PERCEPTION OF HUM ACADEMIC STAFF TOWARDS IMPLEMENTATION OF PRINCIPLES

OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM)

BY

LOUTFI BOULAHLIB

Project Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Management Graduate School of Management

International Islamic University Malaysia

SEPTEMBER 2014

APPROVAL PAGE

I certify that I have supervised and read this Project Paper and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a Project Paper for the degree of Master of Management.

Asst. Prof Dr. Naail Mohammed Kamil Supervisor

This Project Paper was submitted to the Graduate School of Management, IIUM and is accepted as partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Management.

r\1\/\A -~--

Asst. Prof Dr. Dolhadi Zainudin Project Paper Examiner

This Project Paper was submitted to the Graduate School of Management. IIUM and is accepted as partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Management.

Asst. Ptof. Dr. Zabeda Abdul Hamid Chairpe'r:on Project Paper Committee Graduate School of Management IIUM

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DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT

N arne : Loutfi Boulahlib Matric Number : G0933077

I hereby declare that this research is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknow !edged by footnotes giving explicit references and a bibliography is appended.

© Copyright by Loutfi Boulahlib and International Islamic University Malaysia

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DEDICATION

My Narration goes to the memory of my Mather,

To my Father and to all of my family members

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

All thanks, adorations and praise belongs to Almighty Allah, who is the creator and controller of the universe. May the peace and blessing of Allah continue to shower on the seal of the prophet.

First of all, I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Naail Mohammed Kamil for his priceless advices and for sharing his experiences with me through unflinching encouragements and supports throughout the entire work. Many thanks go to the discussion committee members. I am much grateful for their very useful comments and sincere thoughtfulness that will enrich my work. In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to Assoc.Prof Dr. Saodah Wok and Prof Mohamad Sahari Nordin for their pleasant support, priceless information and their guidance to adjust the questionnaire of the study. Which, it assisted me to finalize my work in proper way.

I owe a deep debt of appreciation to my entire family members who provided their emotional and financial supports from the beginning.

My completion of this project could not have been accomplished without the support of my friends Naji, Matar, Bahaa, Saad, Hamza, Waleed. Finally, the most grateful go to my best friend Mouhammed Irjan who helps me a lot by his advices and comments in several phases of my current study.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Approval Page .................................................................................................. ii Declaration and Copyright ................................................................................ iii Dedication ................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ v Table of Contents .............................................................................................. vi List of Tables ................................................................................................ viii List of Figures ................................................................................................. . x List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................... . xi Abstract ...................................................................................................................... . xii

I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. I 1.2 HUM Background .................................................................................... 2 1.3 Statement of Problem ............................................................................... 3 1.4 Research Objectives ................................................................................. 4 1.5 Research Questions .................................................................................. 5 1.6 Significance of Study ................................................................................ 5 1.7 Organization of the Project Paper ............................................................. 6

2. LITERATURE RE\"IEW 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 8 2.2 The Concept of Quality ............................................................................ 8 2.3 Total Quality Management (TQM) ........................................................... 9 2.4 Evolution ofTQM .................................................................................. 10 2.5 The Importance ofTQM ......................................................................... II 2.6 Principles ofTQM .................................................................................. 13 2.7 TQM Tools and Techniques ................................................................... 14 2.8 TQM in Higher Education ...................................................................... 15

2.8.1 Customer in Higher Education ........................................................... 15 2.8.2 Process Improvement in HE Service .................................................. 16 2.8.3 Product in Higher Education .............................................................. 17

2.9 Barriers to TQM in Higher Education ..................................................... 18 2.1 OTheoretical Framework ........................................................................... 21

2.10.1 Theoretical Background .................................................................... 22 2.1 0.2Conceptual Framework ..................................................................... 26 2.10.3Development of Hypothesis .............................................................. 30

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3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3 .I Introduction ............................................................................................ 31 3.2 Research Design ..................................................................................... 31 3.3 Participants and Population ..................................................................... 32

3 .3.1 Description of the Target Population ............................................... 32 3.3.2The Participants (Sample of study) .................................................. 33

3. 4 Procedures .............................................................................................. 34 3.5 Measurement and Instrumentation .......................................................... 34 3.6 Data Collection ....................................................................................... 35

3.6.1 Survey Research ............................................................................. 36 3.6.2Self-Administered ........................................................................... 39 3.6.3Drop off and collect techniques ....................................................... 40

3. 7 Data Analysis ......................................................................................... 40 3.8 Pilot-Test... ............................................................................................. 41

3.8.1Reliability ....................................................................................... 43 3.8.2Validity ........................................................................................... 43

4. RESEARCH FINDINGS 4.1 Analysis of Results .................................................................................. 45 4.2 Analysis of Demographics ....................................................................... 45 4.3 Analysis of questions of study .................................................................. 48 4.4 Correlations Analysis ............................................................................... 60 4.5 The analysis of variance between demographic variables ......................... 68 4.6 Summary Of Findings .............................................................................. 73

5. COI\'CLUSIOI\' AND RECOMMEI\'DATIONS 5 .I Introduction ............................................................................................ 7 5 5.2 Main Findings ........................................................................................ 76 5.3 Contribution and Implications ................................................................ 78 5.4 Limitations of the Study ......................................................................... 80 5.5 Recommendations .................................................................................. 81 5.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 82

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 83

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I ............................................................................................................. 95 APPENDIX 2 ........................................................................................................... ! 00 APPENDIX 3 ........................................................................................................... ! 08

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LIST OF TABLES

Table No.

2.1 Several Definitions of Quality

2.2 TQM Tools & Techniques.

Page No.

9

14

4.1 Distribution of Respondents Based on Gender, Nationality, Academic

Degree, Working Experience, Marital Status, Faculty And Job Position. 45

4.2 Frequencies and Percentages of Awareness of Academic In Terms of

Implementation of the TQM Principles. 49

4.3 Means and Standard Deviations Attitude towards Implementation of the

TQM Principles. 50

4.4 Means and Standard Deviations Attitude towards Implementation of the

TQM Principles As Exhibited Oflts Items. 51

4.5 Means and Standard Deviations for Barriers to Implementing TQM

(Subjective Norms) As Perceived by the Academic Staff At IIUM. 55

4.6 Means and Standard Deviations for Barriers to Implementing TQM

(Subjective Norms), As Perceived by The Academic Staff At IIUM

(Items Analysis).

4.7 Means and Standard Deviations for Intention to Practice TQM among

IIUM Faculties.

4.8 Coefficient of Correlation between Attitude toward Implementation of

TQM and the Intention to Practices ofTQM among IIUM Faculties (N=

149).

4.9 Model Summary of Simple Regression Analysis

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56

58

60

62

4.10 Model Summary of Simple Regression Analysis

4.11 Coefficient Results for Simple Regression Analysis

4.12 Coefficient of Correlation between Subjective Norms of TQM of and the

Intention to Practice TQM among IIUM Faculties (N= 149).

4.13 Model Summary of Simple Regression Analysis

4.14 Model Summary of Simple Regression Analysis

4.15 Coefficient Results for Simple Regression Analysis

4.16 Multivariate Differences between Demographic Variables (Faculty,

Experience, Academic Degree, Job Position) on the Perception of the

Practices ofTQM.

4.17 Bonferroni Test for Confidence Interval Adjustments in the Perception of

the Practices ofTQM Due to Academic Degree.

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63

64

64

66

66

67

69

71

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. No. Page No.

2.1 TQM Evolution Process. 11

2.2 Theory of Reasoned Action. 25

2.3 The Proposed Theoretical Framework. 29

3.1 Research Design and Selection of Data Collection Method 36

3.2 Principles of Questionnaire Design. 38

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ASQ

IIUM

HE

TQM

IRA

MOHE

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

American Society for Quality.

International Islamic University Malaysia.

Higher Education

Total Quality Management.

Theory Reasoned Action.

Ministry of Higher Education.

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ABSTRACT

This study examines the impact the perception of IIUM academic staff exerts on the implementation ofTQM principles. It sheds light on the barriers and challenges faced during its implementation in higher education settings while also studying the impact of several demographic variables on TQM practices. The research model was constructed based on the findings of previous studies whereby the theory of Reasoned Action (IRA) is used to determine the behavioural intention of academic staff towards TQM practices depending on their attitudes and subjective norms. A total of 149 questionnaires were collected from IIUM academic staff who were selected through stratified random sampling. After collecting the responses, the entries were coded into IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. The findings of the current study demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between attitude toward implementation ofTQM and intention to implement TQM practices among IIUM academic staff. In addition, the study found that there is no significant relationship between subjective norms and intention. The analysis illustrates that there is no significant differences in the perception ofTQM practices due to the variables of gender, nationality, marital status, work experiences, faculty and job positions with the exception of academic degree which showed significant differences among IIUM academic staff.

