Quality management practices and organisational performance

The purpose of this research study is to examine the relationship between Quality management (QM) practices deployed as part of a broader management approach and organisational performance in a financial services industry. Quality management as an organisational performance improvement tool or approach has been in practice since the late 1980's following the decline in the American manufacturing industry and competitive position compared to the Japanese. Quality management practices have increasingly become an approach used by firms for gaining competitive advantage in an environment where there is a process of constant change in the national and international competitive environment, due in part to globalisation and increased interdependence of world economy. These changes and interdependence have brought an increased demand on organisational competitiveness and performance with the customer gaining a central place in organisational focus.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo