Convergent Priorities, Divergent Lenses: Stakeholder Perspectives On TQM Integration In Mature ISO 9001:2015 Organizations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t70114Abstract
This study examines how professional position shapes the diagnosis of conditions affecting Total Quality Management (TQM) integration in mature ISO 9001:2015 organisations. Although certification can establish process discipline, it does not ensure shared ownership, organisational learning or sustained improvement. A focused secondary analysis was conducted using 42 semi-structured interviews from a broader South African qualitative study. The original purposive sample comprised four pre-defined groups: standards specialists and consultants, certification professionals and auditors, institutional stakeholders, and practising quality professionals. Reflexive thematic interpretation was supported by structured reduction, validation and comparative matrix procedures. The groups converged on leadership, communication, employee involvement and capability, but privileged different evidence and remedies. Standards specialists emphasised conceptual coherence; auditors, assurance credibility; institutional stakeholders, translation and scalable capability; and practitioners, operational usability and employee ownership. These differences reflect diagnostic selectivity arising from unequal access to evidence, professional accountability and time horizons. A lens applied in isolation can produce auditability without usability, accessible interventions without adequate control, or short-term problem-solving without strategic integration. The study concludes that mature organisations should combine system-design, assurance, institutional and operational evidence when assessing TQM readiness and selecting interventions.
Keywords: ISO 9001:2015; Total Quality Management; enablers; barriers; South Africa
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