The feasibility of introducing total quality management in Oman Telecommunication Company (OMANTEL).

Total Quality Management (TQM) and the issues relating to its implementation have been widely discussed and debated in the business and management literature during the last few years, particularly in the West. The implementation of TQM principles, concepts and methods in an organisation has been regarded as a real movement towards transforming its culture and improving its management processes and the quality of its services and products. Nevertheless, available data on TQM implementation within the context of the developing countries are limited or mainly focused on the manufacturing sector. Little research has been carried out on the subject within the service sector, particularly within the telecommunication sector. The issues relating to TQM implementation in this study are investigated within the context of a developing country; namely Oman; more particularly, within the context of the Omani telecommunication sector. Against this background, this study examines the feasibility of introducing TQM into Oman Telecommunications Company (OMANTEL). The study provides an analysis and assesses the extent to which there is a need for TQM implementation in OMANTEL, and the extent to which the company's internal environment is compatible with the tenets of TQM. The study is based on both secondary and primary data analysis. The secondary data are used to delineate the underpinning principles, methods, tools and techniques of TQM and to offer a background to the organisation under investigation. The secondary data were obtained through a survey of TQM literature and the archival data relating to OMANTEL. The primary data were obtained through an empirical study by questionnaire and conducting several interviews within OMANTEL. The primary data obtained are presented to manifest the extent to which it is feasible to introduce TQM in OMANTEL and to offer recommendations that would enhance this feasibility.The secondary data analysis reveals that there are several emerging trends in the Omani telecom sector that entail some changes in OMANTEL. The secondary data analysis reveals that TQM has much to offer to OMANTEL in order to meet those emerging trends. The primary data analysis reveals that there is a limited knowledge and understanding amongst OMANTEL's personnel of TQM and that there is a significant need for TQM implementation in OMANTEL. The primary data analysis reveals that there are some barriers that could be encountered in implementing TQM in OMANTEL; nevertheless, there are some driving forces that could facilitate this implementation. The primary data also reveals that the internal environment of OMANTEL is conductive to implementing the elements, concepts and principles of the proposed TQM framework.