A path model on total quality management of public hospitals in region x

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish a causal model of total quality management as influenced by teamwork attitudes, ethical climate, and organizational culture among public hospitals in the region. The research design used in this study was descriptive­correlational and causal comparative design through path analysis. A total of 400 respondents were purposively selected. Results reveal that teamwork attitudes, ethical climate, and organizational culture indicated very high level along with total quality management in terms of practices. Additionally, three-factor variables namely: teamwork attitudes, ethical climate, and organizational culture yielded significant relationship with total quality management as the endogenous variable. Findings further revealed that the generated path model 3 satisfied each criterion set within the standard threshold, hence, the best-fit path model. Using path analysis, Model 3 describes the direct causal relationships of perceived ethical climate and organizational culture on total quality management. Further, Model 3 shows that two out of three exogenous variables showed direct effects on the endogenous variable. The study reveals that ethical climate and organizational culture were factors of total quality management of hospitals. However, teamwork attitudes had an indirect link with TQM through ethical climate. In other words, teamwork attitude is a factor of ethical climate which, in turn, was also a factor of TQM. Further, teamwork attitudes showed a significant correlation with organizational culture which was also a factor of TQM. Moreover, organizational culture exhibited a significant relationship with ethical climate through another indicator of the latter which is outside the scope of this study. Therefore, Model 3 conveyed a general idea that total quality management among public hospitals is significantly affected by strong organizational culture and ethical climate, which are defined by their respective measures where productivity and performance, customer care and service, product quality and safety, and concern for the environment become more apparent when fully observed.

Keywords: management, teamwork attitudes, ethical climate, organizational culture, total quality management, public hospitals, path model, Philippines