Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:I:International Journal of Educational Management:Vol10.Issue5.1996:
Application of total quality management in
education: retrospect and prospect
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Se nio r Le c ture r, Divisio n o f Co mme rc e , City Unive rsity o f Ho ng Ko ng, Ho ng Ko ng
Points out that recent discussion has centred on the
application of total quality
management (TQM) in education. Most writers appear
inclined to suggest that TQM
is a unique solution for effective school management.
Nonetheless, TQM was initiated in the manufacturing
sector and its successful
application in the educational
setting should only be justifi ed with ample theoretical
support and concrete evidence. Attempts to trace the
literature that discusses the
application of TQM in education. Also addresses the
differences between industry
and education. Aims to
explore the relevance of
employing TQM in education.
The author would like to
thank Dr Allan Walker of The
Chinese University of Hong
Kong for his valuable advice.
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [ 1996] 2 5 –3 5
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
Development of total quality
management in education
Tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t (TQM) is a m a n a gem en t ph ilosoph y th a t h a s tr a n sfor m ed th e
pr odu cts a n d pr ocesses of lea din g J a pa n ese
com pa n ies du r in g th e pa st 40 yea r s[1]. F a ced
w ith in cr ea sin g com petition fr om J a pa n ese
pr odu cts, com pa n ies th r ou gh ou t th e in du str ia lized wor ld h ave be gu n to a dopt TQM. Th e
th eor etica l fou n da tion s of TQM ca m e fr om
sever a l people, in clu din g W. E dw a r ds Dem in g,
J oseph M. J u r a n a n d P h ilip Cr osby in th e
USA a n d Gen ich i Ta gu ch i a n d Ka or u
Ish ik aw a in J a pa n . As its n a m e im plies, TQM
focu ses on qu a lity. J u r a n defin es qu a lity a s
“fitn ess for u se”[2, p. 58] by th e cu stom er,
Dem in g a dvoca tes th a t qu a lity “sh ou ld be
a im ed a t th e n eeds of th e cu stom er, pr esen t
a n d fu tu r e”[3, p. 5] a n d Cr osby su ppor ts th is:
“con for m a n ce to r equ ir em en ts set by con su m er s”[4, p. 2]. Accor din g to Ish ik aw a , a
qu a lity pr odu ct is on e wh ich is “m ost econ om ica l, m ost u sefu l, a n d a lw ays sa tisfa ctor y
to th e con su m er ”[1, p. 4]. By eith er of th ese
defin ition s, th e cu stom er decides wh eth er a
pr odu ct is of h igh qu a lity, n ot th e pa r ticipa n ts
in th e pr ocess th a t cr ea ted th e pr odu ct. In
fa ct, a ll th e “gu r u s” em ph a size th e im por ta n ce of cu stom er sa tisfa ction a s well a s con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t.
Besides its popu la r ity in m a n u fa ctu r in g
com pa n ies, TQM ph ilosoph y h a s been
a dopted in ser vice in du str ies lik e ba n k s a n d
h ospita ls[5-7]. Th e a pplica bility of TQM th eor ies in th e edu ca tion a l sector h a s a lso
a ttr a cted th e in ter est of m a n y th eor ists a n d
pr a ctition er s su ch a s DeCosm o et a l.[8],
E dwell[9], Sh er r a n d Lozier [10], Bon ser [11],
Tr ibu s[12], Br igh a m [13], Hever ly[14] a n d
Rh odes[15]. Th ey poin ted ou t th a t
edu ca tion a l in stitu tion s h ave tu r n ed to TQM
for m a n y of th e sa m e r ea son s th a t bu sin esses
h ave in stitu ted qu a lity pr ogr a m m es.
Bon ser [11] a ttr ibu ted th e m ove tow a r ds
TQM in h igh er edu ca tion to th e esca la tin g
n u m ber of stu den ts, th e la ck of con sisten t
lea der sh ip style, th e in cr ea sin g a ccou n ta bility to th e pu blic a n d ch a n gin g a ttitu des
tow a r ds u n iver sities. He w r ote:
Th ese pr essu r es w ill dem a n d pea k qu a lity
per for m a n ce fr om u n iver sities in a ll a r ea s
of en deavor. Appr oa ch es th a t wer e con sider ed a dequ a te, system s th a t wer e m a in ta in ed beca u se of tr a dition , in er tia , ign or a n ce, or th e con ven ien ce of in ter n a l politics, w ill n o lon ger be toler a ted. Most in stitu tion s in Am er ica n society a r e ch a n gin g to
a da pt to a n ew wor ld en vir on m en t. Un iver sities w ill n ot be a n exception [11, p. 506].
DeCosm o et a l.[8] a lso expla in ed th a t th e
in ten sifyin g a da pta tion of TQM ph ilosoph y in
edu ca tion w a s du e to r esou r ces con str a in ts
a n d in cr ea sin g pu blic pr essu r e. In fa ct,
E dwell[9, p. 96] r epor ted th a t: “over 61 per cen t
of colle ge pr esiden ts aver r in g in volvem en t in
Tota l Qu a lity – th is com pa r ed w ith a t best a
dozen or so ca m pu s im plem en ta tion effor ts a s
r ecen tly a s two yea r s a go.”
Definition of TQM
Va r iou s defin ition s of TQM h ave been
a dopted by differ en t w r iter s. Accor din g to
Ha r r is[16], th er e a r e th r ee gen er ic
a ppr oa ch es to TQM. Th e fir st a ppr oa ch h a s a
cu stom er focu s, wh er e th e idea of ser vice to
stu den ts is foster ed th r ou gh sta ff tr a in in g
a n d developm en t. Th e secon d h a s a sta ff
focu s, a n d is con cer n ed to va lu e a n d en h a n ce
th e con tr ibu tion of a ll m em ber s of sta ff to th e
effectiven ess of a sch ool. Th e th ir d a ppr oa ch
ta k es a ser vice a gr eem en t sta n ce, a n d seek s
to en su r e con for m ity to specifica tion a t cer ta in k ey m ea su r a ble poin ts of th e edu ca tion a l
pr ocess. Mu r ga tr oyd a n d Mor ga n [17, p. 47]
a dvoca te th a t th er e a r e th r ee dim en sion s for
qu a lity – qu a lity a ssu r a n ce, con tr a ct con for m a n ce a n d cu stom er -dr iven . Taylor a n d
Hill[18] defin e TQM a s a cu stom er -focu sed
pr ocess wh ich seek s for con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t a n d m eetin g cu stom er s’ per ception s.
Th ese view s a r e ech oed by m a n y a u th or s
su ch a s Sh er r a n d Lozier [10], Hever ly[14],
E dwell[9], DeCosm o et a l.[8], Coa te[19] a n d
Leffel et a l.[20]. However, Gr een [21, p. 17]
ch a llen ges th is by sta tin g th a t “differ en t
in ter est gr ou ps … h ave differ en t pr ior ities
a n d th eir focu s of a tten tion m ay be differ en t”.
Bolton [22, p. 14] th in k s th a t “th e m ea su r em en t of per for m a n ce is a n in esca pa ble
fea tu r e of TQM.” Th is view is su ppor ted
by Gr een [21] wh o poin ts ou t th a t som e
[ 25 ]
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
m ea su r em en t m eth ods a s to en su r e con for m a n ce to cu stom er s’ expecta tion s a r e
n ecessa r y. Willia m s[23, p. 374] con clu des th a t
th er e a r e two dim en sion s of TQM. On th e on e
h a n d “it is a m a n a gem en t tool to in cr ea se
pr odu ctivity, k eep th e cu stom er s h a ppy, a n d
cu t dow n w a ste”; on th e oth er h a n d “it is a
m ea n s of m a k in g u s better people, of developin g ou r pr ofession a l good m a n n er s, a n d pr ovidin g u s w ith a m or a l edu ca tion ”.
To su m u p th e va r iou s view s[8-19,21-23],
TQM is a m a n a gem en t tool th a t a im s for
“tota l”, a n d “qu a lity a ssu r a n ce”. F ir st, TQM
im plies m eetin g th e expecta tion s of a ll th e
cu stom er s in th e edu ca tion a l system . Th e
exter n a l cu stom er s, su ch a s th e ta x payer s,
pa r en ts a n d poten tia l em ployer s, sh ou ld be
sa tisfied w ith th e sta n da r ds of th e gr a du a tes,
wh er ea s th e in ter n a l cu stom er s, su ch a s
tea ch er s a n d stu den ts, sh ou ld be sa tisfied
w ith th e tea ch in g a n d lea r n in g pr ocess in
sch ool. It ta r gets th e tota l pr ocess a n d ou tpu t
of th e edu ca tion system . Secon d, it r equ ir es
qu a lity a ssu r a n ce to en su r e con for m ity to
specifica tion of sta n da r ds set ou t by th e cu stom er s. Th ir d, it is a m a n a gem en t tool th a t
em ph a sizes th e m ea n s for m ea su r em en t of
per for m a n ce a n d feedba ck .
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11a
11b
12a
12b
13
Deming’s philosophy
Am on g th e exten sive n u m ber of a r ticles w r itten on TQM in edu ca tion a l in stitu tion s,
Dem in g’s ph ilosoph y is th e m ost fr equ en tly
cited r efer en ce. He is w idely r ecogn ized a s
th e fa th er of TQM a n d th u s a closer look a t h is
wor k ca n h elp to u n der sta n d th e situ a tion .
Dem in g’s wor k [3, pp. 23-4] be gin s w ith th e
belief th a t a ll people a r e edu ca ble, th a t th ey
w a n t to do a good job a n d th ey deser ve
r espect. “Wh en th er e is a pr oblem , 85 per cen t
of th e tim e it is w ith th e system ; 15 per cen t of
th e tim e it w ill be w ith th e wor k er s.” He a lso
ta k es in to a ccou n t sta tistica l va r ia tion a n d
ca lls for m a n a gem en t by fa ct, wh ich im plies
collectin g da ta a n d a n a lysin g th em sta tistica lly befor e decision s a r e m a de. Dem in g’s 14
poin ts a r e w idely r ecogn ized a s th e fu n da m en ta ls of TQM. Accor din g to Dem in g, th ese
14 poin ts ca n :
a pply a n ywh er e, to sm a ll or ga n isa tion s a s
well a s to la r ge on es, to th e ser vice in du str y
a s well a s to m a n u fa ctu r in g.
1 Cr ea te con sta n cy of pu r pose tow a r d
im pr ovem en t of pr odu ct a n d ser vice…
2 Adopt th e ph ilosoph y…Wester n m a n a gem en t m u st aw a k en to th e ch a llen ge,
m u st lea r n th eir r espon sibilities, a n d
ta k e on lea der sh ip for ch a n ge.
3 Cea se depen den ce on in spection to
a ch ieve qu a lity. E lim in a te th e n eed for
in spection on a m a ss ba sis by bu ildin g
[ 26 ]
14
qu a lity in to th e pr odu ct in th e fi r st
pla ce.
E n d th e pr a ctice of aw a r din g bu sin ess
on th e ba sis of pr ice ta g…Move tow a r d
a sin gle su pplier for a n y on e item , on a
lon g-ter m r ela tion sh ip of loya lty a n d
tr u st.
Im pr ove con sta n tly a n d for ever th e
system of pr odu ction a n d ser vice,…a n d
th u s con sta n tly decr ea se costs.
In stitu te tr a in in g on job.
In sist on lea der sh ip…Th e a im of su per vision sh ou ld be to h elp people…to do a
better job…
Dr ive ou t fea r …
Br ea k dow n ba r r ier s…people m u st
wor k a s a tea m ...
E lim in a te sloga n s a n d ta r get…a sk in g
for zer o defects a n d n ew levels of pr odu ctivity.
E lim in a te wor k sta n da r ds
(qu ota )…su bstitu te lea der sh ip.
E lim in a te m a n a gem en t by
objective…su bstitu te lea der sh ip.
Rem ove ba r r ier s th a t r ob people of
th eir r igh t to pr ide of wor k m a n sh ip;
Rem ove ba r r ier s th a t r ob people in
m a n a gem en t a n d in en gin eer in g of
th eir r igh t to pr ide of wor k m a n sh ip.
Th is m ea n s, …a bolish m en t of th e
a n n u a l or m er it r a tin g…
In stitu te a vigor ou s pr ogr a m of edu ca tion a n d self-im pr ovem en t.
P u t ever yon e in th e com pa n y to wor k to
a ccom plish th e tr a n sfor m a tion …”
Accor din g to Win ter [24], th ese 14 pr in ciples
fa ll in to th r ee br oa d ca te gor ies:
1 Ph ilosoph y a n d m ission – th is ca te gor y
in clu des pr in ciples th a t str ess focu sin g on
cu stom er n eeds in a n ever -en din g sea r ch
for qu a lity.
2 Orga n iz a tion a l en viron m en t – th ese pr in ciples esta blish n or m s a n d va lu es th a t dicta te th e tr ea tm en t of ea ch in dividu a l in th e
or ga n iza tion .
3 Process – th is ca te gor y str esses th e n eed
for pr oblem pr even tion th r ou gh ou t th e
pr ocess r a th er th a n th e iden tifica tion of
fa ilu r es a t th e en d of th e pr ocess.
In a doptin g TQM, edu ca tion a l a dm in istr a tor s
a r e tr yin g to pu r su e th ese th r ee objectives.
Successful cases
Appa r en tly, su ccessfu l im plem en ta tion of
TQM in edu ca tion a l settin gs h a s been w idely
r epor ted. Th e follow in g ca ses su ppor ted w ith
h a n ds-on exper ien ces of th e a u th or s a r e
r epor ted in th e liter a tu r e. DeCosm o et a l.[8]
r epor ted th eir exper ien ce of im plem en tin g
TQM in Delaw a r e Cou n ty Com m u n ity Colle ge (DCCC) for a per iod of fou r -a n d-a -h a lf
yea r s. Th e im plem en ta tion con stitu ted th r ee
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
ph a ses. Th e fir st w a s th e im plem en ta tion of
tota l qu a lity in th e top m a n a gem en t of th e
colle ge, a n d w a s followed by th e developm en t
of a TQM cu r r icu lu m . Th e la st ph a se w a s th e
im plem en ta tion of TQM th r ou gh ou t th e
tea ch in g a n d lea r n in g pr ocess. Th ey fou n d
th a t “on e of th e im por ta n t ben efi ts of im plem en tin g TQM is th a t colle ge sta ff a r e a ctively
in volvin g on e a n oth er in a pr ocess of docu m en tin g a n d sta n da r dizin g colle ge oper a tin g
pr ocedu r es…Sta ff a r e w illin g to wor k in
tea m s a n d a cr oss depa r tm en ts. Th e colle ge is
slow ly r em ovin g ba r r ier s to tea m wor k …Th e
execu tive sta ff in DCCC is con vin ced th a t
TQM is wor th ever y effor t we h ave m a de”[8,
p. 22].
