Research Paper Instructions (7 pages total)
1
Summary of Research Articles on Quality
( include how quality is defined) In the modern dynamic and complex business environment, managers are widely appealing to modern techniques and methods that would assist in coping with the robust competition and offer the clients good quality products and services, new and attractive services at competitive prices (Androniceanu, 2017). In this contextual perspective, total quality management is not only a viable but also sustainable option that is capable of offering systematic contribution to the consolidation of the capacity of business firms.
(The purpose of the study was?) This research article was aimed at putting forth a three-dimensional approach of total quality management and providing solid action pathways through which enterprises in Romania that are implement partial or total quality management integrated processes and systems would produce valuable competitive advantages. The author mentions that some business enterprises which have started embracing and implementing partial or total quality management in Romania have achieved substantial success in the quality of products and services delivered to the customers.
The research (method was a survey questionnaire which) targeted Romanian organizations that had started the process of implementing total quality management, having a turnover of less than 250 staff and 50 million euros. The main tool for collecting data was online questionnaires, which was processed using specified applications in SPSS, Excel and MS Word. 280 managers drawn from 56 Romanian companies filled the 21-question questionnaire. The author used Ms Excel and SPSS statistical tools for data analysing.
From the results of the analysed data, it emerged that total quality management contributes to strengthened capacity of business enterprises to cope with intense market competition, while the effect on profit and turnover was found to be positive in most interviewed firms. Most firm managers reported that following either partial or total quality management, the have witnessed sustainable development and strengthened their ability or capacity to face intense competition in the domestic and international market.
Follow what I did above for the other two articles, one page per article
Sadikoglu, E., & Olcay, H. (2014). The effects of total quality management practices on performance and the reasons of and the barriers to TQM practices in Turkey. Advances in Decision Sciences, 2014.
Past research studies according to Sadikoglu and Olcay (2014) have reported ambiguous and mixed outcomes of the connection between quality management practices and performances. Therefore, the article aimed at investigating the effects of total quality management on various measures of performance, reasons and barriers of these quality management practices in Turkish firms. As the authors rightly put it, the total quality management approach is an organizational management culture or philosophy premised on continuous improvement of the quality of processes, services, or products by emphasizing on the needs and expectations of customers (Sadikoglu & Olcay, 2014).
The focus is often to improve customer satisfaction and the performance of the organization. However, over the past couple of decades of research on this discipline, there have been mixed findings about the connection between practices of total quality management and the performance of firms (Sadikoglu & Olcay, 2014). To establish this relationship, the authors utilized a cross-sectional survey research methodology in the study. The sample unit used was at the plant levels. Member organizations to the Turkish Quality Association was used to collect the sample for the study. The firms selected for the study were located at the Kocaeli-Gebze Organized Industrial Zone (Sadikoglu & Olcay, 2014).
From these sampled population of firms, the authors found 242 usable questionnaires. The rate of satisfaction was 48.4 percent. On these sampled responses, both multiple regression analysis and exploratory factor analysis was conducted to arrive at the findings which will later be discussed in the findings section of this paper. The authors however report that different quality management practices have significant effects on different performance outcomes. The outcomes of the two analyses showed that the basic bottlenecks that the organizations in Turkey meet included lack of adequate resources, inappropriate firm structures, lack of employee commitment, awareness and involvement, and poor internal management leadership (Sadikoglu & Olcay, 2014).
The authors recommended that business enterprises should continue implementing quality management practices with all variables aimed at improving performance. Organizations should also focus on improving the involvement, commitment and awareness of employees to total quality management, enhancing the structure of their firms (internal leadership), and provide adequate resources to overcome the bottlenecks that prevent the effective integration and implementation of quality management practices.
Zelnik, M., Maletič, M., Maletič, D., & Gomišček, B. (2012). Quality management systems as a link between management and employees. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 23(1), 45-62.
In this article, the authors are analysing the interactions between management and employees, and ways of managing and implementing a quality management system. The article is also introducing practical solutions and possibilities to improve the understanding of employees of why a system of quality management must be applied, and how organizational management structures must behave to ensure such possibilities (Zelnik, Maletič & Gomišček, 2012). A third party role is also introduced by the authors, quality representative, who ensures that the first two parties have open channels of communication.
For the study, the authors obtained data from employees of a Slovenian information and communication technology firm over a period of two years. Using interviews and surveys, the authors found that clear communication between management and employees has a significant importance on the satisfaction of employees (Zelnik, Maletič & Gomišček, 2012). Hence, communication is an important component of continuous and successful improvement of the system of quality management. However, organizational managers must be the first to show their awareness of the real need for quality management system.
Therefore, managers must be capable of attracting the attention of their employees and acknowledging their expectations. The article is examining three main players, quality representative, employees and top management of ways of implementing and changing a quality management system. Towards the conclusion of the paper, the authors introduce the relationship between the satisfaction of employees, communication and quality management (Zelnik, Maletič & Gomišček, 2012). The mention that a quality representative links the employees and the top management.
The quality representative plays a significant role in continually improving the quality management system. The role of the quality representative is clearer when evaluating communication between the employees and the top management, he keeps the quality management system maintained and in check. The authors mention that with technology expanding fast and quick, implementing a circle of continuous flow of information between the quality representatives and management is proper for the quality management system to stick.
Analysis and Opinions
Androniceanu (2017) found that total quality management contributes to the solidification of the capacity of business enterprises to cope with intense market competition, reduce turnover and improve their volume of profits. TQM also improves customer relations.
(You now need to do your own analysis and give your opinions in one page, You Cannot Use Anything Else Written In The Article)
Sadikoglu and Olcay (2014) found that TQM improve the overall performance of the organization including customer satisfaction. (You now need to do your own analysis and give your opinions in one page, You Cannot Use Anything Else Written In The Article)
Zelnik, Maletič, Maletič and Gomišček (2012) reinforce that measures of employee motivation and satisfaction are significant, without the involvement of top management; overcoming change resistance is not easy. (You now need to do your own analysis and give your opinions in one page, You Cannot Use Anything Else Written In The Article)
Trends and Conclusion
(get some trends about TQM and write a conclusion)
References
Androniceanu, A. (2017). The Three-Dimensional Approach of Total Quality Management, an Essential Strategic Option for Business Excellence. Amfiteatru Economic, 19(44), pp 61-78.
Sadikoglu, E., & Olcay, H. (2014). The effects of total quality management practices on performance and the reasons of and the barriers to TQM practices in Turkey. Advances in Decision Sciences, 2014.
Zelnik, M., Maletič, M., Maletič, D., & Gomišček, B. (2012). Quality management systems as a link between management and employees. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 23(1), 45-62.