Development of Total Quality Management

The purpose of the research activities in the total quality management field is to develop strategies and methodologies for building up and implementing total quality management in industrial companies that suits the individual company. Strategies for development of total quality management taking the particular characteristics of the specific company into consideration are emphasized with focus on issues related to the development of appropriate total quality activities and employee behavior with the aim of attaining optimal total quality management. Total quality management requires interdepartmental cooperation and a cross-functional company culture.
Emphasis on the process of developing the company from one situation to another is an essential feature of the research. Focusing on the generic process and generic means of analyzing and developing total quality management activities in industrial companies, the department is developing concepts, principles and metodologies. In this research area the department in 1990 won the EFQM European Award for Best Doctoral Thesis on Quality Management, for a Ph.D. thesis on analytical principles and design strategies. The steady research at the department is a combination of theoretical research projects and case study research in industry. Some of the research activities are performed in cooperation with other Scandinavian universities and as leader of a research project in IAQ, International Academy for Quality.
In 1996 articles have been published about strategies for analyses, optimization and development of industrial quality management and cross-functional company culture as a prerequisite for total quality management.