Organizational culture and total quality management practices: a Sri Lankan case

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the effect of organizational culture (OC) on the total quality management (TQM) practices of a Sri Lankan public sector hospital, which practices Japanese 5‐S based TQM and has won several national quality awards. Design/methodology/approach The data are gathered through direct observations, short‐time interviews, participative observations, in‐depth interviews, and obtaining relevant documentary evidence by the employment of grounded theory. The director, divisional heads, doctors, nursing sisters and nurses, paramedical staff, midwifery staff, clerical staff, and support staff of the hospital are appropriately considered as the informants during the employment of the above data gathering techniques. The data are analyzed qualitatively in line with the research variables. Findings As cultural characteristics of the hospital, the study identified low power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, low individualism, and low masculinity. The study identified high senior management commitment, high staff commitment, high stakeholder focus, high integration of continuous improvement, high quality culture, high measurement and feedback, and high learning organization characteristics as TQM practices of the hospital. Moreover, the study found that the supportive culture of the hospital has positively impacted on its TQM practices. Research limitations/implications To overcome the limitations of the OC framework adopted in the present study, the paper invites future studies to examine the issue from a broader and new culture perspective. Originality/value Recently, many organizations in Sri Lanka irrespective of their category and industry have been practicing TQM in order to stay competitive in both domestic and international markets. But empirical studies on the topic are very limited in the Sri Lankan context. This study as a case of a Sri Lankan public sector hospital aims to fill that gap.