Leadership and Quality Management Systems: A Global Review

Introduction: Leadership and Quality Management Systems

Researchers around the world have studied the relationship between leadership and quality management systems (QMS). Because quality management systems focus on refining company policies in order to meet customer needs, the role of leadership within those systems has attracted considerable scholarly attention. Leaders play a tremendous role in a company's success; it stands to reason, therefore, that they should play a similar role in quality management systems.

Wagimin, Elisa, Juhary, and Vembri (2019) show, for instance, that both transformational and transactional leadership styles can have positive effects on quality management systems as well as on employee performance. They also point out, however, that quality management systems — and total quality management (TQM) in particular — can assist transformational and transactional leaders in improving employee performance. Their study is helpful because it highlights the symbiotic nature of the relationship between quality management systems and two major styles of leadership.

Their study is set in Indonesia, which provides an indication of the universality of the leadership–QMS relationship when compared with studies from other parts of the world, such as those of Alnuaimi and Yaakub (2020) in the United Arab Emirates, Praditya (2020) in Tangerang, and Githaiga, Namusonge, and Sakwa (2018) in Kenya. Taken together, these studies indicate that leadership and quality management systems share a strong positive relationship that organizations can leverage regardless of where they are located.

Transformational Leadership and QMS: A Symbiotic Relationship

Chen, Lee, and Wang (2020) arrive at the same conclusion as Wagimin et al. (2019). The relationship is especially symbiotic between transformational leadership and quality management systems: each has a positive effect on the other. Transformational leaders benefit from quality management systems because the latter provides a foundational framework for efficiency, while the former contributes proactive implementation of policies and processes.

What makes the study by Chen et al. (2020) particularly valuable is its demonstration of how having a clear vision — and the ability to communicate that vision — makes a significant difference in the effectiveness of quality management systems. In other words, Chen et al. (2020) suggest that without a transformational leader, a quality management system is unlikely to achieve its full potential. Alnuaimi and Yaakub (2020), using a survey methodology with 230 participants, reached the same conclusion.

Leadership as the Primary Driver of QMS Implementation

Praditya (2020) also found that leadership had a strong impact on the implementation of quality management systems. That study was conducted at an automotive plant in Tangerang, with 63 randomly selected participants. Other factors were also assessed — including commitment, motivation, and competence — but only leadership was found to matter when it came to implementing the quality management system. The reason is that leadership provides the guidance, oversight, and vision that motivates people and encourages commitment to the organization. The leader supplies that motivation and encouragement, which is why leadership matters most.

Cho (2017) conducted empirical analysis in the construction industry and reached the same finding as Praditya (2020) did in the automotive industry: leadership has the greatest impact on quality management systems. Leaders enable a company to function as a unified whole by communicating a shared vision. That vision must be at the center of any quality management system, and the leader must be the one to articulate it.

Conclusion: When and Why Leadership Matters in QMS

The literature indicates that leadership tends to play a major role in quality management systems, but that this role is most strongly felt in environments, industries, or nations where the culture is not already aligned with the principles of quality management. When no foundational framework is in place, the leader is necessary because the leader provides focus, vision, communication, and motivation. This is precisely why motivation and commitment were not found to be independent factors in QMS implementation: the leader was expected to generate motivation and foster commitment. In the absence of a supportive culture, the leader must guide the entire process.

Where a culture already supports quality management — as in highly regulated Western healthcare environments — leaders can be more removed from day-to-day QMS operations without diminishing outcomes. In short, leadership in quality management systems will always matter most where it is needed most: in contexts where the organizational or national culture has not yet built the infrastructure that quality management systems require to function on their own.

References

Alnuaimi, A.S.A. and Yaakub, K.B., 2020. The impact of leadership practices on total quality management and organizational performance in the UAE Interior Ministry. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 5(2), pp.9–14.

Chen, R., Lee, Y.D. and Wang, C.H., 2020. Total quality management and sustainable competitive advantage: serial mediation of transformational leadership and executive ability. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 31(5–6), pp.451–468.

Cho, J.H., 2017. An empirical study on top management's leadership in construction quality management activities and construction quality management performance. Journal of the Korean Society for Quality Management, 45(3), pp.403–426.

Clay-Williams, R., Taylor, N., Ting, H.P., Arnolda, G., Winata, T. and Braithwaite, J., 2020. Do quality management systems influence clinical safety culture and leadership? A study in 32 Australian hospitals. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 32(Supplement_1), pp.60–66.

Githaiga, I.M., Namusonge, G.S. and Sakwa, M.M., 2018. Effect of strategic leadership practice on implementation of quality management systems in state corporations in Kenya. International Journal of Research and Discovery, 1(1), pp.1–9.

Praditya, R.A., 2020. Leadership, work motivation, competency, commitment and culture: which influences the performance of quality management system in automotive industry? Journal of Industrial Engineering & Management Research, 1(1), pp.53–62.

Purwanto, A., Asbari, M. and Santoso, P.B., 2019. Does culture, motivation, competence, leadership, commitment influence quality performance? Inovbiz: Jurnal Inovasi Bisnis, 7(2), pp.201–205.

Wagimin, M., Elisa, K., Juhary, A. and Vembri, N.H., 2019. The effect of leadership on employee performance with total quality management (TQM) as a mediating variable in Indonesian petroleum companies: a case study. International Journal of Integrated Engineering, 11(5), pp.180–188.