Increasing and sustaining performance through an integrated quality strategy

Many organisations have found it difficult to implement an effective quality management strategy. One of the prime reasons for this is that organisations do not have credible evidence in terms of which quality management practices contribute to organisational performance, and why and how they contribute to this performance. This generally causes misunderstandings and disagreements about expected benefits. A review of the literature revealed a major gap in research in this area of quality/operations management. The purpose of this study was to test the strength of the relationship of different quality-based strategy types with several parameters of organisational performance. Based on a cross-sectional study of manufacturing firms in Australia and New Zealand, the paper tests several hypotheses involving ISO 9000, TQM and organisational performance. Four strategy types are developed as part of a Quality Management Strategy Grid. The central finding is that an Integrated Quality Strategy involving TQM and ISO 9000 certification is the most effective competitive strategy in terms of sustaining organisational performance, particularly for large firms (100 or more employees). The findings of this study have significant implications for practicing managers. The Quality Management Strategy Grid can be used by managers to formulate fiiture strategic action for continuous improvement.