From 'Quality Culture' to 'Quality Cult

Abstract

Managing quality through culture is a growing area of interest to both practitioners and academics. However,the overwhelmingly positive slant given to strong culture should be viewed with some scepticism. Using a range of methods within a large case study of a project based organisation, comprised of a partnership between a client and three service providers, we investigate the effects of a strongly designed culture upon project management. We conclude that a strong quality culture, if not designed and managed adequately, can transform itself into a strong 'quality cult'. This has consequences for managing quality in project-based organisations.