| Abstrakt: |
Purpose: The role of the top management in Quality Management System (QMS) is undeniable and emphasized by many researchers. On the other hand, the employees' involvement is recognized as one of the main prerequisites for improvement of QMS. Although investigated to a certain extent, the influence of the top management and the employees' involvement on the successful transition from ISO 9001 QMS to Total Quality Management (TQM) is still a vague area especially when it comes to the dynamics of this process. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the dynamic transition of the QMS to TQM under the influence of the top management commitment and its stimulus of the employee's motivation. Design/methodology/approach: Such research purpose requires quantitative methodology with the System Dynamics (SD) in its core. The main steps of the methodology are the following: literature review, determination of the of the main influential factors (variables for the simulation model), design of the conceptual model, gathering data, design of the simulation model, experimentation with the simulation model and analysis and discussions of the findings. For the sake of determination of the main influential factors, survey of 82 companies in the Macedonian food processing industry was conducted. Findings: As a result, the findings demonstrate how the top management can influence the state of QMS and implementation of TQM practices in a shorter period of time. In that sense, numerous experiments with SD moodel have been carried out and the most appropriate ratio of coefficient of commitment of top management has been determined. Research limitations: Although the survey was conducted in the Macedonian food industry, the respondents were only on the managerial level and the model encompasses limited number of factors, the research gives the general directions for enlightening the QMS transition process towards TQM. Originality/value: This paper offers a definition of the quantitative levels of development of the QMS to TQM through QMS Maturity Matrix as an essential prerequisite for dynamic analysis of this transition process under the influence of employees' motivation. The designed simulation model represents a platform for better understanding of this process and better decision making in direction of obtaining completion of this transition process in shorter period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
