The human side of introducing total quality management: Two case studies from Australia
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to explore the reasons why businesses, having adopted total quality management (TQM), fail to sustain their reforms over time. In order to gain insights into the pressures that, despite good intentions, can make full implementation of TQM problematic, a case study approach is used. The research indicates that a lack of attention to the human element of change, especially inconsistent senior management support, a lack of involvement of supervisors and middle managers in planning for change, and lack of attention to groups of staff affected negatively by the changes, explain why businesses may face difficulty sustaining reform programs.
Keywords
Citation
Edwards, R. and Sohal, A.S. (2003), "The human side of introducing total quality management: Two case studies from Australia", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 551-567. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437720310491080
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited