Students' Quality Control Circle: a case study on students' participation in the quality control circle at the Faculty of Business and Management

A pilot study on students' participation in Students' Quality Control Circle (SQCC) was carried out by the researcher at the Faculty of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM), Shah Alam, Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to identify the importance of the Quality Control Circle (QCC) to students and hence use it as a basis of consideration for the inclusion of the SQCC as a subject in the future. Participants for the pilot study comprised students from the Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) majoring in International Business, Part Two since they have had prior exposure to studies on Total Quality Management. The students who participated did so on a voluntary basis. The process of SQCC took nearly a year since it was undertaken outside the students' normal class hours. The students sent their report on the SQCC project which was subsequently published to the First International Conference on Students Quality Control at Lucknow, India in the same year. Feedback from the students who took part in the SQCC indicated that it was a suitable learning process and that it could be adopted as a subject. It is hoped that this will be taken up so that the students will be better prepared to face the challenges of working life after their graduation. This paper traces the researcher's experience as the facilitator for the SQCC and to present the feedback on the pilot study on the SQCC. It is recommended that a survey be made on the acceptance by potential employers on students equipped with QCC skills.