A recent research project on white collar quality circles in manufacturing industry was carried out because previous research at UMIST indicated that white collar circles were more difficult to set up and sustain. The study involved interviews in eleven companies which had or had had white...

The results are reported of personal observations of on‐site visits to 10 firms in transportationand electric‐electronic industries. Important differences are detailed that were observedbetween traditional US firms, nontraditional US firms, and Japanese companies operating in theUS, with...

The article sets out an experience-based account of “Learning from Differences”, underpinning engaged research as an alternative to conventional detached social science. There is a central focus on Action, and Action Research, with particular reference to policy development at regional...

Innovation at work is mainly driven by employees' ideas. This paper reports a study of the effectiveness (e.g., rate of suggestion making) of schemes for capturing these ideas. Based on a survey of 182 UK organizations, the study shows that decentralized suggestion schemes and work-based systems...