazilian public healthcare service is highly demanded. However, the system has been through a restrained scenario, with a long waiting time to have a doctor's appointment and scans. This research aims to analyze the waiting time in the services of a Basic Healthcare Unit (BHU) in a small city in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, by using statistical control charts. The field research relays on Taguchi's loss function smaller-the-better, in other words, the shorter the waiting time for patients, better is the perception of quality. A direct observation was carried out in order to acquire the patients' waiting time for a medical appointment and to evaluate the quality of the service. The patient waiting time was monitored with Control Chart for Individual Measurements and Moving Range and then it was determined the capability of the service by using the Cpk index. It was concluded that the service is inefficient based on Process Capability Index (Cpk=-0.15), being the average waiting time for a doctor's appointment around 121.88 minutes (approximately 2 hours).

18

Authors: Ana Krstić, Predrag Mimović, Dragana Rejman Petrović

The paper measures the efficiency of the national economy of Republic of Serbia, in the period 2007-2017 year, marked by the global financial crisis and natural disasters that caused catastrophic consequences. First, the DEA method was applied, and then expert assessments were integrated into the model using the AHP method, thus overcoming the problem of irrelevance of individual variables. The results showed that the introduction of additional restrictions, based on expert judgments, for the weighting coefficients of the input variables affected the reduction of technical efficiency in the observed period compared to the baseline model, but that in both cases in 2007 the national economy was technically efficient. Robustness analysis of the obtained efficiency values was performed using bootstrap DEA, thus confirming the consistency of the results.

20

Authors: Dorota Klimecka-Tatar, Manuela Ingaldi

Patient safety during medical procedures and services is a priority issue. However, the patient can interpret this safety at various levels and this affects the perception and quality assessment. In the paper the method of evaluating the quality of medical services in term of improving the potential of employees in an international service enterprise has been presented. These methods based on the conceptual service quality model in the context of development and International Human Resources Management (IHRM). The research took the form of a questionnaire, which was filled in by customers after using the services of the dental office. The research included five areas for improvement in the field of Human Resources Management, based on the priority: first impression, knowledge, competence, involvement, empathy, i.e. important features of employees which can influence customers satisfaction. It has also been proposed to introduce quality evaluation indicators (QE) and acceptance of international employee group index (AI) that indicate internal recommendations to improve the quality of service and recommendations for the improvement and development of the company in terms of human resource management in the light of globalization and the migration of professionals. Proposition of the service quality model in the context of development and International Human Resources Management in enterprise providing medical services was presented. Specific methodology to evaluate the quality of medical services in terms of improving the potential of employees in an international service enterprise was proposed.

20

Authors: Miloš Lazarević, Bogdan Nedić, Stefan Đurić

This paper deals with the application of pyrotechnic safety in the destruction of MER as one of the riskier processes in working with MER. Knowledge and application of pyrotechnic safety measures, ie the entire pyrotechnic safety system, determination of protected systems, identification of hazards, hazards, risk management and its assessment, are the basic condition for any serious work with MER.

24

Authors: Sergei G. Vagin, Yuri N. Lascencov, Maria E. Konovalova, Eugene V. Frank

This paper aims at studying quality from the positions of safety in the digital economy of developing countries. Originality of this research consists in the following: firstly, quality is evaluated from the positions of safety. Not only safety as a feature of product quality (internal effects) but also influence of product quality on safety in society and economy (external effects) - negative and positive - are taken into account. Secondly, the essence and structure of safety are specified and the scientific and methodological approach to evaluation of products' quality from the positions of safety is developed and approbated by the example of modern developing countries. Products' safety is studied in the unity of all its components. Thirdly, quality from the positions of safety is considered in the context of the digital economy and in view of specific experience of developing countries. Fourthly, the influence of economic freedom on quality from the positions of safety in the digital economy of developing countries is considered, which allows determining the role of state standardization and control in this process. It is determined that general level of products' quality from the positions of safety in developing countries is rather high, regardless of the level of economic freedom - 63.48% on average in 2020. Due to optimization of influence of digitalization, products' quality from the positions of safety in developing countries could be increased by 1.55 times - up to 98.16% until 2025. A complex of practical recommendations is offered for this.

6

Authors: Sandra Stefanovic, Alina Andreea Dragoescu Urlica, Lulzime Kamberi

A number of engineering study programs have English language courses in their curricula. The reasons for including of foreign, English language are numerous starting from the fact that the English language is the facto language of science, following that the English language is important in business and engineering communication in modern business and engineering environment. The approaches to teaching and learning of English language are numerous and in this paper, it will be presented experience in using the Learning Management System, Moodle in teaching and learning of English language as well as students' satisfaction with this platform and the concept of blended learning.

14

Authors: Adnan M. Rawashdeh, Mohammad Salameh Almasarweh, Eiad Basher Alhyasat, Osama Mohammad Rawashdeh

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the quality knowledge management and organizational performance as mediated by organizational learning. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from a sample of 300 employees working at Royal Jordanian Airlines Company. The questionnaire was developed based on past researches, i.e., knowledge management was measured using 12 items, organizational learning was evaluated by 12 items while organizational performance was assessed via 8 items. Structural equation modeling (SEM) via The Analysis of Moment Structures, i.e., IBM AMOS 22 was used in hypotheses testing. The results showed that knowledge management has a positive direct impact on both organizational learning and organizational performance. Organizational learning has a positive direct effect on organizational performance. Furthermore, the results pointed out a significant indirect impact of knowledge management on organizational performance via organizational learning. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the relations included in this study have not, up to date, been investigated in aviation industry. Finally, leaders should motivate their followers to acquire more knowledge from different sources, which if practiced successfully, will support the organizational learning environment. Future research may examine these variables in another industry, context.

