Managerial competencies as critical ingredients for a total quality management initiative: Perceptions of managers in a KwaZulu- Natal public sector division

Abstract

Total quality management (TQM) plays a pivotal role in organisational effectiveness. When successfully implemented, TQM tightly aligned with the organisation’s overall business strategy maximises customer satisfaction and changes mindsets towards continuous quality improvement. One mechanism to accomplish TQM is by attaining managerial effectiveness. Therefore, this study assesses the extent to which the management in a KwaZulu-Natal public sector division displays the roles and competencies outlined in the Competing Values Framework (Quinn, Faerman, Thompson & McGrath, 2003). The study is based on a stratified random sample of 202 managers. Data were collected using a self-developed questionnaire measuring the dimensions of TQM and the roles/competencies needed to create master managers that are crucial to enhancing TQM.

Keywords

• continuous quality improvement
• Competing Values Framework
• managerial competencies
• participative management
• statistical quality control