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Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy is the way to go for organizations that seek to remain competitive globally. This study aims to determine how academic qualification and experience affect TQM in Nzoia Sugar Company Limited. The study as well measures the hierarchical orientation of company employees and how each level influences adoption of TQM. Stratified sampling was used to get 10% of the staff to responded to the questionnaires and interview sessions. The questionnaires revolved around three determinants of TQM which include customer focus, employee involvement and continual improvement principles of TQM. Data was analysed with the aid of SPSS version 19. TQM was taken as the dependent variable. Results of the study were presented in a regression equation, and comparison of different correlation coefficients for the independent variables. The academic qualification forms good ground for a work force that easily adopts better working culture.

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Born 1979 and brought up in Kenya in, I trained as an Engineer. Having worked for different companies in the field of Agriculture, manufacturing and service provision, my management skills were a big let down. It is from this that I went for Master of Business Administration course in JKUAT, a Kenyan University. This changed my perceptions in life.

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