An assessment of a total quality management system in practice : a case study : Terracore Ltd

Abstract

This case study investigated the total quality management system and ISO 9001 mechanisms implemented by a local organisation. Research seeks to identify and understand the concept of continual improvement as a guiding principle to create and find new ways to be more effective at meeting stakeholder's expectations. The structures required to get hold of the construction market, fall within the organisation by meeting customer requirements and monitoring customer satisfaction were assessed. A qualitative research was conducted through a triangulation method including observation of the setting, a review of documentation and semi-structured interviews with seven high ranking officials of the organisation in perspective. The findings suggest that quality is the organisational culture and management quality practices are seen to be dominant attributes in promoting service quality. The basic issues continue to be an understanding of the market place, meeting customer expectations and deliver customer value specifications. An important factor is an engagement in customer dialogue to discover the importance of quality service to the customer and to translate this into cost and benefit implication for the organisation. The current situation reveals that cost is still the pivotal factor in determining what and how frequent quality services are sought. However, ISO certification, although time consuming and costly, once attained it provides a sense of achievement and status to the firm employing the system. It also implies a legal and competitive advantage. Every employee has a role to play within the system. It renders all individuals within the company responsible for withholding their part of the system. It was discovered that even with ISO 9001:2008 system in place there is always room for improvement and a number of errors still occur. The main difference is that slip-ups are many times detected.