Applying ‘Total Quality Management’
Concept in Academics in context to higher educational system in rural region
Case Study of Shirpur
Taluka, Dist. Dhule (M.S.)
India.
Pingle Shubhangi
G., Lahiri Moon Moon, Jain
Nanda S.
R.C. Patel Educational Trust’s Institute
of Management Research and Development, Shirpur,
Dist: Dhule (M.S), India .425 405
*Corresponding Author E-mail: pingleshubhangi@rediffmail.com, lahirimoonmoon@gmail.com
ABSTRACT:
Introduction: Today, increased levels of
competition have resulted in ever rising importance to QUALITY in every sector
and consequently Total Quality Management (TQM) has become a key management
issue. Total Quality Management places strong focus on process measurement and
controls as means of continuous improvement. Total Quality Management is a set
of management practices throughout the organization, geared to ensure that the
organization consistently meets the customer’s requirements and expectations.
The concept of Total Quality Management is applicable in academics too. The
total quality approach will help all the stakeholders of education to develop a
process that will help all of them to succeed.
Research: A Case Study has been conducted
on the Higher Educational Institutions at Shirpur,
Dist. Dhule (Maharashtra). This case study is based
on the objective; to establish the general principles and core concepts those
helps in formulating TQM applicable in academics and to develop a general TQM
model suitable for higher educational institutions in rural regions.
The study is based on hardcore
primary data being collected in the form of Questionnaires AND interview
surveys from various principles, faculty members and students of different
streams. The collected data were analyzed using suitable statistical techniques
with the help of Pie charts, comparative table AND diagrams. The major inferences which have drawn from
the above mentioned study states:
(i) The Total
quality approach can help all stake holders of education to develop a process
that will help all students to succeed.
(ii) Such a belief will compel everyone in the
institutions towards development of research attitude and persist until success
is achieved.
(iii) The results
of this study can also be applied in higher Education at different regions with
minor modifications based on culture and needs in the institutions.
Study indicates that every stakeholder desires
to improve the quality in every aspect and if given a chance, they are capable
of meeting and exceeding academic expectations. Such a belief will compel
everyone in the institution to persist until success is achieved. On the basis
of survey analysis, the elements which are essential for implementing Total
Quality Management in academics have been recommended.
KEYWORDS: Total Quality Management,
Academics, Higher educational system, Rural region, PDCA cycle.
Today, increased levels of
competition have resulted in ever rising importance to QUALITY in every sector
and consequently Total Quality Management (TQM) has become a key management
issue.
Total Quality Management places
strong focus on process measurement and controls as means of continuous
improvement. Total Quality Management is a set of management practices
throughout the organization, geared to ensure that the organization
consistently meets the customer’s requirements and expectations. The concept of
Total Quality Management is applicable in academics too. The total quality
approach will help all the stakeholders of education to develop a process that
will help all of them to succeed.
Meaning of Total Quality Management:
TQM is a set of management
practices throughout the organization, geared to ensure that the organization consistently meets
the customer’s requirement and expectations. “TQM is a management approach for
an organization, centered on quality, based on the participation of all its
members and aiming at long –term success through customer satisfaction, and
benefits to all members of the organization and to society.” Under this approach,
the entire organization from the top level management to the lowest level
employees are committed and involved in never-ending quest to improve the
quality of outputs.
‘Total’ in TQM implies that it
is applied organization wide. ’Q’ in caps brings in the paradigm of conceptual
Quality and ‘M’ is the abbreviation for usual management with attendant
factions. TQM can be applied to any type of organization; it originated in the
manufacturing sector and has since been adapted for use in almost every type of
organization imaginable, including schools, highway maintenances, hotel
management and churches .As a current focus of e-business, TQM is based on
quality management from the customer’s point of view.
“All type of organization viz. manufacturing , education,
hospitals, call centers, government and service industries have reportedly
deployed TQM., Even NASA space (and their science programs) does not remain
insulated.” 1,2
Total Quality Management –HISTORY:
The concept of Total Quality
Management (TQM) was developed by an American, W. Edwards Deming, after World
War II for improving the production quality of goods and services. The concept
was not taken seriously by American until Japanese, who adopted it in 1950 to
resurrect their postwar business and industry, used it to dominate world
markets by 1980. People have recognized that Japanese success was not only due
to national, cultural and social differences but reflected strongly a new
attitude and desire of Japanese management to ensure that consumers receive
what is promised.
Processes of Total Quality Management:
TQM processes are divided into
four sequential categories:
PLAN, DO, CHECK, AND ACT (THE PDCA
CYCLE). In the planning phase , people define the problem to be addressed ,
collected data , and ascertain the problem’s root cause; in the doing phase ,
people develop and implement a solution , and decide upon a measurement to
gauge its effectiveness; in the checking phase , people, confirm the results
through before –and-after data comparison ; in the acting phase, people
document their results , inform others about process changes , and make
recommendations for the problem to be addressed in the next PDCA cycle.3
TQM applicable TO academics –WHY?
