Impact of Implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) System on Improving Performance at the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) in Lebanon

The Total Quality Management System (TQM) is an integrated management approach that aims to continuously improve the performance of services and exceed the expectations of associates. The study aimed at determining the impact of the application of the Total Quality Management (TQM) system in improving performance in the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) in Lebanon. The study also aimed at building a conceptual framework that can be used as a guide in formulating an effective approach that enables high management in the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) to successfully implement a Total Quality Management (TQM) system. The study sample consisted of employees in the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE). To verify the study hypotheses, a five-point Likert style questionnaire was constructed and distributed among the sample to measure and reveal the impact of implementing the TQM system on improving the performance of the CSE. The results of the study showed that implementing the TQM system has a critical role in improving the financial performance of the CSE, while it has no impact of significance on improving managerial performance at the CSE.


Introduction
Total Quality Management (TQM) is considered the most important product of the developed administrative intellect and a natural result of the changes accompanying this era, such as the increasing growth of globalization and the importance of competition and the rise of economic clusters and the domination of information technology over contemporary life. Total Quality Management (TQM) is an organizational philosophy and culture that seeks to achieve excellence in both public and private sectors, respond to the expectations, needs, and desires of the customer being the primary focus of the organization's intellect. It focuses on creating an integrated mechanism or system to achieve the highest levels of performance to meet customer expectations.
Some nations, such as America, Japan, Malaysia, and others adopted TQM and began applying it in arms factories. Then its application moved to industrial and service companies and private institutions where it achieved great successes. As for the failure of governmental organizations in the field of improving productivity and the quality of services they provide to citizens, many of them have been constantly striving to adopt some modern management methods that have proven effective in improving productivity in private sector institutions-including TQM which is the most recent-where they have resorted to this method in order to improve their performance.
Serving citizens has become a major goal for any country in its social and economic development plans.
This system has achieved tangible success in public service institutions such as health and education and contributed to the transfer of guarantor institutions from its old framework of being just a place to provide services to take a more comprehensive framework in how the service is provided to its applicants as well as planning and implementing development and research programs, in addition to setting standards to control the quality of the services provided.
The success of any institution depends mainly on the ability of its management to interpret and analyze the changes surrounding and the accuracy of its response and to work on diagnosing it to know the opportunities and threats it faces in the sector it belongs to and to identify the challenges of success and how to deal with others. public companies. They also cited a lot of literature on TQM that recognized a positive association between the efficient application of TQM and innovation performance (Long et al., 2015;Prajogo & Sohal, 2006) and between TQM and financial performance (Douglas & Judge, 2001;O'Neill et al., 2016). Amin et al. (2017) examined the structural relationship between TQM, employee satisfaction, and hotel performance. The results of the study depicted that seven TQM constructs have considerable associations with job satisfaction of employee and performance of the organization. Leadership style and focus on clients have major roles in augmenting job satisfaction of employees and the performance of their organization. They also concluded that employees who are increasingly satisfied with their jobs are keen to support their fellow workers. They are also devoted to performing their jobs, and thus, are able to improve the performance of the organization. They recommended that managers and owners of hotels provide a friendly atmosphere in the workplace, as well as a long-term plan to amplify job satisfaction and improve the organizations' performance. In addition, they cited some research papers that depict the benefits of TQM such as increased organizational performance (Talib et al., 2011(Talib et al., -2013. In their study, Sadikoglo and Olcay (2014) examined the effects of TQM practices on the performance and investigated the obstacles facing TQM practices in Turkey. The results of their study showed that, unlike leadership styles, TQM practices have a considerable impact on various performance outcomes.
The results also showed that many barriers are facing TQM practices in Turkey; mainly, lack of employees' participation, dedication and awareness, lack of the necessary resources, and lack of proper organizational structure. The researchers recommended that organizations persist on implementing TQM with its different variables, enhance participation, dedication, and awareness of employees toward TQM, supply enough resources, and improve the organization's structure to defeat the obstacles facing the employment of TQM practices efficiently. Phan et al. (2019) examined the impact of TQM practices and Just-In-Time (JIT) production practices on flexibility performance. The results of their study showed that there exists a close correlation between TQM practices and JIT production practices. The results also showed that increased TQM level of practices enhanced the impact of JIT production practices on flexibility performance. Also, the findings of the study suggest that implementing both TQM and JIT production practices can augment flexibility performance.

