ABSTRACT

This study tries to explore the major obstacles that restrain the idea tough management in soccer clubs and company in Dubai, United Arab Emirates by means of descriptive approaches, namely: surveys and explanatory studies. The used sample, intentionally volunteered, was selected from 8 football sport’s clubs and companies from Dubai in United Arab Emirates. 1046 people volunteered among technical and management team and also from the board members of the clubs. Data were collected and analyzed using following methods: analyzing previous studies and literature works and questionnaire and personal. The outcomes of the research demonstrated the absence of vision, the ambiguity of the mission and lack of clarity in pursuing the clubs goals as well as the urgent need of planning training plan for the majority the employees.

Keywords:

Quality, Total Quality Management “TQM”, Obstacles, Football Clubs

1. Introduction

In order to achieve the highest ranks of productivity and face the everyday hardship, there exists a common tool which is Total quality management (Mustafa, 2003; Zinedine, 1996; Mohamed, 1994; Zinedine, 2000; Witcher, 1990) . Independently from the type of service offered; economic, administrative, educational or sportive, the success of the team remains closely tied adopting the best entrance to Total Quality Management which guarantees higher quality in production and quality (Seanor, 2004; Shilbury, 1994; Wit & McClure, 2004; Wenser et al., 1995; Venkatraman, 2007; Weldman, 1994) .

Today’s market (in every filed) is full of competition and everyone is put under the challenges of global and economic changes. That is why our organizations must comply with the total quality management as being one of the requirements of ISO 9000 which provides them the effectiveness necessary to stand in the more challenging market (Pizzini, 2002; Al-Khalifa & Aspinwall, 2000; Tyler, 1992; Toovey, 2009) .

The Arab world must get more active and raise the productivity by switching to new methods that enhances their production and allows them to improve quality and meet the different challenges. Arabic service institutions and productive institutions should implement the techniques of total quality management for its successful results proved in various parts of the world (Rust et al., 1994; Crawford, 1991; Toovey, 2009) .

The old methods and techniques of production or service giving fit no more with our present day life. Thus, newer and more practical approaches will be considered for long periods of time as odd methods and the institutions in question must work harder than usual to integrate and fit in the newly implemented ways of production (Honeycutt, 1998; Hirtz, 2002; Shilbury, 1994; Steiskal, 2002; Honeycutt, 1998) .

But, all the team must try to understand and digest the change and help each other’s reach, without losing much time and energy, the full integration with the total quality management to get the best of this change (Ortega et al. 1995; Wright & Wright, 1906; Al-Ghasyah, 2003; Alhaj, 2006; Boulter & Bendell, 2002, Al Sulimani & Shared, 1994; Al Shafei, 2003) .

Sports are a field based on complementary and enchained work and total quality management can be benefit from it as well. Some rules must be respected for total quality management to see the success in sports (Prasad, 1982; Giambastiani, 2007; Wu, 1994) . The senior managers must be committed, material and human resources must be available, all activities must be operationally controlled and effective systems must be used (Francis, 1999; Laohavichien, 2004; Seymour, 1993; Rust et al., 1994; Mustafa, 2008; Melton, 2003; Lam et al., 1991) .

This research can be useful to know the barriers preventing us from applying total quality management in Dubai, United Arab Emirates clubs and companies, since it is the first study of the difficulties facing the application of total quality management in sports clubs (Giambastiani, 2007; Lam et al., 1991; Weldman, 1994; Gary, 2002; Dory & Schier, 2002) .

Introducing new techniques in administrating the various fields and businesses can improve society in general. The sports’ club in question is not familiar with the modern systems of administration and this makes it more useful to study the changes that could be brought by total quality management.

1.1. The Aim of This Study

Our research identifies the burdens facing the application of total quality management and the ideas related to it in Dubai clubs and companies, United Arab Emirates. We were trying to know to the following:

Concerning the board of administration the technical and administrative team: the extent of awareness about the importance of total quality.

How the club leadership is made?

How is the training system of the club?

