Role of Leadership in Tqm

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     Academic Writing II – Seminar Paper

      Role of Leadership in Total Quality Management (TQM)

Presented by:

Segers, Christine

Munich Business School, Elsenheimerstraβe 61, 80687 Munich

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Gabriella Maráz

Academic Writing II – Seminar Paper, SAS 300-2 E

Due Date: 3rd September 2015

Table of Contents                                                                   Page

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………3
2. Relevant Terms and Definitions…………………….……………………4

               2.1   Leadership……….……………….…………………………………4

               2.2   Small businesses……………...…………………………………….5

               2.3.   Total Quality Management………………………………………...6

1. Differences in Small and Large Businesses relevant to TQM….…….....11
2. Process of TQM implementation…………….………………………….12

               4.1   TQM implementation in small businesses……………………........14

               4.2   Role of Leadership…………………………………………………16

               4.3   Leadership in the small business environment…………………….18

               4.4   Influence of Leadership……………………………………………19

5.            Conclusion……………………….……………………………………...21

1. Introduction

What does a business have to do to enjoy a good reputation? This is the question that TNS Emnid, a German opinion research institute, posed 3162 people in 1996. There were eight characteristics available to answer this question, and only four could be chosen. The result of the poll is illustrated in the following table:

Table 1

Source: Herrmann et al (2011)

The results show that the characteristic that was mentioned the most was providing top quality. Herrmann et al (2011) define quality as the extent to which a product’s or service’s inherent set of characteristics fulfill expectations. Consequently, there is no doubt that customers attach a lot of value to the quality of a product, and that this influences their determination whether to buy a good or not (Herrmann et al 2011). Consequently, there is no doubt that quality is a critical success factor for firms.

According to Schmitt and Pfeifer (2010), Total Quality Management, also known as TQM, is an evolution of Company Wide Quality Control (CWQC) developed by Japanese organizational theorist Ishikawa. The evolution of TQM is a consequence of the success of Japanese companies that applied CWQC. TQM therefore encompasses the main characteristics of CWQC (Schmitt et al 2010). TQM is a comprehensive quality strategy in all areas of the organization, which considers also its social environment and its corporate culture. The positive effects of TQM implementation have been proven in several studies. Some companies who have successfully implemented TQM have shown a 91% average increase in their operative earnings in a time period of five years (Schmitt et al 2010). However, achieving a uniform and consistent understanding of “quality” within an organization is connected with significant challenges.
This paper will focus on the role of leadership in the process of implementing Total Quality Management in small businesses.