TQM is a philosophy and system
for continuously improving the services and /or products offered to customers.
Now that the technologies and communication have replaced national economic
systems with a global economy, nations and businesses that do not practices TQM
can become globally non-competitive rather rapidly.
Therefore, the potential
benefits of TQM in a school, districts or college are very clear:
1. TQM can help a school or college
provide better service to its primary customers-students and employees.
2. The continuous improvement focus
of TQM is a fundamental way of fulfilling the accountability requirements
common to educational reform.
3. Operating a no-fear TQM system
with a focus on continuous growth and improvement offers more excitement and
challenges to students and teachers than a “good-enough” learning environment
can provide.4,5
Applying Total Quality Management in Academics- HOW?
The concepts of TQM are
applicable to academics. Many educators believe the Deming’s concepts of TQM
provide guiding principles for needed reform. In his article, “The Quality
Revolution in Education”, John Jay Boastingly outlines the TQM principles he
believes are most salient to education reform. He calls them the “Four Pillars
of Total Quality Management”. 6
Principle # 1: Synergistic Relationships:
According to this principle, an
organization must focus, first and foremost, on its suppliers and customers. In
a TQM organization, everyone is both a customer and supplier; this concept
emphasizes “the systematic nature of the work in which all are involved”. In
other words, teamwork and collaboration are essential.
In a classroom, teacher-student
teams are the equivalent of industry’s front-line workers. The product of their
successful work together is the development of the student’s capabilities,
interests, and character. In one sense, the student is the teacher’s customer,
as the recipient of educational services provided for the student’s growth and
improvement. Viewed in this way, the teacher and the school are suppliers of effective
learning tools, environment, and system to the student, who is the school’s
primary customer. The school is responsible for providing for the long-term
educational welfare of students by teaching them hope to learn and how to
invest communicate in high-quality ways, how to access quality in their own
work and in that of others, and how to invest in their own lifelong and
life-wide learning processes by maximizing opportunities for growth in every
aspect of daily life. In another sense, the student is also a worker, whose
product is essentially his or her own continuous improvement and personal
growth.
Principle # 2: Continuous Improvement and Self Evaluation:
The second pillar of TQM applied
to education is the total education to continuous improvement, personally and
collectively. Within a Total Quality school setting, administrators work
collaboratively with their customer: teachers. Today it is in our best interest
to encourage everyone’s potential by dedicating ourselves to the continual
improvement of our own abilities and those of the people with whom we work and
live. Total Quality is, essentially, a win-win approach which works to
everyone’s ultimate advantage.
According to Deming, no human
being should ever evaluate another human being. Therefore, TQM emphasizes self
–evaluation as part of a continuous improvement processes. In addition, this
principle also laminates to the focusing on students’ strengths, individual
learning styles, and different types of intelligence.
Principle # 3: A System of Ongoing Process:
The third pillar of TQM as
applied in academics is the recognition of the organization as a system and the
work done within the organization must be seen as an ongoing process. The
primary implication of this principle is that quality speaks to working on the
system, which must be
examined to identify and
eliminate the flawed processes that allow its participants to fail. Since
systems are made up of processes, the improvements made in the quality of those
processes largely determine the quality of the resulting product. In the new
paradigm of learning continual improvement of learning processes based on
learning outcomes replace the outdated
“teach and test” mode.
Principle # 4: Leadership:
The forth TQM principle applied
to education is that the success of TQM is the responsibility of top
management. The school teachers must establish the context in which students
can best achieve their potential through the continuous improvement that
results from teachers and student working together. Teachers who emphasize
content area literacy and principle-centered teaching provides the leadership,
framework, and tools necessary for continuous improvement in the learning
process.
Data Collection and Analysis:
Research: A Case Study has been
conducted on the Higher Educational Institutions at Shirpur,
Dist. Dhule (Maharashtra). This case study is based
on the objective; to establish the general principles and core concepts those
helps in formulating TQM applicable in academics and to develop a general TQM
model suitable for higher educational institutions in rural regions.
The study is based on hardcore
primary data. The authors had designed a Questionnaire to obtain information in
context to: Faculty perspective, Student’s perspective AND Administrative
perspective. Survey has been done by
filling up questionnaires from various principles (6), faculty members (30) and
students (60) of different streams and colleges of Shirpur.
The result has been interpreted by analyzing the respondent’s views. A cover
letter was included to explain the purpose of the research and how they would
benefit from the survey.
The collected data were analyzed using suitable statistical
techniques with the help of Pie charts, comparative table and diagrams. The major inferences which have drawn from
the above mentioned study states:
(i) The Total quality approach can help all
stake holders of education to develop a process that will help all students to
succeed.
(ii)
Such a belief will compel everyone in the institutions towards
development of research attitude and persist until success is achieved.
(iii) The results of this study can also be
applied in higher Education at different regions with minor modifications based
on culture and needs in the institutions.
According to Faculty
perspective:
Findings:
The pie chart shows:
1)
Majority of the faculties - (30%), desire to go through a
systematic and effective Faculty training programme
which may upgrade their theory concepts time to time and make them capable of
relating their theory knowledge to the practical working environment.
2)
Secondly, Faculty efforts – (25%) plays a vital role in shaping
the quality teaching style in an academic institution. This is related to the
elimination of casual attitude of working, and developing a research and
innovation oriented working style in teaching.
3)
Faculties - (15%) considers that timely availability of resources
such as Library, Laboratories, Workshops, Internet facility, etc helps in
maintain effective quality.
4)
Faculties consider that financial motivation (10%) and non
financial motivation (10%), including cordial relationship among all levels of
management and students (10%) helps in developing a healthy and quality
oriented working environment in educational institutions.
Conclusion:
To achieve and retain the high
quality in education, faculty training programs and qualitative resources
should be organized.
Majority of the Students -
(25%), expects job oriented syllabus in their course curriculum so as to meet
the employability challenges of industry. Simultaneously, they crave for
quality resources not only in terms of good library and laboratories but also
in terms of faculties and resource persons.
1) Students
look forward towards highly qualified and skilled teaching staff – (20%), with
new teaching techniques – (10%) which will automatically helps in the overall
development of students.
2) Students
think that proper appreciation towards curricular and co-curricular activities
as well as mentoring the students will definitely help them for coming out with
their hidden talents.
According to Student’s perspective:
Findings: The pie chart shows:
Conclusion:
Thus quality of education should
be raised by providing knowledge which is really applicable and helpful to solve the real
world Problems and by developing research oriented attitude.
According to Administrative
perspective:
The below mentioned table shows a
compiled information in context to the administrative perspective of different
streams and colleges. In this, the administrators has defined the various
quality working approaches and the important factors influencing quality, the
strategies to be used and the limitating factors for
achieving the total quality management in academic institutions.
|
Sr.No |
Institutions |
Quality |
Imp.
Factor for Quality |
Strategies |
Difficulties |
|
1 |
Computer and Management |
Win-Win
Situation for all Stakeholders |
Faculty
Development |
Clear
Objectives and Mission |
Poor
Syllabus pattern and Assessment Process |
|
2 |
Pharmacy |
Providing
satisfactory and Proper Services |
Recruitment
of ambitious Staff |
Providing
disciplined Environment. |
No
financial asst. of
govt. to stud. |
|
3 |
Educational |
Excellence
in all aspects |
Highest
results |
Planning,
implementation, Supervision |
Shortage
of time |
|
4 |
Textile |
Overall development of students |
Effective
Communication Skills |
Activities
for soft skills development |
Lack
of Importance for Soft skills |
|
5 |
Pharmacy
-II |
Value-Based
Education |
Improved
teaching process |
Assessing
each activities
and its results |
Distribution
of workload within limited staff |
|
6 |
Engineering |
Integration
Of Theory and Practical |
Tie
up with Industry |
Regular
up gradation of faculty |
Affiliation
Bindings |
CONCLUSION:
Study indicates that every stakeholder desires
to improve the quality in every aspect and if given a chance, they are capable
of meeting and exceeding academic expectations.
The major inferences which have drawn from the above mentioned study
states:
1. The Total quality approach can
help all stake holders of education to develop a process that will help all
students to succeed.
2. Such a belief will compel
everyone in the institutions towards development of research attitude and
persist until success is achieved.
3. The results of this study can
also be applied in higher Education at different regions with minor
modifications based on culture and needs in the institutions.
Essential Elements of TQM in Higher Education:
On the basis of survey analysis,
the elements which are essential for implementing Total Quality Management in
academics have been recommended.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
The authors are highly grateful
to the Directors, principals, Faculties and students of various colleges and
professional higher educational institutions of
Shirpur, Dist. Dhule
for their valuable contribution and
inputs which they rendered during the course of the investigation. The
authors are also thankful to the Director: Mrs. Vaishali
B. Patil and Head of the department (UG): Mr. Tushar R. Patel, RCPET’s Institute of Management Research
and Development, Shirpur, Dhule,
for their kind co-operation during the course of this research work.
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Bhat Shridhara K.,
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of Higher Education 2006
4. TQM In
Malaysian Higher Education Institutions-Abdul
Malek, Gopal K.
Kanji http://www.blweb.it/esoe/tqmhe2/25.PDF3
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Higher Education –Smti Syiem:
University News Weekly Journal of Higher Education. (Nov 2009)
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Mehrotra Dheeraj,
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