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DEBRE MARKOS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT Specialization: Regular Program in Master of Business Administration (MBA) Course Title: Business Research Methodology I (MBA 651)

A Thesis Proposal on the Assessment of Total Quality Management (TQM): the case of Gendawuha Cotton Ginning Factory

Submitted to The Department of Management for Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Course Business Research Methodology I.

By: Atinkut Azanaw

ID. No GSR/266/13 (Section A)

Submitted to: Mr. Getinet F. (Ass. Professor) Submission Date: January 2021

ABSTRACT In this globalized and fast-changing world, companies need to give higher emphasis to quality. The purpose of the study is to assess Total Quality Management practices at Gendawuha Cotton Ginning Factory. Besides, the objectives are to determine employees' attitudes & perceptions of TQM program implementation, to examine the benefits of practicing TQM, to point out the major challenges encountered in TQM implementation, and to suggest practical recommendations to implement TQM effectively. To address the objectives, the descriptive case study design will be employed. And also a mixed research methods (i. e. an approach of both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods) will be used to collect data from employees, management, and supervisor. By using a census survey, the study uses all 45 employees of the factory as a subject of a study as a census survey. The data gathered through the questionnaire will be analyzed using SPSS software. Quantitative data will be analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Data that will be gathered through interviews will be analyzed qualitatively using content analysis.

Key Words: Quality, Practice, TQM,

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Table of Contents Contents

Page

Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................................................... iv List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ....................................................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER ONE .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.

Background of the Study ......................................................................................................................................... 1

1.2.

Statement of the Problem ....................................................................................................................................... 3

1.3.

Research Questions................................................................................................................................................. 4

1.4.

Objectives of the study ............................................................................................................................................ 4

1.4.1.

General Objective ............................................................................................................................................ 4

1.4.2.

Specific Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 4

1.5.

Scope of the Study ................................................................................................................................................... 4

1.6.

Significance of the Study ......................................................................................................................................... 4

1.7.

Operational Definition of Terms .............................................................................................................................. 5

1.8.

Organization of the Study ........................................................................................................................................ 5

CHAPTER TWO ......................................................................................................................................................................... 6 2.

LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 2.1.

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 6

2.2.

Theoretical Review .................................................................................................................................................. 6

2.2.1.

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 6

2.2.2.

Concept and Definition of Total Quality Management ................................................................................... 6

2.2.3.

Quality Management System Tools ................................................................................................................ 6

2.2.4.

Principles of TQM ............................................................................................................................................ 8

2.2.5.

Theories of Total Quality Management ........................................................................................................11

2.2.6.

Historical Development of TQM .................................................................................................................... 14

2.3. 2.3.1. 2.4.

Empirical Review ...................................................................................................................................................15 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 15 Conceptual Review ................................................................................................................................................ 18 ii

2.4.1.

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 18

CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................................................... 19 3.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY........................................................................................................................................... 19 3.1.

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 19

3.2.

The Study Area ...................................................................................................................................................... 19

3.3.

Research Design ....................................................................................................................................................19

3.4.

Data Sources, Type and Collection Techniques ..................................................................................................... 20

3.5.

Population, Sample, and SamplingTechniques ..................................................................................................... 20

3.5.1.

Population ..................................................................................................................................................... 20

3.5.2.

Sample and Sampling Techniques ................................................................................................................. 20

3.6.

Pre-testing ............................................................................................................................................................. 20

3.7.

Data Collection Procedure ..................................................................................................................................... 21

3.8.

Methods of Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 21

3.9.

Ethical considerations ........................................................................................................................................... 22

Time Plan and Budget Breakdown .................................................................................................................................... 22 Thesis Time Schedule .................................................................................................................................................... 22 Budget Breakdown ........................................................................................................................................................ 23 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................................................ 24 Reference ..........................................................................................................................................................................31

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List of Tables Table 1: Principles of Total Quality Management………………………………………………………….9 Table 2:TQM Practices in Service and Manufacturing Organizations…………………………………..17

List of Figures Fig 2.1 Business Process……………………………………………………………………………..8 Fig 2.2 Conceptual Framework………………………………………………………………………..18

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms • TQM- Total Quality Management •

ISO- International Standard Organization

•

GCGF- Gendawuha Cotton Ginning Factory

•

GMP- Good Manufacturing Practices

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CHAPTER ONE 1. INTRODUCTION This chapter tries to address, the background of the study. Following this, a statement of the problem and research questions will present. Both general and specific objectives of the study will be presented. Besides, the significance of the study, its scope, operational definition of terms, and the organization of the study will be presented.

1.1.

