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Sanjay L. Ahire: Haworth College of Business, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
Matthew A. Waller: College of Business Administration, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
Damodar Y. Golhar: Haworth College of Business, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
Introduction
The total quality management (TQM) revolution of the 1980s is rooted in the challenges faced by US firms from overseas competitors, notably the Japanese. The Japanese firms have proven that, in today's volatile markets, producing a superior quality product at a lower price is an effective competitive strategy. Analysis of quality management practices of the Japanese firms[1, 2, 3, 4], early success of major US corporations such as Motorola and Ford with TQM implementation and inception of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) have led to a formal recognition of this philosophy. As a result, over the past few years, the number of firms embarking on formal TQM implementation has grown significantly[5].
However, many firms embracing TQM are failing in their efforts[6]. Peter Senge[7], in his 1993 ASQC annual conference keynote address, summarized surveys by Arthur D. Little and MacKensie, and presented the following conclusions:
of 500 TQM firms surveyed, less than a third were accomplishing anything; and
two-thirds of the TQM programmes had ground to a halt.
Major reasons cited for the failure of TQM efforts are: lack of top management commitment, unrealistic expectations about time-frame and cost of TQM implementation, over- or under-reliance on statistical methods, and failure to develop and sustain a quality-oriented culture[8, 9, 10]. Several organizations are viewing a TQM campaign as a panacea and a cure-all for every problem. They embrace this approach without understanding its impact on the long-term management practices of their organizations[11] and fail to achieve lasting improvements. Hence, it is essential for these organizations to understand the short- and long-term implications of embarking on a TQM initiative.
The MBNQA has formalized assessment of various elements of TQM implementation[12] into seven categories. However, these categories do not provide specific guidelines on "how to" implement TQM. For a successful TQM implementation, firms need to know how to implement its various elements and how these elements impact the final product quality. If quality management efforts are not reflected in better products, a firm may lose its customers[13,...