14

Authors: Husni Teja Sukmana, Kyung Oh Lee, Taqwa Hariguna, Munawaroh

The ongoing study objective is to examine the role of e-quality along with incident management and quality management on the training stimulation of government employees in Indonesia. The investigation of the moderating role of quality information system among the links of e-quality, incident management, quality management and training stimulation of government employees are also included in the objectives of the study. The quantitative method has been executed by the study through which data has been collected by using questionnaires and analyzed by using smart-PLS. The results reported that e-quality, incident management and quality management have a positive association with training stimulation of government employees. The findings also reported that quality information system has positively moderated among the links of quality management and training stimulation of government employees while negatively moderated among the links of e-quality and training simulation. These findings are guided to the regulators along with government employee trainers that they should focus on the quality management of the e-learning system of the employees that enhance not only the training stimulation but also improve the firm performance.

14

Authors: Sarwat Jahan, Ibrahim Alrajawy, Sidra Abid Ali, Parul Martin

The advancement in economics, politics and technology have made the world a global village and the international distance has reduced. The business of the world come closer to the international market by globalising their products and services in the international market which also impacts the performance of the business. In this research, the impact of globalisation on business performance is analysed by using the UAE food sector. The primary and secondary sources of information are used and the data is analysed using the quantitative research designs. The descriptive and frequency analysis is used for analysing the data collected through the primary research using the sample size of 220. Correlation and regression analysis is also used in this research for finding the relationship and the intensity of the relationship between globalisation and business performance.

16

Authors: Ahmed Muayad Younus, Valliappan Raju

The study objectives implementation of smart contract technology and its impact on individual, environmental and organizational factors, particularly considering the moderating effect of organizational culture. Consequently, to fill this research gap, this study extends the concepts of implementation of smart contract technology by investigating an original conceptual framework. This conceptual framework is subjected to empirical testing, implemented through 361 employees who met the population inclusion criteria set forth in this study in gas and oil companies in Iraq. Data is collected through a self-administration questionnaire and analyzed through structural equation modeling (PLS). The results suggest that: (1) sustainable performance by developing a smart contract and secure contracts; (2) organizational culture has a partially significant positive moderating effect; (3)the country achieves economic profits and companies can achieve long-term goals and a competitive advantage in the business environment and achieve sustainability.

16

Authors: Elena Nikitskaya, Meri Valishvili, Maxim Astapenko, Anna Namgalauri

One of the priorities in terms of building an innovation economy and promoting innovation activities at all level is infrastructure development, i.e. a modality for integrating innovation processes at different levels and in different economic sectors. Among the most significant limitations to innovative growth is infrastructure quality which conditions the investment appeal of national economy and the speed of return on investment.This paper adopted Ward's hierarchical clustering method to analyze various Russian regions. Cluster analysis revealed a direct correlation between infrastructure development indicators and innovation parameters. One of the disruptive factors is a time lag between innovation subjects' demand for individual infrastructure elements and their actual exploitation. In the current context, there is a need to develop projections and comprehensive plans for regional development, thereby improving the efficiency of innovation potential and eliminating the existing disproportions between the levels of innovative development.

18

Authors: Mariya V. Mazunina, Aleksandr G. Rubin, Natalia V. Zinchenko, Natalia N. Gribok, Marina A. Vorobyova

This paper is devoted to development of a risk-oriented approach to quality management during the implementation of innovative projects for strategic development of a company, which ensures the growth of effectiveness of this management. This work considers quality as the basis of company's strategic development - competitiveness and commercial effectiveness of a company are treated as the functions of quality. Due to this, focus is made not on standard and generally accessible but on unique aspects of quality, which cannot be achieved by rivals - sustainable competitive advantages. Also, this work considers the specifics of quality in the conditions of the digital economy and focuses on hi-tech character products as the basis of its quality, provided by breakthrough innovations. The risks that are inherent to innovative projects, which are implemented in entrepreneurship, are taken into account. It is offered to manage quality with their help. Based on the developed proprietary scale for classifying the levels and qualitative treatment of effectiveness of quality management during the implementation of innovative projects for company's strategic development and with the help of regression analysis it is proved that in countries with developed market economy the effectiveness of quality management during the implementation of innovative projects from the positions of company's strategic development is moderate ' not high ' thus requiring certain increase. In order to solve this problem, a risk-oriented approach to quality management during the implementation of innovative projects for company's strategic development is offered.

