scholarly journals Quality Management Practices and Competitiveness of Manufacturing Firms in Nairobi

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Wangui Muiruri ◽  
Dr. Magutu Obara Peterson

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to establish the influence of quality management practices on competitiveness of manufacturing firms in Nairobi.Methodology: The research adopted a descriptive survey research design in trying to focus on manufacturing firms operating in Nairobi. This study used the list of manufacturing firms in Nairobi as provided in the KAM directory that showed a total of 499 manufacturing firms operating in Nairobi. The research study used stratified random sampling. The sample size of the research study was 50 manufacturing firms. The data was collected by use of structured questionnaires. It was done from operations managers, quality assurance managers and supply chain managers or their equivalents since they were deemed to be well versed and had good understanding of strategic quality management practices and operational activities of manufacturing firms. The information from the analysis was presented by use of pie charts, graphs, bar charts and tables to search for any correlation between strategic quality management practices and firms’ competitiveness.Results and conclusion: The results revealed that bench marking and competitiveness were positively and significantly correlated (r=0.578, p=0.000). The results further showed that continuous improvement and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.620, p=0.000). It was additionally verified that supplier partnering and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.510, p=0.000). Equally, the results showed that six sigma and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.529, p=0.000). Finally, the results revealed that quality management practices and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.642, p=0.000). The results indicated that the overall model was statistically significant. Further, the results imply that the independent variables are good predictors of firm competitiveness. This was reinforced by an F statistic of 21.769 and the reported p value (0.000) which was less than the conventional probability of 0.05 significance level. Policy recommendation: The author recommended that manufacturing firms should institute and involve the support of strategic leadership to monitor the adoption and implementation of quality management practices as a way of improving their competitiveness in their respective industries. Further, firms should come up with as many benchmarking approaches and to also hold several of them so as to increase on adoption of effective mechanism that makes firms more competitive

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-45
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Wangui Muiruri ◽  
Dr. Magutu Obara Peterson

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to establish the influence of quality management practices on competitiveness of manufacturing firms in Nairobi.Methodology: The research adopted a descriptive survey research design in trying to focus on manufacturing firms operating in Nairobi. This study used the list of manufacturing firms in Nairobi as provided in the KAM directory that showed a total of 499 manufacturing firms operating in Nairobi. The research study used stratified random sampling. The sample size of the research study was 50 manufacturing firms. The data was collected by use of structured questionnaires. It was done from operations managers, quality assurance managers and supply chain managers or their equivalents since they were deemed to be well versed and had good understanding of strategic quality management practices and operational activities of manufacturing firms. The information from the analysis was presented by use of pie charts, graphs, bar charts and tables to search for any correlation between strategic quality management practices and firms’ competitiveness.Results and conclusion: The results revealed that bench marking and competitiveness were positively and significantly correlated (r=0.578, p=0.000). The results further showed that continuous improvement and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.620, p=0.000). It was additionally verified that supplier partnering and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.510, p=0.000). Equally, the results showed that six sigma and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.529, p=0.000). Finally, the results revealed that quality management practices and competitiveness were positively and significantly related (r=0.642, p=0.000). The results indicated that the overall model was statistically significant. Further, the results imply that the independent variables are good predictors of firm competitiveness. This was reinforced by an F statistic of 21.769 and the reported p value (0.000) which was less than the conventional probability of 0.05 significance level. Policy recommendation: The author recommended that manufacturing firms should institute and involve the support of strategic leadership to monitor the adoption and implementation of quality management practices as a way of improving their competitiveness in their respective industries. Further, firms should come up with as many benchmarking approaches and to also hold several of them so as to increase on adoption of effective mechanism that makes firms more competitive


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Rashad ElMelegy ◽  
Mohamad Alnajem ◽  
Nour Albuloushi

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the quality performance of the Egyptian manufacturing industry based on Flynn's quality management practices framework.Design/methodology/approachA literature-based questionnaire was developed to collect the research data. The sample studied included 193 professionals from different manufacturing firms in Egypt. The research model utilized seven first-order constructs to measure infrastructure and core quality practices and the model was analyzed by structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results of the study showed that infrastructure practices had a positive effect on core quality practices, which in turn, significantly influenced quality performance. The findings confirmed that Egyptian manufacturing firms have a good foundation of quality management practices enabling them to improve quality performance.Practical implicationsThis study provides a foundation for Egyptian manufacturing firms to develop a practical plan for implementing total quality management (TQM). In addition, the results of this study will help managers and policy makers develop a thorough understanding of the current status of TQM initiatives, enablers and barriers in Egypt.Originality/valueThe study represents one of the few attempts to examine quality practices and quality performance in the manufacturing sector in Egypt. To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study to examine these parameters in this context in Egypt.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ai-Fen Lim ◽  
Voon-Hsien Lee ◽  
Pik-Yin Foo ◽  
Keng-Boon Ooi ◽  
Garry Wei–Han Tan

Purpose In today’s globalized and heavily industrialized economy, sustainability issues that negatively affect the human population and external environment are on the rise. This study aims to investigate a synergistic combination of supply chain management and quality management practices in strengthening the sustainability performance of Malaysian manufacturing firms. Design/methodology/approach A total sample of 177 usable surveys was collected. Given the contributions and acceptability of the artificial neural network (ANN) approach in evaluating the findings of this study, this study uses ANN to measure the relationship between each predictor (i.e. supply chain integration [SCI], quality leadership [QL], supplier focus [SF], customer focus (CF) and information sharing [IS]) and the dependent variable (i.e. sustainability performance). Via sensitivity analysis, the relative significance of each predictor variable is ranked based on the normalized importance value. Findings The sensitivity analysis indicates that CF has the greatest effect on sustainability performance (SP) with 100% normalized relative importance, followed by QL (75%), IS (61.5%), SF (57.3%) and SCI (46.7%). Originality/value The findings of this study have the potential to provide valuable guidance and insights that can help all manufacturing firms enhance their SP from the optimum combination of the selected SCQM practices with a focus on sustainability.


2020 ◽  

The banana agro-export sector in Ecuador provides millions of dollars in income for this concept, but with this development, a series of quality standards have been established that must be met to enter the export system. This has contributed to establishing good post-harvest production and management practices that guarantee the optimal production of bananas and plantains. The objective of this study was to determine the factors involved in the rejection of bananas (Musa acuminata) destined for international commercialization. The methodology considered the design modality of non-experimental transactional research, with a quantitative approach. The methodological design was developed in three phases at Finca 6 Hermanas located in the Barraganete sector of the San Juan parish in the Puebloviejo canton of the Los Ríos Province, Ecuador. The results highlight that the main causes for which banana rejection is generated are due to abiotic factors (damage, dry latex, scar, insect damage, broken neck, overgrowth) in a higher percentage of 79.55 % and biotic factors ( twins, diseases, short finger) by 20.45 %. The average rejection was 6 361 fingers and1 269 Kilograms (K) over the 6-week study duration. The analysis of variance turned out to be significant for variable 1 (biotic and abiotic). Ho is rejected; with the criterion of p-value < 0.0001 and F (9; 45) = 2.10., F = 13.17> F critic. In the case of variable (2) “work weeks”, Ho is accepted with the criteria obtained of p-value of 0.7694 and F (5; 45) = 2.4., As F = 0.51 < F critic, it is concludes, that with a significance level of 5% the null hypothesis is accepted. It is concluded that these figures lead to the elaboration of strategies that systemically mitigate the damages, by correcting each one of the causes that cause the deterioration of the banana and increasing the economic gains of the commercialization process.


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