THE EFFECT TQM HAS ON EMPLOYEES AND MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORE IN THE UK.

by mimiesammie (student)

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This is an introduction to the research topic. This chapter aims to present the research ideas and its motives. It introduces the topic, which is the effect of total quality management on employees (TQM) giving a brief description of the research and the major themes adopted for this study purpose. The chapter begins first by stating the background of the study, second a statement of the research problem would establish the reason for the study. Third, the aims and objectives of the study are given; fourth, the questions which have remained unanswered by previous research and which the present study seeks to address will be stated. The chapter then concludes with a brief outline of the major elements contained in the other chapters of the research work. The dissertation looks at the impact of TQM on employees and management.

Background of the Study

Total quality management (TQM) has been defined as an organisational effort incorporated in intent to improve the quality of performance at every level. TQM as defined by the International Organization for Standards (ISO, "is a management approach for an organization, centred on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long-term success through customer satisfaction and benefits to all members of the organization and to society." ISO 8402:1994 (citied in Singh and Dhalla, 2010). TQM necessitate that organisations maintain quality standard in the overall aspect of its business. It ensures that things are done right the first time and eliminates waste and defects from organisational operations (Hashmi 2010). While HRM practices involves the overall organisational quality planning, training and personnel development, quality of work life and is intended for customer satisfaction, the main purpose of TQM is managing performance and also acts as a system that maintain unvarying organisational improvement. The idea of TQM is not just to improve performance in organisations but also as a form of enhancing the performance of employees.

In the competitive global market brought about by trade liberalisation and globalisation, companies have to compete for survival and as such would need to have a competitive advantage over competitors. (Adams et al 2001). A distinctive advantage is employee’s performance as it determines the success rate of any firm. Many studies show that loyal employees symbolize value to a company and are more committed to the continuous improvement of service quality (Jun, Cai, & Shin, 2006; Hart & Thompson, 2007, cited in Changa et al 2010). Many organisations now realise the need for total quality management (TQM) (Dalu et al 2000). As a result, many managers have to reappraise the traditional management practices and are now realising that for their products and services to survive the global competitive market, the quality must be enhanced and as such most managers incorporate total quality management (TQM) as a form of performance appraisal and quality control.

The TQM concept is one of the most important frameworks when managing organisational quality according to Dale (1999) (citied in Psychogios and Priporas 2007). It has been acknowledged as “an important subject in management theory and practice in the past decade” (Hansson and Eriksson, 2002) .this has led some companies in the Western world to adopt this TQM concept (Sharma and Gadenne, 2002). TQM has been recognized as a key issue by many researchers (David and Fisher 1994; Terziovski et al 1996; Dale et al., 1997; Preston and Hingorani 1998; Deb 2001; and Samuel 2004) and has been regarded as one of effective ways for firms to improve their competitive advantage since the 1980s (Sharma and Gadenne,2001). Powel (1995) and West (2003) also emphasises the importance of total quality management as a form of competitive advantage stating that an organisation can acquire competitive advantage by providing quality products or services. Calvin (2005) also argued that the key competitiveness in the dynamic global market today is quality. In order to provide consumers with excellent quality, firms have to implement TQM principles effectively. TQM in terms of quality improvement does not involve just cost minimisation for an organisation but also profit maximisation as an effect of superior quality (Freiesleben, (2005), Joiner (2007),). TQM is an effective management tool to provide business with growth, stability and success (Isaac et al., 2004). And TQM applications when employed as a management tool for quality control, managers must ensure that they conform to the principles of TQM as this would result in more superior quality improvement. The principles of TQM are:

Be Customer focused
Ensure total employee involvement
Process centred
Integrated system
Strategic and systematic approach
Continual improvement
Fact based decision making
Communication

(Hashmi,2010).

Source: http://www.bexcellence.org/Total-quality-management.html (2009)

Different organisation has its own TQM implementation process and model in which they adopt when implementing TQM practices. Organisations can use a number of great TQM models, which include the ISO quality management standards, the European Foundation for Quality Management, the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, and the Deming Application Prize. (Hashmi, 2010). The model adopted by an organisation does not necessarily determine its success. However, any organization that wishes to improve its performance would be well served by taking a pick of these models and conducting a self-assessment. (Hashmi, 2010).

The diagram above explains the model of TQM. The model starts with having an understanding of the needs of the customers, it is important for every firm to be customer focused as only the customers determine the quality. This can also be extended to firms having an understanding of the unique customer needs as this gives TQM organizations the opportunity to predict future customer behaviour. The concept of continuous improvement is then applied, as what may be seen as a outstanding performance today may be undesirable in the future, so TQM organisations have to set a process to continually improve its system and quality to achieve steady progress. In the process of TQM, it is important for all employees to take part to ensure this. The top management takes responsibility to ensure that people are well trained, capable and also actively participate in achieving the goals of the organisation. Management and employees have to communicate and make decisions as this would help create an empowered environment where people are valued. There is a relationship between each part of the process, all elements of the TQM model work together to achieve positive results.

