What Leaders Should Know about Quality Circles, TQM and Learning Organizations

摘要

For the past two decades, leaders in the public and private sectors haveexperimented with a series of management innovations to empower the work force and improve performance within the organization. Three key concepts have emerged. The quality circle (QC) movement was first introduced in the early 1980's to increase productivity, improve quality, and more actively involve the work force in decision making. A few years later, Total Quality Management (TQM) introduced new tools and methods to effect organizational change. One of the latest evolutionary concepts of the 1990's is the learning organization(LO). QCs, TQM and LOs represent methods, tools and ideas to help strategic and operational leaders guide their organizations. The key is understanding the theory and how to apply it. Accordingly, leaders should know how QCs, TQM and LOs evolved, how they work, and how they can be part of a vision to enhance organizational change to meet the challenges of an uncertain future. Those that do will increase their chances to successfully lead their organizations through the increasingly competitive and dynamic environment of the twenty-first century.