18

Authors: Taqwa Hariguna, Athapol Ruangkanjanases, Henderi

The study aimed to examine the impact of nature activities, cultural activities, recreation activities, and infrastructure development on tourism development along with the moderating effect of destination quality in context of tourism industry. The quantitative approach using purposive sampling was used for collecting data that was further analyzed using PLS-SEM. The current study had helped in a wide range and provided various theoretical and empirical findings for the advancement of research regarding tourism development and destination quality affects its development. This study had provided in-depth knowledge regarding how different tourism activities could help in enhancing the experience and tourism-host interaction was also highly identified. The results showed that destination quality negatively moderates the relationship between policy for cultural activities and tourism development while destination quality does not moderate the relationship between policy for infrastructure development and tourism development. Moreover, the results also showed that the relationship of policy for nature activities and policy for recreation activities with tourism development has been positively moderated by the destination quality. The paper in the end included the policy implications along with limitations and future recommendations.

18

Authors: Adnan M. Rawashdeh, Malek Bakheet Elayan, Waleed Alhyasat, Mohamed Dawood Shamout

This paper intends to evaluate the relationship of Electronic Human Resources Management )e-HRM)' Perceived Usefulness (PU), e-HRM Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), and Continuance Usage Intention (CUI) in the context of the Jordanian Hotel Sector (JHS), and identify the mediating role of user satisfaction towards e-HRM between e-HRM PEOU, PU, and CUI evident in non-Western contexts and specifically in the Middle East region. An empirical study was carried out in JHS, data were collected from (123) HR professionals are working in 30 Five Stars hotels as a high ranked hotel in Jordan. The primary data collection followed a structured questionnaire. It examined using the 'Structural Equation Modeling' (SEM) methodology to test the relationship and effects among the variables, and for analysis, SPSS and Smart-PLS were applied. from the SEM analysis, it is evident that the measurement model that has been proposed and structural model is a satisfaction of the necessary fitness conditions, it revealed that e-HRM PEOU was positively related to CUI, while, e-HRM PU showed no significant effect on CUI, user satisfaction showed a direct and positive influence on CUI. As for the indirect impact, e-HRM PU had no immediate impact on CUI and no indirect effect on CUI through user satisfaction e-HRM PEOU was positively related to user satisfaction, which, in turn, was positively related to CUI. Thus user satisfaction was shown to play a mediating role between e-HRM PEOU and e-HRM CUI. The paper has implications for providing insights for the e-HRM user to manage the usage of e-HRM efficiently. In general, enhancing user satisfaction toward e-HRM can result in a high level of CUI. Besides, users should realize PU and user satisfaction to improve the usage of e-HRM and CUI.

22

Authors: Safaa Mohammed Hadi Hashim, Afrah Oudah Sabeeh

The main purpose of this research is to explore opportunities to integrate manufacturing practices with its processes using the LSS methodology to reduce waste and variability, improve efficiency and enhance quality and thus to improve process performance. Data were collected through interviews conducted by researchers during site visits. These data were processed using a set of quantitative measures by a computer program designed with Microsoft (Excel 2010) as well as the statistical program (SPSS v.17). Finally, develop and control was employed to ensure continuity and improvements. The rates of utilization of the product design capacity were low, with low levels of efficiency and productivity. It was also concluded that the application of the LSS methodology would reduce delivery time.There was notable difficulty of obtaining information, especially concerning the defective production of the final product.

14

Authors: Laura Karnai, László Szőllősi, Andrea Bauerné Gáthy, István Szűcs

Our consumption habits affect our body from childhood on, changes in eating habits can lead to various eating disorders and cause problems, especially in adulthood. For this reason, we need to pay attention to what we eat and drink throughout our lives, as a close correlation is observed between consumed foods and health. The primary purpose of the study is to survey the daily eating habits of Debrecen students, to compare their regularity and composition in terms of quality in order to reveal any correlations between the BMI-based categories and the quality of consumption. In order to examine this aspect, we conducted a questionnaire survey among 500 students of the University of Debrecen. There is a significant relationship between body mass index and food groups only in the case of coffee, but there is no correlation between the degree of obesity of Debrecen students and the frequency of food consumed.

16

Authors: Saad Saud Almutairi

The procedure adopted for development of a survey instrument to measure the perceptions and attitudes of Saudi managers on the benefits laws has been described in this paper. The commonly adopted procedure of determining the scales and items for the survey was followed. The context-specific requirements were considered in determining the items to be included in the two scales. The full questionnaire contained relevant demographic items, eight items each for perceptions and attitudes measurement and a final open question for whatever the survey participants wished to say about the topic of survey. A pilot trial was done using the developed survey instrument to measure perceptions and attitudes of Saudi public sector managers on the benefits enjoyed by their workforce due to favourable labour laws. The results showed both perceptions and attitudes of managers to be positive. The results were explained in a number of different ways with the support of literature. Some limitations of this research, as scope for further research, have also been listed.

16

Authors: Mohammad Moin Uddin

Since the last recession the hardwood flooring industry is currently enjoying strong growth. With this growth come new challenges for manufacturers of hardwood flooring. QEP Wood Flooring division, located in Johnson City, Tennessee, USA is a midsize flooring company which historically struggled with high customer claims. In 2016, QEP's Johnson City management team implemented an initiative to address the top three leading causes of defects and waste in their hardwood flooring panels. A systematic plan was devised and implemented by utilizing basic quality tools and methods such as Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC), root cause analysis, 5-why, check sheet and deployment of effective employee awareness training. As a result, QEP Wood Flooring division reduced 81.56% in chip-out, increased 1.7% in production yield, saved over $90k annually in customer claims while improving the quality of their products and increasing customer satisfaction. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing an effective process and low-cost tools to improve the quality of wood flooring products elsewhere in the wood flooring industry.

