An implementation model for quality assurance
1. Introduction
There are basically two approaches to Quality management, namely Quality
Assurance (QA) and Total Quality Management (TQM). Quality Assurance
is considered an earlier step in the quality evolution [11], and is therefore
more widely used than Total Quality Management. This is particularly
true in Europe, Africa and Asia [7, 1, 43]. This paper proposes an implementation
model for QA. The implementation of any strategy is largely
dependent on the culture, structure and leadership of the organization [44].
The proposed model aligns the above three dimensions in addition to national
culture that plays a crucial role in the success of quality initiatives [1, 65].
This paper also shows the fit among these dimensions and between them and
the major tenets of QA. The importance of fit was stressed by many authors
[40]. Peters and Waterman [45] also highlighted the importance of achieving
a close fit among the seven S's of strategy, structure, systems, shared
values, skills, style and staff, structure, systems, shared values, skills, style
and staff. This paper is not intended to be an alternative for existing quality
systems such as ISO 9000. It is focused on strategic implementation rather
than on the strategic content.
This paper includes seven sections. The remainder of this section presents
QA and TQM. The next four sections are respectively dealing with the