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Published by SCHOLINK INC. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/rem Research in Economics andManagement Vol. 5, No. 3, 2020 Nguyen et al. (2018) examined the extent of contribution of quality management practices to sustainability performance among Vietnamese firms. The results of their study showed that quality management practices a positive and significant impact on sustainability performance and that such practices are decisive factors that contribute considerably to sustainability goals. The study also supplied an essential understanding of the proficient distribution of resources in order to achieve sustainability goals. Miyagawa and Yoshida (2010) examined the effects of TQM practices of manufacturers in the USA and China that are owned by Japanese people. The results of the study showed that total quality management practices have a significant impact on the general performance which means that applying TQM practices appropriately is a proficient process in augmenting the business performance regardless of the organization's location. Also, findings of the empirical data supply additional evidence that supports the conclusion.
Al-Basheer et al. (2015) studied the dimensions of TQM and their effect on financial performance in the Jordan Islamic Bank. The researchers analyzed statistically the relationship between TQM dimensions and improving financial performance. They found that workers' awareness about the importance of the quality elements helps in improving the financial performance of the bank. The results also specify that there exists a statistically significant relationship between the overall quality and financial performance. The study also revealed that there exists a statistically significant effect of TQM on the liquidity ratio. The study depicted is a statistically significant impact of TQM on the profitability ratio. Baird et al. (2011) studied the relationships among organizational culture, TQM practices, and operational performance in both Australian manufacturing and service industries. The results of the study illustrate that the most essential aspect in augmenting the use of TQM practices is teamwork. The study also found that businesses that are outcome-oriented used TQM practices largely. The study found that out of the four TQM practices examined in the study, three of them help achieve operational performance goals; these are quality data and reporting, supplier quality management, and process management. The researchers pointed out that managers of the organizations should identify the correlations among TQM practices and their relationships with operational performance. In addition, they supply insights into the multi-dimension practices of TQM their impact on operational performance. Gambi et al. (2015) investigate the relationship between organizational culture and quality techniques, and its impact on operational performance. The study utilized four groups of quality techniques and four cultural profiles, in addition to a number of performance indicators (operational). Based on the results of their study, culture did not prove to be an explicit predictor of using quality measures. The findings of the study also show that most quality techniques contribute to the total impact on operational performance indirectly. The researchers recommended that managers be aware of the  Vol. 5, No. 3, 2020 cultural features of the organizations they are managing before applying quality techniques to have the full benefit of using these techniques. Wang et al. (2012) examined the interrelations among TQM, market orientation, and hotel performance.
The results of their study show that TQM and market orientation affect hotel performance positively.
The study also found that the impact of market orientation plays a mediating role between TQM and hotel performance. Moreover, the study results showed that the external environment aspects act as an arbitrator among the three variables (TQM, market orientation and hotel performance), particularly when these aspects changes to help build the relationship with customers to augment the performance of the hotel which would increase chances of its survival.
Agus and Hassan (2011)  On the other hand, Whyte and Witcher (1992) and Naden and Bremner (1991) Vol. 5, No. 3, 2020 surveys they had conducted. Rates of total success or failure they had examined in some surveys of TQM were a bit low. Some of these results were also confirmed in some later studies (Witcher, 1993;Shin et al., 1998).
The study at hand examines whether or not there exists an impact of implementing TQM system on the financial and managerial performance of the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE). There are some studies in the literature about implementing TQM system in certain organizations; however, the study at hand is the first to tackle the topic from this perspective in Lebanon as far as the researchers know.

