TQM in South African industry: a vehicle for global competitiveness

Summary form only given. The paper discusses the development of quality principles as practiced in the South African high-tech industry and is elucidated with suitable examples. Although there existed an intuitive notion for quality in a number of South African industries where safety was concerned or the consumer demanded it, the evolution of the high-tech industry in South Africa over the past 20 years can probably be seen as the main driver for industry-wide quality improvements. This quality consciousness included not just products and services but also looked at processes, systems, employees, customers and other stakeholders as well as management and leadership quality. This has resulted in constant striving for total quality management (TQM) principles since then, although the expression TQM may not have been generally used. Elements of TQM were introduced gradually and, as awareness for TQM continues to grow in the SA industry through the introduction of the South African Business Excellence Model (SABEM), this will lead to increased global competitiveness.