| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of TQM practices on
performance of small and medium enterprises; a case of youth group projects in Kajiado
north sub county, Kajiado County, Kenya. The objectives guiding this study were to
establish the influence of top management commitment on performance of SMEs, to
examine the influence of process management on performance on SMEs, to determine
the influence of training of employees on performance on SMEs, to ascertain the
influence of quality of product design on performance on SMEs and to establish the
influence of quality information on performance on SMEs. Youth projects were randomly
selected from Kajiado north sub-county, in the five wards. The study used mixed method
approach in the collection and analysis, to capture both the qualitative and quantitative
data. The design is descriptive. The target population was 210 youth that were involved
in youth group projects. Spearman‟s correlation was used to test the relationship between
the variables. The analyses indicated that there is moderate positive relationship between
top management and performance was therefore rejected. There was a strong positive
relationship between quality of product design and performance. There was a positive
strong relationship between process management and performance. The relationship
between training and performance was moderately positive and finally there was a strong
positive relationship between quality information and performance of SMEs. This study
is majorly recommended to the youth groups, they should strive to always ensure their
product in the market is superior, the processes, roles and responsibilities be defined in
the organization. This will ensure reduction of costs, time and increases on individual
specialization. Quality information is crucial to ensure current, reliable and timeless
information that will inform and enable them to make effective decisions on the market
strategies and give them competitive advantage | en_US |
