Employee Lived Experiences and Initiative Success in Arkansas Quality Award Recipient

249 Pages·2017·1.11 MB·English

Walden University
ScholarWorks
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Collection
2017
Employee Lived Experiences and Initiative Success
in Arkansas Quality Award Recipient
Organizations
Carol Barton
Walden University
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This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by
Carol Barton
has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects,
and that any and all revisions required by
the review committee have been made.
Review Committee
Dr. Walter McCollum, Committee Chairperson, Management Faculty
Dr. Robert Levasseur, Committee Member, Management Faculty
Dr. Jean Gordon, University Reviewer, Management Faculty
Chief Academic Officer
Eric Riedel, Ph.D.
Walden University
2017
Abstract
Employee Lived Experiences and Initiative Success in
Arkansas Quality Award Recipient Organizations
by
Carol A. Barton
MBA, Walden University, 2007
BS, Phoenix University, 2005
Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Management
Walden University
February 2017
Abstract
Businesses with failed quality initiatives lose revenue, experience high expenses, and
have fewer market opportunities. Researchers attribute failed quality initiatives to human
and social factors. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived
experiences of employees in companies that received an Arkansas Governor’s Quality
Award between 2010 and 2015. No one knows how employees’ experiences contribute to
successful quality initiatives, or how their stories about their experiences influence
quality management and continuous improvement. The conceptual framework consisted
of Weick’s theory of sense-making and Deming’s system of profound knowledge. Data
were collected via semistructured interviews with 11 participants across 8 organizations.
Participants checked the member experience summary created from verbatim interview
transcriptions analyzed per van Manen’s whole-part-whole model. The analysis of the
transcripts showed that participants’ most meaningful experiences were those with
people, followed by materials, feelings, time, and space. The study findings also showed
that people transferred proven problem-solving methods from the workplace to their
home and out into the community. The results of this study could contribute to positive
social change by helping managers increase the potential for a successful quality
initiative when they consider people’s needs and contributions before adopting a set of
quality management tools and practices.
Employee Lived Experiences and Initiative Success in Arkansas Quality Award
Recipient Organizations
by
Carol A. Barton
MBA, Walden University, 2007
BS, Phoenix University, 2005
Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Management
Walden University
February 2017
Dedication
For everyone who has dreamed…I believe that Henry David Thoreau said it best:
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they
should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
—Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Acknowledgments
No one can pursue and complete a doctorate in a vacuum. Producing a
dissertation is like raising a child; it takes a village. Space does not allow me to list
everyone who has helped me to achieve my dream. My doctorate has been a family affair
from the start. My sons, John and Frank, have been my cheerleaders and my staunch
supporters. Furry people kept me company through the many hours: Drake, Renn, Sprite,
Nefertiri, Li, Fred, Copper, Bronwyn, and Bodai.
This dissertation could not have been written without Dr. Walter McCollum, who
not only served as my Chair, but also encouraged and challenged me during my capstone
process. I especially want to thank Dr. Robert Levasseur, who has been part of my
Committee from the beginning. I would like to thank my first Chair, Dr. Thea Singer, for
starting me out on this journey. I could not have completed this project without the
Cohort members who were always there with suggestions and support.
Table of Contents
List of Tables.................................................................................................................vii
List of Figures ............................................................................................................. viii
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study ................................................................................ 1
Background of the Study ............................................................................................ 2
History of Quality Management ...........................................................................3
Lived Experience and Storytelling........................................................................4
Problem Statement ..................................................................................................... 7
Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................. 7
Research Question ..................................................................................................... 8
Conceptual Framework .............................................................................................. 9
Nature of the Study .................................................................................................. 13
Definitions ............................................................................................................... 15
General Terms and Narrative Terms ................................................................... 15
Psychological and Phenomenological Terms ...................................................... 16
Quality Management Terms ............................................................................... 17
Sensemaking Terms ........................................................................................... 17
Assumptions ............................................................................................................ 18
Scope and Delimitations .......................................................................................... 18
Limitations .............................................................................................................. 19
Significance of the Study ......................................................................................... 21
Significance to Practice ...................................................................................... 21
i
Significance to Theory ....................................................................................... 22
Significance to Social Change ............................................................................ 23
Summary and Transition .......................................................................................... 24
Chapter 2: Literature Review ......................................................................................... 26
Literature Search Strategy ........................................................................................ 27
Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................ 28
History of Total Quality Management, Sensemaking, and Storytelling ..................... 35
Total Quality Management ................................................................................. 35
Sensemaking ...................................................................................................... 38
Storytelling and Stories ...................................................................................... 39
Reasons Quality Management Initiatives Succeed .................................................... 40
Research into Critical Success Factors Spans the Globe ..................................... 40
TQM Critical Success Factors ............................................................................ 43
Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge and TQM Critical Success
Factors.................................................................................................... 49
Sensemaking and Storytelling in Organizations........................................................ 57
Organizations Are Narrative Constructions Developed Through
Sensemaking Activities .......................................................................... 58
Dominant Language Controls Organizational Sensemaking and
Storytelling ............................................................................................. 59
Change Meanings to Change Behavior ............................................................... 61
People Use Storytelling to Understand Their Experiences .................................. 62
ii
Storytelling Shapes an Organization’s Culture ................................................... 65
Personal Identity Develops Through Sensemaking and Storytelling ................... 69
Mental Models Form the Framework of Individual Identity ............................... 69
Adopting a Total Quality Management Mindset, One Person at a Time.................... 71
Storytelling Is How People Share Knowledge .................................................... 72
Transforming the Individual and the Organization .............................................. 73
Gap in the Literature ................................................................................................ 76
Summary and Conclusions ....................................................................................... 78
Chapter 3: Research Method .......................................................................................... 81
Research Design and Rationale ................................................................................ 81
Research Design ................................................................................................ 82
Research Rationale ............................................................................................. 84
Research Questions ............................................................................................ 87
Role of the Researcher ............................................................................................. 87
Methodology ........................................................................................................... 89
Participant Selection Logic................................................................................. 90
Sampling Strategy .............................................................................................. 90
Saturation ........................................................................................................... 93
Instrumentation .................................................................................................. 94
Data Collection ........................................................................................................ 97
Data Analysis Plan ................................................................................................... 99
Issues of Trustworthiness ....................................................................................... 102
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