A holistic approach of pathways to achieving optimum business outcomes using quality management assessment framework (QMAF) with information communication technology (ICT) as an enabler

Abstract

It is imperative that issues that lead to poor implementation of quality programs be addressed effectively to enable Australian companies to compete more effectively in highly competitive global markets. The development of a methodology to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the quality system in an organisation could thus be of value to organisations to enable them to rectify weaknesses and compete more effectively on the basis of customer value creation through quality enhancement. Creating value for the customer through quality is accepted as an important component of the competitive strategy of organisations throughout the world. Its relevance and significance is well reflected by the importance attached to the "quality imperative" not only by organisations but also by governments, international agencies, and business associations. The breakthrough gains that can be made through a well-implemented Total Quality Management (TQM) program have prompted the development of award systems such as the Deming Prize, the Baldrige Award, the European Quality Award the Japanese Quality Award, and the Australian Quality Award, which also serve as frameworks for self assessment and improvement. The purpose of this study is to establish pathways to achieve optimum business outcomes using the Quality Management Assessment Framework (QMAF) model with ICT as an enabler and to formulate guidelines for managers. The main research question is as follows. How do the categories which contain the TQM elements including information communication technology (ICT) in the model of the Quality Management Assessment Framework (QMAF) directly and indirectly affect the performance outputs of an organisation, namely business outcomes (business results and customer and stakeholder value)? Based on a study of popular quality frameworks, an integrated approach for assessing quality management practices at the organisation level is proposed. Explicit attention is then paid to the role that information and communication technology (ICT) can play in upgrading quality management practices. ICT is seen as an enabler that, through its influence on the elements of the proposed framework, can accelerate the movement of an organisation towards ICT supported quality management and strengthen an organisation's operative technological capability. The model consists of the following major TQM elements: leadership; strategy; quality culture; benchmarking; customer focus; partnering; education and training; empowerment; total quality tools; continuous improvement; business processes; information/knowledge/communication; business results plus feedback; and customer value plus feedback. The major TQM elements are classified into nine categories in the model, namely leadership, quality culture, information/knowledge/communication, strategy, human resources management, partnering focus, improvement methods, business processes and business outcomes (business results, customer and stakeholder value and feedback).The model is referred to as the Quality Management Assessment Framework (QMAF). Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, a detailed checklist has been developed for each of these elements so that, through its administration, a quick assessment could be made of the status of the quality system of an organisation. The delineation of these elements and their further elaboration through the checklist is an attempt to understand the complex interactions of these factors on business results and customer value creation. The framework also pays special attention to the role that ICT can play in upgrading quality systems. Here, ICT is seen as an enabler that, together with the major elements of TQM, can revolutionise people management, technology management, knowledge management and business management in the pursuit of organisational excellence. This research involved a questionnaire-based survey of small, medium and large manufacturing organisations in the Western Sydney Region. A total of 60 useable questionnaires were received from organisations who received the questionnaire by mail. The management information from the data was treated with the appropriate statistical tools in order to attain secure and minimally biased conclusions. A clear methodological path for assessing the quality management systems of organisations with the use of the Quality Management Assessment Framework (QMAF) model is presented. It introduces the concepts evaluated by the QMAF model and provides an assessment of the quality management capabilities of the industries in the Western Sydney Region of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The assessment is based on distribution of scores of the various categories in the QMAF model, using a benchmarking process. Furthermore, it detected significant differences between large, medium and small organisations and the various ANZSIC industry codes with regard to measures of the TQM categories of the QMAF model using ANOVA and multiple comparison with the best (MCB). The analysis verified the general reliability of the QMAF model. The QMAF model assessment has also identified many of the Western Sydney Region manufacturing industries' shortcomings that merit further investigation. The results of this analysis can serve as valuable feedback to the managers of the industries considered in this study aiming at bettering their business processes in many ways, including benchmarking their performance against the best case scores of the QMAF. Multiple regression and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) - path analysis were further used to study the strengths and the relationships between the constructs in the QMAF model. The causal relationships between the various constructs in the model were used to establish optimum pathways in achieving business outcomes encompassing business results, customer and stakeholder value were established for the manufacturing industries in the Western Sydney Region. The results of the analysis validate the QMAF model. The significance of information communication technology (ICT) as an enabler through its influence on the constructs of the proposed framework as represented by the information, knowledge and communication (IKC) construct is affirmed. Several hypotheses are substantiated establishing direct and indirect causal relationships among the constructs of the QMAF model. The impact of the traditional Total Quality Management (TQM) constructs on business outcomes using a Quality Management Assessment Framework (QMAF) without considering the Information/Knowledge/Communication (IKC) construct was also studied. Multiple regression and SEM - path analysis (recursive) were also used to study the strengths and the relationships between these constructs. In order to validate and reinforce the strengths of the relationships between traditional TQM constructs, several hypotheses are substantiated among the traditional TQM constructs establishing direct and indirect causal relationships among the constructs and their significance. Finally the one-to-one direct effect of IKC on the other categories of the QMAF model was determined using regression analysis. The quality assessment analysis using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Hsu's MCB along with (SEM) recursive path analysis study provides vital guidelines to managers in the manufacturing industries of the Western Sydney Region in formulating strategies towards achieving business excellence through TQM using ICT as an enabler. The one-to-one direct effect of IKC provides a more holistic picture of the important role ICT plays in obtaining optimum business outcomes. The above findings supported by the QMAF assessment tool can be used to foster continual improvement and achieve business excellence. This research concludes by pointing out the implications, strengths and limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.

Date of Award	2010
Original language	English