OQM research: questions and answers
These answers describe what the 2011 dissertation establishes. Where today’s products are concerned, they state the source’s limits explicitly.
9 questions
Origins
Where did OQM come from?
OQM grew out of Natural Church Development. Wesely describes the adaptation of its quality characteristics for the Malteser Hilfsdienst as OQM's starting point. His dissertation documents this development through 2011.
Source: Wesely, dissertation (2011), printed pages V-VI, 6-8Origins
Do the figures for 70-plus countries and 60,000 profiles describe OQM?
No. In the dissertation, those figures describe Natural Church Development, the precursor to OQM. Current reach figures for OQM require separate, up-to-date evidence.
Source: Wesely, dissertation (2011), printed pages V, 6Method
What is the minimum factor?
The minimum factor is the weakest quality area essential to the organization's functioning. The dissertation recommends understanding its causes together and focusing improvement there first. The eight-stave barrel is a discussion aid, not a law of nature for organizations.
Source: Wesely, dissertation (2011), printed pages 39-41Method
How does the OQM cycle work in the dissertation?
The six steps are preparation, collecting the profile, discussing the results together, choosing goals and measures, implementing them, and reassessing. A further profile shows what changed and which constraint needs attention next.
Source: Wesely, dissertation (2011), printed pages 38-40Method
Where do the six organic principles come from?
Wesely derives them from Christian social principles and uses nature analogies from Natural Church Development. They guide how change is carried out. The dissertation does not derive them from cybernetics or systems theory.
Source: Wesely, dissertation (2011), printed pages 20-38Method
Are the eight characteristics from 2011 identical to today's OQM 80 factors?
No. The dissertation describes historical versions for church and charitable organizations. Names and content were adapted for other contexts. A crosswalk can aid understanding but does not establish that the questionnaires are identical.
Source: Wesely, dissertation (2011), printed pages 11, 47-136Evidence
What does the dissertation establish about anonymity?
It reports that the survey used at the time was designed to be anonymous and that responses were not meant to be traced to individuals. It does not document the technical implementation of today's product.
Source: Wesely, dissertation (2011), printed pages 10Evidence
What measurement evidence does the dissertation report?
For a questionnaire version used around 2008, the dissertation reports reliability coefficients from .82 to .94 across eight scales and correlations with other measures. These figures apply to that historical version; they do not automatically validate today's OQM 80.
Source: Wesely, dissertation (2011), printed pages 42-45Evidence
What remains unproven about today's OQM 80 in this source?
The dissertation appeared in 2011. It does not document current norms or scoring workflows, the measurement properties of today's OQM 80, or later products such as Pulse. Those claims need current product and research documentation.
Source: Wesely, dissertation (2011), printed pages 42-45No matching question found.