Coa te[19] gave a fu ll r epor t of h is wor k in
im plem en tin g TQM a t th e Or e gon Sta te Un iver sity (OSU). It com pr ised n in e ph a ses
wh ich wer e:
1 explor in g tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t;
2 esta blish in g a pilot stu dy tea m ;
3 defin in g cu stom er n eeds;
4 a doptin g th e br ea k th r ou gh pla n n in g
pr ocess;
5 per for m in g br ea k th r ou gh pla n n in g in th e
division s;
6 for m in g da ily m a n a gem en t tea m s;
7 in itia tin g cr oss-fu n ction a l pilot pr ojects;
8 im plem en tin g cr oss-fu n ction a l tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t; a n d
9 settin g u p r epor tin g, r ecogn ition , a n d
aw a r ds system s.
Coa te a lso su ggested th a t top m a n a gem en t
su ppor t a n d tea m wor k wer e cr itica l fa ctor s
for su ccessfu l TQM im plem en ta tion . In
Coa te’s opin ion , th e ca se of OSU pr oved th a t:
“it [TQM] h a s saved th e u n iver sity tim e,
r edu ced costs, em power ed people a t a ll
levels, a n d im pr oved m or a le…TQM a s vita l
n ot on ly for th e r ea liza tion of its vision bu t
a lso for its su r viva l in th e m a r k etpla ce”[19,
p. 37].
Leffel et a l.[20] r epor ted th eir exper ien ce
w ith Vir gin ia Tech a n d r ecom m en ded th a t:
TQM m u st be gin w ith th e developm en t of
th e lea der sh ip tea m wor k in g tow a r d a
sh a r ed vision , sh a r ed va lu es, a n d a r eper toir e of lea der sh ip sk ills. Ch a n ge w ill n ot
occu r im m edia tely eith er in per son n el or in
th e in stitu tion a l cu ltu r e. Lea der sh ip developm en t m u st be a va lu e a n d a pr ocess th a t
evolves w ith in th e in stitu tion over a per iod
of five to ten yea r s[20, p. 70].
Th ey a lso a dm itted th a t TQM lea der sh ip
developm en t w a s a pr ocess th a t evolved
w ith in th e in stitu tion over a per iod of fi ve to
ten yea r s a t lea st. Th er efor e, TQM is a ver y
tim e- a n d r esou r ce-con su m in g tool.
Oth er w r iter s com m en t on th e a da pta tion
of TQM in th e cla ssr oom . Ga r tn er [25]
r epor ted h is a pplica tion of Dem in g’s m eth ods
to two bu sin ess cou r ses. Stu den ts wer e given
a 16-pa ge cou r se ou tlin e wh ich specifi ed th e
r equ ir em en t to a ch ieve gr a de A on th e fir st
day of cla ss, so th a t stu den ts cou ld m ea su r e
th eir a bility to m eet th e qu a n tity a n d qu a lity
specifica tion s for A wor k . Ga r tn er fou n d th a t
stu den ts w a n ted to do well a n d cou ld per for m
th ose specific ou tpu ts wh en th ey wer e given
specific in str u ction s a bou t wh a t w a s
r equ ir ed. He con clu ded:
th e gen er a l pr in ciples a n d m eth ods of qu a lity con tr ol a s ou tlin ed by Dem in g seem to
wor k . Stu den ts ca n be tr ea ted lik e wor k er s,
a n d system s ca n be pu t in pla ce to en a ble
th em to gen er a te h igh levels of ou tpu ts w ith
h igh level of qu a lity. Th e wor k pla ce seem s to
be m or e en joya ble for both stu den ts a n d
fa cu lty. Th e cla ssr oom is less n eu r otic; stu den ts k n ow h ow to a ct, a n d th ey k n ow th a t
th ese a ction s w ill be r ew a r ded”[25, p. 155].
However, Ga r tn er a lso r epor ted th a t h e w a s
r estr icted by h is u n iver sity fr om givin g a ll
stu den ts A gr a des. Th er efor e, h e a dvoca ted
th a t to im plem en t TQM, top m a n a gem en t
su ppor t w a s th e vita l fa ctor.
Ch izm a r [26] r ecor ded h is str a te gy of in volvin g stu den ts a ctively in th eir ow n lea r n in g
th r ou gh th e cr ea tion of lea r n in g com m u n ities a n d in cr ea sed u se of colla bor a tion . His
on e-m in u te pa per pr oved to be su ccessfu l. In
th e fin a l m in u te of cla ss, th e stu den ts wer e
a sk ed to r espon d to two qu estion s:
1 Wh a t w a s th e m ost im por ta n t th in g th ey
lea r n ed in th e cla ss? An d
2 Wh a t w a s th e m u ddiest poin t still r em a in in g a t th e con clu sion of th a t cla ss?
In Ch izm a r ’s wor ds, “th e fi r st qu estion is
in ten ded to focu s on th e big pictu r e (wh a t is
bein g lea r n ed) a n d th e secon d to a ssess h ow
well it is bein g lea r n ed”[26, p. 185]. Ch izm a r
fou n d th a t th e on e-m in u te pa per cou ld pr ovide better w ays for con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t
th a n th e en d-of-ter m eva lu a tion s. He con clu ded th a t th e con dition s of a TQM tea ch in g/ lea r n in g m odel wer e tea m wor k , em pow er m en t, feedba ck , a n d con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t. “Th e r ea l power of TQM dr ives for m its
tota ln ess,…it pr ovides a fr a m ewor k , or
m odel, for com bin in g dispa r a te idea s in to a
u n ified wh ole for th e pu r pose of pr edictin g a
pr ior i wh a t w ill wor k ”[26, p. 188].
Dif ferences between education
and industry
E viden ce qu oted by va r iou s w r iter s seem s to
pr ove th a t Dem in g’s ph ilosoph y ca n be su ccessfu lly a pplied in edu ca tion a l settin gs. Is it
r ea lly th e ca se? Th er e seem s little dou bt th a t
TQM ca n pr odu ce en cou r a gin g r esu lts in th e
[ 27 ]
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
m a n u fa ctu r in g sector. E du ca tion , h owever, is
ver y m u ch differ en t fr om in du str y a n d qu estion s m ay be r a ised a s to its a pplica bility.
In or der to exa m in e th e r eleva n ce of a pplyin g TQM in edu ca tion , on e sh ou ld be a ble to
a n swer th r ee qu estion s:
1 Wh a t a r e th e differ en ces between edu ca tion a n d in du str y? Wou ld th ese differ en ces
h in der th e a pplica tion of TQM in edu ca tion ?
2 Wh a t a r e th e u n iqu e con tr ibu tion s of TQM
tow a r ds edu ca tion ? Wh y a n d in wh a t w ays
is it su per ior to oth er m a n a gem en t th eor ies?
3 Ar e th er e a n y con cr ete exa m ples a n d eviden ce to a scer ta in its a pplica tion ? Ca n th e
exper ien ce be tr a n sfer r ed to oth er sim ila r
or ga n iza tion s?
E du ca tion differ s fr om th e m a n u fa ctu r in g
sector in fou r w ays: objectives, pr ocesses,
in pu ts a n d ou tpu ts. For m a n u fa ctu r in g fir m s,
pr ofit is th e com m on ly u sed in dica tor for
m ea su r in g effectiven ess. However, th e objectives for edu ca tion a r e n ot so sim ple. Accor din g to Tr ibu s[12], th e objective of ever y sch ool
sh ou ld be to pr ovide for ea ch stu den t oppor tu n ities to develop in fou r ca te gor ies; th ese
a r e “Kn ow ledge – wh ich en a bles u s to u n der sta n d; k n ow -h ow – wh ich en a bles u s to do;
w isdom – wh ich en a bles u s to set pr ior ities;
a n d ch a r a cter – wh ich en a bles u s to cooper a te, to per sever e, a n d to becom e r espected a n d
tr u sted m em ber s of society”[12, p. 39]. Th er efor e, th e m ission of edu ca tion is r ela tively
lon g ter m a n d th er e is n o sin gle in dica tor,
su ch a s pr ofi t, wh ich ca n r efl ect th e effectiven ess of a ch ievin g th ese objectives. With ou t
pr ecise a n d specific objectives, it is difficu lt,
if n ot im possible, to m ea su r e effectiven ess.
Tea ch in g a n d lea r n in g pr ocesses a r e n ot
th e sa m e a s a ssem bly lin es. Th ey a r e in ter a ctive pr ocesses between tea ch er s a n d stu den ts,
a n d th er efor e th e pr ocedu r es in th e pr ocesses
ca n n ot be pr eset in a step-by-step for m a t a s
th ose for a n a ssem bly lin e. Mor eover, both of
th e pa r ties a r e h u m a n bein gs wh ose beh aviou r s a r e su bject to differ en t m otives a n d
objectives, em otion a l fl u ctu a tion s, a s well a s
in dividu a l styles of in ter per son a l sk ills.
Th er efor e, th er e ca n n ot be a n y specifica tion
a s r e ga r ds th e sta n da r dized codes of pr a ctice
in lea r n in g a n d tea ch in g. Mor e com plica tin g,
th e beh aviou r of on e pa r ty is often r espon din g to th e a ct of th e cou n ter pa r t. Th u s, th er e
ca n n ot be a step-w ise in str u ction for th e
tea ch in g pr ocess in cla ssr oom s.
As fa r a s in pu ts a r e con cer n ed, th ose of
edu ca tion a l settin gs a r e su bject to en or m ou s
va r ia bility. Un lik e fa ctor ies, sch ools ca n n ot
con tr ol th e qu a lity of in com in g m a ter ia ls
(stu den ts), wh ich a dds to th e difficu lty of
[ 28 ]
con tr ollin g th e qu a lity of ou tpu ts. Alth ou gh
som e sor t of en tr a n ce r equ ir em en ts ca n be
im posed on th e a pplica n ts, colle ges a r e con fr on ted w ith in cr ea sin g difficu lties in gettin g
th e desir ed stu den ts beca u se of th e dr a stic
in cr ea se in th e n u m ber of colle ge pla ces in
r ecen t yea r s. Mor eover, th e qu a lity sta n da r d
of stu den ts is n ot a s pr ecise a s th ose of m a ter ia ls. Th e pr e-a dm ission a ca dem ic per for m a n ce in pu blic exa m in a tion s a n d th e dem ogr a ph ic ch a r a cter istics a r e th e on ly in for m a tion ava ila ble to colle ge a dm ission officer s
wh en th e a dm ission decision h a s to be m a de.
Th er e a r e oth er fa ctor s, su ch a s th e a ttitu des
of stu den ts tow a r ds lea r n in g, th eir lea r n in g
str a te gies a n d in ter per son a l sk ills, wh ich a r e
n ot r ea dily a ssessa ble. Alth ou gh a dm ission
in ter view s a r e w idely u sed by m a n y colle ges,
th eir effectiven ess is qu estion a ble[27-29].
Stu den ts a r e h u m a n bein gs wh ose per for m a n ce is expected to va r y u n der differ en t
situ a tion s, a n d th u s th e m ea su r em en t of
h u m a n beh aviou r ca n n ot be su bjected to a
pr ecise sca le. Th is fa ctor com plica tes th e
difficu lty of m ea su r in g th e qu a lity of in com in g stu den ts.
Lik ew ise, it is difficu lt to defin e a cer ta in
qu a lity sta n da r d for th e ou tpu t. For m a n u fa ctu r in g fi r m s, qu a lity ou tpu ts a r e th ose wh ich
ca n sa tisfy th e r equ ir em en ts of th e
cu stom er s. In edu ca tion , th er e a r e m a n y
cu stom er s: th e stu den ts th em selves, th e pa r en ts, th e tea ch er s, th e sch ool m a n a gem en t,
th e poten tia l em ployer s a n d society in gen er a l. Wh ose in ter est sh ou ld be th e fir st pr ior ity if th er e a r e con fl icts between th eir in ter ests? Ar e stu den ts, bein g pa r ticipa n ts a n d
“cu stom er s”, in th e for em ost position to
deter m in e wh a t is th e best for th em selves? In
fa ct, wou ld th ey k n ow wh a t is best in th e fir st
pla ce? Ca n Dem in g’s “zer o defect” pr odu cts[3]
be pr odu ced in edu ca tion ? Ca n a n y edu ca tor
cla im th a t h is stu den t ca n a a ch ieve per fect
sta n da r d? Th ese a r e ju st som e of m a n y qu estion s th a t m u st be a ddr essed befor e defin in g
th e qu a lity of th e ou tpu ts. It is ver y difficu lt
to defin e a n y per fect sta n da r d in edu ca tion .
Sch ool cu r r icu lu m is on ly on e of th e m a n y
fa ctor s th a t sh a pe th e per son a lity, beh aviou r
a n d a ca dem ic a ch ievem en t of a stu den t even
if th ese th r ee dim en sion s a r e a ccepted a s th e
cr iter ia for m ea su r in g th e per for m a n ce of a
stu den t in gen er a l. F a m ily edu ca tion a n d th e
societa l im pa ct a lso play a n im por ta n t r ole.
Th u s, th e per for m a n ce of a stu den t is th e on ly
in dica tor of th e tea ch in g pr ocess.
Th e eva lu a tion of stu den t per for m a n ce is
a lso a pr oblem . Wh a t sh ou ld th e edu ca tor s
aw a r d? Sh ou ld th ey aw a r d th e r ela tive pr ogr ession in stu den ts’ lea r n in g or th e a bsolu te
lea r n in g ou tcom e on ly? In oth er wor ds,
sh ou ld th ey aw a r d m or e to th ose su b-sta n da r d
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
stu den ts wh o m a n a ge to ju m p fr om Gr a de F
to Gr a de C or th ose wh o a ch ieve Gr a de A
w ith m in im a l effor t? Reca llin g
Dem in g’s wor ds th a t “wh en th er e is a pr oblem , 85 per cen t of th e tim e it is w ith th e system ; 15 per cen t of th e tim e it w ill be w ith th e
wor k er s”[3, p. 23], if on e is to believe in h im ,
th en on e is fa ced w ith th a t fr igh ten in g
pr ospect th a t a ll stu den ts sh ou ld deser ve
Gr a de A. If it is n ot th e ca se, th en on e h a s to
a dm it th a t it is th e tea ch er ’s r espon sibility.
