Total quality management principles: implementation experience from Mexican organisations

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of a basic quality practice in manufacturing and service organisations in Mexico. Several factors are defined for measuring quality practice implementation and investigating two major aims: the critical success factors and the major benefits from the quality implementation. A survey was applied to 50 manufacturing and service organisations. Pairs of factors were constructed to study their linear relationships. ANOVA was used to determine the significance of the relationship between factors; and Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength of the relationship. This paper contributes to understanding the challenges and benefits encountered when implementing quality principles. It also demonstrates that this quality practice is a significant driver towards a continuous improvement (Kaizen) philosophy. A total of 16 critical factors and 51 significant relationships were identified, which explain the quality practice success implementation. The positive impacts produced by the quality practice implementation are summarised in six significant benefits. The findings clearly show the necessity of applying the philosophical dimension or way (do) of implementing this quality practice.

Keywords:

• total quality management
• quality practice
• 5S practice
• 5S management
• Kaizen
• quality improvement

Acknowledgements

This research was partially funded by a summer research grant from the University of Texas at El Paso's College of Business Administration.