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As companies are forced to restructure from the excessive spending of the 1980s, more employers are turning to programs intended to empower the employee, raise productivity, and lower turnover and absenteeism. On one end of the scale are quality circles (QCs), defined as: "small groups of workers from the same work center who meet periodically to study, analyze, and solve work-related problems [6]." Employee involvement teams, whose focus of empowerment teaches employees to develop and initiate changes, lie in the middle of the spectrum. At the other end of the scale lie self-directed work teams (SDWTs). These SDWTs are autonomous groups whose purpose is to collectively master different aspects of the production process.
After years of declining quality and productivity, firms are using quality circles to provide increased communication and participation. These QCs also assist in reducing resistance to change, creating high quality solutions, improving attitudes, and decreasing absenteeism and turnover. "Quality circles, if implemented correctly, introduce new boundaries around work groups, increasing members' feelings of identity and inclusion and strengthening group cohesiveness [1]." One important strength of QCs is they provide for a mutual, communicative link with management for issues of common concern. The basics of QCs usually entail meeting once a week on company time, but not necessarily on company pay, to discuss and solve work-related problems. Studies show that QCs are effective in manufacturing if supported and carried out correctly by top management. However, QCs have not been successful in government agencies due to their bureaucratic and noncentralized structures. QC facilitators and investigators receive formal training in QC problem-solving processes and techniques. Tools used in QCs include brainstorming, cause-and-effect diagrams, flow charts, and Pareto analysis. Proposals are then forwarded to a QC steering committee for approval, and most often are implemented. "Steering committees meet monthly and include the heads of all divisions, stewards, and QC facilitators [6]." Employees may or may not be compensated but, regardless, they see QCs as a requirement for the economic success of the business.
Employee involvement teams (EITs) are another concept designed to empower the employees. These teams are also intended to improve quality, productivity, employee morale, and motivation. However, the difference between QCs and EITs is the level of empowerment used to implement suggested changes....