16

Authors: Adriana Grenčíková, Marcel Kordoš, Vladislav Berkovič

Intelligent devices, machines and technologies, virtual reality, 3D printing and cooperative robotic devices are being implemented into the industry currently. These technologies are also transferred to the manufacturing sector, where industrial facilities connect, collaborate and make decisions by means of artificial intelligence. The aim of the paper is to find out the impact level of Industry 4.0 implementation within Slovak enterprises. The research was provided based on the data set on the Slovak statistical office and the questionnaire survey being carried out during the period of December 2018 till February 2019 by random selection; 350 companies were contacted with a return of 220 responses. From the reactions of the companies, we evaluated the employers' opinion and their readiness on the emergence of smart industry in Slovakia. The result of the study will be an assessment of two key issues concerning the current jobs structure requirements in terms of employees' education structure and, in particular, employers' reactions on the Industry 4.0 implementation reflecting the future job structure in Slovak industry.Based on the results it is proposed the expected positive changes should be transformed into higher productivity, greater flexibility, greater competitiveness, higher profitability, security and ecology. As research limitation there can be mentioned issues such as: some questioners from the survey had to be void, some answers were not relevant.

18

Authors: Anas Abudaqa, Mohd Faiz Hilmi Norziani Dahalan

This study aims to examine the relationship between psychological contract, appreciative leadership, commitment, quality of work-life, and turnover intention in oil and gas companies in UAE. Meanwhile, this study aims to investigate the moderating effect of appreciative leadership on the relationship between psychological contract and turnover intention, between commitment and turnover intention, and between the quality of work-life and turnover intention. The employees of the oil and gas companies in UAE are the respondents, and data was gathered by questionnaires and evaluated by PLS-SEM. The findings show that psychological, commitment, quality of work-life and appreciative have positive nexus with the turnover intentions while appreciative has moderated among the nexus of commitment and turnover intentions, quality of work-life and turnover intentions, on the other hand, appreciative has not moderated among the nexus of psychological and turnover intentions. This study is useful evidence for the firms working in the Oil and Gas sector of UAE to overcome the issue of high turnover intention due to the direct effect from exogenous variables.

18

Authors: Fahrurrozi, Murtono, Ika Lestari, Iva Sarifah, Ratna Sari Dewi

The objective of the study is to examine the usefulness of online learning for improving quality of instruction, quality of environment, quality of teacher and quality of family cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. The study collected 296 sample responses from the Department of Elementary School Teacher Education at Universitas Negeri Jakarta via purposive sampling through self-administrated survey questionnaire. The results showed that the usefulness of online learning significantly influenced the quality of environment. Usefulness of online learning significantly influenced the quality of family cooperation. Also, the usefulness of online learning significantly influenced the quality of instruction. Lastly, the usefulness of online learning significantly influenced the quality of teachers. Students are required not only to respond to the questions of the instructor but also to give feedback regarding the online class in the pandemic to perform better in discussions, activities, and tasks.

18

Authors: Atiya Al-Zuheri, Ilias Vlachos, Yousef Amer

Reducing patient waits is vital to respond for the increasing demand for quality health services. Toward this endeavour, the aim of this research is to explore the current situation of application of lean six sigma (LSS) techniques in the healthcare sector as a strategy to address negative effects of long waiting of patients. The study reviews the outcomes of application LSS techniques to increase patient's satisfaction with healthcare. A comprehensive review of the literature dedicated to apply LSS in healthcare is used to generate a synthesis of the literature around the chosen research aim. The review focuses on research addressed various types of issues, which can cause increasing waiting time at healthcare centres. The study confirms the significant of LSS application in reducing waiting time of patients at healthcare centres.

18

Authors: Elena G. Popkova, Aidarbek Giyazov

This paper is devoted to finding the importance of the factors of industrial and manufacturing engineering for fighting a virus threat and to substantiating the perspectives of increasing quality in the healthcare sphere of based on digitalization and Industry 4.0. The authors perform quantitative analysis of the influence of the factors of industrial and manufacturing engineering on quality of fight against the virus threat in comparison with the traditional factors. A qualitative treatment of the advantages of digitalization and Industry 4.0 with the help of industrial and manufacturing engineering for increasing the quality in fight against the virus threat is provided. The perspectives are modeled and recommendations are developed for increasing the quality of fight against the virus threat based on digitalization and Industry 4.0, with the help of industrial and manufacturing engineering. Originality and advantages of the research consist in the fact that successfulness of fight against the virus threat is treated not from the positions of resources (expenditures) but from the positions of results - quality. Due to this, the research contributes to formation of a concept of healthcare, which is oriented at the result and which guarantees high quality of medical services. Importance of the research is predetermined by determining the role of the technological factors (industrial and manufacturing engineering) in provision of quality of fighting the virus threat. Significance of the performed research for development of scientific knowledge consists in provision of substantiation and practical recommendations for applying a new - digital - approach to fight against the virus threat.

