Barriers to TQM Implementation within a Private Medical Services Organizations in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This paper focuses on the barriers that private medical services organizations have faced while trying to implement Total Quality Management (TQM). The study employed a quantitative methodology involving 220 questionnaires that were validated and structured and consisted of 21 items identifying barriers faced by organizations during the implementation of TQM. Using convenience sampling techniques, we distributed the questionnaires to targeted employees of a four private medical services organization in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All statistical analysis was conducted in SPSS version 18 using descriptive data, reliability, and factor analysis to explore the barriers to the implementation of TQM. This analysis showed the most significant barriers to implementation were frequent employee turnover, resistance to change among employees, and a lack of understanding about TQM and a shortage of motivation among management. The results provide new impetus for findings from previous studies and offer human resource practitioners, quality managers, and professionals an opportunity to develop plans that addresses the challenges they face when implementing TQM, as well as intervention strategies with which to minimize the impact these challenges.