Identification of total quality management enablers and information technology resources for ICT industry: a Pareto analysis approach

Transcription

1 18 Int. J. Information Quality, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2015 Identification of total quality management enablers and information technology resources for ICT industry: a Pareto analysis approach Suby Khanam* Department of Computer Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, (U.P.), India subykhan@ymail.com *Corresponding author Faisal Talib Mechanical Engineering Section, University Polytechnic, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, (U.P.), India ftalib77@yahoo.co.in Jamshed Siddiqui Department of Computer Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P.), India jamshed_faiza@rediffmail.com Abstract: Pareto analysis was used to sort and arrange the total quality management (TQM) enablers and information technology (IT) resources according to their order of frequency of s, vital few factors were taken in this study. The objective of the present study was formulated to identify vital few factors of TQM enablers and IT resources for the benefits of researchers and practitioners. The major findings of this study is distinguished the most usable enabler top management commitment and support (TMCS) and resource electronic data interchange (EDI) by using Pareto analysis approach. The result of this study will help quality experts and managers in TQM implementation in more effective and fruitful way in information communication and technology (ICT) industry. The future scope of this study is TMCS and EDI can be widely used to the extent of TQM implementation. The managerial implication of this study investigates enabler TMCS and resource EDI are most crucial for smoother implementation of TQM in ICT industry. Keywords: total quality management; TQM; information technology; IT; Pareto analysis; top management commitment and support; TMCS; electronic data interchange; EDI. Copyright 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

2 Identification of TQM enablers and IT resources for ICT industry 19 Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Khanam, S., Talib, F. and Siddiqui, J. (2015) Identification of total quality management enablers and information technology resources for ICT industry: a Pareto analysis approach, Int. J. Information Quality, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp Biographical notes: Suby Khanam is a Research Scholar in the Department of Computer Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P), India. She completed her Master s in Computer Science from Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi, India. She is working on information system with Dr. Jamshed Siddiqui and Dr. Faisal Talib. Her area of interest includes MIS, IT, TQM, and information security, etc. Faisal Talib is an Associate Professor at Mechanical Engineering Section, University Polytechnic, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, (U.P.), India. He holds a PhD degree from IIT Roorkee and Masters in Industrial and Production Engineering from AMU. He has 18 years of teaching experience and has more than 60 publications to his credit in national/international journals and conferences. His special interest includes quality engineering, TQM, service quality, quality concepts, industrial management, operations management, and quality management in service industries. Jamshed Siddiqui is a Professor at Computer Science Department, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P), India. He holds a Master s in Computers Science and a PhD in Information Systems from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. His research areas and special interests include information systems, MIS, systems analysis and design, knowledge management systems, e-business, data mining and parallel computing. His areas of teaching interest include analysis and design of information system, software engineering, performance evaluation of computer systems, computer-oriented numerical methods. He has published various papers in international journals and journals of international repute such as Journal of Information Technology, TQM Magazine, (Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.), Business Process Management Journal, (Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.), Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, Journal of Systems Management, International Journal of Services and Operations Management etc. 1 Introduction In the recent years several studies have been conducted on the relationship between total quality management (TQM) and information technology (IT). The concept of TQM and IT originated about three decades ago and since then various types of studies have been done by different authors. In most of the organisations TQM has been implemented by using IT. Global market challenges and pressures enhanced the role of quality in the business world. These challenges and pressures focus on quality improvement for the long time survival in the business world. By introducing IT in TQM, pressures and challenges have decreased and IT has helped enhance quality improvements. This has resulted in increased job quality and job satisfaction. Application of IT in various areas including quality management is growing continuously. TQM is a management philosophy that aims to achieve organisational objectives and continuously improve customer satisfaction. In a recent literature survey of TQM enablers and IT resources