Given th e com plexity of th e lea r n in g a n d
tea ch in g en vir on m en t, th is a lle ga tion is n ot
fa ir to th e tea ch er s.
Review of related research
A deta iled stu dy of th e liter a tu r e on a pplica tion of TQM in edu ca tion r evea ls th a t m a n y
w r iter s ca n n ot ju stify th e u se of TQM a s th ey
fa il to a ddr ess th e th r ee qu estion s m en tion ed
ea r lier. Som e a u th or s discu ss TQM w ith ou t
exa m in in g th e fea sibility a n d su ita bility of
su ch a n a pplica tion . Oth er s give r ea son s
wh ich a r e n ot str on g en ou gh to su ppor t
TQM’s u se a n d yet oth er s m en tion on ly th e
poten tia l ben efits of TQM. Few a r ticles a r e
su ppor ted w ith pr a ctica l ca se stu dies. Th e
follow in g is a br ief r epor t on th e liter a tu r e.
Differentiating education from industry
Th e wor k of Siu a n d Hea r t[30] pr esen ts on e of
th e w r iter s m a k in g n o a ttem pt to differ en tia te edu ca tion fr om bu sin ess settin gs. Th ey
w r ote, “…edu ca tion is differ en t fr om in du str y. Bu t m a n a gin g people a n d r esou r ces is
la r gely th e sa m e for a n y or ga n iza tion –
wh eth er in bu sin ess or edu ca tion , th e pr iva te
sector or th e pu blic a r en a ”[30, p. 96]. Th eir
opin ion m ay be qu er ied a s m a n a gem en t w r iter s u su a lly con sider th e m a n a gem en t of n on pr ofit m a k in g or ga n iza tion s differ en t fr om
th a t of pr ofi t-m a k in g or ga n iza tion s.
Sim ila r ly, Sa gor a n d Ba r n ett[31] a n d
Ha r r is[16] su ggest w ays for TQM im plem en ta tion in sch ools w ith ou t discu ssin g th e differ en ces between edu ca tion a n d in du str y.
Alth ou gh both Ch izm a r [26] a n d Ga r tn er [25]
cla im ed th a t th eir wor k h a d been su ccessfu l,
n eith er of th em discu ssed th e appr opr ia ten ess
of a pplyin g TQM in edu ca tion a l settin gs.
Hill a n d Taylor [32] on ly h igh ligh t th e
ch a r a cter istics of a ser vice, i.e. in sepa r a bility
of cu stom er fr om th e pr odu ction , h eter ogen eity of ser vice offer in g a n d in ta n gibility, bu t
fa il to a ddr ess th e ch a r a cter istics of edu ca tion .
Her tzier [33] pr esen ts a com pr eh en sive
a ccou n t of th e liter a tu r e on im plem en tin g
TQM in h igh er edu ca tion . Sh e r epor ted a n d
discu ssed h istor ica l developm en t in TQM,
im plem en ta tion of TQM in edu ca tion a l settin gs a n d ba r r ier s to im plem en ta tion . Sh e
su ggested th a t th e on ly ba r r ier s to TQM wer e
la ck of lea der sh ip in colle ge a n d th e r elu cta n ce of fa cu lty m em ber s to tr ea t stu den ts a s
“cu stom er s”. Aga in , h owever, sh e did n ot
a ttem pt to discu ss th e differ en ces between
edu ca tion a n d in du str y.
Ha zza r d[34], in h is a r ticle discu ssin g th e
str en gth s a n d wea k n esses of TQM in h igh er
edu ca tion , poin ted ou t on ly th a t TQM w a s
both tim e a n d effor t con su m in g. Oth er deficien cies of TQM m en tion ed in clu ded th e
r equ ir em en t of top m a n a gem en t su ppor t
a n d th e developm en t of sta ff tr a in in g pr ogr a m m es. He did n ot, h owever, discu ss th e
r eleva n ce of a pplyin g TQM in edu ca tion a l
in stitu tion s. Th e wor k r epor ted by Bolton [22],
E r ik sen [35] a n d J a r a iedi a n d Ritz[36] a r e a lso
fou n d to h ave th e sa m e deficien cy.
Sim ila r ly, Ha r r is[16], Weller J r a n d
Ha r tley[37], Sa m u els[38], Solom en [39] a n d
Cole[40] on ly r epor ted th a t th er e a r e u r gen t
n eeds to im pr ove edu ca tion . However, th ey a ll
fa iled to expla in th e su ita bility of a doptin g
TQM in edu ca tion .
Br igh a m a dm itted th a t “ser vice
in du str ies,…gen er a lly h ave m et w ith less
su ccess th a n m a n u fa ctu r in g th u s fa r …
High er edu ca tion h a s good r ea son to be
w a r y”[13, p. 48]. Alth ou gh h e a ck n ow ledged
su ch a differ en ce, h e ela bor a ted n o fu r th er on
th e r eleva n ce of a dm in ister in g TQM in edu ca tion , n or did h e discu ss th e a dju stm en t
wh ich h a d to be m a de befor e a pplica tion . He
con tin u ed:
Th is is n ot to say in du str y h a s n oth in g to
tea ch u s. On th e con tr a r y, it is h elpfu l to see
a cr oss th e sector s th e im por ta n ce of bu ildin g qu a lity pr in ciples in to str a te gic a n d
bu sin ess pla n s; of fin din g ch a m pion s a t
ever y level of th e or ga n isa tion ; pa r ticu la r ly
a t th e top; of focu sin g on r esu lts a n d
pr ocesses; of br in gin g n ew tea m s on lin e,
on ly a s n eeded; of in cor por a tin g cu stom er s
ea r ly on a n d for ever.
He pr ovided a list of poten tia l ben efi ts of
TQM bu t n ot on ly th e r ea son s to su ppor t its
a pplica tion to edu ca tion .
Alth ou gh Ir w in [41] h a d a ck n ow ledged th a t
edu ca tion a n d in du str y a r e differ en t in qu a lity defi n ition a n d ta r get cu stom er s, h e m a de
n o fu r th er a ttem pt to expla in wh y TQM is
a pplica ble in th e edu ca tion a l settin g.
Leslie[42] tr ied to esta blish th e va lu e of
stu den t wor k exper ien ce (SWE ) a n d to pr opose th a t a TQM a ppr oa ch to SWE sh ou ld be
a dopted. He sta ted th a t: “edu ca tion is n ot
a bou t fittin g people for wor k … [it] is a bou t
developin g m em ber s of society to be a ble to
pr osper in society”[42, p. 27]. However, h e did
[ 29 ]
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
n ot expla in wh y TQM ca n h elp to a ch ieve th is
objective.
Justifying the unique contributions of TQM
Th e a r ticle w r itten by Sh er r a n d Lozier [10,
p. 10] a dvoca ted th a t TQM espou sed th r ee
cor e va lu es, wh ich wer e th e im por ta n ce of
people, n eed to u se k n ow ledge a n d con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t. “We in h igh er edu ca tion
h old dea r ly su ch va lu es a s th e im por ta n ce of
people, k n ow ledge, a n d con tin u in g im pr ovem en t. Wh y don ’t we pr a ctice wh a t we
pr ea ch ?” Th ey fa iled to poin t ou t th e su per ior ity of TQM a s com pa r ed to oth er m a n a gem en t th eor ies.
In r ecom m en din g TQM a s th e m ost effective m a n a gem en t ph ilosoph y, Leddick [43,
p. 60] com m en ted th a t oth er m a n a gem en t
m eth ods wer e n ot effective a s th ey la ck ed
com pr eh en siven ess:
Th ey h ave n o la n gu a ge for defin in g th e
con text in wh ich th e sch ool exists a n d th u s
its pu r pose…th ey h ave n o la n gu a ge for
descr ibin g th e sch ools a s a wh ole or ga n isa tion …th ey la ck a th eor y of k n ow ledge – a
w ay to k n ow if ch a n ges r ea lly lea d to
im pr ovem en t…th ey la ck a m eth od to m a k e
im pr ovem en ts to a n y a n d a ll pa r ts of th e
sch ool…a n d th ey la ck a m ea n s for en ga gin g
a ll th e people in th e sch ool in con tin u a lly
im pr ovin g it…Qu a lity m a n a gem en t pr ovides th e com pr eh en sive view sch ool r efor m
h a s been la ck in g.
J u dgin g fr om th ese com m en ts, Leddick did
n ot m a n a ge to give con vin cin g r ea son s to
su ppor t th e pitfa lls of oth er m a n a gem en t
th eor ies. In fa ct, th e im por ta n ce of people h a s
been well r ecogn ized by m a n a gem en t th eor ists. In th e m ost fa m ilia r dich otom y of
m a n a gem en t, Th eor y X a n d Th eor y Y,
McGr e gor [44] n oted th a t a n effective m a n a ger
sh ou ld r espect a n d tr u st th e Th eor y Y type
em ployees wh o m igh t ta k e u p r espon sibility
volu n ta r ily. Ma slow [45] a lso r ecogn ized th a t
self-esteem n eeds a n d self-a ctu a liza tion n eeds
a r e th e top pr ior ities in m otiva tin g em ployees. Th ese two n eeds a r e ver y m u ch in lin e
w ith th e m otiva tin g fa ctor s su ggested by
Her zber g’s two fa ctor th eor y[46]. Th e system s
a ppr oa ch to or ga n iza tion th eor y ca n pr ovide
a h olistic a n d in te gr a tive view for th e oper a tion s of a n or ga n iza tion . Th er efor e, TQM is
n ot th e on ly m ea n s for effective m a n a gem en t.
In th eir book , Usin g Dem in g to Im prov e
Qu a lity in Colleges a n d Un iv ersities,
Cor n esk y et a l.[47] expla in ed th e a pplica tion
of Dem in g’s ph ilosoph y in edu ca tion . Th ey
a r gu ed th a t th e pr iva te sector w a s defin ed
la r gely by th e r ela tion sh ip between
cu stom er s a n d su pplier s, a n d by h ow th e
la tter cou ld u se a n d im pr ove pr odu ction ,
distr ibu tion a n d ser vice to in cr ea se qu a lity
[ 30 ]
a n d k eep cu stom er s sa tisfied. Cu stom er
pa tr on a ge w a s th e object of com petition
a m on g m a n y fir m s. E a ch fir m tr ied to m a in ta in or in cr ea se m a r k et sh a r e by plea sin g
cu stom er s, a n d su r viva l depen ded on r epea t
bu sin ess. Accor din g to th em , h igh er edu ca tion ’s con cept of cu stom er s differ ed fr om th e
pr iva te sector ’s beca u se in h igh er edu ca tion
th er e wer e n o “r epea t cu stom er s” in th e tr a dition a l sen se. Stu den ts, on ce en r olled,
ten ded to r em a in u n til th ey gr a du a ted.
Alu m n i, on ce gr a du a ted, ten ded n ot to r etu r n
to th e sa m e in stitu tion for a ddition a l de gr ees.
It cou ld be a r gu ed, th ou gh , th a t if a lu m n i a n d
cu r r en t stu den ts wer e well sa tisfied w ith
th eir exper ien ce, th ey wou ld r ecom m en d th e
in stitu tion to oth er s. Lik ew ise, em ployer s
wh o wer e well sa tisfied w ith th e u n iver sity’s
gr a du a tes m igh t be disposed to h ir e a ddition a l gr a du a tes fr om th e u n iver sity. Th u s
stu den ts, a lu m n i a n d em ployer s sh a r e som e
ch a r a cter istics of tr a dition a l cu stom er s.
Th er efor e, a ccor din g to Cor n esk y et a l., TQM
ca n h elp th e m a n a gem en t in edu ca tion by
offer in g th e cu stom er -or ien ted con cept a n d
cu stom er s ca n be both in ter n a l a n d exter n a l.
N ever th eless TQM is n ot th e on ly ph ilosoph y
wh ich em ph a sizes th e im por ta n ce of cu stom er sa tisfa ction . All m a r k etin g w r iter s
a ck n ow ledge th e im por ta n ce of
cu stom er s[48,49]. Mor eover, r ecogn izin g a n d
sa tisfyin g th e n eeds of in ter n a l cu stom er s a r e
topics in “r ela tion sh ip m a r k etin g”[50].
Wor k r epor ted by Ch izm a r [26] a n d
Ga r tn er [25], wh ich h a s been discu ssed ea r lier
in th is pa per seem s to be ver y effective. How ever, a closer look a t th eir m eth od r evea ls th a t
th ey wer e in fa ct u sin g m a n a gem en t by objectives (MBO) tech n iqu e r a th er th a n th e h igh sou n din g TQM. MBO is a m a n a gem en t tech n iqu e wh ich pr ovides su bor din a tes w ith a
specific goa ls a n d en cou r a ges th em to a ccom plish th em by pr ovidin g th em w ith th e
desir ed r ew a r ds. Ch izm a r a n d Ga r tn er a ctu a lly en ter ed in to a “per for m a n ce con tr a ct”
w ith th e stu den ts a n d aw a r ded th em a ccor din gly. Th er efor e, it is n ot TQM th a t does th e
m a gic.
Tr u m bu ll[51] gives a list of wh a t h e ca lled
th e “visible r esu lts” of im plem en ta tion of
TQM in colle ges: “…m a n y bu sin ess sch ools
tea ch TQM…tea ch er s a r e bein g en cou r a ged
to view stu den ts a s cu stom er s…u n iver sities
a r e a lso view in g stu den ts a s in pu ts a r r ivin g
fr om oth er system s...we n eed to wor k w ith
h igh sch ools…em ployer s say th a t th ey stop
r ecr u itin g a t pla ces th a t a r en ’t tea ch in g tota l
qu a lity”[51, p. 25]. He a lso w r ites th a t “If th is
(TQM) m ovem en t is to tr a n sfor m edu ca tion ,
h owever, sever a l h u r dles m u st be ju m ped.
