Quality Circle

Definition:

Quality Circle is a small group of 6 to 12 employees doing similar work who

 Voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to identify improvements in their

 respective work areas using proven techniques for analysing and solving

work related problems coming in the way of achieving and sustaining excellence

 leading to mutual upliftment of employees as well as the organisation. It is "a

way of capturing the creative and innovative power that lies within the work force".

Philosophy: Quality Circles is a people – building philosophy, providing self-motivation  and happiness in improving environment without any compulsion or monetary  benefits. It represents a philosophy of managing people specially those at the  grass root level as well as a clearly defined mechanism and methodology for  translating this philosophy into practice and a required structure to make it a  way of life. It is bound to succeed where people are respected and are involved  in decisions, concerning their work life, and in environments where peoples’  capabilities are looked upon as assets to solve work-area problems. The Quality Circle philosophy calls for a progressive attitude on the part of the  management and their willingness to make adjustments, if necessary, in  their style and culture.

 If workers are prepared to contribute their ideas, the management must be 

willing to create a congenial environment to encourage them to do so.

Concept:

The concept of Quality Circle is primarily based upon recognition of the value of the 

worker as a human being, as someone who willingly activises on his job, 

his wisdom, intelligence, experience, attitude and feelings. It is based upon the human

 resource management considered as one of the key factors in the improvement 

 of product quality & productivity. Quality Circle concept has three major attributes:

1. Quality Circle is a form of participation management.
2. Quality Circle is a human resource development technique.
3. Quality Circle is a problem solving technique.

Objective:

The objectives of Quality Circles are multi-faced.
a) Change in Attitude.
From "I don’t care" to "I do care"
Continuous improvement in quality of work life through humanisation of work.

b) Self Development
Bring out ‘Hidden Potential’ of people
People get to learn additional skills.

c) Development of Team Spirit
Individual Vs Team – "I could not do but we did it"
Eliminate inter departmental conflicts.

d) Improved Organisational Culture
Positive working environment.
Total involvement of people at all levels.
Higher motivational level.
Participate Management process.

Organisational Structure:

The structure of a Quality Circle consists of the following elements.

1. A steering committee: This is at the top of the structure. It is headed by a senior executive and includes representatives from the top management personnel and human resources development people. It establishes policy, plans and directs the program and meets usually once in a month.
2. Co-ordinator: He may be a Personnel or Administrative officer who co-ordinates and supervises the work of the facilitators and administers the programme.
3. Facilitator: He may be a senior supervisory officer. He co-ordiates the works of several quality circles through the Circle leaders.
4. Circle leader: Leaders may be from lowest level workers or Supervisors. A Circle leader organises and conducts Circle activities.
5. Circle members :They may be staff workers. Without circle members the programme cannot exist. They are the lifeblood of quality circles. They should attend all meetings as far as possible, offer suggestions and ideas, participate actively in group process, take training seriously with a receptive attitude.The roles of Steering Committee, Co-0rdinator, Facilitator, Circle leader and Circle members are well defined.

Process of operation:

The operation of quality circles involves a set of sequential steps as under:

1 Problem identification: Identify a number of problems.

2 Problem selection : Decide the priority and select the problem to be taken up first.

3 Problem Analysis : Problem is clarified and analysed by basic problem solving methods.

4 Generate alternative solutions : Identify and evaluate causes and generate number of possible alternative solutions.

5 Select the most appropriate solution : Discuss and evaluate the alternative solutions by comparison in terms of investment and return from the investment. This enables to select the most appropriate solution.

6 Prepare plan of action : Prepare plan of action for converting the solution into reality which includes the considerations "who, what, when, where, why and how" of solving problems.

7 Present solution to management circle members present solution to management fore approval.

8. Implementation of solution : The management evaluates the recommended solution. Then it is tested and if successful, implemented on a full scale.

Maslow's Theory

Introduction:
The basis of Maslow's motivation theory is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower factors need to be satisfied before higher needs can be satisfied. According to Maslow, there are general types of needs (physiological, survival, safety, love, and esteem) that must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly. He called these needs "deficiency needs." As long as we are motivated to satisfy these cravings, we are moving towards growth, toward self-actualization. Satisfying needs is healthy, while preventing gratification makes us sick or act evilly.


