Information Technology and the Quality Gap

Date01 June 1994
Pages22-34
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/01425459410066265
Published date01 June 1994
AuthorCarole Brooke
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour
Employee
Relations
16,4
22
Information Technology and
the Quality Gap
Carole Brooke
Durham University Business School, Durham, UK
Background to the Case
This article reflects the experiences of staff, during 1990, within one of the largest
service sector companies in the UK which, for the purposes of anonymity, will
be referred to as Service Co. At the time of the research it was clear that Service
Co. was in the process of implementing major structural change. Its overall
objective was to improve the organization’s efficiency, responsiveness to customer
need, and competitive position in an increasingly aggressive marketplace. Service
Co.’s top management believed total quality management (TQM) to be the prime
way in which this change could be effected. A TQM programme, therefore, had
been introduced and “rolled out” over a period of three years.
The case study reported here focused on a group of 30 analyst programmers
within the IT division. This team was producing a system which would aid sales
officers positioned in retail outlets throughout the country. As an example of
service provision for internal customers, it fitted well the TQM notion of directing
attention to improving internal as well as external supplier/customer links. TQM
was applied within the IT division through the introduction of new work procedures.
However, the way in which this was done, together with the impersonal nature
of the procedures, had a negative effect which not only failed to produce the
results which management had anticipated, but also acted as a barrier to the
achievement of TQM itself.
The Research Approach
The case study was undertaken using qualitative data collection methods,
concentrating in particular on individual in-depth discussions with management
and staff. For readers who prefer some quantitative background: 23 such discussions
took place, comprising ten members of the analyst programmer team, eleven
people from other departments that interfaced with them, and two from outside
the organization (the latter had been recommended by Service Co. as having very
pertinent information concerning staff training and development). A large amount
of documentary evidence was gathered, including items of media coverage. All
the in-depth discussions were taped with permission and, although no timescales
were introduced, it transpired that they were generally 112hours in length. The
preference for a qualitative approach was determined by the author’s humanistic
research philosophy. It is important, therefore, to understand how this humanistic
approach influenced the way the case was analysed before going any further.
Employee Relations, Vol. 16 No. 4,
1994, pp. 22-34. © MCBUniversity
Press, 0142-5455

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