ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role and implications of quality in the organisation through consideration of different levels of management decision making: operations, administration and strategy. The successful pursuit of product or service quality requires the dedication of substantial organisational resources, and it is vital to understand whether and how it generates value for the organisation. The growth and innovation in digital technology, particularly the ‘internet of things’ acts primarily to generate faster, perhaps more accurate, flows of operational data to inform decision making. Administrative management is a control function concerned with the allocation, balancing and use of operational resources of an organisation to achieve current purposes and objectives. Administrative managers acting within the demands and constraints imposed on them from higher management seek to optimise the use of resources in the pursuit of organisational goals. Operations management is concerned with the mainstream activities which ensure that the organisation fulfils its present purposes and objectives.
