Quality Circles (QCs) in Navy Organizations: An Evaluation

Abstract

Five methods were used to assess the impact of quality circles (QCs) on Navy organizations and participants: (1) QC expectation questionnaires; (2) pre-and post-QC attitude questionnaires; (3) analysis of organizational indicators; (4) interviews; and (5) QC-process documentation. Subjects were 550, primarily blue-collar, male workers; 372 from three organizations with QCs and 178 from two organizations without QCs (controls). QC organization subject included both QC members (N = 144) and controls (N = 228). Results indicated that there were no change attributable to QCs, although QCs did solve job- related problems. Also, during interviews, QC members expressed some perceived benefits, such as improved cooperation and improved communication among themselves and management. Problems that interfered with QC operation were resistance from non-QC members and supervisors and workload conflicts. Additional originator supplied keywords include: Job satisfaction, Job attitudes, Attitude change, Employee morale, and Sick leave usage.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1984
Accession Number
ADA146613

Entities

People

  • L. Atwater
  • S. Sander

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cooperation
  • Indicators
  • Job Analysis
  • Job Satisfaction
  • Management Personnel
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Questionnaires
  • Resistance
  • Supervision
  • Supervisors
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Workload

Readers

  • Marine Propulsion Engineering and Naval Architecture
  • Organizational Psychology.