Diffusion and contribution of total quality management: An empirical study in Norway

Abstract

This article will report the findings from a survey on total quality management (TQM) in Norway. The survey was conducted in cooperation with the Norwegian Society for Quality. This study reveals that the components of a TQM programme may vary from country to country. This may suggest that the Quality Award Model should be used for guidance rather than as a model to copy. This study also finds that the TQM enablers (or practices) such as quality leadership, human resource development and quality information contribute to the increase of customer satisfaction and the business performance. However, none of these TQM enablers can guarantee better results. It is these enablers as a whole that contribute collectively to the improvements. The study also finds that ISO 9000 and the length of practising TQM are related to the better results. It seems as if there is a tendency for the ISO 9000 standards to be taken as part of a TQM programme in the future. The conclusion is that all the enablers of quality management must be implemented completely. However, this study finds that most of the sampled companies have not yet implemented TQM fully and it will be a long journey for them to continue the implementation.