effect of top-manager personality on a total quality management environment, The

Engineering Management Journal, Jun 2000 by Krumwiede, Dennis W, Lavelle, Jerome P

Abstract

Current literature suggests that two of every three implementations of total quality management (TQM) fail. By any standard, this is an abysmal rate of success, one whose annual direct dollar and opportunity costs are staggering. During his years of lecturing on TQM, W. Edwards Deming continuously emphasized top managers' responsibility for creating an environment in which TQM can succeed. Our research was undertaken to help shed light on why so many efforts fail. The focus was to empirically investigate the relationship between top-manager personality preferences and "TQM characteristics" in a company's environment. By studying top-manager personality, we sought to capture the innate characteristics of the most important decisionmaker in an organization.

A nationwide survey of 457 top managers resulted in 111 usable responses. The statistical analysis compared top managers' personality scores from the Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) with survey information regarding TQM characteristics in their firm. TQM characteristics were measured by a survey tool that indicates the degree to which Deming's philosophies are followed in the organization. From our data we were able to conclude that top managers with a strong N-preference as measured by the MBTI (managers with a long-range perspective who are possibilitydriven) lead companies whose organizational environments are conducive to TQM success.

Background

TQM and Corporate Culture. For those companies that have tried and failed at TQM, as well as those that have succeeded, one underlying principle emerges: TQM is a philosophical approach to managing an organization, not a "program. " As a philosophy, TQM needs to become the corporate culture-dictating both attitudes and actions. Top managers, because they set the context and content of corporate culture and cultural norms within the organization, are responsible for creating pro-TQM cultures.

Organizational cultures that do not favor TQM methodologies use leadership strategies that emphasize short-term (quarterly) productivity goals. These strategies are in direct conflict with a culture conducive to TQM, which emphasizes a long-term (3 years or greater) commitment to organizational competitiveness and survival. In addition, according to Westbrook (1993), corporate cultures not adapted to TQM philosophies display artifacts and symbols that demonstrate a separation of management and labor. Such artifacts and symbols include worker time clocks, reserved parking spaces, and corner offices with windows reserved for upper management.

On the other hand, successful implementation of TQM emphasizes a culture conducive to long-term commitment supported by innovative ways of thinking and customer satisfaction as the company's primary goal. In order for this culture to flourish, it needs to be supported by an organization's top management.

Deming and TQM. W. Edwards Deming is regarded as a major contributor to the philosophy of TQM. Companies incorporating TQM most often use his TQM philosophies. In a study by Lackritz ( 1997), 69% of the 80 Fortune 500 companies responding to his survey use Deming's TQM philosophy. Deming outlined his philosophy of TQM in his 14 Principles-a set of concepts that require organizations to focus on continually improving their products or services. Deming's 14 Principles flowed from his understanding of business as a system, the theory of variation, an understanding of psychology, and his profound knowledge of business systems. He believed and proposed that the primary purpose of a business as a system was to "delight the customer." Deming was the first to truly articulate this idea in management theory. He believed that psychology could and should be used to better understand all people involved in a business.

Personality. Personality is defined as the habitual patterns and qualities of behavior of an individual, as expressed by physical and mental activities and attitudes, which are the distinctive individual qualities of a person. Sigmund Freud initiated the study of psychology with its roots in personality in the early 1900s. The area of psychology utilized by our study involves personality as theorized by Carl Gustav Jung, who initially studied under Freud and later developed his own theory of personality. According to Kroeger and Thuesen ( 1992), Jung theorized that human behavior is not random and, therefore, can be classified. Jung believed that behavior is not the result of psychological sicknesses, abnormalities, or disproportionate drives but, instead, is directly related to personality preferences. Jung believed that these preferences emerge early in life and form the basis of an individual's personality. These preferences become the basis for an individual's attractions (and aversions) to people, tasks, and events throughout his or her life. Jung's theory was operationalized in the form of the Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) personality inventory.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Many different tools are available to classify an individual's personality. For companies to be globally competitive, proper understanding of people in the workforce has become, and will continue to be, increasingly important. One tool often used in industry and academia to understand people is the Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI). The MBTI has become increasingly valuable to organizations for description analysis and interview question development. McCrae and Costa (1989) state that the MBTI is widely used for explaining an individual's personality preferences, not only to professionals but also to the individual and his or her coworkers, friends, and family. Moore (1987) found that widespread use of the MBTI in executive circles has created substantial opportunity for relatively easy data collection, and he notes that the MBTI has been used by and for managers to assist in their understanding of the way other managers relate to them personally. The MBTI has also been used in team-building, reconciling group differences, career planning, adapting to change, analyzing troublesome behavior among employees, marriage counseling, and facilitating competitive strategic thinking. Additionally, Carskadon (1977) and Lawrence (1993) state that the MBTI has high levels of testtest reliability and validity.