IMPLEMENTING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT IN THE NORTH-AMERICAN MINING-INDUSTRY

This study identifies key factors required to successfully change a mi ning organization's culture to that mandated by a continuous improveme nt (CI) philosophy. Guided by a change-oriented model of CI implementa tion and the Malcolm Baldridge criteria, a survey was conducted involv ing mining firms operating in North America with annual revenues over $100 million. Twenty-four firms participated and resulted in 268 usabl e questionnaires. A principal component factor analysis followed by li near regression revealed that four factors accounted for success in im plementing CI; employee involvement was the most important one. This d ominant factor proved to be complex and had elements of the context of change (e.g., acceptance of company goals), the content of change (te amwork, new ways of working, and supportive HRM policies), and the pro cess of change (leadership and access to information). Other predictor s included, in order of importance, corporate presence, customer-orien ted strategy, and adoption of practical goals. The article concludes w ith a discussion of employee involvement and the trend toward a produc tivity gap, with firms pursuing CI in the lead. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scie nce Inc.