ABSTRACT
Pressures to improve management in government have long been couched in terms of efficiency and economy. Comparatively little use has been made, however, of effective methods for controlling the equally important element of the quality of work. In general, the quality of a given product can be determined in three ways: by analyzing the complaints of those people who use or are affected by the product, by surveying the opinions and attitudes of people familiar with the product, or by some form of inspection, review, or test of the product itself. Statistical quality control employs two statistical techniques: the control chart and statistical sampling. Both of these techniques are based on the laws of probability. Quality circles (QC) are organizational interventions that seek to increase an organization's productivity and the quality of its products through direct employee participation. The major obstacle to the spread of statistical quality control seems to be the failure of government management people to promote it.
