Quality Management in Austalian Service Industries

This article reports the results of a survey inquiring into the use of and attitudes to Quality Management Practices (QMP) in Australian service companies. We note that, in developed economies, although service industries are more important than manufacturing industries in terms of contribution to GNP and employment, most literature discussing quality issues is predicated on a manufacturing framework. We review relevant parts of that literature; especially that on QMP and propose a definition of this concept. The survey provides basic information on the use of QMP in Australian service industries such as what QM practices are used, what training is undertaken, what staff have responsibility for QMP, attitudes to QMP and impediments to its adoption. We draw conclusions and suggest areas which should be further explored. The most interesting findings are that (i) although 94% of the companies used at least one QM practice, there appears to be no link between the use of QMP and company size or success (ii) most companies are progressive in their dealings wdth suppliers and customers and (iii) view training positively.