The extent of involvement of the board of administration the technical and administrative team in implementing total quality management

1.2. Research Questions

- Is the administration board aware of total quality management and of its importance?

- What is the type of leadership of the club?

- Is there a policy of training within the club?

- Are the workers active participants in the activation of total quality management?

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Methodology of the Study

The study was made with respect to two approaches.

The first one is the Analytical Descriptive Approach. This approach was chosen in order to identify the characteristics of the problem of the study and provide a scientific description. Besides, we referred to the available literature and prior studies related to our subject of study sources to construct the theoretical framework by means of analysis and comparisons.

The second method is the Social Survey Approach: It was used to collect data from the sample of the study for analysis, interpretation, to test the hypotheses and to answer the questions revoked by the study related to the obstacles the application of Total Quality Management in clubs and football companies in the UAE through the use of statistical analysis.

2.2. Conflicts of Interest Statement

The authors whose names are listed immediately below certify that they have NO affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements), or non-financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

2.3. Sample Community Study

1) Subject:

The population studied comprises the total of direct and indirect workers in football clubs and companies in the Region of Dubai. The populations include technical staff, medical staff and administrative staff. When applying the formula, a minimum number of 183 workers were calculated.

Evaluation Tools:

The data were obtained using as a basis the questionnaire of Quality Club and companies Services (Ghobadian & Gallear, 1997; Mehrotra, 2002; Laohavichien, 2004; Steiskal, 2002) , following the self-assessment methodology of the EFQM model covering the criteria and sub-criteria defined by the model, contextualizing the language thereof to the SDM.

The questionnaire consists of a total of 27 items, of which eleven are socio-demographic (i.e. clubs, gender, age, educational qualifications, completed studies, job title or position performed, group and level, name of the agency or entity that manages sport in the football clubs and companies, form of access to the workplace, employment status, functions performed in the length of service, seniority in the football clubs and companies). The remaining items are closed answers with a Likert scale ranging from 1 Nothing or very little, to4. Being distributed as follows: Criterion 1) Leadership (11 items), 2) Policy and Strategy (12 items), 3) People management (11 items), 4) Alliances and Resources (12 items), 5) Processes (11 items), 6) Results for external users-customers (14 items), 7) People results (12 items), 8) Results in society (7 items), 9) Key results (15 items).

2.4. Statistical Analysis

The characteristics of the sample were studied by frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation (SD) to compare the values of different EFQM model criteria.

The parametric one-way ANOVA test was used, with post hoc Sheffe to construct validity with the confirmatory factor analysis. Since the number of variables is very high, the unweighted least squares method (ULS) was used.

The data analysis was performed using the statistic programSPSS 19.0, in its version for Windows. The statistical analysis was performed with a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. The factorial confirmatory analysis was performed with the program, LISREL version 8.54.

2.5. Results

As mentioned in the records, the study Sample was composed of all football companies and clubs counting 183 subjects. Concerning the sample of the study, the choice was made based on the non-random sample method and it was divided according to demographic and personal characteristics into strata and categories where 210 questionnaires were distributed to members of the study community. 183 questionnaires were returned representing (95.2%) and 17 copies were excluded for invalidation of analysis, which represents (4.8%). As a result, the number of valid questionnaires was 183 representing (87.1%) of the total number of questionnaires. 27 questionnaires is not completed by subjects.

2.6. Discussion of Results

Table 1 shows how the study sample was distributed:

Results related to the demographic and functional characteristics of the study sample by variables (gender, academic qualification, age, occupation, years of experience, work place).

The table shows that male subjects represent the majority by (142) representing a percentage of (77.6%), while the female subjects were (41) representing a percentage of (22.4%).

As for the variable of the academic qualification, the table shows that (100) of the subjects of the sample have a bachelor’s degree with a percentage of (54.6%), only 64 subjects have attained high school, their percentage is (35.5%) and 10

eceived higher education diplomas by a percentage of (5%), were of percentage (65%). The subjects with an education less than high school were the less represented with a total of (9) respondents and a percentage of (4.9%).

