Total Quality Management Factors Research Articles

Investigating the view of quality management success factors amongst future early career operations leaders

PurposeThe study aims to investigate the gap between the current vision and knowledge of future early career operations leaders (OL) and common strategic total quality management (TQM) frameworks such as Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards and competing value framework.Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire was developed for different groups of participants as current higher education students to identify the gap and analyse the significance of these groups on the factors in TQM framework. The Kruskal–Wallis test as the non-parametric quantitative analysis technique was adopted for this study.FindingsA new set of TQM factors with necessity of more knowledge and understanding of future generation was identified, followed by highlighting clear differences amongst different groups of this generation in terms of their demographic measures, perceived leadership style and organisational culture.Research limitations/implicationsThis research study contributed significantly to the existing study about common QM models and their integration with theories relevant to organisational culture and leadership. The data collection can be extended further in the higher education sector or beyond that.Practical implicationsA sustainable operations leadership practice needs managers and leaders with a sustainable knowledge development of quality management; and as a result of this study, the current vision of future young OL would not echo this.Originality/valueThis study has a systematic, non-parametric approach towards currently fragmented QM analysis, and is integrated with human resource and visionary elements of future young OL and universal QM models and theories.

The relationship between TQM practices and organisational innovation outcomes

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the role of slack (both moderating and mediating) to stimulate the relationship between total quality management (TQM) factors and innovation outcomes relative to gaining competitive industry advantages.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology includes a multi-item scale questionnaire completed in three waves between 2016 and 2017, and later analysed in 2018. A final response rate of 29.5 per cent was obtained, representing 190 organisations from both manufacturing and service industries in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to test the multi-collinearity, moderation and mediation analysis.FindingsAnalysis confirmed that factors such as continuous improvement (CI), human resource management (HRM) and information measurement (IM) were positively linked to innovation. However, when slack was introduced as a moderator, innovation outcomes were stimulated through HRM and IM. The results indicate that slack acts as a full mediator for management leadership but only partially mediates supplier quality, IM, CI, HRM and process management.Research limitations/implicationsIn terms of geographical coverage, research was limited to the UAE. Organisations striving for excellence through innovation may benefit from the outcomes, as they help in understanding the relationship between TQM and innovation moderated and/or mediated by slack. This could also lead businesses to develop new strategies that harmonise TQM policies with “rationale” slack policies, thus, promoting innovation.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the use of slack to stimulate the relationship between TQM factors and innovation outcomes. Using slack as a mediator can help in understanding when TQM might influence innovation, while slack as a moderator could invert the relationship between the two.

Measuring the impact of soft and hard total quality management factors on customer behavior based on the role of innovation and continuous improvement

PurposeTotal quality management (TQM) is a part of the total quality assurance perspective. This system, which is considered as a type of managerial philosophy, employs all organizational levels to constantly ameliorate the quality of goods and service. The purpose of this paper is to measure the effect of hard and soft TQM factors on the behavior of customers based on the role of innovation and continuous improvement.Design/methodology/approachThe research model was extracted from TQM variables in hard and soft parts, customer behavior, innovation and continuous improvement by reviewing the literature and research background. Based on this, a questionnaire was prepared and then, distributed among the statistical population including 374 project managers, quality assurance managers as well as quality control managers by using simple random sampling. All sub-criteria of questionnaire were determined using Delphi technique, to test the research model. Having gathered the questionnaire, the hypotheses were analyzed by using structural equation modeling and AMOS software.FindingsAccording to the statistical analyses, TQM has a significant effect on customer behavior through continuous improvement of the quality and innovation. Also, regarding the obtained results, the highest effect was related to the effect of hard TQM factors on customer behavior through innovation as 0.62. Furtheremore, TQM soft factors such as human resource management have significant effect on customer behavior through quality improvement and innovation. Moreover, TQM hard factors are effective on customer behavior through quality improvement and innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThe questionnaire was designed and distributed in order to evaluate the hypotheses in this study. One of the primary rationales behind utilizing this method instead of other methods such as interview was high geographical distribution of organizations. Using other moderator variables such as knowledge management, customer knowledge management and customer emotions can be conducted in the future in this area.Practical implicationsChanging the organizational relationships from task orientation to the process orientation, and controlling the organizational performance by measuring process innovations and improvements, while paying attention to the customer satisfaction system are suggested in this paper. These implications should be implemented in construction projects by department of project management office. Furtheremore, providing different communication for receiving the opinions of the customer and imposing them in the product and service, paying attention to the response system and customer complaint, implementation of this process in the organization, and having a process approach for presenting and developing services are the main subjects in this regard.Originality/valueUnlike previous studies on this subject, a structural equation model is used for assessing unobservable latent constructs and their related interrelationship in measuring the impact of TQM factors. Focusing on customer behavior which is a broader domain than customer satisfation through continuous improvement of the quality and innovation is another value of this research.

Impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) on Operational Performance of Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plants

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of TQM system on the operational performance of the pharmaceutical manufacturing companies operating in Ethiopia. Data for this study is collected using self administered questionnaires. The survey is carried out on 65 respondents drawn from 13 companies. Out of 65 questionnaires distributed among these companies, a total of 57 got returned. Through comprehensive literature review, seven critical success factors of TQM that are relevant to the pharmaceutical industry are identified. Correlation & regression analyses are used to investigate the relationship between TQM variables on the one side and common operational performance measures (Quality, Cost, and Delivery & Flexibility to volume) on the other side. The Correlation analysis reveals that there is strong relationship between TQM practices and operational performance among the pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. The outcome of regression analysis indicates that customer focus, process management, product design and people management have significant contribution to at least one of the operational performance measures. Top Management’s support, suppliers’ quality management and continuous improvement do not appear to contribute to higher levels of performance. This study offers pharmaceutical companies and their managers a better understanding of the relationship and impact that some of TQM elements have on the performance of their operations. Thus managers will get an opportunity to take better & more effective decisions in the implementation of TQM. This study can also guide organizations to prioritize the implementation of TQM based on the strategic importance of performance measures needed by them. The choice performance measure is based on the perceptions of managers and therefore, generalization of the observations may be made with caution.

The causal structure of the excellence model for work units

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the critical factors of quality management and customer outcomes in the subject of work units in organisations. The ways in which critical total quality management factors can improve the performance of a management system in work units within organisations is assessed. For this purpose, a conceptual model with specific hypotheses is suggested to test the data obtained from 86 respondents. Using structural equation models and partial least squares techniques (PLS) software, these hypotheses were tested. The findings of this research suggest that the proposed model, can be used as a reference framework for the implementation, assessment and improvement of quality in the field of work units. In this paper, we want to improve the gap in empirical research in the management of work units, and aids unit leaders to discover the variables that improve the results from client and stakeholder satisfaction.

A measurement instrument for implementing total quality management in Greek primary and secondary education

PurposePrimary and secondary education (P&SE) is fundamentally important for achieving a high-quality education system. P&SE delivers more extensive social returns than higher education and is perhaps the most important locus where core values are established and the foundation for educational super-systems. The purpose of this paper is to develop a structured approach for the implementation of total quality management (TQM) in P&SE and validate it empirically.Design/methodology/approachA 7-dimensioned and a 66-itemed instrument was developed and administered to education professionals at Greek P&SE institutions to measure TQM implementation at present and its potential for the future. The measures were tested for validity and reliability.FindingsThe findings confirmed that the instrument developed is both valid and reliable. The factors of TQM identified for P&SE were leadership, student focus, continuous improvement, process control and involvement, education and training, measurement and evaluation, and change management.Practical implicationsP&SE institutions can employ the instrument developed to guide their implementation of TQM practices. Researchers and practitioners can use it to build models to relate facilitating practices to quality performance while enhancing social empowerment and contributing to economic growth, particularly at times of economic difficulty.Originality/valueThe present study adds value to the existing literature by investigating the unexplored field of TQM in P&SE at a time of economic downturn by offering researchers and practitioners a starting point to identify areas that require further support and improvement or have potential efficiency gain.

