The successful implementation of quality circles in U.S. manufacturing firms: An empirical study

One of the most popular Japanese management techniques adopted by American organizations since the 1970\u27s has been the quality circle. Perhaps, more has been written about this technique than any other technique about Japanese management during the past decade. There are two critical questions that need to be answered regarding the implementation of quality circles by U.S. companies: (1) Do quality circles work equally well in the U.S. as in Japan? and (2) if so, how can quality circles be implemented successfully in U.S. companies? This study attempts to identify a set of organizational characteristics which are important for successful implementation of quality circles in U.S. companies. The major research tasks are: (1) to delineate these critical organizational characteristics; (2) to discern the real benefits of quality circles; and (3) to explore the problems that U.S. companies typically encounter in implementing quality circles. The major objective is to develop a descriptive model to test the proposition that implementation of quality circles can improve product quality and productivity in U.S. companies. Research was conducted in three phases: sending questionnaires to quality circle coordinators/facilitators of 550 companies that currently have quality circles; conducting empirical case studies; and collecting documents from companies and professional associations concerning the status of quality circles in the U.S. The findings of this study indicate that successful implementation of quality circles requires a specific set of organizational characteristics. Furthermore, research findings support the following conclusions: (1) quality circles can be successfully implemented in the United States; and (2) implementation of quality circles can, indeed, improve the product quality and productivity of U.S. companies