Quality Measurements: Who Is Using the Sums and For What Purpose?

Preece, David; Wood, Michael

doi:10.1111/j.1748-8583.1995.tb00374.x

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Yet, there was also a greater emphasis on reporting systems which have the potential to monitor and control employees' contributions. Thus, the survey appears to confirm the literature which suggests that involvement will not necessarily result in empowerment (Sewell and Wilkinson, 1992) and that it may lead to the increased monitoring and control of employees' work (McArdle et al, 1995;Preece and Wood, 1995).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Middle managers, whose role is pivotal to successful introduction (Hill, 1991), may be reluctant participants, with an attitude of compliance rather than commitment (Wilkinson and Witcher, 1991, p. 49) and, as already noted, the personnel department, which supposedly has responsibility for ensuring good employment practices, is often bypassed (Giles and Williams, 1991). There is also little evidence that attempts at involvement actually result in empowerment; in fact, the reverse may be the case, with the introduction of quality systems actually increasing the monitoring and control of employees' work (McArdle et al, 1995;Preece and Wood, 1995;Sewell and Wilkinson, 1992).…”

Section: Hr Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human resource management in a quality context: some Irish evidence

1997

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Evidence from a survey of the Irish Q Mark companies suggests that there are implications for both the human resource (HR) function and for human resource practices where organizations are involved in the implementation of quality intiatives. In some cases the HR function has taken a role in strategic decision making and responsibility for the communications, training and involvement measures necessary to support the quality programmes. HR practices have also changed in some organizations, with a revision of selection, training and appraisal methods. From the employee’s perspective, quality programmes appear to lead, through teamworking and communications mechanisms, to increased involvement. However, the reporting and control measures allied to quality have the potential to increase the monitoring of work and there is little evidence that reward structures have been revised to take account of changes in work practices.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Hr Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human resource management in a quality context: some Irish evidence

1997

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“…The significance of IIP, therefore, lay in its utility as a marketing device; the``badge'' was important for retaining and attracting clients. There are connections here with Gouldner's (1954) classic study of a gypsum mine and factory, in which three types of bureaucratic``rules'' were identified:``mock'',``representative'' and`p unishment-centred'' (Preece and Wood (1995) make a similar link in their study of quality measurements). In the context of the case firms, IIP can be seen as an example of a``mock'' bureaucratic rule.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Investors in People in small firms

Ram

2000

Personnel Review

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Investors in People (IIP), the heavily promoted government initiative to enhance organisations' training and development practices, is significant for its deliberate intention to influence the conduct of management within the firm. While previous studies of IIP have tended to concentrate on large organisations, the dynamics of IIP in the increasingly important small firm population have been neglected. This article focuses on the experiences of three small firms, in particular the rationale for involvement with IIP, the market context of the small firms, its impact on market relations, and the extent to which IIP has made a difference to the nature of the business. The findings highlight the importance of sectoral and workplace relations. The IIP agenda of formalising training and development does not appear to sit easily with these processes; and appears to neglect the significance of informal training. Moreover, the requirements go against the grain of the distinctive small firm context.

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“…The study shows that external pressures can play a significant role in shaping the approach to quality. As other studies have demonstrated (Holliday, 1995;North et al, 1995;Preece and Wood, 1995) such pressures can lead to greater bureaucracy, labour intensification and closer control, while having little substantive impact on the sophistication of the product or service. However, the ATS experience illustrates that management can handle these pressures in ways that do not necessarily result in these negative consequences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…For the small firm practitioner wishing to move beyond the consultancy hype and the evangelism of many quality texts and manuals, the above points highlight the limitations of generic approaches to the implementation of quality. Even more searching questions are posed by the emerging critical treatments of the subject (Ghobadian and Gallear, 1996;Preece and Wood, 1995;Wilkinson and Wilmott, 1995). In particular, the contributors to the volume edited by Wilkinson and Wilmott, Making Quality Critical, set out to illuminate the social, political and economic forces that have shaped the emergence of quality as an issue for British management in the 1980s and 1990s.…”

Section: Learning From Othersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing quality in a small firm

Boon¹,

Ram

1998

Personnel Review

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IntroductionQuality continues to be something of a preoccupation among British management. Following the "quality route" has been a consistently promulgated response to the increasingly turbulent and competitive operating environments of organisations in a variety of sectors (Dale and Cooper, 1992; Oakland, 1989). There is little sign of a slowing down from the management gurus who appear to dominate this subject (Clutterbuck, 1995); although the prescriptive approach of much of the debate is being challenged by contributions from more critical perspectives (notably, Wilkinson, 1994;Wilkinson and Wilmott, 1995).This paper focuses on the processes involved in implementing quality in a specific context. It is distinctive in two respects. First, the operationalisation of quality that will be reported on here takes place within a small firm. Much of the literature on quality, from both a prescriptive consultancy orientation and a more sceptical approach, is based on the experiences of large organisations; the implication is that the lessons derived from such settings will be equally applicable to the smaller firm. This tendency runs the risk of neglecting the importance of the small firms to the working lives of an increasing number of the population (Storey, 1994); and it ignores the potentially distinctive social-management processes that are thought to prevail in small firms, notably, informality, employee relations and learning (Hendry et al., 1995;Holliday, 1995). Second, the emphasis is on the processes involved in implementing quality in a particular setting. The intention is not to provide a "how-to" guide; of more importance are the lessons that can be learned from a number of sources, including literature and the actual experiences of others, and how they can be incorporated into a particular setting, ATS Limited (the business of the first author).The concern with practice, critical reflection and organisational change is reflected in the choice of methodological approach, which is rooted in the action research paradigm. And the format of the paper reflects the particular stages of

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Quality Measurements: Who Is Using the Sums and For What Purpose?

Cited by 10 publications

References 14 publications

Human resource management in a quality context: some Irish evidence

Human resource management in a quality context: some Irish evidence

Investors in People in small firms

Implementing quality in a small firm

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