International Journal for Quality Research

10

Authors: Ana Globočnik Žunac, Krešimir Buntak, Petra Tišler

Motivation encourages creativity, innovation, professional development of employees and is the key for high business standards. Starting point for this research is that motivation for work will be greater if a person can fulfil several diversified needs. System of rewarding concentrates on design, implementation and maintenance of different forms. For this research intangible factors of motivation were defined. Aim of the research was to determine the differences in perception of intangible factors considering the size of the company they work in. The total of 536 respondents presented that without regard of the size of company they work for they consider intangible factors and strategies as very important.

14

Authors: Iva Bulatović, Ana Stranjančević

Contemporary tourists are highly demanding, they look for new experiences and unique sensations, while their satisfaction is an indicator of destination quality. Awareness of the factors of tourist satisfaction is of crucial importance for destination management. This paper examines the satisfaction of tourists on the example of Montenegro. In Montenegro, the tourist satisfaction was not much studied which reflects the originality of this research. Factors of tourist satisfaction represent an indicator of the destination management quality. When critical points of tourist offer are known, it is easier for destination management to create strategic plans and to focus on quality improvements. Research results confirm that the existing resources of Montenegro as a tourist destination are not well designed nor properly exploited and that the tourist offer is incomplete. Authors give recommendations on how to increase the level of tourist satisfaction and how tourist satisfaction can help destination management to ensure quality.

14

Authors: un-Cheng Huang, Chien-Chuan Cheng, Yi-An Ding

In the quality inspection practice of the consumer electronics industry, MIL-STD-105E sampling table is viewed as the basis for sampling plans. This traditional quality inspection plan determine the sample size and reject rule based on the size of lot, consumer�s and producer's risk and average quality level (AQL). Traditional sampling plan does not consider internal and external quality costs. However, quality costs were considered in many previous researches, but the comparison between traditional and economical design of single sampling plan is rare from now. This paper discusses the sampling test before the receiving inspection which is vendor simulated buyers. Includes the costs of inspection, rework, replacement, and external failure cost are considered. We compare the quality economical design with traditional single sampling plan under the total quality cost. This paper can be regarded as a reference for future studies and practical applications.

16

Authors: Marta Mas-Machuca, Frederic Marimon

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to (1) identify and classify the main motives that underpin the theoretical and empirical studies of ISO 14000, and (2) to analyze the evolution of these motives regarding time, geographic domain and industry. Design/Methodology/Approach - The analysis was conducted through a literature review, analyzing 66 articles between 1998 and 2017 from Scopus and/or Web of Science databases. Findings - A categorization of motives to implement the ISO 14001 standard is proposed. The main important motivations are external: customer pressure and compliance with legal frameworks. These motivations remain unchanged over time. Asia is the region that pays the most attention to the standard, followed by Europe. Finally, the service sector should be analyzed with more detail, as the manufacturing sector has been the focus of most studies. Originality/Value - Policymakers, management bodies and standardization agencies can benefit from these findings.

20

Authors: Gurhan Aktas, Banu Demirel

The primary purpose of this research is to understand the genuine needs of conference attendees regarding conference participation within a multi-dimensional perspective and to identify the priority of those needs via modern QFD methodology. The findings support the early studies on the fact that academic development and networking are the most important needs towards conferences. Following these two primary need categories, organization-related needs are also given importance by the participants of this research. Offering free time for leisure and recreation activities within conference programs is valued more than pre-arranged social activities by attendees. It is anticipated that the research offers insight into the development and improvement of conference services through the identification of value-adding attributes, which would have practical implications for conference organizers and destination marketers. Unlike most of the extant literature in event management, this research employs the in-depth interviews, focus group, KJ method and AHP within modern QFD methodology.