Synergetic success factors of total quality management (TQM) and supply chain management (SCM)

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to present a set of critical factors for total quality management (TQM) and supply chain management (SCM) practices through an extensive literature review; and, second, to identify the relationships among them by comparing the identified TQM and SCM practices in order to explore the concept of supply chain quality management (SCQM). Design/methodology/approach To meet the goals of this work, a review of published quality research papers was carried out. For this, the authors identified papers on TQM and SCM practices and observed how these practices improve the business performance of organizations. Further, on the basis of identified practices, a conceptual model of SCQM was developed. Findings The results presented a set of six critical factors each for TQM and SCM practices. Further, it was found that management support and commitment, customer focus, information and supplier partnership are the most common practices found in both TQM and SCM practices. The integration of TQM and SCM (SCQM) throughout the supply chain has the strongest impact on the organizational performance. Research limitations/implications The study used data from various research papers of reputed journals which considered the study of India’s manufacturing industry as well as other countries, which may not provide a clear picture. However, this can be overcome by applying the findings of this paper to collect data from Indian manufacturing industry in future studies. Practical implications Indian manufacturing industry can improve its competitive image through the synergy of TQM and SCM. The result of this paper will help in providing a greater understanding of identified TQM and SCM practices that will lead to the successful implementation of TQM and SCM strategies to enhance business performance in terms of the improved levels of customer service. Originality/value Much of the attention is given on TQM and SCM practices, and very few studies have been undertaken to integrate TQM and SCM practices. But as far as the authors know, there is no study undertaken to integrate TQM and SCM practices in India for the manufacturing class. Therefore, this study compares TQM and SCM practices and considers their integration and can be thus treated as filling a gap in the extant literature. Therefore, the findings of this review paper will contribute in future research.

An empirical framework for soft CSFs of TQM in Chinese manufacturing companies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to frame an empirical model with the priority of implementing soft critical successful factors (CSFs) of total quality management (TQM) in Chinese manufacturing companies. Design/methodology/approach In total, 23 hypotheses regarding the relationships among TQM factors and business results have been developed through literature review and are tested using the structural equation modelling (SEM). The data used in this study are collected from 228 manufacturing companies in the central area of China. Findings Of the 23 hypotheses, 11 were statistically significant, and according to the empirical results a conceptual framework complying to Chinese condition is constructed and discussed in the finding parts to group soft CSFs of TQM into different levels of importance. Research limitations/implications Researchers can use the framework to further study soft CSFs of TQM in detail, and extend it to explore their impact mechanism for a clearer and deeper understanding of the TQM. Practical implications The empirical framework for soft CSFs of TQM provides a new perspective for managers to implement the soft CSFs and optimise the quality management system of their manufacturing companies. Originality/value This research uses multiple, distinct indicators for each soft factor to test an elaborate SEM model of the relationships among them, according to the empirical results constructs a holistic framework classifying the importance level of soft CSFs of TQM, which is novel and subjected with Chinese condition and manufacturing characteristics.

The key factors of total quality management in the service sector: a cross-cultural study

PurposeLiterature refers to the key factors of total quality management (TQM) based on studies carried out in individual countries. However, few studies focus on studying the TQM factors in service companies based on multinational data. The purpose of this paper is to empirically identify the key TQM factors and their impact on internal and external customer performance measures across different countries.Design/methodology/approachThe research questions regarding the TQM factors and their effects were examined using a sample of service organisations from three countries (131 from Greece, 70 from Mexico and 151 from Spain). TQM factors and their impact on employee and customer satisfaction were analysed separately for each country. Exploratory factor analyses, coupled with multiple linear regression analyses, were conducted.FindingsThe key TQM factors identified are common among the three participating countries and can be summarised as follows: quality practices of top management, process management, employee quality management, customer focus, and employee knowledge and education. The adoption level of these five key factors of TQM varies across service organisations in different countries. The results also confirmed that some of the TQM elements are antecedents of customer- and employee-focused performance.Practical implicationsMultinational service organisations may use such an instrument to evaluate TQM implementation among worldwide operations and then benchmark their performance. In addition, an understanding of similarities and differences among countries would help managers around the world to address difficulties of TQM implementation related to the country culture.Originality/valuePrevious studies have compared key TQM factors across different countries in manufacturing, but overall, there has been a little attempt in the literature to analyse the adoption of TQM factors among service firms, as well the relationships between quality improvement and performance across different geographical regions.

