The feasibility of introducing the concepts of TQM into the Saudi Arabian public sector.

Total Quality Management (TQM) and the implementation of its concepts and methods have been seen as to provide a promising way to improve management processes and building high quality products and services. Accordingly, during the past three decades many organisations have implemented TQM and its concepts as a way for improving their management processes and quality of services, and as a way for gaining competitive advantages. This research has made an attempt to study TQM implementation within the context of Saudi Arabia's public sector. The research examined the extent to which there was a need in the Saudi public sector for TQM implementation, and the extent to which the environment of the Saudi public sector was compatible for its implementation and for practising its concepts and methods. To attain the objectives of the research and to test the possibility of implementing TQM in the Saudi public sector, two types of data were gathered; namely, secondary and primary data. As a result, the research is based on both secondary and primary data analysis. The secondary data aims to manifest the notion of TQM and its principles, the approaches and concepts of quality management "gurus"; the differences between the public and private sectors; and the barriers to TQM implementation, with a particular reference to the public sector. Along with the secondary data, a generic model for TQM implementation in the Saudi public sector is proposed and a background to the Saudi public sector and the Ministry of Interior is provided.The results of the secondary data reveal that there is no an agreed or specific model in the literature offered by quality experts for TQM implementation, and that there are some critical issues in the Saudi Public Sector that need to be addressed in order to improve its management performance. The primary data, which was gained through a survey mode of inquiry within the Ministry of Interior, examines the compatibility between the Saudi public sector's environment with TQM's concepts and the extent to which there is a need for TQM implementation in the Ministry of Interior and the Saudi public sector in general. The primary data was gained through a questionnaire designed by the researcher encompassing the principles and elements of the proposed implementation model. The findings of the primary data and analysis reveals that the environment of the Ministry of Interior, with its current management systems and procedures, is inconsistent with the requirements demanded by TQM, and that it would need some modifications in order to implement TQM successfully. Based on the results of the above data, a number of findings, conclusions, and recommendations are provided, which should help to contribute to a successful implementation of TQM in the Saudi public sector.