Hard Total Quality Management Research Articles

The impact of soft TQM and hard TQM on innovation performance: the moderating effect of organisational culture

Literature increasingly recognises the importance of organisational culture when implementing operations management practices. This paper examines the relationships among quality, innovation, and organisational culture under a moderation model. The research model is constructed based on well-established theories of competing values framework (CVF) and total quality management (TQM). A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 106 ISO 9000-certified manufacturers where data were collected from senior managers with sufficient knowledge. Partial least square analysis indicates that: 1) innovation is influenced mainly by adopting soft (organisational) TQM elements and secondarily hard (process) TQM elements; 2) innovation organisational culture has a stronger moderating influence on process-related TQM than on organisational TQM, although its interactions are mostly insignificant. Therefore, practitioners are advised to emphasise the organisational aspect of TQM rather than process-related practices when assessing the innovation performance of an organisation. The findings recommend firms to have a balanced view on cultures in organisations.

Impact of hard and soft TQM on supply chain performance: empirical investigation of pharmaceutical industry

This study identified the two forms of total quality management (TQM) practices 'soft' and 'hard'. The study further investigated the impact of soft TQM practices on hard TQM practices and their impact on plant level supply chain in pharmaceutical setup. The present study provides some meaningful implications to practicing managers, which are critical from pharmaceutical manufacturing point of view. In pharmaceutical manufacturing, employees may require more training and development as market is regulated by major drug administrations from abroad as well as domestic and top management support may help to achieve it. Research and development and to maintain the sustainable quality of products along with productive maintenance over a period of time results in supply chain performance. Soft TQM practices directly impact the supply chain performance, but hard TQM practices impact greatly supply chain performance as comparison to soft TQM. Soft TQM practices impact supply chain performance via hard TQM practices significantly.

Impact of hard and soft TQM on supply chain performance: empirical investigation of pharmaceutical industry

This study identified the two forms of total quality management (TQM) practices 'soft' and 'hard'. The study further investigated the impact of soft TQM practices on hard TQM practices and their impact on plant level supply chain in pharmaceutical setup. The present study provides some meaningful implications to practicing managers, which are critical from pharmaceutical manufacturing point of view. In pharmaceutical manufacturing, employees may require more training and development as market is regulated by major drug administrations from abroad as well as domestic and top management support may help to achieve it. Research and development and to maintain the sustainable quality of products along with productive maintenance over a period of time results in supply chain performance. Soft TQM practices directly impact the supply chain performance, but hard TQM practices impact greatly supply chain performance as comparison to soft TQM. Soft TQM practices impact supply chain performance via hard TQM practices significantly.

The relationships between soft/hard total quality management practices and operational performance in Jordanian manufacturing organisations

Previous studies in the field of total quality management (TQM) reported mixed results regarding their relationships with performance. This study, therefore, seeks to investigate the relationships between soft/hard TQM practices and operational performance in Jordanian manufacturing organisations. A questionnaire survey was distributed among the population of the study which consisted of (170) Jordanian manufacturing organisations, certified by ISO 9001 certification. Data obtained from the respondents were then statistically analysed using simple and multiple linear regression analysis to test the study hypotheses. The results of this study confirmed the importance of soft and hard TQM practices to operational performance, and showed that soft TQM practices were more significant than hard TQM practices in their relationships with operational performance. Based upon these results, Jordanian manufacturing organisations should formulate a strategy that considers the importance of soft TQM practices for improving operational performance, and undertaking an integrative paradigm in implementing TQM.

The relationships between soft/hard total quality management practices and operational performance in Jordanian manufacturing organisations

Previous studies in the field of total quality management (TQM) reported mixed results regarding their relationships with performance. This study, therefore, seeks to investigate the relationships between soft/hard TQM practices and operational performance in Jordanian manufacturing organisations. A questionnaire survey was distributed among the population of the study which consisted of (170) Jordanian manufacturing organisations, certified by ISO 9001 certification. Data obtained from the respondents were then statistically analysed using simple and multiple linear regression analysis to test the study hypotheses. The results of this study confirmed the importance of soft and hard TQM practices to operational performance, and showed that soft TQM practices were more significant than hard TQM practices in their relationships with operational performance. Based upon these results, Jordanian manufacturing organisations should formulate a strategy that considers the importance of soft TQM practices for improving operational performance, and undertaking an integrative paradigm in implementing TQM.

