Does Practicing Total Quality Management Affect Employee Job Satisfaction in Saudi Arabian Organizations?

Abstract

While extensive research has been done on total quality management (TQM) practices, few studies have investigated their effect on employee job satisfaction, particularly in Saudi Arabian organizations. Therefore, this study seeks to determine the impact of TQM practices on employee job satisfaction in private firm in Saudi Arabia. A quantitative approach with self-administered survey methodology technique was used to distribute a pre validated pre piloted questionnaire to a 350 employees holding varying positions within the organization at a large Saudi Telecom company between September and December 2013 with response rate 74.5%. The statistical data analysis method used was SPSS program Version 15.0. The results showed that practicing TQM has a significant positive effect on employee satisfaction. Organizational culture was found to be a dominant TQM practice which has a significant impact on improving levels of job satisfaction. The multiple regression analysis which supported the proposed model was found to be creditable and sound. The study finds that Saudi Arabians organizations would benefit from implementing TQM programs to impact employee job satisfaction levels and thus improve quality and productivity.

Keywords: Job satisfaction, Total quality management (TQM), Private organization, Saudi Arabia.