3 20 S. Khanam et al. almost all the authors state that application of IT will increase the quality output and enhance the operational task of quality management. According to Ang et al. (2000), IT is a highly developed instrument for understanding and supporting quality management. Similarly, Douglas and Judge (2001) state that TQM highly relies on IT to facilitate communication and implementation of advanced tools system and modelling techniques. Mjema et al. (2005) say that use of IT on TQM has considerably enhanced quality awareness and productivity and has also led to cost reduction. Brah and Lim (2006) emphasise that the association of TQM and IT play an important role in improving performance quality of management. An association of TQM and IT in industries leads to quality improvement of product and services for customers. Saraph et al. (1989) conducted the first of its kind empirical study where the TQM enablers were operationalised in information and service industries. Several empirical studies attempted to identify TQM enablers (Curry and Kadasah, 2002; Kumar et al., 2011; Miyagawa and Yoshida, 2005). Some studies of TQM enablers are analysed in service industries (Mahapatra and Khan, 2006; Rahman and Siddiqui, 2006; Talib and Rahman, 2010). Moreover, there are several studies on IT resources and TQM enablers in service industries (Dewhurst et al., 2003; Martinez-Lorente et al., 2004; Sanchez-Rodriguez and Martinez-Lorente, 2011; Sanchez-Rodriguez et al., 2006; Siam et al., 2012; Wai et al., 2011; Khanam et al., 2013, 2014). A few studies have used Pareto analysis for identifying TQM enablers in the service industries (Karuppusami and Gandhinathan, 2006; Talib et al., 2010, 2013b). However, this study has used Pareto analysis on TQM enablers and IT resources in the information and communication industries. A survey approach for identification of TQM enablers and IT resources by this research work has set a new direction in service industries. In the present study TQM enablers and IT resources turned to be the most important sub goals of a business organisation. Several studies suggested that numerous enablers and IT resources can be identified as essential elements for successful implementation of TQM. The purpose of this study is to identify and propose a few vital TQM enablers and IT resources for the benefit of researchers and the service industry. The result of this study will help researchers develop models to measure and sustain the level of implementation of TQM in IT industries. Moreover, this study also indicates a direction to the researchers and practitioners in the IT sectors for selecting the vital few TQM enablers from various empirical studies. Pareto analysis of TQM enablers and IT resources are discussed in the last section. In this paper a Pareto analysis has been made to ascertain the most crucial enablers and resources for successful implementation of TQM in the ICT industry. The rest of the paper is organised as follows, literature review of TQM enablers and IT resources. In the next section, Pareto analysis to apply on these enablers and resources. Results and discussion, major findings and managerial implications are explored in subsequent sections. Finally, future scope and limitations of the study.

4 Identification of TQM enablers and IT resources for ICT industry 21 2 Literature review The in-depth literature focuses on impact exploration of TQM enablers and IT resources in the ICT industry. This study has extracted several TQM enablers and IT resources from existing literature which are discussed in next sub section. 2.1 TQM enablers Various approaches to TQM concepts have led to different definitions. Rahman (2004) showed that TQM is a management approach for improving organisational performance that encompasses a variety of both technical and behavioural topics. Implementation of an enabler in any organisation can affect in both positive and negative ways. Therefore, proper care should be taken in execution of TQM. Previous studies on TQM have concluded that TQM and the enablers complement each other (Prajogo and Sohal, 2004). A survey approach in the innovation of TQM enablers set a new direction in this field of research. TQM enablers are the great achievements of an organisation and enhances its competitiveness amongst other organisation. Past research has shown that TQM implementation programs have failed because the enablers were not laid in the system (Curry and Kadasah, 2002; Jones and Seraphim, 2008). Successful TQM implementation requires thorough understanding of enablers and their ordered implementation (Salaheldin, 2009). The importance of defining the enablers of TQM for implementation is to increase the success rate, reduce cost, and prevent disillusionment with continuous improvement programs (Fryer et al., 2007). Similarly, enablers are those vital few requirements that must be present in an organisation enabling it attain its vision, and to be guided towards its vision (Wali et al., 2003). The enablers will improve quality and increase financial performance for the organisation. Several studies have identified the following nine TQM enablers in IT industries (Dewhurst et al., 2003; Vouzas and Psyhogois, 2007; Khanam et al., 2013) Top management commitment and support (TMCS) This element is the major driver of ICT industry which examines senior executive s leadership and personal involvement of the top management. TMCS acts as a driver of TQM implementation by creating values, goals and systems to satisfy customers (Lee et al., 2003). There are many evidences in the literature on TQM which proclaims that the impetus for quality improvement efforts in any organisation should start from the top level and unfold downwards to the lower level (Li et al., 2006; Sureshchander et al., 2001, 2002). Management leadership is directly related to developing strong relationship with customers (Ahire and Ravichandran, 2001). It is one of the major requirements of successful implementation of TQM (Flynn and Saladin, 2001; Kaynak, 2003). Sadikoglu and Zehir (2010) claim that with full commitment to total quality setting, leaders can organise and synergise people s activities to achieve the common goal of the organisation. Several empirical studies highlighted top management commitment as a critical factor in the industry (Talib et al., 2011a, 2011b, 2011c; Talib and Rahman, 2010).

5 22 S. Khanam et al Customer satisfaction (CS) This enabler allows an organisation to improve its performance (Zairi, 2000; Lagrosen, 2001) and would lead to improved quality irrespective of the countries and their culture (Adam et al., 2001). Quality management depends upon maintaining a relationship with the customers, so that customer s needs can be fully understood. Further, these needs require to be met hence the organisation should be able to receive information on customer needs (Zhang et al., 2000; Li et al., 2006). Dimitriades (2006) emphasises that CS is considered to be the key success factor for a profit oriented organisation as it affects companies, market share and customer relations. In the efforts to pursue CS, information on customers needs and wants, complaints, level of satisfaction, etc. are gathered and analysed (Lagrosen, 2001; Phusavat et al., 2009; Siddiqui and Rahman, 2007). According to Sanchez-Rodriguez et al. (2006), the needs of customers and their satisfaction should always be in the minds of all employees Empowerment (EPOW) Empowerment means assigning of responsibility with authority to the employees. Team empowerment can be easily carried out, and also seems to have provided tangible results (Page and Curry, 2000). Truss (2001) also noticed that empowerment and individual freedom encouraged the employees to participate in discussion and decision making process. Empowerment help an organisation to conduct an employee survey to determine employee attitude about quality, management, safety and working conditions (Harrington et al., 2012). Other studies found empowerment to be one of those human resource practices that greatly impact employee work attitudes (Karia and Assari, 2006), satisfaction (Jun et al., 2006; Ooi et al., 2007b) and intentions to stay at the job (Ooi et al., 2006). Therefore, it can be concluded that it is a desirable enabler to extend employee empowerment and support organisational efforts towards quality improvement Total employee involvement (TEI) TEI enablers are extensively cited in the context of TQM (Deming, 2000; Taylor and Wright, 2003). Daily and Bishop (2003) emphasise that TEI develops both top down and bottom up communication channel, providing a mechanism for employees to voice their concerns or suggestion on quality issues and direct participation in the decision making process. According to Prajogo and Cooper (2010), employee involvement includes giving feedbacks on the quality of their performance. Organisations should utilise all employee s skills and abilities to gain business performance (Talib et al., 2013a). Employees can make significant contributions when they are involved in quality improvement processes, decision making processes, and policy making issues (Sadikoglu and Zehir, 2010; Ooi et al., 2007a) Continuous improvement (CI) CI is the philosophy of improvement that increases success and reduces failure (Goetsch and Davis, 2003). The concept of CI is a critical success factor for any organisation and should be used as the foundation stone upon which every successful initiative is built (Walsh et al., 2002). According to TQM philosophy, the key to quality is satisfying the needs and expectations of the customer through a system wide continuous improvement

6 Identification of TQM enablers and IT resources for ICT industry 23 (Goyal and Islam, 2001; Ahmed, 2001). There is a significant paradigm shift in what customer wants, how things should be done and what role people should play in affecting the changes. The concept of continuous improvement holds that this environment must prevail for the life of the enterprise, and that the methods will become routinely used on a regular, recurring basis (Harrington et al., 2012) Continuous training (CT) Training is the development of new knowledge and skills as a result of imparted knowledge (Goetsch and Davis, 2000). According to Talib et al. (2013b), training spreads the knowledge of continuous improvement and innovation in an organisation to attain full benefits and business excellence. The research on TQM also found a positive correlation between training and education, and organisational performance (Vermeulen and Crous, 2000). Goh (2002) has investigated that CT programs are important as these could assist to solve problems such as lack of motivation, absorptive capability and retentive capacity. Therefore, a successful CT will definitely encourage the employees to have the sense of knowledge sharing. Talib and Rahman (2010) reported the critical role of training and education in maintaining high quality levels within the industries Teamwork (TW) Teamwork is a key feature in a company for the development of people and their involvement in improvement activities. According to Molina et al. (2007), structuring the organisation into work teams is one of TQM s basic ideologies. Rezgui (2007) specifies that teams working on projects have more opportunities to integrate distributed competence more effectively through knowledge sharing. Cabrera and Cabrera (2002) explained that knowledge shared by volunteers contributes to a team and every member in the team will benefit from it, whether they have made a contribution or not. Rungtusanatham (2001) also observed that cross functional teams were among the most common features of the TQM organisation. Teams rather than individuals are seen as the relevant unit of contribution to TQM (Kossek and Block, 2000). According to Vouzas and Psychogios (2007), teams are a basic need in all organisations, making them work more flexibly and develop mutual trust amongst members Culture change (CC) In the context of TQM, CC is to focus on the continuous improvement of organisational performance. This culture requires quality in all aspects of the organisation s operations, with things being done right the first time over and defects and wastes eradicated from operations (Guangming et al., 2000). Corbett and Rastrick (2000) argue that in general organisational culture influences people s actions and reference points which alter their performance and perception of all aspects of their work. Furthermore, culture significantly contributes in improving the performance of the organisation as well as influencing the thought, feeling and interaction amongst members of the organisation (Yusof and Ali, 2000). Moreover, the culture of an organisation is likely to impact individual behaviour, knowledge sharing and job satisfaction (Bose, 2004; Ooi et al., 2007b, 2012).

