Chapter 3

Case Study Using the "DO ED" Approach for Evaluating Workplace Literacy Programs

Chapter 2 outlined the approach to workplace literacy program evaluation called Developing Organizational Effectiveness through Employee Development (DOEED) (pronounced "Do Ed"). This chapter illustrates how the DOEED approach was used to evaluate National Workplace Literacy Programs (NWLP) that were conducted in the Chicago area.

Education Partners

In 1992, the Workplace Education Division of THE CENTER/CCSD #54 of Des Plaines, Illinois, an educational agency, in partnership with the Management Association of Illinois (MAI) were awarded a National Workplace Literacy Program (NWLP) grant from the U. S. Department of Education. The grant was awarded to provide workplace literacy programs to industries in the Chicago area that were undergoing organizational changes to introduce one or more Total Quality Management (TQM) procedures.

Total Quality Management procedures typically involve the introduction of new skill demands on line employees. Though not all plants introduce all aspects of TQM, the procedures introduced generally result in changes in the ways that employees must work. Frequently employees must change from working alone to working in teams, they must change from performing limited functions to performing a number of different steps and operations to produce a completed product, they must change from having quality determined by an inspector at the end of a production line to building-in quality themselves by conducting various measurements and charting the results in what is known as "statistical process control-SPC," and they must frequently engage in more communications with customers. Additionally, in some cases the introduction of new technology requires that employees engage in training programs that are brief, intense and place a premium on good reading, studying, problem solving, mathematics and communication skills.

Business Partners

In the Chicago area, THE CENTER/MAI team became partners with ten businesses that were implementing one or more aspects of TQM. Through a preliminary needs assessment, it was determined that these industries had a combined workforce in which some 30% -50% were lacking or weak in the basic English, literacy, or mathematics skills needed to work effectively in the new TQM environment. The businesses that were studied are briefly described below (note: these descriptions reflect the companies at the time of the origination of the project).

Amurol Product Company manufactures speciality confectionery products. Of the 395 employees, there are 310 production workers on two shifts. In an effort to increase market share and due to the nature of business, new products are continually being introduced. Although the majority of sales are to domestic customers, new growth markets are being cultivated out of country.

Burgess-Norton Mfg. Co. is involved in the development and manufacture of piston pins, shafts, powdered metal parts, castings and keys, and sub-assemblies. These products are primarily produced for the automotive, truck and agricultural industries. A few of their major customers include John Deere, Ford, General Motors, Caterpillar, and Chrysler. The company has been in business in Illinois since 1903 and currently employs 512 people at two locations.