Statement of the Problem

The concept of TQM principles is not new to business. It was introduced in the early 1980s to United Kingdom industry (Warwood and Roberts, 2004). It is a worldwide recognised tool for performance management of an organisation. However its development has been rather slow in the public sector.(). Many studies have demonstrated that total quality management practices have a positive impact on performances of companies (Deming (1982), Terziovski (1999), Juran (1988;1993) and Connor (1997) but however these researches has been more focused on manufacturing and production companies mostly in the private sector. Although, the public sector has its own share of the TQM research, it was not extensive enough to make precise generalisation about the sector as a whole. There have been fewer studies that show and examine the TQM principle and their implementation in the public sector.( Jenkins et al. (1988), Massey, (1995); Lewis (1998). However, some researchers have argued that the benefits derived from TQM in the private sector can also be derived in the public sector and that there was no difference in the applicability of concept in either sector. Regardless of the sector managers wanted to know if it was worthwhile to implement TQM principle in the business performance as the process has been said to be quite extensive. Many researches have revealed that performance can be measured in different forms. (E.g. Juran (1989), Crosby (1979), Hendricks and Singhal (2001) and others). And some have adopted a combination of the forms and this has made it difficult to draw a conclusion on the findings of such research. Many governmental agencies after realising the importance of TQM have decided to implement it in their organisations, hoping it would have the same effect as it did in the private sector. The idea of TQM implementation in the public sector was as a result of the shift in business philosophy to focusing on the consumers and their needs.

The UK public sector lacks in-depth research in the field of total quality management as compared to private sector and this gap in literature is what this study aims to address. The main purpose of this study is to investigate how the principles of total quality management impact on performance of employees both in the public and private sectors. And to produce results to prove that TQM can create positive results in both sectors.

Aims and Objectives

While many research has been conducted on TQM processes, focusing on mainly the private sector, most have failed to address how this TQM would impact on the public sector if applied. The overall aim of the study is to fill the existing gap in the public sector and in particular contribute to the TQM body of knowledge by examining if the positive results achieved by other researchers with the successful implementation of total quality management in the private sector are applicable within the public sector. The objectives of the study are:

To investigate the effect of TQM on employees performance in the private sector.
To investigate the effect of TQM on employees performance in the public sector.
To identify the impact of TQM practices on an organisation overall performance.
To point out the important factors for TQM implementation.
To reveal the perspective model for TQM implementation
Finally, the study aims to contribute to the research conducted on TQM and to fill the research gap on TQM practices in the public sector. Also, the findings can be beneficial to researchers in the quality management area.

The overall aim of this study is to investigate how the principles of total quality management impact on performance of employees both in the public and private sectors.

Research Questions

The argument on TQM is on whether the concept makes fundamental contribution to the improvement of quality and business overall performance and also if implementing the TQM successfully will impact on performance of employee. As a result this study put emphasis on addressing the following research questions:

Does TQM have an impact on employee’s performance?
Does TQM have an impact on a firms overall performance?
Would implementation of TQM practices in the public sector be as successful as it is in the private sector?

Structure of the Dissertation

The remaining chapters for the research project will be structured as follows: the literature review, methodology, discussion and findings and the conclusion and recommendations.

Chapter 2 will be the literature review. The chapter will first address previous works by scholar and move on to discuss the effect TQM has on performances of employees and identify the TQM implementation processes.

Chapter 3 provides an outline of the methodological approach. It will establish the research design used for the study and it benefits as opposed to other forms of research design.

Chapter 4 presents and discusses the research findings in relation to the literature. It will reveal evidence on whether the arguments put forth show similarities with past research and also to show that the research questions has been answered and both aims and objective has been achieved.

Chapter 5 summarises the research findings and draws out conclusions by discussing the contribution of the study to existing academic literature. This chapter also points out recommendations to the discussed issues and the limitations of the study. The final chapter is an overview of the discussions made in the research.

Summary of the Chapter.

Chapter one covered the background of the study explaining in details the principles of TQM and its implementation processes and also the concept of TQM and its importance in an organisation. TQM has been proved a useful tool for the mechanism of growth and development in an organisation. It also states in detail the problem with the current research on TQM especially in the public sector. The following chapter, the literature review would address previous research undertaken on TQM and would also focus on the research question to be addressed in this study.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

There are a substantial number of studies that has been conducted exploring the relationship between total quality management and practices and its impact on organisational performance for both national and international comparisons. The concept of TQM is designed to measure a firm’s performance which includes: Financial performance, Customer satisfaction, Cost and Waste reduction, Safety, Employee Satisfaction, Quality product and Services, Market Performances, Business Results etc. Total Quality Management was introduced into the business world as far back in the 1920s by “quality gurus” Deming Edwards, Crosby Philip, Juran Joseph, Ishikawa Kaoru, Feigenbau Armand who have shaped the evolution of TQM concept (Singh and Dhalla 2010).

This sector discusses the various literatures that are relevant to the TQM principles. Section 2.2 discusses previous literature; section 2.3 will discuss the importance of total quality management (TQM) on overall business performance and the concept and principles of TQM. Sections 2.4 would focus on the impact of the TQM concept on employee’s performance in both the private and public sector. These sections will also throw some light on the implementation process of TQM and its related issues. As indicated earlier, this research is motivated by the impression that there is paucity in the academic writing of the impact of TQM on employee’s management and performance. Most research tends to focus on TQM practices on overall business performance but this study would focus mainly on its impact on employees. This research hopes to fill in the gap by looking into the impact of TQM as a whole and what effects it has on employees. This chapter will then conclude with 2.5 giving a brief summary of the identified themes in the literature and its link with the research objectives.

Previous Research

When looking at previous research of total quality management, one has to give credit to the “quality gurus” Deming, Juran, Crosby, Ishikawa and Feigenbaum who helped shape the evolution of total quality management. (Singh and Dhalla; 2010). Before implementing the TQM principles, it is very important for an organisation to gain understanding of the TQM concept and how it developed. TQM first began in Japan in the 1940s pioneered by the “quality gurus” after the world war two. (Dale, 2003a). At that time, Japanese goods were considered to be shoddy and after a visit from the Americans who gave them a lecture on quality management, the Japanese economy began to grow and only at that time did the western world decide to implement the quality management principles into their own business in the 1980s (Dale,2003b).

Deming (1982) proposed 14 principles of quality management which he claimed would help improve quality, productivity and performance through the use of statistical quality control techniques with TQM as its main focus. He states that quality is a continuous improvement process towards predictable degree of consistency. Some of his principles are: Top Management commitment to quality, Training and Education of employees in quality tools and management, Search for quality problems and method of controlling them, Effective communication between supervisor and employees. Juran (1974) defined quality as “fitness for use.” According to him, an organisation must develop a coherent relationship and ...

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Crosby (1979) defines quality as conformance to requirements. His focus has been on zero defects and doing it right the first time. Crosby developed the phrase arguing that there should be no room for waste and defects and that no amount of defects should be considered acceptable. Kaoru Ishikawa (1985) also placed emphases on the importance of total quality control to improve organizational performance. According to him quality does not only involve an organisation products, but extends also to after sales service, quality of management, the company itself and employee work situation. He is best known for the development of quality tools called cause-and-effect diagrams, also called fishbone or Ishikawa diagrams. Feigenbaum (1983) defined total quality as a continuous work process that starts with customer needs and ends with the customers’ satisfaction. He proposed the concept of ‘Total Quality Control’ and the idea of a work environment where quality managements are integrated with the organisational goals.

There is no clear definition for ‘quality’, as the concept of quality has existed for many years, its meaning has begun to change and evolve over time. Lloyd and Payne (2004) describes that quality does not only lack a clear definition but also that there is a lack of agreement about the specific practices it should or should not integrate. The principles of TQM are very relevant to work process management today. Most companies have begun to realise the importance of its practices and as thus most have begun implementing such practices into its company management process. In the past decade, many researchers have tried to prove the element of TQM (Saraph et al., (1989), Flynn et al. (1994), Ahire et al. (1996), Brown et al (1998), Anderson et al. (1999)). Citied in Lorente and Costa (2004). There have been many studies that examine what constitutes TQM, what quality activities have a direct influence on business performance, what barriers affect the implementation of TQM and what factors are critical for the success of TQM implementation. (Saraph et al. (1989), Ernst and Young (1993), Mann and Kehoe (1994), Powell, 1995; Plimpton et al. (1996), Black and Porter (1996). Adams et al., 1999; Sun (2000), Withers and Ebrahimpour (2000) Terziovski and Samson, (2000), Gotzamani and Tsiotras (2002)). In order to determine if quality truly improves an organisational performance and to identify the significant factors to the success of TQM these studies have identified some common principles that are considered crucial to the overall success of TQM program. There are also researches that have been conducted to identify whether there exist any relationship between TQM dimension and organisational results and how these different dimensions affect the organisational results. (Mohrman et al. (1995), Anderson and Sohal, (1999), Dow et al. (1999), Samson and Terziovski, (1999)). Most of which agree that the most influential dimensions are factors like organisational culture, leadership, empowerment, employee commitment, etc. Of which only three of these dimension (customer focus, shared vision and employee commitment) had positive impact with quality of products.

The Total Quality Management Concept

The concept of TQM has many descriptions but little clear definition. TQM has been defined as a set of management tools that focuses on providing superior qualities to the customers through identification of their specific needs and responding to the changing markets. York and Miree (2004). TQM as described by Dale et al. (2001) is an umbrella of concepts and ideas in various contexts related in the field of quality. According to some researchers, TQM involves or requires mutual cooperation from everybody in an organisation in order to produce quality goods and services which meet customer requirements. In this method, defects and waste are eliminated and an approach to improve competitive advantage, flexibility and efficiency for the whole organisation is achieved. Shiba et al (1993). TQM involves the continuous improvement of organisational overall business performance. In the measurement of an organisation overall business performance, four qualities are also looked are: Product quality, Customer satisfaction, Employee satisfaction, and strategic business performance. As the definition of TQM varies, so does its principles and its implementation process. For example, Deming (1986) describes fourteen points for improvement of productivity, Crosby (1979) identified also fourteen principles, Powell (1995)suggest eleven attributes to the TQM program, Dale (1999)discusses eight key elements. There have been arguments about the implementation of TQM in practice and its expectant benefits or lack. For some researchers, TQM is a widely recognised management tool for success in an organisation Demirbag et al. (2006). The argument on TQM concept and the ‘gurus’ of quality management have stated that every organisation varies and so also does their culture differ also across national boundaries. And as such before applying the concept of TQM in any industry or organisation, the firm must first have an understanding of the various principles and must know what would work for its organisation performance and quality management and what wouldn’t. Kanji and Wallace (2000). TQM implementation and its benefit has produced somewhat similar results regardless of the country it was studies (Agus et al (2000); Agus and Sagir, (2001), Asim (2001), Warwood and Roberts, (2004), Chen et al., (2004)), but however if a firm wishes to be successful and benefit from its quality and performance management it has to recognise the programs that would be useful to it like employees training, business improvement process and quality application techniques. (Llorens and Jover, 2004).

Total Quality Management (TQM) on Business Performance

Research has shown that there is a relationship between TQM and performance and that this relationship is significant (Samson & Terziovski, 1999; citied in Talib et al 2010). The benefits of implementing TQM have been studied from different perspectives. TQM has become very popular in the industry and academia because of its effectiveness and also because it is a management tool that enhances and/or improves business performance either globally or national. (Flynn et al., 1995; Samson and Terziovski, 1999). According to Kaynak (2003) there are three dimensions of a firm’s performance that are relevant to TQM and they are: financial and market performance indicator which is a very important aspect in any organisation and it one of the most important aspects that determines the growth level and an important measure of TQM outcomes Buzzell and Gale (1987), other dimensions are inventory management performance and quality performance indicators. The quality performance indicators includes employee satisfactions, customer satisfaction (sales and after sales service) etc. These various forms of performance have been the focus of most studies on TQM. Firms with effective TQM implementation can accomplish internal benefit like better income, improved quality and productivity enhancement. (Corbett et al., 2005). A standard quality management system would help organisation to achieve its objectives and goals set in its policy and strategy and also ensure that those set goals are maintained which further enhance business performance. To measure the degree to which TQM impacts on business performance, there are four levels of TQM which should be considered. And they are: employee satisfaction, product quality, customer satisfaction and strategic business performance.

The Four Pillars of TQM

Source:(Satpathy,2008)http://www.pharmainfo.net/reviews/total-quality-management-promising-fixation-accomplish-zero-defects

Although many results of the study examining the relationship between TQM and levels of business performance have supported that TQM implementation has a positive effect on organisational performance (Hendricks & Singhal, (1997), Terziovski & Samson, (1999), Kaynak, (2003); Dermirbag (2006)), there are however some who have identified just negative results. (Powel (1995), Curkovic et al., (2000; 2002)). It is important for managers in an organisation to adopt an appropriate management system in their organisation management process that would be beneficial to their company policy. Once the quality management process has been set, Performance needs to be measured to monitor and control the journey, and to ensure that a desired level of performance is reached and sustained.

Principle of Total Quality Management (TQM)

The principles of TQM concept and its applications must be properly implemented in an organisation in order to obtain the desired results. There have been disparities in what comprise the principles and/or programme of TQM. The basic principles of TQM are customer satisfaction, employee involvement, decision making, and management commitment and continually improve business performance. Many researchers have identified various principles of TQM and thus this has made it unclear variation to TQM principles. Deming (1986) describes fourteen principles for quality improvement, Crosby (1979) identified also fourteen principles, Powell (1995) suggests eleven attributes to the TQM program, and Dale (1999) discusses eight key elements. Despite the varying numbers of principles proposed by the ‘quality gurus’ there are still a similarity between all the principles which are the basics. And this study would discuss these basic principles of TQM and their related issues.

The TQM Model

Source:(Satpathy,2008)http://www.pharmainfo.net/reviews/total-quality-management-promising-fixation-accomplish-zero-defects

The five key principles of TQM are as following:-

Management Commitment: the concept of management commitment involve the process that an organisation management undertake to increase quality and how these measures can be implemented, maintained and measured. When deciding on quality management, organisations have to first plan on what techniques that would be employed. The planning process is the most important step as organisations have to carefully select what would guarantee success for its operation and what would cause failures. After a desired management tool has been selected, the next step is to install the selected management tool (TQM) into the organisational strategy and policy so as to ensure that employees adopt such principles. The best way to ensure employees follow through is training and education. A very important TQM practice that also affects employee’s performance and must be taken into consideration. Management have to continually review the selected process in order to monitor the progress and detects and waste or defects quickly, communicate to employees and act fast. The planning phase is the most important process and it’s the glue that holds together all TQM activity. Plans are reviewed at periodic intervals and are adjusted if necessary and employees are trained and educated continuously to ensure that they understand the process and are able to adapt to changes.
Employee Empowerment: The TQM believes that participation from every level of an organisation is a must. This principle focuses on teamwork. It encourages managers and employees to work together across functions and departments, from top level to lower hourly employees, as well as with customers and suppliers, to identify areas that require improvement, regardless of how small. This aspect believes that human resource are significant and should be trained on knowledge and performance as there are the main force of a multifaceted business environment. (Oltra (2005), Tari et al. (2006)). The employees are trained and empowered to make decision based on their judgement on things that they can control This is one way of satisfying internal suppliers and not only does it reduce the burden of the supervisor shift responsibility for quality control from specific departments to all employees which can motivate employees ‘internal suppliers’ to do better job. This allows total quality management to move from a centralized to a decentralized approach to control.
Fact Based Decision Making: decision must be made only on data and not situational thinking or past experiences. In making decisions, an organisation can adopt SPC (Statistical Process Control) which involves the application of statistics to analyse data, study and measures the performance process to identify common and special causes of variation in the performance process. Other statistical data can be used like: FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) to detect all possible failures in a process and study the consequences of such failures. DOE (Design of Experiment) and the 7 statistical tools. When making decisions, organisation has to follow a pattern

Source: http://goldpractice.thedacs.com/practices/spc/index.php (2011).

Continuous Improvement: it is important for organisation to continually improve in all aspect of their work from strategic planning to decision making , to detailed execution of the work element as what may be considered as an exceptional performance today may be classified as unacceptable in the future. In order not to be outperformed by competitors, organisations have to use the concept of process improvement to attain both breakthrough gains and continuous improvement. Continuous improvement does not involve end results alone but also more importantly to potential to produce better results in the future. It focuses on 5 major areas for capability improvement which are demand generation, supply generation, technology, operations and people capability. (Satpathy, 2008). A central principle of TQM is that mistakes made by people, that are caused by faulty systems and processes can be identified and removed, and recurrence can be prevented by changing the process.

Customer Focus: customer satisfaction is becoming the major objective of most business presently, many organisations now understand the importance of satisfying customers and that customers can only be satisfied if their needs are constantly met by providing quality goods and services to satisfy their needs. Sila (2007). TQM has a customer-first orientation i.e. the customers come first. Satisfying customers is seen as an organisation biggest priority the success of the organisation lies within the extent to which it can satisfy its customers. The TQM organisation understands the needs of customers and is quick to respond to customer requirements. The concept of requirements is extended to take in product and services attribute that meet basic requirements, also those that enhance and distinguish them for competitive advantage. TQM organisation never compromises quality and focuses on customer driven standards. There are several dimension to customer satisfaction and these includes: After sales service and support, Packaging, Variety, Speed of service, Value for money, fitness for use, Customer confidence in the organisation and image of the company. (Satpathy, 2008).

The principles of TQM when applied appropriately are beneficial to firm success. (Ju et al., 2006). An effective TQM program has several benefits for organisation like, improved access to global markets, higher customer maintenance levels, less time required to develop new innovations, and a good reputation as a quality firm which boost the company image. Kaynak (2003). Other benefits include Reduction of defects and waste, ease of problem solving, continuous improvement of processes and products. Also financial benefit which is the most important, financial benefit includes higher return on sales and investment, cost reduction etc. Only few companies use TQM because implementing an effective program is time consuming not to mention the effort, money, and patience involved. However, firms with the necessary resources could gain major competitive advantages in their industries by implementing TQM. Demirbag et al. (2006).

The Effect of TQM on Employees Performance in both Public and Private Sector

Employee satisfaction in the management field has gained much attention over the years. Many studies indicate that loyal and satisfy employees are more committed to the continual improvement of service quality, (Jun et al, 2006) and also loyal employees signify values for an organisation. However, attention paid to TQM practices mostly focus on customer satisfaction and overall organisational performance with very little attention paid on how TQM practices affects employee satisfaction.

TQM practices provide a platform to better understand the nature of employee satisfaction. It aims to explain the direct and indirect effects between employees in the presence of satisfaction and loyalty. (Chang et al). In subsequent years, numerous studies were carried out on TQM practices. But just few studies attempt to identify the key attributes for successful TQM implementation which is employees. Successful implementation of total quality management heavily depends on changes in employee work related attitudes and activities. But what is the impact of these changes on the employee’s performance and management? The study would examine the impact of implementing TQM in an organisation and how employee’s management and performance are affected by the TQM programme. Leadership and commitment are identified as two crucial elements for the successful implementation of TQM programme (Bowen, Siehl, & Schneider, 1989, citied in Chang et al 2010) and are considered two of the most important principle of TQM. (Ugboro and Obeng 2000, cited in Chang et al 2010). Deming (1986) describes that training employees in problem solving and statistical process control would promote continuous quality improvement. Hackman and Wageman (1995) noted that teamwork and employee training are also critical as organisations deploy TQM which can significantly improve uncertainty in the work place such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction, job involvement, and employee performance boost, but no significant changes in role conflict, task characteristics, and career satisfaction.

TQM does not focus only on product quality but also on quality of employees. Successful TQM implementation depends heavily on changes in employees work related attitudes and activities. (Noorliza et all 2006). TQM processes in theory according to Butler (1996); cited in Noorliza et al (2006) produces positive effect on employees by improving their satisfaction and commitment and also enhancing their organisational effectiveness. Many organisations that have adopted TQM practices have experienced improvement in employee performance. TQM can bring benefit to an organisation in terms of quality, employee development and productivity when fully implemented (Lawler et al., 1995) through improved teamwork, creativity, innovation, training, communication, trust, and decision making. (Cited in Noorliza et al 2006).

The study addresses the following research questions:

What impact do TQM practices have on employee performance and management?

It would examine employees' job involvement, job satisfaction, career satisfaction, and organizational commitment as a result of TQM practices. The study would discuss the implementation of the TQM practices from the human resources perspective. Zeitz et al. (1997) viewed TQM practices “as being formal, programmatic, and behavioural”. (Cited in Noorliza el al 2006). It is defined “as a set of practical measures, such as continuous improvement, meeting customers' requirements, reducing rework, long-range thinking, increased employee involvement and teamwork, process redesign, competitive benchmarking, team-based problem-solving, continuous monitoring of results, and closer relationships with suppliers”. (Noorliza el al 2006).

Work-related attitudes

According to Guimareas (1996); cited in Noorliza et al (2006), there are several indicators for work-related attitudes. These included, job involvement, job satisfaction, career satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Organisational commitment involves loyalty among employees within an organisation. Companies have used these several indicators to measure the extent to which their quality management process leads to improvement in employees' performance and satisfaction. The diagram below show how job satisfaction can lead to job loyalty which would positively impact on organisations as a satisfied employee means employees would participate more and represent the organisational goals and values.

Source: Ali et al (2011)

The diagram above explains the effect of TQM on employee’s management and how employees can be satisfied in the job which according to the diagram would lead to loyalty to the organisation. Employee satisfaction is increasingly becoming an important factor alongside customer satisfaction as these two principles are part of if not the main quality management principles for an organisation to be successful. All the levels of TQM are interrelated and are more effective when applied together to achieve a certain goal ‘job satisfaction’. Empowerment and participation, working conditions, rewards and recognition, team work, training and development all lead to employee’s satisfaction which leads to loyalty which results in excellent performance of employees. This clearly shows how TQM practices impact on employee’s performance and management and depending on the organisation and how if such element are implemented accurately, they would generate positive quality.

Impact of TQM on employees performance

Source: Noorliza Karia, Muhammad Hasmi Abu Hassan Asaari, (2006) "The effects of total quality management practices on employees' work-related attitudes", The TQM Magazine, Vol. 18 Iss: 1, pp.30 - 43

The diagram explains how TQM practices impact on employees work related attitude (performance). From the diagram, it is clear that TQM practices affect certain dimensions of employee performance and attitudes and these attitudes would be discussed.

Job involvement

Empowering employees to be more involved in their jobs and giving them the opportunity to make decision on situation they can handle is a very important aspect of TQM. ‘Job involvement’ ensures that all employees irrespective of level participate in quality management practices, this does not only lessen the burden on supervisor but also could lead to improvement of company performance. The use of TQM practices can create a culture where employees are encouraged to work together at every sector of the company, improve personal responsibility, and enhance a sense of accomplishment in job tasks. Total job involvement enhances job satisfaction, career satisfaction and organisational commitment. (: cited in Noorliza et al 2006). Thus it is important to encourage employee involvement in the implementation of TQM practices.

Job satisfaction

The term ‘job satisfaction’ refers to the pleasurable emotion enjoyed by employees in the appraisal of one’s job. There are various factors that can encourage or lead to employees satisfaction., like good and friendly working environment, compensation, supportive working condition, rewards, helpful colleagues etc. employees can also be satisfied if they given the opportunity to participate in the overall achievements of the organisational goals. (; Weiss et al., 1967; cited in Noorliza et al 2006). Leadership, training, empowerment, education also has a positive influence on job satisfaction. Empowering employees with responsibility and authority to innovate solutions to problem encourages teamwork, cooperation, communication and commitment. Effective implementation of TQM leads to employee satisfaction because TQM aims to create an environment that brings out the best of employees. ‘Job involvement’ leads to employee satisfaction. Numerous researches have proved that employee satisfaction equally leads to loyalty to an organisation. (Brown & Peterson, 1993; Griffeth, Hom, & Gaertner, 2000; Hom & Kinicki, 2001; citied in Chang et al 2010)

Career satisfaction

When employees are satisfied with the working condition at an organisation, it can lead to fulfilment which encourages career satisfaction. ‘Career satisfaction’ is the affective reaction individual/individuals have towards their careers. An individual could either be satisfied on un-satisfied it his/her career choice and this would most likely happen if there is no satisfaction at the work place (i.e. employee satisfaction). Implementation of TQM practices provide a favourable managerial environment that boost employee motivation and the successfully achieve goals. TQM encourages employees to attain their career goals by exploiting their skills, potentials and abilities to improve the quality of their work. ‘Career satisfied ’employees would likely provide higher level of service to their customers than unsatisfied employees, (Butler, 1996) and more likely to remain with an organization (loyalty), thus reducing staff turnover (Noorliza et al 2006).

Organizational commitment

This refers to the degree of loyalty that an employee feel towards it organisation. (Mowday et al., 1979). The successful implementation of TQM practices increases the possibility that motivated and satisfied employee would remain with the organisation employees. To increase the possibility of this happening, Management have to continually review the TQM process in order to monitor its progress in the organisation so as to quickly detect defects and act fast. Employees who are highly loyal to their organizations contribute effectively to the growth and success of the company.

Improving employee performance is the main focus of improvement programs in organisations. Companies are now beginning to realise that employees are the most important element in an organisations as not only do they affect customers but also may bring success to the organisation. Looking at the above discussion we can conclude that effective TQM give employees the opportunity to participate in achieving organisational goals. When TQM is well implemented it can help an organization improve itself and, in the process, better serve its community and its own members (Hackman & Wageman, 1995). Employees are held accountable for quality and are trained to fulfil such responsibilities. TQM concept creates a positive relationship between employees and managers in an environment where people are motivated to perform.

Summary

Firms are now beginning to understand the impact of quality on its organisational goals, policy and strategy. As a result to this most organisations are now implementing TQM practice to improve its performance. TQM has many benefits for an organisation if implemented in an accurate way. TQM is a significant management tool that every organisation must consider if it wishes to be successful. The relationship between TQM and performance has been a hot topic amongst researchers in the quality management field. However, the researchers have mainly focused on how organisations benefit from TQM or the impact TQM has on an overall business performance little has been examined on how TQM impact on employees management, and work related attitude. This is the focus of this study. Many Researches has found that TQM has positive effect on organisational performance like (Lawler et al., 1995; Ju et al., 2006; Demirbag et al. 2006; Hart & Thompson, 2007). However some studies have also show negative results apply to the TQM processes (Harari, 1993). The aim of this study was to identify whether or not TQM impacts on employees performance and to what extent. The study has its limitation as it was not based on empirical data analysis due to time constraints.

The following chapter would discuss the methodology approach adopted for this study. The methodology present the research methods adopted and include a discussion of the data collection process, limitation and ethical issues.

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Chapter Overview

The aim of this chapter is to review critically the research methods employed in order to achieve the aims and objectives of this research. The research aim is to investigate the effect of TQM on employee performance and management in both public and private sector. This chapter details the research design, strategy and methods. It justifies the reasons the methods were chosen over alternatives and the limitations and ethical issues are also considered and addressed.

Figure 3.1 Research Process Onion.

Adopted from (Saunders et al, 2003)

Research Approach

When choosing a research method one has to take into account the fundamental philosophy of the research process. The difference between the terms research methodology and methods has been clarified by Collis and Hussey (2003). Who described methods as a ‘techniques’ for collecting or analysing data, while methodology is referred to the approach adopted in the research process which is a collection of methods. (Collis and Hussey, 2009 p.73). There are two distinguished paradigm of research philosophies which are positivism and interpretivism (also called phenomenology) (Blumberg, Cooper, & Schindler, 2008, Saunders et al., 2009; Collis and Hussey, 2003). Positivism is a way in which research is conducted that leads to the generation of hypotheses. The fundamental theory of positivism is that social reality is independent and should be measured without bias which allows a cause-effect relationship to be established between variables. The criticism of positivism is its inability of researchers to be objective which has led to the development of a new paradigm – interpretivism. Interpretivism as a paradigm is inductive and based on the belief that social reality is not objective but subjective (Saunders et al., 2009). It is based on how we as individuals interpret the world around us hence it is difficult to separate the social world from our perceptions which leads to bias in the study. Thus, research devised on the philosophy of interpretivism is not dependent on quantitative data. The debate on what form of paradigm is best for research has been reduced because of the development of the pragmatic approach which does not adopt a definite research paradigm and as such offers flexibility along the multiplicity of paradigms. The positivism and interpretivism paradigms represent two research theories: deductive and inductive research.

The research was based on ‘qualitative approach’ “any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification” (Strauss and Corbin,1990). A semi structured approach to interview was used in order to get a broad picture of the situation presented in the study and to collect in-depth information on the issues to be discussed in this study. This is to ensure that the research questions are tailored to the participants and important points are made and covered. An inductive research approach was used i.e. a research where hypotheses are not to be generated and it is free from presumptions. (Husserl,1970)- The reason for choosing this is that it provides a more ‘real’ basis for analysing and interpretation. The research project is deceptive in nature. However, the research goes beyond merely describing the characteristics, but it analysis and explains why these events occur.

Research strategy and research design

Research strategy is a conceptual framework that outlines what the researcher would do, it is ‘a general orientation to the conduct of business research’ (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 28). There are two main research strategies: quantitative and qualitative. While the research design is a comprehensive framework which guides the researcher through the various possible research processes, to which a greater opportunity of achieving the proposed research objectives and aims. (Wilson, 2010). There are various types of research design which includes: case study research, action research, cross-sectional, archival research, comparative research, experimental research and longitudinal research. The type of research design to be adopted depends on the researcher and the objectives of the research, some researches can adopt just one design while some can adopt a variety of the research designs to achieve their proposed aims and objective of the study. This study will adopt a qualitative strategy. The research is descriptive in nature as it analyses and describes how the concept of TQM and its implementation affects employee’s performance. The research is more or less a test on whether the successful implementation of TQM principles by virtue will affect the performances of employees. The application of this study is however, focused entirely on two companies in Nigeria, Caverton Helicopters Nigeria and The Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA).

Research Process

The research process is the data collection methods adopted in a study. It involves quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative research involve statistical analysis of collected data, it quantifies and measures some phenomena that results in standardise and numerical data (Saunders et al 2009). Quantitative research is associated with hypothetic-deductive reasoning (Langdridge & Hagger-Johnson, 2009, p.13), because it emphasises on the measurement of casual relationships and how they can be analysed Denzin and Lincoln (2000). While qualitative research involves the collection and analyses of data to draw attention to meanings that are expressed through words in a non-standardised method that can be classified into categories (Saunders et al, 2009). It is concerned with the qualities of some phenomena, and as thus is associated with inductive reasoning because it is more concerned with the analysis of non-numerical data. The difference between both research processes helps determine the method of data collection to be carried out whether primary or secondary. The advantages and disadvantages of both quantitative and qualitative research are shown in table 3.1 &3.2.

Table 3.1: Advantages and disadvantages of quantitative research, Adopted from (Langdridge & Hagger-Johnson, 2009, p14)

Table 3.2: Advantages and disadvantages of qualitative research, Adopted from (Langdridge & Hagger-Johnson, 2009, p15)

Data Collection

Primary and secondary data were used in the research process. Secondary data was gathered from previous academic research conducted by scholars (textbooks, journals, internet material) while primary data (questionnaire interview transcript) was used to obtain raw data from participants to answer the questions the project aims to address. The technique used in the data collection process was questionnaire that was sent through email. The data collection went through three phases:

Pre- interview (concerned with things that needs to be done in advance before the initial interview e.g. communicating with potential participants, scheduling the interviews, ensure the participants are informed of confidentiality and identify ways of note-taking and data-analysis and methods of gathering data).
The actual interview (ensure the interviewer is unbiased and participants can freely give their hones opinion, considering the length of interview and give feedback about potential data to participants).
Finally the Post-interview phase (prepare data for analysis, assign sufficient time for data analysis, transcribing the raw data and revisiting the collected data for accuracy).

After completing secondary research (newspapers, journals and books), the author identified the research TQM and employees performance. Primary data was collected from the organisation selected for this study, Caverton Helicopters Nigeria and The Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA). Chapter4 contains these findings with a discussion and comparison to the existing literature. The conclusion of the study and recommendations are in chapter5

Questionnaire Design

Questionnaires were sent via email to participants (see Appendix1 for questions and sample answer). The design of the questionnaire was related to reputations, communication and to ensure that participants can easily understand the question and respond accurately. The questions were designed from the review of the literature (chapter2) and attempted to meet the aims and objectives of the research (chapter1). The questionnaire consisted of 12 questions.The limitation of the research process was that while it was able to achieve its intended purpose the few participants interviewed cannot represent the public/private sector as a whole. The questioning was open ended which gave participants opportunity to freely give their opinions as a part of their responses and it comprised structure and inquiring type questions. After the interview process, each interview was transcribed immediately.

Piloting

A pilot study was carried out in order to test the interview questions. “The desirability of piloting such instruments is not solely to do with trying to ensure that survey questions operate well; piloting also has a role in ensuring that the research instrument as a whole functions well” (Bryman & Bell 2007, p273). Some of the question needed looking into and rephrasing because they were considered quite complex. The re-designing of the questions was developed after the researcher had a discussion with a small group of friends (six) as this helped recognize the possibilities in answers and develop more questions around the possible answers. Opinions from different people were received in order to make the questions a little formal and not too personal.

Data Analysis

The qualitative data analysis used was thematic analysis “focuses on identifiable themes and patterns of living and/or behaviour.” Aronson(1994), in thematic analysis, a theme is identified based on repetition, recurrence, and forcefulness. Thematic analysis follows three distinctive stages:

Identify sampling criteria and research design
Develop themes and codes
Validate and use codes

(Offer,2009)

Interpretive techniques were used when analysing the collected data. The aim of the information gathered and analysed was to translate the interview answers into a structured report form. In order to provide the suitable arrangement of the data and interpretation of them, coding appeared to be the right form of quantitative method to use (Bryman and Bell,2007).

Limitation

This research is not without its limitations. Though adequate methods were adopted, there is one limitation this research faced in the interview process. However, various steps were taken to ensure that the limitation did not affect the study in a significant way. The limitations of this study has to do with the data collected for analysis as it was mainly secondary in nature; although the secondary data was used because of the type of information to be gotten. Other limitations had to do with the method of collecting data about TQM and work related attitudes as most of the information collected for this data did not involve hypothesis and was measure in a non numerical pattern. Also, the sample size of the research is small compared to the number of companies implementing TQM practices that could have been researched. Also the research was based on both private and public sector and the two companies interviewed cannot be a representation of the entire industries.

However, various steps were taken to ensure that the findings were reliable and valid.

Reliability of this study was certified by using proceedings that were consistent in the questionnaire in order to avoid any major variations in the results
Validity was achieved by making sure questions used for the interviews would help explore the aims and objectives of the study.

Justification of Methods/Alternative Methods

It would have been possible to address the research questions in a both quantitative and qualitative way, by collecting the views of participants perhaps through face to face interviews and questionnaires which would result in larger number of respondent and lead to development of hypothesis and would have to be numerically calculated. However, due to the time limitation, and high expense, the research would require a lengthier period to conduct and analyse and also a large number of participants and so the chosen strategy was adopted. However the research chose the adopted method because, although there is a lack of vast knowledge on the research question, the research issue investigated was however not new in the field of quality management and as thus there was no intention to formulate research hypothesis. Also, the study is not just an observation of the existing phenomena on the topic but goes beyond that to a significant appraisal of any observations. Both the exploratory and explanatory research purposes have been deemed inappropriate for this study and this is why the research adopted a descriptive research method.

Ethical Issues

The researcher consulted the manager of the company before and during the research study. Ethical issues were considered during the course of the research. Cooper and Schindler(2008) explain that ethics are the standards or norms of behaviour that guide researchers of their behaviour and connection with others researchers and participants. The methods used during the collection of data were followed in order to obey the rules of the data protection act 1998 and strict accordance to the company law and policy. In order to take into consideration the ethical issues, informed consent was required from all participants. Participants were notifies that the interview was voluntary but necessary to provide a true demonstration of hoe implementation of TQM practices affects employees performances, a letter was sent to participants stating the purpose of the research and to informed them of their rights prior to the administration and those who agreed to the terms were requested to participate in the interviews. Participants will remain anonymous and the outcomes of the research will be available for all involved to read. All data collected was stored in a safe place to ensure confidentiality.

Summary

This chapter addressed the research methodology conducted, including the reasons for selecting a qualitative research approach, the research process, data collection and analysis, and concerns related to the limitations of the research, ethical considerations were also discussed in this chapter, and conclusions and recommendations given by the researcher will be based on the result findings and finally the reliability and credibility of the research. The following chapter, chapter 4, will present the findings of the interviews and include a discussion of these findings.

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