The use of quality circles in the automobile parts industry

A sample of 65 companies from the automotive parts industry responded to a questionnaire about their practices in quality control (QC) circles. The results supported the value of using QC circles for both quality improvement and organizational effectiveness. The support of the different levels of management, particularly those in the plant, was found to be an important consideration for their success. The unions' involvement and support, as well as employee participation, were also related to the circles' success. Neither the method of choosing the leader of the QC circle nor the selection of the problems on which the group worked were found to be related to the success of the circles