An analysis of the critical factors in the successfull implementation of total quality management practices by small to medium scale enterprises in Zimbabwe: A case of SMEs at Glen View 8, Harare

Abstract

The researcher carried out the research with the intention of exploring ways of successfully implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) in Small to Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Zimbabwe. The study was aimed at identifying the critical success factors of TQM constructs, and develop a framework as a business excellence model to determine the success factors of TQM practices by SMEs in Zimbabwe. The intention of the research was to come up with recommendations on how SMEs could be run so as to improve product quality. In this study, 54 small business enterprises from a total of 180 registered SMEs at Glen View 8 Complex were studied. The quality management framework used to investigate the SMEs consisted of leadership, corporate planning, human resource management, customer focus, supplier focus, information management, process management and quality assurance as the Critical Success Factors (CSFs). The descriptive survey was geared on finding out whether the SMEs at Glen View 8 Complex were embracing the TQM critical success factors expounded in the Total Quality Management framework above in their daily operations. The study revealed that SMEs were not following the principles of Total Quality Management. The majority of SMEs were not customer focused, neither were they supplier focused. Perhaps the most disappointing evidence from the research was that most owners of SMEs had secondary and below education, with very few in possession of professional diplomas. It was disappointing in that the level of education tended to be strongly positively correlated with the performance of the SMEs on each of the TQM elements. Further, SMEs did not send their employees for further training and development programmes. The owners themselves professed ignorance on the benefits of TQM and were even indifferent on the implementation of TQM practices in their businesses. The researcher, therefore, recommends that the government take the initiative to educate the SMEs so that they appreciate the benefits of TQM. It is only through SME appreciation of the doctrine of total quality management that the economy as a whole could benefit from the government policy to support the growth of small businesses owned by the local population. Further study is recommended to find out whether the implementation of TQM systems leads to an improvement in the performance of SMEs. It may also be necessary to investigate if the conventional TQM framework is the best for SMEs, or they need their own adapted framework.