The impact of deming quality management on interdepartmental cooperation

Abstract This article reports on a study of the impact of a Deming quality management approach on perceptions of interdepartmental cooperation. The study was based on intergroup relations theory and provides new insight into some of the “people” issues related to quality management. A two‐part survey was given to a sample of respondents from two interacting departments in each of two companies. In the first part of the survey, respondents were asked their perceptions of the extent to which features of Deming quality management had been implemented. In the second part of the survey, respondents indicated their perceptions of the degree of interdepartmental cooperation. Results indicate that respondents perceived positive improvements in interdepartmental cooperation after implementation of the Deming approach.