Direct all correspondence to: Teddy Lian Kok Fei, International Institute of Public Policy and Management (INPUMA), University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia International Public Management Journal, 6(2), pages 145-172 Copyright © 2003 by International Public Management Network. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. ISSN: 1096-7494 International Public Management Journal TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES: CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE TEDDY LIAN KOK FEI UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA HAL G. RAINEY THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA ABSTRACT: A major total quality management initiative by the Malaysian government provided the opportunity to survey over 400 managers in twelve of the twenty-four government agencies about the implementation and impact of TQM, and to compare agencies that have won quality awards to those that have not. Managers from award- winning agencies gave higher ratings of their agency’s implementation of TQM, their agency head’s emphasis on quality-related objectives, and on leadership behaviors such as clear vision, trust, communication, involvement, and encouragement. They also reported higher levels of emphasis on communication and innovation in their organization’s culture. Regression analysis further shows that the managers’ perceptions of effective implementation of TQM are related to these leadership behaviors and cultural conditions. The results support many of the prescriptions of TQM proponents and change management experts about conditions for successful change, and indicate that they have applicability across nations and cultures, and to the public sector. The conceptual framework for the study and the survey scales should be of interest to researchers on TQM and organizational change. The government of Malaysia undertook a major total quality management (TQM) initiative during the 1990s. The TQM program included quality awards for which Malaysian national government agencies could compete. The agencies varied in their success at implementing TQM and in competing for awards. This situation provided an opportunity to compare winners and nonwinners of these awards, and to examine