the seeking of small improvements in processes and products, with the objective of increasing quality and reducing waste. Continuous improvement is one of the tools...
Remember continuous improvement? A decade or so ago, it was all the rage. Companies were rushing to embrace the concept under a trendy Japanese term, kaizen. Continuous-improvement techniques were applied with some success to manufacturing, as part of the quality craze. The term has faded from management playbooks. The very...
This paper has two main sections: the first section presents an examination of characteristics of change and of continuous improvement. It provides a theoretical underpinning for the continuous improvement utilised at CQU. The CQU model for continuous improvement, "Business Process Improvement Model" has been developed taking into account contemporary business...
Lean Manufacturing covers a wide spectrum of approaches to improving manufacturing. By providing operators with an environment in which they have all of the information and other tools they need to perform their work effectively, the operators can then be responsible for the quality of their work and of the...
Organizational strategy is the roadmap towards attainment of the long-term goals and objectives of an organization. Strategic control involves tracking the strategy, as it is implemented, and detecting and fixing errors, if any. Such an approach leads to the implementation of the philosophy of ‘continuous improvement’ in the organization....
Benchmarking is the process of identifying, sharing, and using knowledge and best practices. It focuses on how to improve any given business process by exploiting topnotch approaches rather than merely measuring the best performance. Finding, studying and implementing best practices provides the greatest opportunity for gaining a strategic, operational, and...
The draft of ISO 9001:2000 has eight clauses that define and detail the new standard's objective of continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. The first three clauses set the stage for clauses five through eight, which explain the standard's requirements. This article outlines the eight clauses in detail. The draft of...
Audit committees today are faced with the sizable task of overseeing both the auditing and financial reporting processes. The final rules of the SEC, national stock exchanges, and the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board cover corporate governance of audit committees, including independence, qualifications, charters, external auditor involvement, and reports. It remains...
This paper suggests that the dynamic interplay between people can make change happen or obstruct it from happening. Drawing on positioning theory, an explanation will be put forth, that first requires the reader to discard reliance on static roles to define organisations. By acknowledging that people constantly adopt and defend...
DESPITE an upsurge in human resource development HRD activities in organisations, training departments are still hard put to justify their usefulness and importance to their employers. Part of the reason is that the proliferation of HRD activities has blurred the distinction between what is truly needed by the organisation to...
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CORPORATE social responsibility CSR is a concept that frequently overlaps with similar approaches such as corporate sustainability, corporate sustainable development, corporate responsibility, and corporate citizenship. While CSR does not have a universal definition, many see it as the private sector's way of integrating the economic, social,...
BAGHDAD AP -- A car bomb killed at least seven children and 11 other people in a northern city, providing a reminder that militants still can cause casualties despite security improvements that led U.S. troops to return a southern province to Iraqi control Wednesday. Ninety people also...
MCLEAN, Va. -- Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI) reported today that preliminary 2008 second quarter earnings per diluted share from continuing operations were $1.02 compared with $1.24 per share in the second quarter of 2007. During the quarter, the company made changes to its domestic benefit plans by improving...
The U.S. Patent Office has granted Tripwireits third patent. Customers have applauded Tripwire's leadership inconfiguration control and change auditing since the company's founding in1997 -- and analysts recognize Tripwire as the go-to product for ensuringthe continuous integrity of IT configurations, helping ensure regulatorycompliance, mitigating security risk and improving IT availability....
Demand Fueled by the Need for Anytime, Anywhere Access to Patient Information and a Cost Effective Solution for Business Continuity BOSTON -- PatientKeeper[R], Inc., the leading provider of integrated physician information systems, announces that its MEDITECH customer base has grown to over 200 hospitals, representing a significant portion...
Timothy Krist Named Chief Financial Officer RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Smart Online (OTCBB: SOLN), a leading provider of Software-as-a-Service SaaS applications for the small business market, today announced the appointment of Timothy Krist as its Chief Financial Officer. "I am pleased to welcome Tim to...
WASHINGTON AFP — Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs, said Wednesday he would likely recommend "further troop reductions" in coming months if security continues to improve in Iraq. "Security is unquestionably and remarkably better" in Iraq, Mullen told a Pentagon press briefing. ...
Semitool, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMTL), a leadingmanufacturer of wafer processing equipment for the semiconductor industry,announced today at the SEMICON West trade show that bookings for the thirdquarter ended June 30, 2008, were $67.1 million, up 33 percent from $50.6million in the same quarter a year ago. It was the fifth...
The Bank Continues its Trend in Growing Profitability and Strong Credit Quality SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- Bank of Santa Clarita (OTCBB:BSCA) today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2008. Bank of Santa Clarita reported significantly improved earnings in 2008 over the respective 2007 periods....
BREA, Calif. -- In a move designed to build upon the company's recent success and rapidly improving brand image, American Suzuki Motor Corporation ASMC today announced Siltanen & Partners (S&P), an independent agency based in Marina del Rey, Calif., as the company's new U.S. advertising agency of record for its...
