Abstract
This paper presents results from an extensive European study about the perceived social impact of the implementation of a quality policy in various organizations. In the first two qualitative research phases the extent of a social impact was delimited whereas the companies quality policies were specified through the objectives pursued. In a final research phase a questionnaire was sent to 765 companies in the 15 countries of the European Union. The data showed the social impact was viewed as mainly related to the employees commitment, to upward communication, job security, career attention, quality of union management dialogue and training all showing a positive relationship with the implementation of the quality policy. Furthermore, it was shown that the company s objectives when implementing a quality policy related in a significant way to the reported social impact. The most pervasive relationship linked a positive social impact to a quality policy aiming at efficiency, effectiveness and organization quality. The taking of ISO-9000 as a main objective was shown to relate to a more formal, bureaucratic and structured organization, while a basic externally-oriented competitiveness orientation showed no significant relationship with the potential social variables as included in the study. In a publication by the Total Quality Forum Voehl, 1992, p. 17, total quality has been defined as: a people focused management system that aims at continual increase in customer satisfaction at continually lower cost. Total quality is a total system approach not a separate area or program, and an integral part of high-level strategy. It works horizontally across functions and departments, involving all employees, top to bottom, and extends backwards and forwards to include the supply chain and the customer chain.
Published Version
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