2 • Managing for Productivity and Quality
51
disbanded. Quality circles have a good chance of achieving success under the following conditions:11
Top management is committed to using quality circles. As with any other management program, top management support is a necessary ingredient for success.
A group facilitator or quality circle trainer helps the QC supervisor launch the program and trains the members in problem-solving tech¬niques. QCs cannot be run on common sense alone. Some expert help is required.
Circle leaders encourage employee participation. QCs are designed to incorporate employee participation; if the leader makes decisions in¬dependently, the QC cannot achieve its goal of relying on the cre¬ativity of circle members.
Management grants recognition for ideas coming forth from the qual¬ity circle.
Membership must be voluntary. Employees who desire to contribute their ideas will outperform employees whaare assigned to the circle by their supervisors.
Projects are related to members’ actual job responsibilities. QCs are not a forum for amateurs making technical suggestions about other people’s work. QCs are designed to tap the knowledge of people most familiar with the operation—operative employees themselves.
Guidelines for Supervisory Practice
A major supervisory responsibility is to improve productivity and
quality.Most of your workdays should therefore be filled with man-
agerial actions that sustain or improve productivity and quality. Peri-¬
odically stop your work for a moment and ask, “How does what I am
doing right now contribute to productivity and quality?” If you ob¬
serve frequently that your actions are unrelated to productivity (in¬
cluding quality), it is advisable to revamp your priorities.
Each working day try to implement at least one principle of produc¬-
tivity improvement and one principle of quality improvement. Over a
period of time, this should have a positive impact on your department
productivity. In turn, this should have a positive effect on your career.
¹¹Based on a variety of sources synthesized in Andrew J. DuBrin, Contemporary Applied Management, 2nded. (Plano, Texas: Business Publications, 1985), pp. 178-81.
