Smart hospitality—Interconnectivity and interoperability towards an ecosystem

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to investigate the influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance and also to examine the link between quality improvement and organizational performanceDesign/methodology/approach – The paper uses data from perceptions from managers in 255 electrical and electronics (EE customer focus; employee involvement; training and education; and reward and recognition Organizational performance was significantly influenced by the following soft factors: management commitment; customer focus; and employee involvement Finally, this paper empirically shows that firm performance will increase when the organizations implement more quality improvement practicesPractical 

The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: Perceptions from managers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the current level of TQM practices within a major computer hard disk USA based manufacturing company in Malaysia and to identify improvement opportunities.Design/methodology/approach – Original research using self‐administered questionnaires, distributed to all staff within this organization, is thoroughly reported. The study sample consisted of 299 employees, resulting in a response rate of 66.4 percent. The data were analyzed using descriptive and multiple regression analyses.Findings – The analysis revealed that the strengths of the company, in its quality management implementation, lie in customer focus and process management. It was also perceived to attain a “good” level of practices in leadership, strategic planning, human resource development and management. On the other hand, supplier relationship and information and analysis both received only moderate scores. This suggested that more effort needs to be focused on improving supplier quality and re...

Self‐assessment of TQM practices: a case analysis

The disruptive mobile wallet in the hospitality industry: An extended mobile technology acceptance model.

The ‘quality performance–financial performance’ relationship has been significantly studied in managerial literature. However, no definite quantification has been given regarding its type. This study aims to explore the relationship between quality management (QM) practices, quality performance and financial performance of the manufacturing firm. First, critical QM practices have been identified and classified into categories. Then, a structural model linking these practices, quality performance and financial performance factors has been proposed and empirically tested. The empirical data were obtained from a questionnaire-based survey of 152 Indian manufacturing companies. After the data were collected, the scales were purified using loading values and composite reliability. The resultant purified scales were then tested for convergent validity through partial least-square path modelling using Visual PLS software. The result showed a positive relationship between QM practices, quality performance and fin...

Impact of quality management practices on quality performance and financial performance: evidence from Indian manufacturing companies

An overview of and factor analytic approach to flow theory in online contexts

The empirical test of total quality management : an application of TQM at Chevron and its impact on productivity

Electronic commerce is continuing as a thriving business for those companies that streamlined their online business processes; however, making payments over the Internet is still fearsome to customers. Although a variety of payment mechanisms have been developed, payment by credit cards remain the leading mechanism for online payments. For real-time online credit card processing, a merchant needs to install a third-party proprietary software in the merchant e-commerce server. However, many issues need to be resolved before integrating a third-party payment solution to a merchant e-commerce system. In this paper, we attempt to address the current state of the online credit card processing system, especially we discuss the available models of online real-time credit card processing systems. We also discuss several factors such as cost, complexity and security issues related to implementing such a system. The results can be extremely valuable to small businesses that are venturing into Internet commerce.

Online credit card processing models: Critical issues to consider by small merchants

INTRODUCTION Medicare reimburses physicians for the services provided using a fee schedule referred to as the 'Resource-based Relative-value scale'. This scale was created with the intent of calculating relative prices for the services rendered by the physicians based on the amount of work associated with providing each service, the average practice expense involved, and geographic location adjustment factors. To control cost of physician reimbursement, the resource-based relative-value scale is combined with a spending limit referred to as sustainable growth rate (SGR). During 2014, physicians are likely to experience an approximately 24% reduction in physician fees as a result of the SGR formula used to compute Medicare's physician reimbursement (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2014). To avoid continued use of the SGR formula that could result in reimbursement reduction for services provided by the physicians, recent bipartisan efforts have been focused on the development of an alternative reimbursement system that rewards physicians who improve the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients (Wilensky, 2014). These bipartisan reform efforts aim to simultaneously attain the goals of improving healthcare quality and efficiency, and controlling healthcare costs. The exponential growth in the U.S. healthcare costs, if not controlled, will impair future economic growth and stability. Over the past three decades, healthcare expenditure in the U.S. has substantially increased. In 2008, U.S. healthcare expenditure was over $2.3 trillion, approximately 16.2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This amount is over three times the $714 billion spent in 1990 and over nine times the $253 billion spent in 1980 (Kimbuende et al., 2010). Government forecast suggests that in 2019 U.S. healthcare expenditure will be about $4.5 trillion, approximately twenty percent of the GDP (National Health Expenditure Projections 2009-2019). Such increase in healthcare expenditure is unsustainable, and if not controlled it will lead nation's healthcare system close to bankruptcy. Sadly, in spite of spending the most on a per capita basis, U.S. ranks well below other developed nations in important healthcare measures such as infant mortality (DeNoon, 2008). A recent report comparing the healthcare performance of seven developed countries (U.S.A., Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand) ranked the U.S. last. Findings of this report confirm that much of the money may not be well spent, as the U.S. ranked poorly with respect to healthcare quality, efficiency and safety (Fox, 2010). Although the adoption of electronic health records in hospitals and medical offices is not yet universal, but seemingly pace of adoption has been accelerating (Porter, 2013). Widespread adoption and improved use of information technology has been promoted because of its potential to effectively manage health information and efficiently share it between service providers. Proponents of health information technology assert that effective health information management is an important mainstream issue that has the potential to improve the quality of healthcare, reduce healthcare cost, and provide doctors and patients with real-time access to patients' health information. To achieve these goals electronic health records (EHRs) will play an important role. Although EHRs is one of the crucial elements for improving healthcare quality and curbing healthcare cost, the current state of health information records management at many clinics and doctors' offices is comparable to the state of locomotive engines--antiquated. It is estimated that medical records of 90% of the patients are recorded on paper, and most of the prescriptions are written on paper (Carey & Holahan, 2008). One of the main reasons for this is the cost of implementing and maintaining EHR management and e-prescription systems. Approximately seventy-five percent of the physicians in the U. …

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Electronic health records: challenges and opportunities

Any engineering approach to cybersecurity must recognize that many breaches are the result of human behavior, rather that sophisticated malware. Effective cybersecurity defenses require a systematic engineering approach that recognizes the organizational, cultural and psychological barriers to effectively dealing with this problem. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines “phishing” as, “the use of fraudulent emails and copy-cat websites to trick you into revealing valuable personal information such as account numbers for banking, securities, mortgage, or credit accounts, your social security numbers, and the login IDs and passwords you use when accessing online financial service providers.” Once this information is fraudulently obtained, it may be used to steal your identity, money, or both.

A review of the literature reveals an alarming lack of attention to the prevalent threat of low-technology, or low-complexity phishing attacks. Accordingly, here is a primer on the prominent exploit known as phishing, illustration of several cases, and the necessity for organizational and societal education of data users as to appropriate computer hygiene.

Emmanuel U. Opara

Papers

An overview of and factor analytic approach to flow theory in online contexts

The empirical test of total quality management : an application of TQM at Chevron and its impact on productivity

Online credit card processing models: Critical issues to consider by small merchants

Electronic health records: challenges and opportunities

Posted: No Phishing