Changing Employee Attitudes

Abstract

This research examines the independent effects of two change interventions on employee attitudes. The first studyevaluates the impact of a total qualitymanagement (TQM) intervention, while the second explores the effect of profit sharing on a core outcome of TQM: continuous improvement orientation at the individual level. The research design involved an employee survey with two measurement occasions: 9 and 32 months after the commencement of a TQM intervention ( n = 118) and 10 months before and 20 months after the introduction of a profit sharing program ( n = 141). The findings of Study1 indicate that participation in a TQM intervention can enhance the development of employees’orientation to continuous improvement, explaining 5% additional variance in the dependent variable. The results of Study2 suggest that perceived fairness of profit sharing and perceived abilityto contribute to the profitabilityof a site are significantly associated with continuous improvement orientation, explaining 6% additional variance. The implications of these findings for organizational change are discussed.