Main schools of TQM, the big five

NEW RESEARCH

Influencing the future of TQM:internal and external driving

factorsRodney McAdam

School of Business, Organisation and Management, University of Ulster,Belfast, UK, and

Joan HendersonSchool of Management, The Queens University of Belfast, Belfast, UK

Keywords Total quality management, Case studies, Literature

Abstract The aim of this paper is to investigate the future of total quality management (TQM) bydetermining the scope and depth of the influencing or driving factors that will shape the body ofknowledge, known as TQM, into the future. The rapid rate of change in global and niche marketshas increased pressure on organisations to become more competitive. TQM is not immune fromsuch changes. Rather, TQM theory and practice must continually adapt to be in the vanguard ofsuch change and potential future changes. The research to determine the influencing/drivingfactors for the future of TQM involved a panoptic literature review and an inductive groundedtheory approach using multiple case studies. Overall, the research indicates that both themechanistic and organismic aspects of TQM will continue into the future, along with the continualrepresentative development of initiatives to meet current and future organisational change.Furthermore, the TQM discourse will remain a challenging research area for both academics andpractitioners.

IntroductionThe philosophy, theory, practice and terminology of total quality management(TQM) has emerged and has continuously developed over the last circa 15years (Boaden, 1997). A key characteristic of TQM throughout this period hasbeen the positive effect on organisational improvement in times of change inboth markets and organisations. However, Dale et al. (2001) argue that TQM isstill in the early stages of theory development and that future theoreticaldevelopment incorporating “appropriate management theories” needs to berealised before TQM can reach a “refined” stage of development. van der Wieleet al. (2000a) contend that the progression of self-assessment from an ISO tobusiness-excellence-model (BEM) environment is an indicator of TQM growthand development. Moreover, business process reengineering (BPR), six sigmaand other developing methodologies are steps along this pathway ofdevelopment (Dale and Lascelles, 1997; Kruger, 2001). With the pace ofchange becoming more large scale, there is a need for both academics and

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Received September2002

Revised January 2003

International Journal of Quality &Reliability Management

Vol. 21 No. 1, 2004pp. 51-71

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited0265-671X

DOI 10.1108/02656710410511696

practitioners to both determine and predict the future direction anddevelopment of TQM, to address these issues.

Assuming TQM’s impact on organisations will continue, what types ofTQM-based improvement initiatives will develop in the future to meet theanticipated organisational and market changes? Will the TQM of the future beunrecognisable from the current form or will there be a clear line of continualdevelopment? Future predictions in times of rapid change are notoriouslyunreliable, however, the determination of the key driving forces for future TQMdevelopment would be helpful, both for organisational planning and directingresearch efforts (Wilkinson and Willmott, 1994). Based on Dale et al.’s (2001)contention that TQM theory is still in the early stages of development, thereexists an opportunity to influence the future development of TQM and toensure the philosophy will continue to enable organisational change in times ofuncertainty and change.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the future of TQM by determining thescope and depth of the influencing or driving factors that will shape the body ofknowledge, known as TQM, into the future. This will include, firstly, a reviewof the literature to enable a grounded list of key internal and external TQMinfluencing factors, or drivers for future development, to be constructed. Inqualitative research, grounded factors are those factors, which are inductivelyderived from a body of knowledge (Strauss and Corbin, 1990), where the bodyof knowledge is TQM in the current study. Secondly, the paper discusses thefurther development of these factors and their likely effect on TQM by showingthe results of a multiple case research study.

It is useful at this juncture to clarify the definition of TQM used in this paper.Hermel (1997) has stated that TQM has moved from a predominantly narrowand mechanistic focus to include more subjective and broader organisationalphilosophy. This broader approach has led some writers to refer to the keytheoretical constructs of TQM, rather than devising succinct definitions. Thus,based on the work of Dale et al. (2001), Hermel (1997), Hackman and Wageman(1995) and DeCock and Hipkin (1997), TQM is defined as embodying thefollowing constructs:

. TQM is strategically linked to the organisational goals.

. Customer satisfaction and understanding is vital within the organisation.

. Employee participation and understanding at all levels is required withinthe organisation.

. There is a need for management commitment and consistency of purposewithin the organisation.

. The organisation is perceived as a series of processes, which incorporatecustomer supplier relationships.

Thus, a broad and inclusive TQM definition is used, avoiding the restrictivedangers of narrow mechanistic codicils (Wilkinson and Willmott, 1994). Dale

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et al. (2001) conclude: ”TQM is a continuum of theories, touching soft and hardaspects of organisations”.

