Indian culture and the culture for TQM: a comparison

Purpose – This paper seeks to argue against the conventional wisdom in the current TQM literature that hierarchy is not conducive for TQM. It aims to identify the cultural dynamics that can aid TQM implementation in a hierarchical country like India.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reflects on the existing literature on culture and TQM and develops a mechanism that explains why hierarchy hinders TQM implementation in Western culture and how it can support TQM implementation in Indian culture.Findings – In a people oriented culture like those of Japan and India, nurturance is the juice that sustains hierarchy that finally morphs into collectivism. In these social systems, there need not be conflicting impact of hierarchy and collectivism on TQM implementation if the nurturance aspect of hierarchy is understood. Thus, in the Indian context, hierarchy, operationalised through the guru‐shishya (teacher‐student) relationship between the boss and the subordinate can develop a learning orientation among t...