Quality management of organizational referents: A structural analysis

The major objective of the study was to analyze the structure of the Quality Management (QM) domain, as it is perceived by rank and file employees and middle management. A definitional framework for the QM domain was suggested based on two facets: behavior modality and organizational referents. Subjects were 208 employees in three industrial organizations in Israel, which were in the process of applying a QM program. Factor Analysis identified one of the facets defined - the referents. Guttman's Smallest Space Analysis was applied next for testing the proposed hypotheses. An empirical double-ordered system, a Radex structure, was obtained that reflects the facets of the definition: behavior modality (performance, satisfaction and evaluation) and referents (employee, colleagues, supervisor and management). Unlike previous studies on introducing other change programs, management comes nearer to the employees, reflecting the high involvement of the management in QM programs. The roles of the above facets in the present study as compared to other studies are discussed, as well as the possibility of applying the proposed definitional framework to other change programs.