Whilst a high percentage of organisations claim to be using practices associated with quality management, there has been a lack of research that explore shopfloor accounts of their experiences of quality management (Clark et al., 1998; Bacon, 1999). This research examines shopfloor worker experiences of, and responses to, quality management in two manufacturing companies, with a focus upon human resource issues. The study examines how the 'rhetoric' of quality management was experienced in the workplace. It reveals that shopfloor responses were shaped not only by the formal translation of quality management into the workplace, but also by other factors. These included the degree of acceptance from the trade union (or consultative committee). This issue has been raised in the literature (Edwards et al., 1998). However, responses were also affected by lateral relationships that fall outwith the formal management/employee interface. This has not been widely recognised to date. Specifically, informal workplace relationships formed another filter through which quality management was judged. Furthermore, responses were also moulded by perceptions of the needs of key external stakeholders. These included the customer, and non-work based stakeholders including the family and in one case presented here, the local community. This study suggests that in order to produce a deeper understanding of employee experiences of work, both vertical and lateral relationships must be acknowledged and accounted for. This approach helps explain why workers may retain their loyalty to a firm, despite downsizing, insecurity and day-to-day frustrations or why they may appear to have assimilated the quality management rhetoric, at the same time as feeling an intense alienation from work.

Šiame darbe kokybės užtikrinimo iššūkis analizuojamas gvildenant žmogiškųjų išteklių valdymo kokybės tendencijas ikimokyklinio, priešmokyklinio bei pradinio ugdymo programas teikiančiuose Vilniaus miesto ikimokyklinio ugdymo mokyklose. Darbe apibrėžtos ikimokyklinio ugdymo mokyklų žmogiškųjų išteklių valdymo kokybės tendencijos ir vadovų vaidmuo šiame procese, atskleistas ikimokyklinio ugdymo mokyklų žmogiškųjų išteklių valdymo reikšmingumas, planuojant žmogiškuosius išteklius bei sąsajas su kokybe, išryškintas vadovų požiūris į žmogiškųjų išteklių valdymo tendencijas švietimo organizacijos kaitai. Tai galima laikyti magistrinio darbo teoriniu reikšmingumu. Praktinį darbo reikšmingumą nusako tyrimo instrumento sudarymas - žmogiškųjų išteklių valdymo kokybės tobulinimui įvertinti, atlikto tyrimo rezultatų pagrindu suformuluotos išvados bei pateiktos rekomendacijos žmogiškųjų išteklių valdymo kokybei gerinti darželių-mokyklų vadovams. / This work analyzes the quality assurance tendencies of human resource management in pre-primary, pre-school and primary education programmes provided by the pre-primary educational institutions of the city of Vilnius. The work defines the tendencies towards the quality of human resource management in pre-primary educational institutions and the role of school managers in this process, the significance of human resource management in pre-primary educational institutions has been revealed as well, the attitude of school managers to the tendencies towards human resource management for the change of the educational institution have been revealed in the planning of human resource and quality links. The significance of the practical work is described by the development of the research instrument – to evaluate the improvement of human resource management, conclusions that have been drawn after analyzing the results of the research and recommendations that have been given to school managers for the improvement of human resource management.