Concept Of Total Quality Management Research Articles

TQM implementation and change management in an unfavourable environment

PurposeThe total quality management (TQM) concept was originally developed to increase the efficiency of occidental and Japanese organisations. As a consequence of its success there, it has spread world‐wide. Companies in many developing countries are attempting its implementation. However, the cultural environment in these countries may be significantly different from the prevalent one in the regions where TQM has flourished. This paper aims to examine the potential for successful TQM implementation in a “theoretically” unfavourable TQM environment, and what can be expected from such implementation if it is successful.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a case of a company with characteristics that are in conflict with what are accepted to be necessary for successful implementation of TQM. The development of TQM in the company is examined and successes and failures in the implementation process they implemented are evaluated. The degree of success in implementing TQM is assessed through the changes that resulted in both internal performance indicators and an independent external governmental evaluation of the company.FindingsIt is possible to implement TQM principles in an environment deficient in factors that are generally accepted as critical to its successful implementation. The identification of and reaction to cultural difficulties are central to a successful TQM implementation approach taken. Positive outcomes may exceed, in terms of speed and scale, what could be expected from the occidental/Japanese model for successful TQM implementation.Research limitations/implicationsAs the research is based on a specific case study, it does not provide a proof that all companies in unfavourable environments can benefit from TQM implementation.Originality/valueVery little research is currently available about TQM implementation in unfavourable environments, about how to deal with these specificities, and what benefits can realistically be expected if the implementation is successful.

The Performance Measurement of Cause-Related Marketing by Balance Scorecard

This study focuses on cause-related marketing to evaluate the practiced performance by balance scorecard, because this measure method not only evaluates performance toward the financial perspective but also integrates three other perspectives: customer, internal, and learning and growth. Balance scorecard matches the concept of total quality management of continuous improvement. It is a useful tool to evaluate an enterprise's total operation performance. This paper outlines the measure criteria toward each performance perspective of a balance scorecard in cause-related marketing. A causal model for linking performance measures that achieve the strategic objectives of cause-related marketing is presented. A methodology is proposed to identify critical factors, and for the set-up and implementation of a performance measurement system. An integrated approach to the measurement of an enterprise's performance is outlined, which, if adopted, should result in optimal management actions, and improved total quality effect for the business.

A organização do abastecimento do hospital público a partir da cadeia produtiva: uma abordagem logística para a área de saúde

Despite their importance for hospital operations, discussions of healthcare organization logistics and supply and materials management are notably lacking in Brazilian literature. This paper describes a methodology for organizing the supply of medical materials in public hospitals, based on an action-research approach. Interventions were based on the assumption that a significant portion of problems in Brazil's National Health System (SUS) facilities derive from the fact that their clinical and administrative departments do not see themselves as belonging to the same production chain - neither the hospital nor the supply department is aware of what the other produces. The development of the methodology and its main steps are presented and discussed, against a background of recent literature and total quality and supply chain management concepts.

Performance Measurement andBusiness Excellence: The Reinforcing Link for the Public Sector

Setting Business Excellence as a primary goal, public sector organisations have been increasingly looking for new ways of measuring performance that are intended to promote stakeholders' satisfaction, people involvement and continuous improvement. In this paper, we present an approach referred as KBEM (Kanji's Business Excellence Measurement System), which was applied to measure the performance of 85 municipalities in Portugal. Data were collected by means of specifically designed questionnaires and analysed using structural equation modelling. Results broadly confirm the validity of the models that form KBEMS and stress the importance of founding performance measurement upon Total Quality Management principles and concepts.

Assessing managers' awareness of TQM

PurposeThe aim of the paper is to analyze the rationale and the development of a measure that can be used in assessing managerial awareness and understanding of the concept of total quality management (TQM) within organizations.Design/methodology/approachA total of nine “soft” concepts of TQM were identified among the leading literature in quality management. The awareness of each one of these items was investigated among nearly 400 managers. The quantitative evidence was further analyzed by factor analysis and reliability tests.FindingsThe statistical analysis provided a distinctive and consistent, statistical measurement of the “soft” side of TQM. This measure consists of three items: continuous improvement and training, total employee empowerment and involvement and quality driven culture, which represent the whole concept of TQM approach.Research limitations/implicationsThe separate measurement of the “soft” side of TQM can result in a loss of information. It can be argued, however, that this measure can offer information of possibly different facets of a single phenomenon such as TQM.Originality/valueWhilst, the technical (“hard”) aspects of TQM are well documented and clearly measured, there is a general disagreement of what exactly composes the philosophical (“soft”) side of TQM. This disagreement provokes a major methodological problem with TQM being associated with the statistical measurement of its principles and concepts, which synthesize its whole theory. Thus, this study analyzes the method, which was used to develop a potential quantitative measure of the “soft” side of TQM that could be adopted in assessing managers' awareness of it.

