A Scale Development Study to Examine the Application of Total Quality Management

Abstract

The total quality management approach is a management style in which the human factor stands out, continuous development and improvement is adopted, group work is emphasized in the enterprise, and quality responsibility spreads to all of the employees. The goal of total quality management is to provide continuous and excellent service to the customer with well-trained and motivated employees.Within the scope of this study, some features (customer orientation, management leadership, full participation, systematic process analysis and human understanding first) of total quality management activities implemented in forest products industry are examined. For this purpose, 377 engineers and foremen working in 14 large-scale companies with ISO 9001 Quality Management System Certificate were reached through a survey method. The questionnaire used consists of two parts. In the first part, some demographic features of the employees were evaluated with 13 questions. In the second part of the survey, the management system applied in the enterprises was researched with 50 questions. The survey data were evaluated with the Structural Equation Model (SEM) prepared in SPSS and AMOS statistical package programs and the results were revealed. As a result, a statistically acceptable scale has been put forward for researchers who want to examine the total quality management studies in the forest products industry.