Quality Management Practices and Competitiveness of Manufacturing Firms in Nairobi
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/ijscl.425Keywords:
Benchmarking practices, Supplier Partnering Practices, Continuous Improvement Practices, Quality Management Practices Six Sigma PracticesAbstract
Purpose: The main objective of this study was to establish the influence of quality management practices on competitiveness of manufacturing firms in Nairobi.
Methodology: The research adopted a descriptive survey research design in trying to focus on manufacturing firms operating in Nairobi. This study used the list of manufacturing firms in Nairobi as provided in the KAM directory that showed a total of 499 manufacturing firms operating in Nairobi. The research study used stratified random sampling. The sample size of the research study was 50 manufacturing firms. The data was collected by use of structured questionnaires. It was done from operations managers, quality assurance managers and supply chain managers or their equivalents since they were deemed to be well versed and had good understanding of strategic quality management practices and operational activities of manufacturing firms. The information from the analysis was presented by use of pie charts, graphs, bar charts and tables to search for any correlation between strategic quality management practices and firms' competitiveness.
Results and conclusion: The results revealed that bench marking and competitiveness were positively and significantly correlated (r=0.578, p=0.000). The results further showed that continuous improvement and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.620, p=0.000). It was additionally verified that supplier partnering and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.510, p=0.000). Equally, the results showed that six sigma and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.529, p=0.000). Finally, the results revealed that quality management practices and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.642, p=0.000). The results indicated that the overall model was statistically significant. Further, the results imply that the independent variables are good predictors of firm competitiveness. This was reinforced by an F statistic of 21.769 and the reported p value (0.000) which was less than the conventional probability of 0.05 significance level.
Policy recommendation: The author recommended that manufacturing firms should institute and involve the support of strategic leadership to monitor the adoption and implementation of quality management practices as a way of improving their competitiveness in their respective industries. Further, firms should come up with as many benchmarking approaches and to also hold several of them so as to increase on adoption of effective mechanism that makes firms more competitiveDownloads
References
Adam, Jr, Corbett, M., Flores, E. and Harrison, J. (2007). An international study of quality improvement approach and firm performance, International Journal of Operations & Production Management,9:842-73.
Anderson, E.W., Fornell, C., Lehmann, D.R. (2004). Customer satisfaction, market share, and profitability: findings from Sweden, Journal of Marketing, 58 (3):53-66.
Anderson, J.C., Rugtusanatham, M., and Schroeder, R.G. (2004). A theory of quality management underlying the Deming management method, Academy of Management Review, 19(3): 472-509.
Anderson, M., Sohal, A.S. (2009). A study of the relationship between quality management practices and performance in small businesses, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 16 (90): 859-877.
Backstrom, I. (2009). On the relationship between sustainable health and quality management", Mid Sweden University, Ostersund, doctoral dissertation
Beard, Thomas L. (2007). The Maturation of American Quality.Modern Machine Shop.April. Bricknell, G. (2006). Total quality revisited, Management Services, 60(1):18-20.
Brian L. (2007). The Future of Quality in the United States.National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management.December 16, 1997.
Broetzmann, S.M., Kemp, J., Rossano, M., Marwaha, J. (2005). Customer satisfaction-lip service or management tool?",Managing Service Quality, (5):13-18.
Buttle, F. (2007).ISO 9000: Marketing Motivations and Benefits." International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management.July 1997. 36
Capon, N., Farley, J.U., Hoeing, S. (2000). Determinants of financial performance: a meta-analysis, Management Science, 36 No.10, pp.1143-1159.
Choi, T.Y., Eboch, K. (2008). The TQM paradox: relations among TQM practices, plant performance, and customer satisfaction, Journal of Operations Management, 17:59-75.
Conlin, M.(2008). Revealed at Last: The Secret of Jack Welch's Success.Forbes. January 26, 1998.
Cooper D.R. & Schindler, (2006).Business Research Methods, (5thEdition), Boston Irwin, McGaw Hill, Inc.
Craig, C.S., Douglass, S.P. (1992). Strategic factors associated with market and financial performance, Quarterly Review of Economics and Business, 22(2):101-112.
Crane, A. B. (2007)., January Supplement). The wealth management debate: Is the latest planning Trend right for you. Journal of Financial Planning, 14-15.
Crosby, P.B. (1997), Quality is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
Dahlgaard, J., Kristensen, K., Kanji, G.K. (2002), Fundamentals of Total Quality Management: Process Analysis and Improvement, Taylor & Francis Group, London,
Dale, B.G., Plunkett, J.J. (2005), Quality Costing, Chapman & Hall, London, . 37
Davenport, Jerry, L., Jr., and Li-Ping Tang, L. (2006).Learning from Japanese Companies and Japanese Transplants in the United States.Employment Relations Today.Spring
Deming, W.E. (1996), Out of the Crisis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Advanced Engineering Study, Cambridge, MA.
Deming, W.E. (2004). The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education, 2nd ed., Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Advanced Engineering Study, Cambridge, MA.
Edwards, R., Sohal, A.S. (2003).The human side of introducing total quality management: two case studies from Australia, International Journal of Manpower, 24(5), 551-567.
Eldridge, S., Balubaid, M., Barber, K.D. (2006). Using a knowledge management approach to support quality costing, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 23 (1): 81-101.
Eriksson, H., Hansson, J. (2002). The impact of TQM on financial performance, Measuring Business Excellence, 6 (4):44-54.
Eriksson, H., Johansson, F., Wiklund, H. (2003). Effects of in-company quality awards on organizational performance, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 14(2):235-242.
Garvin, D.A. (1997). Competing on the eight dimensions of quality, Harvard Business Review, 101-109
Gaspersz, V. (2005). Total Quality Management, Jakarta:GramediaPustakanUtama Press
Harrington, H.J. (2001), Business Process Improvement: The Breakthrough Strategy for Total Quality, Productivity, and Competitiveness, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY,
Heller, Robert. (2004). Fourteen Points that the West Ignore at Its Peril. Management Today.
Hendricks, B., Singhal, R. (1996). Quality awards and the market value of the firm: an empirical investigation, Management Science, 42(3):415-36.
Hendricks, K.B., Singhal, V.R. (2006). Quality awards and the market value of the firm: an empirical investigation, Management Science, 42(3):415-436.
Hendricks, K.B., Singhal, V.R. (2007). Does implementing an effective TQM program actually improve operating performance, Management Science, Vol. 43 No.9, pp.1258-1274.
Henricks, M. (2006). Make No Mistake. Entrepreneur.
Jung, J. and Wang, Y. (2006). Relationship between total quality management (TQM) and continuous improvement of international project management (CIIPM), Tec novation, 26 (5), 716-722
KAM (2017). Association of Kenya Manufacturers, Retrieved on 17 July, 2017
Kamau, N. (2013). Quality management in manufacturing organizations-employees' perception: a case study of Bamburi cement ltd, published MBA Project, University of Nairobi
Kelly, K. and Maxwell, E. (2003). Sample Size for Multiple Regression: Obtaining Regression Coefficients that are Accurate, Journal of Psychological Association, 8(3):305-Joiner
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
