Towards a quality management competence framework: exploring needed competencies in quality management
Journal article, 2021

Few empirical studies have focused on what quality management practitioners actually do, with even fewer studies focusing on what it actually takes to do quality management work, i.e. the competencies of quality management. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a competence-based terminology for describing general competencies of quality management work in organisations and to create a competence framework in order to understand what is needed to be a quality management practitioner. This paper is based on an embedded, qualitative multiple-case study design incorporating four Swedish large size organisations where designated quality management practitioners (n = 33) were selected and interviewed. A quality management competence framework incorporating four main quality management competence dimensions is presented: the human, the methods & process, the conceptual and the contextual competence dimensions. Four generic quality management role responsibilities are also posited: centralised & strategic, centralised & operational, local & strategic and local & operational role responsibilities. The competencies and role responsibilities are discussed in relation to the notion of emergent quality management and the emerging need of more integrative and business excellence-oriented quality management.

competencies

professional

quality management

practitioner

responsibility

Author

Jason Martin

Linköping University

Mattias Elg

Linköping University

Ida Gremyr

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Service Management and Logistics

Andreas Wallo

Linköping University

Total Quality Management and Business Excellence

1478-3363 (ISSN) 1478-3371 (eISSN)

Vol. 32 3-4 359-378

Subject Categories

Other Mechanical Engineering

Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Business Administration

Areas of Advance

Production

DOI

10.1080/14783363.2019.1576516

More information

Latest update

2/24/2021