Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:I:International Journal of Educational Management:Vol11.Issue2.1997:
Leadership and the development of quality culture in
schools
Geoff Berry
Se nio r Educ atio n Offic e r, Ne w So uth Wale s De partme nt o f Sc ho o l Educ atio n,
Se ve n Hills, NSW, Australia
There is emerging evidence
that leadership is an indispensable element in the
process of initiating and
sustaining the development of
a quality culture in organizations. Such leadership is of
particular importance to
schools, where cultural,
political and organizational
factors make the management of quality problematic.
For leaders to make decisions
about the development of
quality culture within their
schools they require a thorough understanding of the
theoretical basis of current
approaches to quality management in education. In an
effort to contribute to this
theoretical understanding,
considers the paradigm of
total quality management
(TQM) as a broad philosophy
for the development of quality
culture in schools. Describes
how TQM is being identifi ed
increasingly as a viable paradigm for the development of a
quality culture in school
education and has been the
focus for improvement efforts
in individual schools internationally and in school districts, particularly in the USA.
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 ,2 [ 1997] 5 2 –6 4
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
[ 52 ]
Introduction
Th e sign ifica n ce of lea der sh ip in th e developm en t of qu a lity in itia tives in or ga n iza tion s is
well docu m en ted in th e qu a lity m a n a gem en t
liter a tu r e. Ma n y qu a lity m a n a gem en t m odels
clea r ly sta te th e n eed for top m a n a gem en t to
be th e fir st to u n der ta k e qu a lity m a n a gem en t
tr a in in g, or th a t a qu a lity com m ittee or a
qu a lity ch a m pion sh ou ld ta k e th e in itia tive
in esta blish in g qu a lity pr ocesses. Fox (1991,
p. 10), for exa m ple, iden tifies th e n eed for a
“TQM steer in g com m ittee”, wh ich in clu des a
“qu a lity ch a m pion ”, a “qu a lity spon sor ” a n d
a “TQM co-or din a tor ” a s pa r t of th e m a n a gem en t com m itm en t, a n d su ggests th a t th er e
a r e fou r a spects to top m a n a gem en t r espon sibility, wh ich a r e to: develop a vision for th e
fu tu r e; set specific qu a lity objectives; esta blish th e bu dget for qu a lity; a n d pr ovide lea der sh ip. Th er e is em er gin g eviden ce to su ggest
th a t it is th r ou gh th e exa m ple a n d com m itm en t to qu a lity of sen ior m a n a gem en t th a t
th e wh ole or ga n iza tion is a ble to a dopt a qu a lity eth os. E llis (1993), for exa m ple, a r gu es th a t
su ch m a n a gem en t com m itm en t is dem on str a ted by:
• gen er a tin g th e qu a lity policy th r ou gh con su lta tion ;
• pu blicizin g th e qu a lity policy;
• a lloca tin g m on ey a n d tim e to th e qu a lity
pr ocess;
• a tten din g qu a lity tea m m eetin gs;
• ta lk in g w ith sta ff both in for m a lly a n d for m a lly a bou t qu a lity;
• m odellin g th e qu a lity cu ltu r e;
• va lu in g a n d r espectin g people;
• in sistin g on clea r qu a lity r equ ir em en ts a n d
docu m en ted pr ocedu r es.
Th is over a ll r espon sibility, ou tlin ed by Oa k la n d (1989, p. 42), cou ld in clu de: en cou r a gin g
a n d fa cilita tin g qu a lity im pr ovem en t; m on itor in g a n d eva lu a tin g th e pr ogr ess of qu a lity
im pr ovem en t; pr om otin g th e pa r tn er sh ips in
qu a lity between cu stom er s a n d su pplier s;
pla n n in g, m a n a gin g, a u ditin g a n d r eview in g
qu a lity system s; a s well a s pla n n in g a n d pr ovidin g qu a lity tr a in in g a n d cou n sellin g or
con su lta n cy. It cou ld a lso in cor por a te givin g
a dvice to m a n a gem en t in r ela tion to th e:
• esta blish m en t of qu a lity system s a n d
pr ocess con tr ol;
• r eleva n t sta tu tor y/ le gisla tive r equ ir em en ts
w ith r espect to qu a lity;
• qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ogr a m m es
n ecessa r y;
• in clu sion of qu a lity elem en ts in a ll job
in str u ction s a n d pr ocedu r es.
Th is pa per w ill con sider th e sign ifica n ce of
lea der sh ip for th e developm en t of qu a lity
m a n a gem en t in sch ool edu ca tion a n d discu ss
a th eor etica l fr a m ewor k wh ich cou ld a ssist
lea der s to develop th e con ceptu a l u n der sta n din g n ecessa r y for th e developm en t of a qu a lity ph ilosoph y a ppr opr ia te to th eir or ga n iza tion s.
Leadership for quality
management in school education
A n u m ber of r esea r ch stu dies du r in g th e la st
deca de h ave esta blish ed a k ey fu n ction of
edu ca tion a l lea der sh ip in th e developm en t of
sch ool cu ltu r e gen er a lly (Dea l a n d Peter son ,
1994; Gr a ce, 1995; Leith wood a n d J a n tzi, 1991;
Sa sh k in a n d Sa sh k in , 1990; Sch ein , 1985).
Th er e is em er gin g eviden ce th a t lea der sh ip is
a sign ifica n t fa ctor in th e developm en t of
qu a lity or ga n iza tion s (Bla n ton , 1991; Robin son , 1996; Sch oltes a n d Ha cqu ebor d, 1988;
Sen ge, 1990; Tr ibu s a n d Tsu de, 1987). It is
a r gu ed by Gor e (1993, pp. 357-8) for exa m ple
th a t, fr om th e pleth or a of qu a lity m a n a gem en t a ppr oa ch es ava ila ble to or ga n iza tion s,
lea der sh ip, vision a n d cu ltu r e a r e essen tia l in
sch ools if sign ifica n t a n d per m a n en t ch a n ge
is goin g to be in stitu tion a lized. Aspin et a l.
(1994, p. 20) a r gu e th a t:
Th e fu n ction s a n d ta sk s th a t h ave been
iden tified a s h avin g to do w ith , a n d pr om otin g qu a lity in , edu ca tion a r e, in a m a jor w ay,
th e r espon sibility of th ose wh o a r e ch a r ged
w ith th e exer cise of lea der sh ip a n d m a n a gem en t of sch ool a n d sch ool system s.