Influencing factors for the future of TQMA review of the TQM literature, in the widest definition, resulted in a number ofgrounded influencing factors being constructed. The approach used was that ofStrauss and Corbin (1990) where theory is viewed as being constructed overtime to form a body of knowledge. Thus, full use can be made of TQMexperience, case and other related data. The approach suits the current body ofTQM knowledge that often is not suitable for more hypo-deductive styleresearch. The factors were divided into two broad categories, namely internaland external influencing factors for the future of TQM. Internal refers to issueswithin the TQM movement while external refers to issues in the environment inwhich TQM is placed.

Internal TQM driversAlthough TQM, in its current terminology, has only emerged in themanagement literature over the past 15 years, the antecedents of the movementhave been in existence for much longer. Wilkinson and Willmott (1994) refer tothe shaping influences of the twenty-first century through information andcontrol theory (1930s), work-study and operations research in the 1950s, 1960sand 1970s. These influences have shaped aspects of current TQM. Dale et al.(2001) conclude that this has led to TQM being the major development withinoperations management. While these influences are largely mechanistic, theHawthorne studies in the 1920s, socio-technical theory of the 1950s andorganisational development approaches, have all added a more organismicinfluence to TQM. In reviewing the development of TQM, Spencer (1994)identified both organismic and the mechanistic approaches as two paradigmswithin TQM. Furthermore, Spencer demonstrated that each of these twostreams were extrapolations of their historical development. In particular, themechanistic approach to TQM was found to be more insular and grounded inquality assurance (DeCock, 1998). In summarising the work of Spencer andothers in this area, Dale et al. (2001) concludes that two main areas emerge: “thetwo main areas being positivistic and phenomenological. Research into TQMcan be undertaken using both these paradigms”. In summarising, bothmechanistic and organismic aspects of TQM are identified, where mechanisticis mainly positivistic, deductive and incremental in its approach to change.Organismic is more phenomenological and inductively based and allows forlarge-scale change or discontinuities.

Extrapolation. These findings indicate that part of future TQM is likely toretain a mechanistic paradigm, which will have characteristics, associated withquality assurance and product quality. Further advances in statistical andcomputational processing can only enhance this development. Thus, the

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influence of Deming on TQM (e.g. Deming, 1986) will continue. This branch ofTQM has been relatively impervious to multi-discipline influences in academiaand practice and therefore current developments are likely to be extrapolatedinto the future. It is likely that there will be similar terminology and possibledevelopment of more mechanistic initiatives in the area of TQM performancemeasurement. Dale et al. (2001) refers to the operations management bases ofTQM as contributing to this incrementalism. For example, the currentsix-sigma developments within TQM in operations, when critically evaluated,is found to be based on the statistical and incrementaalism side of TQM(Kruger, 2001).

Paradigm shifts/redefinition. Spencer’s (1994) concept of the organismicparadigm as a basis for large scale or discontinuous change in TQM can bedeveloped further by considering postmodernism and critical perspectivetransforming paradigms. DeCock (1998) argues that successive transforms ofpostmodernism and critical perspectives has shaped TQM and will continue todo so (Figure 1).

Postmodern challenges can be applied to each of the TQM concepts, asdefined in the introduction, to deconstruct them (DeCock and Hipkin, 1997) asshown in Figure 1. Critical perspectives should then be applied to thechallenged concepts, and transformed concepts articulated. Thus theorganismic paradigm can be used to lead to large-scale transformation byusing concepts from other management fields, namely critical theory andpostmodernism. This view is supported by Dale et al. (2001) who stated inrelation to the large-scale future development of TQM: “to extend the scope ofTQM theory it is necessary to incorporate appropriate management theoriesinto its development. Much remains to be done”.

If the key concepts of TQM can be transformed as shown, then there existsthe possibility of future TQM development, which are a quantum development,rather than an extrapolation of past advances. Therefore, an opportunity existsfor improved organisational application and improved theoreticalunderpinning which in turn can lead to future TQM development.

Figure 1.Postmodern and criticalperspective challengeand transformation ofTQM

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The paradigm shifts of TQM (Spencer, 1994; Wilkinson and Willmott, 1994;DeCock, 1998) over the years can be seen in a number of “resonating”developments (Grint, 1997), where large-scale changes to TQM have takenplace:

. development of human resources and empowerment concepts (Grint,1997);

. improvements in productivity management, supply chain management(Mohanty, 1998);

. the award processes (Malcolm Baldrige, European Business Excellence);

. the emergence of business processes and business process reengineering(Davenport et al., 1996);

. new methods for cultural change management (Camison, 1998);

. new approaches to strategic management (Madu and Chu-Hua, 1994);

. development of innovation approaches, e-business and TQM (Tidd et al.,1999);

. influence of applications in different sectors (van der Wiele and Brown,1998).

