Faisal Talib

Analysis of interaction among the barriers to total quality management implementation using interpretive structural modeling approach

Purpose – Previous research showed that there are some barriers which hinder the implementation of total quality management (TQM) in organizations. But no study has been undertaken to understand the interaction among these barriers and to develop a hierarchy of TQM barriers model. There is an urgent need to analyze the behavior of these barriers so that TQM may be successfully implemented. This paper therefore, aims to understand the mutual interaction of these barriers and identify the “driving barriers” (i.e. which influence the other barriers) and the “dependent barriers” (i.e. which are influenced by others).Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) based approach has been utilized to understand the mutual influences among the barriers of TQM.Findings – In the present research work, 12 TQM barriers are identified through the literature review and expert opinion. The research shows that there exist two groups of barriers, one having high driving power and low dependency requiring maximum attention and of strategic importance (such as lack of top-management commitment, lack of coordination between departments) and the other having high dependence and low driving power and are resultant effects (such as high turnover at management level, lack of continuous improvement culture, employees’ resistance to change).Practical implications – The adoption of such an ISM-based model on TQM barriers in service organizations would help managers, decision makers, and practitioners of TQM in better understanding of these barriers and to focus on major barriers while implementing TQM in their organizations.Originality/value – Presentation of TQM barriers in the form of an ISM-based model and the categorization into driver and dependent clusters is a new effort in the area of TQM.

A Study of Total Quality Management and Supply Chain Management Practices

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a set of total quality management (TQM) and supply chain management (SCM) practices through an extensive literature review and to identify the relationships among them by comparing the identified TQM and SCM practices. Design/methodology/approach - An extensive overview of the practices of TQM and SCM is carried out using published research papers and some major TQM and SCM practices were extracted. These identified practices are then compared to explore the relationship between them for better understanding and application. Findings - The results reveal six major TQM and SCM practices from as many as 50 TQM practices and 40 SCM practices. The paper further compares these practices and found that management support and commitment, customer focus, and supplier partnership are the most common practices found in both TQM and SCM literature, and have the strongest impact in the integration of TQM and SCM across organizations. Research limitations/implications - This paper focuses only on the literature review of previously published studies, further empirical study can be undertaken using these six identified practices which may allow the validation and generalization of results. Practical implications - The result of this paper will help in providing greater understanding of identified TQM and SCM practices that will lead to successful implementation of TQM and SCM strategies to improve customer service levels and, hence, business performance. Originality/value - Much of the literature on TQM practices and SCM practices are available, but as far as the authors know there is no study undertaken to integrate TQM and SCM practices. This is the first kind of study that compares TQM and SCM practices taken together and can be thus, treated as filling a gap in the extant literature.

An empirical investigation of relationship between total quality management practices and quality performance in Indian service companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and quality performance in Indian service companies.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data was collected using a self-administered instrument that was distributed to 600 Indian service companies. Of the 600 instrument e-mailed, 172 usable instrument were returned, yielding a response rate of 28.6 per cent. A stratified sampling procedure was utilized to obtain the minimum sample size of 600 from the four chosen service industries (i.e. Healthcare, Banking, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and Hospitality). The data was analyzed using factor, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression analyses.Findings – The findings revealed that TQM practices were found to be partially correlated with quality performance of the Indian service companies. It was also found that quality culture was perceived as the dominant TQM practice in quality performance. The other practices such as quality systems, training and education, teamwork, and benchmarking showed a positive relationship with quality performance.Research limitations/implications – The research paper was limited by including only four industries in the selection of service companies in India, making this a possibly biased selection and it may not be adequate to generalize the results for the entire Indian service companies.Originality/value – The study has contributed to the TQM literature with a better understanding of the 17 TQM practices and their association with a company’s quality performance that will provide valuable knowledge to top-management of service companies, to refine their current TQM practices and subsequently improve quality performance.

Critical Success Factors of TQM in Service Organizations: A Proposed Model

The successful implementation of total quality management (TQM) is often linked with the critical dimensions or critical success factors (CSFs) which are responsible for achieving effective results. The purpose of this study is to identify which CFSs are critical to TQM implementation and support service quality. The current study identifies nine CSFs from the extant literature that can help organizations to achieve business excellence. The study further proposes a model of organizational performance that can help managers to achieve organizational excellence and help them to maintain a fit with the changing environment. A possible sequence for implementation of this model is then presented.

Total quality management and service quality: an exploratory study of quality management practices and barriers in service industry

During the last two decades, the level of total quality management (TQM) awareness has considerably increased in the service industries. With the ever-increasing customer demand, the global competition service industries are forced to re-think to improve their TQM practices and overcome the barriers during the implementation of TQM for maximum benefits. Further, the extent of the literature review reveals that no study has addressed these two issues collectively for service industries. In the light of these facts, the purpose of this study is to identify the TQM practices that are critical for the support of service quality in different types of service industries. It also aims to explore the barriers of TQM implementation so that managers of service industries can work upon them to achieve service quality and customer satisfaction. From the literature review, 17 major TQM practices were found critical for the industry performance. These were frequently used by different researchers in the service industries. Also, a total of 12 major barriers were identified from the literature which hinders the implementation of TQM successfully. The managerial implications, recommendations and scope for future study are presented in the end.