Th ese in clu de tea ch er s’ r esista n ce to ch a n ge
a n d th e tim e a n d effor t it ta k e to im plem en t
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
TQM.” Tr u m bu ll’s view s on TQM a r e n ot
con vin cin g. Rem em ber th a t th ose com pa n ies
th a t wer e on ce h igh ly pr a ised by Peter s a n d
Wa ter m a n [52] in th eir book In S ea rch of
Ex cellen ce h ave sin ce fa iled. Th er efor e, TQM
m ay ju st be u sed a s a fa sh ion a ble gim m ick .
Rh odes[15, p. 77] w r ote:
Appa r en tly Dem in g’s wor ds a n d idea s r eson a te w ith som eth in g th a t m a n y people
a lr ea dy per son a lly believe is “r igh t”. Th e
idea s seem to va lida te lon g-h eld feelin gs of
wor k in g in dividu a ls wh o k n ow th ey w a n t to
be effective in th eir jobs a n d wh o by a n d
la r ge h ave given u p on th eir or ga n iza tion
ever a ctin g a s if th ey believed it.
He a dded:
TQM cou ld h elp a ll th ose in volved in sch ools
to view th eir a ction s fr om a per spective th a t
h a d a “cu stom er / stu den t” a t th e
cen tr e…Th e tota l qu a lity view a llow s u s to
see w ith a stu den t’s eye view – to u n der sta n d wh a t th e sch ool a n d th e wor ld a r ou n d
it look s lik e to ch ildr en gr ow in g u p today.
Th er efor e, Rh odes’ a r ticle cou ld n ot ju stify
th e a pplica tion of TQM th eor ies in edu ca tion .
He h a s m er ely discu ssed th e poten tia l ben efits of su ch a pplica tion . “TQM…con n ects th e
“wh er e-we-a r e-n ess” of da ily pr a ctice to th e
“wh er e-we-w a n t-to-go-n ess” fou n d in th e
or ga n iza tion ’s goa ls...Th e r esu lt: con tin u a l
gr ow th in tota l or ga n iza tion a n d per son a l
ca pa city to a ct differ en tly”[15, p. 78].
Supported with hands-on experiences and
real cases
Th e wor ds of Olson qu oted by Weaver m ay
best descr ibe th e pr esen t situ a tion : “wh ile
TQM h a s gen er a ted a lot of ta lk in sch ools, it
h a s pr odu ced less a ction ”[53]. In fa ct, th ose
edu ca tion a l in stitu tion s wh ich h ave r epor ted
th e u se of TQM,
u su a lly im plem en t it in a r ea s th a t m ost
closely r esem ble TQM in bu sin ess, su ch a s
con tr a ctin g ou t cu stodia l ser vices a n d pr ocessin g pu r ch a se or der s. An oth er com m on pla ce is to u se TQM m eth ods to solve a specific pr oblem , su ch a s stu den t a bsen teeism ,
in stea d of a ttem ptin g to a pply TQM pr in ciples to th e sch ool a s a wh ole[53].
On ly th e wor k of DeCosm o et a l.[8], Coa te[19]
a n d Leffel et a l.[20] a ppea r to be ba sed on th e
w r iter ’s a ctu a l exper ien ces in im plem en tin g
TQM in a colle ge a s a wh ole. Ga r tn er [25] a n d
Ch izm a r [26] im plem en ted TQM a t cla ssr oom
level on ly. Hever ly[54] r epor ted h er exper ien ce of a pplyin g TQM to a in stitu tion a l
r esea r ch office a t Delaw a r e Cou n ty Com m u n ity Colle ge on ly. Bon stin g[55] h a s r epor ted
eigh t ca ses of su ccessfu l im plem en ta tion of
Dem in g’s 14 poin ts, bu t a ll a r e on solvin g a
specific pr oblem s on ly. Apa r t fr om th ese
w r iter s, oth er s h ave m er ely deliber a ted th e
poten tia l ba r r ier s a n d ben efits ba sed on th eor etica l in fer en ces a n d a ca dem ic a r gu m en ts.
Wr iter s often su ggest th e u se of TQM for
solvin g pr oblem s in a specific a r ea in stea d of
a pplyin g it to th e colle ge a s a wh ole. E dwell[9]
is a n exa m ple. He su ggested th e a doption of
TQM in a ssessm en t of stu den ts. He w r ote,
“th r ee tr en ds in pa r ticu la r n ow ch a r a cter ize
em er gin g best pr a ctice in a ssessm en t, a n d a ll,
I believe, a r e con sisten t w ith th e ten ets of
TQM”[9, p. 42]. However, h e fa iled to discu ss
th e u n iqu e con tr ibu tion s of TQM th a t ca n n ot
be a ch ieved by oth er m a n a gem en t
tech n iqu es.
Also, in h is book M a n a gin g Qu a lity in
S ch ools, West-Bu r n h a m [56] cited on ly a few
exa m ples fr om secon da r y sou r ces a n d n on e
fr om h is ow n exper ien ce. On ly on e of th e fou r
ca ses h e qu oted w a s a n edu ca tion a l in stitu tion a n d th is w a s th e In for m a tion Tech n ology
Office a t Ha r va r d Un iver sity.
Willia m s’ wor ds[23] ca n best illu str a te th e
situ a tion of im plem en tin g TQM in High er
E du ca tion . He dem on str a ted th a t
Ch a dw ick [57] a t Sou th Ba n k Un iver sity,
E llis[58] a t Un iver sity of Ulster, Clayton [59] a t
Aston Un iver sity, Cow les a n d Gilbr ea th [60] a t
Vir gin ia Com m on wea lth Un iver sity, a n d
Doh er ty[61] a t Un iver sity of Wolver h a m pton
on ly “descr ibe wor k in pr ogr ess, a n d n on e
lays cla im to tota l a ch ievem en t”[23, p. 374].
Ta ble I is a br ief su m m a r y on th e liter a tu r e
th a t h a s been discu ssed. It is obviou s th a t
n on e of th e cited ca ses ca n m eet th e th r ee
cr iter ia – ju stifyin g th e u se of a m a n u fa ctu r in g-in itia ted tech n iqu e in edu ca tion ; ver ifyin g its u n iqu e con tr ibu tion s th a t ca n n ot be
a ch ieved by oth er m a n a gem en t tech n iqu es;
a n d su ppor ted w ith r ea l ca ses. Th u s, th e
u sefu ln ess of TQM in edu ca tion is still n ot
ver ifi ed.
Implications
Th e wor ds of Sch m ok er qu oted by Weaver [53]
m ay best su m u p th e cu r r en t sta te of TQM:
“[Som e] h a s been w r itten a bou t [it]; little of it
h a s been a bsor bed, believed, a n d im plem en ted
in Am er ica n sch ools or bu sin esses. Th is
m igh t be expla in ed by th e fa ct th a t system a tic
ch a n ge r equ ir es tim e, bu t it m igh t a lso be a n
in dica tion th e qu a lity m ovem en t is n ot
a ch ievin g its vision ”[53, p. 87]. Th u s, TQM
is m or e a ter m th a n a n a ction in sch ool m a n a gem en t:
Hou se[62, p. 35] su ggested th a t
Dem in g sh ow s th e dir ection for a tr a n sfor m a tion of Am er ica n m a n a gem en t.
Tr a n sfor m a tion of m a n a gem en t pr a ctices
a n d beliefs, in tu r n , r esu lts in ch a n ges in
or ga n iza tion a l str u ctu r e, ch a n ges in r ela tion sh ips a m on g th ose con n ected w ith th e
[ 31 ]
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
Table I
Re se arc h o n the applic atio n o f TQM in e duc atio n
Writer
Differentiate
education from
industry
Justify/ discuss
TQM ’s unique
contributions
Supported with
hands-on experiences
in educational institution
Coate[19]
DeCosmo et al. [8]
Edwell[9]
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Leffel[20]
Hill and Taylor[32]
No
Only disc ussed the
c harac teristic s of a
servic e
No
No
No
Some benefits of TQM
Some benefits of TQM
Benefits of adopting TQM
in assessing students’
performanc e only
Only on leadership
Potential benefits
Samuels[38]
Sherr and Lozier[10]
Winter[24]
Bonser[11]
Bonsting[55]
Cornesky et al.[47]
Heverly[14]
Disc ussed the c hanges
in environment
No
Emphasized c ustomerorientation (internal
and external)
No
Potential benefits
Yes, but imperfec t
Barriers in organizational
struc ture only
Some benefits
No
No
No
Some benefits
Potential benefits
Quoted eight c ases on
solving spec ific problems
No
Suggested the proc ess
only
Potential benefits
Potential benefits
Benefits and obstac les
Potential benefits
At the researc h offic e
only
No
No
No
No
No
No
Aston University
Virginia Commonwealth
University
University of
Wolverhampton
University of Ulster
Classroom setting
No
Clayton[59]
Cowles and Gilbreath[60]
No
Claimed no differenc es
No
Admitted the differenc es,
but no further disc ussion
on its relevanc e
No
No
Doherty[61]
No
No
Ellis[58]
Gartner[25]
Hazzard[34]
No
No
No
Irwin[41]
Leddick[43]
Solomen[39]
West-Burnham[56]
Yes, but failed to justify
the use of TQM in
educ ation
No
No
No
No
Some
Disc ussed the strengths
and weaknesses only
Potential benefits
Chizmar[26]
Harris[16]
No
No
Hertzier[33]
No
Jaraiedi and Ritz[36]
No
Rhodes[15]
Siu and Heart[30]
Taylor and Hill[18]
Brigham[13]
Yes
No
Yes, but imperfec t
No
Suggested the proc ess
Some
Attributed to the forc es
in the environment that
c alled for c hange
Detailed disc ussion on
historic al development
only
Only desc ribed TQM
as a means to solve
problems
No
No
No
Yes
Only one c ase reported on
the IT offic e at Harvard
Classroom setting
No
No
No
(Continued)
[ 32 ]
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Table I
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
Writer
Differentiate
education from
industry
Justify/ discuss
TQM ’s unique
contributions
Supported with
hands-on experiences
in educational institution
No
No
Sagor and Barnett[31]
Trumbull[51]
Only stated that “ fitness
for purpose” c ould not
be related to educ ation
No
No
No
No
Weller Jr and Hartley[37]
No
Some
Disc ussed the “ visible
results” only
No
Bolton[22]
Not exac tly
No
Chadwick[57]
No
Cole[40]
Desc ribed the
introduc tion of TQM as
a response to c risis
No
No
Eriksen[35]
No
Benefits of TQM
Leslie[42[
or ga n iza tion , a n d ch a n ges in a ll of th e
pr ocesses u sed in a tta in in g th e or ga n iza tion a l pu r pose. Th e qu estion of in ter est is
n ot a bou t th e n eed for tr a n sfor m a tion a n d
ch a n ge, bu t r a th er th e exten t to wh ich th e
Dem in g ph ilosoph y a pplies to m a n a gem en t
in edu ca tion ”.
Accor din g to Bon ser [11, p. 507], th er e a r e still
r eser va tion s in a pplyin g a ll Dem in g’s ph ilosoph y in edu ca tion . He w r ote, “Given th ese
differ en ces, n ot a ll of th e Dem in g pr in ciples
m ay be dir ectly a pplica ble, a lth ou gh h e
a r gu es th a t it is n ecessa r y to a dopt th em a ll if
th ey a r e to be u sefu l…h is a ppr oa ch ca n be a
vita l com pon en t in th e con str u ction of a n ew
ph ilosoph y by wh ich h igh er edu ca tion lea der sh ip ca n gu ide ou r in stitu tion s in to th e n ext
cen tu r y.”
Com m en tin g on th e con tr ibu tion of TQM to
edu ca tion , Hill[63] a ck n ow ledges th a t TQM is
n ot a n ew con cept bu t offer s a n in te gr a tive
fr a m ewor k for im pr ovem en t. He w r ote,
th er e a r e som e th in gs in th e TQM m odel
wh ich I per ceive to be good, bu t h a r dly n ew,
m a n y of its in sigh ts in to su ch issu es a s
pr odu ct a ssessm en t, m a n a gem en t str u ctu r es, a n d pa r ticipa tive qu a lity con tr ol, ca n
be pa ir ed w ith sim ila r cr itiqu es in h a lf a
cen tu r y of edu ca tion a l w r itin g. Bu t th eir
com in g togeth er in th e on e coh er en t a n d
per su a sive a r gu m en t for im pr ovem en t is
som eth in g we ca n welcom e[63, p. 25].
F a ced w ith in cr ea sin g ch a llen ges in th e en vir on m en t, th er e is n o a r gu m en t th a t edu ca tion
in stitu tion s a r e obliged to cope w ith th e
ch a n ge for su r viva l. Dem in g’s ph ilosoph y
Trac ed the development of
TQM in sc hools in
Georgia State
Reported the c ase of the
management sc hool at
Lanc aster University
South Bank University
Suggested the use of
fishbone diagram in
fac ulty selec tion
No
pr ovides a n in spir a tion for dir ection of
ch a n ge in edu ca tion . However, th ese a r e n ot
th e on ly m ea n s. Mor e r esea r ch wor k h a s to be
don e to fi n d better w ays of a doptin g th ese
m a n u fa ctu r in g sector or igin a ted m eth ods
in to th e edu ca tion a l settin g. F u n da m en ta lly,
th e th r ee pr oblem a tic a r ea s in a pplyin g TQM
in edu ca tion discu ssed ea r lier sh ou ld be
a ddr essed. Th ey a r e th e differ en ces between
edu ca tion a n d in du str y; ju stifica tion for th e
u n iqu e con tr ibu tion of TQM a n d th e su ppor t
of h a n ds-on exper ien ce th a t ca n be tr a n sfer r ed to oth er sim ila r situ a tion s.
References
1 Ish ik aw a , K., W h a t Is T ota l Qu a lity Con trol?
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
T h e J a pa n ese Way, P r en tice-Ha ll, E n glewood
Cliffs, N J , 1992.
J u r a n , J .M., J u ra n on L ea d ersh ip for Qu a lity:
A n Ex ecu tiv e Ha n d b ook , F r ee P r ess, N ew Yor k ,
N Y, 1989.
Dem in g, W.E ., Ou t of Cr isis, MIT, Ca m br idge,
MA, 1986.
Cr osby, P.B., Qu a lity Is Free, McGr aw -Hill, N ew
Yor k , N Y, 1979.
Hu tch in s, D., “Qu a lity is ever yon e’s bu sin ess”,
M a n a gem en t Decision , Vol. 24 N o. 1, 1986,
pp. 30-5.
