On-farm evaluation of inundative biological control of Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) by Trichogramma brassicae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) in three European maize-producing regions.

BACKGROUND: A 2 year study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of biological control with optimally timed Trichogramma brassicae releases as an integrated pest management tool against the European corn borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), in on-farm experiments (i.e. real field conditions) in three European regions with dissimilar geoclimatic conditions and ECB pressure and conventional management (i.e. insecticide treated and untreated). RESULTS: Biological control with Trichogramma (1) provided ECB protection comparable with conventional management, (2) in all cases maintained mycotoxin levels below the EU threshold for maize raw materials destined for food products, (3) was economically sustainable in southern France and northern Italy, but not in Slovenia where it resulted in a significant decrease in gross margin, mainly owing to the cost of Trichogramma product, and (4) enabled avoidance of detrimental environmental effects of lambda-cyhalothrin use in northern Italy. CONCLUSION: Optimally timed mass release of T. brassicae could be considered a sustainable tool for IPM programmes against ECB in southern France and northern Italy. Better involvement of regional advisory services is needed for the successful dissemination and implementation of biological control. Subsidy schemes could also motivate farmers to adopt this IPM tool and compensate for high costs of Trichogramma product.

Quality management and employee commitment illustrated with examples from Dutch health care.

PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between quality management and employee commitment. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Analysis of the state of affairs with respect to (T)QM programs in The Netherlands based on the literature and interviews with key informants. FINDINGS: Description of an approach that tries to integrate employee commitment and quality management based on the concept of employees' psychological contracts with their organization (ideas about mutual obligations between them and their employer). RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The interviews with key informants provide limited information: the study is done in only one country. Research in a broader context and on a larger scale would give a more general overview. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The crucial factor in making quality management work can better be described by "quality fails when employees' psychological contracts are neglected" than by "quality fails when the system fails". ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper highlights the essential relationship between quality management and employee commitment and offers suggestions on how to approach this issue.

Quality management and employee commitment: illustrated with examples from Dutch health care.

PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between quality management and employee commitment. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Analysis of the state of affairs with respect to (TQM) programs in The Netherlands based on the literature and interviews with key informants. FINDINGS: Description of an approach that tries to integrate employee commitment and quality management based on the concept of employees' psychological contracts with their organization (ideas about mutual obligations between them and their employer). RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The interviews with key informants provide limited information; the study is done in only one country. Research in a broader context and on a larger scale would give a more general overview. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The crucial factor in making quality management work can be better described by "quality fails when employees' psychological contracts are neglected" than by "quality fails when system fails". ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper highlights the essential relationship between quality management and employee commitment and offers suggestions on how to approach this issue.