THE IMPACT OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT ON FRONT-LINE SUPERVISORS AND THEIR WORK

A survey of 221 front-line supervisors was conducted, to investigate their perceptions of the impact of total quality management (TQM) programmes on their jobs and satisfaction. Two key findings emerged in the results. First, front-line supervisors perceived that the TQM programmes had led to a variety of changes that made their jobs more demanding, requiring greater individual skill and accuracy. Second, front-line supervisors did not seem to like this change, stating that TQM programme did not make their job more interesting and important. As a whole, most of the front-line supervisors claimed that TQM had not increased their satisfaction with their job. The importance of these findings is discussed in the context of the need to provide employee satisfaction in TQM.