7 24 S. Khanam et al Democratic management style (DMS) In this type of management style major decisions are agreed upon by the majority. Simply put in a democratic management style everyone has the opportunity to contribute ideas to make decisions in the industries. The management is supposed to include the staff in the decision making process during group discussions, votes and staff meetings (Vouzas and Psychogios, 2007). Democratic management style is one of the most important factors in successful implementation of organisational change. It covers organisational goals, culture, growth and satisfaction of the industries (Talib et al., 2011a; Love et al., 2000; Hellesten and Klefsjö, 2000; Issac et al., 2004; Dewhurst et al., 2003; Ooi et al., 2007b). 2.2 IT resources IT plays a key role in TQM initiative through the strategic, human resources and technology areas. The effect of IT resources on TQM has gained importance in companies and its effects on global market. Dewhurst et al. (2003) have suggested that IT supports TQM by improving customer and supplier relationship, increasing process control, facilitating teamwork, facilitating interdepartmental information flow, improving design process and skills and applying preventive maintenance. The extents of use of several IT resources have different effects on the TQM enablers. Here researcher needs various IT resources in the TQM of the firm. This paper also examines the way in which TQM is influenced by IT resources and also identifies which IT resources are considered by quality professionals. IT resources which are helping in TQM are as follows: Electronic data interchange (EDI) The introduction of inter-organisational IT system such as EDI, has caused a shift in business transactions from labour focus to a capital focus (Cripps, 2009). The adoption of an EDI is often a means for further strengthening the bonds between firms (Morris et al., 2003). According to Johnson et al. (2007), EDI is one of the most widely used technologies among trading partners and EDI has been used in managing the information flow between customers and suppliers. EDI contributes to quality data and workforce management (QDWM) by collecting and communicating quality product (QP) and employee empowerment (Sanchez-Rodriguez and Martinez-Lorente, 2011). EDI is a constructive element of electronic commerce (e-commerce), a definition of which is the electronic exchange of goods and services (Martin and Andy, 2003). Previously, EDI primarily confined to larger companies however as companies identified its associated benefits EDI is becoming a prerequisite for all business firms (Pawar and Driva, 2000) Computer aided design (CAD) CAD and CAM are widely used technologies in product design and manufacturing therefore one of the most appropriate technologies to understand the relationship between IT and product process management (PPM) (Sanchez-Rodriguez and Martinez-Lorente, 2011). Jiang and Chiu (2002) demonstrated how CAD and CAM technologies can be used for statistical process control purpose. According to Manas et al. (2005), CAD is the use of a wide range of computer-based tools that assist engineers in their design

8 Identification of TQM enablers and IT resources for ICT industry 25 activities. Several studies have concluded that use of the CAD/CAM models helps in transferring data, information and knowledge in the industries (Bajgoric, 2000; Jin-Hai et al., 2003; Toussaint and Cheng, 2002) Computer aided manufacturing (CAM) CAD and CAM are widely used technologies in product design and manufacturing therefore one of the most appropriate technologies to understand the relationship between IT and PPM (Sanchez-Rodriguez and Martinez-Lorente, 2011). Jiang and Chiu (2002) demonstrated how CAD and CAM technologies can be used for statistical process control purpose. CAD/CAM models helps in transferring data, information and knowledge in the industries (Bajgoric, 2000; Jin-Hai et al., 2003; Toussaint and Cheng, 2002) Enterprises resources planning (ERP) ERP has a positive impact on the ability of a business to improve working capital and implement a TQM culture. ERP system implements the business practices with a view towards enhancing productivity, and empowering the customers to modify the implemented business process to suit their needs (Rao, 2000). ERP has helped alleviate the arduous job of supporting inflexible systems that in most cases result in cost increase, data redundancy and inaccuracy and various inefficiencies (O Leary, 2000). Ideally, ERP is a computer system that keeps managers informed about the happenings in real time throughout a corporation and its global connections (Jacobs and Whybark, 2000). The ERP system is also an IT resource, which manages multiple areas of an organisation including sales, production planning and scheduling, quality control and human resource management (Gupta and Kohli, 2006). According to Foster and Ogden (2008), ERP system is also essential for managing customer and supplier relations Computer aided process planning (CAPP) According to Al-Aomar et al. (2011), CAPP system automates all production planning aspects to serve as an interface between design and manufacturing. CAPP optimises and computerises production planning using software programs and optimisation techniques (Yuen et al., 2003). As discussed Culler and Burd (2007), successful implementation of CAPP includes cost savings, reduction in process planning effort, standardisation of work practices and saving direct labour, material, scrap and tooling. CAPP technology is continuously evolving and merging with areas of computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), ERP and collaborative and web-based product development (Cecil and Rodriguez, 2003; Shaw, 2005) Computer aided engineering (CAE) CAE systems are used to analyse the robustness and performance of components and assemblies. It can be a major provider of information to help support design teams in decision making. According to Shuai et al. (2003), CAE is used as a tool to shorten the exploitation periods of products. This has been more and more broadly introduced into design and manufacturing while investigating TQM and CAE (Ahmed and Hassan, 2003; Martinez-Lorente et al., 2004; Parzinger and Nath, 2000). Huang and Huang (2011) say that CAE systems are used for designing products. Furthermore, CAE is used to relate

