This training manual provides information on the operation and function of "quality circles," a factory program introduced in Japan in which workers participate voluntarily in quality control and management decisions through various means of communication. Following an introduction, the manual presents a series of frequently asked questions about quality circles and then answers them. The next eight sections provide training modules dealing with the following topics: (1) problem prevention techniques, (2) brainstorming, (3) data collecting techniques, (4) data collection formats, (5) decision analysis using the Pareto chart (named for a nineteenth century European scholar), (6) basic cause and effect problem analysis, (7) process cause and effect problem analysis, and (8) ways to present ideas to management. Each chapter is followed by a worksheet and quiz. (HTH)