20

Authors: Joanna Woźniak, Dominik Zimon, Katarzyna Chudy - Laskowska

The principal motivation for undertaking a research process was the fact that, in the literature of the subject, there is still less than sufficient number of studies relevant to the subject of the influence exerted by the selected aspects of the organisation of mass events upon the security and the satisfaction of participants in them. The research process was conducted in two stages, in the years: 2016 and 2017, on the group of 3,820 participants in Rzeszow Juwenalia. In the publication, it was attempted as well to verify the research hypotheses enumerated hereinbelow: a presumption that the gender, the attended year of studies, and also attending a given institution of tertiary education, do not exert influence upon the assessments of Rzeszow Juwenalia in the context of the feeling of security of participants, and also the assessment of the actions of services ensuring the security of the event venue by them is adopted; another presumption, that the assessment of Rzeszow Juwenalia in the context of the feeling of security of participants, and also the assessment of the actions of services ensuring the security of the event venue by them, is not, to a significant degree, different in studied periods of time, was adopted as well. The research process which was conducted made it possible to verify the adopted research hypotheses, and also to determine what factors make it possible to grasp the difference between the perception of the selected aspects of the organisation of an event by participants in it.

28

Authors: Yury Klochkov, Albina Gazizulina, Kunnummal Muralidharan

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) modifies the DMAIC approach by emphasizing speed. Lean focuses on streamlining a process by identifying and removing non-value added steps. A leaned production process eliminates waste. The target metrics, which affect any business include zero wait time, zero inventory, scheduling using customer pull, cutting batch sizes to improve flow, line balancing, and reducing overall process time. Lean Six Sigma�s goal is to produce quality products that meet customer requirements as efficiently and effectively as possible. In this article, we present various Lean performance characteristics that can be effectively used for improving a sustainable business process through a case study.

12

Authors: Sérgio Afonso Mulema, Andrés Carrión García

The cultivation of aquatic species in aquaculture aims at improving fish production, making the activity more dependent on human capacity, especially with what concerns to the application of efficient methods for its management. The weight and standard length are the biometric parameters mostly used to control the growth of tilapia in the cultivation process. In this work there is presented a statistical method based on transfer function ARIMA model to adjust and predict the weight of tilapia with the support of the values of the standard length. The model was adjusted to the data recorded in 21 weeks in the tilapia growing tank of the company Aquapesca de Moçambique, and the results showed that there was a good adjustment (with an explained variability of 97.8%) with which the model can be used to predict the future values of tilapia weight and make the activity more controllable and profitable.

14

Authors: Mohammad Ashiqur Rahman Khan, Stanislav Karapetrovic, Linda Carroll

This paper investigates an application of ISO 10004 in a specific care continuum assumed to be an integrated health care case. It also illustrates the integrative augmentation of ISO 10001- and ISO 10002-based promise and feedback systems. An emergency and inpatient care continuum within a Canadian hospital was investigated by interviewing nurses and managers. Patients' service encounters with the care and support providers were examined and the existing measurement activities were studied. Steps for customer satisfaction measurement along the continuum were defined. Sources to determine patient expectations were identified and the measurement activities, such as a survey encompassing all stages within the care continuum, were developed. Research participants were interviewed again to verify the usefulness of the developed measurement activities. The presented work depicts the relationships among the aspects of customer satisfaction, key principles of integrated care and ISO 10004. It is one of the first examples of an application of ISO 10004 and the integrative augmentation of systems standardized by the ISO 10000 customer satisfaction series in health care. This paper is a revised version of Khan et al. (2017).

16

Authors: Maria João Fãlix, Verãnica Duarte

Meals prepared at home are healthier than those that are purchased. So, we have been considering the possibility of offering an aesthetically appealing product whose purpose is to store, protect and carry meals, particularly meals prepared with healthy food in balanced quantities. The SIPOC diagrams were considered in the present work. The results obtained demonstrated that the SIPOC diagram plays an important role in the process definition and improvement and should be reflected firstly before the mapping process. The prototype under study triggered more positive than negative emotions in the respondents. We hope the product can contribute to future researches, both in the promotion of a strategic planning in the design of sustainable products, and also contribute to future research on the SIPOC diagram.