Th e sign ifi ca n ce of lea der sh ip in th e developm en t of qu a lity in sch ool edu ca tion is a lso
r ecogn ized by P a in e et a l. (1992, p. 40) wh o, in
discu ssin g th e con cept of tota l qu a lity edu ca tion (TQE ) a s a m odel for sch ools, m a in ta in
th a t:
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
Wor k in g on system s a n d pr ocesses w ith th e
people wh o wor k in th em r equ ir es m or e
th a n m a n a gem en t. It r equ ir es lea der sh ip.
Sch ools u sin g TQE to develop str a te gies to
br in g a bou t la stin g a n d con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t m u st be led. Lea der sh ip is
a lso essen tia l to develop a m ission a n d
goa ls, a n d wor k con sta n tly tow a r ds th eir
im pr ovem en t.
Sim ila r ly, La n gfor d a n d Clea r y (1995, p. 35)
su ggest th a t:
In edu ca tion a l system s, th e r ole of lea der sh ip is to su sta in th e vision of con n ectedn ess, so th a t stu den ts, tea ch er s, a dm in istr a tor s, pa r en ts a n d ta xpayer s – a ll th ose wh o
r eceive th e ben efit of th e system – u n der sta n d th eir r oles w ith r espect to th e la r ger
system s of lea r n in g in wh ich th ey oper a te.
Su ch lea der sh ip cou ld in clu de, for exa m ple,
developin g a vision for th e fu tu r e, gen er a tin g
th e qu a lity policy th r ou gh con su lta tion , m odellin g th e qu a lity cu ltu r e, in sistin g on clea r
qu a lity pr ocedu r es, settin g specific qu a lity
objectives a n d th e a lloca tion of r esou r ces.
Sie gel a n d Byr n e (1994, p. 113) poin t ou t th a t:
In design in g su ccessfu l qu a lity im plem en ta tion str a te gies, edu ca tion lea der s con fr on t
two sign ifica n t ch a llen ges th a t m a n y com pa n ies do n ot. Th ey m u st bu ild for th eir people
a n u n der sta n din g of in dividu a l jobs a n d
pr ofession a l exper tise a s th e su m tota l of
con n ected wor k pr ocesses w ith a cu stom er
a t th e en d of ea ch pr ocess. An d th ey m u st
a lter th e or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e to su ppor t
people wor k in g togeth er.
A model for leadership in quality
management
A r ecen t r eview by Leith wood et a l. (1994)
illu str a ted th e com plexity a n d depth of
r esea r ch r ela tin g to sch ool lea der sh ip wh ich
h a s ta k en pla ce du r in g th e la st two deca des.
Wh ile th is r eview con sider s a n u m ber of
dim en sion s a n d fr a m ewor k s for view in g
lea der sh ip in sch ools, th e sign ifica n ce of
lea der s h avin g th e a bility to u tilize exper t
k n ow ledge to tr a n sfor m or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e is a k ey th em e em er gin g for fu tu r e
sch ool lea der sh ip.
‘...L ea d ersh ip is con sid ered to b e a con cept w h ich d escr ib es a ction s
w h ich yield socia l ch a n ge a n d im prov em en t, a n d is a ssocia ted
w ith th e d ev elopm en t of com m u n ity in volv em en t a n d
pa r ticipa tion on d ecision m a k in g...’
With in th e con text of th is r esea r ch , lea der sh ip is br oa dly descr ibed a s a pr ocess by
wh ich beh aviou r s, va lu es, beliefs a n d a ttitu des of m em ber s of a gr ou p, or ga n iza tion or
com m u n ity a r e in flu en ced in a w ay wh ich
pr om otes colla bor a tive a ction tow a r ds th e
a ch ievem en t of sh a r ed ou tcom es. Lea der sh ip
is con sider ed to be a con cept wh ich descr ibes
a ction s wh ich yield socia l ch a n ge a n d
im pr ovem en t, a n d is a ssocia ted w ith th e
developm en t of com m u n ity in volvem en t a n d
pa r ticipa tion on decision m a k in g, equ a lity of
oppor tu n ity for stu den t lea r n in g, th e developm en t of a n aw a r e a n d en ligh ten ed com m u n ity, th e m a n a gem en t of edu ca tion a l ch a n ge
a n d th e developm en t of pr ocesses wh ich pr om ote qu a lity edu ca tion a l ou tcom es.
In th is sen se, lea der sh ip ca n be per ceived a s
a for m of socia l a ction wh ich su ppor ts a
sh a r ed vision for edu ca tion a l ch a n ge. A fu n da m en ta l r espon sibility of sch ool lea der sh ip
is th e developm en t of a lea r n in g com m u n ity
ch a r a cter ized by r epr esen ta tive a n d dem ocr a tic decision m a k in g, cr itica l r eflection a n d
dia logu e, a n d a sh a r ed com m itm en t to
a ch ieve or ga n iza tion a l ou tcom es. Th e n otion
of a lea r n in g com m u n ity a ssu m es a n or ga n iza tion a l str u ctu r e wh ich en su r es lea r n in g
oppor tu n ities for a ll m em ber s a n d th e per ception of a ll sch ool m em ber s a s lea r n er s. Th e
developm en t of qu a lity lea r n in g r equ ir es th e
iden tifi ca tion of lea r n in g n eeds, th e iden tifica tion of lea r n in g ou tcom es a n d a n in cr ea sin g de gr ee of per son a l r espon sibility for th e
a ch ievem en t of th ese ou tcom es.
Lea der sh ip in sch ools h a s th e fu n ction of
cr ea tin g a sh a r ed or ga n iza tion a l vision , bu t it
is a lso im per a tive th a t lea der s h ave th e
u n der sta n din g, k n ow ledge a n d sk ills – th a t is
th e exper tise – to lea d th e cu ltu r a l ch a n ge.
Su ch exper tise is n ecessa r y in or der to:
• set th e dir ection s for th e cu ltu r a l ch a n ge
wh ich m igh t be r equ ir ed;
• develop a sh a r ed la n gu a ge for qu a lity
im pr ovem en t;
• develop a set of sh a r ed beliefs a bou t th e
n a tu r e of qu a lity w ith in th e or ga n iza tion ;
• pr ovide a focu s for in tr odu cin g th e qu a lity
cu ltu r e;
• in itia te tr a in in g a n d developm en t in qu a lity m a n a gem en t w ith in th e sch ool com m u n ity;
• pr ovide a pla tfor m for th e r eview of em er gin g qu a lity pr ocesses;
• r ein for ce th e com m itm en t of th e or ga n iza tion a l lea der sh ip to a ch a n gin g cu ltu r e;
• cr ea te th e expecta tion th a t th er e w ill be
ch a n ges both of a ph ilosoph ica l a n d pr a ctica l n a tu r e.
