TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AS A STRATEGY FOR THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (CASE STUDY OF MINNA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA)

Abstract

The term developing country often refers to countries with low levels of economic development, but this is usually closely associated with social development in terms of education, health care, life expectancy, and so on. The development of a country is measured with statistical indices such as income per capita (GDP), the rate of literacy, etc. In order to shoot up these indices, it is imperative to look into Total Quality Management (TQM) as a factor. This paper, therefore, discussed Total Quality Management as a challenge for developing countries: a case study of Minna metropolis, Nigeria. TQM is a dynamic management style that is corporate culture characterized by increased customer satisfaction, through continuous designing and continuously improving processes and systems in which all employees in the organization actively participate. Three hypotheses were tested; a questionnaire was developed and administered to test the three hypotheses that were formulated. The result of the data collected and analyzed indicated that there were some levels of awareness but no practical steps taken on TQM perhaps because they possessed an insignificant knowledge of the principles of TQM. Based on the above findings, certain recommendations were made which included that standards and standardization policy should affect every product, service, and governmental sector. TQM should be included in the curriculum from primary schools to the tertiary levels to ensure that every citizen is knowledgeable on TQM and is aware of the principles.