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Explanatory Study Towards Analysis the Relationship between Total Quality Management and Knowledge Management
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014) 600 – 604
2nd World Conference On Business, Economics And Management –WCBEM 2013
Explanatory study towards analysis the relationship between Total Quality Management and Knowledge Management Zahra Safari Kahreha, Alireza Shirmohammadib, Mohammad Safari Kahrehc* a
Department of Management, Bakhtar Institution of Higher Education of Ilam, P.O.Box: 69531-13433, Ilam, Iran b Department of Industrial Management, Payam Noor University, P.O.Box: 19395-3697, Tehran, Iran c Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, P.O.Box: 199776-3551, Tehran, Iran
Abstract To meet the challenges of the new global environment, companies have started great attentions toward quality management as an integral part of their strategic business plans. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between Total Quality Management and Knowledge Management. Successful Total Quality Management implementation in throughout the organizations requires major changes in the main four aspects of knowledge management namely: Creating, Storage, Sharing and Application. To evaluate the conceptual research model of this study, using a validated questionnaire data has been gathered. Required data has been gathered from one of the organizations that participated in the banking industry. For data analysis, SPSS software has been used. The research conceptual framework after data analysis demonstrates the basic relationships of this model.
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under responsibility of Organizing Committee of BEM 2013. Keywords: knowledge management (KM), total quality management (TQM), explanatory research;
1. Introduction With respect to the past two decades, the shortage of knowledge showed itself twice: first when many of the employees have been fired due to downsizing and consequently most of required knowledge were not remind in the organization, second when robots was supersede of human labor in the production lines subsequently organizational flexibility was removed. Knowledge capacities are including: speed, complexity, historical sense, judgment and flexibility that are exactly required tools for successful attendance in competitive developing global economic. TQM can be defined as a holistic management philosophy, which strives for continuous organizational improvement (Kaynak, 2003). Thus the main purpose of this research is: the analytical explanation the relationship between total quality management and knowledge management. Based on this main research purpose, the essential research question of this study is: What is the relationship between four basic dimensions of knowledge management and total quality management?
* Corresponding Author: Mohammad Safari Kahreh. Tel.: +98-918-945-1204 E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-0428 © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer review under responsibility of Organizing Committee of BEM 2013. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.513
601
Zahra Safari Kahreh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014) 600 – 604
2. Literature Review 2.1. Knowledge Management Just like knowledge itself, knowledge management is difficult to define (Earl, 2001, p. 215). The working definition of knowledge is that Knowledge must involve an agent, who uses knowledge to perform actions necessary to reach a goal. Knowledge can and should be evaluated by the decisions or actions to which it leads (Davenport and Pruzak, 1998). However, defining what knowledge management understands may be somewhat simpler than defining knowledge on its own. The idea of ‘management’ gives us a starting point when considering, for example, the activities that make it up, explaining the processes of creation and transfer or showing its main goals and objectives without the need to define what is understood by knowledge. Consequently, in literature there are more ideas and definitions on knowledge management than just on knowledge, although these are not always clear as there are numerous terms connected with the concept (Lloria, 2008). Table 1 shows the most basic paradigms of knowledge management. Table 1. Paradigms of knowledge management Old paradigm Organization discipline Vicious circles Inflexible organizations Management administrators Distorted communication Strategic business units drive product development Strategic learning occurs at the apex of the organization Assumption that most organization members are untrustworthy Most organization members are disempowered Tacit and local knowledge of most members of the organization must be disciplined by managerial prerogative
New paradigm Organizational learning Virtuous circles Flexible organizations Management leaders Open communication Core competences drive product development Strategic learning capacities are widespread Assumption that most organization members are trustworthy Most organization members are empowered Tacit and local knowledge of all members of the organization is the most important factor in success, and creativity creates its own prerogative Source: extracted from: Lloria, (2008, p. 81); Adapted from McAdam & McCreedy (1999, p. 94).
Applicatio
Storage
Sharing
Knowledge
Information
Creating
Data
Figure 1. Framework of knowledge management (adapted from: Safari Kahreh, 2011)
Shin (2004) introduces a five cluster KMS classification: technological, intellectual asset, organizational learning, process and philosophical. These approaches can be classified into two broad types: soft and hard. The soft type is mainly focused on tacit knowledge and on the difficulties in sharing it between people. The hard type is focused on developing tools for storage and distribution of explicit knowledge (Massa, Testa, 2009). The ‘experience’ and ‘judgment’ aspects of KM reflect the ‘tacit’ or ‘implicit’ knowledge, which is difficult to capture and formalize (Bonner, 2000), in and other hand (Shin, 2004) argue that. Explicit knowledge is codified and communicated in symbolic forms or languages, while tacit knowledge resides in individuals’ experiences and actions. According to the main researches in the literature the term ‘Knowledge Management (KM)’ has been defined in a number of ways. Knowledge management ‘is the process of continually managing knowledge of all kinds to meet
602
Zahra Safari Kahreh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014) 600 – 604
existing and emerging needs, to identify and exploit existing and acquired knowledge assets and to develop new opportunities (Quintas et al., 1997). Specific framework to capture, acquire, organize, and communicate both tacit and explicit knowledge of employees so that other employees may utilize them to be more effective and productive in their work and maximize organization’s knowledge (Leidner, 1999). To add value with knowledge management, we need knowledge management systems (KMS), which facilitate the generation, preservation and sharing of knowledge (Bonner, 2000). Some of the common applications of knowledge management systems are: (1) organizing and sharing/transferring of internal benchmarks/best practices; (2) constructing corporate knowledge directories, such as corporate yellow pages, people information archive; (3) creating knowledge networks and knowledge maps; among many others (Alavi, 2001). Some of study has analyzed the various management techniques proposed and described in the literature that seem applicable to knowledge management (e.g., Dieng et al., 1999; Kannan & Aulbur, 2004). Much of this sensemaking seeks to frame knowledge management research. 2.2. Total Quality Management TQM is widely recognized as a management philosophy. Numerous controversies exist regarding the elements proposed by different researchers and professionals in relation to TQM. These elements do not fully coincide, and not all such fundamentals that compose the TQM theoretical framework can be called TQM without management factors being implemented in the organizations where they are based (Montes et al., 2003). TQM focuses on continuous process improvement within organizations to provide superior customer value and meet customer needs. Meeting customer needs involves company operations focused on understanding, sharing, and responding to customers through marketing concept. Firms adopting and implementing the marketing concept are said to display a market orientation (Wanga and et al (2012). TQM provides a set of practices that emphasizes, among other things, continuous improvement, meeting customers’ requirements, reducing rework, long-range thinking, increased employee involvement and teamwork, process redesign, competitive benchmarking, team-based problem solving, constant measurement of results, and closer relationships with suppliers (Crosby 1984; Juran, 1992; Feigenbaum 1991). TQM practices emerged as an increasingly fashionable management innovation in response to the lack of competitiveness in US manufacturing industries during the 1980s and the perceived superiority of Japanese firms in delivering high quality products and services in accordance with customer demands and achieving operational efficiency (Giroux, 2006; Modell, 2009). TQM practices have been implemented by firms interested in promoting their survival prospects by incorporating quality and continuous improvement into their strategic priorities (Lord and Lawrence, 2001; Hoque, 2003). TQM practice is said to follow a set of management concepts and tools that seek to involve managers and employees in achieving continuous performance improvement (Hogg, 1993; Shank and Govindarajan, 1994; Johnson, 1994; Powell, 1995; Boaden, 1997; Chenhall, 1997; Zbaracki, 1998; Hoque, 2003). Wruck and Jensen (1994) argue that Effective implementation of TQM generally requires major changes in all three components of the organizational rules of the game, namely systems for allocating decision rights, performance measurement systems, and reward and punishment systems. TQM enhances the profitability of companies when managers are evaluated by using performance evaluation systems that employ measures of the manufacturing process (Chenhall, 1997). Adapting from Arawati et al (2010) many of the researcher –such as; Powell’s (1995); Saraph et al. (1989); Deming 1995; Walton 1986; Juran, 1992; Crosby 1984; and others- has identified four important elements of TQM practices namely: • Supplier Relations: that is an interactive relationship between parties involved in producing an output that require an input from another • Benchmarking: refers to the researching and the observance of best Competitive practices to provide a guideline for rational performance goals and to help set expectations for cost, product reliability and other factors. • Quality Measurement: is a goal-orientation with constant performance measurement, often with the use of statistical analysis.
603
Zahra Safari Kahreh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014) 600 – 604
•
Continuous Process Improvement: refers to accomplish by placing emphasis on the processes by which quality improvements are achieved. In a typical organization, there are interrelated processes: design, manufacturing, marketing and customer service.
2.3. Research Hypotheses H1: the first step of knowledge Management namely "knowledge Create" is positively related to Total Quality Management. H2: the first step of knowledge Management namely "knowledge Storage" is positively related to Total Quality Management. H3: the first step of knowledge Management namely "knowledge sharing" is positively related to Total Quality Management. H4: the first step of knowledge Management namely "knowledge Application" is positively related to Total Quality Management. 3. Methodology This research is descriptive Research that aims to investigate the relationship between knowledge management basic elements and total quality management. After related literature review by using a questionnaire required data has been gathered from one of the organizations that participated in the banking industry. Then by using the SPSS software the data has been tested and analyzed. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient was used to measure reliability. The Cronbach’s Alpha calculated for this research was 0.79 that is more than the mean acceptable alpha. Hence, the questionnaire is reliable (a> 0.7). 4. Findings Using research’s statistical software, the correlation test has been implemented to demonstrate the basic relationships in this research. Table 2 shows the results of data analysis for test the research model. Successful Total Quality Management implementation in throughout the organizations requires major changes in the main four aspects of knowledge management namely: Creating, Storage, Sharing and Application. Figure 2 shows the basic relationships between main dimensions of knowledge management and total quality management. These relationships are presented the research hypotheses that represent the main research purpose. H1
Knowledge Management
Creating H2
Storage
0.45 0.39
H3
0.54 0.57
Sharing
H4
Application Figure 2. Results of correlation analysis test for research conceptual framework
TQM
604
Zahra Safari Kahreh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014) 600 – 604
5. Conclusion This research aimed to investigate the relationship between basic elements of knowledge management including: Creating, Sharing, Storage and Application with the total quality management (TQM). Knowledge management (KM) comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organizations as processes or practices. Also, Knowledge Management (KM) refers to a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge. KM focuses on processes such as acquiring, creating and sharing knowledge and the cultural and technical foundations that support them. After data analysis results showed that there are positive and high relationships between KM elements total quality management. The results of this research are consistent with previous studies. References Agusa, Arawati, and Hassanb, Za’faran. (2011). Enhancing Production Performance and Customer Performance through Total Quality Management (TQM): Strategies for Competitive Advantage. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 24, pp: 1650–1662. D. Bonner, (2000). Leading Knowledge Management and Learning. American Society of Training & Development, Virginia. Duke, S.; Makey, P. & Kiras, N. (1999). Knowledge management, Report Series, vol. 1, Butler Group, Hull, UK. Jung, Joo Y and Wang, Yong Jian. (2006). Relationship between total quality management (TQM) and continuous improvement of international project management (CIIPM). Technovation, Vol. 26, pp: 716–722. Lloria, M. Begona. (2008). A review of the main approaches to knowledge management. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, Vol. 6, pp: 77–89. M. Alavi, D. Leidner, (1999). Knowledge management systems: issues, challenges, and benefits, in: Communications of the AIS, vol. 1. M. Alavi, D.E. Leidner, (2001). Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: conceptual foundations and research issues, MIS Quarterly, 25 (1) 107–146 Mathi, Kavindra. (2004). Key success factors for knowledge management. A document retrieved from ProQuest theses and dissertations database. Quaddus, Mohammed, Xu, Jun. (2012). Adoption and diffusion of knowledge management systems: field studies of factors and variables. Knowledge-Based Systems, Vol. 18, pp: 107–115 R. Ruggles, (1998). The state of the notion: knowledge management in practice, California Management Review, 40 (3) 80–89. Safari Kahreh, Mohammad. (2011). Economics of Strategic Knowledge Management: A New Model for Assessment. International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 2, No. 3, 257-262. Sharma, Umesh; Lawrence1, Stewart and Lowe, Alan. (2010). Institutional contradiction and management control innovation: A field study of total quality management practices in a privatized telecommunication company. Management Accounting Research, Vol. 21, pp: 251–264. T.H. Davenport, D.W.D. Long, M.C. Beers, (1998). Successful knowledge management projects, Sloan Management Review, 39 (2) 43–57. Wanga, Cheng-Hu; Chen, Kuan-Yu; Chena, Shiu-Chun. (2012). Total quality management, market orientation and hotel performance: The moderating effects of external environmental factors. International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 31, pp: 119–129. Wruck, Karen Hopper & Jensen, Michael C. (1994). Science, specific Knowledge and Quality management, Journal of Accounting and Economics,Vol. 18. pp: 247 – 287.