Leadership for quality schools
Lea der sh ip is r equ ir ed to a r ticu la te th e qu a lity policy to be developed w ith in sch ools in
cu ltu r a lly a ppr opr ia te w ays so th a t n otion s of
qu a lity r efl ect th e u n iqu e a spir a tion s of th e
sch ool com m u n ity a n d be r epr esen ta tive of
th eir va lu es. Th e n otion of a qu a lity policy
im plies th e existen ce of a r a n ge of possible
[ 53 ]
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
qu a lity a lter n a tives wh ich n eed to be con sider ed, a n d decision s n eed to be m a de in r ela tion to th e con ten t a n d str u ctu r e of qu a lity
in itia tives.
Su ch lea der sh ip is a lso n ecessa r y beca u se
th e n otion of qu a lity, qu a lity m a n a gem en t
a n d qu a lity a ssu r a n ce a r e r ela tively n ew to
sch ools a n d m ay r equ ir e th ose in lea der sh ip
position s to in itia te str a te gies for a better
u n der sta n din g of qu a lity issu es a t th e or ga n iza tion a l level. It m ay be th a t som eon e, or a
gr ou p of or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s, fi n ds it
n ecessa r y to develop specific exper tise befor e
qu a lity pr ocesses ca n be a ttem pted.
As th er e is n o defin ite eviden ce th a t specifi c
qu a lity str a te gies ca n be u n pr oblem a tica lly
tr a n sfer r ed fr om oth er in du str ies to th e edu ca tion a l con text, lea der sh ip is r equ ir ed to
develop a sh a r ed u n der sta n din g of qu a lity
w ith in th e sch ool or gr ou p of sch ools a n d to
gr ow su ch in itia tives fr om existin g pr a ctices.
Th e iden tifica tion a n d fu r th er developm en t of
a qu a lity system in a sch ool, for exa m ple,
wou ld r equ ir e a th or ou gh k n ow ledge of th e
existin g or ga n iza tion a l pr ocesses w ith in th e
sch ool, th e sk ills to be a ble to iden tify th e
va r iou s possible com pon en ts of su ch a system
a n d th e a bility to m a n a ge it. Th is ch a llen ge
for lea der sh ip is descr ibed by Sie gel a n d
Byr n e (1994, p. 52) in th e follow in g w ay:
It is on e th in g for a lea der to h ave th e vision ;
it is qu ite a n oth er for th a t vision to gu ide
th e beh avior of a n en tir e or ga n iza tion .
Lea der s in su ccessfu l qu a lity settin gs h ave
been a ble to con ceptu a lize th e th eor y in
w ays th a t tr a n sla te in to pr a ctice, steer th e
ch a n ge pr ocess, a n d gu ide th eir people in
deter m in in g n ot on ly h ow to per for m th eir
jobs, bu t even m or e im por ta n tly, wh a t th ose
jobs sh ou ld be.
Th is con ceptu a liza tion pr ocess for lea der s
n eeds to be gin w ith a n in vestiga tion of th e
n a tu r e of qu a lity in or ga n iza tion s a n d th en to
con sider th e ph ilosoph ica l pr in ciples of existin g qu a lity m a n a gem en t a ppr oa ch es.
The nature of quality
Cen tr a l to th e qu a lity m ovem en t, wh ich is
in flu en cin g pu blic a n d pr iva te sector or ga n iza tion s wor ldw ide, is th e con cept of qu a lity
cu ltu r e a n d th e developm en t of su ch cu ltu r e
w ith in or ga n iza tion s (Ack er -Hoceva r, 1996;
Gilber t, 1987; Ka n ter, 1987; Liber a tor e, 1993).
Th e em ph a sis on cu ltu r e in th e cor por a te
con text r eflects th e h olistic n a tu r e of or ga n iza tion a l qu a lity in itia tives a n d in cor por a tes
th e n otion of tr a n sfor m a tion fr om existin g
com m on ly h eld a ssu m ption s, a ttitu des,
beh aviou r, va lu es a n d beliefs tow a r ds th e
developm en t of a n a lter n a tive pa r a digm .
[ 54 ]
Su ch a qu a lity cu ltu r e is descr ibed by Sa r a ph
a n d Seba stia n (1993, p. 73) in th e follow in g
w ay:
Qu a lity cu ltu r e is th e tota l of th e collective
or sh a r ed lea r n in g of th e qu a lity-r ela ted
va lu es a s th e or ga n iza tion develops its
ca pa city to su r vive in its exter n a l en vir on m en t a n d to m a n a ge its ow n in ter n a l a ffa ir s.
Wh ile th e n otion of a qu a lity cu ltu r e seem s
edu ca tion a lly desir a ble in th a t sch ools a r e
con cer n ed w ith cu ltu r a l developm en t a n d
ch a n ge for th e im pr ovem en t of lea r n in g, it is
pr oblem a tic beca u se th e con cept h a s a specific m ea n in g w ith in th e con text of th e qu a lity m ovem en t. Th is m ea n in g n eeds to be
explor ed th r ou gh th e a n a lysis of th e con cept
of qu a lity on wh ich th e n otion of qu a lity
cu ltu r e is ba sed. In m a in ta in in g th a t qu a lity
is a “slipper y con cept”, P feffer a n d Coote
(1991, p. 31), h owever, h igh ligh t th e difficu lty
in r ea ch in g a com m on u n der sta n din g or
u n iver sa l defin ition of th is ter m . Mu r ga tr oyd
(1991, p. 14), for exa m ple, a ssocia tes th e con cept of qu a lity w ith sta n da r ds a n d va lu es by
offer in g th r ee defin ition s of qu a lity:
1 Qu a lity is defin ed in ter m s of som e
a bsolu te sta n da r d a n d eva lu a tion s a r e
ba sed on th e a pplica tion of th ese sta n da r ds
to th e situ a tion s exper ien ced a cr oss a
va r iety of or ga n iza tion s, ir r espective of
th eir str a te gy of differ en tia ted ser vices
(establish ed sta n d a rd s defin ition ).
2 Qu a lity is defin ed in ter m s of th e objectives set for a specific pr ogr a m m e or
pr ocess in a specific loca tion a t a specific
tim e (specifi c sta n d a rd s defin ition ).
3 Qu a lity is defin ed a s “fitn ess for u se” a s
a ttested by th e en d-u ser s on th e ba sis of
th eir dir ect exper ien ce ( fi tn ess for u se or
m a rk et-d r iv en defin ition ).