Maslow's model indicates that fundamental, lower-order needs like safety and physiological requirements have to be satisfied in order to pursue higher-level motivators along the lines of self-fulfillment. As depicted in the following hierarchical diagram, sometimes called 'Maslow's Needs Pyramid' or 'Maslow's Needs Triangle', after a need is satisfied it stops acting as a motivator and the next need one rank higher starts to motivate.

Self-actualization:

Self-actualization is the summit of Maslow's motivation theory. It is about the quest of reaching one's full potential as a person. Unlike lower level needs, this need is never fully satisfied; as one grows psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow.

Self-actualized people tend to have motivators such as:

• Truth
• Justice
• Wisdom
• Meaning

Self-actualized persons have frequent occurrences of peak experiences, which are energized moments of profound happiness and harmony. According to Maslow, only a small percentage of the population reaches the level of self-actualization.

Esteem Needs:

After a person feels that they "belong", the urge to attain a degree of importance emerges. Esteem needs can be categorized as external motivators and internal motivators.

Internally motivating esteem needs are those such as self-esteem, accomplishment, and self respect.  External esteem needs are those such as reputation and recognition.

Some examples of esteem needs are:

• Recognition (external motivator) 
• Attention (external motivator) 
• Social Status (external motivator) 
• Accomplishment (internal motivator) 
• Self-respect (internal motivator)

Maslow later improved his model to add a layer in between self-actualization and esteem needs: the need for aesthetics and knowledge.

Social Needs:

Once a person has met the lower level physiological and safety needs, higher level motivators awaken. The first level of higher level needs are social needs. Social needs are those related to interaction with others and may include:

• Friendship
• Belonging to a group
• Giving and receiving love

Safety Needs:

Once physiological needs are met, one's attention turns to safety and security in order to be free from the threat of physical and emotional harm. Such needs might be fulfilled by:

• Living in a safe area
• Medical insurance
• Job security
• Financial reserves

According to the Maslow hierarchy, if a person feels threatened, needs further up the pyramid will not receive attention until that need has been resolved.

Physiological Needs:

Physiological needs are those required to sustain life, such as:

• Air
• Water
• Food
• Sleep

According to this theory, if these fundamental needs are not satisfied then one will surely be motivated to satisfy them. Higher needs such as social needs and esteem are not recognized until one satisfies the needs basic to existence.

                                                         

Herzberg’s Theory

In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioural scientist proposed a two-factor theory or the motivator-hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, there are some job factors that result in satisfaction while there are other job factors that prevent dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, the opposite of “Satisfaction” is “No satisfaction” and the opposite of “Dissatisfaction” is “No Dissatisfaction”.

                                                                   

Herzberg classified these job factors into two categories-

Manpower Planning which is also called as Human Resource Planning consists

of putting right number of people, right kind of people at the right place, right

 time, doing the right things for which they are suited for the achievement of

goals of the organization. Human Resource Planning has got an

important place in the arena of industrialization. Human Resource Planning

 has to be a systems approach and is carried out in a set procedure.

The procedure is as follows:

1. Analysing the current manpower inventory
2. Making future manpower forecasts
3. Developing employment programmes
4. Design training programmes

Steps in Manpower Planning

1. Analysing the current manpower inventory- Before a manager makes

forecast of future manpower, the current manpower status has to be

analysed. For this the following things have to be noted-

• Type of organization
• Number of departments
• Number and quantity of such departments
• Employees in these work units

Once these factors are registered by a manager, he goes for the future forecasting.

2. Making future manpower forecasts- Once the factors affecting the future manpower

 forecasts are known, planning can be done for the future manpower requirements

in several work units.

The Manpower forecasting techniques commonly employed by the organizations are

 as follows:

1. Expert Forecasts: This includes informal decisions, formal expert surveys and

Delphi technique.

2. Trend Analysis: Manpower needs can be projected through extrapolation

(projecting past trends), indexation (using base year as basis), and statistical

analysis (central tendency measure).

3. Work Load Analysis: It is dependent upon the nature of work load in a

department, in a branch or in a division.

4. Work Force Analysis: Whenever production and time period has to be

analysed, due allowances have to be made for getting net manpower requirements.

5. Other methods: Several Mathematical models, with the aid of computers

 are used to forecast manpower needs, like budget and planning analysis,

 regression, new venture analysis.

