Thesis Final Version-Dr Abdullah Al-Khadher

370 Pages·2016·4.39 MB·English

A Study of the Implementation of Quality
Management Systems (QMS) within the Kuwaiti
Manufacturing Industry

Abdullah M.Kh.M Al-Khadher

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Portsmouth

December 2015
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 Abdullah Alkhadher. All rights reserved.
The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Copies (by any means) either in full,
or of extracts, may not be made without prior written consent from the author.

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Dedication
For my dad and mom who have always supported me throughout the time I spent
abroad and away from them. For my siblings who were always there when needed.
For my role model and idol, Mohammed Khaled Alkhadher (my dad), he is the reason
why I took the initiative and continue my career in the world of engineering. Your
support and caring mean the world to me, despite the fact that you have huge
responsibilities; you never made me feel isolated. I also dedicate my thesis work to my
family and many friends. A special feeling of gratitude to the above mentioned people
whose words of encouragement and push for tenacity ring in my ears. My sister
Aishah, my brothers Faisal, Abdulwahab and Abdulrahman have never left my side
and are very special. I also dedicate this thesis to my supervisor Dr Hom Nath
Dhakal who has supported me throughout the process. I will always appreciate all he
has done in helping me develop my academic skills. I will never forget his role in
supporting me during low moments, Thank you so much Dr. Hom, you are such a
great person.

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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the companies contacted with regard to the survey and
interviews and all the universities in Kuwait and experts in the field of quality
management and manufacturing engineering. Without them, my thesis wouldn’t be
completed. A special thanks to those who were involved in distributing the survey
questionnaires and helping me in reaching as large an audience as I could. A thank
you message also goes to my supervisors, Doctors Dhakal and Pereira, for their
immense support in terms of guiding me to navigate myself through the completion of
my thesis. I would also like to extend my appreciation to Doctors Dimla and Qian, my
second and third supervisors respectively. I would also like to thank Susan Redgrave
for her exceptional effort and editing my thesis.