Background of the Study

Nowadays rapid information flow and globalization make competition fierce. The organizations therefore cannot survive in its present operation unless they improving quality practices. Organization requires a quality management program that is instituted from top management down to the lowest level employee. One such quality program is Total Quality Management (TQM). Total Quality Management (TQM) has been defined as a management approach to continuous improvement through customer satisfaction (Goetsch and Davis 2016). In implementing TQM all members of an organization need to participate in improving products and services. Due to this TQM is becoming a key management issue. Companies are constantly moving ahead towards improving the quality of overall activities to serve the market in a better way. But still, some challenges hinder the purpose of quality management. To illustrate, in their study, Dahiya & Kandpal (2012) concluded that constraints imposed by quality culture, autocratic style of leadership, lack of employee commitment, the improper channel of communication, quality certifications-viewed as bureaucratic exercise and problems in identifying customer needs are the main problems that hinder companies to implement TQM effectively. Like Dahiya and Kandpal,

Mabele and Singh(2018), found that lack of leadership commitment, ineffective

communication strategy, political interference, and the organizational culture highly affect TQM implementation. Morepover, Chongaand, and Rundusb (2004) found that market competition has an impact on the TQM practices of customer focus, and product design, and organizational performance. First, this study suggests that market competition is another important contingent (moderating) variable. From a theoretical perspective, the results show that the adoption of TQM practices and market competition jointly enhances 1

organizational performance. This finding lends further support to the frequently suggested management practices and strategies for achieving improved organizational performance in TQM firms. Dealing with the errors and problems improves administrative efficiency. Rabaya (2013) found that the most important challenges facing the application of the TQM system were checking on the problems of work. Minimizing production deficits contributes to reduce the number of consumer complaints and reduce the quality cost. Finally, it is possible to meet customer satisfaction. To this end, management orientation and knowledge have a great impact on industries. The way managers receive and act on new ideas and suggestions affect a great deal. Agarawal et.al (2013), found that firm size, ownership structure, and the level of education among both managers and non-managers positively impact management performance. Unlike Rabya's findings, they find that competition does not have an association with management practices. This finding contributes to understanding why best management practices are not universally adopted by manufacturing firms. Supporting Agarawal and his colleagues' findings, Mabele and Singh (2018)found that top management did not support TQM implementation and this was a major contributing factor to the failure of the TQM program. Furthermore, TQM had been poorly implemented hence its benefits had not been realized. When we come to our country, there are some challenges in implementing TQM. Birhanu and Danel (2014) argued quality management practices in Ethiopia were found to be low in all the tenets including leadership, policy and strategy, resources management, process management, customer satisfaction, business performance, and impact on society. Among these factors, policy and strategy is the most critical problem area despite the least weight given by the Ethiopian quality agency. Therefore, the quality promoters, particularly the government should give special attention to the service industries' quality. However, both manufacturing and service industries should be supported to lay down their day-to-day activity on a long term strategy and also to improve the root causes for the poor quality management practices. Even though several works of literature advise about the means and mechanisms for improvement. Often the literature lack clarity and consistency on the measures to be implemented at the shop floor level. Sometimes, the literature mixes-up the cause and effect, thereby making it difficult to decide on the measures to be implemented. So, this paper will assess how TQM is practicing at a lower level, GCGF.

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One of the underdeveloped sectors in Ethiopia is the textile industry. The textile industry gets raw material from the cotton ginning factory. Its contribution to GDP is lo because of quality problems. If the textile industries do not get quality input from the beginning, then the quality output may no be achieved at the end.

Since the researcher's office is near the factory, he observed some quality problems in the

Gendawuha Cotton Ginning Factory. Most of the cotton inputs were not utilized effectively and efficiently. To this end, the researcher is motivated to study the practices of total quality management in the GendawuhaCotton Ginning Factory. Gendawuha Cotton Ginning Factory has established in 2014 intending to supply ginned cotton for textile industries. Currently, the factory has 45 employees (35 M and 10 F). The factory is organized into six departments. One of its departments is the Quality Control section. Moreover, the factory has been marketing its products to Bahir Dar, Kombolcha, and Nazaret textile factories. There was no study conducted in Gendawuha Cotton Ginning Factory. Besides, the researcher wants to fill the gaps that most studies have been focused on barriers/problems still most of them did not explain the reason that exists beyond the need of implementing TQM. This study, therefore, tries to assess total quality management practices in the Gendawuha Cotton Ginning factory.

1.2.

Statement of the Problem

The profitability of the Gendawuha Cotton Ginning Factory is low comparing with other factories. The factory annual report indicated that the factory products are low in quantity and quality. That means the factory did not give concern to quality matters. Unless this problem is addressed it is difficult to make the factory competitive in the market. Moreover, resolving this problem will advance the field. Different researchers have been reported different challenges that hinder total quality implementation. Most of the research settings were in the service sector organization. However, there has been little work exploring practices of TQM in factories. This study will cover the practices of total quality management in GCGF in the 2013 Ethiopian fiscal year. To reach the desired goal, the study will collect primary and secondary data. The study will have a relevance to solving quality problems in GCGF. Further, it is possible to compare and contrast the findings with other previous studies. The study will address the knowledge gap that exists in a factory in improving the quality of the product.

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1.3.

Research Questions

It is essential to translate the research idea into an answerable question. To this end, the study will answer the following basic questions. •

What are the perception & attitudes of employees in total quality implementation?

•

Are TQM principles practiced in the organization?

•

What are the benefits of practicing TQM to the organization?

•

What are the main challenges that influence total quality management practice in the company?

1.4.

Objectives of the study

1.4.1. General Objective

The overall objective of the study is to assess total quality management practices in Gandawuha Cotton Ginning Factory. 1.4.2. Specific Objectives •

To examine the benefits of practicing TQM to the factory.

•

To determine employees attitude& perception on TQM program implementation

•

To investigate the contributions of practicin...