Introduction
In the article entitled “Enhancing customer satisfaction through total quality management practices – an empirical examination,” authors Anil and Satish examine the relationship between total quality management practices and customer satisfaction level. They investigate this connection, primarily relying on the data collected through surveys from Indian manufacturing organizations. The theme of the article is especially relevant and significant for businesses because the findings provided by the authors can help many organizations to implement the total quality management model to improve their performance. Furthermore, this article can be regarded as a contribution to the study of total management control, since, using the discoveries made by the authors, other parallels between other performance indicators can be traced.
Analysis
Objectives of the Paper and Research Methodology
The objectives posed by the authors were to analyze the total quality management strategy for improving businesses, investigate the ways how TQM can affect customer satisfaction, and give readers an insight into TQM practices. The methodology adopted by the authors was the empirical approach to the theme that they used to test their TQM theory using observations and various data. Furthermore, the authors used multiple regression analysis, a method, which estimates the correlation between a dependent element and one or more independent elements.
Main Findings of the Paper
The results demonstrated that TQM was legitimately positive and significant concerning the customer satisfaction level (Anil and Satish, 2019, p.1539). The authors state that customer satisfaction is an important factor in surviving in the global market. The organization is completely subject to its customers and, therefore, should comprehend and realize their necessities, fulfill their requirements, and strive to surpass their expectations.
However, under the states of the TQM application, the data should come systematically from numerous sources and be coordinated into a process that allows acquiring accurate conclusions regarding the needs of both consumers and the market. The investigation uncovers six principle factors in TQM that directly influence customers’ satisfaction, including CF, SQM, QI, QA, PM, and KM (Anil and Satish, 2019, p.1541). Moreover, the authors provide statistical evidence for the positive and significant connection between TQM and customer satisfaction levels (Anil and Satish, 2019, p.1539). They also express that the most prevailing element which has a strong association with the customer satisfaction level is knowledge management (Anil and Satish, 2019, p.1541). Their findings provide an excellent theoretical establishment that can help improve, upgrade, and enhance customer services in different organizations in practice.
In spite of the fact that there is no single, acknowledged definition of the TQM concept, it is very well presumed that at the current stage, this idea has solidly entered into life and formed as an independent field of study. It has a traditional arrangement of basic principles, for instance, settling on decisions based on realities, the responsibility, and obligation of top management, the key direction to improving the nature and quality of products and services, the interest of all employees in their work, as well as fixation on the opinions of consumers. The discoveries in the article gave significant insight into the TQM system, defined its elements, and demonstrated how it affects other areas in business.
Gaps, Limitations, and Weaknesses
The main limitation of the study, however, is that the research is relatedly sample in scope, and did not yield many results. For instance, there is not much known about the effect of TQM practices on performance in Indian organizations. The framework of the investigation could have been extended to examine other TQM practices and performance indicators and how they cooperate. The participants provided in the study could also have biased opinions and responses about the theme.
Implications
The model discovered during the investigation could be adopted by numerous practitioners in the field of quality management. This choice could assist with understanding the TQM practices better and advance certain performance levels in organizations. The authors even state that the companies that have just experienced quality initiatives can incorporate these TQM practices into their systems and check whether they can receive more benefits (Anil and Satish, 2019, p.1541). The adequacy and efficiency of the organization, following the principles of TQM, can be improved by creating, maintaining, and managing a system of interrelated processes (Aquilani et al., 2017, p.197). This implies that the organization in general should endeavor to combine the strategies of creating products or services with processes that allow them to track the similarity of products or services to the necessities of the customer.
Customers’ feedback is extremely urgent in cases when the issue of improving quality takes place. Only with a systematic approach to management will it become possible to fully utilize customer feedback to develop strategic plans and integrated quality plans in them (Santouridis and Veraki, 2017, p.1130). The leaders of the organization establish common goals and central areas of activity, as well as ways to achieve goals. For any area of activity, such guidance is provided that ensures the construction of all methods in such a way as to obtain maximum productivity and most fully satisfy the needs of customers (Peljhan and Marc, 2016, p. 940). Setting goals and analyzing their fulfillment by the management should be a constant component of the activities of managers, as well as quality plans should be included in the strategic development plans of the organization.
A portion of the outcomes of the research can be extremely useful and valuable to industry practitioners. Having analyzed the article, the reader to whom this may concern may find that it is essential to know sustainable consumer values, opinions, and wishes. The authors highlight the fact that consumers are the final judges, who will evaluate the quality of the goods and services provided. Furthermore, achieving maximum customer loyalty, retaining them, maintaining and keeping up with their needs, and expanding the market shares is possible only by focusing on the requirements and expectations of existing and potential consumers (Anil and Satish, 2019, p.1541).
The authors’ findings could likewise benefit the policymakers, sometimes organizations themselves. An ideal organization in its activities must go beyond the minimum legislative requirements governing its work, seek to study social needs, expectations, and meet them. It also should adhere to high ethical standards, being transparent and accountable to society in that part of its activity that relates to its social responsibility; take into account current and future requirements for environmental conservation. By openly declaring its responsibility to society, such an organization, traditionally, strictly complies with and even surpasses in its activities the requirements of local legislation and, when necessary, the needs of the international community.
Conclusion
Overall, the authors made a significant contribution to the TQM studies and provided readers with evidence on the relationship between TQM and customers’ satisfaction level. The article is especially relevant since the theme has not been widely investigated and is still in the process of being accepted in many organizations. However, since total quality management should be considered more as a strategy than as a method, the benefits of TQM are long-term. The effect of introducing the TQM concept in an organization can only become visible sometime after its successful implementation.
Reference List
Anil, A. and Satish, K. (2017) ‘Enhancing customer satisfaction through total quality management practices – an empirical examination’, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 30(13-14), pp.1528-1548.
Aquilani, B., et al. (2017) ‘A systematic literature review on total quality management critical success factors and the identification of new avenues of research’, The TQM Journal, 29(1), pp.184-213.
Peljhan, D., and Marc, M. (2016) ‘Total quality management and performance management systems: team players or lonely riders?’, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 29(7-8), 920–940. Web.
Santouridis, I., and Veraki, A. (2017) ‘Customer relationship management and customer satisfaction: the mediating role of relationship quality’, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 28(9-10), 1122–1133. Web.