Productive Efficiency and the Employment Relationship – The Case of Quality Circles
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425458910133914 |
| Date | 01 January 1989 |
| Pages | 27-32 |
| Published date | 01 January 1989 |
| Author | Fiona Wilson |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY AND THE
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP -
THE CASE OF QUALITY CIRCLES
by Fiona Wilson
University of St. Andrews, Fife
This article aims to discuss a central social relation, that of the employment relationship and
its links with productive efficiency. It is concerned with questioning the popular assumptions
underlying quality initiatives.
The employment relationship is an economic, social and political relationship created by the
buying and selling of labour power. At its simplest definition, an employee brings a supply
of ability to the workplace expecting certain personal needs to be satisfied by the employer
— needs for resources and rewards. The employee is also selling a preparedness to conform
to the employer's demands — to work a required period of time and perform the job adequately.
In realising the employee's capacity to work, the
employer must continually exercise control over
the individual. The problems of work discipline,
control and co-ordination are inherent in the
employment relationship, requiring both co-
operation and consent from the employee. What
is order and control to the employer usually means
loss of autonomy and constraint for the employee.
The other continual source of conflict will be over
the rate of exchange of pay for work.
There is,
then,
a continuing process of negotiating
what work should be done in return for the wage
or salary. As Lupton and Bowey [1] have
commented, however, it is neither possible nor
desirable to define exactly what is required from
the employment contract for either party. The
employer usually seeks a degree of freedom to
redirect work according to changing demands and
employees seek the freedom to respond as they
see fit. Custom and practice will determine what
is reasonable for employees to expect of an
employer and vice versa. There are limits on
negotiation as employers usually have an interest
in maintaining continuity of employment from
employees. The employee has an interest, too, in
maintenance of the capital/labour relation and the
viability of the units of capital which employ them.
The subjectivity of the employer and employee are
the inevitable ingredients in the organisation of
work, the relations between manager and worker,
capital and labour.
What happens if
a
problem-solving circle or quality
circle is introduced into this, often fragile,
relationship? Problem solving or quality circles can
fundamentally alter the nature of the employment
relationship. They are designed to harness labour
power to greater effect and operationalise
"bottom-up" management, involving employees
in improving quality, reducing production costs,
raising productivity and improving safety. There are
tangible outcomes for managers. Cole [2], Dore
[3] and Mazique [4] have stressed the social
advantages of quality circles, noting how support
for managerial prerogative can be generated and
workforce relations improved.
There can also be beneficial outcomes for
employees if circles are perceived as leading to
increased job satisfaction and commitment to the
organisation. However, the advantages gained
from the introduction of quality circles remains
under-researched in Britain. Those who write
about the success of their introduction often have
a vested interest in stressing their success rather
than documenting failure. Rarely is it acknowledged
that they are a mechanism for increasing the
capacity of labour power, of harnessing greater co-
operation.
For productivity to increase, employees
have to give more in the employment relationship.
Further, there has been little discussion of the
actual or potential problems for management.
Bradley and Hill [5] note that three important
assumptions underlie quality circles, but these
ER 11,1
1989
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