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1.1 INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

This study aims at understanding the perceptions of academic staff of the International

Islamic University Malaysia towards the implementation ofTQM principles. It sheds

light on the barriers and challenges which may arise during its implementation in

higher education settings and studies the impact of demographic variables on TQM

practices.

ln the last two decades, Total Quality Management (TQM) has grown to

become one of the main sources of competitive advantage among several sectors of

commerce. According to Grey. Lyle, & Mel (1994), TQM is a significant topic in

business and academic circles. The TQM platform was developed by Dr. W. Edwards

Deming who sought to improve the efficiency of the industry in the United States in

the late 1950s. Despite his efforts, Deming's ideas went unacknowledged by the

American industrial sector. Realising the merit of Deming's ideas, the Japanese

adopted his principles which proved effective in accelerating Japan's recovery from

the ravages of World War II. Upon seeing Japan's successful adoption of TQM, the

US industrial sector commenced to use the TQM approach where many companies

adopted its principles to improve the quality of products and services. Nevertheless, it

was quite late (by the 1990s) when the higher education sector considered applying

TQM principles seriously with an end to see the value of using TQM for improved

administrative processes and academic services in universities (Zakuan, Saman,

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Muhamad, Ariff, & Shalini, 20 12). Malaysia is one of the many countries that have

awarded an increased importance to quality education. To this end, the Malaysian,

Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) has launched a number of projects which seek

to improve the quality of higher education in Malaysia. The main aim ofMOHE is to

create a good environment for higher education; something ultimately leading to

enhanced academic and institutional excellence (MOHE, 2013). The authorities look

forward to make Malaysia a centre of educational excellence through

internationalization of Malaysian education by the year 2020. Nowadays, Malaysia

has made significant progress in achieving its strategic plan of higher education as

many Malaysian universities achieved high rankings in 2012/2013 such as University

of Malaya at 150, University Kebangsaan Malaysia at 261, University Sains Malaysia

at 326, University Technology Malaysia at 358 and International Islamic University

Malaysia from 501 to 550 (QS, 2013). To ensure the high quality of academic

services provided, continuous quality improvement and the effectiveness of the

quality system, IIUM has adopted a strategic plan that includes the adoption of

various management tools and the implementation of a quality management system

based on ISO 900 I :2000 and/or ISO 900 I :2008 standard requirements. In addition,

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is considered the main tool for evaluating quality in IIUM.

This aims to guarantee that the university's strategic targets and key performance

indicators are in line with its strategic plan.

1.2 IIUM BACKGROUND

The International Islamic University Malaysia or (Universiti Islam Antarabangsa

Malasyia), known as IIUM or UIAM, was established on 23 May, 1983. The idea of

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creation an international Islamic institution was proposed by the fourth Prime

Minister of Malaysia, Mohathir Mohamed m 1982, during a meeting of the

Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The uniqueness of IIUM manifests in

its philosophy and curriculum. Where the spirit of this philosophy is based on the holy

Qur'an and Sunnah, known as the Islamization of Knowledge. The Islamization of

Knowledge agenda seeks to integrate rigid academic programs with Islamic social and

ethical values (www.thestar.com.my). The majority of programs (undergraduate and

postgraduate) covered various fields of study such as management and economy, Jaw,

engineering, sciences, medicine, education and architecture. The official language

used in IIUM is English as the medium of instruction and administration. JJUM

pioneers the use of English among other Malaysian universities.

HUM's main campus is located in a district of Gombak, Selangor,

approximately I 0 kilometres from the capital city, and is known as 'the Garden of

Knowledge and Virtue'. The university has around 20,000 students from all over the

world and 3820 staff. Staff are divided into two categories, of whom 1908 are

academic and 1900 are administrative staff. The campus provides various facilities

including accommodation. library with online access, 24/7 medical services, sport

complex, food stalls and canteens, banks and so on. It has three other campuses IIUM,

i.e. the Kuantan campus (all programs related to medical sciences), Kuala Lumpur

campus (1ST AC & lliBF) and the Centre For Foundation Studies (CFS) in Petaling

Jaya (www.iium.edu.my).

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