An empirical analysis of critical factors of TQM: A proposed tool for self‐assessment and benchmarking purposes

This paper discusses an empirical analysis of total qulaity management (TQM) critical factors using an adaptation of a questionnaire used previously in the USA. Since the context of this analysis was the Malaysian approach to TQM implementation, the measuring scale was designed so that it can not only capture the degree of perception and understanding of each critical factor, but also measure the order of criticality of each factor. A total of 22 critical factors in all were found to predominate and these were classified in three separate tiers, thus giving them a structure. The findings were very compatible with those highlighted in the literature and also covered by similar studies. An index of comparative criticality was developed, leading to the proposal of a self‐assessment tool which can be used for a variety of purposes such as self‐assessment for developing an improvement plan and also for benchmarking the degree of implementation of each critical factor against the index produced as a standard.