Human Resource Management within Purchasing Management: Its Relationship to Total Quality Management Success.

The extent to which human resource management (HRM) within purchasing management affects total quality management (TQM) was empirically tested. Five primary results emerged. First, organizations with more successful TQM programs were more likely to stress formal performance evaluations of purchasing

employees. Second, purchasing employees at successful TQM firms were more involved in key decisionmaking processes that impact their jobs than their counterparts in less successful TQM firms. Third, purchasing employees in organizations with more successful TQM programs had a greater level of perceived support through job security and less fear of failure when taking a risk. Fourth, purchasing employees in more successful TQM firms had more TQM-related training. Fifth, purchasing employees in more successful TQM organizations were more likely to be rewarded for individual goal attainment than purchasing employees in less successful TQM organizations.

The role of human resource practices in the successful implementation of total quality management programs has been frequently addressed. In an attempt to develop a working definition for TQM, Miller argues that models should be developed and tested that examine the impact of quality management in terms of overall organizational performance (Miller 1996). But what organizational processes lead to TQM? More specifically, what effect does the interaction of human resource management and purchasing management have on total quality? An academic journal, the Journal of Quality Management, has been dedicated to the role of human resources and quality. However, the interaction of human resource practices with purchasing management and its impact on total quality have not been thoroughly analyzed. This statement is supported by researchers such as Morrow (1997), who has made efforts to analyze the relationship of TQM and human resource practices.

Because this interaction has not been addressed, the purpose of this research is to analyze the human resource practices within the purchasing process to determine their relationship to the success of total quality management programs. First, the literature on the relationship between human resource practices and TQM is analyzed. Second, as a result of this literature, hypotheses are presented that relate to TQM success and purchasing management. Third, these hypotheses are tested and their implications are discussed.