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Quality Circle-A way to Quality Improvement

INTRODUCTION

People are the greatest assets of an organisation, because, through people all otherresources are converted into utilities. However, management of People Resources hasalways been a vexed problem ever since the beginning of organised human activities. Anumber of managerial responses have been developed to answer this question.

Participate methods in the workplace are one way to improve both the work environmentfor employees and productivity and quality for the company.

Quality Circle is one of the employee participation methods. It implies the developmentof skills, capabilities, confidence and creativity of the people through cumulative processof education, training, work experience and participation. It also implies the creation offacilitative conditions and environment of work, which creates and sustains theirmotivation and commitment towards work excellence. Quality Circles have emerged as amechanism to develop and utilize the tremendous potential of people for improvement inproduct quality and productivity.

GENESIS OF QUALITY CIRCLES

After the Second World War Japanese economy was in the doldrums. Seeing thisdisastrous effect of war, Americans decided to help Japan in improving the qualitystandards of their products. General Douglas Mac Arthur who, at that time, was thecommander of the occupational forces in Japan took up the task of imparting qualityawareness among Japanese to help them improve their products and the reliability ofmanufacturing systems including men, machine and materials. Thus, by 1975, they weretopping the world in quality and productivity. This astonishing and unique achievementin modern history became an eye opener to the world. Industrialists and politiciansfrom all over the world started visiting Japan to know how they have achieved suchmagical results in such a short span. The answer to this was painstaking and perseveringefforts of the Japanese leaders and workers and the development and growth of thephilosophy of small working groups. This resulted in the Quality Circle concept beingaccepted all over the world as a very effective technique to improve the total quality ofwork life.

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DEFINITION

Quality Circle is a small group of 6 to 12 employees doing similar work who voluntarilymeet together on a regular basis to identify improvements in their respective work areasusing proven techniques for analysing and solving work related problems coming in theway of achieving and sustaining excellence leading to mutual upliftment of employees aswell as the organisation. It is "a way of capturing the creative and innovative power thatlies within the work force".

PHILOSOPHY

Quality Circles is a people building philosophy, providing self-motivation andhappiness in improving environment without any compulsion or monetary benefits. Itrepresents a philosophy of managing people specially those at the grass root level as wellas a clearly defined mechanism and methodology for translating this philosophy intopractice and a required structure to make it a way of life. It is bound to succeed wherepeople are respected and are involved in decisions, concerning their work life, and inenvironments where peoples capabilities are looked upon as assets to solve work-areaproblems.

The Quality Circle philosophy calls for a progressive attitude on the part of themanagement and their willingness to make adjustments, if necessary, in their style andculture.If workers are prepared to contribute their ideas, the management must be willing tocreate a congenial environment to encourage them to do so.

CONCEPT

The concept of Quality Circle is primarily based upon recognition of the value of theworker as a human being, as someone who willingly activises on his job, his wisdom,

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intelligence, experience, attitude and feelings. It is based upon the human resourcemanagement considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality& productivity. Quality Circle concept has three major attributes:

Quality Circle is a form of participation management.

Quality Circle is a human resource development technique.

Quality Circle is a problem solving technique.

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of Quality Circles are multi-faced.a) Change in Attitude.From "I dont care" to "I do care"Continuous improvement in quality of work life through humanisation of work.

b) Self DevelopmentBring out Hidden Potential of peoplePeople get to learn additional skills.

c) Development of Team SpiritIndividual Vs Team "I could not do but we did it"Eliminate inter departmental conflicts.

d) Improved Organisational CulturePositive working environment.Total involvement of people at all levels.Higher motivational level.Participate Management process.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

A Quality Circle has an appropriate organisational structure for its effective and efficientperformance. It varies from industry to industry, organisation to organisation. But it is

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useful to have a basic framework as a model. The structure of a Quality Circle consists ofthe following elements.

A steering committee: This is at the top of the structure. It is headed by a senior executiveand includes representatives from the top management personnel and human resourcesdevelopment people. It establishes policy, plans and directs the program and meetsusually once in a month.

Co-ordinator: He may be a Personnel or Administrative officer who co-ordinates and

supervises the work of the facilitators and administers the programme.

Facilitator: He may be a senior supervisory officer. He co-ordiates the works of severalquality circles through the Circle leaders.

Circle leader: Leaders may be from lowest level workers or Supervisors. A Circle leaderorganises and conducts Circle activities.

Circle members : They may be staff workers. Without circle members the porgrammecannot exist. They are the lifeblood of quality circles. They should attend all meetings asfar as possible, offer suggestions and ideas, participate actively in group process, taketraining seriously with a receptive attitude.The roles of Steering Committee, Co-0rdinator, Facilitator, Circle leader and Circle members are well defined.