3. Developing employment programmes- Once the current inventory is compared

 with future forecasts, the employment programmes can be framed and developed

 accordingly, which will include recruitment, selection procedures and placement plans.

4. Design training programmes- These will be based upon extent of diversification,

 expansion plans, development programmes,etc. Training programmes depend upon

 the extent of improvement in technology and advancement to take place. It is

also done to improve upon the skills, capabilities, knowledge of the workers.

Importance of Manpower Planning

1. Key to managerial functions- The four managerial functions, i.e., planning,

organizing, directing and controlling are based upon the manpower. Human

resources help in the implementation of all these managerial activities

. Therefore, staffing becomes a key to all managerial functions.

2. Efficient utilization- Efficient management of personnels becomes an important

function in the industrialization world of today. Seting of large scale

enterprises require management of large scale manpower. It can be effectively

 done through staffing function.

3. Motivation- Staffing function not only includes putting right men on right job, but it

 also comprises of motivational programmes, i.e., incentive plans to be

framed for further participation and employment of employees in a concern.

 Therefore, all types of incentive plans becomes an integral part of staffing function.

4. Better human relations- A concern can stabilize itself if human relations develop

and are strong. Human relations become strong trough effective control, clear

communication, effective supervision and leadership in a concern. Staffing function

 also looks after training and development of the work force which leads to

co-operation and better human relations.

5. Higher productivity- Productivity level increases when resources are utilized in

best possible manner. higher productivity is a result of minimum wastage of time,

 money, efforts and energies.This is possible through the staffing and it's

related activities ( Performance appraisal, training and development, remuneration)

Need of Manpower Planning

Manpower Planning is a two-phased process because manpower planning not only

analyses the current human resources but also makes manpower forecasts and

thereby draw employment programmes. Manpower Planning is advantageous to firm in

following manner:

1. Shortages and surpluses can be identified so that quick action can be taken

wherever required.

2. All the recruitment and selection programmes are based on manpower planning.
3. It also helps to reduce the labour cost as excess staff can be identified and

thereby overstaffing can be avoided.

4. It also helps to identify the available talents in a concern and accordingly

training programmes can be chalked out to develop those talents.

5. It helps in growth and diversification of business. Through manpower planning,

 human resources can be readily available and they can be utilized in best manner.

6. It helps the organization to realize the importance of manpower management

 which ultimately helps in the stability of a concern.

Types of Recruitment

Human resources recruiting is the recruitment of personnel to fill job vacancies. In other words, human resources management actively seeks out candidates to become employees of a business. Human resources departments, especially those in large corporations, are usually always looking to fill jobs in their company. Many companies build a database of applicants to refer to when a job openings occurs. Human resources recruiting is a crucial part of employment and includes searching for suitable job candidates as well as interviewing them.


Within a business, there are two main types of employee recruitment: A) internal  B)external.


Internal Recruitment – is a recruitment which takes place within the concern or organization. Internal sources of recruitment are readily available to an organization. Internal sources are primarily three – Transfers, promotions and Re-employment of ex-employees. Re-employment of ex-employees is one of the internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. There are situations when ex-employees provide unsolicited applications also.

Internal recruitment may lead to increase in employee’s productivity as their motivation level increases. It also saves time, money and efforts. But a drawback of internal recruitment is that it refrains the organization from new blood. Also, not all the manpower requirements can be met through internal recruitment. Hiring from outside has to be done.

Internal sources are primarily 3

1. Transfers
2. Promotions (through Internal Job Postings) and
3. Re-employment of ex-employees - Re-employment of ex-employees is one of the internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. There are situations when ex-employees provide unsolicited applications also.

External Recruitment – External sources of recruitment have to be solicited from outside the organization. External sources are external to a concern. But it involves lot of time and money .The external sources of recruitment include – Employment at factory gate, advertisements, employment exchanges, employment agencies, educational institutes, labour contractors, recommendations etc.

