الفهرس 
Chapter One: IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
This paper presents the findings of a study investigating how the application of Total
Quality Management (TQM) can help organizations to tackle the different business challenges
brought about as a consequence of the recent global financial crisis including those associated
with planning, cost reduction and increasing competition. The study focuses on the experiences
of employees based within the leading concrete and cement producer ‘Lafarge-Jordan’. Using a
qualitative approach and the use of convenience sampling, a questionnaire was developed to
gather the views of the company’s employees on the perceived impact of TQM in their
organization on its ability to meet different business challenges. 73 employees completed the
survey. Partial Least Squares (PLS) were chosen using SmartPLS 3 software with a two-stage
approach in measurement and structural model testing. The results showed that customer focus
and senior management support are the two most important variables that enhance the ability to
face different types of challenges. Integrative relationships with suppliers and continuous
improvement were found also to have a significant impact on reducing quality costs to help
overcome competition. Based on the previous literature and results, this research recommends
the orientation towards greater employee involvement because they are the cornerstone to
successful TQM; further, it is more advantageous to analyze both the soft and hard effects of
TQM to overcome challenges.