July 2003
Volume 10 • Number 3
Contents
Understanding the Obstacles to TQM Success
by Rose Sebastianelli and Nabil Tamimi, University of Scranton
Data were gathered from a national survey of quality managers to examine the obstacles associated with managing a successful quality transformation. Factor analysis on managers’ ratings of frequently cited barriers to TQM revealed five underlying constructs: 1) inadequate human resources development and management; 2) lack of planning for quality; 3) lack of leadership for quality; 4) inadequate resources for TQM; and 5) lack of customer focus. Moreover, these empirically derived obstacles were found to be significantly related, in varying degrees, to specific potential outcomes that can be used to measure TQM success (or failure). The potential outcomes considered were frequent turnover of employees, frequent turnover of management, the high cost/benefit ratio of implementing TQM, and quality improvement results rarely meeting expectations. This provides a useful framework for evaluating the relative significance of management-related obstacles to TQM success, and, consequently, for providing direction and guidance in developing strategies for an effective quality transformation.
Key words: quality managers, survey, TQM barriers, U. S. firms
INTRODUCTION
Over the last decade, the number of survey-based research studies focused on total quality management (TQM) has increased dramatically. Prior to 1993, most research in this area was conceptual or based on case studies. One of the first studies to use a survey-based approach, that of Saraph, Benson, and Schroeder published in 1989, focused on scale development for operationalizing the critical factors of quality management. According to Sila and Ebrahimpour (2002), an examination of the quality literature since then through 2000 reveals that there have been 347 survey-based research articles published. These studies are categorized along several main research objectives that include identifying critical TQM factors, examining issues in the implementation of TQM, and investigating the link between TQM factors and performance.
Of primary interest among researchers has been addressing the question “What makes TQM work?” Since most would agree that the philosophy and principles of TQM are sound, instances of failed TQM initiatives have led researchers to direct their attention to problems associated with its implementation. Consequently, several major research themes concerned with the successful implementation of TQM have emerged. There have been many studies that have focused on the obstacles to TQM (for example, Matta et al. 1996; Ngai and Cheng 1997; Salegna and Fazel 2000). Others have narrowed their view to concentrate on specific barriers to TQM, such as organizational culture (for example, Olian and Rynes 1992; Kuei et al. 1997), management style (for example, Mann and Kehoe 1995), employee factors (for example, Fok et al. 2000), and ineffective project management (for example, Hides et al. 2000). And in order to assess whether TQM does work, some studies have emphasized the measurement of TQM outcomes (for example, Ahmadi and Helms 1995; Guimaraes 1997).
While some may consider TQM outdated, organizations still pursue competitive advantage through improved quality and satisfied customers. One strong indication of the continued relevance of quality management to companies competing in the global market is the recent revision of the ISO 9000 series of quality standards. The 2000 version of ISO 9000—ISO 9000:2000—represents a fundamental shift from quality assurance to quality management, a significant change in approach to quality from one that is totally compliance based to one that includes the evaluation of management techniques. This change has been described as moving the standard away from a technical-practical tool toward a management tool (Larsen and Haversjo 2000). ISO 9000:2000 is based on eight principles that are easily recognizable as the key elements of quality management: 1) customer focus, 2) leadership, 3) involvement of people, 4) process approach, 5) systems approach to management, 6) continuous improvement, 7) factual approach to decision making, and 8) mutually beneficial supplier relationships. With some 300,000 organizations worldwide holding ISO 9000 certification, and with certificates based on the old version of the standard becoming invalid at the end of 2003, a renewed interest in the question “What makes quality management work?” is more than just likely.
Aside from the mandate to adopt quality management practices as a result of ISO 9000:2000, it appears that many organizations have continued in their efforts to transform the way they do business, whether it’s called TQM, reengineering, or cultural change. Some have argued, quite convincingly, that the recent focus on “business excellence” is really quality management by another name (Foley 2003). Moreover, researchers are still interested in the quality transformation, with some of the more recent studies addressing issues such as the long-term sustainability of TQM (Van der Wiele and Brown 2002), using work-development strategies to reach TQM objectives (Ljungstrom and Klefsjo 2002), and strategic quality management (Leonard and McAdam 2002). Future directions for TQM research continue to be articulated. Examining the implementation of TQM around the world, as well as in different industries such as hospitality, tourism, and health care, are possible future directions. New research trends also include examining the causal relationships among TQM factors and between TQM factors and various outcome measures (Sila and Ebrahimpour 2002).
This study involves survey-based research on the obstacles associated with managing a successful quality transformation. The extent to which those barriers to TQM, routinely cited in the quality literature, are perceived as real obstacles by quality managers is examined. Like previous research in this area, factor analysis is used to empirically derive obstacles from scale items that represent commonly cited barriers. However, this study extends previous work by examining the causal relationships between these derived obstacles and the perceived success of TQM. The aim is to better understand the relative impact of various obstacles on effective TQM transformation. This should not only be useful to those organizations implementing TQM, but also to those trying to sustain quality management. Relevant literature is reviewed in the next section to help provide both the context and motivation for this study.
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