A proposed model of business excellence for the Malaysian food industry

Abstract

The Malaysian food industry has taken a paradigm shift and it is at present not regarded as an agriculture or agro-product based related sector any longer. The contributions made by this iactur are apparently better appreciated now, especially as it has helped to improve Malaysia’s economy. However, a major challenge is faced by small and medium enterprises (SME) due to the lack of financial support and the shortage of skills, knowledge or the actual know-how. These constraints therefore are retarding the productivity, innovation and financial benefits of the SME‘s. Regardless of the size and limitations faced, SMEs will be able to succeed in achieving business excellence if they are able to convert their weaknesses into strengths and become more open, seek opportunities and take advantage of existing situations to turn around their own businesses. Many research studies are conducted over (he years pertaining a business excellence model especially in the large companies. There are also studies in the SMEs but they are less focusing on the food industries. In order for the food industries SME to acquire bright opportunities in the market, it is essential that the best quality techniques and total quality management (TQM) approaches be applied. Consequently, the important contribution of this paper is to identify the critical success factors with TQM approaches. Furthermore, the conceptual framework for accessing the relationship among critical success factors and food processing SMEs performance is to be proposed.