Work Standards, Productivity, and Quality.

摘要

The present study examined the effects of production standards on work quantity and quality. Thirty-seven employees were hired to perform a 'database management' task in a simulated work environment. The first week was the baseline period for productivity (keystrokes per our) and work quality (percent key entry errors). During the second week, the workers were divided into two control groups and four experimental groups. The control groups differed only in that one group received feedback on its productivity and the other group received no feedback. The four experimental groups represented four levels of work standards (80%, 90%, 110%, and 120% of baseline). The workers were divided into underachievers and overachievers. The underachivers showed a marked increase in keystrokes per hour as the standards increased. Key entry errors for underachievers and overachievers were unaffected by the standards, except that the overachievers made more errors than the underachievers for the moderately high (110%) standard. In general, there was no evidence that productivity increases were related to declines in work quality. Responses to job satisfaction and stress questions revealed no differences between any of the groups. Specific task strategies were identified that might explain how workers were able to increase production without sacrificing quality.