The Effect of Top-Manager Personality on a Total Quality Management Environment

Abstract Current literature suggests that two of every three implementations of total quality management (TQM) fail. By any standard, this is an abysmal rate of success, one whose annual direct dollar and opportunity costs are staggering. During his years of lecturing on TQM, W. Edwards Deming continuously emphasized top managers' responsibility for creating an environment in which TQM can succeed. Our research was undertaken to help shed light on why so many efforts fail. The focus was to empirically investigate the relationship between top-manager personality preferences and “TQM characteristics” in a company's environment. By studying top-manager personality, we sought to capture the innate characteristics of the most important decision-maker in an organization. A nationwide survey of 457 top managers resulted in 111 usable responses. The statistical analysis compared top managers' personality scores from the Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) with survey information regarding TQM characteristics in their firm. TQM characteristics were measured by a survey tool that indicates the degree to which Deming's philosophies are followed in the organization. From our data we were able to conclude that top managers with a strong N-preference as measured by the MBTI (managers with a long-range perspective who are possibility-driven) lead companies whose organizational environments are conducive to TQM success.