O’Con
education: retrospect and prospect
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Se nio r Le c ture r, Divisio n o f Co mme rc e , City Unive rsity o f Ho ng Ko ng, Ho ng Ko ng
Points out that recent discussion has centred on the
application of total quality
management (TQM) in education. Most writers appear
inclined to suggest that TQM
is a unique solution for effective school management.
Nonetheless, TQM was initiated in the manufacturing
sector and its successful
application in the educational
setting should only be justifi ed with ample theoretical
support and concrete evidence. Attempts to trace the
literature that discusses the
application of TQM in education. Also addresses the
differences between industry
and education. Aims to
explore the relevance of
employing TQM in education.
The author would like to
thank Dr Allan Walker of The
Chinese University of Hong
Kong for his valuable advice.
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [ 1996] 2 5 –3 5
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
Development of total quality
management in education
Tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t (TQM) is a m a n a gem en t ph ilosoph y th a t h a s tr a n sfor m ed th e
pr odu cts a n d pr ocesses of lea din g J a pa n ese
com pa n ies du r in g th e pa st 40 yea r s[1]. F a ced
w ith in cr ea sin g com petition fr om J a pa n ese
pr odu cts, com pa n ies th r ou gh ou t th e in du str ia lized wor ld h ave be gu n to a dopt TQM. Th e
th eor etica l fou n da tion s of TQM ca m e fr om
sever a l people, in clu din g W. E dw a r ds Dem in g,
J oseph M. J u r a n a n d P h ilip Cr osby in th e
USA a n d Gen ich i Ta gu ch i a n d Ka or u
Ish ik aw a in J a pa n . As its n a m e im plies, TQM
focu ses on qu a lity. J u r a n defin es qu a lity a s
“fitn ess for u se”[2, p. 58] by th e cu stom er,
Dem in g a dvoca tes th a t qu a lity “sh ou ld be
a im ed a t th e n eeds of th e cu stom er, pr esen t
a n d fu tu r e”[3, p. 5] a n d Cr osby su ppor ts th is:
“con for m a n ce to r equ ir em en ts set by con su m er s”[4, p. 2]. Accor din g to Ish ik aw a , a
qu a lity pr odu ct is on e wh ich is “m ost econ om ica l, m ost u sefu l, a n d a lw ays sa tisfa ctor y
to th e con su m er ”[1, p. 4]. By eith er of th ese
defin ition s, th e cu stom er decides wh eth er a
pr odu ct is of h igh qu a lity, n ot th e pa r ticipa n ts
in th e pr ocess th a t cr ea ted th e pr odu ct. In
fa ct, a ll th e “gu r u s” em ph a size th e im por ta n ce of cu stom er sa tisfa ction a s well a s con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t.
Besides its popu la r ity in m a n u fa ctu r in g
com pa n ies, TQM ph ilosoph y h a s been
a dopted in ser vice in du str ies lik e ba n k s a n d
h ospita ls[5-7]. Th e a pplica bility of TQM th eor ies in th e edu ca tion a l sector h a s a lso
a ttr a cted th e in ter est of m a n y th eor ists a n d
pr a ctition er s su ch a s DeCosm o et a l.[8],
E dwell[9], Sh er r a n d Lozier [10], Bon ser [11],
Tr ibu s[12], Br igh a m [13], Hever ly[14] a n d
Rh odes[15]. Th ey poin ted ou t th a t
edu ca tion a l in stitu tion s h ave tu r n ed to TQM
for m a n y of th e sa m e r ea son s th a t bu sin esses
h ave in stitu ted qu a lity pr ogr a m m es.
Bon ser [11] a ttr ibu ted th e m ove tow a r ds
TQM in h igh er edu ca tion to th e esca la tin g
n u m ber of stu den ts, th e la ck of con sisten t
lea der sh ip style, th e in cr ea sin g a ccou n ta bility to th e pu blic a n d ch a n gin g a ttitu des
tow a r ds u n iver sities. He w r ote:
Th ese pr essu r es w ill dem a n d pea k qu a lity
per for m a n ce fr om u n iver sities in a ll a r ea s
of en deavor. Appr oa ch es th a t wer e con sider ed a dequ a te, system s th a t wer e m a in ta in ed beca u se of tr a dition , in er tia , ign or a n ce, or th e con ven ien ce of in ter n a l politics, w ill n o lon ger be toler a ted. Most in stitu tion s in Am er ica n society a r e ch a n gin g to
a da pt to a n ew wor ld en vir on m en t. Un iver sities w ill n ot be a n exception [11, p. 506].
DeCosm o et a l.[8] a lso expla in ed th a t th e
in ten sifyin g a da pta tion of TQM ph ilosoph y in
edu ca tion w a s du e to r esou r ces con str a in ts
a n d in cr ea sin g pu blic pr essu r e. In fa ct,
E dwell[9, p. 96] r epor ted th a t: “over 61 per cen t
of colle ge pr esiden ts aver r in g in volvem en t in
Tota l Qu a lity – th is com pa r ed w ith a t best a
dozen or so ca m pu s im plem en ta tion effor ts a s
r ecen tly a s two yea r s a go.”
Definition of TQM
Va r iou s defin ition s of TQM h ave been
a dopted by differ en t w r iter s. Accor din g to
Ha r r is[16], th er e a r e th r ee gen er ic
a ppr oa ch es to TQM. Th e fir st a ppr oa ch h a s a
cu stom er focu s, wh er e th e idea of ser vice to
stu den ts is foster ed th r ou gh sta ff tr a in in g
a n d developm en t. Th e secon d h a s a sta ff
focu s, a n d is con cer n ed to va lu e a n d en h a n ce
th e con tr ibu tion of a ll m em ber s of sta ff to th e
effectiven ess of a sch ool. Th e th ir d a ppr oa ch
ta k es a ser vice a gr eem en t sta n ce, a n d seek s
to en su r e con for m ity to specifica tion a t cer ta in k ey m ea su r a ble poin ts of th e edu ca tion a l
pr ocess. Mu r ga tr oyd a n d Mor ga n [17, p. 47]
a dvoca te th a t th er e a r e th r ee dim en sion s for
qu a lity – qu a lity a ssu r a n ce, con tr a ct con for m a n ce a n d cu stom er -dr iven . Taylor a n d
Hill[18] defin e TQM a s a cu stom er -focu sed
pr ocess wh ich seek s for con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t a n d m eetin g cu stom er s’ per ception s.
Th ese view s a r e ech oed by m a n y a u th or s
su ch a s Sh er r a n d Lozier [10], Hever ly[14],
E dwell[9], DeCosm o et a l.[8], Coa te[19] a n d
Leffel et a l.[20]. However, Gr een [21, p. 17]
ch a llen ges th is by sta tin g th a t “differ en t
in ter est gr ou ps … h ave differ en t pr ior ities
a n d th eir focu s of a tten tion m ay be differ en t”.
Bolton [22, p. 14] th in k s th a t “th e m ea su r em en t of per for m a n ce is a n in esca pa ble
fea tu r e of TQM.” Th is view is su ppor ted
by Gr een [21] wh o poin ts ou t th a t som e
[ 25 ]
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
m ea su r em en t m eth ods a s to en su r e con for m a n ce to cu stom er s’ expecta tion s a r e
n ecessa r y. Willia m s[23, p. 374] con clu des th a t
th er e a r e two dim en sion s of TQM. On th e on e
h a n d “it is a m a n a gem en t tool to in cr ea se
pr odu ctivity, k eep th e cu stom er s h a ppy, a n d
cu t dow n w a ste”; on th e oth er h a n d “it is a
m ea n s of m a k in g u s better people, of developin g ou r pr ofession a l good m a n n er s, a n d pr ovidin g u s w ith a m or a l edu ca tion ”.
To su m u p th e va r iou s view s[8-19,21-23],
TQM is a m a n a gem en t tool th a t a im s for
“tota l”, a n d “qu a lity a ssu r a n ce”. F ir st, TQM
im plies m eetin g th e expecta tion s of a ll th e
cu stom er s in th e edu ca tion a l system . Th e
exter n a l cu stom er s, su ch a s th e ta x payer s,
pa r en ts a n d poten tia l em ployer s, sh ou ld be
sa tisfied w ith th e sta n da r ds of th e gr a du a tes,
wh er ea s th e in ter n a l cu stom er s, su ch a s
tea ch er s a n d stu den ts, sh ou ld be sa tisfied
w ith th e tea ch in g a n d lea r n in g pr ocess in
sch ool. It ta r gets th e tota l pr ocess a n d ou tpu t
of th e edu ca tion system . Secon d, it r equ ir es
qu a lity a ssu r a n ce to en su r e con for m ity to
specifica tion of sta n da r ds set ou t by th e cu stom er s. Th ir d, it is a m a n a gem en t tool th a t
em ph a sizes th e m ea n s for m ea su r em en t of
per for m a n ce a n d feedba ck .
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11a
11b
12a
12b
13
Deming’s philosophy
Am on g th e exten sive n u m ber of a r ticles w r itten on TQM in edu ca tion a l in stitu tion s,
Dem in g’s ph ilosoph y is th e m ost fr equ en tly
cited r efer en ce. He is w idely r ecogn ized a s
th e fa th er of TQM a n d th u s a closer look a t h is
wor k ca n h elp to u n der sta n d th e situ a tion .
Dem in g’s wor k [3, pp. 23-4] be gin s w ith th e
belief th a t a ll people a r e edu ca ble, th a t th ey
w a n t to do a good job a n d th ey deser ve
r espect. “Wh en th er e is a pr oblem , 85 per cen t
of th e tim e it is w ith th e system ; 15 per cen t of
th e tim e it w ill be w ith th e wor k er s.” He a lso
ta k es in to a ccou n t sta tistica l va r ia tion a n d
ca lls for m a n a gem en t by fa ct, wh ich im plies
collectin g da ta a n d a n a lysin g th em sta tistica lly befor e decision s a r e m a de. Dem in g’s 14
poin ts a r e w idely r ecogn ized a s th e fu n da m en ta ls of TQM. Accor din g to Dem in g, th ese
14 poin ts ca n :
a pply a n ywh er e, to sm a ll or ga n isa tion s a s
well a s to la r ge on es, to th e ser vice in du str y
a s well a s to m a n u fa ctu r in g.
1 Cr ea te con sta n cy of pu r pose tow a r d
im pr ovem en t of pr odu ct a n d ser vice…
2 Adopt th e ph ilosoph y…Wester n m a n a gem en t m u st aw a k en to th e ch a llen ge,
m u st lea r n th eir r espon sibilities, a n d
ta k e on lea der sh ip for ch a n ge.
3 Cea se depen den ce on in spection to
a ch ieve qu a lity. E lim in a te th e n eed for
in spection on a m a ss ba sis by bu ildin g
[ 26 ]
14
qu a lity in to th e pr odu ct in th e fi r st
pla ce.
E n d th e pr a ctice of aw a r din g bu sin ess
on th e ba sis of pr ice ta g…Move tow a r d
a sin gle su pplier for a n y on e item , on a
lon g-ter m r ela tion sh ip of loya lty a n d
tr u st.
Im pr ove con sta n tly a n d for ever th e
system of pr odu ction a n d ser vice,…a n d
th u s con sta n tly decr ea se costs.
In stitu te tr a in in g on job.
In sist on lea der sh ip…Th e a im of su per vision sh ou ld be to h elp people…to do a
better job…
Dr ive ou t fea r …
Br ea k dow n ba r r ier s…people m u st
wor k a s a tea m ...
E lim in a te sloga n s a n d ta r get…a sk in g
for zer o defects a n d n ew levels of pr odu ctivity.
E lim in a te wor k sta n da r ds
(qu ota )…su bstitu te lea der sh ip.
E lim in a te m a n a gem en t by
objective…su bstitu te lea der sh ip.
Rem ove ba r r ier s th a t r ob people of
th eir r igh t to pr ide of wor k m a n sh ip;
Rem ove ba r r ier s th a t r ob people in
m a n a gem en t a n d in en gin eer in g of
th eir r igh t to pr ide of wor k m a n sh ip.
Th is m ea n s, …a bolish m en t of th e
a n n u a l or m er it r a tin g…
In stitu te a vigor ou s pr ogr a m of edu ca tion a n d self-im pr ovem en t.
P u t ever yon e in th e com pa n y to wor k to
a ccom plish th e tr a n sfor m a tion …”
Accor din g to Win ter [24], th ese 14 pr in ciples
fa ll in to th r ee br oa d ca te gor ies:
1 Ph ilosoph y a n d m ission – th is ca te gor y
in clu des pr in ciples th a t str ess focu sin g on
cu stom er n eeds in a n ever -en din g sea r ch
for qu a lity.
2 Orga n iz a tion a l en viron m en t – th ese pr in ciples esta blish n or m s a n d va lu es th a t dicta te th e tr ea tm en t of ea ch in dividu a l in th e
or ga n iza tion .
3 Process – th is ca te gor y str esses th e n eed
for pr oblem pr even tion th r ou gh ou t th e
pr ocess r a th er th a n th e iden tifica tion of
fa ilu r es a t th e en d of th e pr ocess.
In a doptin g TQM, edu ca tion a l a dm in istr a tor s
a r e tr yin g to pu r su e th ese th r ee objectives.
Successful cases
Appa r en tly, su ccessfu l im plem en ta tion of
TQM in edu ca tion a l settin gs h a s been w idely
r epor ted. Th e follow in g ca ses su ppor ted w ith
h a n ds-on exper ien ces of th e a u th or s a r e
r epor ted in th e liter a tu r e. DeCosm o et a l.[8]
r epor ted th eir exper ien ce of im plem en tin g
TQM in Delaw a r e Cou n ty Com m u n ity Colle ge (DCCC) for a per iod of fou r -a n d-a -h a lf
yea r s. Th e im plem en ta tion con stitu ted th r ee
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
ph a ses. Th e fir st w a s th e im plem en ta tion of
tota l qu a lity in th e top m a n a gem en t of th e
colle ge, a n d w a s followed by th e developm en t
of a TQM cu r r icu lu m . Th e la st ph a se w a s th e
im plem en ta tion of TQM th r ou gh ou t th e
tea ch in g a n d lea r n in g pr ocess. Th ey fou n d
th a t “on e of th e im por ta n t ben efi ts of im plem en tin g TQM is th a t colle ge sta ff a r e a ctively
in volvin g on e a n oth er in a pr ocess of docu m en tin g a n d sta n da r dizin g colle ge oper a tin g
pr ocedu r es…Sta ff a r e w illin g to wor k in
tea m s a n d a cr oss depa r tm en ts. Th e colle ge is
slow ly r em ovin g ba r r ier s to tea m wor k …Th e
execu tive sta ff in DCCC is con vin ced th a t
TQM is wor th ever y effor t we h ave m a de”[8,
p. 22].