9 26 S. Khanam et al. customisation performance in job shops and workers also use it in cross training in industries Statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) SPSS is a software package and has been used for analysis of collected data (Behara and Gundersen, 2001; Khan, 2010; Miyagawa and Yoshida, 2005; Siam et al., 2012; Wai et al., 2011). SPSS is used for data analysis, testing hypotheses, and examining relationships. SPPS is a software package which includes, a few statistical tests namely chi-square, goodness-of-fit-test, one sample Kolmogrovo-Smirnov test, Friedman analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests, Kendall s W test and Cochran teat. Over time they have been conducted to analyse the survey-based data. Using SPSS, an internal consistency analysis was performed to assess the reliability aspect of the survey instrument (Shams-Ur-Rahman, 2001). Therefore, SPSS is a useful tool in marketing research for questionnaire purpose Structural equation modelling (SEM) Use of SEM has been growing in business and technology including quality management (Zakuan et al., 2010). SEM provides researchers the ability to assess and modify theoretical models. According to Rohani et al. (2006), SEM is a method that can simultaneously examine a series of both dependent and independent relationships. Prajogo and Sohal (2004) employed SEM approach to examine the multidimensionality of TQM as regard organisational performance. A recent study by Sanchez-Rodriguez et al. (2006) used the SEM approach to provide insight into current IT and TQM theory and practices on operational and quality performance. SEM is a confirmatory technique that researchers use more interestingly for determining the validation of the model. According to Lei and Wu (2007), SEM is a software program which becomes very user-friendly, which can be either a blessing or a curse. 3 Research objectives To achieve the objective of the study Pareto analysis has been done on the TQM enablers. This is the first study of its kind that has used the Pareto analysis on TQM enablers as well as IT resources and discovered more usable enablers and resources for the researchers and practitioners. The objectives of this study are as follows: 1 to apply Pareto analysis and sort the TQM enablers and IT resources according to their 2 to investigate and compile the final report of the vital few and useful many enablers as well as IT resources which could benefit the researchers. These studies were chosen for review (Tables 1 and 2) because the reliability and validity of the enablers and IT resources were statistically tested as an essential element of these studies. The above two objectives identify the TQM enablers and IT resources that were significantly associated with the degree of TQM success. Furthermore, the second objective will be helpful to researchers in finding more useful TQM enablers and IT resources for successful implementation in the organisation.

10 Identification of TQM enablers and IT resources for ICT industry Methodology We adapted extensive literature review in this study and focused on TQM enablers and IT resources in the ICT. From the last two decades there have been numerous studies on TQM enablers available in published literature. This study identifies research papers published between 2000 and 2014 and considers the following online databases that were searched extensively to identify research papers in the referred journals. In this study, survey has been conducted to identify articles published in peer reviewed journals. Online databases such as ProQuest and Inflibnet were searched to extract 116 TQM-based studies on enablers. While applying Pareto approach as a methodological tool, factors were analysed and sorted in descending order, according to their frequency of s. Table 1 Several studies on TQM enablers TQM enablers Symbols References 1 Top management commitment and support 2 Customer satisfaction TMCS Lee et al. (2003), Li et al. (2000), Sureshchander et al. (2001, 2002), Ahire and Ravichandran (2001), Flynn and Saladin (2001), Kaynak (2003), Sadikoglu and Zehir (2010), Talib et al. (2011a, 2011b, 2011c) and Talib and Rahman (2010) CS Zairi (2000), Lagrosen (2001), Adam et al. (2001), Zhang (2000), Li et al. (2006), Dimitriades (2006), Phusavat et al. (2009), Siddiqui and Rahman (2007) and Sanchez-Rodriguez et al. (2006) 3 Empowerment EMP Page and Curry (2000), Truss (2001), Harrington et al. (2012), Karia and Assari (2006), Jun et al. (2006) and Ooi et al. (2007b, 2006) 4 Total employee involvement 5 Continuous training 6 Continuous improvement TEI Deming (2000), Taylor and Wright (2003), Daily and Bishop (2003), Prajogo and Cooper (2010), Talib et al. (2013a), Sadikoglu and Zehir (2010) and Ooi et al. (2007a) CT Goetsch and Davis (2000), Talib et al. (2013b), Vermeulen and Crous (2000), Goh (2002) and Talib and Rahman (2010) CI Goetsch and Davis (2000), Walsh et al. (2002), Goyal and Islam (2001), Talib et al. (2013b), Ahmed (2001) and Harrington et al. (2012) 7 Teamwork TW Molina et al. (2007), Rezgui (2007) and Cabrera and Cabrera (2002) 8 Culture change CC Guangming et al. (2000), Corbett and Rastrick (2000), Yusof and Ali (2000), Bose (2004) and Ooi et al. (2007b, 2012) 9 Democratic management style DMS Vouzas and Psychogios (2007), Talib et al. (2011a), Love et al. (2000), Hellesten and Klefsjö (2000), Issac et al. (2004), Dewhurst et al. (2003) and Ooi et al. (2007b)