A Historical View of Total Quality Management (TQM)
The concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) initiated in Japan, then it spread in the USA and during WWII, mostly about techniques of quality control. In his lectures, Deming endorsed his own thoughts with the techniques, specifically a much higher involvement of the workers in the process of quality control and the implementation of his statistical tools. The Japanese executives present at the JUSE welcomed his ideas, and as such, Japan initiated a course of action that would lead to the implementation of what came to be known as Total Quality Management. Consequently, the Japanese asked Joseph Juran to come to Japan and lecture on the topic in 1954 (Westcott, 2013).

Research Problem and Hypothesis
Generally, public organizations are notorious for corruption, which led to the problem of developing them. The study at hand examines the possibility of implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) to solve the problem of corruption at the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE). Thus, the researchers have the following questions: -Does implementing the TQM at the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) in Lebanon lead to improving its financial performance?
The following questions arise from the question above:

Population and Sample Selection
The

Instrumentation
Based on the previous studies, the problem and questions of the study, and the researchers' personal experience, a five-point Likert Style questionnaire was constructed and distributed among the sample of the study. The questionnaire has two main sections. The first section is personal data (education, major, job position, and years of experience). The second section is the items and domains of the study as follows: • First Domain: Focus on affiliates, and it has 10 items to express it.
• Second Domain: High Management Support and it has 10 items to express it.
• Third Domain: Continual Improvement and it has 10 items to express it.
• Fourth Domain: Employee training and it has 10 items to express it.
• Fifth Domain: Teamwork and it has 10 items to express it.
• Sixth Domain: Improving Financial and Organizational Performance, and it has dimensions as follows: -First Dimension: Improving Financial Performance and it has 5 items to express it.
-Second Dimension: Improving Organizational Performance and it has 5 items to express it.
The scale ranges as follows in Table 2:

Internal Consistency
The researchers took an exploratory sample of 50 individuals among the population of the study to verify the internal consistency through calculating Pearson Correlation Coefficient to recognize the extent of correlation of each item of the questionnaire to the total level of the domain or dimension it belongs to. Table 3 shows that all items of the study tool are significantly correlated at the level 0.01 and 0.05 at the total level of its domains since the coefficient for these items ranged from 0.318 to 0.915. This denotes that there exists internal consistency within the items of the study, which supports the validity of the data gathered from the sample.

Reliability of the Study Tool
The researchers took an exploratory sample of (50)

Normal Distribution of Variables
The researchers conducted the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to examine the normal distribution, and the result showed that the study variables do not follow the normal distribution. Despite that, and since the sample is large (more than 30), according to the Central Limit Theory, Parametric tests can be

Analysis of the Results of the First Domain "Focus on Affiliates"
The researchers calculated the mean, standard deviation, relative weight, and rank for each item of the first domain "Focus on Affiliates". The researchers also verified the averages of the responses for the items against the value (3) which expresses the neutral degree using the One-Sample T-Test as shown in the following   Vol. 5, No. 3, 2020 The mean of the sample's responses on all the items of the first domain "Focus on Affiliates" was 3.79 out of 5 with a standard deviation of 0.46 and a relative weight of 75.8%. To examine the mean of the domain "Focus on affiliates against the value (3) which expresses neutrality, the value of T-calculated was 29.94, which is greater than T-tabulated at the significance level 0.05, which depicts the positive attitude of the sample towards the first domain "Focus on Affiliates".
The two items that got the highest levels of approval are: -The item that states: "The Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) considers affiliates as the basis of its activities" got the first place with a relative weight of 86%.
-The item that states: "The CSE is fully aware of the services it offers to affiliates" got the second place with a relative weight of 84.7%.
The two items that got the lowest levels of approval are: -The item that states: "The CSE depends on specialists to study the affiliates' novel suggestions" got the last place with a relative weight of 63.1%.
-The item that states: "The CSE seeks to provide all its services electronically" got the place next to the last with a relative weight of 71%.

