NCJ Number
175175
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: 1998 Pages: 123-139
Date Published
1998
Length
17 pages
Annotation
The extent to which correctional agencies given classroom exposure to the concepts of total quality management have implemented those concepts in the workplace was examined using data from participants in the National Institute of Corrections training program titled "Continuous Quality Improvement in Corrections."
Abstract
The 5-day course trained teams of upper-level corrections managers through a combination of lectures, case studies, and group work that culminated in the development of an action plan for implementation at the participants' home agencies. The follow-up study gathered information by means of interviews of randomly selected graduates of the first three training programs. These courses took place in 1993, 1994, and 1995 and involved 74 participants from 22 corrections agencies. Thirty-seven participants out of 44 from all 22 agencies were interviewed, for a response rate of 84 percent of the target population. The interviews focused on the training's positive or negative organizational impacts and the factors that appeared to account for these results. Results indicated that the training has been inspirational in beginning the evolution of organizational change. Obstacles to implementation ranged from employee resistance to lack of leadership; shortages of time and money were the main impediments to progress. However, it is not clear whether advancing correctional management practices is very meaningful without an accompanying transition of the public policy agenda, which places external requirements on corrections managers that may not be compatible with continuous improvement. Tables and 25 references