LAUNCHING QUALITY CIRCLES

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The major prerequisite for initiating Quality Circles in any organisation is the totalunderstanding of, as well as complete conviction and faith in the participative philosophy,on the part of the top and senior management. In the absence of a commitment from theChief Executive to support the Quality Circle movement totally, it would be inadvisable

to seriously attempt the starting of Quality Circles. The launching of Quality Circlesinvolves the following steps:

Expose middle level executives to the concept.Explain the concept to the employees and invite them to volunteer as members of QualityCircles.Nominate senior officers as facilitators.Form a steering committee.Arrange training of co-ordinators, facilitators in basics of Quality Circle approach,implementation, techniques and operation. Later facilitator may provide training to Circleleaders and Circle members.

A meeting should be fixed preferably one hour a week for the Quality Circle to meet.Formally inaugurate the Quality Circle.Arrange the necessary facilities for the Quality Circle meeting and its operation.

TRAINING

Appropriate training for different sections of employees needs to be imparted. Without aproper understanding of the real concept of Quality Circles, both the workers andmanagement might look at this philosophy with suspicion. Each group should knowbeforehand the commitments and implications involved as well as the benefit that can beobtained from Quality Circles. Such training comprises of :

Brief orientation programme for top management.Programme for middle level executives.Training of facilitators.Training for Circle leaders and members.

PROCESS OF OPERATION

The operation of quality circles involves a set of sequential steps as under:

1 Problem identification: Identify a number of problems.2 Problem selection : Decide the priority and select the problem to be taken up first.3 Problem Analysis : Problem is clarified and analysed by basic problem solvingmethods.

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4 Generate alternative solutions : Identify and evaluate causes and generate number ofpossible alternative solutions.5 Select the most appropriate solution : Discuss and evaluate the alternative solutions bycomparison in terms of investment and return from the investment. This enables to selectthe most appropriate solution.

6 Prepare plan of action : Prepare plan of action for converting the solution into realitywhich includes the considerations "who, what, when, where, why and how" of solvingproblems.7 Present solution to management circle members present solution to management foreapproval.8. Implementation of solution : The management evaluates the recommended solution.Then it is tested and if successful, implemented on a full scale.

BASIC PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES

The following techniques are most commonly used to analyse and solve work relatedproblems.1 Brain storming2 Pareto Diagrams3 Cause & Effect Analysis4 Data Collection5 Data Analysis

The tools used for data analysis are :

1 Tables2 Bar Charts3 Histograms4 Circle graphs5 Line graphs6 Scattergrams7 Control Charts

The Quality Circles also are expected to develop internal leadership, reinforce workermorale and motivation, and encourage a strong sense of teamwork in an organisation.

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A variety of benefits have been attributed to Quality Circles, including higher quality,improved productivity, greater upward flow of information, broader improved workerattitudes, job enrichment, and greater teamwork.

Problem quality circles often suffer from unrealistic expectations for fast results, lock ofmanagement commitment and support, resistance by middle management, resentment bynon participants, inadequate training, lack of clear objectives and failure to get solutionsimplemented.

BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF QUALITY CIRCLES

It took more than two decades for the quality control concept to get acceptance in India,after its introduction in Japan. This may be due to the differences in the industrial contextin the two countries. Japan needed it for its survival in a competitive market. India had areasonably protected, sellers market, with consequent lethargy towards efforts to improvequality and productivity. However, with the policy of liberalisation of economy andprivatisation of infrastructure development, contexts changed. The concept now needs tobe looked upon as a necessity.

APPLICABILITY IN GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS

The Public Works Department of Government of Maharashtra is responsible for theconstruction and maintenance of about 2.00 lakhs km. of road net work in the state and alarge number of Government-owned buildings spread all over the state. The road network caters for national level traffic to the rural area traffic. The climatic andgeographical features also vary from place to place in the state. The ultimate customer ofthe Department is the common man and it is not generally easy to satisfy the ultimateneeds of this user to the fullest extent merely by taking decision at the top managementlevel. The sub-ordinate officers and staff working in the field and who are well-acquainted with the day-to day problems in their work areas, are the best judges todecide upon the line of action. The top management in Maharashtra P.W.D. realized thisneed of the time and introduced the concept of Quality Circle as employee participationmethod in the organisation. The concept of Quality Circle was launched in the PublicWorks Department of Govt. of Maharashtra on 18-11-1997. In a span of about a year 17Quality Circles have been formed in Mumbai Region wherein 22 problems have been

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solved so far. 48 Quality Circles have been formed in Pune Region wherein, 8 problemshave been solved. Nashik Region of the P.W.D. has formed 9 Quality Circles andsolutions to 3 problems have been found out . Aurangabad Region has formed 21 QualityCircles and solved 7 problems. Nagpur Regions have formed 47 Quality Circles and havefound out solution to 57 problems, so far.

The results of a short period of one year are found to be very encouraging so far andmany of these Circles have already come up with solutions to the various work relatedproblems as evidenced from the last two state level conventions held at Mumbai andAurangabad respectively. The presentations by the various Quality Circles at theseconventions bear testimony to the fact that the concept of Quality Circle has beenreceived with much enthusiasm at the grass root level. These presentations also provideconcrete evidence fulfilling the expected benefits of the Quality Circle . Takinginspirations from these conventions, more staff of the Department have come forward toform Quality Circles , emphasising the fact that Quality Circles have come to stay in theDepartment.

Some of the problems solved by the Quality Circles in P.W.D. of Maharashtra are asfollows:

1 Eliminating delay in issuing observation memos after inspection of site.2 Preventing accidents on highways.3 Reducing electricity bill in office.4 Avoiding duplication of work.5 Removal of encroachment from Govt. land.6 Speeding up pot-hole filling on roads during monsoon.7 Upkeeping of service records of employees.8 Maintaining Govt. offices clean.9 Stream-lining reservation system of Govt. rest houses.10 Improvement in maintenance of Govt. Hospital at Solapur.

Some of the problems and the solutions thereof are explained briefly below:

1 Delay in issue of observation memos:

The Public Works Department of Maharashtra is divided into six regions each headed bya Chief Engineer. Each regional Chief Engineer is assisted by a Superintending Engineer,Vigilance & Quality Circle who with the help of two Executive Engineer and about 6Deputy Engineers carries out inspection of the ongoing projects. The samples of theconstruction material being used on project are collected and independently tested in theRegional Testing Laboratories to ascertain the level of acceptance. The findings of theinspections are communicated to the field engineers in the form of observation memo. Itis contemplated that the Execution Engineer in charge of the project ensures immediatecompliance of the remarks raised in the observation memo and carries out correctivemeasures in the ongoing project as well as preventive measures for the future works.

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However, very often the observation memos are issued after much delay defeating thevery purpose of the observation memo. This problem was identified by the OMKARQuality Circle formed in the office of Superintending Engineer, Vigilance & QualityControl Circle, Navi Mumbai. The members used various tools and methodology,identified the various root causes that led to this problem and finally solved the problem

with requisite foolproofing.

By solving this problem, it became possible to improve the quality of work in the fieldwhich ultimately brightened the image of the Department. The formation of QualityCircle also benefited employees by providing.

a) A systematic style of education that helped them grow.b) Freedom to modify their work habits.c) Opportunity to use their brain for development of the Department; andd) Opportunity to work as a team.e) The employees were also motivated to improve work culture, self improvement

recognition and creativity in work.

ii) Preventing accidents on highways:

It was observed that the accident rate on Sion-Panvel Highway passing through NewMumbai had gone up sharply. The Circle members collected the data from the respectivepolice stations and identified the important causes of accidents by using Pareto Analysis.They segregated the causes under Man, Machine, Material & Method . The Circlemembers found out solutions to the problem such as closing of central verge at alllocations except junction, frequent lane marking, installation of Caution boards,Providing lay-byes for buses etc. The data collection of accidents for a period threemonths after implementation of solutions near Shirvane and Turbhe revealed that thecause of accident had been eliminated and no more accidents occurred at those locationshad been eliminated and no more accidents accoured at those locations again. This waythe Circle members ensured the effectiveness of the solution implemented. They madepresentation to their steering committee for obtaining sanction to other solutionsinvolving more funds.

CONCLUSION

Quality Circles are not limited to manufacturing firms only. They are applicable forvariety of organisations where there is scope for group based solution of work relatedproblems. Quality Circles are relevant for factories, firms, schools, hospitals, universities,research institutes, banks, government offices etc. The P.W.D. of Maharashtra has set anexample for the Government organisations marching on the path of QualityImprovement.

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Quality Circle-A way to Quality Improvement

INTRODUCTION

People are the greatest assets of an organisation, because, through people all otherresources are converted into utilities. However, management of People Resources hasalways been a vexed problem ever since the beginning of organised human activities. Anumber of managerial responses have been developed to answer this question.

Participate methods in the workplace are one way to improve both the work environmentfor employees and productivity and quality for the company.

Quality Circle is one of the employee participation methods. It implies the developmentof skills, capabilities, confidence and creativity of the people through cumulative processof education, training, work experience and participation. It also implies the creation offacilitative conditions and environment of work, which creates and sustains theirmotivation and commitment towards work excellence. Quality Circles have emerged as amechanism to develop and utilize the tremendous potential of people for improvement inproduct quality and productivity.