Analysis of the Results of the Second Domain "High Management Support"
The researchers calculated the mean, standard deviation, relative weight, and rank for each item of the second domain "High Management Support". The researchers also verified the averages of the responses for the items against the value (3) which expresses the neutral degree using the One-Sample T-Test as shown in the following table: Note. The value of T-tabular at degree of freedom 307 and significance level 0.05 is 1.96.
The mean of the sample's responses on all the items of the second domain "High Management Support" was 3.72 out of 5 with a standard deviation of 0.53 and a relative weight of 74.5%. To examine the mean of the domain "High Management Support" against the value (3) which expresses neutrality, the value of T-calculated was 23.96, which is greater than T-tabulated at the significance level 0.05, which depicts the positive attitude of the sample towards the second domain "High Management Support".
The two items that got the highest levels of approval are: -The item that states: "The high management believes in TQM, considers it a slogan and has a desire to implement it" got the first place with a relative weight of 80%.
-The item that states: "The management works on keeping its commitments toward affiliates through supplying unique services proficiently" got the second place with a relative weight of 78.7%.
The two items that got the lowest level of approval are: -The item that states: "The high management has a clear vision and a strategic plan to treat internal weaknesses" got the last place with a relative weight of 68.4%.
-The item that states: "The high management spreads the culture of improving performance and facilitating the flow of information among all departments" got the place next to the last with a relative weight of 68.8%.

Analysis of the Results of the Third Domain "Continual Improvement"
The researchers calculated the mean, standard deviation, relative weight, and rank for each item of the third domain "Continual Improvement". The researchers also verified the averages of the responses for the items against the value (3) which expresses the neutral degree using the One-Sample T-Test as shown in the following table:  Vol. 5, No. 3, 2020 The mean of the sample's responses on all the items of the third domain "Continual Improvement" was 3.76 out of 5 with a standard deviation of 0.53 and a relative weight of 75.1%. To examine the mean of the domain "Continual Improvement" against the value (3) which expresses neutrality, the value of T-calculated was 25.3, which is greater than T-tabulated at the significance level 0.05, which depicts the positive attitude of the sample towards the third domain "Continual Improvement".
The two items that got the highest levels of approval are: -The item that states: "The CSE considers continual improvement of services it provides to affiliates is part of the requirements of TQM system" got the first place with a relative weight of 82.3%.
-The item that states: "The CSE continuously depends on using technology to develop services provided" got the second place with a relative weight of 77.6%.
The two items that got the lowest levels of approval are: -The item that states: "The CSE utilizes the mode of preventing mistakes rather than falling into them to reach continual improvement" got the last place with a relative weight of 69.6%.
-The item that states: "The CSE continuously monitors the implementation employment standards" got the place next to the last with a relative weight of 70.3%.

Analysis of the Results of the Fourth Domain "Employee Training"
The researchers calculated the mean, standard deviation, relative weight, and rank for each item of the fourth domain "Employee Training". The researchers also verified the averages of the responses for the items against the value (3) which expresses the neutral degree using the One-Sample T-Test as shown in the following table: Note. The value of T-tabular at degree of freedom 307 and significance level 0.05 is 1.96.
The mean of the sample's responses on all the items of the fourth domain "Employee Training" was 3.37 out of 5 with a standard deviation of 0.67 and a relative weight of 67.4%. To examine the mean of the domain "Employee Training" against the value (3) which expresses neutrality, the value of T-calculated was 9.70, which is greater than T-tabulated at the significance level 0.05, which depicts the positive attitude of the sample towards the fourth domain "Employee Training".
The two items that got the highest levels of approval are: -The item that states: "Financial compensations are considered an incentive for employees to implement standards of TQM system" got the first place with a relative weight of 77.1%.
-The item that states: "The CSE is keen to participate in local and international conferences" got the second place with a relative weight of 72.9%.
The two items that got the lowest approval level are: -The item that states: "Employees who achieve goals within their line of work are rewarded according to their contribution in achieving that goal" got the last place with a relative weight of 58.2%.
-The item that states: "The CSE is keen to train employees on the most recent information, managerial and leadership systems" got the place next to the last with a relative weight of 60.6%.