1. Employment at Factory Level – This a source of external recruitment in which the applications for vacancies are presented on bulletin boards outside the Factory or at the Gate. This kind of recruitment is applicable generally where factory workers are to be appointed. There are people who keep on soliciting jobs from one place to another. These applicants are called as unsolicited applicants. These types of workers apply on their own for their job. For this kind of recruitment workers have a tendency to shift from one factory to another and therefore they are called as “badli” workers.
2. Advertisement – It is an external source which has got an important place in recruitment procedure. The biggest advantage of advertisement is that it covers a wide area of market and scattered applicants can get information from advertisements. Medium used is Newspapers and Television.
3. Employment Exchanges – There are certain Employment exchanges which are run by government. Most of the government undertakings and concerns employ people through such exchanges. Now-a-days recruitment in government agencies has become compulsory through employment exchange.
4. Employment Agencies – There are certain professional organizations which look towards recruitment and employment of people, i.e. these private agencies run by private individuals supply required manpower to needy concerns.
5. Educational Institutions – There are certain professional Institutions which serves as an external source for recruiting fresh graduates from these institutes. This kind of recruitment done through such educational institutions, is called as Campus Recruitment. They have special recruitment cells which helps in providing jobs to fresh candidates.
6. Recommendations – There are certain people who have experience in a particular area. They enjoy goodwill and a stand in the company. There are certain vacancies which are filled by recommendations of such people. The biggest drawback of this source is that the company has to rely totally on such people which can later on prove to be inefficient.
7. Labour Contractors – These are the specialist people who supply manpower to the Factory or Manufacturing plants. Through these contractors, workers are appointed on contract basis, i.e. for a particular time period. Under conditions when these contractors leave the organization, such people who are appointed have to also leave the concern.

Manpower Planning

Manpower Planning which is also called as Human Resource Planning consists of putting right number of people, right kind of people at the right place, right time, doing the right things for which they are suited for the achievement of goals of the organization. Human Resource Planning has got an important place in the arena of industrialization. Human Resource Planning has to be a systems approach and is carried out in a set procedure. The procedure is as follows:

1. Analysing the current manpower inventory
2. Making future manpower forecasts
3. Developing employment programmes
4. Design training programmes

Steps in Manpower Planning

1. Analysing the current manpower inventory- Before a manager makes forecast of future manpower, the current manpower status has to be analysed. For this the following things have to be noted-
• Type of organization
• Number of departments
• Number and quantity of such departments
• Employees in these work units

Once these factors are registered by a manager, he goes for the future forecasting.

2. Making future manpower forecasts- Once the factors affecting the future manpower forecasts are known, planning can be done for the future manpower requirements in several work units.

The Manpower forecasting techniques commonly employed by the organizations are as follows:

1. Expert Forecasts: This includes informal decisions, formal expert surveys and Delphi technique.
2. Trend Analysis: Manpower needs can be projected through extrapolation (projecting past trends), indexation (using base year as basis), and statistical analysis (central tendency measure).
3. Work Load Analysis: It is dependent upon the nature of work load in a department, in a branch or in a division.
4. Work Force Analysis: Whenever production and time period has to be analysed, due allowances have to be made for getting net manpower requirements.
5. Other methods: Several Mathematical models, with the aid of computers are used to forecast manpower needs, like budget and planning analysis, regression, new venture analysis.
2. Developing employment programmes- Once the current inventory is compared with future forecasts, the employment programmes can be framed and developed accordingly, which will include recruitment, selection procedures and placement plans.
3. Design training programmes- These will be based upon extent of diversification, expansion plans, development programmes,etc. Training programmes depend upon the extent of improvement in technology and advancement to take place. It is also done to improve upon the skills, capabilities, knowledge of the workers.

Importance of Manpower Planning

1. Key to managerial functions- The four managerial functions, i.e., planning, organizing, directing and controlling are based upon the manpower. Human resources help in the implementation of all these managerial activities. Therefore, staffing becomes a key to all managerial functions.
2. Efficient utilization- Efficient management of personnels becomes an important function in the industrialization world of today. Seting of large scale enterprises require management of large scale manpower. It can be effectively done through staffing function.
3. Motivation- Staffing function not only includes putting right men on right job, but it also comprises of motivational programmes, i.e., incentive plans to be framed for further participation and employment of employees in a concern. Therefore, all types of incentive plans becomes an integral part of staffing function.
4. Better human relations- A concern can stabilize itself if human relations develop and are strong. Human relations become strong trough effective control, clear communication, effective supervision and leadership in a concern. Staffing function also looks after training and development of the work force which leads to co-operation and better human relations.
5. Higher productivity- Productivity level increases when resources are utilized in best possible manner. higher productivity is a result of minimum wastage of time, money, efforts and energies.This is possible through the staffing and it's related activities ( Performance appraisal, training and development, remuneration)

