Performance In Manufacturing Industries In Kenya: A Case Of Mabati Rolling Mills

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND ORGANISATIONAL

ABSTRACT

Organisations all over the world have been trying to cope with a rapidly changing

business environment in which management have to be more astute in finding ways to

sustain or gain competitive advantage. Most manufacturing companies are now adopting

Total Quality Management (TQM) and other new philosophies to become more effective

in the way they conduct business. The relationship between TQM initiative and improved

performance has been researched with mixed results. The mixed results are a pointer for a

need for a study to establish the effect of TQM practices on the performance of

organisations. Secondly, studies in Kenya have not focused on the effect of TQM on the

performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya hence a knowledge gap. The purpose of

this study is to investigate the effect of TQM practices on the performance of

manufacturing firms in Kenya with major focus on Mabati Rolling Mills. The objectives

of the study were to establish the effect of customer focus on organisational performance,

establish the effect of top management commitment on organisational performance,

establish the effect of continuous improvement on organisational performance and to

establish the effect of employee involvement on organisational performance at MRM.

The study was anchored on the management theories, systems approach theory and the

scientific management theory. The study employed a descriptive research design in which

121 employees were sampled from a target population of 400 using stratified random

sampling method. Data was collected using questionnaires which was self-administered

by the respondent. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.

Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, percentages, means and standard

deviation were used. The study also used correlation and regression analysis to show the

relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. Presentation of the

findings was done in figures, tables and charts. The study established that generally, the

TQM practices of customer focus, top management commitment, continuous

improvement and employee involvement positively influenced the organizational

performance. Individually, the study established that customer focus enhanced customer

satisfaction which resulted into overall organizational performance. The study further

established that top management commitment influenced organizational performance.

The continuous improvement directly influenced organizational performance as

employee involvement also affected organizational performance. The study

recommended that there was need for the organization to grow a stronger culture that

nurtures high-trust social relationship, respect for individuals and a shared sense of

membership. The study also recommends that continuous improvement should be one of

the pillars upon which manufacturing firms performance can be guaranteed. The firms

should enhance top management commitment to quality management through motivation and incentives.