What constitutes a success, survivor, or failure regarding UK quality circle programmes, is not a clear‐cut issue, according to results from four questionnaire‐based surveys carried out by the Department of Management Sciences at UMIST, 1982–4. It is an open question whether some quality...

A recent research project on white collar quality circles in manufacturing industry was carried out because previous research at UMIST indicated that white collar circles were more difficult to set up and sustain. The study involved interviews in eleven companies which had or had had white...

A questionnaire sent to facilitators of 12 engineering companies and thence distributed to operational blue‐collar circles resulted in a 68 per cent response rate and established that the expectations, their realisation, the benefits, training, co‐operation and participation of all parties...