Practices of TQM in Public Sector Organisations in Mauritius

A Research Synopsis for PHD in Management

Submitted By

Mohun Mathoorah
(February 2013)

AMITY INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION (MAURITIUS)

1.0

Rationale of the Research

According to Manning (1996), reform of the public started in developed industrialized countries where political leaders were under pressure to level down public expenditure while maintaining a high level of welfare and public services. The Mauritian Government was not an exemption. It is in this context that Mauritius adopted the New Public Management (NPM) reform to improve the quality of public services, to reduce the burden on the treasury, to improve the efficiency of public sector organization and to create an environment conducive to public sector investment. It is within this framework that Government , among others, initiated a programme to introduce quality principles and concept in the design , production and delivery of public services in Mauritius

In its quest for improving the quality of public service, the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs, in 2001, started a Kaizen programme to cut or eliminate wastes in public sector organizations with the assistance of two Malaysian consultants. However, over the years, the programme lost its momentum and today, no one, in the public service, talks about or is concerned with lean management.

Around the same time, Government took the bold initiative to introduce ISO 9001:1994 in public sector organisations . ISO 9001:1994 is a reference standard that allow an organizational to implement a sound and an effective quality management system. In view that the country did not have the required expertise , Government resorted to the services of a Singaporean consultancy firm. As part of knowledge and technology transfer, 10 accountants at the Management Audit Bureau underwent training with the consultants.

In its initial phase, the consultants assisted 9 public sectors organizations to become certified under ISO 9001 Standard . Over the years, 28 additional organizations have been certified to the Standards with the assistance of the ten locally trained consultants. These figures speak for themselves i.e there is a low adoption of a good quality

management system in the Public Sector when taking into account that there are over 200 public sector organizations In 2006, Government established the Public Sector Excellence Award for raising quality awareness among public officials. The model that is used for determining the winner of the award is an abridged version of the Malcom Baldridge Quality Excellence Award (USA). This is an annual event and the winner is declared by a panel of judges.

However, as to date , no studies have been carried to determine whether the introduction of this award has been effective in bringing a quality culture in the public sector. With hindsight , some award winning organizations are still delivering a and this has been widely reported in the press poor service quality

Overall , it is found out that a quality culture is still lacking in public sector organization. It is in this context that some authors have criticized the New Public Management reform. The most famous one is Nick Manning, a senior management specialist of the World Bank. In his paper entitled the legacy of new public management in developing countries (1996), he raises three fundamental questions: Did NPM win the battle against old public management approaches? Did NPM win? and Did it win enough?

The outcome of the study will revolve around the factors that inhibit the adoption of a quality culture in Mauritius, the reasons as to why there is a slow adoption of a quality management system in public sector organisations and whether the introduction of a Public Sector Excellence Award is effective in promoting a quality environment in public sector institutions

It is expected that the findings from the research will provide top administrators on the organizational, cultural and social changes that they need to introduce for promoting a quality culture in their organizations

2.0

Literature Review

According to Waddell and Mallen (2001), quality management is now seen as a new concept and a new way for organisations to improve the quality of their products and services. As for Das Handfield Calantone and Ghosh (2000), they stated that it is also the key to survival and prosperity in todays business environment and beyond. They also posited that total quality management establishes quality enhancement which is important for long-term effectiveness, survival and financial performance of an organization.

According to Garg (2005), the purpose of TQM is to provide a quality product or service to customers, which will, in turn, increase productivity as well as customer satisfaction and decrease cost.

Hellsten and Klefsj (2000) define TQM as a continuously evolving management system consisting of values, methodologies and tools, the aim of which is to increase external and internal customer satisfaction with a reduced amount of resources. According to Motwani (2001) an integrated TQM can be viewed as a composite of the following seven constructs: top management commitment; quality measurement and benchmarking; process management; product design; employee training and empowerment; supplier quality management; and customer involvement and satisfaction.

In the view of Rahman (2001), TQM is intended to empower every member of the organisation, promote continuous, sustained and long term improvement in quality and productivity and eliminate employees fear of change.

According to Neergaard (2002), TQM is not a model or a technique, but may best be described as a management philosophy. The methods and techniques used in TQM can be applied throughout any organisation. They are equally useful in the manufacturing, public service, health care, education and hospitality industries. The authors concluded that the introduction of TQM has altered and re-shaped the work practices and management thinking of many organisations and as such, it has made new and profound demand on every organisation.

