Total Quality Management Practices and Organizational Performance in Manufacturing Industries in Kenya: A Case of Mabati Rolling Mills

Abstract

Organisations all over the world have been trying to cope with a rapidly changing business environment in which management have to be more astute in finding ways to sustain or gain competitive advantage. Most manufacturing companies are now adopting Total Quality Management (TQM) and other new philosophies to become more effective in the way they conduct business. The relationship between TQM initiative and improved performance has been researched with mixed results. The mixed results are a pointer for a need for a study to establish the effect of TQM practices on the performance of organisations. Secondly, studies in Kenya have not focused on the effect of TQM on the performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya hence a knowledge gap. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of TQM practices on the performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya with major focus on Mabati Rolling Mills. The objectives of the study were to establish the effect of customer focus on organisational performance, establish the effect of top management commitment on organisational performance, establish the effect of continuous improvement on organisational performance and to establish the effect of employee involvement on organisational performance at MRM. The study was anchored on the management theories, systems approach theory and the scientific management theory. The study employed a descriptive research design in which 121 employees were sampled from a target population of 400 using stratified random sampling method. Data was collected using questionnaires which was self-administered by the respondent. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, percentages, means and standard deviation were used. The study also used correlation and regression analysis to show the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. Presentation of the findings was done in figures, tables and charts. The study established that generally, the TQM practices of customer focus, top management commitment, continuous improvement and employee involvement positively influenced the organizational performance. Individually, the study established that customer focus enhanced customer satisfaction which resulted into overall organizational performance. The study further established that top management commitment influenced organizational performance. The continuous improvement directly influenced organizational performance as employee involvement also affected organizational performance. The study recommended that there was need for the organization to grow a stronger culture that nurtures high-trust social relationship, respect for individuals and a shared sense of membership. The study also recommends that continuous improvement should be one of the pillars upon which manufacturing firms performance can be guaranteed. The firms should enhance top management commitment to quality management through motivation and incentives.