Employee involvement in a total quality management programme: problems in Chinese firms in Hong Kong

Total quality management (TQM) calls for a change of culture that requires employee involvement at all levels and a spirit of teamwork among all the stakeholders in corporations. Employee involvement, participation, and empowerment form the cornerstones of TQM. Involvement implies interaction between individuals, groups, and teams. However, managers who are used to a paternalistic and dictatorial mode of management will have difficulty in making TQM work. Chinese management philosophy and systems are not in harmony with the modern concept that encourages employee involvement and participative management. This paper discusses various factors that may lead to the failure of TQM programmes in Chinese firms in Hong Kong based on the information collected by the author in a recent study.