Changing employee attitudes: the independent effects of TQM and profit sharing on continuous improvement orientation

This research examines the independent effects of two change interventions on employee attitudes. The first study evaluates the impact of a TQM intervention while the second study explores the effect of profit sharing on a core outcome of TQM; namely, continuous improvement orientation at the individual level. The research design involved a survey of employees with two measurement occasions: nine months and thirty two months after the commencement of a TQM intervention (n= 118); ten months prior to and twenty months subsequent to the introduction of a profit sharing program (n=141). The findings from study 1 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 from study 2 suggest that perceived fairness of profit sharing and perceived ability to contribute to the profitability of the site were significantly associated with continuous improvement orientation, explaining an additional 6% of the variance. The implications of these findings for organizational change are discussed.