Assessing employee turnover intentions before/after TQM

Total quality management programmes have produced an impressive list of claimed benefits and continue to accumulate converts to this philosophy. Many of the basic requirements for successful TQM implementation deal with changes in company personnel, including: the need for teamwork and participative management, employee creativity and innovativeness, an appropriate reward structure, a nurturing organizational climate with management commitment at all levels, customer feedback, employee/management trust, employee involvement and empowerment for improved communications and quicker decision making. What is the impact of these requirements on employee turnover intentions? The major purpose of this study was empirically to test several hypotheses which compare employee turnover intentions and its antecedents before and after the implementation of a TQM programme. A one‐company field test using 113 employees before TQM and a subset of 73 employees after TQM implementation was used to study the differences. The results indicate significant improvements in role ambiguity, job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, and employee turnover intentions, but no significant changes in role conflict, task characteristics, and career satisfaction.