Getting the Measure of the Transformed High‐Performance Organization

The term ‘high‐performance work systems’ is increasingly being used to label the transformed high‐commitment organization associated with the abandonment of Taylorism. A fundamental issue is whether the whole ensemble of high‐commitment and total quality management practices tend to be used together or in a fragmented ad hoc way. Latent trait analysis is used to address this question. Using data from Osterman’s study of US organizations, the analysis shows that certain practices do co‐exist, though quality circle stands apart from them. While it is meaningful to talk of high‐performance management as an integration of modern quality and personnel management methods, caution must be exercised when defining management approaches in terms of a set of practices on a priori grounds alone.