As for the age variable, the results shows that the age group (30 - 39) was the most represented in the study sample with (85) subjects with a percentage of (64.4%), followed by the age group (40 - 49) representing (50) subjects with a percentage of (27.3%). the age group less than (30) years, was represented by (23) subjects representing a percentage of (17.5%) and in the last place we find the age group (more than 50 years) with a total of (16), With a percentage of (8.8%). As for the rank variable, the administrative staff was represented in the study sample by a total of (117) subjects with a percentage of (63.4%) while the technical staff represented 59 subjects with a percentage of (32.2%). The medical staff was represented by a total of (8) subjects with a percentage of (4.4%).

Considering the variable years of experience, the category with more than (8) years of experience was ranked first with (86) subjects representing a percentage of (47%). The category with (7 - 4) years of experience comes in second place with a total of (63) representing (34.4%), followed by the category of (1 - 3 years) with a total of (29) subjects with a percentage of (15.9%), while the group with experience less than (1 year) was ranked last counting (5) numbers which is equivalent to (2.7%).

As for the labor variable, the representation of clubs in the study sample was the highest with a total of (120) subject equal to a percentage of (65.6%), while the companies represented only (63) subjects, with a percentage of (34.4%) (Table 2).

Survey Tools:

The questionnaire was developed on the bases of the theoretical framework and previous studies on the subject. The questionnaire was composed of three parts: Appendix.

Part 1: Contains information about the characteristics of the study sample, according to following the demographic variables: (gender, academic qualification, age, occupation, years of experience, Work Place).

Part 2: Includes the parts introducing the independent study variable (quality applications). Referring to the theoretical literature and previous researches, we constructed this part of the questionnaire after a group of arbitrators made the necessary amendments to suit the aims of the study. The dimensions we wanted to cover are: (an overview of the application of quality management in the organization) represented by paragraphs (1 - 3), (commitment of leadership) represented by paragraphs (4 - 6), (financial resources) represented by paragraphs (7 - 9), (knowledge awareness) (10 - 15), (participation and empowerment) (16 - 18).

The Likert scale is used to measure subjects’ responses, which were calculated as follows: (always measured by 3 degrees), (sometimes measured by 2 degrees), and (never a small degree measured by 1 degree). The study considered the mean of the arithmetic average (less than 1.67) as the low perception level, from (1.67 - 2.33) as the average perception level, and from (2.34 - 3) as the highest level of perception.

Validity of the Survey Tools:

The survey was presented to a group of six specialized arbitrators to check the extent of validity of its content. Their notes were taken into account and some paragraphs were rectified in order to accurately balance the contents of the survey. In addition, the questionnaire was presented to a sample of 25 employees from outside the study sample to determine the degree of response of the respondents who showed interest in interacting with its content, which confirmed the validity of the tools.

Reliability of the Survey Tools:

It was confirmed that the tool was reliable by test-retest method by distributing the survey to a sample of 25 respondents from outside the study sample within a two weeks period separating the two times of application. The reliability coefficient obtained for the tool, in its final form, reached (0.78%). The reliability coefficient of the tool was calculated in the Cronbach Alpha method and reached (0.85%). The results are shown in the following (Table 3, Table 4).

The results presented in Table 1 show that the reliability coefficients of the dimensions of the application of quality management ranges from 0.71 - 0.83 for the Test-Retest and the total test (0.78). As for The Alpha test, the result ranges between (0.83 - 0.90), with a total (0.85) (0.81). The obtained values are acceptable according to the purposes of the study. The accepted internal consistency is 0.60 and above.

Presentation of results, discussion and recommendations:

- First results presentation

Presentation of the results related to the survey questions:

1―Presentation of the results related to the first question: What is the general overview of the application of quality management standards from the point of view of employees of clubs and football companies? (Table 5)

The table shows that the general average of the view of the sample the variable was high, with an average of (2.82) and a standard deviation of (0.94).

*Statistically significant at (α ≤ 0.05); ** Statistically Significant at (α < 0.01).