GENESIS OF QUALITY CIRCLES

After the Second World War Japanese economy was in the doldrums. Seeing thisdisastrous effect of war, Americans decided to help Japan in improving the qualitystandards of their products. General Douglas Mac Arthur who, at that time, was thecommander of the occupational forces in Japan took up the task of imparting qualityawareness among Japanese to help them improve their products and the reliability ofmanufacturing systems including men, machine and materials. Thus, by 1975, they weretopping the world in quality and productivity. This astonishing and unique achievementin modern history became an eye opener to the world. Industrialists and politiciansfrom all over the world started visiting Japan to know how they have achieved suchmagical results in such a short span. The answer to this was painstaking and perseveringefforts of the Japanese leaders and workers and the development and growth of thephilosophy of small working groups. This resulted in the Quality Circle concept beingaccepted all over the world as a very effective technique to improve the total quality ofwork life.

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DEFINITION

Quality Circle is a small group of 6 to 12 employees doing similar work who voluntarilymeet together on a regular basis to identify improvements in their respective work areasusing proven techniques for analysing and solving work related problems coming in theway of achieving and sustaining excellence leading to mutual upliftment of employees aswell as the organisation. It is "a way of capturing the creative and innovative power thatlies within the work force".

PHILOSOPHY

Quality Circles is a people building philosophy, providing self-motivation andhappiness in improving environment without any compulsion or monetary benefits. Itrepresents a philosophy of managing people specially those at the grass root level as wellas a clearly defined mechanism and methodology for translating this philosophy intopractice and a required structure to make it a way of life. It is bound to succeed wherepeople are respected and are involved in decisions, concerning their work life, and inenvironments where peoples capabilities are looked upon as assets to solve work-areaproblems.

The Quality Circle philosophy calls for a progressive attitude on the part of themanagement and their willingness to make adjustments, if necessary, in their style andculture.If workers are prepared to contribute their ideas, the management must be willing tocreate a congenial environment to encourage them to do so.

CONCEPT

The concept of Quality Circle is primarily based upon recognition of the value of theworker as a human being, as someone who willingly activises on his job, his wisdom,

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intelligence, experience, attitude and feelings. It is based upon the human resourcemanagement considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality& productivity. Quality Circle concept has three major attributes:

Quality Circle is a form of participation management.

Quality Circle is a human resource development technique.

Quality Circle is a problem solving technique.

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of Quality Circles are multi-faced.a) Change in Attitude.From "I dont care" to "I do care"Continuous improvement in quality of work life through humanisation of work.

b) Self DevelopmentBring out Hidden Potential of peoplePeople get to learn additional skills.

c) Development of Team SpiritIndividual Vs Team "I could not do but we did it"Eliminate inter departmental conflicts.

d) Improved Organisational CulturePositive working environment.Total involvement of people at all levels.Higher motivational level.Participate Management process.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

A Quality Circle has an appropriate organisational structure for its effective and efficientperformance. It varies from industry to industry, organisation to organisation. But it is

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useful to have a basic framework as a model. The structure of a Quality Circle consists ofthe following elements.

A steering committee: This is at the top of the structure. It is headed by a senior executiveand includes representatives from the top management personnel and human resourcesdevelopment people. It establishes policy, plans and directs the program and meetsusually once in a month.

Co-ordinator: He may be a Personnel or Administrative officer who co-ordinates and

supervises the work of the facilitators and administers the programme.

Facilitator: He may be a senior supervisory officer. He co-ordiates the works of severalquality circles through the Circle leaders.

Circle leader: Leaders may be from lowest level workers or Supervisors. A Circle leaderorganises and conducts Circle activities.

Circle members : They may be staff workers. Without circle members the porgrammecannot exist. They are the lifeblood of quality circles. They should attend all meetings asfar as possible, offer suggestions and ideas, participate actively in group process, taketraining seriously with a receptive attitude.The roles of Steering Committee, Co-0rdinator, Facilitator, Circle leader and Circle members are well defined.

LAUNCHING QUALITY CIRCLES

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The major prerequisite for initiating Quality Circles in any organisation is the totalunderstanding of, as well as complete conviction and faith in the participative philosophy,on the part of the top and senior management. In the absence of a commitment from theChief Executive to support the Quality Circle movement totally, it would be inadvisable

to seriously attempt the starting of Quality Circles. The launching of Quality Circlesinvolves the following steps:

Expose middle level executives to the concept.Explain the concept to the employees and invite them to volunteer as members of QualityCircles.Nominate senior officers as facilitators.Form a steering committee.Arrange training of co-ordinators, facilitators in basics of Quality Circle approach,implementation, techniques and operation. Later facilitator may provide training to Circleleaders and Circle members.

A meeting should be fixed preferably one hour a week for the Quality Circle to meet.Formally inaugurate the Quality Circle.Arrange the necessary facilities for the Quality Circle meeting and its operation.

TRAINING

Appropriate training for different sections of employees needs to be imparted. Without aproper understanding of the real concept of Quality Circles, both the workers andmanagement might look at this philosophy with suspicion. Each group should knowbeforehand the commitments and implications involved as well as the benefit that can beobtained from Quality Circles. Such training comprises of :

Brief orientation programme for top management.Programme for middle level executives.Training of facilitators.Training for Circle leaders and members.

