Comparative study on quality management in the Brazilian and the Scottish Prison Service

This study identifies and compares quality perceptions and initiatives between the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and the Brazilian Prison Service Santa Catarina State (BPS-SC). The two organisations have specific approaches towards quality management. The SPS is involved in a formal quality management programme, whereas in the BPS-SC quality is determined at a more abstract level. In the case of the SPS the impact of the quality management programme on the job structure (design and satisfaction) in different organisational levels, and in organisational control, is analysed in depth. In the case of the BPS-SC, significant structural aspects that determine quality perceptions and initiatives are identified and discussed. The study also considers the influences of the institutional environments in which each organisation operates in the shaping of quality perceptions and initiatives. Four case studies were conducted: two in Scotland and two in Brazil. The research strategy adopted is mostly qualitative, although some basic quantitative analysis is used. The case studies conducted were exploratory and descriptive. Data was collected by means of open-ended interviews, documentary analysis, informal interviews and participation in training sessions. The analysis of the data was conducted on a qualitative basis, and subjected to triangulation techniques. Clustering process techniques for qualitative data were also used in some cases. The results indicate that quality cannot be regarded as an universal concept. Quality definition and initiatives vary among and within organisational groups in the same context, as well as within the same organisational groups in different institutional contexts. In terms of the impact of the introduction of a formal quality programme on the job structure and control process of the SPS, the results demonstrate that quality management can provide a degree of job enrichment and can also contribute to a re-skilling process. Although this contributes to the increase in job satisfaction, the general work

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