16

Authors: Cláudia Vale Matilde A. Rodrigues, Rui Azevedo, Delfina Ramos, Isabel Loureiro

The European Union faced an economic crisis with a significant expression in Portugal. The financial unsustainability of this country led to austerity measures with negative impacts on organizations and families. The paper aims to analyse the views of the employed population about the influence of crisis on occupational safety, and workers' quality of life. A self-completed questionnaire named External Environment Questionnaire (EEQ) was applied in 2013. A total of 510 questionnaires were filled by Portuguese employees of eight cities from the North of Portugal. The results indicate that the crisis has an important impact in the financial conditions of the workers and an important effect in the job security. Moreover, companies were seen by workers to compromise their safety performance in a crisis period. A strategy to manage safety issues in a crisis context as well as improve the quality of life of workers is needed

18

Authors: Karolina Simat, Ivana Blešić, Sanja Božić, Miša Avramović, Milan Ivkov

The principal aim is to test the Customer Oriented Service Employee (COSE) model and customer sided consequences in travel agencies in Serbia. Data was collected from 243 customers of travel agencies willing to evaluate customer orientation of employees in selected travel agencies in Serbia. Data analysis incorporates structural equation modeling. COSE consequences model was only partially confirmed (three of six hypothesized relationships between COSE dimensions and customer-sided consequences).This article contributes to the theory and practice in the field of customer relationship building. Providing a discussion on COSE model implication in the travel industry, this study highlights the differences which occur in the field of service marketing. This study extends measurement model of customer orientation in travel industry implementing the COSE model in a developing country. Unlike typically measured customer orientation by self-reports from travel agents, this study presents their customer orientation just from the customer's perspective.

20

Authors: Maria João Fãlix, Gilberto Santos, Antãnio Barroso, Paulo Silva

The main goal of this work is to propose a generic model of an urban vertical garden that can be folded and that can adapt to different types of spaces, taking advantage of the natural resources to the practice of urban agriculture. The methodology of this research obeys five main ideas, the relation between wasted space, man, living space and sustainable design in the production of biological products. The main findings are, improving the quality of life by promoting the practice of urban agriculture; the integrated management of sustainability components in a global market. This case study is pioneer in the Portuguese researches about foldable urban vertical gardens. The authors believe that it can be useful in the creation of a Portuguese guideline for the integration of controlled plant foods production. It promises environmental benefits resulting from the design and development of a product that includes new technologies and the choice of reusable materials.

20

Authors: Ján Závadský, Mária Kožárová, Miroslava Vinczeová, Zuzana Tučková, Jana Krivosudská

The paper identifies the influence of organizational innovations in work of managers by means of empirical research. Four sets were identified in the paper and they present the basis for reviewing the influence of organizational innovations. The set V1, ... Vi,...Vn defines types of organizational innovations, the set X1, ... Xj, ... Xm managerial activities, the set Y1, .... Yk, .... Yo types of changes which can be caused by organizational innovations and the set Z1, ... Zl, ... Zp determines hierarchical levels of management. The goal of the paper is to identify which types of organizational changes cause particular changes at individual level of management and how they influence work of managers at these hierarchical managerial levels. The research was carried out in a selected basic set of companies consisting of Slovak medium sized and large companies performing in the area of industrial production. The basic method which is used is sociological interrogation. We find that the implementation of organizational innovations demonstrable influence managerial work at all levels of management. We identified the most frequently implemented organizational innovations in Slovak medium sized and large companies, innovations with the highest intensity of changes and managerial activities in which was the impact of organizational innovations is mostly seen.

