Quality Management Principles and Practices Impact On The Companies' Quality Performance
Quality Management Principles and Practices Impact On The Companies' Quality Performance
Quality Management Principles and Practices Impact On The Companies' Quality Performance
Síria Barros
Systems and Production Department, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Paulo Sampaio
Systems and Production Department, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Pedro Saraiva
Chemical Engineering Department, University of Coimbra, Pólo II, Pinhal de Marrocos, 3030-290
Coimbra, Portugal
Abstract
Purpose - The aim of this paper is to expose the conceptual model which pretends to reflect the
relationship between the use and implementation of quality management principles and practices and
their impact on the companies’ quality performance.
Design/methodology/approach – Based on the literature review carried out, we have identified the
most common and used quality management principles and practices. Hence, we have proposed a
conceptual model relate those quality management principles and practices to the companies’ quality
performance. In order to validate these quality management principles and practices and consequently
the conceptual model developed, we conducted several semi-structured interviews with the Portuguese
Quality Leaders. The following phase consisted in developing a questionnaire, based on the literature
review carried out and on the main contributions of the semi-structured interviews. This questionnaire was
sent to all the Portuguese companies certified according to the ISO 9001 standard. Our main purpose is
to validate the model developed based on the structural equation modeling technique (SEM). Currently we
are in the survey phase.
Findings - It is expected that the results show a significant and positive relationship between the
implementation of quality management principles and practices and their impact on the companies’
quality performance.
Originality/value - As far as we were able to find out in the literature review phase, the conceptual
model proposed is a new approach to characterize the direct results and effects of quality management
principles and practices in the companies’ quality performance.
Keywords: Quality management, Performance Measures Indicators, principles, practices and Modelling.
Article Classification - Research paper.
1. Introduction
There is a considerable number of publications that is focused in the link between quality management
and organizational performance. However, the analysis of the direct effects and results of the quality
management principles and practices in Portuguese organizations quality performance is an innovative
issue.
The American Society for Quality (ASQ) research entitled “The Global State of Quality Research
Overview” (2013) highlight the best quality management organizational structure which includes the
quality management principles and practices that lead to a maximization of the organization results.
From the ASQ study, explanatory key factors, which are extensively being used during the whole
research and which are highly related to the variability in the application of principles and practices, were
established. 1) There are significant differences in the use and application of quality management and
practices in organizations from the industry sector as well as in organizations from the service sector. 2)
There is a general idea that the organizations of higher dimension tend to use more mature quality
practices. Although this idea is appropriate for various practices, in general, the dimension of the
organization has less impact than the organization activity sector concerning the application of mature
quality practices. 3) There is no relevant indication that the use of quality principles and practices differs
per region, generally. Some variations do exist, but normally they are related to the dimension, sector or
other unidentified factors. (ASQ, 2013).
The aim of this research is to develop and propose a conceptual model that reflects the relationship
between the implementation of principle and practices quality management and their impact on the
quality performance of the Portuguese organizations.
The goal of this research is to analyze if the implementation of QMPPs results in an improvement of
companies´ quality performance, namely in manufacturing and service sectors.
Our final conceptual model will be statistically validated based on a survey that will be sent to the
Portuguese companies. The structural equation modeling (SEM) will be our statistical methodology
support.
2. Quality Management
Quality Management (QM) has been defined as a “philosophy or an approach to management” made up
of a “set of mutually reinforcing principles, each of which is supported by a set of practices and
techniques” (Dean and Bowen, 1994).
QM represents one of the most significant research themes in operations management. Today QM is
a widely accepted organizational goal for several companies (Nair, 2006).
With the tremendous growth of literature in both academic and practitioner oriented outlets, the term
QM has been diluted to mean different things and the scope of activities underlying QM lack consensus
(Watson and Korukonda, 1995).
The study conducted by Sousa and Voss, (2002), commenting on the validity of quality management,
conclude that, ‘‘QM as espoused by its founders, can be reliably distinguished from other strategies for
organizational improvement and there is substantial agreement in the literature as to which practices fall
under the QM umbrella’’.
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Quality management principles and practices impact on the companies’ quality performance
while others conceptualized it as a single construct (Hendricks and Singhal, 1996, 1997; Chenhall, 1997,
Choi and Eboch, 1998; Easton and Jarrell, 1998; Douglas and Judge, 2001).
It would be relevant that future studies should make explicit at what level they are addressing QM
content: principles, practices or techniques.
Researchers should also strive for a standardization of definitional terms. For example, different terms
have been used for “practices”, such as “factors” (Saraph et al., 1989; Powell, 1995), “implementation
constructs” (Ahire et al., 1996; Anderson et al., 1995) and “interventions” (Hackman and Wageman,
1995).
Based on the literature review carried out, we have identified the most common and the most
implemented quality management principles and practices. It is important to refer that this selection was
based on two sectors which will be target of our study: manufacturing and service. Hence, it is believed, in
fact, that these quality management practices and principles are comprehensive because they:
Have highest frequency of occurrences by different researchers in the service industries and
identified as the key aspects in TQM implementation in both manufacturing and service
industries (Saraph et al., 1989; Antony et al., 2002; Zhang et al., 2000; Khamalah and
Lingaraj, 2007);
Represented the hard and soft aspects of quality management;
Encompass the most prestigious quality award and standards criteria widely accepted by
quality management scholars and practitioners;
Have been considered as critical practices in quality management (Sila and Ebrahimpour,
2002);
Significantly associated in services and in the promotion of service quality (Behara and
Gundersen, 2001).