Sim ila r ly, Cu tta n ce (1995) iden tifies two defin ition s of qu a lity by m a k in g th e distin ction
between qu a lity a s th e in tr in sic va lu es a ssocia ted w ith a ser vice or pr odu ct a n d qu a lity
a s th e m eetin g of cu stom er r equ ir em en ts. In
th is sen se th er e is a n eed to m eet cu stom er
expecta tion s in r ela tion to th e per ceived
va lu e or wor th a tta ch ed to a pr odu ct or ser vice, wh ile a lso en su r in g th e pr odu ct or ser vice h a s in tr in sic m er it a s defin ed by w idely
h eld pr ofession a l sta n da r ds. Cu tta n ce (1995,
p. 4) n otes th a t it is th e n otion of qu a lity a s
“va lu e” or “wor th ” in r ela tion to cu stom er
expecta tion s th a t descr ibes th e n a tu r e of
qu a lity a s in ter pr eted w ith in th e qu a lity
m a n a gem en t con text:
Th e ter m qu a lity is th u s u sed in a differ en t
w ay to th a t of its u se in ever yday la n gu a ge.
In pa r ticu la r th e “qu a lity” of a pr odu ct or
ser vice sh ou ld be in ter pr eted a s its “va lu e”
or “wor th ” a s m ea su r ed by th e exten t to
wh ich it m eets th e n eeds of th e cu stom er.
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
With in th is n otion of qu a lity it is a ssu m ed
th a t m ost or ga n iza tion s pr odu ce a pr odu ct or
ser vice wh ich is in ten ded to sa tisfy th e n eeds
of u ser s or cu stom er s w ith qu a lity, th er efor e,
bein g th e “tota lity of fea tu r es a n d ch a r a cter istics of a pr odu ct or ser vice th a t bea r s on its
a bility to sa tisfy sta ted or im plied n eeds”
(Br itish Sta n da r ds In stitu te, 1992). Th is r ela tivist n otion of qu a lity is su ppor ted by Sa llis
(1993, p. 13), wh o per ceives qu a lity a s: “a ph ilosoph y or m eth odology wh ich a ssists in stitu tion s to m a n a ge ch a n ge, a n d to set th eir ow n
a gen da s for dea lin g w ith th e pleth or a of n ew
exter n a l pr essu r es”. In th is sen se, qu a lity is a
con cept im plyin g “fitn ess for pu r pose”, m ea su r in g u p to specifi ca tion a s well a s m eetin g
pa r ticu la r cu stom er n eeds:
Th e r ela tivist defin ition view s qu a lity n ot a s
a n a ttr ibu te of a pr odu ct or ser vice, bu t a s
som eth in g wh ich is a scr ibed to it. Qu a lity
ca n be ju dged to exist wh en a good or ser vice m eets th e specifica tion th a t h a s been
la id dow n for it. Qu a lity is n ot th e en d in
itself, bu t a m ea n s by wh ich th e en d pr odu ct
is ju dged to be u p to sta n da r d (Sa llis, 1993,
p. 23).
Qu a lity, th er efor e, ca n be per ceived in r ela tion to a ccepted qu a lity sta n da r ds a ssocia ted
w ith a pa r ticu la r sph er e of in ter est, “a ppr opr ia ten ess to pu r pose”, th r ou gh th e a bility
con sisten tly to m eet or exceed per ceived
cu stom er n eeds a n d a n or ga n iza tion a l ca pa city for con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t of pr ocesses
a n d system s.
‘...equ ity, ex cellen ce, d em ocra cy a n d ju stice provid e th e d im en sion s
for a th eor y of qu a lity for sch ools, w h ich su ggests th a t qu a lity
sch ools n eed to com m u n ica te civiliz a tion , m eet th e person a l n eed s
of stu d en ts a n d en su re th a t stu d en ts a re respon siv e to th e n eed s of
society...’
Wh ile th ese n otion s of qu a lity seem a ppr opr ia te to or ga n iza tion s gen er a lly, th ey do n ot
n ecessa r ily m eet a ll of th e cr iter ia for qu a lity
in sch ools. E du ca tion is a pr ocess ba sed on
br oa dly a ccepted eth ica l va lu es wh ich con stitu te th e m or a l fibr e of society. Ultim a tely,
edu ca tion a l qu a lity ca n n ot be isola ted fr om
th ese va lu es wh ich r ela te to wh a t is per ceived
a s cu ltu r a lly wor th wh ile in a society. Th ese
va lu es pr ovide a n eth ica lly ju stifia ble pla tfor m for deter m in in g a n d eva lu a tin g edu ca tion a l pr ocesses a n d ou tcom es wh ich m igh t
per m ea te th e n otion of qu a lity cu ltu r e in
sch ools. In discu ssin g th e n a tu r e of qu a lity
sch oolin g, Aspin et a l. (1994, p. 44) su ggest
th a t equ ity, excellen ce, dem ocr a cy a n d ju stice
pr ovide th e dim en sion s for a th eor y of qu a lity
for sch ools, wh ich su ggests th a t qu a lity
sch ools n eed to com m u n ica te civiliza tion ,
m eet th e per son a l n eeds of stu den ts a n d
en su r e th a t stu den ts a r e r espon sive to th e
n eeds of society. Qu a lity sch oolin g, it is su ggested (Aspin et a l., 1994, p. 45):
…is n ot so m u ch a bou t bein g equ ipped to
oper a te a s a qu a lified fu n ction a r y in society,
h avin g th e ca pa city to r espon d to econ om ic
n or m s a n d to per for m com peten tly in va r iou s m odes of econ om ic pr odu ction . It is
m u ch m or e a bou t th e ca pa city of th e in dividu a l to en h a n ce a n d en r ich th e society of
wh ich h e or sh e is bein g edu ca ted to becom e
a pa r t – som eon e wh o is goin g to be a giver,
a n en la r ger a n d a n en h a n cer, a s well a s a n
in h er itor a n d r ecipien t. Qu a lity sch oolin g is
a s m u ch a bou t th e fu tu r e of th e society we
see for ou r selves, even if a t sever a l gen er a tion s h en ce r em oved; a wor ld better a n d
r ich er th a n th e on e we cu r r en tly in h a bit.
In edu ca tion a l or ga n iza tion s qu a lity ca n be
expla in ed a s a specific for m of cu ltu r e wh ich
in clu des a lon g-ter m pr ocess of con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t tow a r ds per ceived sta n da r ds of
excellen ce w ith in th e con text of cor e eth ica l
va lu es, sta n da r ds of excellen ce a n d a pr ocess
of con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t. Th e pr ocess of
developin g su ch a n or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e
ca n be r efer r ed to a s qu a lity m a n a gem en t,
a n d th e m ost com m on a ppr oa ch to qu a lity
m a n a gem en t in m a n y pr iva te a n d pu blic
sector or ga n iza tion s is tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t (TQM). Th e n a tu r e of th is ph ilosoph y
a n d its em er gen ce in sch ool edu ca tion w ill be
con sider ed below.
