Question

Please do not copy paste. Write in your language (500 words)

Q. Quality circles are voluntary. Discuss.

Answer 1

Quality circles consist of individuals doing similar kind of work (may also include a specialist) who meet voluntarily every week (or in a definite time interval, but after working hours are over) for solving work-related issues in areas including production, work-environment, scheduling, safety and quality of equipment/raw materials/goods produced. People at different positions may also be part of the group and circle, provided they work in similar areas. However, these people are more related to the “quality” aspect of the products/services produced. These individuals may also receive some training under their supervisor/foreman so that they are more expert at identifying, analyzing and solving the problems, and they also gain from their own experiences over some time. Training may be provided in areas including statistical quality control, problem-solving and the analysis techniques among others.

No Compulsion Towards Participation in Quality Circles

Quality circles should not be too large, and most often they comprise 5 to 10 members. The actual strength may depend on the size of the organization and the concerned department. The members of the group and circle solely take the membership based on their consent and voluntarily, and are never compelled for doing so. In many cases, the responsible employees may feel the need to overcome the issues affecting their work on almost a regular basis. The quality circle soon becomes part of the “organization-wide quality control system” and also uses the quality control techniques for overcoming the deficits.

Greater Flexibility and Better Motivation

Quality circles hence possess greater flexibility and do not function as task forces. Because the individuals are more related to the quality aspects, their contribution helps in the removal of imperfections, which the other quality control programs may fail to find out. Because the association is voluntary, people with positive attitudes often come out for participation and such contribution turns out to be quite valuable. Their ideas and It is said that intrinsic motivation may often yield better results when compared to motivation achieved when reward programs are put in place. The net effect is that quality circles turn out to be much more than a room lying next to the production floor. The mindset of the volunteers is affected for good, and apart from gaining new skills and knowledge related to quality control and improvement, the employees also gain certain leadership qualities. Because of the hands-on job nature of workers who face the problems at the very first, their participation turns to be valuable immensely.

Because people from similar work areas participate in the group meetings, the supervisor of the foreman of the related work area turns out to be the best person for the leadership role. The discussions and analysis of the underlying issues (based on data, facts, and experiences among other factors) lead to conclusions and solutions as well, that are presented to the management of the company. Quality circles bring both tangible as well as intangible benefits to the organization and are long term approaches to improve the end value of the company offerings.