ScienceDirect Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014) 600 – 604
2nd World Conference On Business, Economics And Management –WCBEM 2013
Explanatory study towards analysis the relationship between Total Quality Management and Knowledge Management Zahra Safari Kahreha, Alireza Shirmohammadib, Mohammad Safari Kahrehc* a
Department of Management, Bakhtar Institution of Higher Education of Ilam, P.O.Box: 69531-13433, Ilam, Iran b Department of Industrial Management, Payam Noor University, P.O.Box: 19395-3697, Tehran, Iran c Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, P.O.Box: 199776-3551, Tehran, Iran
Abstract To meet the challenges of the new global environment, companies have started great attentions toward quality management as an integral part of their strategic business plans. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between Total Quality Management and Knowledge Management. Successful Total Quality Management implementation in throughout the organizations requires major changes in the main four aspects of knowledge management namely: Creating, Storage, Sharing and Application. To evaluate the conceptual research model of this study, using a validated questionnaire data has been gathered. Required data has been gathered from one of the organizations that participated in the banking industry. For data analysis, SPSS software has been used. The research conceptual framework after data analysis demonstrates the basic relationships of this model.
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under responsibility of Organizing Committee of BEM 2013. Keywords: knowledge management (KM), total quality management (TQM), explanatory research;
1. Introduction With respect to the past two decades, the shortage of knowledge showed itself twice: first when many of the employees have been fired due to downsizing and consequently most of required knowledge were not remind in the organization, second when robots was supersede of human labor in the production lines subsequently organizational flexibility was removed. Knowledge capacities are including: speed, complexity, historical sense, judgment and flexibility that are exactly required tools for successful attendance in competitive developing global economic. TQM can be defined as a holistic management philosophy, which strives for continuous organizational improvement (Kaynak, 2003). Thus the main purpose of this research is: the analytical explanation the relationship between total quality management and knowledge management. Based on this main research purpose, the essential research question of this study is: What is the relationship between four basic dimensions of knowledge management and total quality management?
* Corresponding Author: Mohammad Safari Kahreh. Tel.: +98-918-945-1204 E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-0428 © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer review under responsibility of Organizing Committee of BEM 2013. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.513
601
Zahra Safari Kahreh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014) 600 – 604
2. Literature Review 2.1. Knowledge Management Just like knowledge itself, knowledge management is difficult to define (Earl, 2001, p. 215). The working definition of knowledge is that Knowledge must involve an agent, who uses knowledge to perform actions necessary to reach a goal. Knowledge can and should be evaluated by the decisions or actions to which it leads (Davenport and Pruzak, 1998). However, defining what knowledge management understands may be somewhat simpler than defining knowledge on its own. The idea of ‘management’ gives us a starting point when considering, for example, the activities that make it up, explaining the processes of creation and transfer or showing its main goals and objectives without the need to define what is understood by knowledge. Consequently, in literature there are more ideas and definitions on knowledge management than just on knowledge, although these are not always clear as there are numerous terms connected with the concept (Lloria, 2008). Table 1 shows the most basic paradigms of knowledge management. Table 1. Paradigms of knowledge management Old paradigm Organization discipline Vicious circles Inflexible organizations Management administrators Distorted communication Strategic business units drive product development Strategic learning occurs at the apex of the organization Assumption that most organization members are untrustworthy Most organization members are disempowered Tacit and local knowledge of most members of the organization must be disciplined by managerial prerogative
New paradigm Organizational learning Virtuous circles Flexible organizations Management leaders Open communication Core competences drive product development Strategic learning capacities are widespread Assumption that most organization members are trustworthy Most organization members are empowered Tacit and local knowledge of all members of the organization is the most important factor in success, and creativity creates its own prerogative Source: extracted from: Lloria, (2008, p. 81); Adapted from McAdam & McCreedy (1999, p. 94).
