Title: Total quality management in small well-established service businesses

Authors: B.P. Lingaraj, Joseph N. Khamalah

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN 46805, USA. ' Department of Management and Marketing, Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN 46805, USA

Abstract: This paper discusses the findings of a survey of managerial perceptions regarding total quality management practices in small well-established service organisations in the USA. Areas covered include TQM deployment, tools used, successes, failures, benefits, and problems encountered. The findings show that although the majority of the businesses aspire towards TQM, only a minority have actually implemented a formal TQM programme. An even smaller proportion engages in quality-enhancing activities and rewards employees for successful quality performance. Parallels are drawn with earlier studies on quality deployment in other sectors and the strategic implications are considered.

Keywords: total quality management; TQM; service quality; small businesses; quality performance; quality deployment; small firms; service industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTM.2004.006279

International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2004 Vol.5 No.5/6, pp.479 - 487

Published online: 13 Feb 2005 *

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