PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to utilize quality function deployment (QFD), Benchmarking analyses and other innovative quality tools to develop a new customer‐centered undergraduate curriculum in supply chain management (SCM).Design/methodology/approachThe researchers used potential employers as the source for data collection. Then, they used QFD and benchmarking to develop a Voice of Customer matrix. Using information from the matrix, a new customer‐oriented SCM undergraduate programme was designed.FindingsThe researchers outline a practical solution to the problem of designing academic programmes which satisfy the main expectations of potential employers (customers).Research limitations/implicationsThe study is specifically concerned with the design of an SCM curriculum, but the researchers argue that the design methodology could be applied in other academic contexts.Practical implicationsThe application of QFD and benchmarking as a joint analysis tool is an interesting approach in education because the information is analysed from different perspectives simultaneously. The new programme successfully meets customer/employer expectations and requirements.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates the effective application of quality design tools to enhance academic programmes. The approach can clearly be extended to other areas for the design of specific courses and programmes. The most important needs in programme design are those of identifying the programme's main customers and of clarifying their expectations.

Buyer-supplier levels of cooperation within industrial markets is examined. Degree of interdependence has long been assumed to be a predictor of cooperation in these relationships. Results from this study show mixed results.

Evaluates the level of purchasing participation in the corporate strategic planning process. Results indicate that the level of participation has increased over the last five years. Discusses possible explanations for this increase.

This study investigated (1) whether potential future purchasing agents were predisposed to accept gratuities or whether the practice of gratuity acceptance is a manifestation of the job itself, (2) whether the existence of a code of ethics forbidding gratuity acceptance curtails the occurrence, and (3) whether disparities in ethics policies between the sales and purchasing functions affect gratuity acceptance. Hypotheses based upon the concepts of organizational concern and institutionalized ethics are developed and empirically tested. Results suggest that future purchasing agents are predisposed to accept gratuities and that formal written ethics policies decrease the acceptance of gratuities. Disparities in ethics policies between the sales and purchasing functions concerning gratuities failed to affect gratuity acceptance significantly.

Most purchasing professionals generally agree that the acceptance of significant gratuities is inappropriate and should be discouraged. Managers need effective methods of monitoring and controlling such activities. This study examined the impact of certain individual and organizationally controlled variables on the acceptance of gratuities. Consequently, the study was able to identify some approaches that can be used by management for control purposes.The results indicate that formal, written policies do have a significant impact on reducing the acceptance of gratuities. However, if these policies are not also applied to sales personnel in the same organization, their impact may be diminished significantly, if not lost altogether. The engagement of upper level management in questionable activities was found to be positively related to the acceptance of gratuities by buyers and purchasing supervisors. Ironically, while it seems logical that input from purchasing personnel in the development of purchasing ethics policies should reduce the propensity to accept gratuities by department personnel, the study produced no evidence that supported this conclusion.