e instructed in the theory of quality programs, but were given no clear timetable as to when, or how, the support structures for those programs would be put into place. As a result of this, employees grew frustrated when they tried to bring about change in their own work environments, and the entire situation has deteriorated to the point where employees, and even one of the instructors, doubt the effectiveness of the program.
Smithers must take some of the responsibility for the downfall of the program; the acrimony between Cross and Patricof is also a contributing factor. The company was not able to embrace the quality program as a whole, but instead saw it as a battlefield between the Cross and Patricof factions. This extended to Smithers, who, despite his pronouncements to the contrary, clearly had doubts about the program from the beginning. Lacking a strong conviction in the program's success, it is not surprising that he was a contributing factor its poor performance. In fact, Smithers should not have expressed his
...