The total quality management
paradigm
Defin ed in th e br oa d sen se, qu a lity m a n a gem en t h a s com e to m ea n “th a t a spect of th e
over a ll m a n a gem en t fu n ction th a t
deter m in es a n d im plem en ts th e qu a lity
policy (in ten tion s a n d dir ection s) of th e or ga n iza tion ” (Va n Vu gh t a n d Wester h eijda n ,
1992, p. 13). Qu a lity m a n a gem en t, a s a qu a lity
im pr ovem en t pr ocess, ca n be per ceived
w ith in th e con text of pla n n ed or ga n iza tion a l
ch a n ge. Th e n otion of or ga n iza tion a l ch a n ge
n eeds to be con sider ed if qu a lity m a n a gem en t
is th e be u n der stood. For exa m ple, or ga n iza tion a l ch a n ge ca n be in th e for m of th e
m otion of th e or ga n iza tion a s a wh ole a s it
r ela tes to m otion in its en vir on m en t – ch a n ge
th a t is m a cr o-evolu tion a r y, h istor ica l, a n d
typica lly r ela ted to clu ster s or wh ole
in du str ies.
Alter n a tively, ch a n ge cou ld descr ibe th e
m otion of th e pa r ts of th e or ga n iza tion in
r ela tion to ea ch oth er a s th e or ga n iza tion
gr ow s, a ges a n d pr ogr esses th r ou gh its life
cycle – ch a n ge th a t is m icr o-evolu tion a r y,
developm en ta l a n d typica lly r ela ted to size or
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Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
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sh a pe, r esu ltin g in co-or din a tion issu es. F u r th er m or e, ch a n ge cou ld be th e r esu lt of str u ggles for power a n d con tr ol a m on g in dividu a ls
or gr ou ps w ith a sta k e in th e or ga n iza tion to
m a k e decision s or en joy ben efi ts a s a n expr ession of th eir in ter ests – ch a n ge th a t focu ses
on politica l dim en sion s a n d in volvin g r evolu tion a r y a ctivity.
In th is sen se ch a n ge is com plex a n d con tin u ou s, w ith ea ch a spect of th e m ovem en t of
or ga n iza tion s h avin g im plica tion s for th e
k in d of qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ocesses
u n der ta k en . Ch a n ge is th e r esu lt of cir cu m sta n ces beyon d th e con tr ol of th e or ga n iza tion , a s well a s bein g th e r esu lt of pla n n in g
a n d r a tion a l decision m a k in g w ith in th e
or ga n iza tion . With in th is n otion of or ga n iza tion a l m ovem en t, th e m a n a gem en t of qu a lity
r ela tes to pla n n ed cu ltu r a l ch a n ge to en a ble
qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ocesses to even tu a te.
Alth ou gh difficu lt to defin e, th e con cept of
cu ltu r e ca n be per ceived a s bein g closely
a ssocia ted w ith th e n otion of sh a r ed
a ttitu des, beh aviou r s, va lu es a n d a ssu m ption s. With in th is con text, Kr oeber a n d
Klu k h oh n (1952) m a in ta in th a t:
Cu ltu r e con sists of pa tter n s of…beh avior
a cqu ir ed a n d tr a n sm itted via sym bols,
con stitu tin g th e distin ctive a ch ievem en t of
h u m a n gr ou ps, in clu din g th eir em bodim en ts in a r tifa cts; th e essen tia l cor e cu ltu r e
con sists of tr a dition a l (h istor ica lly der ived
a n d selected) idea s a n d especia lly a tta ch ed
va lu es; cu ltu r e system s m ay, on th e on e
h a n d, be con sider ed a s pr odu cts of a ction ,
on th e oth er a s con dition in g elem en ts for
fu tu r e a ction .
Qu a lity m a n a gem en t, th er efor e, is ba sed on
ch a n ge tow a r ds th e developm en t of qu a lity
va lu es wh ich m igh t in clu de a cu stom er focu s,
tea m wor k , sa fety for a ll sta k eh older s, ca n dou r, tota l in volvem en t, in tim a cy, in te gr ity,
u n ity, con sen su s a n d excellen ce (Ha r t a n d
Sh oolbr ed, 1993, p. 17). A qu a lity cu ltu r e
wou ld in cor por a te com pon en ts su ch a s
“sh a r ed va lu es, com m itm en t to gettin g it
r igh t, open a n d explicit com m u n ica tion , tim e
for tea m wor k , tr a in in g in qu a lity, tota l
in volvem en t, sen sitivity to oth er s’ n eeds”
(E llis, 1993, p. 31). With in th is h olistic fr a m ewor k for or ga n iza tion a l ch a n ge, qu a lity m a n a gem en t is a lon g-ter m ch a n ge ph ilosoph y
r equ ir in g a cu ltu r a l tr a n sfor m a tion w ith in
a n or ga n iza tion wh ich cou ld in cor por a te th e
developm en t of a sh a r ed vision for th e fu tu r e
of th e or ga n iza tion , a pr ofession a l developm en t pr ogr a m m e to equ ip sta k eh older s w ith
th e r equ ir ed sk ills to a ch ieve goa ls, a focu s on
pr ovidin g ser vices wh ich sa tisfy cu stom er
n eeds a n d a pr ocess of r eview a n d eva lu a tion
(Offn er, 1993).
[ 56 ]
Un like m a n y or ga n iza tion s, h owever,
sch ools a r e com plex in n a tu r e a n d th eir con cer n w ith a m u ltitu de of edu cation a l pu r poses, in clu din g h u m a n developm en t, com m u n ity gr ow th a n d lea r n in g ou tcom es, m a k es
th e m a n a gem en t of qu a lity pr oblem a tic.
TQM in schools and school systems
Su bsta n tia l in ter est in TQM in edu ca tion h a s
be gu n to em er ge (Sa llis, 1993), a lth ou gh th is
in ter est h a s been focu sed pr im a r ily on h igh er
edu ca tion in stitu tion s (Coa te, 1990; Cope a n d
Sh er r, 1991; Cor n esk y, et a l., 1991; Ma ster s a n d
Leik er, 1992; N eedh a m et a l., 1992; Reyn olds,
1992; Sa u n der s a n d Wa lk er, 1991; Su tcliffe a n d
Pollock , 1992; Ta n n ock , 1991; Va n Vu gh t a n d
Wester h eijden , 1992; Win ter, 1991), tech n ica l
a n d fu r th er edu ca tion (TAF E N SW, 1994, 1995)
a n d tr a in in g in stitu tion s (E llis, 1993; Sh aw
a n d Roper, 1993). Oth er edu ca tion a l a r ea s
wh er e in ter est in TQM h a s been sh ow n
in clu de edu ca tion a l a dm in istr a tion (Hou gh ,
1993), voca tion a l edu ca tion (La a r n k a r d, 1992)
a n d cu r r icu lu m developm en t (Ma cch ia , 1992).
