Quality Circle is a small group of 6 to 12 employees doing similar work who voluntarily meets together on a regular basis to identify improvements in
their respective work areas. Quality circles have the advantage of
continuity. Group members are trained by competent persons who may be personnel
and industrial relations specialists trained in human factors and the basic skills of
problem identification, information gathering and analysis, basic statistics, and
solution generation. Employees who participate in quality circles usually receive
training in formal problem-solving methods such as brain-storming, pareto analysis,
cause-and-effect diagrams and are then encouraged to apply these methods either
to specific or general company problems. After completing an analysis, they often
present their findings to management and then handle implementation of approved
solutions. After thoroughly reviewing literature, the author highlighted the probable
reasons behind the failures of the Quality Circle.
Keywords: Quality circle, Problem Solving, Brainstorming, Pareto Analysis, Cause and Effect Analysis.
