SQMA Measurement Index

This SQMA-SIQ funded project is conducted in collaboration with researchers from Chalmers University to examine the use and effectiveness of the SIQ management index (MI) that was designed to support sustainable long term quality development in businesses.

The current Management index (version 2.0) aims to provides a strategic measure of leadership effectiveness towards quality improvement initiatives. Specifically the MI aims to:

Create an increased level of consensus around the present conditions within an organization as a basis for prioritizing areas of needed improvement
With relatively small effort, get a current and comprehensive picture of the extent to which the organization's working methods make it possible to achieve the goals.
Complement the organization's customer and employee surveys based on management's perspective of working methods and results.

The instrument is based on 50 statements to measure and compare perspectives between leader and managers about the current development processes and projects in relation to stated goals. Figure 1 provides a modell of the dimensions that are examined in the MI.

The purpose of the research was to test the examine the effectiveness of the MI as a tool to facilitate leadership teams in their work with continuous quality improvement. Specifically, the research aimed to provide scientific evidence to enhance the reliability, validity and usefulness of the MI as a leadership tool to drive improvements in leadership effectiveness and organizational outcomes. A team of three researchers from Mid Sweden University and Chalmers were responsible for the research to examine the following questions:

A three-year multi-site case study was conducted with five participating organizations using a mixed-method design to examine the following:

1. How can the validity and reliability of the Management Index be improved?

2. How can we understand the use of the Management Index?

Findings from the study demonstrated the Management Index served well leadership teams in variety of ways including, pulse reading, leadership team development, navigational and systemic dialog.

For more information on the research, contact Kristen Snyder, Professor
kristen.snyder@miun.se or go to the project website at the Swedish Institute for Quality