Impact of challenges and barriers on the success of TQM: an empirical study

This study is meant to measure the impact of the challenges of a TQM programme. The paper reviews basic principles of TQM and identifies associated challenges. The appropriate data is collected and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) with the aid of AMOS software. This research is unique in its attempt to apply quantifiable measures to the challenges faced by organisations that implement TQM. The findings indicate that the challenges associated with some of the TQM principles are correlated and a few of them do have an impact on the success of a TQM programme. To the best of the author's knowledge, there is no extensive empirical evidence showing the effect of the identified challenges on the success of TQM. This study makes significant contribution to measure the impact of these challenges on the success of a TQM programme.