Clustering Employees on the Basis of Their Perception from Critical Success Factors of Total Quality Management and its Influence on Customer Focus

Companies' urge to maximise their profits and their attempts to remain in the highly competitive globalised market gave birth to the TQM concept and have kept it alive. TQM is a comprehensive look which encompasses virtually every aspect of the value chain as well as the human resource and customer satisfaction. Therefore, a great number of companies feel obliged to implement its rules, and procedures. However, the concept is rather complicated and culture-bound, and calls for further research in new settings. The aim of this study is to examine the influences of critical success factors of TQM on customer focus therefore, employees are classified based on their perceptions from critical success factors of total quality management and consequently the level of customer focus is compared between the different classifications. The findings reveal that there is significant difference on the level of the customer focus between the established groups of employees.

Clustering employees on the basis of their perception from critical success factors of total quality management and its influence on customer focus

Clustering employees on the basis of their perception from critical success factors of total quality management and its influence on customer focus

Impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) on Operational Performance of Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plants

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of TQM system on the operational performance of the pharmaceutical manufacturing companies operating in Ethiopia. Data for this study is collected using self administered questionnaires. The survey is carried out on 65 respondents drawn from 13 companies. Out of 65 questionnaires distributed among these companies, a total of 57 got returned. Through comprehensive literature review, seven critical success factors of TQM that are relevant to the pharmaceutical industry are identified. Correlation & regression analyses are used to investigate the relationship between TQM variables on the one side and common operational performance measures (Quality, Cost, and Delivery & Flexibility to volume) on the other side. The Correlation analysis reveals that there is strong relationship between TQM practices and operational performance among the pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. The outcome of regression analysis indicates that customer focus, process management, product design and people management have significant contribution to at least one of the operational performance measures. Top Management’s support, suppliers’ quality management and continuous improvement do not appear to contribute to higher levels of performance. This study offers pharmaceutical companies and their managers a better understanding of the relationship and impact that some of TQM elements have on the performance of their operations. Thus managers will get an opportunity to take better & more effective decisions in the implementation of TQM. This study can also guide organizations to prioritize the implementation of TQM based on the strategic importance of performance measures needed by them. The choice performance measure is based on the perceptions of managers and therefore, generalization of the observations may be made with caution.

Critical success factors of TQM, Six Sigma, Lean and Lean Six Sigma

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on the critical success factors (CSFs) of various continuous improvement (CI) like total quality management (TQM), Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma (LSS), and perform a content analysis (CA) leading to an agenda for future research.Design/methodology/approachCA is based on literature review of 41 papers published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals. A four-stage methodology is used by the authors, with Stage 1 featuring relevant material collection; Stage 2 presenting a descriptive analysis; Stage 3 outlining the category selection; and Stage 4 featuring the material evaluation using clustering and Pareto analysis.FindingsThe CA revealed various research implications and directions for the future. The number of studies in the literature regarding CSF assessment is found to be far from substantial while compared to CI implementation. Assessment methodologies developed have been ranging from qualitative to quantitative models. Key gaps were identified and directions for CSF assessment are proposed which requires further validation.Research limitations/implicationsOnly articles that appeared in peer-reviewed journals were analyzed; conference papers, reports, manuals and white papers from practice were excluded. Another limitation of the paper would be the scope of CA limited to four CI constructs – TQM, Lean, Six Sigma and LSS. Research implications indicate that the future studies in this domain would be intensive toward analyzing the vital CSFs for enterprise organizational excellence and not merely process excellence.Practical implicationsThis review study can serve as a resource for both researchers and practitioners to understand the importance of CSFs and positioning CSFs for the successful implementation of CI programs.Originality/valueThe CA on the existing literature on CSFs for CI presents a unique, systematic effort to identify an agenda for future research. This study is the apparently the first of its kind on CSF assessment.

