The Innovation of Quality Control Circles: A Clear Disuse in the Last 15 Years in the Mexican Industry

Abstract

Purpose– The aim of this work is to present a concise analysis of Quality control circles (QCC's) disuse in the Mexican Industry. Design/methodology/approach – A comparative descriptive analysis was carried out on the year of 2000 and 2015, considering a sample of Mexican Industries that implemented the quality control circles, which belong to the Mexican Association of Work in Team A.C. (AMTE). First, in the methodology was realized a classification of the sample studied, later it was divided into two stages: 1) Quantitative variables and 2) Qualitative variables. Findings – Two important factors can be considered to explain the QCC's disuse. (1) The different cultural context. (2) The new and better methodologies currently recommended for the solution of opportunity areas in Mexican Industry. Finally, the few Mexican Industries that uses Quality Control Circles suggest consider a high percentage of employees to guarantee adequate results. Discussion – A first possibility to consider a clear tendency to disappear the QCC in Mexican Industry is due to a different cultural context. A second possibility could be to better methodologies are currently recommended for the solution of areas of opportunity. However, the fact that, apart from the automotive sector and its derivative components, the participation of another industries turnaround has been drastically reduced to almost disappear, as well as for the service companies.