Quality circles programmes are based on the assumptions that employee participation leads to valued outcomes such as intrinsic satisfaction and recognition, and that it also results in the implementation of changes which enhance productivity and satisfaction. An in-depth case study of one such programme finds that generally favourable testimonials by participants may be misleading. This programme yielded a few minor changes but little impact on productivity and attitudes in the unit as a whole. Causes for its demise are discussed.Given these cultural and contextual differences, it seems imperative to monitor the results of Q.C. programmes in American business settings. This paper presents an in-depth examination of the implementation of a quality circle programme in a large food-retailing organization. The programme was studied for five months prior to the beginning of circle activity and for one year after start-up. Formal and informal interviews and observations were used to explore contextual and design variables which contributed to attitude survey and productivity outcomes. The research was guided by a conceptual model (Mohrman, 1982) developed to predict the impact of employee participation on productivity and attitude outcomes.
THE QUALITY CIRCLES PROGRAMMEA quality circle is a small group of workers who apply problem-solving techniques to problems in their work setting. The quality circles programme which is the subject of this study was implemented in a warehousing operation which receives and warehouses perishable products from neighbouring processing facilities and loads trucks with the orders for 150 retail supermarkets. The circle programme was implemented as a pilot, and was one part of an overall corporate strategy toward increased employee involvement. Employee participation was seen as a means of coping with rapid growth and the transformation of the company from a relatively small, family-run organization to a large, partially automated operation with modernized facilities, retailing practices and managerial techniques.Department management in this 80 person two-shift operation volunteered to adopt the Q.C. programme. The six supervisors and department head had been exposed to human resources concepts through an earlier team building process. The implementation of the circles programme was preceded by a survey feedback process in which the results of a general organizational survey were fed back to groups of workers by specially trained co-workers. As survey feedback was a common practice in the company, its use was not perceived as an unusual intervention. Survey results triggered discussions around feelings of exclusion from information and decision-making in the department. All but four of the 80 department workers volunteered to be part of a pilot circles programme. The programme which was implemented had the following characteristics:Four 10 personproblem-solving 'teams' composed of a cross section of workers familiar with the warehousing operation. Worker leaders and co-leaders who were ex...
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