In order to do a preliminary validation of the quality management practices and principles as well as
the quality performance indicators selected, we conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with
national and international Quality Leaders, such as: academics, specialists in this area, managers and
consultants.
Therefore, the eight generic quality management principles identified (PA1-PA8): Leadership, Customer
Focus, Employee Involvement and Commitment, HR Management (incentive and recognition), Strategic
Planning Management, Process Management, Supply Chain Management, Continuous Improvement and
Innovation as well as the quality management practices (PB): Quality Tools and Business Excellence
Models, were valued in a scale from 1 (Nothing Important) to 5 (Extremely Important) by each Quality
Leader Interviewee. All data collection and following statistic analysis which is illustrated in figure 1,
allowed the presentation of the conclusions presented in the next paragraphs.
Through figure 1 analysis, one may conclude that from the quality management principles presented
(PA1-PA8), we may distinguish as Extremely Important: Leadership, Customer Focus and Process
Management; as Very Important: Employee Involvement and Commitment, HR Management (incentive
and recognition), Strategic Planning Management, Process Management, Supply Chain Management,
Continuous Improvement and Innovation. The Quality Tools and Business Excellence Models (P B) were
distinguished as Very Important.
It is important to mention that, through the course of the interviews, it was proposed that quality
management practices category (PB) could be divided in three dimensions, such as: a) Quality Tools; b)
Quality standards and c) Business Excellence Models.
Therefore, in our present research, based on the validation and on the main contributions of the semi-
structured interviews phase, the quality management principles that are going to be the target of study
are: Leadership, Customer Focus, Employee Involvement and Commitment, HR Management (incentive
and recognition), Process Management; Strategic Planning Management, Supply Chain Management and
the Continuous Improvement and Innovation. On the other hand, as mentioned above, the quality
management practices that are going to be the target of study are the following dimensions: Quality tools,
Quality standards and the Business Excellence Models (Figure 4: Conceptual Model: Relationship between
QMPPs and their impact in quality performance).
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Quality management principles and practices impact on the companies’ quality performance
This eight quality performance indicators (QP1-QP8) were valued in a scale from 1 (Nothing Important)
to 5 (Extremely Important) by each Quality Leader Interviewee. All data collection and following statistic
analysis which is illustrated in figure 2, allowed the presentation of the conclusions presented in the next
paragraphs.
In an analogous way, through figure 2 analysis, one may conclude that from the quality performance
indicators presented (QP1-QP8), we may distinguish as Extremely Important: Product/service quality level;
customer relationship, conformance to specification; as Very Important: reliability, productivity, durability;
number of non-conforming products and number of complaints.
Through the course of the interviews others indicators to the quality performance measurement
arouse, as well as, changes to the denominations of some indicators that were presented.
Hence, the indicators to the quality performance measurement suggested were:
Customer satisfaction; Flexibility; Quality Management Systems maturity; Complaints management;
Employee satisfaction; stakeholders satisfaction.
Regarding to the changes of the denominations of some indicators that were presented, one may
detach (Table 1):
Therefore, in our present research, based on the main contributions of the semi-structured interviews
phase, the indicators that were used to the quality management performance measurement are:
Perceived Quality; Customer satisfaction; Customer loyalty; Product durability and Service continuity;
Fulfillment of the customer requirements; Non-conforming product/Service; Product reliability;
Productivity; Flexibility; Lead time; Quality Management Systems maturity; Stakeholder satisfaction and
Number of complaints.
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Quality management principles and practices impact on the companies’ quality performance
Figure 3 - Most significant relationships between QMPPs (PA1-8 e PB) and quality performance
indicators (QP1-QP8).
4. Conceptual Model
This interview phase allowed us, in fact, to inquire the national and international acknowledged specialists
in the quality management field trying to validate an subquently improving the initial Conceptual Model
which was elaborated through literature review. Therefore, the new Conceptual Model proposal is
presented as follows:
Figure 4 - Conceptual Model: Relationship between QMPPs and their impact in quality
performance.
5. Conclusions
Based on the literature review carried out, we acknowledge that, in fact, there are still many doubts about
the relationship between quality management and performance; hence, it is relevant to study in more
detail the causal process that links QMPPs with quality performance in order to try to characterize the
direct results and effects of QMPPs in the companies’ quality performance.
Our final conceptual model will be statistically validated based on a survey that will be sent to the
Portuguese companies. The structural equation modeling (SEM) will be our statistical methodology
support. This validated model will not only contribute to bridge the gap, that is reflected in open literature,
but it will also provide the quality professionals an approach to an efficient quality management
implementation in the organizations. It may also be used by researchers to develop the quality
management theory.
Undoubtedly, it will give impetus for practitioners adopting quality management principles and
practices in their organizations.
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