11 28 S. Khanam et al. Table 2 Several studies on IT resources IT resources Symbols References (tools and techniques) 1 Electronic data interchange 2 Computer aided design 3 Computer aided manufacturing 4 Enterprise resource planning 5 Computer aided process planning 6 Computer aided engineering 7 Statistical packages for social sciences 8 Structural equation modelling EDI Cripps (2009), Morris et al. (2003), Johnson et al. (2007), Sanchez-Rodriguez et al. (2011), Martin and Andy (2003) and Pawar and Driva (2000) CAD Sanchez-Rodriguez and Martinez-Lorente (2011), Jiang and Chiu (2002), Manas et al. (2005), Jin-Hai et al. (2003), Toussaint and Cheng (2002) and Bajgoric (2000) CAM Sanchez-Rodriguez and Martinez-Lorente (2011), Jiang and Chiu (2002), Jin-Hai et al. (2003), Toussaint and Cheng (200) and Bajgoric (2000) ERP Rao (2000), O Leary (2000), Jacobs and Whybark (2000), Gupta and Kohli (2006) and Foster and Ogden (2008) CAPP Al-Aomar et al. (2011), Yuen et al. (2003), Culler and Burd (2006), Cecil and Rodriguez (2003) and Shaw (2005) CAE Shuai et al. (2003), Martinez-Lorente et al. (2004), Parzinger and Nath (2000), Ahmed and Hassan (2003) and Huang and Huang (2011) SPSS Miyagawa and Yoshida (2005), Siam et al. (2012), Wai et al. (2011), Behara and Gundersen (2001), Khan (2010) and Shams-Ur-Rahman (2001) SEM Zakuan et al. (2010), Rohani et al. (2006), Prajogo and Sohal (2004), Sanchez-Rodriguez et al. (2006) and Lei and Wu (2007) 4 Pareto analysis In the late 19th century, the Italian engineer Vilfredo Pareto ( ) constructed a histogram of the distribution of wealth in Italy and concluded that 80% of the country s wealth was owned by 20% of the nation s population. This finding was later termed as Pareto analysis or rule. A Pareto analysis is a quality control (QC) tool that ranks the data classified in descending order from the highest frequency of s to the lowest frequency of s. It is one of the most commonly used, and easy to implement methods (Talib et al., 2010). Pareto analysis is a statistical technique in decision making that is used for the selection of a limited number of tasks that produce a significant overall effect. It ranks the factors in the descending order from the highest frequency of to the lowest frequency of. The total frequency is equated to 100%. The vital few items occupy a substantial amount (80%) of cumulative percentage (20%) of, which is also known as the rule (Karuppusami and Gandhinathan, 2006). This technique helps identify the top portion of causes that need to be addressed to resolve the majority of problems. It is a creative way of looking at the causes of problems because it helps stimulate thinking and organising thoughts. Pareto analysis is commonly used for identifying those failure codes responsible for the majority of equipment maintenance cost or downtime. It is a graphical method of comparing and sorting a set of measures. Pareto analysis is usually used by researchers when they are facing problems in selecting, causes or solutions to take forward for further action. It is represented in the form of

12 Identification of TQM enablers and IT resources for ICT industry 29 graphical charts showing various factors under consideration in ranked order. The presentation of graphical chart in descending order helps to predict easily which factors are vital few found out by the 80 percentage of cumulative frequency and others (20 percentage) of cumulative are useful many which have the least amount of benefits. 4.1 Pareto analysis of TQM enablers There are various methods used to rank enablers. Pareto analysis is one of the powerful statistical tools used to rank the order of TQM enablers. The enablers and statistical tests reported by the selected articles are extracted and presented in Tables 3 and 4. These TQM enablers are recommended by the authors from different types of ICT sectors. In the present study Pareto analysis of TQM enablers is done on the 116 selected research papers which are shown in Tables 3 and 4 and Figure 1. Table 3 Vital few enablers (80%) TQM enablers 1 Top management commitment and support (leadership, management commitment, role of top management, genuine top management commitment) 2 Customer satisfaction (customer focus, customer orientation, service culture, customer cooperation s, customer satisfaction orientation, customer citizenship, closer customer relationship, customer perception of quality, customer resources, customer driven quality) 3 Empowerment (employee fulfilment, employee satisfaction, employee suggestion, employee attitude and behaviour, employee focus, worker empowerment, employee relations, decision making, proper recognition, time-based evaluation, quality-based incentive, reward) 4 Total employee involvement (continuous involvement, open communication, employee and management involvement, visionary leadership, group meeting) 5 Continuous training (education and training, learning, knowledge and education, training development, employee training, worker empowerment, visionary leadership) 6 Continuous improvement (technology utilisation, continuous innovation, important innovation, motivation and job design, causes of quality variations, influence of other programs) 7 Teamwork (a group of employees, cross functional coordination, employee collaboration, small group of employees) Frequency of Percentage of frequency Cumulative percentage