Applicatio
Storage
Sharing
Knowledge
Information
Creating
Data
Figure 1. Framework of knowledge management (adapted from: Safari Kahreh, 2011)
Shin (2004) introduces a five cluster KMS classification: technological, intellectual asset, organizational learning, process and philosophical. These approaches can be classified into two broad types: soft and hard. The soft type is mainly focused on tacit knowledge and on the difficulties in sharing it between people. The hard type is focused on developing tools for storage and distribution of explicit knowledge (Massa, Testa, 2009). The ‘experience’ and ‘judgment’ aspects of KM reflect the ‘tacit’ or ‘implicit’ knowledge, which is difficult to capture and formalize (Bonner, 2000), in and other hand (Shin, 2004) argue that. Explicit knowledge is codified and communicated in symbolic forms or languages, while tacit knowledge resides in individuals’ experiences and actions. According to the main researches in the literature the term ‘Knowledge Management (KM)’ has been defined in a number of ways. Knowledge management ‘is the process of continually managing knowledge of all kinds to meet
602
Zahra Safari Kahreh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014) 600 – 604
existing and emerging needs, to identify and exploit existing and acquired knowledge assets and to develop new opportunities (Quintas et al., 1997). Specific framework to capture, acquire, organize, and communicate both tacit and explicit knowledge of employees so that other employees may utilize them to be more effective and productive in their work and maximize organization’s knowledge (Leidner, 1999). To add value with knowledge management, we need knowledge management systems (KMS), which facilitate the generation, preservation and sharing of knowledge (Bonner, 2000). Some of the common applications of knowledge management systems are: (1) organizing and sharing/transferring of internal benchmarks/best practices; (2) constructing corporate knowledge directories, such as corporate yellow pages, people information archive; (3) creating knowledge networks and knowledge maps; among many others (Alavi, 2001). Some of study has analyzed the various management techniques proposed and described in the literature that seem applicable to knowledge management (e.g., Dieng et al., 1999; Kannan & Aulbur, 2004). Much of this sensemaking seeks to frame knowledge management research. 2.2. Total Quality Management TQM is widely recognized as a management philosophy. Numerous controversies exist regarding the elements proposed by different researchers and professionals in relation to TQM. These elements do not fully coincide, and not all such fundamentals that compose the TQM theoretical framework can be called TQM without management factors being implemented in the organizations where they are based (Montes et al., 2003). TQM focuses on continuous process improvement within organizations to provide superior customer value and meet customer needs. Meeting customer needs involves company operations focused on understanding, sharing, and responding to customers through marketing concept. Firms adopting and implementing the marketing concept are said to display a market orientation (Wanga and et al (2012). TQM provides a set of practices that emphasizes, among other things, continuous improvement, meeting customers’ requirements, reducing rework, long-range thinking, increased employee involvement and teamwork, process redesign, competitive benchmarking, team-based problem solving, constant measurement of results, and closer relationships with suppliers (Crosby 1984; Juran, 1992; Feigenbaum 1991). TQM practices emerged as an increasingly fashionable management innovation in response to the lack of competitiveness in US manufacturing industries during the 1980s and the perceived superiority of Japanese firms in delivering high quality products and services in accordance with customer demands and achieving operational efficiency (Giroux, 2006; Modell, 2009). TQM practices have been implemented by firms interested in promoting their survival prospects by incorporating quality and continuous improvement into their strategic priorities (Lord and Lawrence, 2001; Hoque, 2003). TQM practice is said to follow a set of management concepts and tools that seek to involve managers and employees in achieving continuous performance improvement (Hogg, 1993; Shank and Govindarajan, 1994; Johnson, 1994; Powell, 1995; Boaden, 1997; Chenhall, 1997; Zbaracki, 1998; Hoque, 2003). Wruck and Jensen (1994) argue that Effective implementation of TQM generally requires major changes in all three components of the organizational rules of the game, namely systems for allocating decision rights, performance measurement systems, and reward and punishment systems. TQM enhances the profitability of companies when managers are evaluated by using performance evaluation systems that employ measures of the manufacturing process (Chenhall, 1997). Adapting from Arawati et al (2010) many of the researcher –such as; Powell’s (1995); Saraph et al. (1989); Deming 1995; Walton 1986; Juran, 1992; Crosby 1984; and others- has identified four important elements of TQM practices namely: • Supplier Relations: that is an interactive relationship between parties involved in producing an output that require an input from another • Benchmarking: refers to the researching and the observance of best Competitive practices to provide a guideline for rational performance goals and to help set expectations for cost, product reliability and other factors. • Quality Measurement: is a goal-orientation with constant performance measurement, often with the use of statistical analysis.
603
Zahra Safari Kahreh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014) 600 – 604
•
Continuous Process Improvement: refers to accomplish by placing emphasis on the processes by which quality improvements are achieved. In a typical organization, there are interrelated processes: design, manufacturing, marketing and customer service.