20

Authors: Ekaterina N. Ilyina, Marina A. Sanovich

The purpose of this research is to develop a risk-oriented approach to quality management during implementation of innovative projects, which would allow achieving high effectiveness and ensuring company's strategic development. Originality of this research consists in considering innovative activities from the point of view of consequences for quality, in the interests of company's strategic development - unlike other studies, in which emphasis is made on short-term advantages of entrepreneurship's innovative activity, which causes large risks. Contribution of this research to development of the theoretical science consists in specifying the essence and structure of product quality in entrepreneurship. The components of quality are distinguished and substantiated, and a treatment of implementation of innovative projects from the positions of effectiveness of managing products' quality is offered. The authors' treatment is used for systematizing the components from the positions of the target result in the sphere of product quality, by means of innovations and expenditures for achievement of result for quality; they are also classified by the criterion of significance and requirements to effectiveness of quality management, evaluated through ratio of results to costs. Practical significance of the research consists in the fact that the developed scientific and practical recommendations could be used for ensuring effectiveness during quality management while implementing innovative projects for company's strategic development. An additional advantage of the developed recommendations is consideration of the specifics of countries of each distinguished category, as well as the specifics of various market structures.

24

Authors: Edvaldo de Farias, Luis Mendes, Maria Nascimento, Eva Morais

The article aims to compare the perceptions of three groups of stakeholders regarding the relevance of specific attributes of service quality in fitness centres in Rio de Janeiro. The approach was qualitative, of the survey type, with stratified sampling and application of a single instrument formed of 34 specific attributes of the quality of services in fitness centres. To identify differences in the relevance of each attribute for clients, managers and instructors, variance analysis was performed through the Kruskal-Wallis test. IBM SPSS v 25 for Windows was used for statistical treatment. The study was carried out with 657 clients, 123 managers and 180 instructors in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The scale with 34 items presented a global and group Cronbach alpha that validated the instrument's internal consistency, confirming that its items measure the same construct. There were differences in the relevance attributed by the three groups in 32,4% of the attributes, showing non-alignment in the perceptions of those who deliver, manage and consume services in those fitness centres. It was not possible to compare the results obtained with previous studies due to the non-existence of research focusing on different stakeholders' perceptions of the attributes of service quality in companies in this business segment, revealing that the topic is a new perspective in assessing the quality of services in fitness environments.

10

Authors: Tetiana Kalashnikova, Maryna Salun, Liudmyla Katan, Tetiana Marenych

Commercial methods of quality management in higher education are currently being applied in Ukraine. This article addresses the question of whether commercial methods of quality management can be applied in the context of higher education. This problem is important because the commercial quality management methods introduced by Ministry of Education and Science (as part of the updated HEIs financing system), by National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance are based on the assumption that "edu-business" has "customers" who pay for "service". If these conditions cannot be applied to higher education, then the existing commercial methods of quality management are not applicable to HEIs and methods of quality management need to be rethinking, modifying and clarifying.

12

Authors: Yashar Rahimi, Igor Matyshenko, Ruslan Kapitan, Yurii Pronchakov

Ways to improve the efficiency of the functioning of complete logistic supply chain (CLSC) in the framework of the concept of Industry 4.0 are described. It is shown that the key features of Industry 4.0, namely the integration of production and network communications, the formation of direct links of production chains from ordering a product to receiving it by the consumer as soon as possible with maximum process efficiency, determine the inadequate effectiveness of traditional means for information supporting on the functioning of CLSCs. It is proposed to modernize the mathematical and information support of CLSC by supplementing the currently used AnyLogic modeling environment with artificial intelligence and knowledge engineering. The technology of multi-agent systems (MAS) has been used as such a tool. The use of MAS technology will provide the opportunity to adequately present in the AnyLogic environment the dynamics of CLSC functioning, taking into account a large number of heterogeneous, time-varying factors that directly affect the efficiency of CLSC functioning.

14

Authors: Obrad Spaić, Zdravko Krivokapić, Budimirka Marinović, Janko Jovanović

One of the most commonly used and at the same time the most complicated cutting tools in terms of body geometry is the spiral drill bit. In the process of their production, the key operation is the production of spiral grooves. Until now, the grooves on the drill bits have been mainly produced by milling, grinding, rolling and extrusion processes. All these procedures have their advantages and disadvantages as well. Based on the experimental measurements of the dimensions of the grooves of the drill bits produced by the rolling and grinding technology, the paper defines the basic parameters and a new technological procedure for the production of grooves of the drill bits has been designed. For the suggested technological procedure of making of grooves of the drill bits, the advantages and disadvantages of the conventional production of the grooves of the drill bits by rolling or grinding technology have been analysed.

14

Authors: Norman Ubber, Sascha Klein, Yannick Jerusalem

Future german pensioners will face a pension gap in retirement age if they base their income exclusively on the statutory pension. Conventional private pension alternatives are not lucrative, but they are still the most widely used. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have features that make them particularly attractive for pension provision and can therefore help to increase their quality. The aim of this paper is to find out which factors influence the acceptance formation process and thus the usage of ETFs. Therefore a model will be developed which is based on the widely known Technology Acceptance Mode (TAM). This model will then be tested by using an online survey within future German pernsioners. The descriptive statistics are then first calculated for recorded data. Afterwards the relationships within the variable model are analysed for significant dependencies. The results show that the assumed external variables have an influence on the acceptance of ETFs. Moreover, they confirm the applicability of the original model for a financial product.

16

Authors: Yousef Awad Alsharari

This research aimed to get insights into the current Saudi Arabian research relating to service quality of hotels compared to other countries, and to identify areas of improvement relating to the service quality of Saudi Arabian hotels. A systematic review was conducted with relevant keywords and using the Google Scholar search engine. A review of 59 shortlisted papers indicated that research relating to service quality of hotels serving the Saudi tourism industry could be classified into two major topics, i.e., 'General' for different countries, and 'Halal, Islamic or Sharia-compliant hotels'. The findings from the review indicate that, generally, there is a dearth of research on service quality of hotels serving the Saudi tourism industry; SERVQUAL and its adapted versions have been used by several researchers studying service quality of hotels in other countries; Malaysia leads in the research into Islamic and Sharia-compliant hotels; Malaysia and Indonesia have shown tendencies to enforce strict Islamic practices in international hotels; and Saudi Arabia, has not demonstrated how well it complies with Islamic standards when receiving foreign tourists. Therefore, the importance of more research on Halal/Sharia/Islamic compliant services in Saudi hotels can hardly be overemphasized, especially, given that Saudi is a significant Muslim pilgrim destination. Clarity about the compliance with Islamic standards in Saudi hotels is an essential aspect of service quality offered by hotels. The practical implication of this research is that Saudi hotels need to demonstrate greater clarity about compliance with Islamic standards to improve their service quality.

16

Authors: Ana Beatriz Machado, Francisco J. G. Silva, José Carlos Sá, Alcinda Barreiras, Luís Pinto Ferreira, Maria Teresa Pereira, Gilberto Santos

This work was developed in a company that produces components, such as, Bowden cables and comfort systems for the automobile industry. The company's external logistics department was the place where the work was carried out. The constant need of urgent shippings in the company in order to comply with the delivery scheduled with its customers, leads the organization to have an unnecessary cost. This case study is no exception, and this type of costs represents about 33% of total transport costs, revealing a major negative economic impact for the company. For the analysis of urgent transport some quality tools were used to determine the root causes of the identified problem (high cost with urgent transport). The use of these quality tools, namely brainstorming, Ishikawa's diagram and Five Whys, allowed for greater involvement by employees from different areas. Thus, it was possible to share knowledge and, consequently, a more reliable analysis and identification of possible root-causes of the problem, as well as, the implementation of actions to eliminate them. With the implementation of the improvement actions, the urgent shipping costs were reduced by about 68%.

16

Authors: Katarzyna Szymczyk

The paper discusses the directions of a global expansion of the Polish food industry companies and examines their strategic goals, motivations and methods of entering the foreign markets. The discussion is based on the quantitative research, conducted in 2018, among 250 Polish food companies selected from three food industry groups (10.7, 10.1,10.3) according to the list of codes of Polish Classification of Activities. The Polish food companies perceive foreign markets as an opportunity for growth by increasing profits, acquiring new customers, increasing sales and strengthening the position as well as the potential of the company. The EU is a preferable direction of expansion. The companies find the EU members' markets locally convenient, stable and with business-friendly conditions. The paper complements the studies on internationalisation of the food sector companies, in particular in a static approach which constitutes the degree of company independence in implementing the market entry strategies and illustrates the intensity of the internationalisation process of the business.

18

Authors: Seyedamirhesam Khalafi, Ali Salmasnia, Mohammad Reza Maleki

In most profile monitoring applications, the explanatory variables are not fixed from profile to profile. However, in most studies, they are assumed to be fixed values. Furthermore, the observed units usually contain some source of uncertainty referred as "measurement errors." In this paper, first the effect of neglecting the measurement errors effect on detection capability of two common control charts for Phase II monitoring of simple linear profiles is evaluated. Then, three remedial approaches including ranked set sampling, multiple measurement and increasing sample size are utilized to decrease the mentioned effect. Simulation studies in terms of average run length (ARL) metric show that neglecting the measurement errors adversely affects the capability of both charts. The results also confirm that the remedial approaches adequately compensate for the mentioned effect.

18

Authors: Quyen Ha Tran

The current study examined firm quality and competitiveness using process, market and information strategy and logistics coordination effectiveness in manufacturing industry of Malaysia. The study used survey methodology and the respondents were gathered via convenience sampling. The data analysis was conducted using PLS-SEM. Furthermore, the outcome of study showed that information strategy was found insignificant towards firm quality and competitiveness. However, the information strategy was significantly affecting the logistics coordination effectiveness. Moreover, logistics coordination effectiveness was significantly affecting the firm quality and competitiveness. The market strategy was significantly affecting firm competitiveness. Additionally, market strategy was significantly affecting the logistics coordination effectiveness. Also, process strategy was not significantly affecting the firm competitiveness; however, process strategy was significantly affecting the logistics coordination effectiveness. Moreover, logistics coordination effectiveness was significantly mediating the relationship between all three strategies namely market strategy, process strategy and process strategy and firm competitiveness.

