Inhaltsangabe:Introduction: Total Quality Management (TQM) has already made its mark in history. Big players in major industries, such as Ford and Siemens, have already aligned their business and production processes to this holistic management concept. Over the past three decades there are more medium-sized companies applying TQM principles to their business. Quality has been important in helping companies gaining a competitive edge in globalized markets. TQM with its extensive set of methods aims to embed quality awareness among all departments of a company where work affects the quality of the products. There are thousands of articles and books written on how large and medium sized companies have successfully implemented of TQM. An extensive literature review and interviews of experts and owners of very small businesses (micro-businesses) indicate that this is the only industry where TQM systems have not yet been implemented. Although micro-businesses are pressured by their customers to achieve high levels of quality in their products, there is not enough research that addresses the issues of implementing TQM practices for micro-businesses. Scientific literature does not provide answers to crucial questions such as: - What methods of quality management are currently being in use in micro-businesses? - How could a TQM system be tailored to meet the needs in a micro-business environment? This thesis is part of a large-scale field study that recently has been launched by the Howe School of Technology Management at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ. The study aims to reveal answers to the questions listed above. This thesis forms the foundation for the subsequent field study. The main goals is to deploy a systematic TQM framework for micro-businesses that will be help micro-businesses understand how the quality management culture has an impact on a company s success. Additionally, this thesis aims to develop a questionnaire that will examine the validity of the framework and serve as basis for the field study. The focus is on very small manufacturers. First breakthroughs in quality management have been taken place in this industry. Thus we can dispose of more than 100 years of research results in this field. Furthermore it is the manufacturer who is used to the first-movers role in new quality management models another good reason for choosing this industry. Layout of This Thesis: After an exposure of the problem in [...]

Quality is a customer issue. It arises because customers require products and services, which not only meet their performance requirements but are satisfac tory in terms of safety, length of working life and pride of ownership. In a manufacturing organization, therefore, the achievement of quality standards is not restricted to the production departments. It extends to all parts of the business from conceptual design to marketing, from order processing and distribution. A quality product is not just a solidly made item dating from the days when 'Made in Britain' distinguished goods from all the inferior products coming out of the emerging industries of the Far East. It is a product which ranks high against all the criteria which sophisticated consumers now use to evaluate the things they buy. If you agree with the argument that a company is much more likely to produce high quality if all departments are motivated to achieve high quality results then you already have a good understanding of the basic principles of Total Quality Management (TQM). But TQM is not a 'quick fix' or a magic cure. It is a management technique designed to involve all parts of the business in the pursuit of, and commitment to, the highest quality result. By involving everyone from the Chief Executive to the most junior employee in the company's objectives, in a way which means something in their particular job, the company is well on the way to achieving the best results its workforce can achieve.

Manufacturing companies including a local micro-enterprise - Quality Postform Ltd are persistently facing competitive pressures as a consequence of customers demanding higher quality products. The emergence of Quality Management has been attributed by many researchers and Quality Gurus including Phil Crosby as a strategic imperative for typical organisations to survive within a highly competitive environment. Nevertheless, research carried out throughout the past years is relatively restricted regarding the practicality of micro-manufacturing firms in implementing Crosby’s Quality Improvement Programme, which is claimed to be highly beneficial in typical situations. This dissertation seeks to investigate this scenario from both a descriptive and critical perspective towards Quality Postform Ltd. The research provides a critical evaluation of the academic contributions towards the quality management concept. Distinct disputed viewpoints have been identified focusing on Crosby’s 14-Step Quality Improvement Programme. From one end of the spectrum, supporters uphold that claimed benefits have been acknowledged. Alternatively, others sustain that in essence a Quality Improvement Programme is counter-productive in terms of its application within Small and Medium sized Enterprises. However the researcher has identified four key pre-requisites in order for micro-firms to effectively implement Crosby’s programme. These include: management commitment, the acknowledgement of a quality problem, the organisation’s readiness to embrace change together with the suppliers’ readiness to support the quality programme. The methodology applied to assess the presence of these four pre-requisites at QPL was to compile primary, qualitative data through one-to-one / face-to-face interviews with key management officials. This approach is justified due to the absence of formalised documentation and as a result, it is imperative to assess that historical data on Quality Systems is seriously lacking at QPL. The field research outcome reveals that QPL’s management is experiencing serious doubts regarding the feasibility and practicality of the program’s implementation within a micro-manufacturing firm. This is the case primarily whenever the latter is facing limited financial and human resource capabilities such as at QPL. The research findings disclose that none of the four pre-requisites are present within this micro-firm. Moreover it confirms the scepticism on the part of [...]

Total quality management (TQM) practices are those few critical factors which are key to successful implementation of TQM in an organization, whether it is manufacturing, service, public or SMEs. Proper application of TQM will improve the business performance of the organization globally, and hence, results in increased competitive advantage. This could only be possible if proper identification of those key TQM practices or critical success factors (CSFs) which are critical for successful application of TQM are made and then implementing all the identified TQM practices effectively. The aim of this paper is to explore the different TQM practices in two different sectors by reviewing the literature on TQM practices followed by manufacturing and service industries. To accomplish this objective, a survey of published research studies on manufacturing industries and on service industries were selected. The studies selected for this purpose focused on the TQM practices used by them. The finding indicates that broadly the same set of identified TQM practices do exist and are applicable to both the sectors. A total of 42 TQM practices in manufacturing industries and 43 for service industries were indicated by these studies. The results of this paper will help managers to implement TQM in their organizations successfully through the use of the common identified TQM practices. Future research can concentrate on refining and further validating the TQM practices developed in this paper by applying it in different manufacturing and service industries.

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, language: English, abstract: With the increase in quality consciousness and expectations of the customers around the world, Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) in India are also trying to keep-up with them by improving the quality of their products. This paper is an assessment of quality practices, issues and challenges of MSMEs of Kanpur, India. The focus of the study is to identify the quality readiness of these MSMEs, their contribution to export, the strategic advantages and disadvantages faced by MSME in export. A study was conducted on export oriented leather, plastics and chemical industries of Uttar-Pradesh (India) which was presented at the end of the paper as a case study so as to understand the current quality management practices of these industries.

This concise introduction explains in simple terms exactly what quality management means in practice and shows how the basic principles can be implemented in large and small organizations. The authors provide an overview and history of the major approaches, from Deming to Ishikawa to Feigenbaum, and explain how their approaches differ. This concise introduction explains in simple terms exactly what quality management means in practice and shows how the basic principles can be implemented in large and small organizations. The authors provide an overview and history of the major approaches, from Deming to Ishikawa to Feigenbaum, and explain how their approaches differ.