• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.31-49
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• 2024

The stress experienced by employees on international deployment has serious implications for their physical and mental health as well as their work performance. This study aimed to investigate the impact of resource-oriented music listening on work-related stress among employees on international deployment. The study recruited 10 participants of varying ages and occupations who had worked abroad for at least three years and conducted five personalized resource-oriented music listening sessions along with interviews. The Global Assessment of Recent Stress Scale (GARS) and Job Stress Scale (JSS) were used to measure stress levels before and after the intervention. Results showed that participants' work-related stress and perceived stress were significantly reduced following the music therapy intervention. The study also found that "awareness of own's life situation" and "self-acceptance of here and now emotional challenges" were factors that reduced regulatory stress among employees on international deployment. This study highlights the potential of resource-oriented music listening as a useful tool for managing workplace stress and promoting the well-being of expatriate employees.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2007.03a
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• pp.206-217
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• 2007

Generally, there is confusion as to what constitutes TQM, though it can be regarded as a set of concepts and tools for getting all employees focused on continuous improvement, various schools of thought have defined or classified the critical success factors as constructs, concepts and principles. Therefore the main aim of this paper is to provide a practical approach for understanding the quality management terminology. Using the existing quality management measurement instruments available in literature, the terminology used is classified into constructs, practices and finally tools or techniques. Quality Management may then be viewed as a combination of the three sets of terminology. Drawing on the quantitative study which investigated the implementation of TQM within the SME, the critical factors of TQM as used in that study as used to demonstrate the practical approach or methodology for the understanding of the terms thus used. For the benefit of practitioners within the Construction Management field, a bit of clarity is required as regards the terminology used. This study contributes to clarifying the conflicting results being reported in the quality management literature which inevitably leads to having different levels of analysis of Quality Management. Accordingly, the strength of quality management compared with other business philosophies should then focus on the practical methodology, namely the practices and techniques.