Need of Manpower Planning

Manpower Planning is a two-phased process because manpower planning not only analyses the current human resources but also makes manpower forecasts and thereby draw employment programmes. Manpower Planning is advantageous to firm in following manner:

1. Shortages and surpluses can be identified so that quick action can be taken wherever required.
2. All the recruitment and selection programmes are based on manpower planning.
3. It also helps to reduce the labour cost as excess staff can be identified and thereby overstaffing can be avoided.
4. It also helps to identify the available talents in a concern and accordingly training programmes can be chalked out to develop those talents.
5. It helps in growth and diversification of business. Through manpower planning, human resources can be readily available and they can be utilized in best manner.
6. It helps the organization to realize the importance of manpower management which ultimately helps in the stability of a concern.

Kanban System

A kanban or “pull” production control system uses simple, visual signals to control the movement of materials between work centers as well as the production of new materials to replenish those sent downstream to the next work center.  Originally, the name kanban (translated as “signboard” or “visible record”) referred to a Japanese shop sign that communicated the type of product sold at the shop through the visual image on the sign (for example, using circles of various colors to indicate a shop that sells paint).  As implemented in the Toyota Production System, a kanban is a card that is attached to a storage and transport container.  It identifies the part number and container capacity, along with other information, and is used to provide an easily understood, visual signal that a specific activity is required.

In Toyota’s dual-card kanban system, there are two main types of kanban:

1. Production Kanban: signals the need to produce more parts

2. Withdrawal Kanban (also called a "move" or a "conveyance” kanban): signals the need to withdraw parts from one work center and deliver them to the next work center.

In some pull systems, other signaling approaches are used in place of kanban cards.  For example, an empty container alone (with appropriate identification on the container) could serve as a signal for replenishment.  Similarly, a labeled, pallet-sized square painted on the shop floor, if uncovered and visible, could indicate the need to go get another pallet of materials from its point of production and move it on top of the empty square at its point of use.

A kanban system is referred to as a pull‑system, because the kanban is used to pull parts to the next production stage only when they are needed.  In contrast, an MRP system (or any schedule‑based system) is a push system, in which a detailed production schedule for each part is used to push parts to the next production stage when scheduled.  Thus, in a pull system, material movement occurs only when the work station needing more material asks for it to be sent, while in a push system the station producing the material initiates its movement to the receiving station, assuming that it is needed because it was scheduled for production.  The weakness of a push system (MRP) is that customer demand must be forecast and production lead times must be estimated.  Bad guesses (forecasts or estimates) result in excess inventory and the longer the lead time, the more room for error.  The weakness of a pull system (kanban) is that following the JIT production philosophy is essential, especially concerning the elements of short setup times and small lot sizes, because each station in the process must be able to respond quickly to requests for more materials.

Dual-card Kanban Rules:

1. No parts are made unless there is a production kanban to authorize production.  If no production kanban are in the “in box” at a work center, the process remains idle, and workers perform other assigned activities.  This rule enforces the “pull” nature of the process control.
2. There is exactly one kanban per container.
3. Containers for each specific part are standardized, and they are always filled with the same (ideally, small) quantity.  (Think of an egg carton, always filled with exactly one dozen eggs.)

Decisions regarding the number of kanban (and containers) at each stage of the process are carefully considered, because this number sets an upper bound on the work-in-process inventory at that stage. For example, if 10 containers holding 12 units each are used to move materials between two work centers, the maximum inventory possible is 120 units, occurring only when all 10 containers are full.  At this point, all kanban will be attached to full containers, so no additional units will be produced (because there are no unattached production kanban to authorize production).  This feature of a dual-card kanban system enables systematic productivity improvement to take place.  By deliberately removing one or more kanban (and containers) from the system, a manager will also reduce the maximum level of work-in-process (buffer) inventory.  This reduction can be done until a shortage of materials occurs.  This shortage is an indication of problems (accidents, machine breakdowns, production delays, defective products) that were previously hidden by excessive inventory.  Once the problem is observed and a solution is identified, corrective action is taken so that the system can function at the lower level of buffer inventory.  This simple, systematic method of inventory reduction is a key benefit of a dual card kanban system.