These factors have influenced and shaped TQM, and in turn have beeninfluenced and shaped themselves, in a reflexive manner, as shown in Figure 2.Giroux and Landry (1998) describe this development as the TQM discourseshifting with time.

Thus, an examination of the paradigm shift/redefinition aspects of TQM,demonstrates that future TQM development is likely to include large scaleshifts compared to the present format. These shifts are likely to includeredefinition of terminology, especially concerning the use of the word quality(e.g. reengineering, knowledge management).

Figure 2.TQM influencing

development factors

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External TQM driversThe technology, markets and environmental drivers are all classed as externaldrivers, or those factors, which will influence the future of TQM from withoutthe TQM discourse.

Technology. The ever changing and rapidly developing area of technology isconsidered to be a driver in its own right. The scope of influence of technologyon any discourse is vast, however, the current discussion is limited to twoprevalent aspects as being illustrative, rather than comprehensive. The areasbriefly considered are information system databases and the ubiquitouse-business. New developments in information systems databases can play akey role in shaping TQM’s influence on business processes, especiallyprocesses requiring complex customer data (Venkatraman, 1994). For example,modern database technology linked to the ubiquitous World Wide Web orInternet provide organisations with opportunities that existingoperations/marketing processes find difficult to accommodate (Postma, 1998).The challenge is to determine how existing operations/marketing processes canbe changed to maximise the effectiveness of this new technology and henceenable the creation of new market opportunities. Ultimately, this challenge willinform the future development of TQM methodologies.

Davenport (1993) sees information technology (IT) as one of several enablersto bring about change in processes, and the achievement of positive resultsinvolving “a carefully considered combination of both technical and humanenablers”. These arguments are likely to be projected into any future TQMscenario. Despite this “supposedly” strong human-technology interface, thereremains considerable overspends of between £1million and £1 billion on majorIT projects. The research also confirms that whilst IT plays a major role inTQM, future innovations at the organisational, managerial and human levels oforganisations are essential if true improvements are to be made (Lee and Dale,1998). Postma (1998) has characterised this new era by stressing the need formanagement to act according to the information held in databases rather thanthat acquired through research and generic models. Thus, TQM will beinformed and shaped by customer requirements reflected in accurate data andinformation systems (Aurand et al., 1996).

From a cursory view, the rapid development of e-business would appear tohave by-passed the TQM discourse given the paucity of systematic researchspecifically on e-business and TQM. However, many of the aspects ofe-business are addressed by TQM principles without the use of e-businessterminology. For example, Morency (2000) and Biggs (2000) list businessprocess mapping and improvement, competitive intelligence (Benchmarking),customer knowledge, supplier and network relations as key elements of ane-business strategy. All of these issues have been addressed in the TQMliterature, however the full effect of technology on these issues, as representedin e-business has not been fully investigated. For example, the role of

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e-business in relation to TQM-based methods such as BPR andcustomer-supplier-chain issues needs clarification. Ang and Finlay (1999)and Forza (1995) state the need for more studies in the area of IT as applied toTQM principles. Palmisano (1998) describes e-business as operating in threeways: first, applying technology and know how to improve internal processes;second, applying this process approach to customers and suppliers; third,improving customer service by “tapping into the reach and availability of theinternet”. Thus, these principles will shape, and be shaped by, TQM in thefuture. One example could be the increased use of e-business technology suchas option finder within the TQM management decision-making process(Optionfinder is a touch pad electronic aid for self-assessment scoring using theBEM).

In summary, technology is likely to continue to be a key driver of TQM,shaping its future through e-business and IT.

Markets. Globalisation among organisations responding to improvedcommunications and market opportunities is resulting in “virtual”organisations. These organisations or business units retain core skills butalso have the ability to rapidly exploit emerging market opportunities.Demerest (1997) contends that as integrated structures increase theorganisational boundaries will become fluid and groups of “entrepreneurialcadres” will spontaneously form, directed from a “virtual” centre, thusquestioning the concept of corporate headquarters. These networks will be ableto respond rapidly to localised customer needs (Craven et al., 1996). Key factorsin these networks are the dynamics of organisational change, customercharacteristics and core competencies (Achrol, 1991).