Besterfield, Besterfield and Besterfield-Michna (2003) define TQM as both a philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a continuously improving organization. It builds upon a culture of continuous improvement by committed managers through the complete employee participation and understanding of customer needs.

Ho (2001) opines that TQM provides the overall concept that fosters continuous improvement in an organisation. In his view, the TQM philosophy stresses a systematic, integrated and consistent organisation-wide perspective involving everyone and everything. It focuses primarily on total satisfaction for both the internal and external customers within a management environment that seeks continuous improvement of all systems and processes.

Leonard and McAdam (2002) indicated that TQM was found to be a mean of achieving strategic targets and a key driver in the implementation of corporate strategy. Kanji, Tambi and Wallace(1999) described TQM as the way of life of an organisation committed to customer satisfaction through continuous

improvement, which varies from organisation to organisation and from one country to another but it has certain principles that can be implemented to secure market share, increase profits and reduce costs.

According to Oakland (2000), TQM philosophy emphasizes the role of internal and external customers and suppliers and the involvement of employees in pursuit 5

of continuous improvement. Gotzamani and Tsiotras. (2001) concluded that the increase in perceived quality should result in new customers, increased sales and reduced operating costs.

Terziovski, Power and Sohal (2003:) study of Australian manufacturers also provide evidence of companies achieving both tangible and intangible benefits from quality improvement programs. They found that the benefits take time and that the time needed to change the organisational culture and attitudes should not be underestimated. Managers must learn to be patient and not expect all benefits to be realized in the short term.

As stated by Terziovski, Power and Sohal, (2003), the review of the literature on previous empirical studies on TQM has been defined in different ways by different researchers and academicians but they are complementary to each other. Drawing from the available literature, they found that six critical factors are more predominant and appropriate at an organization to enhance service quality. These are (1) team work, (2) continuous improvement, (3) management commitment (4) training, (5) customer focus and (6) employee involvement.

Najmi and Kehoe (2001) and Zhang (2000) stated that many organizations are adopting the ISO 9001 Standard as a formalized way to introduce TQM. In their views, organisations are implementing ISO 9001 Standards to achieve improved quality and efficiency, improved communication, competitive advantage, increase in market share, a reduction in costs and a higher stock price.

Fuentes, Benavent, Moreno, Cruz and Del Val (2000)) are of the view that an organization which seek certification has two goals. First, the system offers a model and a process for continuous self-assessment against an internationally recognised standard and also it is the basic foundation for the development of TQM.

Russell (2000) pointed out that the ISO 9000: 2000 version adopts a TQM philosophy with a stronger emphasis on customer satisfaction and an effective process-oriented approach focusing on continual performance improvement while Zuckerman (2001) pointed out that the new revised standard uses the plan-docheck-act (PDCA) improvement cycle to enclose the four blocks of management responsibility, resource management, process management, measurement, analysis and improvement.

Yusof and Aspinwall (2000) reported on the implementation of TQM in the UK small manufacturing enterprises. They found that they lack experience in quality management, resources and strategies and overall objectives. Resistance to change is the most restraining forces toward TQM implementation.

Modlinski (1998) studied the barriers that Polish companies faced while implementing TQM. On the basis of many years of observation, the author claims that the main barriers in implementing the philosophy of quality management are the following: failure to analyze a company's readiness to implement TQM; lack of involvement on the side of top management; lack of structural support for implementation efforts; and lack of employee involvement in implementing TQM.

Lau and Idris (2001) in Malaysia found out that lack of information and data on the critical success factors are obstacles in implementing TQM effectively and successfully.

Amar and MohdZain (2002) studied the barriers to implementing TQM in Indonesian manufacturing organizations. These include insufficient levels of education, lack of skill, lack of understanding of quality management and poor assimilation of quality work culture. Besides these points, issues such as nonconformance with procedures, low worker morale, industrial action, high worker 7

turnover and absenteeism also play some role. These factors are thought to contribute significantly towards the ineffectiveness of TQM implementation in organisations.

Pui-Mun Lee (2002) stated that most organizations recognize that total quality management is important but many do not know where to begin or how to sustain it in the long run. In fact, the growth and adoption of TQM in companies have to be facilitated increasingly by national governments. National governments in developing countries are increasingly playing an active role in promoting and encouraging organizations to embrace TQM practices.

