Quality management dimensions, contextual factors and performance: An empirical investigation

In an assessment of the status of quality management dimensions in Queensland businesses, this study has used Powell's (1995) framework of quality management. A mail survey approach was used to collect the information on various dimensions of quality management considered in this study. The results suggest that implementation of quality management practices in Queensland businesses has begun but not much progress has been made yet. Of different quality management programs, ISO9000 is a very popular quality management program used by the firms in the sample. The findings of the study indicate that the firms that have adopted Total Quality Management (TQM) tend to put more emphasis on Measurement and Training aspects than those firms that have adopted ISO9000 or a combination of ISO9000 and TQM. The results also suggest that large firms tend to put more emphasis on the benchmarking aspect of quality management than small and medium firms. Measurement and Process Improvement are found to be more important for manufacturing firms than for the firms engaged in construction. In terms of performance, there are few notable positive correlations with some of the quality management dimensions in spite of low level of implementation of quality management practices in Queensland businesses.