S. Belous-Sergeeva, O. Mashtakova, Research of "hard" and "soft" approaches of Total quality management.

Recently, quality improvement and management systems have developed rapidly. In recent decades, simple inspection activities have been replaced or supplemented by quality control and quality assurance standards. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of the implementation of total quality management (TQM) and total productive maintenance (TPM). TQM provides organizations with a range of tools to ensure sustainable development and competitive advantage, with the path to successful continuous improvement focused on the use of strategy, data and effective communication to instill quality discipline in the culture and processes of the organization. The work has a review character. In this paper, the influence of soft and hard TQM practices on production performance is investigated. There is considered the development of Total Quality Management as a system, which covers all functions and departments, all employees and which aims to consistently meet customer needs. The factors relating to the soft and hard approaches are identified. The characteristic and features of each factor related to the corresponding approaches are given. The interrelation of factors of soft and hard approaches, and also influence of factors of hard approach on soft factors of TQM is investigated. The prospects of regulation of the enterprise and quality management system using various factors of soft approach are presented.

APPLICATION OF MCDM APPROACH TO EVALUATE THE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Although many studies have focused on significant role of total quality management (TQM) in literature, little attention has been paid to using the fuzzy multiple criteria decision making (FMCDM) for analysis TQM factors especially in the context of hospitality. The purpose of this study is to identify, prioritize and evaluate the TQM critical success factors (CSFs) in hospitality industry by integrating the theory of fuzzy sets, quantitative and qualitative approaches. Primary criteria to evaluate TQM CSFs are achieved by the literature survey, and the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) has been used by experts for evaluating of soft and hard TQM CSFs. In the following step, we employed the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to find the weights of criteria. The results of this study indicated that, internal and external cooperation had the first rank among other CSFs in hospitality industry. In addition, the second and third rank in soft aspect includes customer focus and leadership respectively. The findings of this study shown guidance to practitioners and managers of quality to implement of TQM in their organizations, effectively by using the suggested set of identified TQM CSFs.

Senior leadership, customer orientation, and service firm performance: the mediator role of process management

Taking a social-technical dimensions view of total quality management (TQM) practice, this study examines the impact of social and technical TQM factors on the performance of service firms in China. We choose senior leadership and customer orientation as social factors, and process management as a technical factor. A mediation model is developed to postulate the mediating role of process management between senior leadership, customer orientation, and service firm performance. Data were collected through questionnaires from 182 Chinese service firms, and a technique of structural equation modelling was used to test the mediation model. The results indicate different paths to service firm performance from different factors of TQM practice. Process management affects service firm performance directly and positively. However, senior leadership and customer orientation indirectly influence service firm through the role of process management. It means that service firm performance depends directly on process management which can be promoted by senior leadership and customer orientation. In light of findings in this research, limitations and future research directions are subsequently addressed.

Effect and Mechanism of Total Quality Management on Enterprise Innovation Performance Based on Cognitive Behavior Science