TQM has a key role to play in these developments, however, TQM itselfmust be developed to meet this market challenge. A key tenet of TQM iscustomer satisfaction. In this situation the organisational and customersatisfaction demands are likely to be significantly greater than thoseexperienced before. Gunneson (1997) contends that a “healthy quality process”will always ensure a quality product/service, whatever the operationalcircumstances. He sees empowered network teams and organisations as anopportunity for strategic quality improvement teams to function in an optimalmanner. Peters (1992) refers to this process as “unleashing the power ofsubordinate units”. There is also an opportunity for increased TQM-basedlearning and development in these networks (Beer et al., 1990). The TQM of thefuture must also address the issue of diversity for network organisations actingin fragmented markets. Diversity in this context refers to the differentorganisational forms of the networks caused by local market conditions. Forexample, flexible organisations (e.g. Hewlett Packard) allow groups and teamsin different geographical areas to select their own TQM approaches based onmarket and customer needs, rather than imposing normative central officedogma (Coulson-Thomas, 1994).

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In summary, the future of TQM as influenced by market changes is likely toresult in less structured TQM approaches and more devolved, empowered,customer facing TQM activity. While TQM exponents may argue that theseelements have been in existence for some time, there is clearly a need for TQMto become more mobile and agile to meet such challenges. Possible resultantfuture developments in TQM initiatives may include empowered teamapproaches and coping with diversity. Further large-scale changes inTQM-based customer-supplier chain relationships are also likely.

Environmental. There is an increasing trend towards improvedenvironmental performance and socially responsible business practices(Axelrod, 2000). TQM is already intrinsically associated with this movementthrough the International Standard for Environmental Management SystemsISO 14000, and quality-award models (e.g. Baldrige, mainly USA and the BEM,mainly Europe). The ISO 14001 standard, although extrapolated from ISO 9000thinking, has many features which indicate an acceptance of larger scalechange such as commitment to improvement, employee involvement,prevention and continuous process improvement (Cascio and Baughn, 2000).However, as Cascio and Baughn (2000) state: “when implemented, ISO 14001establishes an institutional discipline”. Thus, elements of extrapolation (point1) remain. Allen et al. (2000) point out that “environmental managementsystems are now seen as high priority in many forward looking organisations”.

Thus, the challenge for the future development of TQM is to ensureTQM-based environmental standards are “both proactive in nature anddynamic in their evolution” (Allen et al., 2000) and to develop initiatives thatwill encourage these attributes within the international standard, such as Kanjiand Asher’s (1993) model.

Research methodologyTo further determine the influencing factors for TQM future development, aqualitative research study into 40 organisations, each of which had developedTQM as evidenced by their involvement in quality award models and futureTQM plans (all had scored in excess of 400 points in the BEM), was conducted).It should be noted that the 400 point limit was supported by the researcher’sknowledge of the cases and was therefore only used as an initial screening rule.All of the cases were found to have systematically developed self assessment,beyond that of “scoring”, after the manner suggested by van der Wiele et al.(2000a). There were 20 large private, ten large public/service and ten SMEorganisations, all with different product/service classifications. The researchmethod chosen was that of inducting theory using case studies (Eisenhardt,1989). In this approach theory or models are developed throughout theempirical study in a grounded approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss andCorbin, 1990), rather than using hypothesis testing. In this approach there is noneed for a large number of cases to achieve validity, rather there is a more

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in-depth study of a number of cases to observe what is happening (Remenyiet al., 1998; Burgoyne and Reynolds, 1998). Furthermore, a priori constructs areadmissible to initiate the study (Eisenhardt, 1989). The key steps of theresearch methodology are shown in Figure 3.

Semi-structured interviews with senior management, ethnographicobservations and organisational archive material were used to obtain thedata and triangulation (Remenyi et al., 1998). Each case was fully written up,then coded (Remenyi et al., 1998; Easterby-Smith et al., 1993) and comparedwith the a priori drivers of TQM, derived from the literature as describedearlier. The coding process was undertaken by the researchers who codedindividually and then check-coded each other’s work.

It should be noted that the BEM referred to in this section and later in thepaper, is one of the main quality-award models in use in Western Europe (vander Wiele et al., 2000a). The model seeks to represent the principles of TQM in ameasurable manner using a criteria and points-based self-assessment system(EFQM, 2002).

