Resource allocation for strategic quality management: An analytic network process (ANP) model

Abstract

Recent research attempts emphasize that Total Quality Management (TQM) is a combination of two broad categories of elements: hard elements and soft elements. Many academicians believe that there is no commonly accepted framework for TQM. This is due to the complexity of identifying the base from which the soft and hard elements of TQM are defined. This paper views Quality Management (QM) itself from a perspective that allows for resources to be the base by which QM operates. Thus, it deals with QM from a strategic point of view, or what is known as Strategic Quality Management (SQM). The Analytic Network Process (ANP) is, used herein, to model the interactions between eight SQM strategies (identified in the literature as critical), and their resources. The case of two different companies is investigated to show how the interaction between strategies and their allocated resources differs due to the nature of business, product and history.