Quality of Working Life (QWL) programs are designed to increase the enrichment of jobs, the autonomy of workers, and the degree of collaboration among workers and between workers and management. This study examines the impact of QWL programs in five petrochemical plants by contrasting worker attitudes and job perceptions in these plants with perceptions from those in the same industry as well as from those in plants in different industries. Few differences between the QWL and non-QWL petrochemical plants were found; there were some differences between petrochemical and nonpetrochemical plants.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ALDERFER, C. P., & GUZZO, R. A.Life experiences and enduring strength of desires in organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1979, 24, 347-361.
2.
BLAUNER, R. B.Alienation and freedom. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1964.
3.
CUNNINGHAM, J. B., & WHITE, T. H. (Eds.). Quality of working life: Contemporary cases. Ottawa, Canada: Labour Canada, 1984.
4.
DAVIS, L., & CHERNS, A.The quality of working life (Vol. II). New York: Free Press, 1975.
5.
DURAND, C.Three experiments in enrichment of work. In D. A. Ondrack & S. R. Timperley (Eds.), The humanisation of work. London: Armstrong Publishing, 1982.
6.
EVANS, M. G.Opportunistic organizational research: The role of patch-up designs. Academy of Management Journal, 1975, 18, 98-108.
7.
EVANS, M. G., & ONDRACK, D. A.The motivating potential of jobs: Is a multiplicative model necessary?Toronto: Faculty of Management Studies, University of Toronto.
FRANK, L., & HACKMAN, J. R.A failure of job enrichment: The case of change that wasn't. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1975, 11, 413-436.
10.
GOODMAN, P. S.Assessing organizational change: The Rushton quality of work experiment. New York: Wiley, 1979.
11.
HACKMAN, J. R., & OLDHAM, G. R.Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1975, 60, 159-170.
12.
HACKMAN, J. R., & OLDHAM, G. R.Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1976, 16, 250-279.
13.
HACKMAN, J. R., & OLDHAM, G. R.Work redesign. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1980.
14.
HERZBERG, F. H.One more time: How do you motivate employees. Harvard Business Review, 1968, 46(1), 53-62.
15.
ONDRACK, D. A., & EVANS, M. G.The use of OD techniques to introduce QWL changes. In K. Trebesch (Ed.), Organization development in Europe (Vol. B). Berne: Verlag Paul Haupt, 1980.
16.
ONDRACK, D. A., & EVANS, M. G.A comparative analysis of three QWL programs in the petrochemical industry. Ottawa: Labour Canada, 1982.
17.
PERKINS, D. W. T., NIEVA, V., & LAWLER, E. E.Managing creation: The challenge of building a new organization. New York: Wiley, 1983.
18.
QUINN, R. P., STAINES, G. L., & McCULLOUGH, M. R.Job satisfaction: Is there a trend. Manpower research monograph No. 30, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C., 1974.
19.
TAYLOR, J. C.An empirical examination of the dimensions of quality of working life. Omega, 1978, 6, 153-160.
20.
TRIST, E. L., HIGGIN, G. W., MURRAY, H., & POLLACK, A. B.Organizational choice. London: Tavistock, 1963.
21.
WALTON, R. E.Work innovations at Topeka: After six years. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1977, 13, 422-433.