Resource allocation for strategic quality management: a goal programming approach
International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management
ISSN: 0265-671X
Article publication date: 9 March 2012
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assist organizations in understanding the nature of quality management from a resource‐based perspective by investigating the relationship between strategies needed to drive quality enhancement, and resources being allocated to support effective strategy implementation. The resource‐based view of TQM elements led this case study research to deal with quality management from a strategic viewpoint, or what is known as Strategic Quality Management (SQM).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs the analytic network process (ANP) to model the interactions between eight SQM strategies and the three types of resources (human, organisational and technological) needed for effective strategy implementation. The paper then formulates a goal programming (GP) model in order to identify the extent to which each single strategy is inhibited by a lack of (or overloaded by) resources. Using a case study approach, the hybrid ANP‐GP methodology is employed to illustrate the application in the context of enhancing quality in the food‐processing industry.
Findings
The ANP analysis quantitatively differentiates between the amount of resource support each strategy receives and the support it needs. The GP model offers insight on how to re‐allocate resources to minimize identified discrepancies related to how the company utilizes their resources.
Originality/value
This paper argued that practicing QM with the consideration of the firm's strategic need for resources provides better understanding of why quality gurus still disagree on whether soft or hard TQM is more connected to organizational performance. Therefore, rather than focusing on “generalizing” the TQM model, as has traditionally been done in previous attempts, the main contribution of this paper is to propose a methodology that assesses a firm's utilization of resources considering its strategic need for these resources.
Keywords
Citation
Alidrisi, H. and Mohamed, S. (2012), "Resource allocation for strategic quality management: a goal programming approach", International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 265-283. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656711211216135
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited