The success of any organization-wide quality initiative is fundamentally dependent on the commitment and active involvement of management at all levels. Top management provides the vision, strategic direction, and necessary resources (financial, human, technological). Middle and lower management translate this strategy into tactical actions and provide direct support to front-line employees. This comprehensive buy-in creates a culture where quality is a shared responsibility and a core value, ensuring that initiatives are sustained and integrated into daily operations rather than being viewed as temporary projects. Without this leadership foundation, all other efforts are likely to fail.

B. Leadership by quality assurance staff is vital for technical guidance, but without management authority and resource allocation, their influence is limited.

C. Cooperation from front-line workers is essential for execution, but this cooperation is most effectively fostered and sustained through supportive and committed leadership.

D. Deployment of statistical process control (SPC) is a powerful tool within a quality initiative, not the overarching factor that determines its success.

1. Gryna

F. M.

Chua

R. C. H.

& DeFeo

J. A. (2007). Juran's Quality Planning and Analysis: From Product Development Through Use (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill. In Chapter 4

"Companywide Assessment of Quality

" it is stated

"A major obstacle to companywide quality management is the lack of leadership by upper management" (p. 81). This underscores that management leadership is the primary enabler.

2. Deming

W. E. (2018). Out of the Crisis. The MIT Press. Deming's 14 Points for Management are a cornerstone of modern quality theory. Point 1

"Create constancy of purpose toward improvement

" and Point 7

"Institute leadership

" explicitly place the responsibility for creating a successful quality system on management

not on workers or specific departments (pp. 23-96).

3. Besterfield

D. H. (2013). Quality Improvement (9th ed.). Pearson. In Chapter 2

"Leadership

" the text emphasizes

"A key element of a successful TQM program is the leadership of top management... Top management must be personally and visibly committed to quality" (p. 31).

4. Saraph

J. V.

Benson

P. G.

& Schroeder

R. G. (1989). An instrument for measuring the critical factors of quality management. Decision Sciences

20(4)

810–829. This foundational academic study empirically identified "the role of top management leadership" as the most critical factor for successful quality management. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.1989.tb01420.x)