12

Authors: Alexander Zuñiga-Collazos, Marysol Castillo-Palacio, Raul Andrñs Tabarquino-Muñoz, Esperanza Collazos-Zuñiga

Colombia is a country that has achieved significant tourism growth in recent years, However there is limited empirical evidence about its tourism development. Process innovations in tourism enterprises are one of the keys to Colombia maintaining positive tourism development. This empirical study analyzes process innovations in 364 Colombia's tourism companies. The findings show that Acquisition of new both goods and equipment (The internal process to acquisition of goods and equipment of Company) and Coordination of company's areas (The internal process to coordination of company's areas to improve) have a significant relationship with Process Innovations in Colombia's Tourist Enterprises. Especially, this study shows that the coordination of the areas of the Colombian touristic companies is those that affect with greater intensity the level of innovation in processes. Therefore, these activities should have a high priority for their execution and continuous improvement in the Colombian touristic companies.

14

Authors: Todor Kundurzhiev, Yanka Prodanova, Milena Yancheva-Stoicheva, Nevena Tsacheva, Lidia Hristova

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the healthcare institutions' ownership on the quality of working life of workers. QWL was determined by an adapted quality of life questionnaire. The questionnaire contains statements about different aspects of working life. In the comparisons of two independent groups t-test was applied, while in more than two independent groups - ANOVA and ANCOVA (to control the influence of age). In private hospitals there is a significantly lower quality of working life compared to municipal. This is most pronounced in the weak Social Guarantees and Social Benefits. Among the components of QWL, in private hospitals, Remuneration is also low.

16

Authors: Ibrahim Badi, Mohamed Ballem, Ali Shetwan

Libya is one of the arid regions of the world, and it is facing a serious water supply shortage due to the increase in both population and water consumption in various sectors. Ground water is the main source of water in Libya, but it is limited and over exploited. Desalination of sea water is one of the possibilities for Libyan government to meet the problem of water shortage. Selecting the best location of desalination plant is important and a complex process because it is related to a variety of criteria. The aim of this paper is to select the best location of desalination plant in the northwestern coast of Libya. The selection of the best location was done by two main steps. The first step based on the criterion of minimizing water transportation cost, and the second step considered the influence of the external criteria on the location selection. The results of the case study show that the best location is the capital city (Tripoli) with respect to the assessment of Combinative Distance-based Assessment (CODAS) method. The sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the robustness of the selected locations and it reveals that the CODAS method is stable and efficient to deal with multi-criteria decision-making problems. This study provides a suitable and useful tool for the decision makers concerning the optimum location of desalination facilities.

16

Authors: Branko Vučijak, Mugdim Pašić, Jelena Jovanović, Altin Idrizi, Thaqi Xhevdet, Eldar Kurbanov, Hadis Bajrić, Edin Kadrić, Ranka Gojković

The REBUS project emerged in countries where the younger generations are reluctant to engage in private business and entrepreneurship, preferring "safe" employment at the public (state owned) enterprises. Their awareness of own entrepreneurship potentials is very low, while the capacity of talented and skilled students often stays unutilized once being employed. Thus the REBUS project supports embedding entrepreneurship to the South East Europe and Russian universities, at the same time creating network for cooperation between EU and partner countries. One of the first activities was identification, analysis and description of common practices in entrepreneurship education. For this purpose, a comprehensive desk research was combined with expert interviews to inquire about approaches of learning and teaching, connections to lessons, courses and extracurricular activities and approaches to validate entrepreneurial competences. The stocktaking related to the knowledge and differentiation on entrepreneurial competences, leading questions of the surveys related to gaps between formalised (HE) and informal (personal oriented, e.g. in internships) learning and assessment, potentials for enhancements of acquisition of those competences, validation of entrepreneurial competences and selection of key sub-competences. This paper presents results of research and needs analysis (stocktaking) and project objectives and first results.