Coa te[19] gave a fu ll r epor t of h is wor k in
im plem en tin g TQM a t th e Or e gon Sta te Un iver sity (OSU). It com pr ised n in e ph a ses
wh ich wer e:
1 explor in g tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t;
2 esta blish in g a pilot stu dy tea m ;
3 defin in g cu stom er n eeds;
4 a doptin g th e br ea k th r ou gh pla n n in g
pr ocess;
5 per for m in g br ea k th r ou gh pla n n in g in th e
division s;
6 for m in g da ily m a n a gem en t tea m s;
7 in itia tin g cr oss-fu n ction a l pilot pr ojects;
8 im plem en tin g cr oss-fu n ction a l tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t; a n d
9 settin g u p r epor tin g, r ecogn ition , a n d
aw a r ds system s.
Coa te a lso su ggested th a t top m a n a gem en t
su ppor t a n d tea m wor k wer e cr itica l fa ctor s
for su ccessfu l TQM im plem en ta tion . In
Coa te’s opin ion , th e ca se of OSU pr oved th a t:
“it [TQM] h a s saved th e u n iver sity tim e,
r edu ced costs, em power ed people a t a ll
levels, a n d im pr oved m or a le…TQM a s vita l
n ot on ly for th e r ea liza tion of its vision bu t
a lso for its su r viva l in th e m a r k etpla ce”[19,
p. 37].
Leffel et a l.[20] r epor ted th eir exper ien ce
w ith Vir gin ia Tech a n d r ecom m en ded th a t:
TQM m u st be gin w ith th e developm en t of
th e lea der sh ip tea m wor k in g tow a r d a
sh a r ed vision , sh a r ed va lu es, a n d a r eper toir e of lea der sh ip sk ills. Ch a n ge w ill n ot
occu r im m edia tely eith er in per son n el or in
th e in stitu tion a l cu ltu r e. Lea der sh ip developm en t m u st be a va lu e a n d a pr ocess th a t
evolves w ith in th e in stitu tion over a per iod
of five to ten yea r s[20, p. 70].
Th ey a lso a dm itted th a t TQM lea der sh ip
developm en t w a s a pr ocess th a t evolved
w ith in th e in stitu tion over a per iod of fi ve to
ten yea r s a t lea st. Th er efor e, TQM is a ver y
tim e- a n d r esou r ce-con su m in g tool.
Oth er w r iter s com m en t on th e a da pta tion
of TQM in th e cla ssr oom . Ga r tn er [25]
r epor ted h is a pplica tion of Dem in g’s m eth ods
to two bu sin ess cou r ses. Stu den ts wer e given
a 16-pa ge cou r se ou tlin e wh ich specifi ed th e
r equ ir em en t to a ch ieve gr a de A on th e fir st
day of cla ss, so th a t stu den ts cou ld m ea su r e
th eir a bility to m eet th e qu a n tity a n d qu a lity
specifica tion s for A wor k . Ga r tn er fou n d th a t
stu den ts w a n ted to do well a n d cou ld per for m
th ose specific ou tpu ts wh en th ey wer e given
specific in str u ction s a bou t wh a t w a s
r equ ir ed. He con clu ded:
th e gen er a l pr in ciples a n d m eth ods of qu a lity con tr ol a s ou tlin ed by Dem in g seem to
wor k . Stu den ts ca n be tr ea ted lik e wor k er s,
a n d system s ca n be pu t in pla ce to en a ble
th em to gen er a te h igh levels of ou tpu ts w ith
h igh level of qu a lity. Th e wor k pla ce seem s to
be m or e en joya ble for both stu den ts a n d
fa cu lty. Th e cla ssr oom is less n eu r otic; stu den ts k n ow h ow to a ct, a n d th ey k n ow th a t
th ese a ction s w ill be r ew a r ded”[25, p. 155].
However, Ga r tn er a lso r epor ted th a t h e w a s
r estr icted by h is u n iver sity fr om givin g a ll
stu den ts A gr a des. Th er efor e, h e a dvoca ted
th a t to im plem en t TQM, top m a n a gem en t
su ppor t w a s th e vita l fa ctor.
Ch izm a r [26] r ecor ded h is str a te gy of in volvin g stu den ts a ctively in th eir ow n lea r n in g
th r ou gh th e cr ea tion of lea r n in g com m u n ities a n d in cr ea sed u se of colla bor a tion . His
on e-m in u te pa per pr oved to be su ccessfu l. In
th e fin a l m in u te of cla ss, th e stu den ts wer e
a sk ed to r espon d to two qu estion s:
1 Wh a t w a s th e m ost im por ta n t th in g th ey
lea r n ed in th e cla ss? An d
2 Wh a t w a s th e m u ddiest poin t still r em a in in g a t th e con clu sion of th a t cla ss?
In Ch izm a r ’s wor ds, “th e fi r st qu estion is
in ten ded to focu s on th e big pictu r e (wh a t is
bein g lea r n ed) a n d th e secon d to a ssess h ow
well it is bein g lea r n ed”[26, p. 185]. Ch izm a r
fou n d th a t th e on e-m in u te pa per cou ld pr ovide better w ays for con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t
th a n th e en d-of-ter m eva lu a tion s. He con clu ded th a t th e con dition s of a TQM tea ch in g/ lea r n in g m odel wer e tea m wor k , em pow er m en t, feedba ck , a n d con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t. “Th e r ea l power of TQM dr ives for m its
tota ln ess,…it pr ovides a fr a m ewor k , or
m odel, for com bin in g dispa r a te idea s in to a
u n ified wh ole for th e pu r pose of pr edictin g a
pr ior i wh a t w ill wor k ”[26, p. 188].
Dif ferences between education
and industry
E viden ce qu oted by va r iou s w r iter s seem s to
pr ove th a t Dem in g’s ph ilosoph y ca n be su ccessfu lly a pplied in edu ca tion a l settin gs. Is it
r ea lly th e ca se? Th er e seem s little dou bt th a t
TQM ca n pr odu ce en cou r a gin g r esu lts in th e
[ 27 ]
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
m a n u fa ctu r in g sector. E du ca tion , h owever, is
ver y m u ch differ en t fr om in du str y a n d qu estion s m ay be r a ised a s to its a pplica bility.
In or der to exa m in e th e r eleva n ce of a pplyin g TQM in edu ca tion , on e sh ou ld be a ble to
a n swer th r ee qu estion s:
1 Wh a t a r e th e differ en ces between edu ca tion a n d in du str y? Wou ld th ese differ en ces
h in der th e a pplica tion of TQM in edu ca tion ?
2 Wh a t a r e th e u n iqu e con tr ibu tion s of TQM
tow a r ds edu ca tion ? Wh y a n d in wh a t w ays
is it su per ior to oth er m a n a gem en t th eor ies?
3 Ar e th er e a n y con cr ete exa m ples a n d eviden ce to a scer ta in its a pplica tion ? Ca n th e
exper ien ce be tr a n sfer r ed to oth er sim ila r
or ga n iza tion s?
E du ca tion differ s fr om th e m a n u fa ctu r in g
sector in fou r w ays: objectives, pr ocesses,
in pu ts a n d ou tpu ts. For m a n u fa ctu r in g fir m s,
pr ofit is th e com m on ly u sed in dica tor for
m ea su r in g effectiven ess. However, th e objectives for edu ca tion a r e n ot so sim ple. Accor din g to Tr ibu s[12], th e objective of ever y sch ool
sh ou ld be to pr ovide for ea ch stu den t oppor tu n ities to develop in fou r ca te gor ies; th ese
a r e “Kn ow ledge – wh ich en a bles u s to u n der sta n d; k n ow -h ow – wh ich en a bles u s to do;
w isdom – wh ich en a bles u s to set pr ior ities;
a n d ch a r a cter – wh ich en a bles u s to cooper a te, to per sever e, a n d to becom e r espected a n d
tr u sted m em ber s of society”[12, p. 39]. Th er efor e, th e m ission of edu ca tion is r ela tively
lon g ter m a n d th er e is n o sin gle in dica tor,
su ch a s pr ofi t, wh ich ca n r efl ect th e effectiven ess of a ch ievin g th ese objectives. With ou t
pr ecise a n d specific objectives, it is difficu lt,
if n ot im possible, to m ea su r e effectiven ess.
Tea ch in g a n d lea r n in g pr ocesses a r e n ot
th e sa m e a s a ssem bly lin es. Th ey a r e in ter a ctive pr ocesses between tea ch er s a n d stu den ts,
a n d th er efor e th e pr ocedu r es in th e pr ocesses
ca n n ot be pr eset in a step-by-step for m a t a s
th ose for a n a ssem bly lin e. Mor eover, both of
th e pa r ties a r e h u m a n bein gs wh ose beh aviou r s a r e su bject to differ en t m otives a n d
objectives, em otion a l fl u ctu a tion s, a s well a s
in dividu a l styles of in ter per son a l sk ills.
Th er efor e, th er e ca n n ot be a n y specifica tion
a s r e ga r ds th e sta n da r dized codes of pr a ctice
in lea r n in g a n d tea ch in g. Mor e com plica tin g,
th e beh aviou r of on e pa r ty is often r espon din g to th e a ct of th e cou n ter pa r t. Th u s, th er e
ca n n ot be a step-w ise in str u ction for th e
tea ch in g pr ocess in cla ssr oom s.
As fa r a s in pu ts a r e con cer n ed, th ose of
edu ca tion a l settin gs a r e su bject to en or m ou s
va r ia bility. Un lik e fa ctor ies, sch ools ca n n ot
con tr ol th e qu a lity of in com in g m a ter ia ls
(stu den ts), wh ich a dds to th e difficu lty of
[ 28 ]
con tr ollin g th e qu a lity of ou tpu ts. Alth ou gh
som e sor t of en tr a n ce r equ ir em en ts ca n be
im posed on th e a pplica n ts, colle ges a r e con fr on ted w ith in cr ea sin g difficu lties in gettin g
th e desir ed stu den ts beca u se of th e dr a stic
in cr ea se in th e n u m ber of colle ge pla ces in
r ecen t yea r s. Mor eover, th e qu a lity sta n da r d
of stu den ts is n ot a s pr ecise a s th ose of m a ter ia ls. Th e pr e-a dm ission a ca dem ic per for m a n ce in pu blic exa m in a tion s a n d th e dem ogr a ph ic ch a r a cter istics a r e th e on ly in for m a tion ava ila ble to colle ge a dm ission officer s
wh en th e a dm ission decision h a s to be m a de.
Th er e a r e oth er fa ctor s, su ch a s th e a ttitu des
of stu den ts tow a r ds lea r n in g, th eir lea r n in g
str a te gies a n d in ter per son a l sk ills, wh ich a r e
n ot r ea dily a ssessa ble. Alth ou gh a dm ission
in ter view s a r e w idely u sed by m a n y colle ges,
th eir effectiven ess is qu estion a ble[27-29].
Stu den ts a r e h u m a n bein gs wh ose per for m a n ce is expected to va r y u n der differ en t
situ a tion s, a n d th u s th e m ea su r em en t of
h u m a n beh aviou r ca n n ot be su bjected to a
pr ecise sca le. Th is fa ctor com plica tes th e
difficu lty of m ea su r in g th e qu a lity of in com in g stu den ts.
Lik ew ise, it is difficu lt to defin e a cer ta in
qu a lity sta n da r d for th e ou tpu t. For m a n u fa ctu r in g fi r m s, qu a lity ou tpu ts a r e th ose wh ich
ca n sa tisfy th e r equ ir em en ts of th e
cu stom er s. In edu ca tion , th er e a r e m a n y
cu stom er s: th e stu den ts th em selves, th e pa r en ts, th e tea ch er s, th e sch ool m a n a gem en t,
th e poten tia l em ployer s a n d society in gen er a l. Wh ose in ter est sh ou ld be th e fir st pr ior ity if th er e a r e con fl icts between th eir in ter ests? Ar e stu den ts, bein g pa r ticipa n ts a n d
“cu stom er s”, in th e for em ost position to
deter m in e wh a t is th e best for th em selves? In
fa ct, wou ld th ey k n ow wh a t is best in th e fir st
pla ce? Ca n Dem in g’s “zer o defect” pr odu cts[3]
be pr odu ced in edu ca tion ? Ca n a n y edu ca tor
cla im th a t h is stu den t ca n a a ch ieve per fect
sta n da r d? Th ese a r e ju st som e of m a n y qu estion s th a t m u st be a ddr essed befor e defin in g
th e qu a lity of th e ou tpu ts. It is ver y difficu lt
to defin e a n y per fect sta n da r d in edu ca tion .
Sch ool cu r r icu lu m is on ly on e of th e m a n y
fa ctor s th a t sh a pe th e per son a lity, beh aviou r
a n d a ca dem ic a ch ievem en t of a stu den t even
if th ese th r ee dim en sion s a r e a ccepted a s th e
cr iter ia for m ea su r in g th e per for m a n ce of a
stu den t in gen er a l. F a m ily edu ca tion a n d th e
societa l im pa ct a lso play a n im por ta n t r ole.
Th u s, th e per for m a n ce of a stu den t is th e on ly
in dica tor of th e tea ch in g pr ocess.
Th e eva lu a tion of stu den t per for m a n ce is
a lso a pr oblem . Wh a t sh ou ld th e edu ca tor s
aw a r d? Sh ou ld th ey aw a r d th e r ela tive pr ogr ession in stu den ts’ lea r n in g or th e a bsolu te
lea r n in g ou tcom e on ly? In oth er wor ds,
sh ou ld th ey aw a r d m or e to th ose su b-sta n da r d
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
stu den ts wh o m a n a ge to ju m p fr om Gr a de F
to Gr a de C or th ose wh o a ch ieve Gr a de A
w ith m in im a l effor t? Reca llin g
Dem in g’s wor ds th a t “wh en th er e is a pr oblem , 85 per cen t of th e tim e it is w ith th e system ; 15 per cen t of th e tim e it w ill be w ith th e
wor k er s”[3, p. 23], if on e is to believe in h im ,
th en on e is fa ced w ith th a t fr igh ten in g
pr ospect th a t a ll stu den ts sh ou ld deser ve
Gr a de A. If it is n ot th e ca se, th en on e h a s to
a dm it th a t it is th e tea ch er ’s r espon sibility.
