Does total quality management make a difference to employee attitudes

Abstract

TQM is generally seen as depending on employees having a high awareness of quality issues and a willingness to engage in continuous improvement. Many total quality programmes have, implicitly or explicitly, attitudinal change as one of their initial objectives. Reports the results of a study which aims to assess the effects of a TQM programme in a medium‐sized factory in the North of England. TQM initiatives are invariably multidimensional and there is here a specific concentration on assessing the relative impact on employees′ quality consciousness of the programme′s various components. The results show that those individuals whose attitudes changed most were more likely to have been involved in certain aspects of the programme than were others. In particular they were more likely to have been appraised, made a suggestion under the revamped suggestion scheme, and to have attended specific briefing sessions about the aspects of the programme. They were also more likely to view the regular monthly departmental briefings in a positive light. This suggests that appraisal, suggestion schemes, and team briefings in particular, can impact on employees′ attitudes towards quality, though in the case of the departmental briefings only if they are done well and viewed favourably by employees.

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