Page R, Curry AThe TQM Magazine, (UK), 2000 Vol 12 No 1
Start page: 11. No of pages: 7
Argues that globalization and technological change have engendered contempt for managerial authority among workers and that TQM has the potential to change this. Expands on work pressures and the misgiving surrounding TQM through it being: fingered as the cause for delayering; criticized when implementation and/or empowerment went awry; blamed for flexibility resulting in short-term contract employment. Sees academic education bolstering a ‘get rich quick’ mentality, and organizations seeking the lowest cost base on a global scale as an undermining of national economies – all of this resulting in an insecure workforce, with ever-decreasing representative power. Touches on cases where TQM worked as it should and gives a few examples where managers got things badly wrong. Expands on a ‘new approach’ – team suggestions being implemented automatically unless management disapproval is publicly stated within a set time, the team being kept within its process boundary (and protected from rogue managers) by an appointed ‘boundary manager’. Concludes with some short case histories of the ‘new approach’ and actual and projected benefits.