Important TQM Implementation Contributors in Service oriented Organization like Banks in Pakistan

Subsequent to its growth and exceptional achievements, Total Quality Management (TQM) needs to be implemented out of the Manufacturing industry to service organizations, like Private Banks. Study explores prospects of using Soft TQM and Hard TQM in service oriented organizations and investigates how helpful it can be for growth and development of service focused organizations like private banking sector and sees how TQM can help these Banks to excel in their Organizational Performance. These organizations have been employing various methods to develop this sector, increase its capability to get better place in global market and increase investment in this sector. However, till to date far less work is done to control quality to get better results in this sector. Through quantitative research with 5 point Likert’s scale and Baron and Kenny’s model of moderation, this study will try to demonstrate that the Soft TQM along with Hard TQM can give enormous growth to the service sector by increasing the customer orientation and will be helpful to attain competitive edge. The research has examined the moderating effect of Hard TQM on the relationship of Soft TQM and Organization performance; it is notable from this research that the magnitude of this relationship has increased from 0.401 to 0.421. These results indicate that the use of Hard TQM in the Service oriented Organization like banking sector leads to increase the relationship of Soft TQM and Organizational Performance and gives more power to these organizations to control their quality and thrive on international level.

The interrelationship between ISO 9000 and total quality management: an empirical investigation with a focus on soft and hard TQM dimensions

Little is known about the interrelatedness between the critical factors of ISO 9000 (CFI) and total quality management (TQM) two dimensions, namely, soft (ST) and hard (HT), and little is known about whether they can coexist together in manufacturing companies’ or not. To fill this gap, this paper proposes a theoretical framework, which stipulates that ISO 9000 is an antecedent to TQM. The framework was tested using cross sectional mail survey of 250 ISO 9000 certified Malaysian manufacturing companies. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were utilised from SPSS to test the propositions. The key findings indicated the existence of a significant relationship in both propositions, hence, supported the theoretical framework and both ISO 9000 and TQM could be interrelated together in Malaysian manufacturing industries.

The Influence of “Soft” and “Hard” Total Quality Management (TQM) Practices on Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) in Jordanian Manufacturing Companies

Numerous studies have been separately carried out on total quality management (TQM) and total productivemaintenance (TPM). This paper examines the influence of soft and hard TQM practices on TPM implementationlevel at manufacturing companies in Jordan using survey data and empirical research methodology. The resultsindicate that four soft TQM practices, top management leadership, training, workforce management, andcustomer focus, significantly and positively affect TPM implementation level. The results also show that threehard TQM practices, continuous improvement, information feedback, and process management, significantlyand positively affect TPM implementation level.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HARD TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN MUNICIPALITIES

Hard total quality management has now become the major business strategy in current management and has currently been taken up by companies around the glo be. The aim of the study is to determine the relationship between hard total quality management practices and performance in municipalities. A quantitative research design was adopted to collect data. Multiple regression analysis method was used to conduct this study. The findings of the study will contribute to both theory and practice. The results of this study have important contributions and implications for practitioners and policy-makers in these five developing countries. Empirical evidence revealed t hat hard total quality management has relationship with performance. The findings also implied that hard to tal quality management has positively relation with performance and there is difference in organization al performance mean between all these countries.

Total Quality Management implementation in Research and Development organisations: a comparative study of South Korea and Taiwan

This paper examined Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation in Research and Development (R&D) organisations with empirical data from South Korean and Taiwanese manufacturing firms. A literature review established three hypotheses in regard to similarity in TQM implementation patterns, the impact of TQM for innovation performance and the mediating role of hard TQM. TQM measures were based on the six criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, while innovation performance measures consisted of product quality and product innovation aspects. Our findings indicated that TQM practices were uniformly applied across the two countries. TQM were also found to have a significant impact on product quality and product innovation. However, the hypothesised mediating role of hard TQM was dismissed.

The Future of TQM is Past. Can TQM be Resurrected?

Over the last two decades, many organizations around the world have adopted Total Quality Management (TQM) in some form. Rigorous attempts have been made to identify critical elements of TQM. These elements can be classified into two broad categories: soft TQM and hard TQM. Empirical studies indicated that only a handful of the soft aspects of TQM dimensions contribute to organizational performance. The elements of soft TQM, such as training and education, loyalty, leadership, teamwork and empowerment are essentially ‘people’ aspects. The coverage of such elements in the management literature is high and, in fact, broadly, management theory and soft TQM are identical. With rapid change and uncertainty in the market and greater emphasis on core competencies, organizations are transforming themselves into modular corporations, and thus the importance of the elements of traditional soft TQM is rapidly diminishing. This paper therefore raises a fundamental question: what is the future of TQM?

An AHP based study of critical factors for TQM implementation in Shanghai manufacturing industries

In recent years, many organizations have looked upon continuous improvement and total quality management (TQM) as the means by which they could maintain a competitive edge. This paper investigates the critical factors and sub-factors that determine the adoption and implementation of TQM in the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and foreign joint ventures (FJVs) in China with particular reference to the Shanghai manufacturing industries. It incorporates the main findings of a recent study, in which an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach was employed to prioritize the relative importance of four critical factors and sixteen sub-factors among SOEs and FJVs in China. The findings advocate that these enterprises would stress the soft TQM factors of organizing, and culture and people rather than the hard TQM factors of the systems, techniques and measurement, and feedback. Top management commitment, leadership, education and training are among the most important sub-factors. The results suggest a generic hierarchy model for organizations to prioritize the critical factors and formulate strategies for implementing TQM in Shanghai, as well as other cities and regions in China.