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Table of Contents
Copyright i
Dedication ii
Acknowledgements iii
Table of Contents iv
Declaration ix
List of Tables x
List of Figures xii
Nomenclature xiv
Dissemination xvii
Abstract xviii
Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 1
1.1 The current scenario ........................................................................ 1
1.2 Rationale for the current research study .......................................... 5
1.3 Research aims and objectives .......................................................... 8
1.3.1 Aims 8
1.3.2 Objectives 8
1.4 Research Questions ......................................................................... 9
1.5 Research Hypothesis ....................................................................... 9
1.6 Research Methodology .................................................................. 10
1.7 Expected contribution and originality ........................................... 12
1.8 Research implications ................................................................... 13
1.9 Research limitations ...................................................................... 14
1.10 Thesis Outline ............................................................................... 14
Chapter 2 Literature Review ............................................................................. 16
2.1 Introduction ................................................................................... 16
2.2 Manufacturing in GCC countries .................................................. 17
2.2.1 General state of the manufacturing sector in
GCC countries 19
2.2.2 Enablers of implementation of QMS in the
GCC manufacturing sector 21
2.2.3 Barriers to implementation of QMS in the
GCC manufacturing sector 23
2.3 Small, Medium and Large Enterprises (SMLEs) .......................... 24
2.4 Quality definitions ......................................................................... 28
2.4.1 Deming’s 14 points 31
2.4.2 Crosby’s zero defects 33
2.4.3 Juran’s breakthrough and control 35
2.4.4 Ishikawa’s quality circle 37
2.4.5 Taguchi’s technique 39
2.5 Management definitions ................................................................ 40
2.6 The concept of ‘quality management’ ........................................... 41
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2.7 The Definition of Quality Management Systems
(QMS) ............................................................................................ 43
2.8 Quality Initiatives (QIs) in GCC Countries................................... 44
2.8.1 ISO 9000 Standards 44
2.8.2 Total Quality Management (TQM) 47
2.8.3 Six Sigma 49
2.8.4 Acceptance Sampling 52
2.8.5 Continuous Improvement Tools (Kaizen) 53
2.8.6 5S Technique 54
2.8.7 Quality Function Deployment (QFD) 56
2.8.8 Statistical Process Control (SPC) 57
2.8.9 Deming’s PDCA cycle 59
2.9 Culture ........................................................................................... 61
2.9.1 Organisational culture 61
2.9.2 Culture and change management 64
2.9.3 Culture in Middle East 65
2.9.4 Culture in GCC 67
2.9.5 National Culture (Kuwait) 68
2.10 Culture models .............................................................................. 70
2.10.1 Iceberg model 71
2.10.2 Schien’s model 72
2.10.3 Denison’s Model 74
2.10.4 Lewis model 76
2.10.5 Charles Handy’s model 78
2.10.6 Hofstede’s model 81
2.11 Quality Models .............................................................................. 82
2.11.1 European Foundation Quality Model (EFQM) 82
2.11.2 SERVQUAL 86
2.11.3 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
(MBNQA) 87
2.12 EFQM and MBNQA Models Comparison .................................... 91
2.13 Context of Kuwait ....................................................................... 100
2.14 Chapter Summary ........................................................................ 102
Chapter 3 Quality implementation model: Kuwait Quality Culture Model
(KQCM) 104
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 104
3.2 Choice and development of implementation model .................... 105
3.3 The KQCM model ....................................................................... 106
3.3.1 Leadership 109
3.3.2 People 110
3.3.3 Policy and Strategy 110
3.3.4 Partnerships and Resources 111
3.3.5 People and Processes 112
3.3.6 The impact of culture 112
3.3.7 People Results 114
3.3.8 Customer Results 114
3.3.9 Society Results 115
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3.3.10 Key Performance Results 115
3.4 Summary of the KQCM model ................................................... 116
3.5 Chapter summary ........................................................................ 116
Chapter 4 Research Methodology ................................................................... 117
4.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 117
4.2 Research Approach ..................................................................... 118
4.3 Research Questions ..................................................................... 122
4.4 Choice of Research Methodologies ............................................. 122
4.4.1 Qualitative Research 123
4.4.2 Quantitative Research 123
4.4.3 Mixed methods 124
4.5 Research Strategy ........................................................................ 125
4.6 Research Design .......................................................................... 126
4.7 Quantitative Research Design ..................................................... 129
4.7.1 Research Instruments 129
4.7.2 Survey Questionnaire Development 130
4.7.3 Population and Sample Size for Survey
Questionnaire 131
4.7.4 Reliability and validity of the measures 132
4.7.5 Response and non-response rate 132
4.7.6 Data Analysis Techniques 135
4.8 Qualitative Research Design ....................................................... 135
4.8.1 Case Study Design 135
4.8.2 Interview development 138
4.8.3 Content Analysis 141
4.9 Assessment of the KQCM model ................................................ 144
4.10 Development of Hypotheses ....................................................... 146
4.11 Ethical Research Design Considerations ..................................... 147
4.12 Chapter Summary ........................................................................ 148
Chapter 5 Case Study ...................................................................................... 149
5.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 151
5.1.1 Aims and objective 151
5.1.2 Methodology 151
5.2 XYZ Ltd profile .......................................................................... 152
5.3 Current situation .......................................................................... 153
5.3.1 Product and process 154
5.3.2 Inventory management system 155
5.4 Facility or production layout ....................................................... 158
5.4.1 Organisational barriers 159
5.4.2 Quality improvement initiatives 160
5.4.3 Employee empowerment and communication 161
5.4.4 Problem-solving technique 161
5.4.5 Health and safety 162
5.5 General recommendations ........................................................... 163
5.5.1 Vision and mission 164
5.5.2 ISO 9000 certification 164
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5.5.3 Training 165
5.5.4 Problem identification and solving 165
5.5.5 Process lay-out design 171
5.5.6 Job specification 172
5.5.7 Communication, people’s participation and
empowerment 172
5.6 Stages of QMS implementation: ................................................. 173
5.7 Summary of case study research ................................................. 174
5.7.1 Learning from the case study 175
5.7.2 Implications of the KQCM model 176
5.7.3 Follow on to the qualitative and quantitative
methods of the main research 177
Chapter 6 Results Analysis and Discussions .................................................. 179
6.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 179
6.2 Response rate ............................................................................... 179
6.3 Respondents’ and firms’ characteristics ...................................... 180
6.3.1 Gender 181
6.3.2 Age 182
6.3.3 Education level 183
6.3.4 Years of experience 183
6.3.5 Management level 185
6.3.6 Sector/specialist 186
6.3.7 Capital 186
6.3.8 Number of employees 187
6.4 Summary of demographic information ....................................... 188
6.5 Examining the measurement model ............................................ 189
6.5.1 Exploratory Factor Analysis 189
6.5.2 Reliability test 193
6.5.3 Assessing normality 194
6.6 Descriptive statistics .................................................................... 197
6.7 Descriptive analysis ..................................................................... 201
6.7.1 Leadership 201
6.7.2 People 202
6.7.3 Policy & Strategy 203
6.7.4 Partnerships & Resources 204
6.7.5 Culture 205
6.7.6 Processes 206
6.7.7 People Results 207
6.7.8 Customer Results 208
6.7.9 Society Results 208
6.7.10 Key Performance Results 209
6.8 One-way ANOVA ....................................................................... 210
6.9 Correlation analysis ..................................................................... 212
6.10 Results for the multidimensional structural model ..................... 214
6.10.1 Model fit 214
6.10.2 Item-factor loadings 215
6.11 Hypotheses testing ....................................................................... 220
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6.12 Qualitative results (interviews) ................................................... 223
6.12.1 Top management level 228
6.12.2 Middle management level 235
6.12.3 Shop floor management level 241
6.13 Discussion of the findings ........................................................... 248
6.13.1 Leadership 248
6.13.2 People 249
6.13.3 Policy & Strategy 249
6.13.4 Partnership and Resources 250
6.13.5 Culture 251
6.13.6 Processes 252
6.13.7 People Results 252
6.13.8 Customer Results 253
6.13.9 Society Results 254
6.13.10 Key performance results 254
6.14 Discussion of the hypotheses ...................................................... 255
6.14.1 Hypothesis 1 255
6.14.2 Hypothesis 2 256
6.14.3 Hypothesis 3 257
6.14.4 Hypothesis 4 257
6.14.5 Hypothesis 5 258
6.15 Summary of discussions .............................................................. 258
Chapter 7 Conclusion ...................................................................................... 261
7.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 261
7.2 Aims and objectives .................................................................... 262
7.3 Research questions ...................................................................... 264
7.4 Research hypotheses ................................................................... 265
7.5 Contribution to knowledge and implications .............................. 274
7.6 Limitations .................................................................................. 278
7.7 Recommendations and future work ............................................. 279
References 283
Appendices 327
Appendix A: Questionnaire items .......................................................................... 327
Appendix B: Cover letter for survey participants .................................................. 333
Appendix C: Survey Questionnaire ........................................................................ 334
Appendix D: Research ethics review checklist ...................................................... 348
Appendix E: Ethical review certificate .................................................................. 349

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Declaration
Whilst registered as a candidate for the above degree, I have not been registered for
any other research award. The results and conclusions embodied in this thesis are the
work of the named candidate and have not been submitted for any other academic
award.

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