Total Quality Management in Donor Agency – Assisted Projects in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects.
ABSTRACT
Total Quality Management in donor agency- assisted project: challenges and prospects was the study.
The objectives of the study were : to ascertain the major challenge of Total Quality Management to improve the performance of donor agency – assisted projects in South East and Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria; to determine the impact of TQM on the performance of the donor – agency assisted projects in the area of study.
To ascertain the major solution to the weak application of TQM to the donor agency- assisted projects in the area under study; to ascertain the dominant approach of the application of TQM on the performance of the donor agency- assisted projects; to ascertain the prospects from full implementation of TQM to improve the performance of donor agency- assisted projects in Nigeria.
The research design adopted was the descriptive survey research. Appropriate statistical tools like tables, percentages, pie chart, bar charts were used to analyze the data generated. Hypotheses 1, 3, and 5 were tested using Z-test, while Hypothesis 2 was tested using linear regression with the aid of SPSS Computer programme.
Hypothesis 4 was tested using Z- test of population prorpotion. In all data collected from both primary and secondary sources were utilized. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were employed to obtain the sample size of the study.
The sample size of 375 was obtained from an accessible population of 6000, by applying the Taro Yamane formular.
The findings indicate that bureaucratic inertia constituted the greatest challenge to the application of TQM in the donor agency-assisted projects in the area under study. This was closely followed by the lack of team work among the various ranks.
TQM had a significant positive impact in improving the performance of the donor agency-assisted projects in the area studied. It also shows that of the various approaches to TQM implementation in the projects, the company wide approach is the modal approach.
The Guru approach and the Japanese based approach also rank high. The findings also indicate that the various challenges if duly coped with, the prospects of Total Quality Management in the donor agency-assisted projects in Nigeria are very good.
The study recommends that certified management consultants should be engaged to assist donor agency – assisted projects in Nigeria to implement TQM just as the Japanese extensively used consultants like Juran, Taguchi, Imai and others.
Competitive Analysis Model (CAM) project be lunched in Nigeria in order to have a database of the performance of the different donor agency-assisted projects across the country. Monitoring and evaluation of these long term investments that are often funded with borrowed funds appear to be too poor in Nigeria.
In conclusion, since the objective of TQM is to build organizations that provide products and services that are considered first – in class by customers, the results of the study reveal that donor agency- assisted projects in Nigeria stand to attain their highest prospects by applying it.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Approval ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Abstract vi
Table of Contents viii
List of Tables xi
List of Figures xii
Abbreviations xiii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 12
1.3 Objectives of the Study 14
1.4 Research Questions 14
1.5 Research Hypotheses 15
1.6 Significance of the Study 15
1.7 Scope of the Study 15
1.8 Limitations of the Study 16
1.9 Definition of Key Terms 16
1.10 Profile of Selected donor agency-assisted Project 17
References 20
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2:1 Historical Development of TQM 23
2.2 Conceptual Framework 42
2.3 The meaning of Quality 51
2.4 Challenges of TQM in donor 60
2.5 Impact of TQM on performance 66
2.6 Approaches to Implementation 94
2.7 The prospects of full implementation of TQM 96
2.8 Modification and adaptation of Transform 99
2.9 Performance Mgt. in donor agency 101
2.10 Scope of Project Management 105
2.11 Summary of Review of Related Literatures 111
References 114
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design 121
3.3 Ares of the study 121
3.4 Population of the study 122
3.5 Sources of data collection 122
3.6 Population and Sampling technique 126
3.7 Description of research Instrument 126
3.8 Validation of the Instrument 127
3.9 Method of Data Analysis 128
References 129
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Data Presentation 130
4.2 Testing of the Hypotheses 137
4.3 Model Solution 146
4.4 Discussion of the Findings on the Major Challenge 148
4.5 Discussion of findings on objective two 150
1.6 Discussion of findings on objective three 151
1.7 Discussion of findings on objective four 153
1.8 Discussion of findings on objective five 154
1.9 Discussion of findings from the systems cybernetic model 155
1.10 Management implications of the findings 157
References 160
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Summary of Major Findings 162
5.2 Conclusion 165
5.3 Recommendations 167
5.4 Suggestion for further studies 168
5.5 Contribution to Knowledge 168
References 170
Bibliography 172
Appendix A 182
Appendix B 183
Appendix C 190
Validity Test Result 191
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
All over the World, International donor agencies and other leading organizations are getting aware that it is important to develop a process of continuous improvement in order to deal with the worldwide problems of fighting poverty, hunger, HIV/AIDS, and general infrastructure.
Writing on meeting the challenges of Africa’s development, Eliud (2010) recounts that in 2002, international donors at Monterry, Mexico, pledged to increase aids level to Africa significantly.
According to him also, the 2005 G-8 summit at Gleneagles renewed the commitment of the world’s richest nations to support Africa’s development and signaled the intention to move beyond the Monterrey pledges to the additional development assistance and debt relief.
He concludes that the World Bank has a major role to play in facilitating the international response to call for expanded assistance to Africa by working in partnership with other development partners to help every African country, including Nigeria to reach as many of the millennium development goals as possible by 2015.
Most of these international interventions are packaged in the form of donor – assisted projects that are implemented by project teams selected from the country or states in which they are domiciled.
This is where the challenge of better leadership, improvement in policies and overall institutional improvement in the management of these donor agency- assisted projects become very crucial in Nigeria.
Under such conditions, top managers of such projects must look for ways to break up old structures and to take future community needs into consideration. It is very obvious that one particular approach to improve effectiveness of such projects is the Japanese inspired total quality management.
Barrie and Heather (1999:1) opine that in today’s competitive marketplace the demands of customers are forever increasing as they require improved quality of products and services but are prepared to pay less for their requirements.
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