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Resource allocation for strategic quality management: a goal programming approach

Hisham Alidrisi (Department of Industrial Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
Sherif Mohamed (School of Engineering, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia)

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management

ISSN: 0265-671X

Article publication date: 9 March 2012

2263

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

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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