Values and Practices of Quality Management

One aim of the book is to explore the knowledge and use of values and practices of quality management. A survey covering 500 quality professionals was carried out showing correlation between adoption of the values and quality management. The connection between quality management and organisational structures is examined. A contingency approach is proposed. Differences between different sectors are identified and a framework of trust is developed. Another aim is to investigate the connection between quality management and health. This is studied in a manufacturing company and a hospital clinic. Correlation between the values and health was found. Having indications that the values of 'leadership commitment' and 'participation of everybody' are important for health, these relationships are verified and their mechanisms are probed into. Dimensions for the values are identified and described. Thus, a focus on more subtle levels of quality management, like the values, has been shown to be fruitful as a foundation both for well- functioning companies and for the employee health.