Understanding Different Types of Quality Teams
Teamwork
There is a set of criteria for characterizing the various teams that are implanted into organizations that have adopted quality systems. These criteria are:
- The origin of the team members
- The collective goal or purpose for establishing the team
- The type of participation
- The team’s decision-making capacity
- The links between the team and organizational structure
The latter criterion is to assess the extent to which the team affects the organizational structure; i.e. if it modifies it and therefore is immersed in it, or if the team operates in parallel with the organizational structure, resulting in a “parallel organization.” Taking into account the role each team plays in the framework of Quality Management, we can distinguish two types:
- Quality committees, which play an essential role during the design and implementation of the quality system.
- Those aimed at improving processes, of which we distinguish three categories: quality circles, improvement teams, and autonomous groups.
These types of equipment show an evolution in terms of timing and degree of delegation in decision-making.
Quality Committees
Quality committees are formed by personnel from different functional areas of the company. They are usually composed of managers of these areas along with the manager of the company, and in large companies, middle managers also participate. Quality committees are created to initiate and develop the process of implementing the quality system. The objective pursued is to design and initiate a quality program, and they are a key element for the involvement and coordination of all departments. Following the introduction and development of the quality system, the basic function of these teams focuses on evaluation and maintenance.
Quality Circles
Quality circles are the first equipment directly related to the activities of Quality Management, and for several years were one of the mechanisms of participation used in Japanese companies. Quality circles are small groups of employees at the same hierarchical level, performing an identical or similar task in a common work area. Therefore, they are from the same functional area and report to the same supervisor. Its members meet regularly and voluntarily and are trained to identify, select, and analyze problems and improvement opportunities related to their work, recommend solutions, submit them to the address, and if approved, carry out their implementation.
| Quality Committees | Quality Circles | Improvement Teams | Autonomous or Self-Directed Groups | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source | In the same or different functional areas and/or the same or different hierarchical levels | Same functional area and the same hierarchical level | In the same or different functional areas and/or the same or different hierarchical levels | Multifunctional |
| Objective | Support for the design and implementation of a quality management program | Study quality problems in your work area | Rate processes, improve quality and productivity, and reduce nonconformities | Performance of duties while searching for continuous process improvement |
| Participation | Forced | Volunteer | Forced | Forced |
| Temporality | Permanent | Disappear when the problem disappears or the area of improvement has been identified | Permanent | Permanent |
| Decision-Making Capacity | Created to make decisions that contribute to the implementation of the system. High involvement in the proposed actions | Only pose suggestions, and management decides. Minor involvement | Created to make decisions to resolve the problem; sometimes, this decision must be supervised by management. High involvement in the proposed actions. | Make decisions to improve a process; sometimes, this decision must be supervised by management. High involvement in the proposed actions |
| Links to Organizational Structure | Parallel teams | Maintain the organizational structure | Parallel teams | Integrated into the organizational structure |