Approaches to quality management in the UK: survey evidence and implications

Purpose – This paper seeks to shift the focus to the implications of various quality management

systems, as a pervasive feature of modern organisational life, for business excellence.

Design/methodology/approach – A mail-based survey is conducted among a total of 150

UK-based European Foundation for Quality Management-affiliated organisations. This quantitative

methodology sounds appropriate, given that there is a relative dearth of evidence regarding the nature

of quality management systems as quality-driven organisations pursue continuous improvement

through such systems.

Findings – Together, International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) series and other total

quality management (TQM) models were seen as helping organisations in the journey towards

business excellence. Despite the apparently high level of interest in various forms of quality

management systems, however, a major discrepancy was found between the rhetoric of these systems

and the reality of their practice. For example, little evidence was found that the surveyed organisations

were developing a more strategic approach to managing soft aspects of quality management. The

results also highlighted the fact that the approach emerging in many organisations seems to be

relatively the antithesis of that of the TQM-driven organisations.

Research limitations/implications – A fundamental limitation of this study relates to its research

method and the fact that it draws its data from only a mail-based survey. Therefore, additional

follow-up research in the form of case studies – qualitative methodology – should be conducted in

order to examine more deeply and validate the survey results.

Practical implications – Specifically, despite being viewed as potentially a threat to quality

management initiatives, indeed, the paper is in many respects a spirited defence of the distinctive

contribution and value of ISO 9000 as a basis and stepping-stone for TQM success.

Originality/value – This paper updates the earlier work and significantly highlights the move to

broaden the aims and process of quality management systems by using international-wide quality

management frameworks.