Given th e com plexity of th e lea r n in g a n d
tea ch in g en vir on m en t, th is a lle ga tion is n ot
fa ir to th e tea ch er s.
Review of related research
A deta iled stu dy of th e liter a tu r e on a pplica tion of TQM in edu ca tion r evea ls th a t m a n y
w r iter s ca n n ot ju stify th e u se of TQM a s th ey
fa il to a ddr ess th e th r ee qu estion s m en tion ed
ea r lier. Som e a u th or s discu ss TQM w ith ou t
exa m in in g th e fea sibility a n d su ita bility of
su ch a n a pplica tion . Oth er s give r ea son s
wh ich a r e n ot str on g en ou gh to su ppor t
TQM’s u se a n d yet oth er s m en tion on ly th e
poten tia l ben efits of TQM. Few a r ticles a r e
su ppor ted w ith pr a ctica l ca se stu dies. Th e
follow in g is a br ief r epor t on th e liter a tu r e.
Differentiating education from industry
Th e wor k of Siu a n d Hea r t[30] pr esen ts on e of
th e w r iter s m a k in g n o a ttem pt to differ en tia te edu ca tion fr om bu sin ess settin gs. Th ey
w r ote, “…edu ca tion is differ en t fr om in du str y. Bu t m a n a gin g people a n d r esou r ces is
la r gely th e sa m e for a n y or ga n iza tion –
wh eth er in bu sin ess or edu ca tion , th e pr iva te
sector or th e pu blic a r en a ”[30, p. 96]. Th eir
opin ion m ay be qu er ied a s m a n a gem en t w r iter s u su a lly con sider th e m a n a gem en t of n on pr ofit m a k in g or ga n iza tion s differ en t fr om
th a t of pr ofi t-m a k in g or ga n iza tion s.
Sim ila r ly, Sa gor a n d Ba r n ett[31] a n d
Ha r r is[16] su ggest w ays for TQM im plem en ta tion in sch ools w ith ou t discu ssin g th e differ en ces between edu ca tion a n d in du str y.
Alth ou gh both Ch izm a r [26] a n d Ga r tn er [25]
cla im ed th a t th eir wor k h a d been su ccessfu l,
n eith er of th em discu ssed th e appr opr ia ten ess
of a pplyin g TQM in edu ca tion a l settin gs.
Hill a n d Taylor [32] on ly h igh ligh t th e
ch a r a cter istics of a ser vice, i.e. in sepa r a bility
of cu stom er fr om th e pr odu ction , h eter ogen eity of ser vice offer in g a n d in ta n gibility, bu t
fa il to a ddr ess th e ch a r a cter istics of edu ca tion .
Her tzier [33] pr esen ts a com pr eh en sive
a ccou n t of th e liter a tu r e on im plem en tin g
TQM in h igh er edu ca tion . Sh e r epor ted a n d
discu ssed h istor ica l developm en t in TQM,
im plem en ta tion of TQM in edu ca tion a l settin gs a n d ba r r ier s to im plem en ta tion . Sh e
su ggested th a t th e on ly ba r r ier s to TQM wer e
la ck of lea der sh ip in colle ge a n d th e r elu cta n ce of fa cu lty m em ber s to tr ea t stu den ts a s
“cu stom er s”. Aga in , h owever, sh e did n ot
a ttem pt to discu ss th e differ en ces between
edu ca tion a n d in du str y.
Ha zza r d[34], in h is a r ticle discu ssin g th e
str en gth s a n d wea k n esses of TQM in h igh er
edu ca tion , poin ted ou t on ly th a t TQM w a s
both tim e a n d effor t con su m in g. Oth er deficien cies of TQM m en tion ed in clu ded th e
r equ ir em en t of top m a n a gem en t su ppor t
a n d th e developm en t of sta ff tr a in in g pr ogr a m m es. He did n ot, h owever, discu ss th e
r eleva n ce of a pplyin g TQM in edu ca tion a l
in stitu tion s. Th e wor k r epor ted by Bolton [22],
E r ik sen [35] a n d J a r a iedi a n d Ritz[36] a r e a lso
fou n d to h ave th e sa m e deficien cy.
Sim ila r ly, Ha r r is[16], Weller J r a n d
Ha r tley[37], Sa m u els[38], Solom en [39] a n d
Cole[40] on ly r epor ted th a t th er e a r e u r gen t
n eeds to im pr ove edu ca tion . However, th ey a ll
fa iled to expla in th e su ita bility of a doptin g
TQM in edu ca tion .
Br igh a m a dm itted th a t “ser vice
in du str ies,…gen er a lly h ave m et w ith less
su ccess th a n m a n u fa ctu r in g th u s fa r …
High er edu ca tion h a s good r ea son to be
w a r y”[13, p. 48]. Alth ou gh h e a ck n ow ledged
su ch a differ en ce, h e ela bor a ted n o fu r th er on
th e r eleva n ce of a dm in ister in g TQM in edu ca tion , n or did h e discu ss th e a dju stm en t
wh ich h a d to be m a de befor e a pplica tion . He
con tin u ed:
Th is is n ot to say in du str y h a s n oth in g to
tea ch u s. On th e con tr a r y, it is h elpfu l to see
a cr oss th e sector s th e im por ta n ce of bu ildin g qu a lity pr in ciples in to str a te gic a n d
bu sin ess pla n s; of fin din g ch a m pion s a t
ever y level of th e or ga n isa tion ; pa r ticu la r ly
a t th e top; of focu sin g on r esu lts a n d
pr ocesses; of br in gin g n ew tea m s on lin e,
on ly a s n eeded; of in cor por a tin g cu stom er s
ea r ly on a n d for ever.
He pr ovided a list of poten tia l ben efi ts of
TQM bu t n ot on ly th e r ea son s to su ppor t its
a pplica tion to edu ca tion .
Alth ou gh Ir w in [41] h a d a ck n ow ledged th a t
edu ca tion a n d in du str y a r e differ en t in qu a lity defi n ition a n d ta r get cu stom er s, h e m a de
n o fu r th er a ttem pt to expla in wh y TQM is
a pplica ble in th e edu ca tion a l settin g.
Leslie[42] tr ied to esta blish th e va lu e of
stu den t wor k exper ien ce (SWE ) a n d to pr opose th a t a TQM a ppr oa ch to SWE sh ou ld be
a dopted. He sta ted th a t: “edu ca tion is n ot
a bou t fittin g people for wor k … [it] is a bou t
developin g m em ber s of society to be a ble to
pr osper in society”[42, p. 27]. However, h e did
[ 29 ]
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
n ot expla in wh y TQM ca n h elp to a ch ieve th is
objective.
Justifying the unique contributions of TQM
Th e a r ticle w r itten by Sh er r a n d Lozier [10,
p. 10] a dvoca ted th a t TQM espou sed th r ee
cor e va lu es, wh ich wer e th e im por ta n ce of
people, n eed to u se k n ow ledge a n d con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t. “We in h igh er edu ca tion
h old dea r ly su ch va lu es a s th e im por ta n ce of
people, k n ow ledge, a n d con tin u in g im pr ovem en t. Wh y don ’t we pr a ctice wh a t we
pr ea ch ?” Th ey fa iled to poin t ou t th e su per ior ity of TQM a s com pa r ed to oth er m a n a gem en t th eor ies.
In r ecom m en din g TQM a s th e m ost effective m a n a gem en t ph ilosoph y, Leddick [43,
p. 60] com m en ted th a t oth er m a n a gem en t
m eth ods wer e n ot effective a s th ey la ck ed
com pr eh en siven ess:
Th ey h ave n o la n gu a ge for defin in g th e
con text in wh ich th e sch ool exists a n d th u s
its pu r pose…th ey h ave n o la n gu a ge for
descr ibin g th e sch ools a s a wh ole or ga n isa tion …th ey la ck a th eor y of k n ow ledge – a
w ay to k n ow if ch a n ges r ea lly lea d to
im pr ovem en t…th ey la ck a m eth od to m a k e
im pr ovem en ts to a n y a n d a ll pa r ts of th e
sch ool…a n d th ey la ck a m ea n s for en ga gin g
a ll th e people in th e sch ool in con tin u a lly
im pr ovin g it…Qu a lity m a n a gem en t pr ovides th e com pr eh en sive view sch ool r efor m
h a s been la ck in g.
J u dgin g fr om th ese com m en ts, Leddick did
n ot m a n a ge to give con vin cin g r ea son s to
su ppor t th e pitfa lls of oth er m a n a gem en t
th eor ies. In fa ct, th e im por ta n ce of people h a s
been well r ecogn ized by m a n a gem en t th eor ists. In th e m ost fa m ilia r dich otom y of
m a n a gem en t, Th eor y X a n d Th eor y Y,
McGr e gor [44] n oted th a t a n effective m a n a ger
sh ou ld r espect a n d tr u st th e Th eor y Y type
em ployees wh o m igh t ta k e u p r espon sibility
volu n ta r ily. Ma slow [45] a lso r ecogn ized th a t
self-esteem n eeds a n d self-a ctu a liza tion n eeds
a r e th e top pr ior ities in m otiva tin g em ployees. Th ese two n eeds a r e ver y m u ch in lin e
w ith th e m otiva tin g fa ctor s su ggested by
Her zber g’s two fa ctor th eor y[46]. Th e system s
a ppr oa ch to or ga n iza tion th eor y ca n pr ovide
a h olistic a n d in te gr a tive view for th e oper a tion s of a n or ga n iza tion . Th er efor e, TQM is
n ot th e on ly m ea n s for effective m a n a gem en t.
In th eir book , Usin g Dem in g to Im prov e
Qu a lity in Colleges a n d Un iv ersities,
Cor n esk y et a l.[47] expla in ed th e a pplica tion
of Dem in g’s ph ilosoph y in edu ca tion . Th ey
a r gu ed th a t th e pr iva te sector w a s defin ed
la r gely by th e r ela tion sh ip between
cu stom er s a n d su pplier s, a n d by h ow th e
la tter cou ld u se a n d im pr ove pr odu ction ,
distr ibu tion a n d ser vice to in cr ea se qu a lity
[ 30 ]
a n d k eep cu stom er s sa tisfied. Cu stom er
pa tr on a ge w a s th e object of com petition
a m on g m a n y fir m s. E a ch fir m tr ied to m a in ta in or in cr ea se m a r k et sh a r e by plea sin g
cu stom er s, a n d su r viva l depen ded on r epea t
bu sin ess. Accor din g to th em , h igh er edu ca tion ’s con cept of cu stom er s differ ed fr om th e
pr iva te sector ’s beca u se in h igh er edu ca tion
th er e wer e n o “r epea t cu stom er s” in th e tr a dition a l sen se. Stu den ts, on ce en r olled,
ten ded to r em a in u n til th ey gr a du a ted.
Alu m n i, on ce gr a du a ted, ten ded n ot to r etu r n
to th e sa m e in stitu tion for a ddition a l de gr ees.
It cou ld be a r gu ed, th ou gh , th a t if a lu m n i a n d
cu r r en t stu den ts wer e well sa tisfied w ith
th eir exper ien ce, th ey wou ld r ecom m en d th e
in stitu tion to oth er s. Lik ew ise, em ployer s
wh o wer e well sa tisfied w ith th e u n iver sity’s
gr a du a tes m igh t be disposed to h ir e a ddition a l gr a du a tes fr om th e u n iver sity. Th u s
stu den ts, a lu m n i a n d em ployer s sh a r e som e
ch a r a cter istics of tr a dition a l cu stom er s.
Th er efor e, a ccor din g to Cor n esk y et a l., TQM
ca n h elp th e m a n a gem en t in edu ca tion by
offer in g th e cu stom er -or ien ted con cept a n d
cu stom er s ca n be both in ter n a l a n d exter n a l.
N ever th eless TQM is n ot th e on ly ph ilosoph y
wh ich em ph a sizes th e im por ta n ce of cu stom er sa tisfa ction . All m a r k etin g w r iter s
a ck n ow ledge th e im por ta n ce of
cu stom er s[48,49]. Mor eover, r ecogn izin g a n d
sa tisfyin g th e n eeds of in ter n a l cu stom er s a r e
topics in “r ela tion sh ip m a r k etin g”[50].
Wor k r epor ted by Ch izm a r [26] a n d
Ga r tn er [25], wh ich h a s been discu ssed ea r lier
in th is pa per seem s to be ver y effective. How ever, a closer look a t th eir m eth od r evea ls th a t
th ey wer e in fa ct u sin g m a n a gem en t by objectives (MBO) tech n iqu e r a th er th a n th e h igh sou n din g TQM. MBO is a m a n a gem en t tech n iqu e wh ich pr ovides su bor din a tes w ith a
specific goa ls a n d en cou r a ges th em to a ccom plish th em by pr ovidin g th em w ith th e
desir ed r ew a r ds. Ch izm a r a n d Ga r tn er a ctu a lly en ter ed in to a “per for m a n ce con tr a ct”
w ith th e stu den ts a n d aw a r ded th em a ccor din gly. Th er efor e, it is n ot TQM th a t does th e
m a gic.
Tr u m bu ll[51] gives a list of wh a t h e ca lled
th e “visible r esu lts” of im plem en ta tion of
TQM in colle ges: “…m a n y bu sin ess sch ools
tea ch TQM…tea ch er s a r e bein g en cou r a ged
to view stu den ts a s cu stom er s…u n iver sities
a r e a lso view in g stu den ts a s in pu ts a r r ivin g
fr om oth er system s...we n eed to wor k w ith
h igh sch ools…em ployer s say th a t th ey stop
r ecr u itin g a t pla ces th a t a r en ’t tea ch in g tota l
qu a lity”[51, p. 25]. He a lso w r ites th a t “If th is
(TQM) m ovem en t is to tr a n sfor m edu ca tion ,
h owever, sever a l h u r dles m u st be ju m ped.
Th ese in clu de tea ch er s’ r esista n ce to ch a n ge
a n d th e tim e a n d effor t it ta k e to im plem en t
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
TQM.” Tr u m bu ll’s view s on TQM a r e n ot
con vin cin g. Rem em ber th a t th ose com pa n ies
th a t wer e on ce h igh ly pr a ised by Peter s a n d
Wa ter m a n [52] in th eir book In S ea rch of
Ex cellen ce h ave sin ce fa iled. Th er efor e, TQM
m ay ju st be u sed a s a fa sh ion a ble gim m ick .
