Title: Critical success factors for TQM implementation

Authors: Birhanu Beshah; Eshetie Berhan

Addresses: Industrial Engineering Chair, School of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Institute of Technology, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 7754, Ethiopia ' Industrial Engineering Chair, School of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Institute of Technology, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 7754, Ethiopia

Abstract: For successful implementation of total quality management (TQM), a number of factors have been developed by various scholars. Usually, the factors are not equally important. In many cases, among various factors, there are a vital few that determine success. The aim of this study is to identify the critical success factors for TQM implementation in the Ethiopian organisations. The research considered the overall performance of 43 organisations in Ethiopia. The data collected were analysed by using multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) tool called Hotelling's T2-statistics. The T2-statstics of all the observations were computed and then the upper control limit was determined to identify outliers. Accordingly, seven observations fall outside the upper control limit. All the organisations exhibited low level of TQM implementation. Factors affecting those observations have been analysed using a sequential computational scheme. The findings show that leadership, policy and strategy, and customer focus are critical factors for successful implementation of TQM. Therefore, if organisations are engaged in quality improvement, they need to give special attention to these determining factors.

Keywords: total quality management; TQM; Hotelling's T2; critical success factors.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2017.085256

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2017 Vol.21 No.4, pp.490 - 499

Received: 28 Dec 2015
Accepted: 15 May 2016

Published online: 19 Jul 2017 *

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