Total Quality Management as an Organizational Change: Predictors of Successful Implementation

This article describes the development of a diagnostic tool used to assess TQM implementation success. The tool is based on the results of interviews and questionnaire studies of 32 companies. One goat of the research was to empirically examine the process and contextual factors that influence the success of TQM implementation. Stepwise regression identified four scales—measurement and feedback; resource availability; data-based decision making; and organization and top management support—that explained between 58 percent and 67 percent of the variance on three dependent variables. The dependent variables were job satisfaction, satisfaction with quality improvement progress, and quality outcomes. The scale concepts were combined into a model for TQM implementation. The model can be used by organizations to assess their level of TQM success.