Quality Circles Objectives and Other Details

Quality Circles Objectives and Other Details

                                                                 NITYA SUNDARA SIA

                                                                                                  nityasundarasia.irpm@gmail.com
Perhaps the most widely discussed and undertaken intervention of employee involvement is the quality circle (QC). The concept of QC originally began in the United States and was exported to Japan in the 1950s. It is mentioned that it is the concept of QC that enabled Japanese firms to make high quality products at low costs.
What is quality circle? It is a work group of employees who meet regularly to discuss their quality problems, investigate causes, recommend solutions, and take corrective actions. Generally, QC is a small group of employees belonging to the same similar work area.
This is so because the employees doing the similar type of work are well familiar to problems faced by them. The size of the QC should not be too big so as to prevent some members from participating meaningfully in its meetings. Generally, six to eight members are considered the ideal size of the QC.

QC is formed to achieve the following objectives:

1. Improvement in quality of product manufactured by the organization.
2. Improvement in methods of production.
3. Development of employees participating in QC.
4. Promoting morale of employees.
5. Respect humanity and create a happy work place worthwhile to work.
The main features of QC can be listed as follows:
1. Voluntary Groups:
QC is a voluntary group of employees generally coming from the same work area. There is no pressure from anywhere on employees to join QC.
2. Small Size:
The size of the QC is generally small consisting of six to eight members.
3. Regular Meeting:
QC meetings are held once a week for about an hour on regular basis. The members meet during working hours usually at the end of the working day in consultation with the manager. The time of the meetings is usually fixed in advance in consultation with the manager and members.
4. Independent Agenda:
Each QC has its own agenda with its own terms of reference. Accordingly, each QC discusses its own problems and takes corrective actions.
5. Quality Focused:
As per the very nature and intent of QC, it focuses exclusively on quality issues. This is because the ultimate purpose of QC is improvement in quality of product and working life.

Developing Quality Circles in Organisations:

Like any other organizational change, QC being a new concept may be opposed by the employees.
Therefore, QC should be developed and introduced with great concern and precaution as discussed below:



1. Publicising the Idea:
Introduction of QC is just like an organisational change programme Hence, like an organisational change programme, the workers need to be convinced about the need for and significance of QC from the points of view of the workers and the organisation. Moreover, participation in QC being voluntary, its publicity among the workers is necessary. To begin with, management can also arrange for initial training to those workers who want to form a quality circle.
2. Constitution of QC:
Workers doing the same or similar type of work are drawn voluntarily to form quality circle. The membership of a QC is generally restricted to eight to ten. Once a QC is formed, they remain as permanent members of the circle unless they leave that work area.
3. Initial Problem Solving:
The members of QC should discuss the problem at threadbare and, then, prepare a list of alternative solutions. Thereafter, each alternative solution should be evaluated and the final solution should be arrived at on the basis of consensus.
4. Presentation and Approval of Suggestions:
The final solution arrived at should be presented to the management either in oral or in written form. The management may evaluate the solution by constituting a committee for this purpose. The committee may also meet the members of the quality circle for clarifications, if required. Presentation of solutions to the management helps improve the communication between management and workers and reflects management’s interest to the members of QC.
5. Implementation:
Once the suggestion or solution is approved by the management, the same is being put into practice in a particular workplace. Quality circles may be organized gradually for other workplaces or departments also. In this way, following above outlined process, the entire organization can have quality circles.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

A Quality Circle has an appropriate organisational structure for its effective and efficient performance. It varies from industry to industry, organisation to organisation. But it is useful to have a basic framework as a model. The structure of a Quality Circle consists of the following elements.

A steering committee: This is at the top of the structure. It is headed by a senior executive and includes representatives from the top management personnel and human resources development people. It establishes policy, plans and directs the program and meets usually 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 several quality circles through the Circle leaders. 

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

Circle members : They may be staff workers. Without circle members the porgramme cannot exist. They are the lifeblood of quality circles. They should attend all meetings as far as possible, offer suggestions and ideas, participate actively in group process, take training seriously with a receptive attitude.The roles of Steering Committee, Co-0rdinator, Facilitator, Circle leader and Circle members are well define








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