ABSTRACT
In this chapter we chart the process of introducing Continuous Improvement (CI) into a British firm manufacturing gas-fired central heating fires and boilers and industrial air-conditioning units. The distinctive feature of this firm's performance is in part the very considerable progress it has made in the endogenisation of processes of CI. But more unusually it has made this progress within the context of a relatively unique form of ownership relations, for the firm is wholly-owned and controlled by its workforce. We begin with a brief discussion of the principles of CI, before providing a brief history of the evolution of employee ownership. Thereafter we explore the evolution of the CI programme and its positive impact on the firm's competitiveness. However, in recent years the Baxi Partnership has begun to experience a number of difficulties, some of which relate to problems with its process of organisational renewal and some to its particular ownership structure; these issues are discussed in the concluding discussion.
