Assessing the differences in total quality management in implementation: Behaviour of the Australian manufacturing industry

This paper aims to explore the weaknesses of current total quality manageme nt (TQM) implementation and the root causes of these weaknesses in Australi an manufacturing industry. The results of the study reveal the absence of f undamental practices of TQM which affect all manufacturing operations in th e areas of cast leadership, product leadership, flexibility to integrate te chnology, organizational and human aspects of manufacturing. The assessment was carried out based on background information, on-line operations, manuf acturing and design, quality information and human resource utilization dat a, gathered through a detailed postal survey (n = 187). The correlation ana lysis revealed inadequate concern given to workforce equipment, technology, materials, parts purchased, design of process or product, and mainly polic y, planning and organization issues.