A Quality Circle Case Study

Abstract

Quality Circles are organisational options that are aimed at helping employees at all levels to achieve greater job satisfaction; they seek to increase productivity and product quality through direct employee participation. The underlying assumption is that such participation will result in useful suggestions for improving work methods, product quality, communications, etc, and for increasing employee commitment to implement these changes. Most Quality Circle developments have taken place with industrial blue collar workers. However, wherever there are groups of people, in or out of industry, Quality Circles can be formed with success. Whether the implementation of a Quality Circle is part of short‐ or long‐term planning does not matter, the rules remain the same and the philosophy remains unaltered. A Quality Circle is composed of a small group of employees who genuinely care about others, preferably doing similar work, meeting voluntarily with a leader on a regular basis, to identify problems, analyse the causes, recommend their solutions to management and, wherever possible, implement solutions.