Results and discussionNew and modified TQM drivers were derived from the multiple case data. Inaddition, the TQM drivers were found to be similar to those suggested in theliterature review. In this section each key TQM driver is discussed in relation tomultiple case findings. Table I summarises the key research-based elements ofthe TQM drivers, while Figure 4 illustrates the grounded findings of theresearch. Throughout this section use is made of verbatim quotes from the

Figure 3.Research methodology

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semi-structured interviews to support the arguments as suggested bySilverman (1997, p. 116) where “the verbal formulations of the subjects aretreated as . . . the observation of actual behaviour”.

Case results – internal driversCase results – extrapolation drivers. There was little evidence to suggest thatmechanistic approaches to TQM are an anachronism, in the organisationsstudied. Rather, quality assurance schemes based primarily on ISO 9000 andISO 14000 were seen as an essential future element of TQM. The increasingdevelopment of TQM in the public sector was seen as increasing the demandfor these approaches in the future, as stated by one public sector best valuemanager:

Quality assurance, seen as a limited and mechanistic approach is still necessary withinadministrative functions in the context of the public sector.

Furthermore, there was compelling evidence that the organisations stillconsider ISO 9000 (and more latterly ISO 9000:2000) as an essential first step onthe quality journey (Dale and Lascelles, 1997; van der Wiele and Brown, 1998;van der Wiele et al., 2000b), despite recognising its considerable limitations, atypical comment being:

. . . the gap between the requirements of ISO 9000 and the holistic view of the BEM cannot bebridged easily – more of the basics need to be put in place . . . organisations without an ISO9000 series certificate will find it hard to do business.

The case evidence also suggested that sector specific mechanistic TQMapproaches are increasing, and will increase in the future. This development is

Figure 4.Grounded model of

internal and externalTQM drivers

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based on a rejection of the “one model suits all” approach often found in theTQM discourse (Coulson-Thomas, 1994). As one manager stated:

. . . these types of systems fall down in not being specific enough to our business.

Another manager from a food sector organisation stated:

. . . the food safety act 1990 requires business to demonstrate due diligence and the approvalof a quality system . . . a properly implemented and maintained HACCP system [food qualitystandard].

Another manager stated:

I believe that different organisations with different definitions of quality, will use, or need,different types of ISO-9000-based approaches in the future.

Such localised, and accredited, mechanistic-based TQM approaches are likelyto increase as market niches continue to attract specific organisational skillsand expertise. An interesting theme emerging from the data was thatorganisations using the BEM and Investors in People (IiP) models for overthree years were now considering them as mechanistic elements of TQM,rather than as a paradigm shift approach, as first perceived. In these cases theorganisations’ perception of the BEM shifted with time, fromphenomenological-based to more positivistic-based in terms of organisationallearning. This development is referred to as a longitudinal epistemologicaltransformation (Figure 4).

One of the most current developments of TQM on the mechanistic side, withpotentially large future development, was seen as that of six sigma (Kruger,2001). This initiative, while not explained here, has its roots in ISO 9000 andmore specifically in statistical process control. Thus, mechanistic approaches toTQM, such as ISO 9000, are continuing into the future. This continuance ismainly because of ongoing legislative demands for defined quality-assurancesystems. New approaches in this area are still emerging (e.g. ISO 9000:2000).This finding contradicts the idea that TQM’s continual cultural development isincommensurate with, and will totally eclipse, the mechanistic approaches. Sixsigma was also found to be an example of longitudinal epistemologicaltransformation (Figure 4) in that the essentially mechanistic approach hasbecome accepted as a more organismic approach to TQM over time, andpotentially in the future. One manager from a large manufacturingorganisation company commented:

Six sigma is a long term continuous improvement system. It requires committed andcharismatic leadership to be successful.

Another manager stated:

. . . the key to future improvements in quality will be people and a better understanding ofprocesses to which six sigma can provide objective measurement.

A telecommunications company manager stated:

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Six sigma appears mechanistic but with a wider range of tools it may be the way forward formanufacturing and service-based companies.

The proposed ISO changes, ISO 9000:2000, were also considered to be anelement of TQM that would change the mechanistic perspective of thisapproach in the future. One quality manager commented:

ISO 9000:2000 is a step in the right direction . . . it now includes commitment and leadership,planning and organisation, communication, training and education and continuousimprovement.

In summary, mechanistic approaches to TQM are likely to be a key element ofTQM development in the future. With initiatives similar to six sigma, theseapproaches may be new development, rather than simply revisions to existingapproaches (e.g. ISO 9000:2000). Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, part A, it islikely that the mechanistic and organismic approaches to TQM will become amore integrated continuum, rather than distinct linear pathways (Wilkinsonand Willmott, 1994).