16

Authors: Felipe Vannucchi de Camargo, João Pedro Teixeira Peixoto de Queiroz, Antonio Carlos de Figueiredo Silveira, Tassio Fernando Pezzin Pin, Judenor Marchioro, Massimiliano Vaccari

Palletizing products consist on the most prevailing method of packaging for wholesale merchandise in diverse industry sectors given its compact shape proper for transportation and storage. However, the arrival of damaged goods to retail still is a common scenario, representing a significant impairment to both retailer and manufacturer due to a poor-quality end product for the consumer. Within the complex supply chain involved in palletized products, transportation is the main responsible for maintaining their integrity, representing also the majority of all logistic costs involved. Given the financial impact that quality enhancement technologies can cause in this embracing packaging sector, the present study intends to review the main aspects of harmful transport-inherent mechanisms such as vibrations, shock and sloshing, exploring also numerical modelling techniques and establishing a baseline for quality conveyance through a brief literature review.

20

Authors: Marina Polyakova, Gennadiy Rubin, Gennadiy Gun, Yulia Danilova

Consensus is the main principle defining the process of standardization. At present time there are no any criteria which can be used for the assessment the consensus achievement. In this paper it was proposed to use the mathematical model of S-curve diagram in order to define the level of consensus achievement during the development the regulatory documents requirements for metal products. Mathematical model is based on the peculiarities of setting metal ware quality indices in normative and technical documentation. The examples of carbon steel wire and hexagonal screw mechanical properties regulation were chosen in order to prove the accuracy of the developed mathematical models. The proposed approach can be used for quantitative assessment the consensus achievement during setting norms in different regulatory documents for metal products.

22

Authors: Josef Scheuerlein, Helena Chládková, Klaus Bauer

The present study investigates whether the leadership qualities of CEOs from major U.S. companies changes in times of the Financial Crisis. The focus lays on important transformational leadership qualities and their corresponding linguistic markers. These have been previously identified to be either, a crucial part of effective leadership, or leadership in general. Leadership attributes are measured through the quantitative content analysis software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count 2015 (LIWC2015). The written language use of 104 CEOs within 594 letters to shareholders is investigated on the change of a) Visionary-, b) Present Achievement- and c) Emotionality scores (as measured through positive and negative emotion words). The results reveal significant changes of Present Achievement and Emotionality scores. The findings show that the Financial Crisis provoked substantial changes in linguistic indicators of transformational leadership qualities. Further, in times of crisis, some favorable leadership attributes seem to become highlighted, whereas other important aspects dramatically decrease. Lastly, the limitations and future directions are discussed.

10

Authors: Alina-Andreea Dragoescu Urlica, Sandra Stefanović

This paper looks at language learning from an ecological perspective, which highlights the co-relational nature of educational processes. In language learning ecology, ESP practice develops organically, as learners interact and cooperate among peers. Some essential concepts this approach focuses on are developing dialogical interaction and building ecologically holistic environments for learning. The study surveys these basic principles of the ecological approach from a theoretical, as well as practical perspective, using experimental-informed data from our shared teaching contexts. The outlook we suggest puts forward a complex system of ecological learning as a catalyst for proficiency and achievement of high quality in English language education. Incorporating specialty topics and qualitative skills facilitates the learners' integration in the multi-disciplinary society awaiting them. Therefore, professional language and interpersonal or "soft" skills are essential for ESP learners in an ecological learning framework which holistically tackles different areas of competency in correlation with meaningful knowledge about the world.

16

Authors: Veronika Sharok

The aim of the research was to evaluate role of socio-psychological factors of satisfaction with university education. Study was conducted in 2 stages. On the first stage data were obtained from 350 respondents, on the second stage from 127 respondents. Sample was divided into four groups: satisfied and dissatisfied with university education students; satisfied and dissatisfied with future profession students. The main factor contributing to students' adaptation to the university, and, consequently, indirectly affecting the satisfaction with educational process is a factor of interpersonal communication: relationship with other students, professors and curator of the group, satisfaction with surroundings and emotional acceptance of other people, social status in the group. Emotional sphere, motivation and socio-psychological adaptation besides methodological aspect are the main factors of satisfaction with university education. Satisfied with university education and future profession individuals are characterized by psychological well-being, while for dissatisfied individuals indifference, renunciation and negation are typical. Conscious choice of university and future profession are also preconditions of satisfaction with education. Results of this study make it possible to expand the existing ideas about components of satisfaction with education at the university. Thus, knowing the possible causes of students' dissatisfaction, we can eliminate negative factors and thereby improve not only satisfaction with university, but university rating, which is very important in today's world.