13 30 S. Khanam et al. Table 3 Vital few enablers (80%) (continued) TQM enablers 8 Culture change (a TQM culture service culture, behavioural factors, TQ and measurement, familiar with TQM, business culture) 9 Democratic management style (organisational goal, growth satisfaction, organisation culture, personal management, the organisation as a total system) Frequency of Percentage of frequency Cumulative percentage Table 4 Useful many enabler (20%) TQM enablers 1 Human resource focus and development (human resource management, people management, people, workforce management, workforce empowerment, people results) 2 Process management (process flow management, processes, process quality, process design, process control, process quality management of process, process and results, process improvement) 3 Information analysis (information and data management, information technology, information strategy, communication to improve quality, communication) 4 Strategic quality management (strategic planning, strategic management, vision statement, strategy, structure of planning framework, competitive strategy, formal strategy planning) 5 Supplier quality management and performance (supplier cooperation s, vendor quality management, vendor partnership, vendor relations, supplier quality involvement) 6 Quality management information system (quality focus, quality mission statement, quality data processing, quality system, quality information and analysis, statistical of quality information usage, design quality management, quality-based performance, quality data and reporting, accredited quality management system) Frequency of Percentage of frequency Cumulative percentage Product and service design (service design) Benchmarking

14 Identification of TQM enablers and IT resources for ICT industry 31 Table 4 Useful many enabler (20%) (continued) TQM enablers 9 Role of quality department (quality, quality assurance, quality citizenship, quality department) Frequency of Percentage of frequency Cumulative percentage Output quality assurance (quality assurance) Quality results (quality and operational results) Product and Service quality Quality policy and strategy Cost of quality (measure of cost of quality, quality measure) 15 Quality outcomes Quality tools and techniques (quality technologies) 17 Business results Problem solving tools and techniques (use of tools and techniques) 19 Appraisal system Autonomy Infrastructure management (infrastructure and facilities) 22 Partnership and resources Risk management Quality performance Statistical control Feedback Technology policy Organising for quality/trust Servicescape Work satisfaction Customer and suppliers Time Operating procedures Assessment Process instrument Organisational performance Participation Compensation Society results

15 32 S. Khanam et al. Table 4 Useful many enabler (20%) (continued) TQM enablers Frequency of Percentage of frequency Cumulative percentage 40 Action based on facts Fast response Effective communication Customer results Performance measure Organisation size Financial position Housekeeping Admin Relationship Non-behavioural facts Quality control techniques Open organisation Motivation and job satisfaction Impact on society Figure 1 Structural self-interaction matrix (SSIM) Figure 1 presents a Pareto graph of TQM enablers in IT sectors which indicates vital few TQM enablers from 1 to 9th bar that amount to 80% of the frequency of in the study and the rest are shown by the 10th bar as useful many enablers. They represent the calculated 20% of the frequency of. 4.2 Pareto analysis of IT resource Pareto analysis also applies on the IT resources, which helps in implementing TQM. Pareto analysis compiled on the IT resources from 44 selected research papers which is presented in Tables 5 and 6 and Figure 2. In Figure 2, 1 to 8th bar graph are IT resources

16 Identification of TQM enablers and IT resources for ICT industry 33 vital few and 9th bar graph shows rest of the ten IT resources which are the useful many. From Figure 2, researchers can decide which IT resources are more effective in implementing TQM. Table 5 Vital few IT resources (80%) IT resources (tools and techniques) Frequency of Percentage of frequency Cumulative percentage 1 EDI (electronic data interchange) CAD (computer aided design) CAM (computer aided manufacturing) ERP (enterprise resource planning) CAPP (computer aided process planning) CAE (computer aided engineering) SPSS (software packages for social sciences) SEM (structural equation modelling) Table 6 Useful many IT resources (20%) IT resources (tools and techniques) Frequency of Percentage of frequency Cumulative percentage 1 SAP (system application and products) MRP (manufacturing resource planning) c-commerce (collaborative commerce) CASE (computer aided software engineering) EPOS (electronic point of scale) CNC (computerised numerical control machines) SPC (statistical process control) FMS (flexible manufacturing system) EIS (executive information system) DSS (decision support system) Figure 2 Pareto analysis of IT resources

17 34 S. Khanam et al. 5 Results and discussion The present study, based on TQM reviews, offers a set each of vital few and useful many enablers and IT resources for TQM reforms in the organisation. A Pareto tool is used to equate frequency of 100%. The vital few items occupy a significant amount (80%) of the cumulative percentage of s and the useful many occupy only the remaining 20% of s. Of late during TQM research it was revealed that there were no Pareto studies on IT resources. Hence, the present study was undertaken to conclude upon the most effective IT resources for implementing TQM in business. We surveyed 150 reviews and extracted a total number of 69 enablers from 116 studies published earlier. Also, 18 IT resources have been extracted from 44 studies. Table 3 and Figure 1, depict that nine TQM enablers accounted for 80% and remaining 54 enablers accounted for 20% (Table 4) success in firms. Moreover, eight IT resources are termed as vital few or 80% and ten resources are termed as useful many or 20% in Tables 5 and 6. In Tables 4 and 5, the first nine TQM enablers operationalised by the highest frequencies are TMCS, CS, CT, EMP, TEI, CI, TW, CC and DMS. The most vital enabler is TMCS congruous to the highest frequency of in Talib et al. (2010). A comparative account of Talib et al. (2010) and the present study facilitates and identifies two new enablers which are CC and DMS. These enablers are introduced for the first time by the study. The nine enablers are sorted out as vital few (80%) enablers in descending order according to their frequency of. The vital few enablers were found to be key factors in almost all the research papers and are repeatedly used by different researchers. Therefore, TQM managers and practitioners should focus on the vital few enablers in ICT sectors. However, the remaining 20% enablers should not be totally ignored. TMCS is the basic enabler for successfully implementing TQM. From top management a TQM program is unlikely to succeed for customers. Top management commitment produces high quality products despite variations in individual constructs. Top management takes a charge lead for providing direction to those employees who block the improvement of organisation. It is important that researchers must understand the importance of enablers in their work. This study also identifies the vital few IT resources which help the implementation of TQM in the IT sectors. Table 5 delineates the following IT resources EDI, CAD/CAM, ERP, CAPP, CAE, SPSS and SEM. Researchers have extracted EDI as a highly used resource for implementing TQM. EDI is one of those IT resources which are used for transferring data between different computer systems and computer networks. In other words, EDI is allowed to send information electronically instead of paper from one company to another company. In the context of TQM, EDI system is giving special attention to the influence of IT on quality information sharing with customers and also helps develop communication between suppliers. Finally the result of this study indicates that TMCS and EDI, are most crucial factors for successful implementation of TQM in the ICT industries. From the present study a combination of TQM enablers and IT resources have emerged as important aspects of effective TQM implementation in the ICT field.

