Impact of Organizational Culture on Quality Management

1.1

Impact of Organizational Culture on Quality

Management

A case study in a manufacturing unit

Master of Science Thesis in Quality and Operations Management

ELIN GR?NDAHL

LOVISA MARTINSSON

Department of Technology Management and Economics

Division of Quality Sciences

CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Gothenburg, Sweden, 2011

Report No. E2011:025

MASTER¡¯S THESIS E2011:025

Impact of Organizational Culture on Quality Management

A case study in manufacturing

Master of Science Thesis

ELIN GR?NDAHL

LOVISA MARTINSSON

Examiner:

Tutor, Chalmers:

Tutor, Hilti Group:

Henrik Eriksson

Marcus Assarlind

Pascal Jud

Department of Technology Management and Economics

Division of Quality Sciences

CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Gothenburg, Sweden, 2011

Impact of Organizational Culture on Quality Management

Master of Science Thesis

ELIN GR?NDAHL

LOVISA MARTINSSON

? Elin Gr?ndahl and Lovisa Martinsson, 2011

Master¡¯s Thesis E2011:025

Department of Technology Management and Economics

Division of Quality Sciences

Chalmers University of Technology

SE-412 96 Gothenburg

Sweden

Abstract

This thesis aims to increase the understanding of the relation between quality management practices

and organizational culture. This is done by an action research, participating in an improvement

project in a production unit within the global corporation Hilti Group.

In order to define and to analyze organizational culture, the Competing Values Framework has been

used as a model, and the unit under study has been evaluated according to the dimensions of this

framework. Rational culture, which is characterized by its focus on productivity and goal

achievement, has shown to have the strongest influence at the unit.

The thesis discusses different quality management practices and their potential in different

organizational cultures. The rational culture is supporting several quality practices, which have been

used to bring suggestions on how the unit can continue to develop their quality management. The

research has shown that the practice in greatest need of more focus at the specific unit is the process

management practice, which implies a shift from quality control towards preventive actions and

work towards reduction of variation within production. In order to achieve a higher performance in

the process management practice, it is important to increase the feeling of empowerment among

employees and to involve the people closest to the process it the quality efforts at the unit. Finally, it

can be concluded that the use of frameworks and models for evaluating organizational cultures has

shown to be difficult, due to the complexity of the cultural concept.

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude towards our tutor Marcus Assarlind at the institution of

Technology Management and Economics, who has guided us through this research and whose help

has been of great value for this project. We also want to thank our tutor at Hilti Group, Pascal Jud,

who has facilitated and supported our work at the unit. Finally, we would like to thank all employees

and co-workers at Hilti for supporting our work and always being available for answering questions

and participating in interviews.

Keywords: Action Research, Competing Values Framework, Organizational Culture, Process

Management, Quality Management, Quality Management Practices.

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