Total quality management and information technologies: an exploration of the issues.

This paper examines the relationship between Information Technologies (IT) and Total Quality Management. The examination is made against a number of dimensions of TQM including customer and supplier relationships, workforce management, process flow management and quality data and reporting. The point is made that the impact of IT on the TQM intervention depends on the type of IT application in terms of its use as an agent to the work process or as an enabling mechanism. The impact of IT on process design and control and what quality professionals need to do to assure quality is also discussed and suggestions made

The effect of information technologies on TQM: an initial analysis

Information Technology (IT) and Total Quality Management (TQM) have significantly impacted on most organizations and each has been widely researched. However, there is little well-founded empirical research on the relationship between the two, particularly on the way in which TQM is influenced by IT. This paper presents an investigation of such relationships through a survey of the largest industrial companies based in Spain. The data indicate that the most intensive users of IT perceive a bigger impact on their TQM dimensions

ISO 9000 & TQM: substitutives or complementaries? An empirical study in industrial companies.

After analysing a sample of 442 of the biggest Spanish manufacturing companies, some evidence about the influence of Total Quality Management (TQM) on the companies’ operating performance has been obtained. However, companies applying TQM together with the ISO 9000 standards did not show positive results. This fact leads us to believe that, despite the beliefs of ISO 9000 as a good first step in the way of implementing TQM, once implemented some ISO 9000 principles are in contradiction with TQM philosophy. These non-congruent systems applied together would cause the company to obtain fewer benefits than only one of them. The study concludes that when ISO 9000 and TQM are applied simultaneously, the resultant benefits to the company are no better than those experienced if either system were applied in isolation.Fundadción Sénec

Business process reengineering to total quality management an examination of the issues.

This paper examines two research questions. Firstly, is a re-engineered company a suitable platform for the subsequent application of TQM principles? Secondly, is BPR an appropriate means to transform an organisation operating along traditional lines into one which is managed using TQM principles? It is argued that these questions have been given scant attention by the academic fraternity. The analysis presented in the paper indicates that the application of BPR can provide the base for the subsequent development of TQM

IT use in supporting TQM initiatives: an empirical investigation.

To provide insights into current IT and TQM theory and practice on operational and quality performance, in particular the use of IT in supporting TQM policies and practices. Hypotheses derived from the key features of TQM and IT presented by previous authors are tested using Structural Equation Modelling through field research on a sample of 234 manufacturing companies in Spain. The results indicate that the sampled firms make considerable use of IT to support their TQM initiatives and that overall such efforts generate significant positive gains on operational and quality performance, the few exceptions to this are noted and discussed. The limitations of the survey include: single key informant, only cross-sectional and limited performance measures. A longitudinal/cross-cultural study including other performance measures (e.g. percentage defect rates, number of customer claims) would add to further understanding. A survey of IT in support of TQM initiatives on operational and quality performance in manufacturing suggests how firms and other organisations should focus their IT investments to improve performance. Both Information Technology and Total Quality Management have had, and continue to have, a significant impact on most organizations. Although each paradigm has been widely researched there is little empirical research on the relationship between the two and how they both relate to business performance.Fundación Séneca

A study of the purchasing management system with respect to total quality management.

One of the key elements of a TQM policy is the assurance of an adequate supply of materials and components. The objective of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it analyses the relationship between different purchasing system variables and supplier quality assurance practices. Secondly, it explores both the connection between supplier quality assurance practices and other quality assurance practices used for internal processes and examines the relationship of such practices with supply operational results. Different hypotheses are tested using data obtained from a sample of 152 Spanish automotive components suppliers. This data shows clear evidence of the importance of product, supplier and company characteristics and highlights the importance of a company-wide commitment to the application of quality assurance principles

An empirical study on the impact of standardization of materials and purchasing procedures on purchasing and business performance.

Many studies claim that implementing standardization of materials and purchasing procedures (standardization in purchasing) can help organizations to improve both purchasing and business performance. The objective of this research was to examine a structural model in which standardization in purchasing has a direct impact on purchasing performance and an indirect impact on business performance mediated through purchasing performance. The results of the research provide support for the relationships hypothesized

Simultaneous Consideration of TQM and ISO 9000 on Performance and Motivation: An Empirical Study of Spanish Companies

After more than two decades since quality became part of managers’ everyday lexicon, total quality management (TQM) and ISO 9000 have taken the centre stage. However, there has been much debate about how they might be related to each other. This research is a new contribution to the knowledge on the relationships between TQM and ISO 9000, and it addresses their implications on performance and motivations for implementation. While past studies have considered them separately, we study them together in one study. As might be expected, both TQM and ISO 9000 lead to improvement in performance. However, it appears internal motivation to implement ISO 9000 is associated with high performance, whereas external motivation is not. Further, companies with high internal motivation for ISO 9000 naturally show a high level of TQM practices. We use institutional theory and resource based view to consider the internal versus external motivations for implementing ISO 9000. The data for this research has been obtained from a large sample of Spanish industrial companies. Longitudinal objective data have also been used

An initial assessment of the influence of IT on TQM : a multiple case study.

Information Technology (IT) and Total Quality Management (TQM) have significantly impacted on most organizations and each has been widely researched. However, there is little well-founded empirical research on the relationship between the two, particularly on the way in which TQM is influenced by IT. This paper presents an initial investigation of such relationships through an interview survey of fourteen companies based in Spain. The cases indicate that there is a framework underpinning this relationship. The paper concludes with a proposal for this framework and an instrument for testing the conjectured linkages within the framework

The cumulative effect of prevention.

Quality Costs have been discussed widely in the literature. This discussion has not always agreed and it is possible to identify two basic schools of thought; one asserts the existence of a minimal level of quality cost for a given level of prevention and appraisal activities, and the other asserts that through prevention quality improvement is constant. This paper summarises these positions and outlines a behaviour model of quality costs that unifies and clarifies them. The behaviour model is based on the consideration of the cumulative effects of prevention. Ceteris paribus, continuous prevention activities should permit quality improvements whilst at the same time reducing the costs necessary to obtain them. The behaviour model introduces the effect of external quality requirements in an attempt to explain how, over time, quality improvement efforts do not necessarily result in decreased quality costs as customer's quality requirements rise over the same period