A meta‐analysis of quality measures in manufacturing system

PurposeThe manufacturing community has embraced the concept of total quality management (TQM) but little research has been published on how each aspect of quality is measured. This paper provides a deeper understanding of current quality measures and recommendations for appropriate TQM practices. This article adopts meta‐analysis approach to study issues concerning reliability of TQM measures and find consensus on the relationship between TQM practices and organizational performance across studies. The research findings and managerial implications are discussed.Design/methodology/approachA meta‐analysis approach was used to study 421 items relating to TQM practices in 50 refereed articles.FindingsItems were categorized according to Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) categories. A total of 77 items were not matched and eliminated. Findings reveal that the mean value of reliability coefficients (α) is 0.84 in TQM research compared to 0.77 in marketing and 0.81 in MIS. The mean values of α are significantly different across studies based on years and nations. The mean values of α from the nations of North America, South America, Africa, and Asia are significantly higher than those of Europe and Australia. Top management support shows the highest mean effect size of the relationship between TQM practices and organizational performance compared to other relationships.Originality/valueMeta‐analysis is used to enhance the understanding, applicability, and generalizability of a comparable research with diverse results. It does not require the original data. Using data from already published TQM research, meta‐analysis can be used to improve the understanding of current TQM issues manufacturing firms are facing.

Total Quality Management and Benchmarking

Economic liberalization and sweeping policy changes pursued by the Government of India since 1991 have transformed the business environment. The removal of trade barriers across various countries have posed new challenges for companies in India. Quality control has become a major strategic concern for companies. In the emerging scenario, the adoption of quality standards, like ISO: 9000, has gained special significance. This paper seeks to introduce the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) and benchmarking and to evaluate ISO: 9000. The questionnaire-based study aims at measuring the quality maturity of IT companies in India. The study has revealed that mere getting a quality certification would not lead to improved performance and TQM implementation is necessary.

Tourism services quality (TourServQual) in Egypt

PurposeThis research paper aims is to evaluate the customer's views related to tourism quality in Egypt. It attempts to measure the extent to which tourism business environment is creative and innovative as necessary conditions for internal customer satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe objectives of this research have been achieved through reviewing a number of literatures in the fields of services quality management and tourism quality measurements. The paper's outcomes have been obtained through two surveys, one to measure the satisfaction of the internal customer (employees) and the second to measure the external customer satisfaction (tourists).FindingsThe main conclusions of this research paper are: quality can be considered as a philosophy for guiding tourism organization/destination when taking decisions related to tourism services; tourism business environment in Egypt does not support the internal customer satisfaction because the absence of a suitable system for encouraging people to be creative and innovative; and in the area of the external customer satisfaction there is still a need for things to be done such as the environmental conditions improvements, internal transport quality enhancement, increasing people awareness, and improving the level of safety and security conditions.Research limitations/implicationsThere is a number of limitations which faced this paper research they are: the sample size is small, compared with the size of total population, that was reflected on the level of reliability of the research results; and the limited time allowed to the respondents was reflected on the validity of the research outcomes, because they interviewed at the last time of their journey by the time they are ready for departure.Practical implicationsA useful source of information about total quality management (TQM) and how practitioners can measure it. It provides wide guidelines for improving the quality of tourism services in total manner in Egypt.Originality/valueThis paper provides useful information that are needed for tourism services quality improvement. It offers a practical help to tourism planners and marketers in Egypt to understand the concept of TQM and how they can improve their services continually.

Six Sigma arises from the ashes of TQM with a twist

This paper sets out to analyse the use of the Six Sigma methodology to improve quality in healthcare. It looks at how Six Sigma grew out of the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM). Six Sigma is a quality improvement methodology that has been widely adopted by companies since the early 1990s and has grown exponentially in the healthcare industry during the past five years. Some of the main tenets of Six Sigma have emerged from the principles of TQM, including the notion that the entire organization must support the quality effort; that there should be a vigorous education effort; and that a quality improvement process should emphasize root cause analysis. In spite of its early success, TQM "crashed and burned" for several reasons including the fact that financial benefits were difficult to assign to TQM efforts, root cause was not always determined resulting in recurring errors, there was no common metric to measure the level of quality attained, and quality efforts were sometimes aimed at processes or operations that were not critical to the customer. Six Sigma filled the vacuums created by these TQM failures in several ways. Under the Six Sigma methodology, quality improvement projects are carefully defined so that they can be successfully completed within a relatively short time frame. Financials are applied to each completed project so that management knows how much the project saves the institution. On each project, intense study is used to determine root cause analysis; and in the end, a metric known as "sigma level" can be assigned to signify the level of quality. Six Sigma has a "critical to quality" dimension that keeps the quality effort focused on improving only those things that really matter to the customer.

