NCJ Number
168865
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 60 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1996) Pages: 11-20
Date Published
1996
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article discusses three management strategies developed in the private sector that can be used to improve service in the Federal courts.
Abstract
Over the last several years, the Federal Judicial Center has worked with the Federal courts to help court managers introduce and implement any of three management strategies: team-based management, total quality service and process improvement. Team-based management gives teams of employees increased responsibilities for controlling and coordinating their work, including some responsibilities that formerly belonged to supervisors. Team-based organizations are leaner and more flexible than hierarchical organizations, with improved morale as team members develop and use a fuller range of abilities. Total quality service (TQS) is a comprehensive, scientific management system whose paramount goal is to better meet the customer's needs by measuring key work processes and instituting efforts to improve them. Like team-based management, TQS depends on the full involvement and participation of staff members at all levels of the organization. The third strategy, process improvement, provides a structured way of drawing on existing knowledge of a work process, identifying gaps or deficiencies and suggesting more effective alternatives. The article describes start-up workshops in each of the three strategies, and gives examples of experiences with the new management schemes in the courts. Figures, references