An empirical study on quality management practices, organization performance and suppliers' selection in Southern Minnesota manufacturing firms

Quality management systems (QMS) have been widely applied successfully by many manufacturing companies to improve their process, increase profits and organizational performance. The most applied of the quality programs are ISO 9001, Total Quality Management (TQM), Just-In-time (JIT), Lean Management and Six Sigma. Although past studies on quality management have identified and studied the implementation of quality management practices, there is little or no research on quality management practices and business performance in Southern Minnesota manufacturing companies. Many researchers have concluded that the implementation of quality management practices has led to significant improvements in companies' business performance while others have established that it does not. In addition, no research has been conducted to identify the factors considered by Southern Minnesota companies in the selection of suppliers to ensure satisfaction from the suppliers. A review of literature on quality management systems and organization's performance was carried out. The major objective of this study is to develop and propose the conceptual framework and research model of quality management practices implementation in relation to organization performance particularly in Southern Minnesota manufacturing firms. And also to identify the most important factors considered in suppliers' selection in the companies. A survey was conducted involving Southern Minnesota manufacturing companies. The survey aims to investigate the current quality management practices in manufacturing industries in Southern Minnesota. In this study, focus was the relationship between quality management practices and organization performance. The results of the survey conducted on the companies found that implementation of the quality practices affects organizations' performance positively. Also, that the three most important factors considered in supplier selection by the companies is quality, on-time delivery and commitment. This is contrary to much research that has established that three most important factors in suppliers' selection by manufacturing companies are quality, cost and on-time delivery. This study provides useful information for further improvement of quality management practices and the current situation of quality management practices in Southern Minnesota manufacturing industry.