Total quality management as a forerunner of business innovation capability

Although it is true that the issues of quality and innovation have been dealt with extensively from different perspectives, studies on the relationship between the two concepts are few. This study tackles this relationship by analyzing the links between the broader concepts of total quality management (TQM) and business innovation capability (BIC). Specifically, it is argued that TQM can favor the development of BIC. An empirical study of 102 firms in the sectors of machinery and instruments for measurement, analysis and control revealed that, indeed, both concepts are compatible and make it possible to identify which dimensions of TQM explain the generation of BIC.

The Free Flow of Excellence Toward the Field‐Being Approach to TQM

The concept of Total Quality Management may be perceived from different philosophical perspectives. In this paper we shall present a view on TQM from the perspective of Field‐Being philosophy and compare it with the alternative philosophical views. From the perspective of Field‐Being philosophy, the goal of TQM is to achieve the free flow of excellence at all levels: individual, team and organizational. By overcoming rigidity in thinking, behavior and performance TQM turns into an art – the Art of Quality Management, which is the source of true stakeholder delight.

Quality Management in Pakistan's Readymade Garments' Industry

ABSTRACT Pakistan's readymade garments' industry is a key player in Pakistan's industry in general, and its textile industrial output and exports in particular. In a liberalizing international trade regime, quality will be a critical success factor in the international competitiveness of Pakistan's readymade garments. Research in quality management in Pakistan's readymade garments' industry was undertaken. To gain further information, a postal self-completion questionnaire was mailed to 101 members of the Pakistan Readymade Garments' and Exporters' Association (PRGMEA). The response rate was 32%. It was found that while this industrial segment was in various stages of development, it needs to graduate fast to advanced quality management concepts of Kaizen and total quality management in order to maintain its competitive advantage in an environment that will soon be liberalized fully.

Does soft TQM predict employees’ attitudes?

PurposeThis study seeks to investigate the effects of soft total quality management (TQM) on employees’ attitudes within a large Malaysian semiconductor organization. Despite extensive research on “soft” TQM practices, there has not been much research this area. Therefore, the proposed model was developed with the intention of examining this relationship.Design/methodology/approachOriginal research using self‐completed questionnaires, distributed to all staff within this organization, is thoroughly reported. The study sample consisted of 230 employees, resulting in a response rate of 76.6 percent. Data were analyzed by the latest version of SPSS, employing correlation and multiple regression analysis.FindingsThe results revealed that employees' perceptions of soft TQM significantly relate to employees’ attitudes with those perceiving a greater degree of awareness of soft TQM exhibiting more positive reactions towards job involvement, career satisfaction and organizational commitment. It is also found that, where teamwork was a dominant soft TQM practice, strong associations with employees’ attitudes existed. This analysis gives new insight into “soft” TQM concepts and, furthermore, the results of the multiple regression analysis confirmed that all variables were significantly related to perceptions of soft TQM practices and thus implementing TQM does pay off. The results also support the proposed model based on the empirically validated soft TQM instruments, which are reliable and valid.Originality/valueThe significance of this study would enable top management to strategize their goal alignments, which would eventually help promote mutual understanding between the management and employees and thus yielding significant results on employees’ attitudes. The conclusions, limitations and implications of the study are also extensively discussed.

The Relationship Between Human Resources Strategies and Total Quality Management Approach

The relationship between Human Resource Strategies and Total Quality ManagementApproach. The research deals with the study and analysis of the relationship and the impactbetween some of Human Resources Management Strategies & development and TotalQuality Approach. Regarding to the theoretical frame, this study has adopted. HumanResource Management Strategies and it relation with organization strategy. Furthermore,the study present the concept of Total Quality Management and related relationship withHuman Resources Management. Governmental industry sector in Ninevah Governorate hasbeen chosed to be domain of the field aspect performing, and five industry organizationshas been selected where data collected by questionnaires of managers of all levels. In theseorganizations results marked the presence of significant correlation between HumanResources Management Strategies and Total Quality Approach.

To Make It 'Total': Quality Management over Subcultures

Although the concept of Total Quality Management has been fuzzy for decades, academics currently appear to agree that it should concern the entire organization. Total Quality Management inevitably involves a change in the organizational culture, and this, therefore, seems to be a key area in the success of any TQM-efforts. Moreover, any culture change programme in a large company will have to take into account the existence of subcultures with their values and beliefs. Any universally planned uniform change will probably fail to satisfy the expectations in large sectors of the organization. This article first discusses the concept and existence of subcultures and the difficulties in analysing them through two studies conducted by the authors. Then, some culture change problems encountered following the introduction of TQM are addressed through yet another study. Finally, conclusions are drawn to act as guidelines for practitioners.

Has compliance with CLIA requirements really improved quality in US clinical laboratories?

Background: The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA'88) mandate universal requirements for all U.S. clinical laboratory-testing sites. The intent of CLIA'88 is to ensure quality testing through a combination of minimum quality practices that incorporate total quality management concepts. These regulations do not contain established, objective indicators or measures to assess quality. However, there is an implicit assumption that compliance with traditionally accepted good laboratory practices—following manufacturers' directions, routinely analysing quality control materials, applying quality assurance principles, employing and assessing competent testing personnel, and participating in external quality assessment or proficiency testing (PT)—will result in improved test quality. Methods: The CLIA'88 regulations do include PT performance standards, which intentionally or unintentionally, define intra-laboratory performance. Passing PT has become a prime motivation for improving laboratory performance; it can also be used as an objective indicator to assess whether compliance to CLIA has improved intra-laboratory quality. Results: Data from 1994 through 2002 indicate that the percentage of laboratories passing PT has increased. In addition to PT performance, subjective indicators of improved quality—frequency of inspection deficiencies, the number of government sanctions for non-compliance, and customer satisfaction—were evaluated. Conclusions: The results from these subjective indicators are more difficult to interpret but also seem to show improved quality in US clinical laboratories eleven years post-CLIA'88.

A fresh approach to safety management systems in Hong Kong

Given the fact that the effectiveness of safety management systems (SMS) have reached a no‐improvement plateau in most organisations in Hong Kong, those involved in SMS would agree that change is needed to give safety a continuous improvement momentum. The concepts, principles, tools and practices of total quality management (TQM) can be the means to obtain such a change. This paper is an attempt to apply the TQM concepts and techniques in a systematic manner into a SMS. First, the problems of a compliance‐oriented SMS adopted by most organisations in Hong Kong are summarised. Then, the needs and rationales for the establishment of TQM‐based safety management briefs, which will ultimately determine the backbone of a SMS, are illustrated. Next, a systematic process for developing and implementing a SMS that incorporates TQM principles is outlined. Finally, practical strategies for the implementation of a TQM‐based SMS in Hong Kong are suggested.

HR performance evaluation in the context of TQM

While the concepts of performance evaluation and total quality management (TQM) have been explored in the management literature of the last decades, there has been relatively little work on the particular characteristics that an organisation with a TQM approach to human resource (HR) performance evaluation should adopt. To this end, this paper provides a review of the literature in the area of TQM and HR performance evaluation, in order to establish the context for future empirical research. This study provides a brief overview of the implications of a quality orientation for the evaluation of employee performance. It reveals the main difficulties with the concept of performance evaluation from a quality perspective; and it also examines particular characteristics of performance evaluation that could maximise the effectiveness of HR performance evaluation in organisational environments with a quality orientation. Both the assumptions of TQM and the requirements for HR evaluation are used as a foundation from which to examine the ways in which HR performance evaluation might have changed to integrate TQM requirements. By examining the relevant literature, the main criteria of a TQM‐based HR performance evaluation system are refined and enhanced, thus moving towards a situation in which TQM can drive HR performance evaluation in practice. The results also serve as a guide for the evaluation of the effectiveness of such a system.

Conceptualizing total quality management in higher education

In keeping with the socio‐economic and cultural transformation that has placed newer demands on the educational system, in terms of greater responsibility and accountability and increased expectations by stakeholders, the system has been pressurized to shift its focus from one in quantitative expansion to one with emphasis on quality. Such shifts and changes are being witnessed not only in the developed countries, but also in the developing countries of the world. The education system, and more so the higher education system in particular, in an attempt to react to the demands and ever increasing pressures from its stakeholders, finds itself in a market‐oriented environment, with internal and external customers; wherein, “delighting the customer”, is the rule for survival in the long run. “Delighting the customer”, is the core message of total quality management (TQM) and, hence, there is a need to identify and apply the relevant concepts of TQM to each and every aspect of academic life; that is, to the teaching, learning and administrative activities. The paper is a theoretical attempt at conceptualizing TQM in education.

Evaluation of competitive sourcing performance work statement metrics

Competitive sourcing is the government’s term for transferring the operation of an internal process or function to either an external supplier or a reengineered government team. The competitively sourced function is managed through performance metrics. These metrics must be thorough, appropriate and well designed to ensure the government is receiving the level of service required to fulfill its various missions. This research effort develops a performance metric evaluation system that was synthesized from metric design literature, Total Quality Management concepts, and the Government Performance Results Act. Use of the system in a case study is discussed along with how to evaluate the results. Results indicate that some Air Force performance metrics have insufficient and improperly designed metrics.