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Start date: 2020Subject: search.filters.subject.Quality control

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    The interface between ethical leadership and food safety culture in Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Management, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025-05-20) Newport-Smith, Wendy
    Measuring, evaluating and improving food safety culture is a priority for Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses. This is driven by the desire to produce food of the highest quality that safeguards consumers, protects the reputation of New Zealand Inc., and meets the requirements of international standards and regulations. This is the first in-depth qualitative investigation into food safety culture and ethical leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses, including some of this country’s largest food exporters. Using a mixed methods approach this research has provided unique, contemporary understanding and insights, while simultaneously providing a novel contribution to the body of knowledge. Two research workstreams were used; the first a quantitative workstream involving a voluntary survey of manufacturing and distribution employees in New Zealand’s largest food business; a dataset of responses to food safety and ethical leadership questions from 1181 individuals. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) applied to Lickert-scale variables, combined with multivariable modelling, this research found a positive relationship between food safety culture and ethical leadership and evidence for differences in responses according to several respondee characteristics. These included associations between PCA coordinates that captured variation in individual responses to food safety and ethical leadership questions, and the supplementary variables: role (e.g. staff or supervisor), site and gender. Ethical leadership has been shown to improve effectiveness, performance and safety at an organisational and individual level. Therefore strategies to improve ethicality across Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses in order to improve food safety culture and ensure safer food outcomes are suggested: consultatively developing organisational values which are well communicated and lived; ensuring ethical considerations when hiring staff; ethical considerations when setting expectations, and in training and mentoring staff and managing performance processes including the use of consequences; and modelling good behaviour, making fair decisions, ensuring open, clear communication and giving employees a voice. While largely positive, the quantitative strand did reveal a level of dissatisfaction with both ethical leadership and food safety culture, suggesting room for improvement. Further research is needed to better understand management’s, supervisors’ and workers’ perspectives on both aspects. The second workstream involved one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 32 founders, owners and senior food safety and quality personnel from 31 Aotearoa New Zealand food companies with thematic data analysis resulting in five key themes: Values; Responsible Stewardship of Natural Resources; Māori Worldview; Ecosystem Pressures and Leadership. The issues identified to be important to Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses include: individual, managerial and organisational values; leadership and management commitment in influencing organisational, food safety and ethical climate and culture; inter-generational value-creation, sustainable practice and acting as kaitiakitanga meaning guardianship or protection. This research has also provided insight into the drivers for and primary challenges related to food safety for Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses. This research has contributed to an up-to-date understanding of the characteristics of ethical leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand, who, according to this study, are humble, honest, respect indigenous Māori values, and are not corrupt. They have a degree of relatedness, care about our natural environment, have a strong sense of identity or place, are collaborative, are fair, and are accountable. Our size, Indigenous Māori worldview, and our geographical isolation contribute to the unique interpretation and application of these leadership characteristics in Aotearoa New Zealand. Several limitations are acknowledged, not the least of which was the context for this research which began at the outset of the global pandemic, with both positive and negative consequences. The use of one, albeit large food business in the quantitative workstream is noted, as is the focus of the participants in the qualitative workstream. Broadening this research to all hierarchical levels in several food businesses would be of benefit, and this is one of a number of research recommendations for the future. The positive correlation between ethical leadership and food safety culture found in this research suggests that maintaining and improving the ethicality of leaders within Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses may positively influence food safety culture and therefore, the production of safer food.
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    Quality improvement interpreted as a complex adaptive system : implications and opportunities : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2024-11-01) Wilson, William
    The effectiveness of quality improvement (QI) methods in healthcare has been challenged, especially under circumstances of high complexity. This thesis examines the implications for quality improvement if complex socio-technical systems such as healthcare are interpreted as complex adaptive systems (CAS). The research followed a mixed-method design. Informed by the complex systems and quality management literature, a conceptual model for quality improvement within CAS was developed — the complex quality improvement network (CQIN). An agent-based simulation model was then used to establish the plausibility and face validity of the model constructs and their interaction. Thematic analysis and crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) were then used to examine the evidence for CQIN constructs within published quality improvement case studies. One applied case study was also conducted for deeper insight into the practical difficulties of interpreting a real-world quality improvement project as a CAS. Finally, the findings of the simulation modelling and the secondary data analysis were integrated into a Bayesian network model. Empirical evidence, in the form of consistency across cases and coverage within cases, was found for eleven of the twelve CQIN constructs. Multiple sets of sufficient conditions for reported improvement success were identified across cases. These sets were minimised to four strategies for successful quality improvement; i) strengthening agent network communication paths; ii) building shared understanding of problem and context amongst networked agents; iii) increasing problem-solving effectiveness; and iv) improved system signal integration. If the evolutionary foundations for CAS are in some way inhibited, the likelihood of quality improvement success is reduced. Healthcare quality improvement can be plausibly simulated using fundamental CAS principles. The first contribution to quality improvement discourse is the CQIN model, a CAS model of change applied specifically to quality improvement. A second contribution of this research is a complex quality improvement risk assessment model, the CQIN Bayesian Network. Practitioners can use this model to examine and test identified CAS-informed improvement strategies. The individual CQIN constructs make a third contribution by providing new categories of causal factors for the comparison of disparate quality improvement case studies.
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    The key factors driving successful improvement in primary care : a mixed methods investigation of the determinants of quality improvement success in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis with publication presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023-11-30) Cullen, Jane
    Primary care is where the population receives most of their health care and where successful quality improvement (QI) can have the biggest impact on health, wellbeing, equity, and health system performance. A better understanding of the factors that influence QI in primary care is urgently needed to support a high-performing primary healthcare system. Most prior studies into the determinants of effective QI have focused on secondary care organisations and large-scale collaborative efforts. Primary care services such as general practice present a different set of challenges. Various key contextual factors have been identified in the literature, but few studies explain how they relate to each other and QI success. This study sought to answer the following questions: 1. What are the contextual factors influencing primary care improvement interventions? 2. How do the contextual factors, improvement content (topic and planned changes) and the implementation process influence each other and the improvement outcomes in primary care? 3. How applicable for primary care assessment is the Model for Understanding Success in Quality (MUSIQ), a tool for assessing modifiable contextual factors developed in secondary care? This research was an explanatory sequential mixed methods study based in the Aotearoa, New Zealand (NZ) primary care setting of general practice and Primary Health Organisations (PHOs). Amulti-case mixed methods approach was followed in the first stage. Mainly qualitative data were collected from primary care interviews guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). This was compared with quantitative data from the MUSIQ survey. The second stage consisted of a national survey where emerging theory was tested by partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that most teams did not use formal QI methods, instead relying on their people-centred relationship skills and networks to drive QI via distributed leadership. Teams were intrinsically motivated by community and patient need and drew on strengths developed within the complexity and uncertainty of the primary care settings to drive QI. The collaborative skills which are increasingly required in the modern primary care setting support the shared social processes of sensemaking for enacting change. The key success factors driving QI in primary care are identified and how they relate to each other explained. A primary care adaptation of MUSIQ has been proposed that may aid improvement practitioners and researchers to assess primary care contexts. The key strengths should be developed and supported across primary care services and capability, capacity and resources supported centrally to increase the ability of primary care to improve services more easily and effectively.
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    Validating the theoretical underpinnings of the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system standard : a multi-country study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Pallawala, Nisansala
    ISO 9000 family of quality management system (QMS) standards — particularly ISO 9001, which stipulates QMS requirements for compliance — have received a great deal of attention by academia and practitioners. Every year, thousands of organisations obtain ISO 9001 certification worldwide, and a plethora of studies have examined the effectiveness of ISO 9001 implementation, empirically or otherwise. One existing knowledge gap is the absence of a comprehensive study that examines the theoretical validity of ISO 9001. Another is ascertaining how ISO 9001 compliance requirements are accepted across countries and regions, given that ISO 9001 is meant for sociotechnical systems. Using responses received from 240 ISO 9001 certified manufacturing companies in five countries, this study empirically examined the theoretical validity of ISO 9001:2015, which is claimed to underpin Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) at the overall QMS level. The theoretical model of the study which posited that “Leadership Driven QMS Planning (LDQMSP) (reflected via clauses 04 through to 07 of the standard) leads to implementing the planned processes (reflected via clause 08), and checking the effectiveness of these processes (reflected via clause 09) and taking appropriate action (reflected via clause 10) leads to QMS Results” was found to be a good fit to data, based on goodness of fit criteria used in partial least squares structural equation modelling. As regards national culture effects and regional effects (Australasia, South Asia, and Greece), the empirical test results found that national culture (or region) plays only a very minor role in making ISO 9001 based continual improvement (PDCA) of the QMS being more acceptable to certain cultures than to others; power distance (PDI) and individualism (IDV) showed positive and negative effects (but small) respectively on Plan (LDQMSP), Do, Check, Act, and QMS Results as hypothesised. However, uncertainty avoidance (UAI) failed to show a significant effect (α = 0.05). Similarly, the mean scores of Plan (LDQMSP), Do, Check, Act, and QMS Results of South Asia were found to be higher than those of Australasia, although these effects were small. Thus, the findings support the universal relevance and acceptance of the standard, although the study was limited to ISO 9001 certified manufacturing firms of five selected countries. Contributions of the findings were highlighted, and further research directions were suggested.
