Quality circles are a tool that enables management to engage employees, at all levels, and gives you the ability to work continuously for quality when you believe in the concept of "total quality."
Background
The Quality Circles were born in Japan in the early 50's, after World War II. At that time, the products that Japan sold to the world were very cheap but also very bad, in terms of quality. The Japanese observing this, set the goal of improving the quality of their products, trying to keep prices low and one of the tools they introduced, apart from quality control as such, to achieve this is what we know today as quality circles..
By the mid-1990s, there were more than 1.1 million quality circles in Japan, of which more than 11 million workers were part.
The circles worked in Japan, for the sample two buttons, Toyota and Sony, today market leaders and enjoying great prestige, but in the west the circles arrived well into the 70's, in the US the first one was created Quality circle in 1973 and in Europe it was only until 1978. From that time to the present day circles have become popular, as well as the search for quality in companies. Their great reception is due to the participation component that they add to the tasks of Quality Control, since they allow workers to get involved in problems and propose solutions to them, they also promote integration and create better work environments, which which, in many cases, increases productivity.
Definition
A quality circle is a small group of employees who perform similar tasks and who voluntarily meet regularly, during working hours, to identify the causes of their job problems and propose solutions to management.
What are they?
There are multiple definitions of what quality circles are, but they all speak of the same components: group, volunteer, detecting problems, seeking and proposing solutions, worker participation, etc… In this way, I believe that the most appropriate definition of a quality circle is:
A small group of employees who perform similar tasks and who voluntarily meet regularly, during working hours, to identify the causes of problems in their jobs and propose solutions to management.
characteristics
Quality circles share the same traits, the union of these traits are what make them beneficial for the organization and are:
- Size: they must have a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 15 members, the ideal number would be close to 8. Frequency: they meet at fixed intervals, ideally once a week. Members: they must be under the command or control of the same person who also participates. Participation: although the boss is part of the group, it is not he who makes the decisions, it is the group who does it. The group decides what problems or projects the management will work on and not. Decisions are not made by voting (majority) but by consensus. Volunteerism: circles do not impose themselves, it is each worker who decides whether to participate or not. Remuneration: the time that workers spend in circles is paid by the company.: Members must receive ongoing training in order to participate properly. Commitment:the leadership of the organization must be committed to the circles and must provide the necessary assistance and advice to the groups. Permanence: the circles are not structured to fix problems and then they break up, they must remain in time, always seeking their improvement and of the company.Evaluation: since what is not measured does not improve, the circles should also be evaluated.
Quality Circle Goals
Basically they are the following:
- Improve quality through the organization's awareness of a job well done and the need to continually improve processes and actions. Generate a better work environment, promoting spaces for participation and dialogue, in which the worker participates in making of decisions and proposes solutions.Improve communication horizontally and vertically in organizations, that is, both between workers and between workers and management and vice versa.
