A TQM survey in the UK - a study of the factors involved in the successful implementation of total quality management in UK industry

Abstract

The aims of this research were to investigate TQM success factors by review of the available literature and then perform two surveys. The first postal survey by questionnaire was carried out on the winning organisations of the European Quality Award (EQA) and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA). The second survey was performed using 'enterprising' UK organisations to establish what was happening within UK industry. The conclusions of this research were that the findings from the literature were confirmed by the analysis of the surveys carried out and several new factors were identified. There were key factors that contribute to the successful implementation of TQM and these have different levels of importance. These key factors, in order of importance, were: effective leadership, the impact of other quality-related programs, measurement systems, organizational culture, education and training, the use of teams, efficient communications, active empowerment of the workforce and a systems infrastructure to support the business and customer-focused processes