Title: Performance analysis of 5-S teams using quality circle financial accounting executive support system

Authors: R. Suresh Premil Kumar, C. Sudhahar, John F. Dickson, Merin Sathya Dhas I.S., V. Senthil, S.R. Devadasan, R. Murugesh

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Marthandam College of Engineering & Technology, Kuttakuzhi, Tamil Nadu, India. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Noorul Islam College of Engineering, Kumaracoil, Tamil Nadu, India. ' University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, RMK College of Engineering, Kavaraipettai, Chennai, India. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. ' Department of Production Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hindustan College of Engineering & Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: Albeit being a popular technique, the 5-S house keeping programme implementation had been intense only in the Japanese companies. The high costs and investment are cited as the main reasons for reluctance towards 5-S implementation in other parts of the world. This implies the need of a system to financially account the performance of 5-S teams. Meanwhile the researchers have established the link between 5-S concept and Quality Circles (QCs). In this context, this paper reports a research project in which the implementation feasibility of a QCs financial accounting system for financially accounting 5-S teams was checked by gathering relevant data from a unit of a multinational company situated in India. Subsequently the same data was inputted into an executive support system called QUEX which has been developed for financially accounting QCs. Its outputs were demonstrated to the 5-S facilitators. Their reactions were favourable indicating the practical validity of this research project.

Keywords: 5-S; QCs; quality circles; financial accounting; performance measurement; executive support systems; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMP.2009.022509

International Journal of Management Practice, 2009 Vol.3 No.3, pp.241 - 262

Published online: 12 Jan 2009 *

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