16

Authors: Sergei Khokhlov, Eliza Safina, Vladimir Vasiliev

In current article the results of performance analysis of St. Petersburg Mining University academic stuff and the methodology of risk assessment of the activities of structural departments in priority direction of university's development are considered. Based on the results of the lecturer's performance assessment ratings of the departments for each indicator of activity and overall rating of the departments were assembled. Moreover, in current article, it is represented that type of the department does not affect the place of the department in the general rating scheme, consequently, it is possible to conduct evaluation regardless of the department type. Comparison of the results with the last year ratings demonstrated that position of department in overall rating scheme and perception of its place in particular risk zone influence positively (motivate) on the head of the academic stuff aspiration to improve their positions in the overall ranking and break out into the leaders, thereby increasing quality of their work.

20

Authors: Ronald Sukwadi, Muafi, Hendry Putra Sanjaya

The aviation industry in Indonesia continues to grow rapidly in the recent years. In 2015, ASEAN Open Sky, the policy of liberalization of air transportation in Southeast Asia was applied and opened the airspace between fellow members of ASEAN countries. Kansei Engineering identifies the design elements that could affect to consumers satisfaction. Integrating SERVQUAL and Kano model can characterize the service attributes, and while the service attributes derived from Kansei words has been known, the Quality Function Deployment would be a suitable quality tool and beneficial in the development and to prioritize the service attributes. Integrating those service quality tools can close the gap between perceived quality of services and also estimate the existing and future emotional needs of customers. This research aims to develop the strategy for Airline X in order to improve their service quality based on the attractive service attributes and affected Kansei words. The result of the research is the action plans to improve the service quality of Airline X, such as: airlines alliances, classes of seats, brand identity, modern information system, and expert consultation.

20

Authors: Rahul S Mor, Arvind Bhardwaj, Sarbjit Singh

The purpose of this paper is to explore the key barriers in dairy supply chain and to analyze their interactions in the context of Indian dairy industry. A total of eight barriers have been identified through literature review and the opinions of an expert team consisting of managerial and technical experts from dairy industry and academics. A questionnaire has been developed for identified barriers and responses were collected from select dairy industries located at northern India. Interpretive structure modeling (ISM) is used to analyze the interactions among barriers and to propose a structural model. Further, the importance of barriers is determined based on their driving and dependence power using MICMAC analysis. The ISM-based model allocates to 'traceability, unbalanced production line, over-processing' as key barriers, 'wastages and high production downtime' comes next. MICMAC analysis depicts one autonomous barrier, one dependent barrier and six linkage barriers. The ISM-based model and MICMAC analysis will support the decision makers in dairy industry for planning their supply chain activities in an efficient way by managing the identified barriers.

20

Authors: Abu Osman, Ruswiati Saputra, Martino Luis

The prime objective of this study is to investigate the mediating role of institutional image between student satisfaction, program quality, and service quality in the context of higher education. To attain this aim, the Nordic model was used as theoretical foundation of the study. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the influence of mediating variable and hypotheses testing. The population of this study was fourth-year business students of nine 'grade one' private universities in Bangladesh. Data (n=310) were gathered from students pursuing studies at different private universities in Bangladesh. The findings of this study revealed that image occupied full mediation role between student satisfaction and service quality. Furthermore, it also disclosed that the direct path of student satisfaction and service quality was not statistically significant. These exceptional findings indicate that academic experts should promote the institutional image, student satisfaction and program quality rigorously in order to enhance service quality of education. The outcomes of this study would provide substantial benefits to both practitioners and academics, especially in the context of private higher education. There is a deficiency of indirect link between student satisfaction, program quality and service quality. This study has integrated institutional image as a mediating variable to fulfill the deficiency between student satisfaction, program quality, and service quality.

