Differentiators between high and low performing manufacturing firms: an empirical study Online publication date: Thu, 03-Jul-2003
by Mile Terziovski
International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management (IJMTM), Vol. 4, No. 5, 2002
Abstract: Anecdotal evidence and the limited number of empirical studies in the literature suggest considerable variability in the performance of Total Quality Management. This paper is based on a quantitative (survey) and qualitative (case study) research study that addresses the above issue by analysing 962 responses from Australian and 379 responses from New Zealand manufacturing firms. Multiple Discriminant Analysis (MDA) is used to test hypotheses and explore differences between high and low performing firms. Based on the analysis, the most significant differentiators were: the ''people-related practices'' unity of purpose and eliminated barriers between individuals and/or departments; pursuit of continuous improvement rather than ''firefighting''; and effective ''top-down'' and ''bottom-up'' communication. There is a clear message for managers that leadership, people management issues and customer focus are characteristic of high performing, best practice organisations.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management (IJMTM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook