Moving the quality effort forward – the emerging role of the middle manager

Abstract

Improving quality has become the goal of many organisations and introducing such programmes has resulted in several accounts documenting the risks and failures attached to implementing these quality initiatives. Middle management resistance has been cited as a common form of resistance, though it is widely recognised, even among the managerial groups, that commitment from this level within the organisation is essential if implementation is to have any chance of success. However, some writers believe that the middle management position is misunderstood and that the quality drive by the organisation pushes this group into a stance of resistance. Regardless of whether the resistance is intentional or unintentional, there are serious managerial implications resulting from this problem, many of which carry strategic implications for the firm.

Citation

Harrington, D. and Williams, B. (2004), "Moving the quality effort forward – the emerging role of the middle manager", Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 297-306. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604520410546833