From the perspective of cognitive behavior science, the study takes domestic enterprises as samples of empirical research, uses the method of neuroeconomics, and selects 50 healthy quality department heads as paid subjects to voluntarily participate in the experiment to explore the effect and mechanism of TQM (Total Quality Management) on innovation performance. In order to explore the direct and indirect effects between TQM and innovation performance, this study introduces knowledge absorptive capacity and environmental dynamics into the relationship between TQM and innovation performance. On the basis of maturity scale, 184 valid questionnaires are collected and a statistical analysis is carried out with Lisrel software to validate the hypothesis of this study. The results show that: (1) TQM has a direct and positive effect on innovation, and the longer and deeper the implementation of TQM is, the more significant the promotion of innovation is performance. However, the resource factors of TQM have no significant effect on innovation performance, which indicates that enterprises implementing TQM strategy do not need to worry about the effect of enterprise size and resources. (2) TQM has a significant effect on the knowledge absorptive capacity, which is the key to enterprise innovation. (3) In addition to its direct effect on innovation performance, TQM indirectly acts on innovation performance through the intermediary variable of knowledge absorptive capacity, and its mechanism can be divided into direct effect and indirect effect. (4) The environmental dynamics faced by enterprises are different, and the effects of TQM on innovation performance are also different. Under the high dynamic environment, TQM has no significant effect on innovation, and even has negative effect. Under the low dynamic environment, TQM has a very significant effect on innovation. (5) TQM and innovation can succeed in an enterprise at the same time, it’s not conflict for enterprises to pursue the quality performance and the enterprise innovation at the same time since two are the key factors to improve the enterprise performance finally.

Role of internal and external organizational factors in TQM implementation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for the development of total quality management (TQM) model for service organizations considering both internal and external environmental factors.Design/methodology/approachThrough an extensive literature search, it is found that despite a large body of knowledge on TQM, there is hardly any research undertaken on the model of service quality including all external and internal factors that can affect the impact of soft and hard TQM factors on organizations performance. So, a systematic literature review has been conducted to extract the relevant journal articles for the study purpose.FindingsThe conceptual model fills this yawning gap and presents a framework of integrated relationships based on several constituent models. These are soft TQM factors, hard TQM factors and organizational performance. Moreover, quality improvement, market benefits, R&D performance and quality performance are used as mediators while industry rivalry and entry barriers are used as moderators between soft and hard TQM and organizational performance. The seven propositions, derived from these elements, highlight the dynamic relationship between above mentioned constructs.Research limitations/implicationsOne major limitation is the testing of this model. It has not been tested in any environment or organization to assess its validity. Future research can be done to test the developed hypotheses. Besides three journals, other journals can also be focused in future to get detailed insight into different factors. Impact of IT on organizational processes toward TQM can also be studied in future. More rigorous statistical tests can also be applied to generate more findings with an extension of review time period and selection of more journals.Practical implicationsThe model developed in this study can be applied in any service organization with slight modifications to enhance the service quality of organizations by integrating both internal and external aspects for quality improvement. By adopting this framework, organizations can increase their production quality.Originality/valueThis proposed framework will help organizations to effectively implement TQM in their organizations considering internal and external organizational factors.

The Effects of Human Capital on the Total Quality Management: High Technology Sectors

The firms should place quality at the top of its strategic priority if they want to survey and attain competitive advantage. Among the most effective quality techniques that have been verified by several organizations from several sectors and countries, there is the Total Quality Management (TQM) technique. Besides, literature indicates that human capital is considered as the substantial source of growth and organizational sustainability of companies. In this sense, this study seeks to investigate the effect of human capital on the achievement of TQM. A questionnaire survey was developed and distributed to a sample of 146 employees working in companies installed in Tabuk region in Saudi Arabia. SPSS software program was used for statistical data analysis. Results showtwo critical success factors of TQM which are the cooperative and supportive leadership, and the employees' job satisfaction.

Quality management vision of future early career operations managers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the gap between the current vision and knowledge of future early career operations managers (OM) and a common strategic total quality management (TQM) framework.Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire and a non-parametric test for different groups of participants were adopted to identify the gap and analyse the significance of these groups on the factors in the TQM framework.FindingsA new set of TQM factors with the necessity of more knowledge and understanding of future generation were identified, followed by the identification of clear differences amongst different groups of this generation.Practical implicationsA sustainable OM practice needs managers and leaders with a sustainable knowledge development of quality management (QM); and as the result of this study, the current vision of future young OM would not echo this.Originality/valueThis study has a systematic, non-parametric approach towards currently fragmented QM analysis, and is integrated with human resource and visionary elements of future young OM and universal QM models and theories.