Impediments to the adoption of total quality management (TQM) in Jordanian ISO 9000 series certified manufacturing companies

Since ISO 9000 was introduced in 1987 there has been a tremendous growth in the number of companies seeking registration to it, both in developed and developingcountries. It was found in the literature that few ISO 9000 certificate holders have converted their quality management programme to TQM. Jordan, a developing country, is not an exception. However, this subject has not received enough attention and certainly these studies in developing countries are almost totally lacking. Therefore, theaim of this research is 'to develop a framework to help in the identification of the impediments to the transition from ISO 9000 standard towards TQM among JordanianISO 9000 certified manufacturing companies'.The research methodology involved the adoption of a survey as a research strategy and a quantitative approach, utilising a self-administered questionnaire, to arrive at the major findings of the study. The research findings indicate that several impediments have emerged as inhibitors to going beyond ISO 9000 towards TQM in the Jordanian context. Among these are: the prevailing organisational culture/climate, lack of reward and recognition, lack of training and education, lack of employee empowerment and involvement, and infrastructure factors. By integrating the literature review and thestudy findings, a simple framework aimed at assisting in the identification of the impediments to the transition from ISO 9000 standard towards TQM in Jordanian ISO9000 certified manufacturing companies was constructed.The thesis seeks to make an original contribution to knowledge in the quality management discipline by discovering the factors that are impediments to going toTQM and by developing a framework to help in the identification of these impediments to the transition from ISO 9000 standard towards TQM in Jordanian ISO 9000 certified manufacturing companies. Such contributions will be beneficial both academically and professionally. Academically, this research aims at gaining academic attention to this neglected domain in the context of this research and professionally, managers will also look at the practical implications of the research and the possibility of implementing the implications of this research in their organisations. Some recommendations for future research have been derived from this research