22

Authors: Chancelar Kafere, Alaa Garad

Understanding the needs of customers has become a critical factor for the success of organizations in the modern world. A blood service is similar to any other organization in that it needs to satisfy its blood donors and other customers for it to survive. The primary purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of service offered to blood donors at the National Blood Service of Zimbabwe and make appropriate recommendations for improvement where the quality level is found to be below expectations. Complex surgical and medical procedures are made possible by the use of blood transfusion, and it improves the quality of life as well as life expectancy in patients with a wide range of chronic and acute conditions (Amatya, 2013).

10

Authors: Dominik Zimon

The aim of this publication was determining the impact of implementation of the ISO 14001 standard requirements on creating sustainable supply chains in the textile industry. The research process included the development of research tools such as questionnaires. Surveys of anonymous nature were sent by e-mail to top management representatives organizations operating in the south-eastern Poland and Slovakia who hold a certified quality management system according to ISO 14001. The research process carried out as well as the analysis of the obtained results allowed to respond to the research questions. As a result it can be stated that the ISO 14001 standard is an instrument that has a noticeable impact on improving the concept of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) in the textile industry.

12

Authors: Matej Babič, Cristiano Fragassa, Grzegorz Lesiuk, Dragan Marinković

In this article, a new method for complexity determination by using fractals in combination with an artificial intelligent approach is proposed and its application in laser hardening technology is detailed. In particular, nanoindentation tests were applied as a way to investigate the hardness properties of tool steel alloys with respect to both marginal and relevant changes in laser hardening parameters. Specifically, process duration and temperature were considered, together with nanoindentation, later related to surface characteristics by image analysis and Hurst exponent determination. Three different Machine Learning algorithms (Random Forest, Support Vector Machine and k-Nearest Neighbors) were used and predictions compared with measures in terms of mean, variability and linear correlation. Evidences confirmed the general applicability of this method, based on integrating fractals for microstructure analysis and machine learning for their deep understanding, in material science and process engineering.

12

Authors: Zuzana Mitalova, Darina Duplakova, Dusan Mital, Juliana Litecka, Velimir Dedic, Enes Sukic

Wood-plastic composites present the specific group of composite materials consisting of plastic matrix and natural reinforcement in meal or fibre form. There are publications which are presented in the scientific databases whose field of investigating is the mechanical and physical properties, the way of manufacturing and chemical composition of WPC materials. However, there is only a small percentage in the field of machining of composite materials with the natural reinforcement. The presented article is focused on the surface topography evaluation of wood plastic composite materials after turning. Parameters of surface roughness were evaluated using the optical contactless method - MicroProf FRT optical profilometer. During the turning process, a trace is formed on the surface profile - in the form of thread with the expected pitch. Surface roughness parameters and conclusions were formulated according to obtained results.

14

Authors: Mohammad Ayed Aloufi

The aim of this review was to examine to what extent the need for nursing specific Clinical Decision Support Systems has been realised in terms of progress in research on this topic, areas of such researches and the findings of these researches. The topic title itself was used as the search term in Google Scholar for different time frames and only papers which have nursing CDSS in their titles were selected. This process yielded 32 papers, which were listed and described briefly. From the listed and described 32 papers, some trends on types of papers and assessment results were tabulated in terms of number of papers in each category and the pertinent references. Three tables were obtained in this manner. The maximum number of papers dealt with evaluation or effects of nursing CDSS. There were nine reviews on the topic spread over time. Seven papers had factors or barriers as their topics. Notably, only one paper dealt with use of mobile devices in nursing CDSS in spite of the fact that use of smart phones is rapidly increasing in every part of life. While 14 papers assessed CDSS positively, seven assessed it negatively. Another seven were neutral in assessment or there was no clear statement on this. Three papers dealt with scope for nursing CDSS, which should prompt more research on this. Reviews were mostly used. There were only two papers which used high quality RCT, The findings of the review are discussed using appropriate arguments and scope for future research has been indicated at each point and listed at the end. Some limitations of this review have also been listed.

14

Authors: André Luis Korzenowski, Wagner Lourenzi Simões, Lucas Schmidt Goecks, Melissa Gerhard, Pablo Fogaça, Rossano Santos Noronha

This study aims to evaluate the economic viability of SPC implementation in an out-of-specification production system in order to find the most sustainable point to change from the 100% inspection to sampling inspection. It can prevent losses with false alarms and, or, excessive inspection. It was a computational simulation study through the application of Duncan's (1956) model for the economic design of control charts. The model was optimized using a simulated annealing algorithm to find the parameters' values - a comparative study realized with a real case and a decision flow chart for SPC implementation provided. The results have several relevant practical implications, since the correct decision concerning the inspection type to be adopted based on the proportion of defective items allows its operation with lower costs, eliminating wastes in unnecessary inspections. The optimization of resources also contributes to focusing efforts on continuous process improvement.