Section (1) Club/Company direction applies one of the administrative quality management of administrative and organizational aspect (ISO, European Quality Program, Kaizen, 6 sigma), is ranked first with an average equal to (2.91), followed by paragraph (2) he club/company direction applies the quality management in its specialized technical and administrative institutions. (Training, nutrition, medical care) with an average of (2.80), and then comes the paragraph (3): Existence of and organizational unit or team within the club/company that applies the quality management and follows the mechanisms of its continuous implementation, with an average of (2.77).

Presentation of the results related to the second question:

What is the degree of commitment of the direction to apply quality standards in clubs and football companies? (Table 6)

Table 1 shows that the general average of the opinion of the study sample agree that the direction’s commitment to applying the quality standards in clubs and football companies have a high level with an average of (2.45) and a standard deviation of (0.96). Paragraph (4), the club/company leadership has awareness and knowledge of quality concepts and its applications, is ranked first with an average of (2.86). The paragraph (5), the club/company leadership encourages and supports the initiatives of employees that contribute to develop quality management, is ranked second with an average of (2.76). Then comes the paragraph number (6), the club/company leadership is interested in implementing quality management projects and programs and places them within the work plan, scoring an average of (1.65).

Presentation of the results related to the third question: What is the role of financial resources in overcoming the difficulties faced by clubs and football companies in the application of quality standards?

It is clear from Table 7 that the general average of the point of view of the study sample of the variable constraints faced by clubs and football companies in applying the quality management was high, with an average of (2.38) and a standard deviation of (0.95). Paragraph (7) which considered the financial allocations for programs and projects of quality development in the club/company adequate and appropriate to carry out the required form, was ranked first with an average of (2.77). The paragraph (8), “The club/company leadership allocates the adequate financial resources to develop and implement quality management projects and initiatives within its operational plan.” with an average of (2.75), joined by paragraph (9) which is allocated to quality programs and initiatives and are not transferred to other purpose, which was ranked with an average of (1.62).

Presentation of the results related to the fourth question: What is the level of knowledge awareness of employees in clubs and football companies of quality management standards?

Table 8 shows that the general average of the view of the study sample, of the variable level of awareness of the employees of clubs and football companies by quality standards, was high, with an average of (2.01) and a standard deviation of (1.01). The paragraph number (10), “The club/company management supports and encourages the dissemination and adoption of quality management concepts and applications”, was ranked first with an average score of (2.84),

followed by paragraph (11)”. The club/company management supports and encourages the dissemination and adoption of quality management concepts and applications” with an average of (2.82), and then paragraph (12) “The

employees of the club/company are committed to implementing projects and initiatives related to quality development” with an average of (1.64). The paragraph (13), “I am familiar with basic quality management concepts and their applications”, was ranked next with an average of (1.62), and then paragraph (14) “The employees of the club/company have awareness and knowledge of basic quality management concepts” with an average of (1.60), while paragraph (15), “The workers have no awareness of quality concepts” was ranked last among the paragraphs of this dimension with an average of (1.58).

Presentation of the 5th question results: What programs are offered by clubs and football companies to enable and participate in the application of quality management?

Table 9 shows that the general average of the view of the study sample for the variable “programs provided by clubs and football companies to enable and participate in the implementation of quality programs” was high, with an average of (2.40) and a standard deviation of (0.98). Paragraph 16, which presents “Club management/company insist in forming teams to implement and realize quality initiatives and projects” was ranked first with an average score of (2.80), followed by paragraph (17) “The club/company leadership organizes brainstorming workshops and innovation labs to develop mechanisms for spreading and applying quality management” with an average of (2.76), and then paragraph (18) “The club/company leadership involves the employees in developing the mechanisms of applying quality management”, with an average of (1.65).

Presentation of the results related to the sixth question:

Question 6: Are there any statistically significant difference in the level of awareness of workers in clubs and companies regarding the application of quality management programs due to the variables (gender, qualification, age, occupation, years of experience, work place)?