Analysis of the Results of the Fifth Domain "Team Work"
The researchers calculated the mean, standard deviation, relative weight, and rank for each item of the fifth domain "Team Work". The researchers also verified the averages of the responses for the items against the value (3) which expresses the neutral degree using the One-Sample T-Test as shown in the following table: 131 Note. The value of T-tabular at degree of freedom 307 and significance level 0.05 is 1.96.
The mean of the sample's responses on all the items of the fifth domain "Team Work" was 3.69 out of 5 with a standard deviation of 0.58 and a relative weight of 73.8%. To examine the mean of the domain "Team Work" against the value (3) which expresses neutrality, the value of T-calculated was 20.92, which is greater than T-tabulated at the significance level 0.05, which depicts the positive attitude of the sample towards the fifth domain "Team Work".
The two items that got the highest levels of approval are: -The item that states: "The employees at the CSE are willing to work as a team" got the first place with a relative weight of 79.9%.

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Published by SCHOLINK INC. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/rem Research in Economics and Management Vol. 5, No. 3, 2020 -The item that states: "The CSE promotes teamwork and cooperation among organizations and departments to achieve its goals" got the second place with a relative weight of 79.9%.
The two items that got the lowest levels of approval are: -The item that states: "The CSE depends on reverse feedback by accepting and adopting useful suggestions" got the last place with a relative weight of 66.4%.
-The item that states: "The CSE is keen to have heads of organizations and departments share in decision-making" got the place next to the last with a relative weight of 67.3%.

Analysis of the Results of the Sixth Domain "Improving Financial and Organizational
Performance" The researchers calculated the mean, standard deviation, relative weight, and rank for each item of the sixth domain "Improving Financial and Organizational Performance". The researchers also verified the averages of the responses for the items against the value (3) which expresses the neutral degree using the One-Sample T-Test as shown in the following two tables: 5.6.1 Improving Financial Performance Note. The value of T-tabular at degree of freedom 307 and significance level 0.05 is 1.96.
The mean of the sample's responses on all the items of the dimension "Improving Financial Performance" was 3.94 out of 5 with a standard deviation of 0.6 and a relative weight of 78.8%. To examine the mean of the dimension "Improving Financial Performance" against the value (3) which expresses neutrality, the value of T-calculated was 27.36, which is greater than T-tabulated at the significance level 0.05, which depicts the positive attitude of the sample towards the dimension "Improving Financial Performance".
The two items that got the highest levels of approval are:

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Published by SCHOLINK INC. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/rem Research in Economics and Management Vol. 5, No. 3, 2020 -The item that states: "Training employees in accordance with certain standards leads to cost control" got the first place with a relative weight of 83.8%.
-The item that states: "Training employees in accordance with certain standards leads to cost control" got the second place with a relative weight of 83.4%.
The two items that got the lowest levels of approval are: -The item that states: "Caring for the affiliates leads to increasing revenues" got the last place with a relative weight of 71%.
-The item that states: "Continual improvement of various services presented would reduce their costs" got the place next to the last. 5.6.2 Improving Managerial Performance Note. The value of T-tabular at degree of freedom 307 and significance level 0.05 is 1.96.
The mean of the sample's responses on all the items of the dimension "Improving Managerial Performance" was 4.31 out of 5 with a standard deviation of 0.4 and a relative weight of 86.2%. To examine the mean of the dimension "Improving Managerial Performance" against the value (3) which expresses neutrality, the value of T-calculated was 57.91, which is greater than T-tabulated at the significance level 0.05, which depicts the positive attitude of the sample towards the dimension "Improving Managerial Performance".
The two items that got the highest levels of approval are: -The item that states: "Training employees in accordance with due process leads to rapid delivery" got the first place with a relative weight of 88.1%.

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Published by SCHOLINK INC. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/rem Research in Economics and Management Vol. 5, No. 3, 2020 -The item that states: "Teamwork leads to streamlining the procedures" got the second place with a relative weight of 86.8%.
The two items that got the lowest levels of approval are: The item that states: "Focus on affiliates leads to earning their trust and satisfaction for the services" got the last place with a relative weight of 84.8%.
The item that states: "Enhancing internal control by high management leads to combating corruption" got the place next to the last with a relative weight of 85.3%.

