In this issue, we focus on the use of a variety of tools for quality management.
We begin with an article on the use of self-assessment practices. Although we know that quality models, such as the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Excellence, are frequently used by organizations for self-assessment, there is little known about how effective the use of self-assessment models actually is. Ton Van der Wiele of Erasmus University, Alan Brown of Edith Cowan University, Robert Millen of Northeastern University, and Daniel Whelan of the Boston Section of ASQ tackle this issue in “Improvement in Organizational Performance and Self-Assessment Practices by Selected American Firms.” Their findings provide insight into the reasons why self-assessment practices are used, how they are used, and what some of the most commonly used self-assessment practices are. They found a link between the use of self-assessment practices and better performance by organizations.
In “Focus on the Classroom,” M. Michael Umble of Baylor University, and Elisabeth Umble at Texas A&M University, put a new twist on Deming’s red bead experiment in “Developing Control Charts and Illustrating Type I and Type II Errors.” They describe the use of colored beads and paddles to teach the construction of control charts and illustrate Type I and Type II sampling errors. They also show how students can perform experiments to determine an appropriate sample size and manipulate the number of red beads in order to demonstrate the detection of a shift in process mean.
Determination of customer satisfaction can be difficult in any context, but may be particularly so for home buyers, where repeat business is less of a factor. Zeljko Torbica of Florida International University, and Robert Stroh of the University of Florida, describe their development of an instrument for assessing home-buyer satisfaction in “HOMBSAT–An Instrument for Measuring Home-Buyer Satisfaction.” Their discussion focuses on determination of the important factors in home-buyer satisfaction, as well as the measurement properties and potential applications of their instrument.
Benchmarking processes can be a challenge, particularly in services, such as education, where there are fewer tangible outputs. In “Benchmarking the Postgraduate Admission Process,” Thomas Fiekers and Wolfgang Voß of the University of Kaiserslautern, and Barrie Dale and Dale Littler of the University of Manchester, describe their application of benchmarking at the University of Manchester, in the United Kingdom. They benchmarked their admissions process with that of eight other master’s programs within their university, as well as with five other European universities. Their article provides a nice example of the application of Robert C. Camp’s guidelines for benchmarking in a university, particularly in the development of performance indicators.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank William O. Winchell for his hard work in putting together the Dissertation Abstracts, going back to the inaugural issue of Quality Management Journal. With Bill’s retirement as the dissertations editor of Quality Management Journal, we are looking for a replacement. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Kristen Johnson, manuscript coordinator, American Society for Quality at 800-248-1896 or at kjohnson@asq.org.
Barbara B.Flynn
Editor
Quality Management Journal
EDITORIAL
EDITOR
Barbara B. Flynn
Wake Forest University
PAST EDITOR
George S. Easton
Emory UniversityFOUNDING EDITOR
William A. Golomski
University of ChicagoBOOK REVIEW EDITOR
James B. Kohnen
St. Mary’s College of CaliforniaDISSERTATIONS EDITOR
William O. Winchell
Lawrence Technological UniversityADMINISTRATION/PRODUCTION
PUBLISHER
William TonyMANUSCRIPT COORDINATOR
Kristen JohnsonCOPY EDITORS
Jane Crouse
Kris McEachernPRODUCTION
Cathy SchnackenbergDIGITAL PRODUCTION SPECIALISTS
Michael Andes
Jill ZimmermanHTML CODING
Michael AndesEDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
John Anderson
University of MinnesotaSelwyn Becker
University of ChicagoRobert E. Cole
University of CaliforniaJames W. Dean, Jr.
University of North CarolinaJames R. Evans
University of CincinnatiJohn P. Evans
University of North CarolinaFrank M. Gryna
University of TampaJohn Hamburg
APEX, Inc.David Luther
Luther Quality AssociatesRam Narasimhan
Michigan State UniversityRoger G. Schroeder
University of MinnesotaKalyan Singhal
University of BaltimoreMichael J. Stahl
University of TennesseeEDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD
Sanjay Ahire
Indiana University South BendSusan D. Amundson
Arizona State UniversityKimberly A. Bates*
University of TorontoPaul M. Bobrowski
Syracuse UniversityKenneth Boyer
Michigan State UniversityKenneth E. Case
Oklahoma State UniversityInjazz Chen
Cleveland State UniversityBarrie Dale*
University of ManchesterRichard Deane
Georgia State UniversityJohn Delery
University of ArkansasKevin Dooley
Arizona State UniversityEdward Duplaga
Bowling Green State UniversitySusan West Engelkemeyer
Babson CollegeByron Finch
Miami UniversityMark P. Finster
University of WisconsinLaura Forker
University of Massachusetts at DartmouthSoumen Ghosh
Georgia Institute of TechnologyGlenn H. Gilbreath
Virginia Commonwealth UniversityJohn M. Groocock*
TRW (Retired)Robert Handfield
North Carolina State UniversitySandra J. Hartman
University of New OrleansMarilyn Helms
Dalton State College
Mary Collins Holcomb
University of TennesseeAnn Jordan
University of North TexasGary Kern
Indiana University South BendJill Phelps Kern
Digital SemiconductorDavid Kerridge*
Aberdeen UniversityRay A. Klotz
Qualcomm Inc.Frank Knight
FISI Madison FinancialRonald D. Kurtzmann
Brewer and AssociatesKeong Leong
Ohio State UniversityA. Magid Mazen
Suffolk UniversitySatish Mehra
University of MemphisKim I. Melton
North Georgia College and State UniversityHenry R. Neave*
British Deming AssociationYoram Neumann
California State UniversityWilliam Newman
Miami UniversityGary Ragatz
Michigan State UniversityGipsie B. Ranney
Belmont UniversityRichard N. Rosett
Rochester Institute of TechnologyBrooke Saladin
Wake Forest UniversityHelmut Schneider
Louisiana State UniversityNirmal Sethia
California State Polytechnic UniversityJohn G. Surak
Clemson UniversityWilliam Tallon
Northern Illinois UniversityMichael D. Tveite
The Tetrad GroupPeter Ward
Ohio State UniversityL. David Weller
University of GeorgiaTed Weston
Colorado State University*International reviewer
