Competitive Strategy and Total Quality Management Culture in organizations

Abstract

This paper discusses the elements of competitive strategy, total quality management culture and productivity improvement and their relationship in producing better outputs of goods and services and individual and organizational performance. Production remains fundamental to the sustenance of human existence. A productive activity is one that contributes (directly/ indirectly) to the satisfaction of people\'s wants. The wants are either material (requiring the use of resources provided by nature) or immaterial (requiring the services of other human beings). Production relations are organized around the three main agents of economic activity, including the household, the firm and the govt. given the natural tendency for population growth, outputs of various production processes have to grow for the levels of Socio-economic welfare to rise or at least be sustained at existing levels. In addition, development requires, among other things, output growth as well as access to increasingly wider ranges of goods and services in any economy. The realization of these presupposes a variety of stimuli. Prominent among the necessities are quality and productivity plus a clear and strong strategy to remain afloat in the industrial competitive market. This paper therefore, examines the concept of total qualitative management in a competitive environment within the contexts of globalizations, deregulation and liberalization.

African Research Review Vol. 1 (1) 2007: pp. 55-64