ABSTRACT
Both public and private organizations must satisfy the needs of their constituents or customers by effectively delivering the right services and products at the highest possible level of quality and the lowest possible level of cost-by no means an easy task. In many cases, significant “push-pull” conflicts occur between cost, the quality of service provided, product innovations, and employee involvement and morale. Today, it is no longer appropriate to compromise one objective for another. New management techniques have emerged in recent years to address the conflicts among these critical objectives. Unfortunately, in many cases, the massive volume of articles, books, newsletters, and consultant information about these new techniques has caused more confusion than enlightenment.