PROCESS OF OPERATION

The operation of quality circles involves a set of sequential steps as under:

1 Problem identification: Identify a number of problems.2 Problem selection : Decide the priority and select the problem to be taken up first.3 Problem Analysis : Problem is clarified and analysed by basic problem solvingmethods.

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4 Generate alternative solutions : Identify and evaluate causes and generate number ofpossible alternative solutions.5 Select the most appropriate solution : Discuss and evaluate the alternative solutions bycomparison in terms of investment and return from the investment. This enables to selectthe most appropriate solution.

6 Prepare plan of action : Prepare plan of action for converting the solution into realitywhich includes the considerations "who, what, when, where, why and how" of solvingproblems.7 Present solution to management circle members present solution to management foreapproval.8. Implementation of solution : The management evaluates the recommended solution.Then it is tested and if successful, implemented on a full scale.

BASIC PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES

The following techniques are most commonly used to analyse and solve work relatedproblems.1 Brain storming2 Pareto Diagrams3 Cause & Effect Analysis4 Data Collection5 Data Analysis

The tools used for data analysis are :

1 Tables2 Bar Charts3 Histograms4 Circle graphs5 Line graphs6 Scattergrams7 Control Charts

The Quality Circles also are expected to develop internal leadership, reinforce workermorale and motivation, and encourage a strong sense of teamwork in an organisation.

8/7/2019 Q.Circle

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A variety of benefits have been attributed to Quality Circles, including higher quality,improved productivity, greater upward flow of information, broader improved workerattitudes, job enrichment, and greater teamwork.

Problem quality circles often suffer from unrealistic expectations for fast results, lock ofmanagement commitment and support, resistance by middle management, resentment bynon participants, inadequate training, lack of clear objectives and failure to get solutionsimplemented.

BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF QUALITY CIRCLES

It took more than two decades for the quality control concept to get acceptance in India,after its introduction in Japan. This may be due to the differences in the industrial contextin the two countries. Japan needed it for its survival in a competitive market. India had areasonably protected, sellers market, with consequent lethargy towards efforts to improvequality and productivity. However, with the policy of liberalisation of economy andprivatisation of infrastructure development, contexts changed. The concept now needs tobe looked upon as a necessity.

APPLICABILITY IN GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS

The Public Works Department of Government of Maharashtra is responsible for theconstruction and maintenance of about 2.00 lakhs km. of road net work in the state and alarge number of Government-owned buildings spread all over the state. The road network caters for national level traffic to the rural area traffic. The climatic andgeographical features also vary from place to place in the state. The ultimate customer ofthe Department is the common man and it is not generally easy to satisfy the ultimateneeds of this user to the fullest extent merely by taking decision at the top managementlevel. The sub-ordinate officers and staff working in the field and who are well-acquainted with the day-to day problems in their work areas, are the best judges todecide upon the line of action. The top management in Maharashtra P.W.D. realized thisneed of the time and introduced the concept of Quality Circle as employee participationmethod in the organisation. The concept of Quality Circle was launched in the PublicWorks Department of Govt. of Maharashtra on 18-11-1997. In a span of about a year 17Quality Circles have been formed in Mumbai Region wherein 22 problems have been

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solved so far. 48 Quality Circles have been formed in Pune Region wherein, 8 problemshave been solved. Nashik Region of the P.W.D. has formed 9 Quality Circles andsolutions to 3 problems have been found out . Aurangabad Region has formed 21 QualityCircles and solved 7 problems. Nagpur Regions have formed 47 Quality Circles and havefound out solution to 57 problems, so far.

The results of a short period of one year are found to be very encouraging so far andmany of these Circles have already come up with solutions to the various work relatedproblems as evidenced from the last two state level conventions held at Mumbai andAurangabad respectively. The presentations by the various Quality Circles at theseconventions bear testimony to the fact that the concept of Quality Circle has beenreceived with much enthusiasm at the grass root level. These presentations also provideconcrete evidence fulfilling the expected benefits of the Quality Circle . Takinginspirations from these conventions, more staff of the Department have come forward toform Quality Circles , emphasising the fact that Quality Circles have come to stay in theDepartment.

Some of the problems solved by the Quality Circles in P.W.D. of Maharashtra are asfollows:

1 Eliminating delay in issuing observation memos after inspection of site.2 Preventing accidents on highways.3 Reducing electricity bill in office.4 Avoiding duplication of work.5 Removal of encroachment from Govt. land.6 Speeding up pot-hole filling on roads during monsoon.7 Upkeeping of service records of employees.8 Maintaining Govt. offices clean.9 Stream-lining reservation system of Govt. rest houses.10 Improvement in maintenance of Govt. Hospital at Solapur.

