In innovation projects, three sub-processes have to evolve concurrently. These are problem solving, to bring about a new product or process; internal innovation diffusion, to disseminate information and engender a positive attitude towards new developments; and change in the organization so that it may function successfully with new products or processes. The characteristics of these sub-processes and a need for special roles relating to them were suggested by a study of the innovation processes in small companies. A case history shows the possible use of the processes and roles indicated above to manage innovation projects.
This survey of the adoption of total quality control (TQc) in 98 companies in the Netherlands shows that few firms do set goals with respect to quality and quality control and that even fewer firms evaluate their own quality performance. The adoption of total quality control is a very time-consuming process, which may take about ten years. Furthermore the adoption process is often dominated by solving the quality problems by experts instead of improving the problemsolving capability of the organization. The adoption process ofTQC and the actual application of TQC are related to each other and to company characteristics. In particular the size of the company is related to the formalization of the quality system.
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