Th is in cr ea sin g in ter est in TQM in r ela tion to
edu ca tion gen er a lly is ba sed on th e per ception of edu ca tion a l in stitu tion s a s bein g pr edom in a n tly ser vice or ga n iza tion s wh er e th e
focu s is on su ch fa ctor s a s qu a lity, deliver y,
sa fety, cost, or ga n iza tion a l r espon sibility,
in fr a str u ctu r e, exter n a l r ela tion sh ips, cu stom er pr otection a n d com plia n ce (Sm ith ,
1993, p. 48).
Th e con cept of TQM r equ ir es th a t sch ools
a r e per ceived a s ser vice or ga n iza tion s
design ed to fu lfi l th e n eeds of th eir clien ts or
cu stom er s. With in th e edu ca tion a l con text,
ser vices cou ld in clu de edu ca tion a l pr ogr a m m es, a dvice, ca r e, in for m a tion , oppor tu n ities to pa r ticipa te or specifi c sk ills tr a in in g. In r ela tion to sch ools, th e em ph a sis for
TQM cou ld be on tr a n sfor m in g tea ch in g,
cu r r icu lu m , or ga n iza tion a l a n d m a n a gem en t
pr ocesses w ith in edu ca tion a l in stitu tion s in a
w ay wh ich ser ves stu den t, pa r en t a n d com m u n ity in ter ests. Mu r ga tr oyd (1991, p. 13)
expla in s th e n a tu r e of su ch a qu a lity m a n a gem en t pr ocess in th e follow in g w ay:
Th e k ey ta sk of a ser vice or ga n iza tion , lik e a
sch ool, is to bu ild a n effective ch a in of cu stom er s...To cr ea te a lea r n in g or ga n iza tion
dedica ted to th is r equ ir es th e sch ool to th in k
fr om th e exper ien ce of th e stu den t ba ck w a r ds to edu ca tion a l design a n d str u ctu r e.
Ra th er th a n see str u ctu r e a s a n or m a liza tion of con tr ol system s, str u ctu r e sh ou ld
fa cilita te r espon siven ess to stu den t n eeds in
th e stu den ts’ ow n ter m s.
Th e r ela tively r ecen t in tr odu ction of th e TQM
ph ilosoph y to sch ool edu ca tion h a s been
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
per ceived gen er a lly a s a desir a ble u n der ta k in g for th e sch ool im pr ovem en t pr ocess, even
th ou gh som e a ttem pts to im plem en t th e
pr ocess in sch ools h ave been u n su ccessfu l
(Beavis, 1995). In a r gu in g th e ben efits of TQM
to sch ools, Gor e (1993, p. 335), for exa m ple,
m a in ta in s th a t TQM is ver y a pplica ble to
edu ca tion in th a t:
Th e cen tr a l con cept of TQM, con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t, is fu n da m en ta l to edu ca tion .
Wh er e else wou ld th e idea of a cu ltu r e or ien ted to con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t be m or e
a ppr opr ia te th a n in in stitu tion s wh ose
pu r pose is to su ppor t im pr ovem en t a n d
in dividu a l gr ow th ?
It is su ggested by Gor e (1993, p. 375) th a t,
a lth ou gh sch ools n eed to develop th eir ow n
a ppr oa ch , som e a spects of TQM a r e ver y
r eleva n t, th ese bein g:
• th e r ole of lea der sh ip;
• th e a r ticu la tion a n d developm en t of a
vision a n d th e developm en t of cu ltu r e;
• m a n a gem en t by fa ct;
• a focu s on tea m bu ildin g a n d pr ocesses th a t
cr oss fu n ction a l bou n da r ies;
• m a n a gem en t a n d en h a n cem en t of h u m a n
r esou r ces;
• ben ch m a r k in g;
• cycle tim e r edu ction ;
• cu stom er focu s, sa tisfa ction a n d m ea su r em en t.
Th is belief th a t th e TQM ph ilosoph y h a s a
logica l a pplica tion to sch ool or ga n iza tion s is
su ppor ted by Mu r ga tr oyd (1993, p. 245), wh o
m a in ta in s th a t qu a lity im pr ovem en t is cu ltu r a lly loca ted in th a t “im pr ovin g qu a lity
becom es a n over -r idin g m ission for th e
sch ool. It is n ot a fa d, or a ga m e or a n ew
a ctivity for a given a ca dem ic yea r. It is a n
essen tia l pa r t of th e developm en t str a te gy for
th e sch ool a n d is som eth in g th a t is ever yon e’s
r espon sibility.” Th er e is th e belief th a t TQM
pr in ciples ca n en h a n ce lea r n in g a t th e in dividu a l a n d or ga n iza tion a l levels, th a t sch ools
n eed to becom e tr u ly “lea r n in g or ga n iza tion s” a n d th a t sch ools ca n lea r n a gr ea t dea l
a bou t qu a lity m a n a gem en t fr om oth er k in ds
of or ga n iza tion s.
A definition of TQM
TQM h a s em er ged a s th e m ost well-k n ow n
a ppr oa ch to th e developm en t of or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e for qu a lity m a n a gem en t, r epr esen tin g a ph ilosoph ica l fr a m ewor k for th e
m a n a gem en t of qu a lity in or ga n iza tion s
wh ich cla im s to be a pplica ble to both pr iva te
a n d pu blic sector en ter pr ises a n d in stitu tion s. Oa k la n d (1989, p. 14) defi n es TQM in th e
follow in g w ay:
Tota l Qu a lity Ma n a gem en t (TQM) is a n
a ppr oa ch to im pr ovin g th e effectiven ess a n d
flexibility of bu sin esses a s a wh ole. It is
essen tia lly a w ay of or ga n izin g a n d in volvin g th e wh ole or ga n iza tion ; ever y depa r tm en t, ever y a ctivity, ever y sin gle per son a t
ever y level.
