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Pages 182-187
Published online: 28 Dec 2017
 
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The success story of Quality Circles (QC) fills popular and professional journals. A Quality Circle consists of a group of employees who voluntarily meet regularly to discuss quality and other problems related to their work. Employees try to determine causes, recommend action, and take corrective measures. However, inherent in QC design and implementation are a number of factors that cause them to self-destruct.

Factors resulting in the demise of Quality Circles include the inability of employees to acquire communication skills involving group process and problem solving. Inadequate communication skills and communication experiences decrease the effectiveness of QC interventions. Sufficient pre-Quality Circle training and skill building are vital elements in successful QC projects. QC groups that continue list social satisfaction of members as a key point.

This study explores the effectiveness of transactional analysis as a pre-Quality Circle strategy that increases perceived co-worker communication as reflected by increased satisfaction with peer support, peer goal emphasis, work group facilitation, and co-worker interaction facilitation.

In a pretest, posttest, control group design, transactional analysis increased co-worker perception of communication and interaction at a statistically significant level. The authors conclude that transactional analysis may be a viable tool for preintervention strategy or as a team skills-building phase preceding the actual Quality Circle organizational effort.

Additional information

Author information

Nick Nykodym

Nick Nykodym, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Management at The University of Toledo. He is the author of various research papers and articles, and co-author of Communications: The Key to Business and Organizational Effectiveness. His research and publication interests are in the areas of transactional analysis, organizational development, stress management and employee selection systems.

William Ruud

William N. Ruud, Ph.D., is the Director of Undergraduate Studies and Assistant Professor of Management at The University of Toledo. He is the author of several research papers and articles for the Academy of Management, American Institute for Decision Sciences, Journal of Employment Counseling, and SAM Advanced Management Journal. Research interests include management education, quality circles, and personnel.

Patrick Liverpool

Patrick R. Liverpool, D.B.A., is Assistant Professor of Management at The University of Toldeo. His research interests are employee participation in decision making, employee-ownership, work/non-work behavior, and comparative management.