مدیریت کیفیت جامع و فرهنگ سازمانی: ساختار تعالی سازمانی

There is a need for an appropriate culture to support the scope of Total Quality Management (TQM). Customer focus, systems approach, teamwork, involved management and continuous improvement are the aspects of TQM that facilitate improved organisational success, growth, and competitiveness. Many companies are now complementing continuous improvement with innovation, which is seen as the successful exploitation of new ideas. A clear synergy appears between these two corporate success factors as they are often integrated under an appropriate corporate culture for exploitation. The results of this can support substantial improvements in business performance and competitiveness of the company. With this in mind, this paper discusses the concept of corporate culture, places this social construct within the arena of TQM, and highlights the relationships that exist among culture, quality, and competitiveness using a case study.

In order to be a competitor in the global market, companies must study the leading examples of quality. The key to success as identified by these examples is to recognise the importance of innovation and quality; thus, the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) should be the driving force behind the changes taking place within today’s organisations. There is no single best approach to implementing the TQM philosophy. An approach unique to the needs and culture of the organisation must be developed. (Sohal and Terziovski, 2000) Many researchers, if not all, agree that Total Quality is somehow linked to organisational culture. The term “Total Quality Culture” is frequently used in the literature, but there still exists a disagreement on whether TQM involves changing a culture to achieve total quality or whether it means using the existing culture. Many companies undertaking TQM programmes have, in recent times, switched their attention from applying the tools and techniques of TQM to attempting to align their TQM programme with their prevailing organisational culture (Maull et al., 2001). Advocates of organisational excellence eschew the problems associated with achieving a flexible, adaptable and committed workforce in organisations (Reeves and Bednar, 1994). This is because they lack a dominant and coherent culture, in which values, commitments and approaches are likely to diverge, which can present a barrier to co-operation, joint action and problem solving across the organisation. Thus, managers should periodically analyse the relevance of corporate values to the evolving organisational environment. As a result, enabling managers to adapt and nurture the constructs that support the development of an aspired organisational culture. This paper discusses the concept of corporate culture, and places this social construct within the arena of Total Quality Management (TQM). Using a case study from Velden Engineering Ltd, an award-winning UK company, the relationship between culture and strategy are discussed. In addition, the paper identifies individual and organisational characteristics that facilitated best practice through the adoption of strong leadership and organisational management.

This paper stresses the importance of a strong total quality culture as a key element of improving organisational competitiveness. To survive in a rapidly evolving global market, customers and their needs should govern all the activities within an organisation. For most organisations this will require a change in their internal culture. The core concept of TQM, that is the customer focus, linked with a continuous improvement plan that is supported by innovation can build a strong culture, which can positively improve an organisation’s competitiveness and performance. Velden Engineering (UK) Ltd. is an award winning and outstanding subcontract organisation which has realised this long before. Their story of success through the development of a Total Quality Culture told in this article can be used by other organisations as a model in the attainment of organisational excellence. Characteristics of the individuals employed within the company and the general organisational characteristics are listed as a key to success for the companies desiring to be successful in the quest for quality.