TY - JOUR AB - Presents the key findings of a study into quality practices of a number of organisations in one of the Arab countries, Qatar, which is recognised as one of the leading liquefied natural gas‐exporting regions since its reserves of gas represent about 7.4 per cent of the world total. The purposes of the study were to assess: the awareness, the understanding, the progress of, and reasons for the implementation of ISO 9000 and TQM; the obstacles encountered in TQM implementation; and the knowledge and/or practices of TQM related activities. The information was gathered using a questionnaire. The participating organisations, of which there were 143, ranged in size from large to small and came from the manufacturing, services and public sectors. The analysis of the survey data concluded that although there was a high level of enthusiasm regarding the practice of, or the need for, quality initiatives in the country, they were a long way behind those of Western organisations. Many reported an interest in ISO 9000 but due to a lack of understanding of the standard, it was often considered to be a quality model. The awareness and understanding of TQM was at a very low level and the main TQM success factors were not well‐known and practiced. Interest at the time was centred on ISO 9000 certification. VL - 12 IS - 3 SN - 0954-478X DO - 10.1108/09544780010320250 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/09544780010320250 AU - Al‐khalifa Khalifa N. AU - Aspinwall Elaine M. PY - 2000 Y1 - 2000/01/01 TI - The development of total quality management in Qatar T2 - The TQM Magazine PB - MCB UP Ltd SP - 194 EP - 204 Y2 - 2024/04/25 ER -