Prioritising the Practices of Total Quality Management: An Analytic Hierarchy Process Analysis for the Service Industries

Total quality management (TQM) is a major business strategy which employs a set of principles and practices to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the service industry. This research aims to categorise TQM practices and examine its relative importance for better implementation in service industries. The relative importance and ranking of TQM practices in service industries was done through a literature review, discussion with experts, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach. In all, 17 TQM practices were identified and further divided into three factor categories. Then their prioritisation was done using AHP approach to assign the relative importance of these 17 TQM practices in service industries. The results will help service industry managers to work upon them based on their relative importance to improve their TQM performance. Finally, limitations, managerial implications, and scope of future study are presented at the end.

Best Practices of Total Quality Management Implementation in Health Care Settings

Due to the growing prominence of total quality management (TQM) in health care, the present study was conducted to identify the set of TQM practices for its successful implementation in healthcare institutions through a systematic review of literature. A research strategy was performed on the selected papers published between 1995 and 2009. An appropriate database was chosen and 15 peer-reviewed research papers were identified through a screening process and were finally reviewed for this study. Eight supporting TQM practices, such as top-management commitment, teamwork and participation, process management, customer focus and satisfaction, resource management, organization behavior and culture, continuous improvement, and training and education were identified as best practices for TQM implementation in any health care setting. The article concludes with a set of recommendations for the future researchers to discuss, develop, and work upon in order to achieve better precision and generalizations.

Studying the Impact of Total Quality Management in Service Industries

A large number of contemporary organisations across the globe are adopting total quality management (TQM) to satisfy and delight their customers. The need of the hour is to provide quality products and responsive services in order to gain competitive advantage and to enhance customer lifetime value. TQM requires creating a customer-centred culture in the service industry. Initiating and implementing a TQM program in most of the service system is a major task. It requires a thorough and systematic analysis of customer expectations, system processes and functions and defining and establishing quality parameters. The present study discusses and provides an overview of TQM implementation, its impact on different service industries and investigates the various critical success factors (CSFs), processes of TQM implementation and its effects on different service industries performance and, finally, analyses the impact of TQM in various service industries.

An interpretive structural modelling approach for modelling the practices of total quality management in service sector

Service sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world and is facing immense pressure to improve their quality of products and services to compete and achieve a leading position in the global market. The issues related to quality therefore, need to be addressed for better understanding the relationships among the quality practices which could enhance the organization’s performance. The purpose of this research study is to model the key total quality management (TQM) practices relationship by understanding the dynamics between them that will help service organizations to implement TQM successfully. The present paper utilizes the interpretive structural modeling (ISM) methodology to understand the mutual relationships among the TQM practices and presents a hierarchy-based model of the practices. The research shows that there exists a group of practices of TQM having a high driving power and low dependence requiring attention and of strategic importance while another group consists of those practices which have high dependence and are the resultant actions. There also exists a group having high driving power and high dependence. They acts as linkage and influence some of the practices of TQM. The paper ends with a discussion on implications for research as well as practice.

Assessing the Awareness of Total Quality Management in Indian Service Industries: An Empirical Investigation

Purpose – Total quality management (TQM) has begun to influence national business systems and is widely seen as a “revolution” inmanagement. TQMinitiatives continuously search the needs of the customers and incorporate them in the organization on an ongoing basis. For this reason, the majority of research study has been undertaken in this field and is still going on across the world, especially in the developing countries, which are lagging behind in the implementation of TQM. Considering the above reasons, the purpose of this paper is to assess the awareness of TQM program in the Indian service industries.Design/methodology/approach – By means of a literature review and empirical data collected using a self-administered instrument distributed to select Indian service companies, the awareness of TQM was investigated. A total of 172 useable survey instruments were included for the final analysis. This study sample consisted of a group of selected Indian service companies from healthcare, information and communication technology (ICT), banking, and hospitality industries. The data were analyzed using graphical representation approach, descriptive statistical analysis, and correlation analysis.Findings – The analysis revealed the significance and usage of TQM in Indian service industries. The results also suggested that the Indian service industries are well aware of the TQM program, though more efforts need to be focused on implementing it properly, use of TQM models and frameworks, and continuously improving the ongoing TQM practices.Research limitations/implications – Indian service managers show a stronger familiarity with TQM concepts and practices and they believe that TQM is a way of guaranteeing high quality products and services. Therefore, service companies should invest in TQM, as this could help them to improve competitiveness in the marketplace. Further, the Indian service managers and practitioners must be more concerned about the maintenance of standards and take a more dynamic approach towards TQM, thus preparing their company more effective for future challenges.Practical implications – The result provided in this paper will help in understanding the TQM awareness in the Indian service sector as a whole and suggest some additional improvements in the knowledge of TQM to the managers of Indian service industries which could enhance the level of TQM implementation and hence, business performance.Originality/value – The assessment of TQM awareness in Indian service industries, along with the understanding of the concept of TQM, has been expanded in the literature on TQM in the Indian service industry.