Implementation obstacles for a work-development-oriented TQM strategy

Interest in Total Quality Management has been strong over the past decade. In the western world, quality oriented strategies have become one of the leading methods to develop industrial companies. This article focuses on the connections between TQM and work development. The main reason for this focus is that the need to satisfy customers with higher requirements needs employees that increasingly value their working conditions, and so work development is needed. It is therefore interesting to study companies trying to satisfy their internal and external customers, TQM and how they deal with work development. Studies to analyse obstacles to success, with a strategy that combines work-development and TQM studies, were performed in Swedish and American companies. The studies show that even if the companies commit themselves to TQM and the same core values, the differences are obvious concerning work organisation, work development and the practical TQM approach. The main obstacles to a work-development-oriented TQM strategy are limited resources, lack of knowledge and the management's perspective concerning work development. Here, the metalworker union traditionally plays a significant role, but in TQM, where focus on competence and decisive authority is urgent, its role is not as obvious as it could be.