18 Identification of TQM enablers and IT resources for ICT industry 35 6 Conclusions Various authors have analysed and determined the vital few and useful many for successful execution of TQM program and improvement of quality management services. The finding of this study suggests that the highest order of TQM enablers TMCS and IT resources EDI are considered as the foundation of TQM-IT framework. These two enablers and resources are vital few factors in IT industries. The role of top management commitment for TQM implementation in ICT sectors is as follows: to define a quality strategy in IT sectors to define a mission, vision and a goal that promotes quality culture in the industries to provide training to the employees to achieve organisational goal to easily communicates, define and motivate continuous improvement of the employees to adopt new strategies to improve company responsiveness to customer s complaints. All IT resources have an impact on enablers of TQM such as top management commitment and support, workforce management, supplier relationship, product design, process flow management, quality data and reporting and human resource management. There are some roles of IT resources also in implementing TQM enablers: EDI is used to transfer information between customers and suppliers in the industries. CAD and CAM are used in product design and manufacturing for product and process management. The ERP system analyses the relationship between IT and QDWM. ERP is the integration of several departments and facilitates strategic planning improvement and responsiveness to customers. CAPP includes cost savings and reduction in process planning effort in the products for helping customers. In the ICT sectors, CAE is used to reduce the cost of newly developed products and increase productivity according to the customer requirements. SPSS is used to statistically analyse the collected data. This approach has helped researchers compute the large amount of data and draw inferences. SEM approach provides insight to the ICT and TQM theory and practices on operational and quality performance. The present study has identified and ranked the nine TQM and eight IT resources as key enablers in the effective implementation of TQM by using Pareto analysis. The finding of this study has a number of managerial implications:

19 36 S. Khanam et al. managers can use a set of vital few factors in successful implementation of TQM the result of this study will help managers in smoother implementation of TQM in industries managers would be enlightened that two enablers namely top management commitment and customer focus might be fruitful in the development and successful implementation of TQM managers and practitioners can decide from this study which IT resources are more helpful in implementing TQM. 6.1 Limitations and future scope of the study The present study is also not free from limitations; we can conclude more TQM enablers and IT resources for customer satisfaction in the service industries. The future scope of this study can cover different sectors of the industries. While identifying TQM enablers and IT resources researchers can use different techniques like techniques for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and analytic network process (ANP), etc. TQM and IT together may develop the models to measure and sustain the level of implementation of TQM in ICT industries. References Adam, E.E., Flores, B.E. and Macias, A. (2001) Quality improvement practices and the effect on manufacturing firm performance: evidence from Mexico and USA, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 39, pp Ahire, S.L. and Ravichandran, T. (2001) An innovation diffusion model of TQM implementation, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol.48, pp Ahmed, N.U. (2001) Incorporating environmental concerns into TQM, Production and Inventory Management Journal, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp Ahmed, S. and Hassan, M. (2003) Survey and case investigations on application of quality management tools and techniques in SMIs, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 20, No. 7, pp Al-Aomar, R., El-Khasawneh, B. and Obaidat, S. (2013) Incorporating time standards into generative CAPP: a construction steel case study, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp Ang, C., Davies, M. and Finlay, P.N. (2000) Measure to assess the impact of information technology on quality management, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp Bajgoric, N. (2000) Web-based information access for agile management, International Journal of Agile Management Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp Behara, S.R. and Gundersen, E.D. (2001) Analysis of quality management practices in services, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 18, No. 6, pp Bose, R. (2004) Knowledge management metrics, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 104, No. 6, pp Brah, A.S. and Lim, Y.H. (2006) The effects of technology and TQM on the performance of logistics companies, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, Vol. 36, No. 3, pp