26

Authors: Ming Ha Lee, Michael B.C. Khoo

In this study, an economic-statistical design of the double sampling (DS) s chart is investigated. The optimal design parameters of the DS s chart are obtained by minimizing the cost subject to statistical constraints. The effectiveness of the DS s chart is evaluated by comparing its minimized cost against the cost of the Shewhart s chart. The comparison demonstrates the superiority of the DS s chart over the Shewhart s chart, where the DS s chart is economically superior to the Shewhart s chart. Sensitivity analyses are performed to investigate the effect of the cost parameters, process parameters and statistical properties on the design parameters, as well as the corresponding in-control average time to signal, out-of-control average time to signal and cost.

14

Authors: Adriana Vallejo, Efstathios Stefos, Adrián Narváez

This study analyzes the service quality in universities based on users' level of satisfaction of the service provided in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. The methodology combines a descriptive and a multidimensional statistical analysis, the former demonstrates the frequencies and the percentages of the variables under study while the latter is used to show the group classification of the people under study. Hierarchical grouping is used since it determines the groups of people as a result of their common characteristics. At first, the results indicate that in all cases the percentage of students' satisfaction surpasses 65%. However, there is a minority group of people (3,67%) who are totally unsatisfied regarding their sense of belonging to the Institution and their class as well as with the teaching - learning process.

16

Authors: Talknice Saungweme, Nicholas M. Odhiambo

The decades of economic crisis and political uncertainties in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 have culminated in exponential increases in the central government's indebtedness. This paper, therefore, seeks to examine the evolution of government debt, both domestic and foreign, in Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2015. At the centre of the discussions are the public-debt structural reforms and frameworks, debt trends and the associated debt-management challenges over the review period. The paper identified four distinctive phases of public-debt evolution in Zimbabwe between 1980 and 2015: (1) 1980 to 1989, in which government debt was still small, but increasing gradually; (2) 1990 to 1997, in which public sector indebtedness was increasing exponentially - mostly due to substantial economic structural adjustment reforms, maturity of previous debts and severe economic crises; (3) 1998 to 2008, in which economic recession and subsequent revenue constraints led to the massive accumulation of public debt arrears; and (4) 2009 to 2015, in which the country experienced an economic rebound leading to some paltry payments on foreign public debt arrears. Among the recommended government debt management principles in Zimbabwe is the need to devise market-friendly trade and investment policies that would enable the government to expand its revenue base, thus effectively reduce the state's reliance on debt financing and also avoid the future accumulation of any arrears.

18

Authors: Taposh Kumar Kapuria, Chitra Lekha Karmaker

The ready-made garment (RMG) industries in Bangladesh have become very competitive to cope with the competitors. The performance of this sector has attracted many countries to invest their money safely here and also earns foreign currency by exporting different materials like jute yarn. Jute yarn is a spun material which is prepared to use for weaving, knitting, sewing threads, carpets, carrying bags etc. In fiscal year 2015-16, according to data from Bangladesh's Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh has earned $559 million by exporting jute yarn and twine. To meet the growing demand of jute yarn worldwide, Bangladesh still has lots of possibilities to earn huge amount of foreign currency by improving the quality. It's a persistent need for Bangladeshi local jute yarn manufacturers to come forward, seek possibilities for improving quality, and fulfill the worldwide demand. The paper focuses on the application of AHP based QFD approach on a manufacturing company to improve its quality of product & improving the level of customer satisfaction. The paper shows how customer requirements can be identified and used them to prioritize the design requirements for improving quality of jute yarn. Here, AHP is integrated into house of quality (HOQ) that can be guide for overcoming the pitfalls of traditional QFD.