16

Authors: Martin Schadler, homas Teichert, Tim Herzhoff, Sascha Klein, Karl-Armin Brohm

In 2017, around 99.5% of all companies in Germany belonged to the small and medium-sized enterprise category. They generated a turnover of 2.33 trillion euros, corresponding to 35.0% of the total turnover in Germany. SMEs are dependent on gaining a competitive advantage through a wide range of unique selling points and specializations in order to stand out from the competition and ensure their long-term existence in the market. The vast majority of products and innovations are planned, developed, and implemented within a project framework. This paper deals with the questions of which success criteria are particularly important for SMEs, which conditions must be fulfilled, and which monitoring and control measures are necessary to ensure that the project remains on the road to success and has a particularly high probability of being completed successfully. Extensive literature research was conducted in the course of the investigations. Sources by both project management specialists in the working environment and academic publications from project management associations and interest groups were examined.

18

Authors: Mercurius Broto Legowo, Budi Indiarto, Deden Prayitno

The purpose of this research is to develop a unified model of quality assurance system for ISO-certified higher education institutions, by integrating Accreditation of The BAN-PT and ISO 9001:2008. BAN-PT is National Accreditation Board of Higher Education in Indonesia has a standard for quality academic process improvement for higher education institutions. ISO 9001 is a standard for quality management systems. There are two issues need to be resolved when an ISO-certified higher education institutions implement Accreditation of BAN-PT. First, it is not easy to identify reusable ISO clauses and requirements when applying for BAN-PT accreditation. Second, it is difficult for ISO-certified higher education institutions to implement BAN-PT Accreditation directly, due to the differences in language, structure, and detail of these two sets of documents. The results of this study, we present a unified model that solves these two problems and can support to implement the BAN-PT Accreditation.

18

Authors: Salman Althobaiti, Sultan Alharthi, Ali Moosa ALZahrani

The aim of this qualitative systematic review is to review the studies on patient perceptions of nursing care quality. All the papers available in the first five pages of Google Scholar using time frames of any time and 2016-2020 (10 web pages) and 2020 (five web pages) were reviewed. The review found that surveys using many different types of measurement frameworks was the methodology of choice for a majority of works. Among the topics, framework validation, care dimensions and specific problems like AIDS, surgery patients and cancer patients were researched most. Many types of measurement frameworks have been used for measuring patient perceptions of nursing care quality. Factors related to the patient, care environment and nursing were identified by the researchers. Individualised care, communicating the truth, competent and prompt care and response to various personal care needs of the patient, timely attention to urgent calls, safety, avoiding medical errors, empathy and instilling trust and confidence in the patient are important care dimensions. Patient-related dimensions are mainly demographic. They include age, education, occupation, income, marital status and certain behavioural attributes, which are outside the control of hospitals. Nurses may be able to adjust to individual behavioural problems to some extent, but not of all patients all the time. Nursing dimensions like working environment, staff strength, leadership effectiveness, involvement or empowerment for independent decision making, strain and burnout and work-life balance problems affect their care quality at professional level. At their personal level, knowledge, skills, competence and training, positive attitude towards the profession are important determinants. A care quality improvement bundle can be designed by the hospital to facilitate the nurses to improve on these factors. The hospitals need to obtain periodical feedback on the administrative aspects of nursing care from the nurses and make any improvement required to provide the proper working conditions without strain and burnout and facilitating work-life balance.

18

Authors: José Salvador da Motta Reis, Fernanda De Oliveira Silva, Maximilian Espuny, Larah Giffoni Lescura Alexandre, Luís César Ferreira Motta Barbosa, Ana Cláudia Munhoz Bonassa, Amanda Marcondes Faria, Nilo Antonio de Souza Sampaio, Gilberto Santos, Otávio José de Oliveira

With it's rapid contagion, the new coronavirus is spreading more and more around the world. Studies point out that the difficulty in solving this pandemic lies in the lack of identification of those infected for their symptoms, which sometimes do not exist. The objectives of this work are to carry out a bibliometric study, identifying the main countries, authors, journals, institutions and keywords that make up this field of knowledge; analyze the research opportunities in the main articles to identify the main study trends about Covid-19; and check if there is a correlation between the number of publications and the number of infected by Covid-19. Among the main groups identified in the studies, the following stand out: regulation of the wildlife market, detection, prevention, impacts on patients, proposal of vaccines, treatment and Covid-19 cure. One of the main contributions of this study was the transmission of relevant knowledge about Covid-19 with the intention to improve quality of life.

22

Authors: Marek Bugdol, Piotr Jedynak

The article discusses the importance of remuneration systems in organizations using Total Quality Management (TQM) and presents the current state of knowledge regarding the role of remuneration systems in quality improvement. The main objective of this paper is to determine the role played by (rarely researched) bonus systems in the process of motivating employees to improve product and service quality. Firstly, the authors indicate to what extent quality criteria are included in the designing of remuneration systems. Secondly, they provide employee feedback on how motivating their pay systems are. Thirdly, they determine to what extent different pay solutions are assessed as fair. Findings: decisions on bonus granting are based on not only objective product/service quality criteria but also opinions such as assessments made by superiors and criteria such as zero work-related accidents, zero sickness absences, or customer satisfaction levels. Thus, it is difficult to assume that bonus granting criteria are completely fair. The conducted analysis shows that a considerable group of the respondents consider bonus awarding as a source of perceived injustice. The most important factors influencing employee motivation include commendations from superiors (in service enterprises) and the possibility of self-control in production enterprises. Contributions: the conducted research extends the knowledge of the role of bonus systems in processes aimed at improving the quality of services and products.