Testing the Hypotheses
The researchers tested the following null hypotheses: 1) There is no impact of statistical significance of focusing on affiliates on improving financial performance in the CSE at the significance level α≤0.05.
2) There is no impact of statistical significance of focusing on affiliates on improving managerial performance in the CSE at the significance level α≤0.05.
To test these hypotheses, the researchers used the simple linear regression, and the results came as follows:  Vol. 5, No. 3, 2020 1) There is no impact of statistical significance of high management support on improving financial performance in the CSE at the significance level α≤0.05.
2) There is no impact of statistical significance of high management support on improving managerial performance in the CSE at the significance level α≤0.05.
To test these hypotheses, the researchers used the simple linear regression, and the results came as follows: It is evident from the above table that there is an impact of significance for high management support on improving financial performance at the CSE (β=0.400), while the results did not show an impact of significance for high management support on improving managerial performance at the CSE.
The researchers tested the following null hypotheses: 1) There is no impact of statistical significance of continual improvement on improving financial performance in the CSE at the significance level α≤0.05.
2) There is no impact of statistical significance of continual improvement on improving managerial performance in the CSE at the significance level α≤0.05.
To test these hypotheses, the researchers used the simple linear regression, and the results came as follows: 136 It is evident from the above table that there is an impact of significance for continual improvement on improving financial performance at the CSE (β=0.369), while the results did not show an impact of significance for continual improvement on improving managerial performance at the CSE.
The researchers tested the following null hypotheses: 1) There is no impact of statistical significance of training employees on improving financial performance in the CSE at the significance level α≤0.05.
2) There is no impact of statistical significance of training employees on improving managerial performance in the CSE at the significance level α≤0.05.
To test these hypotheses, the researchers used the simple linear regression, and the results came as follows: It is evident from the above table that there is an impact of significance for training employees on improving financial performance at the CSE (β=0.357), while the results did not show an impact of significance for training employees on improving managerial performance at the CSE.
The researchers tested the following null hypotheses: 1) There is no impact of statistical significance of teamwork on improving financial performance in the CSE at the significance level α≤0.05.
2) There is no impact of statistical significance of teamwork on improving managerial performance in the CSE at the significance level α≤0.05.
To test these hypotheses, the researchers used the simple linear regression, and the results came as follows:

Conclusions and Recommendations
The study rendered the following results: -There is an impact of significance for focus on affiliates on improving financial performance at the CSE, while there is no impact of significance for focus on affiliates on improving managerial performance at the CSE.
-There is an impact of significance for high management on improving financial performance at the CSE, while there is no impact of significance for high management on improving managerial performance at the CSE.
-There is an impact of significance for continual improvement on improving financial performance at the CSE, while there is no impact of significance for continual improvement on improving managerial performance at the CSE.
-There is an impact of significance for training employees on improving financial performance at the CSE, while there is no impact of significance for training employees on improving managerial performance at the CSE.
-There is an impact of significance for teamwork on improving financial performance at the CSE, while there is no impact of significance for teamwork on improving managerial performance at the CSE.
The current study surprisingly corresponded with Whyte and Wicher (1992), Nadan and Bremner (1991), Witcher (1993) and Shin et al. (1998) in that TQM has no significant impact on managerial performance. The researchers believe that the results came as such since the sample of the study may think that there should be other administrative procedures coupling the implementation of TQM. On the other hand, the study was in accordance with Al-Basheer et al. (2015) in that applying TQM system has a positive and significant impact on the financial performance of the organization.
Based on the above findings, the researchers believe that, in addition to a TQM system, there should be moral and material incentive programs at organizations to improve productivity. Also, there should be a highly reactive control system to correct errors promptly as soon as they are detected, and the employees who are responsible for the errors should be held accountable for the mistakes they make.
Thus, the management should conduct a workshop for employees to be aware of the "rewards and punishment" program at the organization.