18

Authors: Anuj Singla, Inderpreet Singh Ahuja, Amanpreet Singh Sethi

The objective of study is to analyze the significance of various Technology Push (TP) strategies affecting sustainable development in Indian manufacturing organizations. An extensive survey of 92 companies has been executed for the present context. The study examines the use of Multiple-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method for evaluation of substantial TP strategies. For the purpose, a comparative analysis of various TP strategies using Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and VlseKriterijuska Optimizacija I Komoromisno Resenje (VIKOR) technique has been executed in the study. The outcomes of empirical calculations signify that the proposed techniques are appropriate to analyze the significance of TP strategies. The comparison of results exhibit that ranking of TP strategies evaluated using VIKOR technique is similar to the ranks obtained by TOPSIS. The focus of the paper is on the distinguishable contributions made by TP strategies like, innovative capability, research and development, corporate strategy and export orientation, for realization of sustainable development in manufacturing industries. It has been acknowledged in the investigation that manufacturing enterprises need to work more actively on managing certain TP strategies.

18

Authors: Marco Antonio Argoti, Andrés Carrión García

The Shewhart p-Chart is a widely used and taught control chart that monitors the process fraction of nonconforming, p. The control limits of this chart are computed from an equation derived from the central limit theorem that assumes the parameters p and sample size, n, provide a good approximation of the binomial to the normal distribution. It is known that if the approximation is poor the chart becomes ARL-biased with a consequent deterioration of its process improvement detection capability. Hence, if one is to use this chart its ARL-biased severity ought to be established in advance. Three parameters are used to estimate a chart's ARL-bias severity, namely the in-control ARL, the relative ARL-bias and the maximum out of control ARL. However, calculating these parameters is a task that requires of lengthy calculations that often entails the use of specialised software. In this paper we present a new approach that facilitates the estimation of the bias severity, this approach consists of a closed-form equation that eases the calculations of the ARL-bias parameters and of a graphical method that permits assessing a p-Chart's ARL-bias severity level according to the severity zone in which its n and p values fall into.

24

Authors: Filipe Carvalho, Gilberto Santos, Joaquim Gonçalves

The Internet is a privileged means of communication towards Sustainable Development (SD), where information disclosed knows no borders. The aim of the study is to determine the nature of the content that is disclosed on the corporate website and the profile of the certified Portuguese organizations which disclose information on SD, that is, about Integrated Management Systems (IMS), Corporate Sustainability (CS) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This research consists of an exploratory analysis of the institutional website of 422 organizations with certified management systems in quality (ISO 9001), environment (ISO 14001) and occupational health and safety (BS OHSAS 18001). The research was based on the content analysis method, which allowed quantifying the contents of the information disclosed on the website by category and subcategories of analysis. The content available on the website was quantified using the Information Disclosure Index (IDI). The certified Portuguese organizations with greater business volume (turnover) and the public limited companies (PLC) disclose more information on SD on their website than the others.

26

Authors: Ana Carolina Martins Rosa, Evandro Eduardo Broday

The present work is a review of literature, to identify the improvements acquired from the application of the Lean Six Sigma methodology in the industrial and service sectors in different countries. The PRISMA methodology was used to select relevant articles to the topic of work, and the bibliographic databases used for the research were the Google Scholar, SciELO, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis and Web of Science. The study counted on 27 articles to better exemplify these points, being 11 focused on the industrial sector and 16 on the services sector. It was evident that in both sectors the variability of the process and its waste were reduced, by eliminating non-value-added activities, improving process quality, productivity, efficiency, the service provided, increasing customer satisfaction, reducing costs and generating savings. It has been found that Lean Six Sigma is a versatile tool that can be adapted and applied in any segment, allowing potential opportunities for new research and applications.