Investigation of Quality Awareness, Developments and Factors Impeding Product Quality Improvement in Ethiopian Medium and Large Scale Manufacturing Industries
The quest for quality products together with the convergence of our globe into a village has forced manufacturing industries to run under highly competitive environment even to the most sophisticated western industries. The challenge is becoming twofold for manufacturing industries of developing countries in general and Ethiopian manufacturing industries in particular. They are rapidly losing the domestic market for imported products which are cheaper and better in quality in most cases. This empirical research examines quality awareness and developments as well as identifies factors affecting product quality based on a survey conducted in a total of 35 Ethiopian medium and large scale manufacturing industries. The study includes 18 public, 16 private and one joint venture manufacturing industries engaged in the production of food and beverage, Textile, leather & footwear, metal, non-metallic mineral products and chemicals. The study revealed that, 72.8% of the surveyed industries have no incentive programs related to quality improvement, 62.8% have no established PDSA cycle, 57.1% have no information about the product quality of their competitors, while, 50% don’t have long as well as short term quality policy. Moreover, it uncovers nine factors which are currently affecting the product quality of Ethiopian Medium and large scale manufacturing industries
