Organisational culture and TQM implementation: investigating the mediating influences of multidimensional employee readiness for change

Despite the robust evidence for the direct relationship between organisational culture (OC) and total quality management (TQM), the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not fully explored and have received little empirical attention. This paper extends prior TQM research in a novel way by building and then empirically testing a theoretical model that includes the mediating role of employee readiness for change dimensions (ERFCs) in the OC-TQM relationship. The paper adds value through its contextual originality in being one of the first studies that are conducted in Algeria; which has special ties with the EU geographically, politically and economically. The empirical data for this study was drawn by distributing a questionnaire to 226 middle managers of Algerian firms. Our findings support the mediating roles of two dimensions of ERFC, namely: self-efficacy (ERFC1) and personal valence (ERFC4) in the OC-TQM relationship. This indicates that the improvement in TQM implementation is not a direct consequence of supportive organisational culture but rather of self-efficacy and personal valence transferring the impact of group and adhocracy culture to TQM. To this effect, these results go beyond previous research and contribute significantly in explaining the underlying psychological mechanisms in the OC-TQM relationships model

Systematic Application of Normative and Descriptive Aspects of Management Education

This theoretical study advocates strongly for clear differentiation and synthesis of descriptive and normative approaches in management education. There is a certain isolation of normative and descriptive theoretical frameworks presented in management courses. Normative models in management explain how organizations should be managed, while descriptive frameworks show how they actually are managed. Significant portions of what we teach in the business curriculum are predominantly descriptive; other parts are mostly normative, or prescriptive. If these domains are not sufficiently connected, the relevance of both approaches diminishes. When one piece of material explains the current reality without providing tools to improve it, while another piece prescribes steps for improvement that are not grounded in a particular context, students lose interest in both. The paper presents various modes of integration between two realms such as collocation of actual and desired conditions, contingency models, nesting descriptive and normative elements in the same framework

The mediating effect of individual readiness for change in the relationship between organisational culture and TQM implementation

Despite the substantial body of existing literature examining the influence of organisational culture (OC) on total quality management (TQM) implementation, the mechanism through which an organisation's culture comes to have an impact on TQM implementation has not been adequately addressed. The purpose of this article is to empirically examine the mediating role of individual readiness for change (IRFC) as one possible mechanism through which an organisation's culture results in having an impact on TQM implementation. To achieve this, a questionnaire-based survey was developed and self-administered to 350 middle managers in Syrian manufacturing organisations. The analysis of the collected data revealed that the adhocracy and group culture types are the most supportive cultures for TQM implementation. Furthermore, the results of this study show support for the mediating role of IRFC in the relationship between OC and TQM implementation. Therefore, this article makes a novel contribution by providing a refined and deeper comprehension of the relationships between OC types and TQM implementation. The article highlights the managerial implications of the findings and suggests future research directions