Salegna and Fazel (2000) surveyed the obstacles faced by TQM and these are insufficient time, poor communication and lack of real employee empowerment. It was also uncovered that management itself was found to hinder effective implementation of TQM, leading to its eventual failure. This came in the form of lack of commitment in the leadership to implement TQM and this percolates down to each level of workers for whom the manager is a role model. Structural problems in the form of high turnover at management level contributed significantly in forming a formidable barrier to successful assimilation of TQM in the organization. This is because the leader is the driver for any quality initiative and, as such, leadership instability can only lead to unfavorable outcomes.

Training is another factor that impedes on the successful TQM. As is already well-known, training for all levels of an organization is of fundamental importance and as such it must be provided continuously. Culture and interdepartmental relations are also ascertained to be impedances to TQM.

3.0 Statement of Research Problems and Objectives

The study aims to investigate as to why there is a poor adoption of good quality practices in public sector organizations. As such, the objectives of the research are to: 8

a) to assess and evaluate the degree that public sector organisations have adopted the concepts and principles of TQM; and

b) to identify the enablers and inhibitors of TQM in public sector organizations c) to evaluate whether introduction of a Public Sector Excellence Award is effective in promoting a quality environment in public sector institutions

In order to meet the research objectives, the study will try to answer the following questions: To what degree public service organizations have adopted the concept and principles of TQM? The areas that will be covered relate to organizational and institutional framework , the

top management commitment,

quality measurement and benchmarking, process management, service/product design, employee training and empowerment, supplier quality management, and customer involvement and satisfaction.

4.0 Research Methodology

In this study, primary data will be collected using the questionnaire method and this will be followed by interviews . As such, this will involve the design of the questionnaire, the administration of the questionnaire and finally the analysis of the data.

The questionnaire used for this study will be made up of a mixture of both openended and close-ended questions. Open ended questions provide for the respondents a greater choice in giving his views and opinions while close-ended questions are used to limit the answer of the respondents and thus give a specific answer to the questions. 9

The closed ended questions will consist of mainly multiple choices, scaling and dichotomous questions. The questions will be framed using nominal, ordinal and interval scale.

The data that will be collected are as follows: (a) Nominal data relate mainly to the demographic of the respondents; and (a) Interval and ordinal data relate to the views and opinions expressed on a set of scaled questions

A pilot test will be conducted to identify and eliminate problems before the main survey take place. The pilot test serves as a means of checking the clarity of the questions and whether the questions have been set in logical manner. . After the data has been collected, the next step in the research process is data analysis. In this phase, data coding will be carried out as a means for translating information into values suitable for statistical analysis using SPSS version 17.

Both descriptive (Mean and Standard Deviation) and inferential statistics (Chi Square Test, t test, ANOVA, etc) will be used in this study. This will enable the researcher to interpret the information and to test various research hypotheses.

5.0 Tentative Chapterisation

The report will consist of the following chapters:-

Chapter 1 Introduction
This chapter shall be devoted to state the research problem, aim and objectives of the research. It will also have brief introduction of the subject under study and the significance of the dissertation. In addition , it will also discuss the philosophy of TQM and relateits relevance in the New Public Management Framework

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Chapter 2:Literature Review

This chapter will deal with the Literature Review . Literature review will be carried out on TQM practices in the public sector.

Chapter 3 :Research Methodology

This chapter will highlight the methodology that has been used to conduct the study

Chapter 4:Analysis and Findings

This chapter will deal with the analysis and findings . As such , the information obtained from these questionnaires and interviews softwares. will be analyzed using SPSS and other appropriate

Chapter 5 : Conclusion and Recommendations

This chater will contain the recommendations and conclusions that have been reached based on the results of the study

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BIBLOGRAPHY Amar, K. and Zain, Z.M. (2002). Barriers to Implementing TQM in Indonesian Manufacturing Organizations, The TQM Magazine, 14(6). pp.367-72.

Besterfield, D.H., Besterfield, G.H. and Besterfield-Michna, C. (2003).Total Quality Management, Pearson Education, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Das, A., Handfield, B.R., Calantone, J.R. and Ghosh, S. (2000). A Contingent View of Quality Management The Impact Of International Competition On Quality, Decision Sciences, 31(3).pp.649-90.

Das, A., Paul, H. and Swierczek, F.W. (2008).Developing and validating total quality management (TQM) constructs in the context of Thailands manufacturing industry,.Benchmarking: an international journal,15(1), 52-72.

Fuentes, M.C., Benavent, B.F., Moreno, E.A.M., Cruz, G.T. andPardodel Val, M. (2000). Analysis of the implementation of ISO 9000 quality assurance systems, Work Study, 49(6).pp.229-41.

Garg, D., Garg, T.K. and Kumar, R. (2005).Perspectives of TQM in Indian Industries, Productivity, 45(4).pp.634-41.

Gotzamani, D.K. and Tsiotras, D.G. (2001).An Empirical Study Of The ISO 9000 Standards Contribution Towards Total Quality Management, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 21(10).pp.1326-42.

Hellsten, U. and Klefsj, B. (2000). TQM As A Management System Consisting Of Values, Techniques And Tools, The TQM Magazine, 12(4).pp.238-44.

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Ho, S. (2002). Integrated Management Through ISO 9000: 2000 and TQM, Integrated Management: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on ISO 9000 and TQM, pp.13-18.

Kanji, G.K., Tambi, A.M.B.A., Wallace, W. (1999).A Comparative Study Of Quality Practices In Higher Education Institutions In The US and Malaysia, Total Quality Management, 10(3).pp.357-71.

Lau, H.C. and Idris, M.A. (2001).Research and Concepts: The Soft Foundation Of The Critical Success Factors On TQM Implementation In Malaysia, The TQM Magazine, 13(1).pp.51-60.

Leonard, D. and MacAdam, R. (2002).A Three-dimensional perspective Of Total Quality Management: A Research Agenda", Total Quality Management, 13(4).pp.507-22.

Manning,N.,(1996):The Legacy Of The New Public Management In Developing Countries , SAGE Publications ,London ,Vol 67,pp 297-312

Modlinski, W. (1998).Barriers in implementing TQM, in Bugdol, M., Jacher, W., Szpineter, J. (Eds).Quality Policy Of Polish Companies At the Time Of European Integration, Silesian Institute, Vienna, pp.181-3.

Motwani, Jaideep (2001) ,Critical Factors And Performance Measures of TQM, The TQM Magazine, 13(4). pp.292 - 300

Najmi, M. and Kehoe, D.F. (2001).The Role Of Performance Measurement Systems In Promoting Quality Development Beyond ISO 9000, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 21(1 & 2).pp.159-72.

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Neergaard, P. (2002). Configurations In Quality Management, Scandinavian Journal of Management, 18 pp.173-95. Oakland, J. (2000). Total Quality Management: Text and Cases, 2nd Edition, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford,

Pui-Mun Lee, (2002) Sustaining Business Excellence Through A Framework Of Best Practices In TQM, The TQM Magazine, 14(3). pp.142 - 149

Rahman, S. (2001).A Comparative Study of TQM Practice and Organisational Performance of SMEs With And Without ISO 9000 Certification, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 18(1).pp.35-49.

Russell, S. (2000). ISO 9000: 2000 And The EFQM Excellence Model: Competition Or Co-operation, Total Quality Management, 11(4-6). pp.657-65.

Salegna, G., and Fazel.F. (2000) Obstacles To Implementing TQM.Quality Progress ,29(3).pp 53-57

Terziovski, M., Power, D., and Sohal, A. (2003) The Longitudinal Effects Of The ISO 9000 Certification Process On Business Performance, European Journal of Operational Research, 146(3).pp.580-95.

Terziovski, M. and Samson, D. (1999) The Link Between Total Quality Management Practice And Organizational Performance, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 16(.3).pp.226-37

Terziovski, M., Samson, D. and Dow, D. (1997) The Business Value Of Quality Management Systems Certification Evidence From Australia and New Zealand, Journal of Operations Management, 15(1).pp.1-18.

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Waddell, D., Mallen, D. (2001). Quality Managers: Beyond 2000, Total Quality Management, 12(3).pp.373-84.

Yusof, M.S. and Aspinwall, E. (2000).TQM Implementation Issues: Review And Case Study, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 20(6).pp.634-55.

Zuckerman, A. (2001), ISO 9000: 2000 Now Official, World Trade, 14(4).pp.689.

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