Analysis of variance to test the difference in the responses of the study sample towards the application of quality management due to differences in demographic

*Statistically significant at (α ≤ 0.05); **Statistically Significant at (α < 0.01).

and personal characteristics (Overview of quality management) *Statistically significant at (0.05 ≥ α).

The Table indicates the following:

1) There were statistically significant differences between the responses of the study sample about the “Overview of quality management in the institution”, due to the difference in age, where the value of (F) is (14.51), and the level of statistical significance is (00.00) which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). There were also differences due to the variable of function, where the value of (F) is (22.63) and the level of statistical significance is (0.00), which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). There were also differences due to variable where the value of (F) is (9.09) and the level of statistical significance is (0.00), which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α), and the existence of differences attributed to the variable where the value of (F) is (4.77) and the level of statistical significance is (0.00).

2) There are no statistically significant differences between the responses of the sample about the “Overview of quality management in the institution”, which is attributed to the different variables (gender, scientific qualification).

Analysis of variance tests the differences in the responses of the study sample towards the application of quality management due to differences in demographic and personal characteristics (leaders’ commitment to applying quality management in clubs and football companies).

Table 9 shows significant differences between the responses of the study sample to the “leaders’ commitment to applying quality management in clubs and football companies”, which is attributed to gender difference, where the value of (F) is (9.74) representing a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). As well, there were differences due to the difference of scientific qualification where the value of (F) is (9.37), which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). There were also differences related to the age difference, where the value of (F) was (9.03), which represents a significant value at the level of (0.05 ≥ α). Similarly, differences exist in relation to the variable function where the value of (F) was (33.47), which represents significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). We notice also the existence of differences related to the variable years of experience where the value of (F) was (14.51) which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). Finally, we can see the existence of differences related to the variable of the work place the value of (F) was (8.64) which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α).

Analysis of variance to test the differences in the responses of the study sample in the application of quality management, which are due to differences in demographic and personal characteristics (the axis of financial resources and their role in the application of quality management in clubs and football companies).

The Table indicates the following:

The existence of statistically significant differences between the answers of the study sample related to “the financial resources”, due to the variable of the difference in age, where the value of (F) was (8.64), which shows a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α), as well as the existence of differences attributed to “the function variable” where the value of (F) was (16.51), which is a significant value at the level of (0.05 ≥ α), and the result proves that there are differences due to the variable of the “work place” where the value of (F) was (8.18), which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α).

There were no statistically significant differences between the responses of the study sample answers related to the “financial resources” due to the variables (gender, qualification, and years of experience). Therefore, the average responses of the study sample after the “financial resources” which are attributable to these variables are equal.

Analysis of variance to test the differences in the responses of the study sample towards the application of quality standards, which are due to differences in demographic and personal characteristics (awareness of the application of quality management in clubs and football companies).

Tables 10-12 show significant differences between study sample to the “commitment of leaders to apply quality standards in clubs and football companies”, which is attributed to gender differences where the value of (F) was (9.06), which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α), as well as differences in relation to the difference of scientific qualification where the value of (F) was (45.07) which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α), moreover, differences exist related to the difference in age, where the value of (F) was (11.07), which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). Also differences exist in the variable function where the value of (F) was (10.45) which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α), in another hand, differences exist in relation to variable years of experience where the value of (F) was (4.77) which is a significant value at the level of (0.05 ≥ α), and finally,

*Statistically significant at (α ≤ 0.05); **Statistically significant at (α < 0.01).

there exist differences attributed to the variable of the work where the value of (F) was (6.41) which indicates is a significant value at the level of (0.05 ≥ α).

Analysis of variance to test differences in the responses of the sample members towards the application of quality standards, which is due to differences in demographic and personal characteristics (the axis of participation and empowerment of the application of quality in clubs and football companies).

Table 13 shows statistically significant differences between the group of study sample in relation to “participation and empowerment”. These differences are due to gender differences. The value of (F) was (8.71), which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). As well as there exist differences

related to the difference of scientific qualification where the value of (F) was (20.23), which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). Also there are differences due to the difference in age where the value of (F) was (12.98), which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). In the other hand, the existence of differences due to the variable function where the value of (F) was (4.63), which presents a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α). Finally, the existence of differences in relation to the variable “years of experience” where the value of (F) was (10.01) which is a significant value at the level of significance (0.05 ≥ α).

