Purpose – Previous research showed that there are some barriers which hinder the implementation of total quality management (TQM) in organizations. But no study has been undertaken to understand the interaction among these barriers and to develop a hierarchy of TQM barriers model. There is an urgent need to analyze the behavior of these barriers so that TQM may be successfully implemented. This paper therefore, aims to understand the mutual interaction of these barriers and identify the “driving barriers” (i.e. which influence the other barriers) and the “dependent barriers” (i.e. which are influenced by others). Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) based approach has been utilized to understand the mutual influences among the barriers of TQM. Findings – In the present research work, 12 TQM barriers are identified through the literature review and expert opinion. The research shows that there exist two groups of barriers, one having high driving power and low dependency requiring maximum attention and of strategic importance (such as lack of top-management commitment, lack of coordination between departments) and the other having high dependence and low driving power and are resultant effects (such as high turnover at management level, lack of continuous improvement culture, employees' resistance to change). Practical implications – The adoption of such an ISM-based model on TQM barriers in service organizations would help managers, decision makers, and practitioners of TQM in better understanding of these barriers and to focus on major barriers while implementing TQM in their organizations. Originality/value – Presentation of TQM barriers in the form of an ISM-based model and the categorization into driver and dependent clusters is a new effort in the area of TQM.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a set of total quality management (TQM) and supply chain management (SCM) practices through an extensive literature review and to identify the relationships among them by comparing the identified TQM and SCM practices. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive overview of the practices of TQM and SCM is carried out using published research papers and some major TQM and SCM practices were extracted. These identified practices are then compared to explore the relationship between them for better understanding and application. Findings – The results reveal six major TQM and SCM practices from as many as 50 TQM practices and 40 SCM practices. The paper further compares these practices and found that management support and commitment, customer focus, and supplier partnership are the most common practices found in both TQM and SCM literature, and have the strongest impact in the integration of TQM and SCM across organizations. Research limitations/implications – This paper focuses only on the literature review of previously published studies, further empirical study can be undertaken using these six identified practices which may allow the validation and generalization of results. Practical implications – The result of this paper will help in providing greater understanding of identified TQM and SCM practices that will lead to successful implementation of TQM and SCM strategies to improve customer service levels and, hence, business performance. Originality/value – Much of the literature on TQM practices and SCM practices are available, but as far as the authors know there is no study undertaken to integrate TQM and SCM practices. This is the first kind of study that compares TQM and SCM practices taken together and can be thus, treated as filling a gap in the extant literature.

The successful implementation of total quality management (TQM) is often linked with the critical dimensions or critical success factors (CSFs) which are responsible for achieving effective results. The purpose of this study is to identify which CFSs are critical to TQM implementation and support service quality. The current study identifies nine CSFs from the extant literature that can help organizations to achieve business excellence. The study further proposes a model of organizational performance that can help managers to achieve organizational excellence and help them to maintain a fit with the changing environment. A possible sequence for implementation of this model is then presented.

Due to the growing prominence of total quality management (TQM) in health care, the present study was conducted to identify the set of TQM practices for its successful implementation in healthcare institutions through a systematic review of literature. A research strategy was performed on the selected papers published between 1995 and 2009. An appropriate database was chosen and 15 peer-reviewed research papers were identified through a screening process and were finally reviewed for this study. Eight supporting TQM practices, such as top-management commitment, teamwork and participation, process management, customer focus and satisfaction, resource management, organization behavior and culture, continuous improvement, and training and education were identified as best practices for TQM implementation in any health care setting. The article concludes with a set of recommendations for the future researchers to discuss, develop, and work upon in order to achieve better precision and generalizations.

Total quality management (TQM) is a major business strategy which employs a set of principles and practices to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the service industry. This research aims to categorise TQM practices and examine its relative importance for better implementation in service industries. The relative importance and ranking of TQM practices in service industries was done through a literature review, discussion with experts, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach. In all, 17 TQM practices were identified and further divided into three factor categories. Then their prioritisation was done using AHP approach to assign the relative importance of these 17 TQM practices in service industries. The results will help service industry managers to work upon them based on their relative importance to improve their TQM performance. Finally, limitations, managerial implications, and scope of future study are presented at the end.