Conceptualizing Organizational Implementation and Practice of Statistical Process Control Manus Rungtusanatham University of Wisconsin John C. Anderson and Kevin J. Dooley UniversiQ of Mnnesota Current widespread implementation and practice of statistical process control (SPC) attest to the potential of SPC to contribute to continuous quality improvement efforts. While much has been written about SPC- related topics, a more fundamental question - ‘I What does the implemen- tation and practice of SPC entail?” - has yet to merit a detailed conceptual or empirical examination. As a result, very little knowledge has accumulated or has been documented to identify, describe, and define the requisite organizational policies and actions to make the implementation and subsequent practice of SPC an effective and viable part of any organization’s quality management system. In this paper we report on research efforts towards an enhanced concep- tualization of this phenomenon; we provide various definitional perspectives on organizational efforts to implement and practice SPC, culminating in the proposition of the construct, SPC Implementation/ Practice, and its nominal definition. We also employ an empirical approach, utilizing a panel of subject-matter-experts and the afJinity dia- gram, to identify and define a set of 14 requisite policies and actions indicative of the implementation and practice of SPC within organiza- tions. The identification of these 14 requisite policies and actions facilitates the construction of a diagnostic instrument that organizations can employ to assess shortcomings and uncover improvement opportuni- ties in their implementation and practice of SPC. High quality products and services, far from being random or probabilistic events, are actually anticipated and managed outcomes that can contribute to organiza- tional survival in the marketplace (see Garvin, 1988; General Accounting Office, zyxwvutsrqpo Direct all cwrrespondrncr to: Manus Rungtusanatham, University of Wisconsin. School of BusinewOperations and Information Management Department, 975 University Avenue. Madison. WI 53704. E- mail <manus@bus.wisc.edu>. Journal of Quality Management. Vol. 2, No. I, pp. I I3- I37 ISSN: 1084-8568 Copyright 0 1997 JAI Press Inc. All right\ of reproduction in any form reserved 113