Total Quality Management and Corporate Failure in Nigeria

Abstract

The problem of corporate failure has continued to be of serious concern to academicians and practitioners, the world over. Of all the identified causal factors, management related factors are generally considered predominant. The search for management system that can effectively address the problem of corporate failure has led to the current interest of researchers and practitioners in total quality management (TQM). Research findings on the relationship between TQM and corporate performance have remained controversial across national boundaries and inconclusive in Nigeria. This paper investigated the relationship between identified critical success factors (CSFs) of TQM and elements of corporate performance in Nigeria, using Pearson product moment correlation technique in a 6-3 factorial design. The results of the factorial analysis showed positive and significantly high inter and intra-factorial correlation coefficient (r) among the CSFs of TQM and elements of corporate performance at p < 0.05. The hypotheses were tested by t- transformation of the correlation coefficient ( r). The results showed that implementation of the critical success factors of TQM will lead to enhanced return on investment, increase in asset base and greater market share of business organizations, and thus avert corporate failure in Nigeria.