Case results – paradigm shift drivers. The relentless increase in market andcompetitive pressure had forced many of the case organisations to “look again”at TQM as a future strategy for reducing costs and increasing customersatisfaction. This finding challenges the orthodoxy of particular managementapproaches having specific continuous eras of effectiveness, rather, theresearch findings indicate the relative importance and shape of TQM (and asperceived in the future) changing, dependent on market conditions. A customerservice quality manager commented:

. . . managers have recognised the strategic importance of quality . . . originally topmanagement failed to lead in strategic quality management, which requires a customerfocused vision.

Others used this reasoning to justify relabeling, as found by DeCock andHipkin (1997):

. . . therefore in the future there may be re-branding of existing TQM approaches under adifferent name.

The area of organisational learning and Knowledge Management emerged askey themes within the Paradigm Shift area of study (e.g. Demerest, 1997).However, many of the organisations considered TQM principles as underlyingthese approaches and found much of the “esoteric” philosophy difficult to putinto practice throughout the organisation. Many see the driving forces forKnowledge Management, and related initiatives, as coming from TQM. Forexample, a typical comment from one manager was:

. . . the driving force for many of these changes will come through TQM concepts, thesephilosophies will enable organisations to find workable solutions for collecting anddisseminating knowledge across organisations.

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Throughout the study the concept emerged of TQM being developed by theincreasing emphasis on innovation in organisations. Some of thisinnovativeness was seen as coming from processes (supporting a morecross-functional organisation focus, Davenport et al., 1996). One of themanagers responsible for both quality and innovation commented on hisorganisation’s expectation from future TQM:

. . . people expect something new and innovative, more time needs to be spent on research anddevelopment, and creating more radical improvements, BPR perhaps, to satisfy the demandsfor innovation and new ideas.

The organisations that see the future of TQM being shaped by innovation andBPR, also considered benchmarking (Tidd et al., 1999), to have an influence,especially business process benchmarking. The anticipated increased influenceof benchmarking in TQM is causally linked to increased globalisation ofbusinesses and processes. As stated by one manager:

. . . process analysis and benchmarking can assist us to further develop innovation as part ofTQM.

Furthermore, there was a call for more advanced approaches to Benchmarkingas part of TQM (Biggs, 2000). One manager responsible for performancemeasurement stated:

. . . in the future benchmarking has the potential to yield vital market intelligence, usingcustomer provided “blinded” competitor data, as the quality and depth of such data canbe superior to traditional competitive Benchmarking due to competitors’ reluctance toshare.

The research findings revealed that the integrative role of TQM would becomeincreasingly important in the future, both in organisations and in academia.For example, the heterogeneous nature of business degree courses (BA, MSc,MBA) was seen as needing to incorporate a much more cross-functionalcurriculum. A human resources and quality manager stated:

. . . the organisation wide nature of TQM impinges, for example, on virtually every module onan MBA course, many of the issues in TQM textbooks are found in HRM [human resourcemanagement], marketing, strategy . . . the very essence of TQM is in the integration of thesedisciplines to provide organisational benefit.

The case organisations continually referred to the TQM of the future as havingto address ongoing culture change. In this complex and difficult area (Camison,1998) TQM can, according to one manager:

TQM can help with the development of education and management training anddevelopment in developing cultural change.

Closely allied with the idea of culture was that of leadership in ensuring thatfuture TQM, as demanded by market forces, is effectively and proactivelyplanned and implemented. As stated by one managing director:

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. . . strategies such as six sigma must be led by top management . . . with my understanding ofthe current and future goals of the company, I will be able to evaluate [developments].

Frameworks such as IiP and the BEM, while considered paradigm shifts untilrecently, were seen as having a more mechanistic standardised auditing role onfuture TQM, consistent with the longitudinal epistemological transformationdiscussed earlier (Giroux and Landry, 1998). Thus, the perception of TQMmodels and methods in organisations can change with time.

In summary, the results indicate that Paradigm shift drivers are likely toshape the future of TQM through strategic and cross functional development ofTQM and the development of new and emergent approaches, such asKnowledge Management.

Case results – external driversCase results – organisational praxis drivers. The case data analysis revealed akey driver for the future of TQM to be that of organisational praxis. Thegrounding of TQM within organisations was seen as essential in ensuringorganisations remained adaptable and flexible in response to market changes(DeCock, 1998). A typical comment from the managers was:

. . . the integration of TQM with all of the Business is likely to become a primary focus overthe next five years.

