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Measuring TQEM returns from the application of quality frameworks
Author(s) -
Curkovic Sime,
Sroufe Robert,
Landeros Robert
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
business strategy and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.123
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1099-0836
pISSN - 0964-4733
DOI - 10.1002/bse.502
Subject(s) - quality (philosophy) , order (exchange) , quality costs , total quality management , operations management , set (abstract data type) , cost accounting , investment (military) , environmental economics , risk analysis (engineering) , process management , business , computer science , management science , economics , cost control , accounting , finance , philosophy , epistemology , lean manufacturing , politics , political science , law , programming language
This study addresses one of the major perceived barriers to total quality environmental management (TQEM): cost measurement. Operations managers have difficulty assessing the impact of TQEM programs because of the lack of appropriate measures. In order for TQEM to be given serious consideration, a cost framework is required for evaluating TQEM by appropriately including all the environmental costs and savings for each investment option. At present, frameworks such as life‐cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental cost accounting (ECA) exist, but they have both been recognized as too difficult to implement at the plant level among operations managers. This study focuses on identifying and formulating a set of easy‐to‐use quantitative cost measures. The structure of these measures is taken from the operations management (OM) literature itself, and specifically the total quality management (TQM) and cost of quality (COQ) frameworks developed by Joseph Juran. However, an empirical examination of this remains untested. The findings of this study provide an important foundation for theory development and set the stage for further research in this burgeoning field of TQEM. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.