With in th is defin ition , TQM is con du cive to
th e con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t of qu a lity
w ith in a ll k in ds of or ga n iza tion s a n d, a s a
lon g-ter m ch a n ge pr ocess, ca n con tr ibu te to
or ga n iza tion a l gr ow th a n d r en ew a l. F r om
th is per spective, TQM r epr esen ts a qu a lity
m a n a gem en t pr ocess wh ich is con cer n ed
w ith people, system s a n d cu ltu r e, in cor por a tin g pr ocesses su ch a s lea der sh ip, system s
th in k in g, a n d em ployee em power m en t con tin u ou sly to im pr ove a n or ga n iza tion ’s ca pa city to m eet cu r r en t a n d fu tu r e cu stom er
n eeds. In su ggestin g th a t th e ou tcom es of
TQM a r e im pr oved qu a lity, en h a n ced effectiven ess a n d a ch a n ge of in stitu tion a l cu ltu r e,
Sm ith (1993, p. 57) m a in ta in s th a t TQM is a
m a n a ged pr ocess th a t seek s or ga n iza tion w ide im pr ovem en t th r ou gh :
• pla n n in g for n ew pr odu cts a n d ser vices;
• in n ova tion in existin g ser vices;
• con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t in a ll existin g
ser vice pr ocesses;
• da ily con tr ol of ser vice pr ocesses.
The TQM philosophy
In TQM, ever y elem en t of th e or ga n iza tion is
in volved in th e en ter pr ise of con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t, w ith ea ch in dividu a l sh a r in g
r espon sibility r e ga r dless of h is or h er position or sta tu s. It is m a in ta in ed by Sa llis (1993,
pp. 26-7) th a t TQM is a ph ilosoph y of or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e ch a n ge wh ich , th r ou gh
em ployee pa r ticipa tion a n d co-oper a tion ,
focu ses on th e sa tisfa ction of cu stom er expecta tion s:
TQM is a bou t cr ea tin g a qu a lity cu ltu r e
wh er e th e a im of ever y m em ber of sta ff is to
deligh t th eir cu stom er s, a n d wh er e th e
str u ctu r e of th eir or ga n iza tion a llow s th em
to do so. In th e tota l qu a lity defin ition of
qu a lity th e cu stom er is sover eign ...It is
a bou t pr ovidin g th e cu stom er s w ith wh a t
th ey w a n t, wh en th ey w a n t it a n d h ow th ey
w a n t it. It in volves m ovin g w ith cu stom er
expecta tion s a n d fa sh ion s to design pr odu cts a n d ser vices wh ich m eet a n d exceed
th eir expecta tion s.
TQM is ba sed on th e n otion of or ga n iza tion s
a s system s a n d su b-system s wh ich fu n ction
a s a u n ifi ed wh ole, w ith em ph a sis on th e
in ter fa ce between th e va r iou s elem en ts of th e
or ga n iza tion a s m u ch a s on th e n a tu r e of th e
elem en ts th em selves. As a qu a lity im pr ovem en t ph ilosoph y ba sed on system s th in k in g,
TQM h a s a r a n ge of ch a r a cter istics wh ich
distin gu ish it fr om oth er qu a lity m a n a gem en t pr ocesses su ch a s th ose ba sed on
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Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
in spection , qu a lity in dica tor s or a ch ievem en t
objectives. Th ese k ey elem en ts h ave been
in ter pr eted by TQM en th u sia sts a n d pr a ctition er s in a n u m ber of w ays, a lth ou gh ea ch
pr ovides a n in sigh t in to th e TQM pa r a digm .
In defin in g TQM a s a “cooper a tive for m of
doin g bu sin ess th a t r elies on th e ta len ts a n d
ca pa bilities of both la bor a n d m a n a gem en t to
con tin u a lly im pr ove qu a lity a n d pr odu ctivity
u sin g tea m s”, J a blon sk i (1991, p. 4) a r gu es
th a t TQM is ba sed on six pr in ciples wh ich
in clu de: developin g a focu s on cu stom er s,
pr ocesses a s well a s r esu lts, pr even tion
r a th er th a n in spection , m obilizin g wor k for ce
exper tise, fa ct-ba sed m a n a gem en t a n d pr ovidin g feedba ck for im pr ovem en t. With in th is
m odel, TQM r equ ir es pa r ticipa tive m a n a gem en t, con tin u ou s pr ocess im pr ovem en t a n d
th e u se of tea m s. Sim ila r ly, La m pr ech t (1993,
p. 24) em ph a sizes th e fu n ction of pr ocess
im pr ovem en t a s a cen tr a l fa ctor in TQM a n d
defin es tota l qu a lity a s h avin g five com pon en ts:
1 E m ployee pa r ticipa tion .
2 Con tin u ou sly im pr ovin g a ll pr ocesses.
3 Mon itor in g you r pr ocesses u sin g a ppr opr ia te sta tistica l tech n iqu es.
4 Su r veyin g you r cu stom er s a n d ben ch m a r k in g you r com petitor s.
5 In n ova tion , in or der to r em a in
com petitive.
In defin in g cu stom er ser vice, con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t, system s th in k in g a n d lea der sh ip a s fu n da m en ta l elem en ts, Bon stin gl
(1992, pp. 6-7) m a in ta in s th a t th er e a r e “fou r
pilla r s” of tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t:
1 Th e or ga n iza tion m u st focu s, fi r st a n d
for em ost, on its su pplier s a n d cu stom er s.
2 E ver yon e in th e or ga n iza tion m u st be
dedica ted to con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t,
per son a lly a n d collectively.
3 Th e or ga n iza tion m u st be viewed a s a
system , a n d th e wor k people do w ith in th e
system m u st be seen a s on goin g pr ocesses.
4 Th e su ccess of tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t is
th e r espon sibility of top m a n a gem en t.
Fox (1991), in a dvoca tin g th e n eed for th e
fu r th er developm en t of TQM in Au str a lia n
or ga n iza tion s, su ggests six sequ en tia l steps
for th e developm en t of a TQM cu ltu r e in or ga n iza tion s. Th e steps Fox (1991, p. 8) su ggests
a r e ba sed on wh a t is r efer r ed to a s “th e TQM
tr ilogy”, wh ich in clu des th e con cepts of qu a lity, qu a lity system s a n d qu a lity m ea su r em en t. Th e “six steps to TQM” a r e:
1 Dem on str a te top m a n a gem en t com m itm en t.
2 E sta blish th e cu r r en t sta te of qu a lity.
3 Deter m in e th e qu a lity str a te gies.
4 E du ca te m a n a gem en t in TQM.
5 Ra ise qu a lity aw a r en ess ever ywh er e.
6 In stitu te n ever -en din g im pr ovem en t.
[ 58 ]
Characteristics of TQM
It is a ppa r en t fr om th e m odels discu ssed
a bove th a t th e ph ilosoph y of TQM is lon gter m , la r ge-sca le a n d a ll-em br a cin g, in cor por a tin g a ll or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s a n d a ctivities in to th e qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ocess,
r a th er th a n bein g focu sed on lim ited a spects
of th e or ga n iza tion . Th is in clu des th e in ter n a l in ter r ela tion sh ips a m on g th e va r iou s
com pon en ts of th e or ga n iza tion a s well a s its
r ela tion sh ips w ith cu stom er s. TQM is a bou t
developin g a n ew cu ltu r e in th e for m of qu a lity-ba sed decision m a k in g per m ea tin g a ll
a spects of th e or ga n iza tion . Th is n otion of
qu a lity is ba sed on th e well docu m en ted W.
