# Quality Control Circle

Operations · `Quality Control Circle` · verification: source checked

A quality control circle is a small group of workers and their team leader who collectively identify problems in their work area, analyze them, and provide solutions. At Toyota, circles are integrated into the overall total quality control system and shop-floor organization, and meet two to three times per month for 30 to 60 minutes. Circles were used widely in the U.S. during World War II, reached their greatest success in Japan after the war, and were re-imported by the U.S. during the quality movement of the 1970s and 1980s.

## Specification

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## Study notes

- Definition: a small group of workers and their team leader who collectively identify problems in their work area, analyze them, and provide solutions.
- At Toyota, circles are integrated into the overall total quality control system and shop-floor organization, in contrast to other companies, particularly in the West.
- Toyota circles meet two to three times per month for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Management expert Peter Drucker noted that circles were used widely in the U.S. during World War II.
- Circles reached their greatest success in Japan after the war.
- The U.S. re-imported circles during the quality movement of the 1970s and 1980s.
- U.S. circles often were not integrated into an overall continuous improvement effort; these isolated circles dissolved as the fad faded in the late 1980s.
- The document cross-references Team Leader and Total Quality Management; no matching entries are available in the reference list.

## Sources

1. [Quality Control Circle - Lean Enterprise Institute](https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/quality-control-circle/) (accessed 2026-10-25)

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