S. Thomas Foster, Jr.

Area Leader and Professor of Global Supply Chain Management
Ford Motor Company Fellow
Business Management, Department of

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Office: 628 TNRB
Phone: (801) 422-2444
Email: tom_foster@byu.edu
Expertise:
  • Management: supply-chain
  • Operations management
  • Operations strategy
  • Quality control
  • Service quality
  • Total quality management
Research:
  • Supply Chain Quality Management, Six Sigma, Contingency Theory in Quality, Quality Technology
Education:
  • PhD, Operations Management, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1993
  • MBA, Quantitative Analysis, University of Missouri, 1989
  • BS, Operations and System Analysis, Brigham Young University, 1984
Group Affiliations:
  • Business Management - Primary
Selected Publications:
  • "Managing Quality: Integrating the Supply Chain 4th ed.," September, 2009    
  • "On Differences in How Operations and Supply Chain Managers Approach Quality Management," International Journal of Production Research Volume 46, Issue 24, Pages 6933-6944, Taylor and Francis, December, 2008    
  • "Towards an Understanding of Supply Chain Quality Management," Journal of Operations Management Volume 26, Issue 4, July, 2008    
  • "Does Six Sigma Improve Performance?," Quality Management Journal October, 2007    
  • "Does One Size Fit All? Understanding Organizational Context and the Contingency Approach to Quality," Quality Progress 2006    
  • "Horizontal Deployment of Quality Approaches Within a Firm," International Journal of Services and Operations Management 2006    
  • "Team Climate and Teamwork in Government: The Power of Embedded Leadership," the International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management. 2005    
  • "FreeQuality: Using Service Learning to Motivate Student Learning," Decision Science Journal of Innovative Education 2004    
  • "On Functional Differences and Quality Understanding," Benchmarking: An International Journal Volume 9, Issue 1, Pages 86-102, 2002    
  • "The Role of Quality Tools in Improving Satisfaction With Government," Quality Management Journal Volume 9, Issue 3, Pages 20-31, 2002    
  • "Quality Improvement Approach and Performance: Multi-Site Analysis Within a Firm," Journal of Quality Management Volume 5, Issue 1, Pages 1-16, 2001    
  • "Expect the Unexpected: Enterprise information system at a state water resource department improves process, quality, and customer service," Quality Progress Volume 34, Issue 10, Pages 49-55, 2001    
  • "The Impact of Customer Contact on Environmental Initiatives in Services Firms," International Journal of Operations and Production Management Volume 20, Issue 2, Pages 187-203, 2000    
  • "The Influence of Human Resource Practices on Empowerment and Employee Perceptions of Management Commitment to Quality," The Journal of Quality Management Volume 4, Issue 1, Pages 5-22, 1999    
  • "The Role of Quality in Export Firm Success," Quality Management Journal Volume 6, Issue 4, Pages 55-70, 1999    
  • "User Involvement During Information Systems Development: A Comparison of User and Analyst Perceptions of Systems Quality," The Journal of Engineering and Technology Management: Jet-M Volume 16, Issue 1, Pages 329-348, 1999    
  • "The Ups and Downs of Customer-Driven Quality: How to use strategic quality planning to anticipate customer needs," Quality Progress Volume 31, Issue 10, Pages 67-72, 1998    
  • "Lot Size Reduction in Services," Quality Engineering Volume 10, Issue 2, Pages 343-346, 1997    
  • "Utilizing Simulation to Develop Economic Sampling Plans for Integrated Circuit Manufacturing," International Journal of Production Research: The research journal of the Institution of Manufacturi Volume 35, Issue 1, Pages 137-155, 1997    
  • "An Examination of the Relationship Between Conformance and Quality-Related Costs," The International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management Volume 13, Issue 4, Pages 50-63, 1996    
  • "Using Quality Management to Improve Customer Responsiveness at the IRS," The Production and Inventory Management Journal Volume 37, Issue 2, Pages 37-43, 1996    
  • "Examining The Impact of Speed of Quality Improvement on Quality-Related Costs," Decision Sciences Volume 27, Issue 4, Pages 623-646, 1996    
  • "Assessing Process Reengineering Impacts Through Baselining," Benchmarking for Quality Management and Technology Volume 2, Issue 3, Pages 4-19, 1995    
  • "Automating Business Process Reengineering," Quality Progress Volume 27, Issue 12, Pages 135-136, 1994    
  • "Designing and Initiating a Taguchi Experiment in a Services Setting," Operations Management Review Volume 9, Issue 3, Pages 37-50, 1993    
  • "Utilizing a Knowledge Based Decision Support System as Quality Management Consultant," International Journal of Production Research Volume 30, Issue 9, Pages 2159-2171, 1992    
Experience:
   Teaching
  • Professor and Area Leader, Brigham Young University, 2005
  • Visiting Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University, 2000-2001
  • Department Chairman and Professor, Boise State University, 1993-2005
   Professional
  • Editorial Review Board, Journal of Operations Management
  • Guest Editor - Special Issue on Supply Chain Quality, Journal of Operations Management
  • Editorial Review Board, Benchmarking: An International Journal
  • Editorial Review Board, Quality Management Journal
  • Guest Editor - Special Issue on Supplier Development, Quality Management Journal
  • Editorial Review Board, Decision Sciences Journal, 2006
  • Senior Researcher, Dagstuhl Germany Seminar on Testing for Computer Systems, 2004
  • Delegate, European International Business Association Congress, 2003
  • Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Examiner, U.S. Department of Commerce/National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1996-1997
Awards:
  • Outstanding Researcher , Business Management Department , 2009
  • Who's Who , Business Higher Education , 2003
  • Instructional Innovation Award , Decision Sciences Institute - National , 2002
  • Honorary Chapter Inductee , Alpha Iota Delta , 2002
  • Who's Who in the World , Marquis , 2002
  • Who's Who in America , Marquis , 2001
  • ASBSU Outstanding Faculty Award , Boise State University , 2000
  • Citation of Excellence for Research of the Highest Quality , Anbar , 1997
  • Outstanding Teaching Award , University of Missouri-Columbia , 1992
  • Inductee , Beta Gamma Sigma , 1989
Web Links: Languages:
  • Portuguese
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