Total quality management in Sri Lankan service organizations

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report the results of an investigation on the use of total quality management (TQM) tools, techniques and concepts among Sri Lankan service organizations.Design/methodology/approachThis research consisted of a literature review and a questionnaire survey done among 99 service organizations in Sri Lanka. First, the factors that are commonly used by TQM organizations were identified through the literature review.FindingsThe analysis revealed that there is an enthusiasm among managers in implementing TQM in their organizations. According to the respondents, 41 per cent of the organizations have already implemented TQM. However, deeper analysis of data revealed that there is a lack of thorough understanding of TQM philosophies and techniques among the managers.Practical implicationsThe findings of the paper will provide information to the practitioners to implement TQM in their organizations and to academics to design courses in TQM.Originality/valueIt is important to implement the related tools and techniques in full to realize the benefits of TQM. This paper reveals the level of use and understanding of these tools and techniques by the service sector managers in Sri Lanka.

Assessing the Implementation of Total Quality Management in Education Administration Institutions in Central Province, Sri Lanka

“…Findings of the study, proves that the level of implementation of benchmarking is at a high level and as a percentage it is 65.8%. This finding is consistent with the previous research findings by Yapa (2012) as in that study 57% of the selected service sector institutions implementing benchmarking.…”

“…As a percentage 13.16% of the studied institutions implement ISO at a moderate level. Therefore it is consistent with the findings of the previous research done by Yapa (2012).…”

“…According to a research done by Yapa (2012) on TQM adoption in service sector in Sri Lanka, revealed that only 32 per cent of the organizations in the selected sample have obtained the ISO certificate. As per the current study also it revealed that the level of ISO 9000 series is implementing at a low level.…”

“…Here a technique refers to systematic procedure by which a task is accomplished and a principle refers to a rule or standard that is adhered to be. Imer, Kekale, Takala, Liu (2014) and Yapa (2012) In this study, hard aspect of TQM Four techniques namely ISO 9000 series, Quality Circles, 5S concept and Benchmarking were the techniques used to measure the implementation level of hard aspect of TQM.…”

“…The framework adopted in this study is highly influenced by the studies of Psychogias (2007), Imer, Kekale, Takala, Liu (2014 and Yapa (2012). The following conceptual framework was developed to measure the level of implementation of TQM aspects in the education sector Sri Lanka.…”