Some of the problems and the solutions thereof are explained briefly below:

1 Delay in issue of observation memos:

The Public Works Department of Maharashtra is divided into six regions each headed bya Chief Engineer. Each regional Chief Engineer is assisted by a Superintending Engineer,Vigilance & Quality Circle who with the help of two Executive Engineer and about 6Deputy Engineers carries out inspection of the ongoing projects. The samples of theconstruction material being used on project are collected and independently tested in theRegional Testing Laboratories to ascertain the level of acceptance. The findings of theinspections are communicated to the field engineers in the form of observation memo. Itis contemplated that the Execution Engineer in charge of the project ensures immediatecompliance of the remarks raised in the observation memo and carries out correctivemeasures in the ongoing project as well as preventive measures for the future works.

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However, very often the observation memos are issued after much delay defeating thevery purpose of the observation memo. This problem was identified by the OMKARQuality Circle formed in the office of Superintending Engineer, Vigilance & QualityControl Circle, Navi Mumbai. The members used various tools and methodology,identified the various root causes that led to this problem and finally solved the problem

with requisite foolproofing.

By solving this problem, it became possible to improve the quality of work in the fieldwhich ultimately brightened the image of the Department. The formation of QualityCircle also benefited employees by providing.

a) A systematic style of education that helped them grow.b) Freedom to modify their work habits.c) Opportunity to use their brain for development of the Department; andd) Opportunity to work as a team.e) The employees were also motivated to improve work culture, self improvement

recognition and creativity in work.

ii) Preventing accidents on highways:

It was observed that the accident rate on Sion-Panvel Highway passing through NewMumbai had gone up sharply. The Circle members collected the data from the respectivepolice stations and identified the important causes of accidents by using Pareto Analysis.They segregated the causes under Man, Machine, Material & Method . The Circlemembers found out solutions to the problem such as closing of central verge at alllocations except junction, frequent lane marking, installation of Caution boards,Providing lay-byes for buses etc. The data collection of accidents for a period threemonths after implementation of solutions near Shirvane and Turbhe revealed that thecause of accident had been eliminated and no more accidents occurred at those locationshad been eliminated and no more accidents accoured at those locations again. This waythe Circle members ensured the effectiveness of the solution implemented. They madepresentation to their steering committee for obtaining sanction to other solutionsinvolving more funds.

CONCLUSION

Quality Circles are not limited to manufacturing firms only. They are applicable forvariety of organisations where there is scope for group based solution of work relatedproblems. Quality Circles are relevant for factories, firms, schools, hospitals, universities,research institutes, banks, government offices etc. The P.W.D. of Maharashtra has set anexample for the Government organisations marching on the path of QualityImprovement.

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.A group of employees who perform similar duties and meet at periodic intervals, often

with management, to discuss work-related issues and to offer suggestions and ideas forimprovements, as in production methods or quality control.

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Print this page Send to friendPersonalizeSponsored LinksQuality CircleTrusted hotels, great deals & real reviews. Get the truth. Then go.www.TripAdvisor.inBusiness Dictionary: Quality Circles

Small groups of employees meeting on a regular basis within an organization for thepurpose of discussing and developing management issues and procedures. Quality circlesare established with management approval and can be important in implementing newprocedures. While results can be mixed, on the whole, management has accepted qualitycircles as an important organizational methodology.

Small Business Encyclopedia: Quality CirclesA quality circle is a participatory management technique that enlists the help ofemployees in solving problems related to their own jobs. In their volume JapaneseQuality Circles and Productivity, Joel E. Ross and William C. Ross define a quality circleas "a small group of employees doing similar or related work who meet regularly toidentify, analyze, and solve product-quality and production problems and to improvegeneral operations. The circle is a relatively autonomous unit (ideally about ten workers),usually led by a supervisor or a senior worker and organized as a work unit." Employeeswho participate in quality circles usually receive training in formal problem-solvingmethodssuch as brainstorming, pareto analysis, and cause-and-effect diagramsandthen are encouraged to apply these methods to either specific or general companyproblems. After completing an analysis, they often present their findings to managementand then handle implementation of approved solutions.

Although most commonly found in manufacturing environments, quality circles areapplicable to a wide variety of business situations and problems. They are based on twoideas: that employees can often make better suggestions for improving work processesthan management; and that employees are motivated by their participation in makingsuch improvements. Thus, implemented correctly, quality circles can help a smallbusiness reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve employee morale. Otherpotential benefits that may be realized by a small business include greater operationalefficiency, reduced absenteeism, improved employee health and safety, and an overallbetter working climate. In their book Production and Operations Management, Howard J.

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Weiss and Mark E. Gershon called quality circles "the best means today for meeting thegoal of designing quality into a product."

