Organizational Quality Management in Emerging Economies
Bharat A. Jain and Filiz Tabak, Towson University.
In the last 15 years, countries with emerging economies have
been adopting total quality management (TQM) principles and
techniques. It is not apparent whether it is feasible to effectively
transfer quality management practices that have worked in
developed economies to the fundamentally different organizational
environment in emerging markets. The authors of this article
investigated actual TQM practices in emerging markets by studying
data from India. This study conducts an exploratory analysis
of quality management practices in India.
The purpose of the study is to: 1) develop a valid and reliable
instrument to measure TQM implementation in emerging markets
in India; 2) investigate differences in perceptions of quality
management practices among managers at different levels of
organizational hierarchy and among managers of organizations
in public vs. private sector; and 3) explore the link between
TQM practices and firm performance. The results indicate the
following:
- Perceptions of top managers and private sector managers
on quality initiatives are more favorable than middle or
junior level managers and public sector managers, respectively.
Overall, the results suggest that efforts at implementation
need to be intensified in the traditional TQM areas.
- The relationship between quality perceptions and performance
varies by organizational form and managerial level. Successful
implementation of TQM requires organizationwide consensus
on the value of implementing TQM as well as specific aspects
of it to be adopted by the organization. Top managers need
to make additional efforts to resolve differences in opinion
among organizational members on how to improve performance.
Development of a Generic Quality Function Deployment Matrix
Ita Richardson, Eamonn Murphy, and Kevin Ryan, University of Limerick.
The concept behind the research presented in this article
is that a generic software process improvement model, based
on quality function deployment (QFD), can be used to help
companies improve their software process in an affordable
manner while also keeping business goals in focus.
The ultimate aim was to develop a model that would be useful
in practice for small software development companies. In the
course of this project, the researchers developed, verified,
and validated part of such a model, the software process matrix
(SPM), which is based on the QFD house of quality. The SPM
is generic for all companies using it. The processes and practices
in the matrix are based on existing software process improvement
models. The SPM helps show the strength of the effect a practice
has on each process and also the processes that are affected
by each practice. To verify the relationships in the matrix
the researchers used hypothesis tests taking expert opinion
into account, carried out over three iterations of the matrix.
The SPM has been validated using action research with control
groups in a longitudinal study.
For the purposes of generalization and validity, the researchers
considered the following:
- Can the SPM be useful to other small indigenous software
development companies whose starting process is assessed
at a low level?
- Can SPM be useful to other small indigenous software development
companies whose starting process is assessed at a higher
level?
- Can SPM be useful to medium or large software development companies?
Exploring the Linkages Between Quality System, Service Quality, and Performance Excellence:Service Providers’ Perspectives
Lori S. Cook, DePaul University, and Rohit Verma, University of Utah.
This study explores the linkages between quality system,
employee service-quality culture, and performance excellence
in the banking industry operating in a turbulent business
environment. Properly conducted quality culture and strategic
consensus assessment has the potential of informing a service
organization of its current position and potential areas for
improvement. To be successful in a highly competitive environment,
it is essential that all service employees of the organization
understand the interrelationships between internal quality
system and its impact on service quality provided to the customers.
It is equally essential to understand that superior service
quality can lead to higher levels of operational performance.
In an exploratory study the authors tested the linkages between
quality system, service quality, and performance as perceived
by the employees of a large banking institution in Hong Kong.
In addition to collecting survey data, the authors collected
detailed information about the organization and the business
environment in Hong Kong. The survey instrument was based
on a compilation of previous research assessing customers’
service quality perceptions and expectations. Multiple item
measures were used to assess the employee perceptions for
the six dimensions of quality system: leadership, strategic
planning, customer and market focus, information and analysis,
human resources focus, and process management.
Because of the intangible nature of services, service quality
is inherently more difficult to measure than product quality.
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) proposed a conceptual
framework for service quality. Their research found that customers
consider five dimensions in their assessment of service quality.
These include reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy,
and tangibles. These dimensions represent how the customers
organize information about service quality in their minds.
The results of the study show that according to the perceptions
of the bank’s employees, quality system affects service
quality that in turn is related to organizational performance.
The results also indicate that employees’ perceptions
of delivery service quality impact organizational performance
as measured by both monetary gain and value gain.
The Impact of ISO Certification on the Levels of Awareness and Usage of Quality Tools and Concepts: A Survey of Turkish Manufacturing Companies
Ceyhun Ozgur, Valparaiso University, Gary E. Meek, Black Hills State University, and Aysegul Toker, Bogazici University.
Total quality management and the implementation of quality
systems have become major initiatives of companies throughout
the world over the last 20 years. This is especially true
for companies that are doing or wish to do business in the
European Community.
For many of these companies, however, ISO certification has
become a prerequisite when exporting their products. Companies
must be able to demonstrate that they have the systems in
place to provide a quality product if they wish to be competitive
in the global marketplace. ISO certification has almost become
a prerequisite for doing business in the global arena.
The quality of Turkish products has been steadily improving,
which is evident by the number of awards won by Turkish manufacturing
companies over the past few years. The authors conducted a
study of 140 large Turkish manufacturing companies. The responses
were compared across company size, level of quality certification,
and geographical location. The objectives of their survey
were to identify:
- The level of knowledge of quality tools and concepts among
managers
- The extent of implementation and use of quality tools
and concepts in the companies
- The impact of ISO certification on knowledge level and implementation
In this study, the authors determine which aspects of quality
are being emphasized and which techniques are more commonly
used. They also classify the tools and related concepts into
two categories: basic and advanced and analyze the differences
in use between basic and advanced tools both by ISO certified
and noncertified firms.
The results lead to a greater understanding of the implementation
of statistical tools and the relationship between the application
of these tools and ISO certification in Turkey. There appeared
to be significant differences in usage between ISO certified
companies and noncertified companies for most of the basic
standard quality tools but only on four of the advanced tools.
ISO certified companies used more standard, basic quality
tools than noncertified companies. Of the 13 advanced tools,
however, the ISO certified companies used only four of them
much more frequently. In addition, noncertified companies
did not use any quality tool significantly more than ISO certified
companies. Differences relating to company size were indicated
for only the company usage of Taguchi methods, as large companies
used this method more frequently than small- to medium-sized
companies.
There were indications that some tools are either being used
incorrectly or are misunderstood by the users in certified
and noncertified companies.
