Implementation of TQM in small organisations : experiences from award winners in Sweden

Abstract: Total Quality Management (TQM) has become a frequently used term in discussions concerning quality. The international and national competitive environment is in a process of constant change by the globalisation of markets and the increased interdependence of economic agents. This process of change has brought increased demands on the organisations' competitiveness and the customers have gained a central role in the organisations' focus. The thesis describes experiences from TQM implementation processes in nine small organisations in Sweden, which all have received a national or regional quality award. The analysis of these organisations indicates that some of the described core values of TQM are more adequate than others when initiating the quality development work. The study also visualise the importance of committed management and co-workers in order to accomplish the substantial organisational change that is necessary in order to implement TQM. Furthermore, the problems related to the work with the core value process orientation were a distinct feature of the studied organisations. These problems were mainly due to the knowledge situation in the organisations. The experiences from the successful implementation processes emerge in an overarching implementation model consisting of three phases.