Furthermore, TQM was seen as having both academic and organisationrespectability, ideally placing it to make a major contribution to organisationpractice in the future. A manager who was involved in auniversity-organisation partnership stated:

. . . there is an increasing body of knowledge and a number of theoretical developments, TQMhas established a secure hold on the agendas of both managers and academics . . . the futureof TQM on the face of it would appear full of promise.

Closely linked to the idea of integration was that of sustainability. Any futureorganisational change activity was seen as needing to be self-sustaining(Mohanty, 1998). Although this could pose difficulties for TQM inorganisations, the philosophy’s close alliance with market needs couldensure the continued relevance and hence sustainability of TQM. One qualitymanager commented:

. . . which must be sustained [i.e. TQM] and self perpetuated over time representing anongoing challenge [to the organisation].

The training and development of staff in TQM was seen as crucial to thesuccess of future TQM, especially in establishing the quality culture discussedearlier and as stated by a human resources and quality manager:

. . . an improved quality culture can be built, a lot of work needs to be done in the area of stafftraining and development to help bring about the right environment in which significantadvances in quality can be made.

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The organisations studied showed a reluctance to accept generalised models ofTQM in the future (Coulson-Thomas, 1994). Rather, they desired to take thefundamental principles of TQM and develop their own bespoke methodologiesand applications. One manager from a public sector organisation commented:

. . . it is likely that future development of TQM practice within the public and privateorganisations will be shaped by the challenges presented within their respectiveenvironments.

For example, the public sector organisations considered some methodologies tobe a resource burden as they were little more than lightly modified privatesector approaches. The public service orientated organisations also found theintangibility, heterogeneity and high client interaction associated with servicewere not adequately addressed in current TQM-based frameworks such as IiPand the BEM. SMEs were also considered to be a major area of influence in thefuture for TQM. The case SMEs all expressed frustration at the current lack ofunderstanding of SMEs by those devising TQM implementationmethodologies. As stated by one owner/manager from an SME:

. . . execution of TQM in the future will have to consider the needs of SMEs, they have limitedresources and need to remain flexible.

Overall, for TQM to be a future force in organisational development, it mustremain rooted and grounded in praxis, supported by academia (DeCock andHipkin, 1997). It will be sustained and shaped by developing a culturesupported by effective training and development. The TQM of the future mustbe carefully and completely adapted to suit the needs of key sectors such as thepublic, service and SMEs sectors (van der Wiele and Brown, 1998), rather thanrely on modifying and applying large private sector methodologies in thesecontexts.

Case results – market drivers. Increased future globalisation of markets andvirtualisation of organisations were seen as increasing competition for allorganisations. TQM was seen as essential in achieving competitive advantagein such circumstances, primarily through improved quality and reduced costs,as commented on by one manager:

. . . the savings in quality costs offered through TQM cannot be ignored by those seekingto achieve or maintain competitive advantage and will continue to be a driver for TQM.

Future globalisation was seen as shaping TQM through the international orglobal ISO 9000 (or ISO 9000:2000) standard, that represents an internationallanguage of quality assurance. The synergy achieved through effectivesupplier partnerships and customer relationship marketing in the globalmarket context was seen as influencing the future of TQM through customersupply chain developments was seen as essential in a global market. The TQMof the future was seen as needing to adapt to increasing market fragmentation

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and the tendency towards niche markets (Craven et al., 1996). One of the SMEmanagers commented:

. . . a common error in the implementation of TQM is a failure to recognise the difference inmarkets . . . TQM [in the future] must be properly aligned with the market strategies.

Therefore, the findings indicated that in future TQM-based organisations aremore likely to respond to unusual events in the market place. The marketdemands for shorter product lifecycles were seen as prompting future TQM tolink operations and marketing.

Overall, the organisations, from all sectors, considered market drivers arelikely to shape the future development of TQM as a result of current, andprojected future, highly competitive and fragmented global markets.

Case results – technology drivers. Although, there is close interdependencebetween the market and technology drivers, the data was rich enough toseparate them out in regard to their influence on the future of TQM.

While e-business was referred to by a large number of the organisations,in-depth understanding of the phenomena was lacking, with the exception ofthe computer-based organisations. However there was recognition thate-business will have future implications for quality in all the aspects oftechnology (Morency, 2000; Biggs, 2000) as discussed in this sub-section:

. . . since the company is heavily involved in e-business, their customers are sending a clearmessage . . . higher quality products at lower costs with greater responsiveness.

The pace of technological change was seen as a challenge to organisations thatdid not have a responsive flexible TQM culture:

. . . given the pace of technological change lifecycles are likely to become shorter . . . TQM hasa proven track record in this area and is therefore likely to become more widespread and used.

