Factors affecting quality management at the Thai national institute of health.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to confirm and examine organization-related factors that could affect quality management at the Thai national reference laboratory known as National Institute of Health.

Design/methodology/approach: The authors invited 340 laboratory staff members to complete a questionnaire that enquired about their skills, opinions, perceptions, leadership, work environment, organizational culture and organizational commitment in relation to quality management. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data.

Findings: In total, 65 percent of institute members responded to the questionnaire. CFA revealed that all factors were related to quality management. Three factors, leadership, organizational commitment and work environment, significantly affected quality management, but organizational culture did not.

Research limitations/implications: Other data types should be collected for an in-depth understanding, i.e. focus groups or in-depth interviews. A longitudinal study could also enhance quality management understanding to see how each variable changes over time.

Originality/value: Analyzing quality management through confirmatory factor and regression analysis showed that the four analyzed variables are statistically significant in relation to quality management at the laboratory. Managers could apply this information to revise the current policy.