The interest of U.S. manufacturers in quality circles was sparked by dramaticimprovements in the quality and economic competitiveness of Japanese goods in the

post-World War II years. The emphasis of Japanese quality circles was on preventingdefects from occurring rather than inspecting products for defects following amanufacturing process. Japanese quality circles also attempted to minimize the scrap anddowntime that resulted from part and product defects. In the United States, the qualitycircle movement evolved to encompass the broader goals of cost reduction, productivityimprovement, employee involvement, and problem-solving activities.

Background

Quality circles were originally associated with Japanese management and manufacturingtechniques. The introduction of quality circles in Japan in the postwar years was inspired

by the lectures of W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993), a statistician for the U.S.government. Deming based his proposals on the experience of U.S. firms operating underwartime industrial standards. Noting that American management had typically given linemanagers and engineers about 85 percent of the responsibility for quality control and lineworkers only about 15 percent, Deming argued that these shares should be reversed. Hesuggested redesigning production processes to more fully account for quality control, andcontinuously educating all employees in a firmfrom the top downin quality controltechniques and statistical control technologies. Quality circles were the means by whichthis continuous education was to take place for production workers.

Deming predicted that if Japanese firms adopted the system of quality controls headvocated, nations around the world would be imposing import quotas on Japaneseproducts within five years. His prediction was vindicated. Deming's ideas became veryinfluential in Japan, and he received several prestigious awards for his contributions tothe Japanese economy.

The principles of Deming's quality circles simply moved quality control to an earlierposition in the production process. Rather than relying upon post-production inspectionsto catch errors and defects, quality circles attempted to prevent defects from occurring inthe first place. As an added bonus, machine downtime and scrap materials that formerlyoccurred due to product defects were minimized. Deming's idea that improving qualitycould increase productivity led to the development in Japan of the Total Quality Control(TQC) concept, in which quality and productivity are viewed as two sides of a coin. TQCalso required that a manufacturer's suppliers make use of quality circles.

Quality circles in Japan were part of a system of relatively cooperative labor-managementrelations, involving company unions and lifetime employment guarantees for many full-time permanent employees. Consistent with this decentralized, enterprise-orientedsystem, quality circles provided a means by which production workers were encouragedto participate in company matters and by which management could benefit from

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production workers' intimate knowledge of the production process. In 1980 alone,changes resulting from employee suggestions resulted in savings of $10 billion forJapanese firms and bonuses of $4 billion for Japanese employees.

Active American interest in Japanese quality control began in the early 1970s, when the

U.S. aerospace manufacturer Lockheed organized a tour of Japanese industrial plants.This trip marked a turning point in the previously established pattern, in which Japanesemanagers had made educational tours of industrial plants in the United States. Lockheed'svisit resulted in the gradual establishment of quality circles in its factories beginning in1974. Within two years, Lockheed estimated that its fifteen quality circles had savednearly $3 million, with a ratio of savings to cost of six to one. As Lockheed's successesbecame known, other firms in the aerospace industry began adopting quality circles.Thereafter quality circles spread rapidly throughout the U.S. economy; by 1980, overone-half of firms in the Fortune 500 had implemented or were planning on implementingquality circles.

In the early 1990s, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) made severalimportant rulings regarding the legality of certain forms of quality circles. These rulingswere based on the 1935 Wagner Act, which prohibited company unions andmanagement-dominated labor organizations. One NLRB ruling found quality programsunlawful that were established by the firm, that featured agendas dominated by the firm,and addressed the conditions of employment within the firm. Another ruling held that acompany's labor-management committees were in effect labor organizations used tobypass negotiations with a labor union. As a result of these rulings, a number of employerrepresentatives expressed their concern that quality circles, as well as other kinds oflabor-management cooperation programs, would be hindered. However, the NLRB statedthat these rulings were not general indictments against quality circles and labor-management cooperation programs, but were aimed specifically at the practices of thecompanies in question.

Requirements for Successful Quality Circles

In his book Productivity Improvement: A Guide for Small Business, Ira B. Gregermanoutlined a number of requirements for a small business contemplating the use of qualitycircles. First, the small business owner should be comfortable with a participativemanagement approach. It is also important that the small business have good, cooperativelabor-management relations, as well as the support of middle managers for the qualitycircle program. The small business owner must be willing and able to commit the timeand resources needed to train the employees who will participate in the program,particularly the quality circle leaders and facilitators. It may even be necessary to hireoutside facilitators if the time and expertise does not exist in-house. Some smallbusinesses may find it helpful to establish a steering committee to provide direction andguidance for quality circle activities. Even if all these requirements are met, the smallbusiness will only benefit from quality circles if employee participation is voluntary, andif employees are allowed some input into the selection of problems to be addressed.Finally, the small business owner must allow time for the quality circles to begin

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achieving desired results; in some cases, it can take more than a year for expectations tobe met.

