Abstract: Total quality management (TQM) is an integrated management approach that aim to continuously improve the performance of products, processes, and services to achieve and surpass customer's expectations. To accomplish this objective, some key factors that contribute to the success of TQM efforts are to be identified. These key factors are often termed as critical success factors (CSFs). The purpose of the present study is to identify and propose a list of "vital few" TQM CSFs for the benefit of researchers and service industries practitioners. A quality tool "Pareto analysis" was used to sort and arrange the CSFs according to the order of criticality. A few vital CSFs were identified and reported. The results of this study will help in successful implementation of TQM program in organizations. The managerial implications, research recommendations, and scope for future research work are presented in the end.
Keywords: total quality management (TQM), critical success factors (CSFs), top-management commitment, Pareto analysis; service industries
DOI:
Recieved: 30.08.2009 Accepted: 03.02.2010 UDC: 005.6
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