What term describes small groups of workers meeting regularly to suggest improvements in the production process?

The term that accurately describes small groups of workers meeting regularly to suggest improvements in the production process is Quality Circles. These circles are typically composed of employees from the same work area or department who come together voluntarily to discuss and address issues related to their work processes. The key focus of Quality Circles is to harness the insights and experiences of the workers on the ground, facilitating a collaborative approach to identifying opportunities for enhancement in productivity, quality, and efficiency.

This approach not only encourages employee involvement and ownership of the processes but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement within the organization. By empowering employees to contribute ideas and solutions, businesses can effectively tap into their collective knowledge, leading to innovations that might otherwise be overlooked.

In contrast, benchmarking refers to comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests or best practices from other companies, which is a different concept focused on competition and standards. Market skimming involves setting high prices initially and lowering them over time, focusing on maximizing profits for a product. Promotional pricing is a temporary reduction in price aimed at increasing sales, which relates to marketing strategies rather than process improvement. Therefore, Quality Circles is the most appropriate term in this context.