Rh odes[15, p. 77] w r ote:
Appa r en tly Dem in g’s wor ds a n d idea s r eson a te w ith som eth in g th a t m a n y people
a lr ea dy per son a lly believe is “r igh t”. Th e
idea s seem to va lida te lon g-h eld feelin gs of
wor k in g in dividu a ls wh o k n ow th ey w a n t to
be effective in th eir jobs a n d wh o by a n d
la r ge h ave given u p on th eir or ga n iza tion
ever a ctin g a s if th ey believed it.
He a dded:
TQM cou ld h elp a ll th ose in volved in sch ools
to view th eir a ction s fr om a per spective th a t
h a d a “cu stom er / stu den t” a t th e
cen tr e…Th e tota l qu a lity view a llow s u s to
see w ith a stu den t’s eye view – to u n der sta n d wh a t th e sch ool a n d th e wor ld a r ou n d
it look s lik e to ch ildr en gr ow in g u p today.
Th er efor e, Rh odes’ a r ticle cou ld n ot ju stify
th e a pplica tion of TQM th eor ies in edu ca tion .
He h a s m er ely discu ssed th e poten tia l ben efits of su ch a pplica tion . “TQM…con n ects th e
“wh er e-we-a r e-n ess” of da ily pr a ctice to th e
“wh er e-we-w a n t-to-go-n ess” fou n d in th e
or ga n iza tion ’s goa ls...Th e r esu lt: con tin u a l
gr ow th in tota l or ga n iza tion a n d per son a l
ca pa city to a ct differ en tly”[15, p. 78].
Supported with hands-on experiences and
real cases
Th e wor ds of Olson qu oted by Weaver m ay
best descr ibe th e pr esen t situ a tion : “wh ile
TQM h a s gen er a ted a lot of ta lk in sch ools, it
h a s pr odu ced less a ction ”[53]. In fa ct, th ose
edu ca tion a l in stitu tion s wh ich h ave r epor ted
th e u se of TQM,
u su a lly im plem en t it in a r ea s th a t m ost
closely r esem ble TQM in bu sin ess, su ch a s
con tr a ctin g ou t cu stodia l ser vices a n d pr ocessin g pu r ch a se or der s. An oth er com m on pla ce is to u se TQM m eth ods to solve a specific pr oblem , su ch a s stu den t a bsen teeism ,
in stea d of a ttem ptin g to a pply TQM pr in ciples to th e sch ool a s a wh ole[53].
On ly th e wor k of DeCosm o et a l.[8], Coa te[19]
a n d Leffel et a l.[20] a ppea r to be ba sed on th e
w r iter ’s a ctu a l exper ien ces in im plem en tin g
TQM in a colle ge a s a wh ole. Ga r tn er [25] a n d
Ch izm a r [26] im plem en ted TQM a t cla ssr oom
level on ly. Hever ly[54] r epor ted h er exper ien ce of a pplyin g TQM to a in stitu tion a l
r esea r ch office a t Delaw a r e Cou n ty Com m u n ity Colle ge on ly. Bon stin g[55] h a s r epor ted
eigh t ca ses of su ccessfu l im plem en ta tion of
Dem in g’s 14 poin ts, bu t a ll a r e on solvin g a
specific pr oblem s on ly. Apa r t fr om th ese
w r iter s, oth er s h ave m er ely deliber a ted th e
poten tia l ba r r ier s a n d ben efits ba sed on th eor etica l in fer en ces a n d a ca dem ic a r gu m en ts.
Wr iter s often su ggest th e u se of TQM for
solvin g pr oblem s in a specific a r ea in stea d of
a pplyin g it to th e colle ge a s a wh ole. E dwell[9]
is a n exa m ple. He su ggested th e a doption of
TQM in a ssessm en t of stu den ts. He w r ote,
“th r ee tr en ds in pa r ticu la r n ow ch a r a cter ize
em er gin g best pr a ctice in a ssessm en t, a n d a ll,
I believe, a r e con sisten t w ith th e ten ets of
TQM”[9, p. 42]. However, h e fa iled to discu ss
th e u n iqu e con tr ibu tion s of TQM th a t ca n n ot
be a ch ieved by oth er m a n a gem en t
tech n iqu es.
Also, in h is book M a n a gin g Qu a lity in
S ch ools, West-Bu r n h a m [56] cited on ly a few
exa m ples fr om secon da r y sou r ces a n d n on e
fr om h is ow n exper ien ce. On ly on e of th e fou r
ca ses h e qu oted w a s a n edu ca tion a l in stitu tion a n d th is w a s th e In for m a tion Tech n ology
Office a t Ha r va r d Un iver sity.
Willia m s’ wor ds[23] ca n best illu str a te th e
situ a tion of im plem en tin g TQM in High er
E du ca tion . He dem on str a ted th a t
Ch a dw ick [57] a t Sou th Ba n k Un iver sity,
E llis[58] a t Un iver sity of Ulster, Clayton [59] a t
Aston Un iver sity, Cow les a n d Gilbr ea th [60] a t
Vir gin ia Com m on wea lth Un iver sity, a n d
Doh er ty[61] a t Un iver sity of Wolver h a m pton
on ly “descr ibe wor k in pr ogr ess, a n d n on e
lays cla im to tota l a ch ievem en t”[23, p. 374].
Ta ble I is a br ief su m m a r y on th e liter a tu r e
th a t h a s been discu ssed. It is obviou s th a t
n on e of th e cited ca ses ca n m eet th e th r ee
cr iter ia – ju stifyin g th e u se of a m a n u fa ctu r in g-in itia ted tech n iqu e in edu ca tion ; ver ifyin g its u n iqu e con tr ibu tion s th a t ca n n ot be
a ch ieved by oth er m a n a gem en t tech n iqu es;
a n d su ppor ted w ith r ea l ca ses. Th u s, th e
u sefu ln ess of TQM in edu ca tion is still n ot
ver ifi ed.
Implications
Th e wor ds of Sch m ok er qu oted by Weaver [53]
m ay best su m u p th e cu r r en t sta te of TQM:
“[Som e] h a s been w r itten a bou t [it]; little of it
h a s been a bsor bed, believed, a n d im plem en ted
in Am er ica n sch ools or bu sin esses. Th is
m igh t be expla in ed by th e fa ct th a t system a tic
ch a n ge r equ ir es tim e, bu t it m igh t a lso be a n
in dica tion th e qu a lity m ovem en t is n ot
a ch ievin g its vision ”[53, p. 87]. Th u s, TQM
is m or e a ter m th a n a n a ction in sch ool m a n a gem en t:
Hou se[62, p. 35] su ggested th a t
Dem in g sh ow s th e dir ection for a tr a n sfor m a tion of Am er ica n m a n a gem en t.
Tr a n sfor m a tion of m a n a gem en t pr a ctices
a n d beliefs, in tu r n , r esu lts in ch a n ges in
or ga n iza tion a l str u ctu r e, ch a n ges in r ela tion sh ips a m on g th ose con n ected w ith th e
[ 31 ]
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
Table I
Re se arc h o n the applic atio n o f TQM in e duc atio n
Writer
Differentiate
education from
industry
Justify/ discuss
TQM ’s unique
contributions
Supported with
hands-on experiences
in educational institution
Coate[19]
DeCosmo et al. [8]
Edwell[9]
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Leffel[20]
Hill and Taylor[32]
No
Only disc ussed the
c harac teristic s of a
servic e
No
No
No
Some benefits of TQM
Some benefits of TQM
Benefits of adopting TQM
in assessing students’
performanc e only
Only on leadership
Potential benefits
Samuels[38]
Sherr and Lozier[10]
Winter[24]
Bonser[11]
Bonsting[55]
Cornesky et al.[47]
Heverly[14]
Disc ussed the c hanges
in environment
No
Emphasized c ustomerorientation (internal
and external)
No
Potential benefits
Yes, but imperfec t
Barriers in organizational
struc ture only
Some benefits
No
No
No
Some benefits
Potential benefits
Quoted eight c ases on
solving spec ific problems
No
Suggested the proc ess
only
Potential benefits
Potential benefits
Benefits and obstac les
Potential benefits
At the researc h offic e
only
No
No
No
No
No
No
Aston University
Virginia Commonwealth
University
University of
Wolverhampton
University of Ulster
Classroom setting
No
Clayton[59]
Cowles and Gilbreath[60]
No
Claimed no differenc es
No
Admitted the differenc es,
but no further disc ussion
on its relevanc e
No
No
Doherty[61]
No
No
Ellis[58]
Gartner[25]
Hazzard[34]
No
No
No
Irwin[41]
Leddick[43]
Solomen[39]
West-Burnham[56]
Yes, but failed to justify
the use of TQM in
educ ation
No
No
No
No
Some
Disc ussed the strengths
and weaknesses only
Potential benefits
Chizmar[26]
Harris[16]
No
No
Hertzier[33]
No
Jaraiedi and Ritz[36]
No
Rhodes[15]
Siu and Heart[30]
Taylor and Hill[18]
Brigham[13]
Yes
No
Yes, but imperfec t
No
Suggested the proc ess
Some
Attributed to the forc es
in the environment that
c alled for c hange
Detailed disc ussion on
historic al development
only
Only desc ribed TQM
as a means to solve
problems
No
No
No
Yes
Only one c ase reported on
the IT offic e at Harvard
Classroom setting
No
No
No
(Continued)
[ 32 ]
Paula Y.K. Kwan
Applic atio n o f to tal quality
manage me nt in e duc atio n:
re tro spe c t and pro spe c t
Table I
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 0 / 5 [1 9 9 6 ] 2 5 –3 5
Writer
Differentiate
education from
industry
Justify/ discuss
TQM ’s unique
contributions
Supported with
hands-on experiences
in educational institution
No
No
Sagor and Barnett[31]
Trumbull[51]
Only stated that “ fitness
for purpose” c ould not
be related to educ ation
No
No
No
No
Weller Jr and Hartley[37]
No
Some
Disc ussed the “ visible
results” only
No
Bolton[22]
Not exac tly
No
Chadwick[57]
No
Cole[40]
Desc ribed the
introduc tion of TQM as
a response to c risis
No
No
Eriksen[35]
No
Benefits of TQM
Leslie[42[
or ga n iza tion , a n d ch a n ges in a ll of th e
pr ocesses u sed in a tta in in g th e or ga n iza tion a l pu r pose. Th e qu estion of in ter est is
n ot a bou t th e n eed for tr a n sfor m a tion a n d
ch a n ge, bu t r a th er th e exten t to wh ich th e
Dem in g ph ilosoph y a pplies to m a n a gem en t
in edu ca tion ”.
Accor din g to Bon ser [11, p. 507], th er e a r e still
r eser va tion s in a pplyin g a ll Dem in g’s ph ilosoph y in edu ca tion . He w r ote, “Given th ese
differ en ces, n ot a ll of th e Dem in g pr in ciples
m ay be dir ectly a pplica ble, a lth ou gh h e
a r gu es th a t it is n ecessa r y to a dopt th em a ll if
th ey a r e to be u sefu l…h is a ppr oa ch ca n be a
vita l com pon en t in th e con str u ction of a n ew
ph ilosoph y by wh ich h igh er edu ca tion lea der sh ip ca n gu ide ou r in stitu tion s in to th e n ext
cen tu r y.”
Com m en tin g on th e con tr ibu tion of TQM to
edu ca tion , Hill[63] a ck n ow ledges th a t TQM is
n ot a n ew con cept bu t offer s a n in te gr a tive
fr a m ewor k for im pr ovem en t. He w r ote,
th er e a r e som e th in gs in th e TQM m odel
wh ich I per ceive to be good, bu t h a r dly n ew,
m a n y of its in sigh ts in to su ch issu es a s
pr odu ct a ssessm en t, m a n a gem en t str u ctu r es, a n d pa r ticipa tive qu a lity con tr ol, ca n
be pa ir ed w ith sim ila r cr itiqu es in h a lf a
cen tu r y of edu ca tion a l w r itin g. Bu t th eir
com in g togeth er in th e on e coh er en t a n d
per su a sive a r gu m en t for im pr ovem en t is
som eth in g we ca n welcom e[63, p. 25].
F a ced w ith in cr ea sin g ch a llen ges in th e en vir on m en t, th er e is n o a r gu m en t th a t edu ca tion
in stitu tion s a r e obliged to cope w ith th e
ch a n ge for su r viva l. Dem in g’s ph ilosoph y
Trac ed the development of
TQM in sc hools in
Georgia State
Reported the c ase of the
management sc hool at
Lanc aster University
South Bank University
Suggested the use of
fishbone diagram in
fac ulty selec tion
No
pr ovides a n in spir a tion for dir ection of
ch a n ge in edu ca tion . However, th ese a r e n ot
th e on ly m ea n s. Mor e r esea r ch wor k h a s to be
don e to fi n d better w ays of a doptin g th ese
m a n u fa ctu r in g sector or igin a ted m eth ods
in to th e edu ca tion a l settin g. F u n da m en ta lly,
th e th r ee pr oblem a tic a r ea s in a pplyin g TQM
in edu ca tion discu ssed ea r lier sh ou ld be
a ddr essed. Th ey a r e th e differ en ces between
edu ca tion a n d in du str y; ju stifica tion for th e
u n iqu e con tr ibu tion of TQM a n d th e su ppor t
of h a n ds-on exper ien ce th a t ca n be tr a n sfer r ed to oth er sim ila r situ a tion s.
References
1 Ish ik aw a , K., W h a t Is T ota l Qu a lity Con trol?
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
T h e J a pa n ese Way, P r en tice-Ha ll, E n glewood
Cliffs, N J , 1992.
J u r a n , J .M., J u ra n on L ea d ersh ip for Qu a lity:
A n Ex ecu tiv e Ha n d b ook , F r ee P r ess, N ew Yor k ,
N Y, 1989.
Dem in g, W.E ., Ou t of Cr isis, MIT, Ca m br idge,
MA, 1986.
Cr osby, P.B., Qu a lity Is Free, McGr aw -Hill, N ew
Yor k , N Y, 1979.
Hu tch in s, D., “Qu a lity is ever yon e’s bu sin ess”,
M a n a gem en t Decision , Vol. 24 N o. 1, 1986,
pp. 30-5.
O’Con