The organizations who are best at CQI also concentrate their efforts on change management initiatives and programs during this third step in the process. Companies who excel at their CQI-based programs and initiatives make the necessary investments in change management strategies and programs early so their employees and management teams have the opportunity to share ownership in this key process area (Parast, 2010). Studies of CQI programs critical success factors point to change management as being the single most important element in achieving the original goals of any quality management program, as without employees' support any program will fail over time (Parast, 2010). Once change management strategies have been put into place the senior management teams often works with the business analysts and quality improvement teams to define an action plan for accomplishing the goals of the program (Parast, 2010). During this step it is best to also include the key employees most affected by the change, as they will be called upon to manage the process-related modifications and improvements to the systems and procedures over time. This step is also critical to include the employees most affected by the CQI-based change to ensure they also buy into and support the measurement plan, with the next phase of a successful CQI initiative. Once measurement has been done, the senior management, process re-engineering experts and analysts and employees most affected by the change often meet to define the change management strategies to keeping the quality initiatives in place (Parast, 2010). This is a critical step as it begins to engrain the quality initiatives throughout the company and makes the process of change must easier to accomplish over time. These steps taken together are what are required for any CQI initiative to succeed over the long-term, as they must include change management principles in addition to permanent change to key process areas to succeed (Highfill, Mcasey, 2010).

Quality Circles

One of the recurring foundational elements throughout all quality improvement concepts and frameworks is the need for having employee involvement and buy-in for each to be successful (Parast, 2010). The concept of quality circles is predicated on this concept of employee...

Quality circles concentrate on taking on difficult, complex problems within organizations and through the input and creativity of key members of the circle team, reach a series of potential solutions. QC frameworks are especially prevalent in industries where there is a high level of compliance, quality management and quality auditing integral to the production and services processes of the company. There is also a heavy reliance on QC frameworks and programs to also support safety and manufacturing programs throughout many industries, as the brainstorming and creativity they generate are often representative of what the broader employee base is also thinking about and considering as solutions (Pereira, Osburn, 2007). QC circles are also prevalent in highly regulated industries where employees are producing products or delivering services that governments monitor the quality of. The role of QC programs in these areas concentrates on how best to accomplish company goals and stay in compliance.