Six Sigma - A program of statistical process control developed by Motorola and expanded upon by GE which is pitched as a way to cut defects and eliminate rework. This leads to increased standardization of jobs, less reliance on the skill and knowledge of the workers, and helps pave the way for the transfer, speed-up and elimination of work. A system where workers carefully document how their machine runs and all the steps they take to produce a product. This is supposed to help maintain quality, but usually it is used to eliminate in process quality inspectors. Team Concept - A variation of quality circles.
Workers form teams in each work area and compete with other teams to produce the most for the boss.
This usually comes with heavy brainwashing sessions on why workers and the employer should be buddies. Neither side is supposed to prepare an agenda or demands. The problem is, the boss always has an agenda. In reality, it is a means by which the company accesses the workers' ideas and knowledge of their jobs to cut costs and to ratchet up productivity. Worker empowerment does not apply to deciding on who gets the profits, setting work schedules, deciding what country to produce in, or any other item that really matters.