But successful quality circles offer a wide variety of benefits for small businesses. Forexample, they serve to increase management's awareness of employee ideas, as well as

employee awareness of the need for innovation within the company. Quality circles alsoserve to facilitate communication and increase commitment among both labor andmanagement. In enhancing employee satisfaction through participation in decision-making, such initiatives may also improve a small business's ability to recruit and retainqualified employees. In addition, many companies find that quality circles furtherteamwork and reduce employee resistance to change. Finally, quality circles can improvea small business's overall competitiveness by reducing costs, improving quality, andpromoting innovation.

Further Reading:

Allender, Hans D. "Using Quality Circles to Develop an Action Plan Required forLeading Organizations." Industrial Management. September-October 1992.

Gregerman, Ira B. Productivity Improvement:A Guide for Small Business. New York:Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1984.

Gryna, Frank M., Jr. Quality Circles: A Team Approach to Problem Solving. AMACOM,1981.

"New Rules on Employee Involvement." Industry Week. February 1, 1993.

Noble, Barbara Presley. "Worker-Participation Programs are Found Illegal." New YorkTimes. June 8, 1993.

Ross, Joel E., and William C. Ross. Japanese Quality Circles and Productivity. RestonPublishing Company, 1982.

Uchitelle, Louis. "Workers Seek Executive Role, Study Says." New York Times.December 5, 1994.

Weiss, Howard J., and Mark E. Gershon. Production and Operations Management.Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1989.

US History Encyclopedia: Quality CirclesQuality Circles is a term used in human resources management that refers to thetechnique of motivating workers by allowing them input into decisions concerning theproduction process, thereby increasing productivity and profits. The underlying premiseis that productivity will increase for two reasons: because the person best able to decidethe most efficient way to do a job is the person who does it for a living and because

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employees who have greater control over the product will be more committed andeffective workers.

Originating in Japan in 1962, quality circles were introduced in the United States in theearly 1970s. By the mid-1990s thousands of manufacturing plants, banks, hospitals, and

government agencies had implemented quality circles. A circle typically consists of threeto twelve employees from a given department and a representative of management. Thecircle meets on a regular basis on company time to examine a limited range of issuesrelated to the department, identify and analyze problems, and propose solutions. Thefocus of the circles is on improving both the quality of the product and the productionprocess. Some critics view quality circles as antiunion corporate strategies, intended tomake employees feel as though they have input while denying them real power in theworkplace.

Bibliography

Cole, Robert E. Managing Quality Fads: How American Business Learned to Play theQuality Game. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Cotton, John L. Employee Involvement: Methods for Improving Performance and WorkAttitudes. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1993.

Giordano, Lorraine. Beyond Taylorism: Computerization and the New IndustrialRelations. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992.

Grenier, Guillermo J. Inhuman Relations: Quality Circles and Anti-Unionism inAmerican Industry. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988.

Wikipedia: quality circleA Quality Circle is a volunteer group composed of workers, or even a group of studentsnowadays, who meet together to discuss workplace improvement, and make presentationsto management with their ideas, especially relating to quality of output. Typical topics areimproving safety, improving product design, and improvement in manufacturing process.This can not only improve the performance of any organisation, but also motivate andenrich the work life of employees. The ideal size of a quality circle is from 8 to 10members.

Quality circles have the advantage of continuity, the circle remains intact from project toproject. (For a comparison to Quality Improvement Teams see Juran's Quality byDesign[1].

Quality Circles were started in Japan in 1962 (Kaoru Ishikawa has been credited forcreating Quality Circles) as another method of improving quality. The movement inJapan was coordinated by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). Prof.

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Ishikawa, who believed in tapping the creative potential of workers, innovated theQuality Circle movement to give Japanese industry that extra creative edge.

The use of Quality Circles has spread beyond Japan, in particular to Scandinaviancountries. Quality circles are implemented even in educational sectors in India and QCFI

(Quality Circle Forum of India) is promoting such activities.

There are different quality circle tools, namely:

The Ishikawa diagram - which shows hierarchies of causes contributing to a problemThe Pareto Chart - which analyses different causes by frequency to illustrate the vitalcauseThe PDCA-Deming wheel - Plan, Do, Check, Act, as described by W. Edwards Deming

See alsoTeamworkCommunity of Practice

References^ Quality by Design, J.M. Juran, The Free Press, 1992, ISBN 0-02-916683-7. Pages 394-399The Quality Book, by Greg Hutchins, published by QPE, Portland OR. 1996Guide to Students` Quality Circles: An Approach to Prepare Total Quality People, byProf. Dinesh P Chapagain, Published by NQPCN, Nepal, 2006Innovation in the Knowledge-Based Economy:ChallengesAhead (B- Lundvall, 2006)Article citing the importance of the Quality Circles.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not havebeen reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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