The absence of statistically significant differences between the responses of the study sample in relation to “participation and empowerment”, which is attributed to the variable (the work place).

In order to answer the study questions and their hypotheses, we must answer the main question in the problem of the study, which is, are there any impediments to the application of quality systems from the point of view of employees in sports clubs in Dubai? What are these obstacles? The results showed that the general average of the opinion of the sample of the study towards the commitment of the leadership to apply the quality standards was high with an average of 3.75 and a standard deviation of 0.96 where paragraph (4) stated that “the leadership of the club or the company is fully aware of the concepts of quality And its applications. This is because sports leaders are now fully aware that entering the competition market, both in terms of investment in football or in the level of sports competition and access to advanced levels, needs to apply the latest concepts, programs and standards related to quality, who wanted to stay in the ranks the first Les full knowledge of all that is modern, also showed the results on the level of cognitive awareness of quality standards came medium reached an arithmetic mean (3.68) and a standard deviation of (1.01). Paragraph (10) ranked first, which states that the club or company develops programs for concepts and applications of quality within the operational plan. The Department also supports and encourages programs to disseminate concepts of quality applications and adopt them. The result is consistent that the modern administrations of clubs and football companies seek to apply the concepts of quality in order to improve the level of employees and increase productivity and get the best results as it is necessary to keep pace with recent developments in the field of scientific knowledge, which helps to promote the advancement and clubs and companies in the field of football in emirate Dubai.

After study and analysis, the results of the study showed that there are a number of obstacles that limit the application of quality systems from the point of view of employees in clubs and football companies. These obstacles were mainly as follows:

2.7. Leading and Supervisory

- Poor support and support from the top leadership for quality improvement efforts.

- The senior leadership is treated with quality, for information and propaganda purposes.

- The desire of the senior leadership to preserve the traditional gains of the administration and its resistance to change.

- The desire of the leadership to apply quality to the whole organization, not to include the senior leadership itself.

- The senior leadership treated with quality, as another method of control and follow-up.

- The enthusiasm of the senior leadership to apply quality has decreased after a period of implementation.

- Search the senior leadership on methods and methods, provide solutions and results fast, and work to adopt them regardless of quality requirements.

- The existence of other priorities of the senior leadership, and resulting in the handling of quality, as a secondary objective between the objectives of the Organization.

2.8. Knowledge and Culture

- Cultural and social heritage, which refuses to accept new and evolving management.

- Weak relationship between sports institutions and the local community.

- Adhering to the prevailing pattern and resistance to change.

- Making excuses and reasons to confirm the lack of need to apply quality.

- Convinced of the ideal performance and the ability to satisfy customers.

- The defect in the application of quality systems according to their requirements.

3. Conclusion

Through this study, which sought to know the obstacles to the application of the total quality standards in the clubs and companies of football in the Emirate of Dubai, where the literature was reviewed and theoretical studies conducted in order to give a general idea on this subject and based on what was reviewed and reached in this study, we can reach the following conclusions:

- The idea of applying the quality standards still needs to be strengthened and followed up by the football players in the Emirate of Dubai.

- It is necessary to find conscious and qualified leaders who can advance the match of football by keeping up with what is new and modern.

- There is a lack of the awareness of some football players of quality standards and programs, which is an obstacle to the development of football.

- Not rely on training programs for quality standards in order to promote football in clubs and raise the level of workers in all fields.

Cite this paper

Al Anssari, M., Kaabi, S., Saidi, S., & Souissi, N. (2018). The Constraints Facing the Application of Full Quality Management to a Company and Soccer Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Advances in Physical Education, 8, 274-294. https://doi.org/10.4236/ape.2018.82025

References

Appendix

Meta data

Age

Qualification

Years of experiences

The size of human resources (technical apparatus, administrative apparatus, players, club management/company)