2.3. Research Hypotheses H1: the first step of knowledge Management namely "knowledge Create" is positively related to Total Quality Management. H2: the first step of knowledge Management namely "knowledge Storage" is positively related to Total Quality Management. H3: the first step of knowledge Management namely "knowledge sharing" is positively related to Total Quality Management. H4: the first step of knowledge Management namely "knowledge Application" is positively related to Total Quality Management. 3. Methodology This research is descriptive Research that aims to investigate the relationship between knowledge management basic elements and total quality management. After related literature review by using a questionnaire required data has been gathered from one of the organizations that participated in the banking industry. Then by using the SPSS software the data has been tested and analyzed. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient was used to measure reliability. The Cronbach’s Alpha calculated for this research was 0.79 that is more than the mean acceptable alpha. Hence, the questionnaire is reliable (a> 0.7). 4. Findings Using research’s statistical software, the correlation test has been implemented to demonstrate the basic relationships in this research. Table 2 shows the results of data analysis for test the research model. Successful Total Quality Management implementation in throughout the organizations requires major changes in the main four aspects of knowledge management namely: Creating, Storage, Sharing and Application. Figure 2 shows the basic relationships between main dimensions of knowledge management and total quality management. These relationships are presented the research hypotheses that represent the main research purpose. H1
Knowledge Management
Creating H2
Storage
0.45 0.39
H3
0.54 0.57
Sharing
H4
Application Figure 2. Results of correlation analysis test for research conceptual framework
TQM
604
Zahra Safari Kahreh et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014) 600 – 604
5. Conclusion This research aimed to investigate the relationship between basic elements of knowledge management including: Creating, Sharing, Storage and Application with the total quality management (TQM). Knowledge management (KM) comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organizations as processes or practices. Also, Knowledge Management (KM) refers to a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge. KM focuses on processes such as acquiring, creating and sharing knowledge and the cultural and technical foundations that support them. After data analysis results showed that there are positive and high relationships between KM elements total quality management. The results of this research are consistent with previous studies. References Agusa, Arawati, and Hassanb, Za’faran. (2011). Enhancing Production Performance and Customer Performance through Total Quality Management (TQM): Strategies for Competitive Advantage. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 24, pp: 1650–1662. D. Bonner, (2000). Leading Knowledge Management and Learning. American Society of Training & Development, Virginia. Duke, S.; Makey, P. & Kiras, N. (1999). Knowledge management, Report Series, vol. 1, Butler Group, Hull, UK. Jung, Joo Y and Wang, Yong Jian. (2006). Relationship between total quality management (TQM) and continuous improvement of international project management (CIIPM). Technovation, Vol. 26, pp: 716–722. Lloria, M. Begona. (2008). A review of the main approaches to knowledge management. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, Vol. 6, pp: 77–89. M. Alavi, D. Leidner, (1999). Knowledge management systems: issues, challenges, and benefits, in: Communications of the AIS, vol. 1. M. Alavi, D.E. Leidner, (2001). Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: conceptual foundations and research issues, MIS Quarterly, 25 (1) 107–146 Mathi, Kavindra. (2004). Key success factors for knowledge management. A document retrieved from ProQuest theses and dissertations database. Quaddus, Mohammed, Xu, Jun. (2012). Adoption and diffusion of knowledge management systems: field studies of factors and variables. Knowledge-Based Systems, Vol. 18, pp: 107–115 R. Ruggles, (1998). The state of the notion: knowledge management in practice, California Management Review, 40 (3) 80–89. Safari Kahreh, Mohammad. (2011). Economics of Strategic Knowledge Management: A New Model for Assessment. International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 2, No. 3, 257-262. Sharma, Umesh; Lawrence1, Stewart and Lowe, Alan. (2010). Institutional contradiction and management control innovation: A field study of total quality management practices in a privatized telecommunication company. Management Accounting Research, Vol. 21, pp: 251–264. T.H. Davenport, D.W.D. Long, M.C. Beers, (1998). Successful knowledge management projects, Sloan Management Review, 39 (2) 43–57. Wanga, Cheng-Hu; Chen, Kuan-Yu; Chena, Shiu-Chun. (2012). Total quality management, market orientation and hotel performance: The moderating effects of external environmental factors. International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 31, pp: 119–129. Wruck, Karen Hopper & Jensen, Michael C. (1994). Science, specific Knowledge and Quality management, Journal of Accounting and Economics,Vol. 18. pp: 247 – 287.