Also, there is likely to be pressure to “fast track TQM implementation” asorganisations attempt to catch up with a competitor’s technological change.

The larger organisations considered future computerisation and technologyas being key in improving the effectiveness of TQM:

. . . improved traceability, quicker decision making etc. will play a major role in future TQMin the company.

Improved databases and mining and integration of systems (Aurand et al.,1996) were seen as leading to improved business process management andinnovation within TQM.

In summary, technology was considered to be a key driver in shaping thefuture of TQM, through improved e-business, technological change and dataand information processing improvements.

Case results – environmental drivers. The key findings in this area were, inthe main, disappointing. The expectation of the respective earlier literaturediscussion was not matched by organisation practice (current and anticipated)within the research.

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Most of the organisations considered environmental considerations to becovered by ISO 14000. It was anticipated that the standard would become muchmore prominent as part of TQM in the future. Thus, organisational praxis isrelatively uninformed in regard to the environmental side of quality.Considering the rapid emergence of all things environmental, this is an areafor much needed development.

Some of the public sector organisations made specific reference to thecurrent weighting of the “impact on society” criterion of the BEM beingchanged in the future for public sector organisations:

I see the weighting on the “impact on society” becoming more in the future . . . organisationsmust not neglect the views of powerful environmental groups.

Another issue that kept reoccurring was that off costs. The organisationswanted the future TQM to remain as a potent competitive approach. Hence,there was a need stated for costs of environmental compliance to be met withincreased sales due to improved products.

Thus, ongoing environmental legislation, environmental quality standardsand quality-award model development are likely to ensure that environmentaldrivers shape the future development of TQM.

ConclusionsThe aim of this paper is to investigate the future of TQM by determining thescope and depth of the influencing or driving factors that will shape the body ofknowledge, known as TQM, into the future.

The key conclusions of the paper, as drawn from the literature and thecurrent research in regard to the aims are summarised in Figure 4. Overall, thefindings indicate that TQM will play in a central role in future organisationaldevelopment. The changes to TQM will build on the existing academic andorganisational reputation of TQM to meet the demands of large-scale marketand organisational change.

First, two internal drivers labeled as extrapolation (mechanistic) andparadigm shift (organismic) were found as being influential the current andfuture development of TQM (Figure 4, part A). Historically and currently thesetwo drivers have been found to act independently in shaping the future ofTQM. For example, ISO 9000 (extrapolation) has developed relativelyindependently of the empowerment (paradigm shift) side of TQM. However,there are indications that combinations of such drivers may offer moresophisticated TQM approaches in the future. Thus, there is likely to be arequirement for more interdisciplinary research as the future of TQM develops(Dale et al., 2001).

Second, four external drivers were identified as being influential to thefuture of development of TQM, namely organisational praxis, market,technology and environmental drivers (Figure 4, part B). These drivers werefound to be influential in shaping the future of TQM through their effect on

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organisations from all sectors. The Organisational praxis driver indicates thatthe TQM of the future is likely to remain grounded in praxis. However, asshown by Dale et al. (2001), this link to praxis does not preclude increasedtheoretical development of TQM. The market driver indicates that future TQMdevelopment will be influenced by increasingly competitive and globalmarkets, where competition will continually increase. In this scenario TQM willplay a key role in improving competitiveness through state of the artmethodologies. Another key external driver was that of technology. Rapidchanges in the application of e business in organisations will increasinglyaffect business processes and supply chains. Such changes will shape thefuture of TQM through a need for increased effectiveness and efficiency. Theenvironmental driver is currently limited due to lack of awareness andconcerns regarding additional costs. However, the findings indicated thatenvironmental related issues are likely to have an influence on the future ofTQM as environmental issues and environmental quality systems becomeincreasingly important.

The “internal dynamics” section of Figure 4 illustrates how the future ofTQM can be continuously internally transformed by the interaction of both theextrapolation and paradigm shift drivers. This change over time, and based ondifferent epistemological assumptions is referred to as a “longitudinalepistemological transformation” (Alvesson and Willmott, 1996). This processof future TQM development is in turn influenced by the external drivers(Figure 4, part B).

However, a number of caveats were inserted with the overall mood ofoptimism in TQM’s future credibility. TQM must remain focused onorganisational practice and business goals, not only operational but alsostrategic. Furthermore the TQM culture must be reinforced by supportiveleadership, enabling organisations to reduce cost, increased flexibility,improved customer responsiveness and the adaptation of new technologiesto achieve competitive advantage.

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