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    Auditor rotation and audit quality : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Uthayapong, Thanida
    The thesis investigates the effect of mandatory audit partner rotation (MAPR) on audit quality of listed companies that underwent three rotation periods in the Thai capital market. MAPR is one of the requirements that regulators in many countries impose on auditors in order to enhance audit quality. The benefit of MAPR is in the incoming audit partner enhancing auditor independence and offering fresh insights to a client, which is expected to improve audit quality as evidenced by greater financial statements quality. On the other hand, the new lead audit partner can lack client-specific knowledge, which may impair audit quality. There are ongoing discussions about the benefits of MAPR in a number of countries but only a few studies have been conducted on the effects of MAPR in developing countries. This thesis therefore aims to fill this gap by examining the impact of MAPR on audit quality in a developing country, Thailand. This thesis is framed within the Agency Theory framework and also uses the IAASB (2014) framework for audit quality to identify the factors which have an impact on audit quality. A total of 417 firm-year observations between the years 2006 and 2017 are made of 286 non-financial Thai listed companies, all of which with experience of MAPR. The sample also includes multiple numbers of MAPR. The performance-matched discretionary accruals (DA) developed by Kothari, Leone, and Wasley (2005) are used to measure DA as a proxy for audit quality. The results in this thesis suggest that MAPR does not significantly improve audit quality and the relationship between MAPR and audit quality is weak. It is possible that an incoming lead audit partner lacks client-specific information, is disadvantaged by the gradual learning curve in understanding a client’s businesses, and may face challenges in communication within the audit team, all of which may not positively impact on audit quality. There is no strong evidence of an association between audit quality and other impacting factors, such as Big 4 audit firms, the audit firm industry specialist, the audit partner industry specialist, and the audit partner busyness. Results also present no evidence of significant improvement in audit quality in the first MAPR subsequent to voluntary rotation. However, MAPR does seem to improve audit quality under certain conditions, i.e. audit quality is improved depending on the number of rotation times, audit firm size and companies’/ clients’ size. Only listed companies with three MAPR audited by Big 4 audit firms and only larger listed companies with three MAPR have higher audit quality within the MAPR framework. Further, only listed companies with three MAPR that have a positive DA, are associated with higher audit quality. The overall results of this thesis suggest that MAPR requirement does not immediately lead to an improvement in audit quality, at least not in the Thai capital market.
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    Fractional nonconformance assessment : this dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics, Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Zhou, Xin
    Food quality and safety are important due to the very nature of the product and the potentially severe consequences of a fault in the manufacturing process. Statistical tools are widely used in food quality assurance. However, measurement error, which is inevitable in food manufacturing due to the variation and inaccuracy of the measurement system, affects the performance of statistical quality control activities. The concept fractional nonconformance was recently proposed to assess the probability of nonconformance for error-prone individual measurements. This thesis presents five pieces of work for fractional nonconformance assessment mainly suitable for food quality assurance and other applications. The new statistical methods developed pertain to control charting, acceptance sampling, and conformity testing areas. The application of the proposed methods is illustrated with real data from a leading New Zealand dairy product manufacturer. Interactive web-based Shiny apps providing step-by-step guidance to implement fractional nonconformance analytic tools are developed for practitioners.