Addressing the issue of sustainability of business excellence, the paper maps strategies of Deming Application Prize (DAP) winning companies in India and evaluates the effectiveness of the Prize scheme. It presents results of questionnaire survey.
Research has been carried out in case-survey-case (C-S-C) mode. This paper, second in series after a case study, applies questionnaire technique. Research construct - showing systemic interactions with resources, capabilities and competencies - has been presented. Descriptive analyses of data have been carried out and six hypotheses tested through correlation analysis.
TQM implementation and Deming Prize result in improvement in business processes. The award is effective in propelling organisations to higher performance level; however, sustainability of excellence remains an issue of concern. ‘Flexibility’ in strategy has strong positive correlation with satisfaction of stakeholders. ‘Continuous improvement’ is the most critical factor.
All the 18 companies winning DAP up to 2007 were contacted. Limitation of sample size was overcome by generating 72% response.
Results have implications for the concept of TQM and DAP methodology.
Results of empirical research are presented. The model developed as research construct in this study provides illustration on how researchers and managers should dig into the organisational system for sustaining excellence.