E dw a r ds Dem in g’s 14 poin ts wh ich for m th e
ph ilosoph ica l pla tfor m of th e qu a lity m ovem en t. Th ese poin ts a r e:
1 Cr ea te con sta n cy of pu r pose for im pr ovem en t of pr odu ct a n d ser vice.
2 Adopt a n ew ph ilosoph y.
3 Cea se depen den ce on m a ss in spection .
4 E n d th e pr a ctice of aw a r din g bu sin ess on
pr ice-ta g a lon e.
5 Im pr ove con sta n tly a n d for ever th e system of pr odu ction a n d ser vice.
6 In stitu te tr a in in g.
7 In stitu te lea der sh ip.
8 Dr ive ou t fea r.
9 Br ea k d ow n b a r r ier s b et w een s t a ff
a r ea s.
10 E lim in a te sloga n s, exh or ta tion s a n d
ta r gets for th e wor k for ce.
11 E lim in a te n u m er ica l qu ota s.
12 Rem ove ba r r ier s to pr ide of wor k m a n sh ip.
13 In stitu te a vigor ou s pr ogr a m m e of edu ca tion a n d r e-tr a in in g.
14 Ta k e a ction to a ccom plish th e
tr a n sfor m a tion .
Th ese, a n d oth er essen tia l ch a r a cter istics of
TQM, a r e su m m a r ized below.
Custo me r-drive n pro c e ss
Th e m eth ods a n d pr ocesses of th e or ga n iza tion a r e design ed a n d m a n a ged to m eet both
in ter n a l a n d exter n a l cu stom er expecta tion s.
Su pplier s a n d cu stom er s a r e viewed a s pa r tn er s in th e qu a lity in itia tive.
Emphasis o n te amwo rk
Tea m wor k cou ld be descr ibed a s th e pr im a r y
elem en t of th e TQM a ppr oa ch to qu a lity or ga n iza tion s a n d r epr esen ts th e or ga n iza tion a l
str u ctu r e on wh ich th e qu a lity im pr ovem en t
pr ocess is ba sed. P a r ticipa tion is a ch ieved
pr im a r ily th r ou gh th e esta blish m en t of cr ossfu n ction a l a n d/ or cr oss-depa r tm en ta l, pr oblem -solvin g tea m s in th e for m of qu a lity
im pr ovem en t tea m s or qu a lity cir cles.
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
Co ntinuo us impro ve me nt
Th e TQM pr ocess is ba sed on th e pr in ciple
th a t w idespr ea d cu ltu r a l ch a n ge ca n be best
a ch ieved th r ou gh th e in cr em en ta l pr ocess of
gr a du a l, sm a ll-sca le, a ch ieva ble pr ojects
in cor por a tin g th e u se of sta tistica l tools a n d
tech n iqu es (expr essed in th e J a pa n ese n otion
of k a iz en ) r a th er th a n on r a dica l str u ctu r a l
r eor ga n iza tion . Th e per for m a n ce of sim ila r
pr ocesses in differ en t pa r ts of th e or ga n iza tion is com pa r ed th r ou gh in ter n a l ben ch m a r k in g.
Pro ble m pre ve ntio n
Qu a lity is bu ilt in a t th e design a n d pr ocessin g sta ge r a th er th a n bein g in spected ou t a s
defects in th e en d pr odu ct. Th e or ga n iza tion
r ew a r ds qu a lity wor k a n d su ggestion s for
im pr ovem en t, u su a lly th r ou gh n on -pecu n ia r y m ea n s.
Partic ipatio n in de c isio n making
TQM is ba sed on th e n otion of pa r ticipa tion
th r ou gh a “tota l in volvem en t” a ppr oa ch
wh ich r equ ir es con tin u ou s, fi r st-h a n d
in volvem en t of top m a n a gem en t a s well a s th e
pa r ticipa tion of a ll or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s
in th e developm en t a n d im plem en ta tion of
qu a lity m a n a gem en t str a te gies.
Manage me nt by fac t
Ma n a gem en t decision m a k in g is ba sed on
qu a lita tive a n d qu a n tita tive da ta fr om feedba ck a bou t th e per for m a n ce of pr ocesses a n d
pr odu cts. Gu t feelin gs a n d in tu ition a r e con sider ed in a dequ a te ba ses for decision
m a k in g.
Individual re spo nsibility
In or der th a t TQM be su ccessfu l a s a pr ocess
of qu a lity im pr ovem en t, ea ch or ga n iza tion a l
m em ber is r equ ir ed to ta k e r espon sibility for
th e qu a lity of th eir ow n per for m a n ce. Or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s a r e per ceived a s in ter depen den t on on e a n oth er w ith in th e cu stom er /
su pplier r ela tion sh ip. Ra th er th a n depen din g
in a n exter n a l a u th or ity str u ctu r e to en for ce,
coer ce or in du ce desir ed beh aviou r s, TQM is
con cer n ed w ith m ovin g th e focu s of con tr ol
fr om ou tside th e in dividu a l to w ith in .
Co mmitme nt to staff training
All or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s r equ ir e edu ca tion a n d tr a in in g in w ays of wor k in g in a
qu a lity en vir on m en t, pr a ctisin g er r or pr even tion r a th er th a n detection , a s well a s th e
u se of pr oblem -solvin g tech n iqu es a n d tools.
Sen ior m a n a gem en t r equ ir es edu ca tion in
r ela tion to th e ph ilosoph y of TQM a n d th e
im plica tion s for or ga n iza tion a l ch a n ge a ssocia ted w ith a TQM cu ltu r e. All or ga n iza tion a l
m em ber s r equ ir e sk ills in r ela tion to tea m
m em ber sh ip a n d th e u se of tech n iqu es for
pr oblem solvin g.
Perceived barriers to TQM in schools
Alth ou gh th e TQM pr ocess seem s com pa tible
w ith th e sch ool im pr ovem en t pr ocess, th er e
is a r a n ge of issu es wh ich em er ge in r ela tion
to TQM a s a ph ilosoph y for qu a lity im pr ovem en t in sch ools, a n d th ese m ay for m ba r r ier s
to th e in ten ded ch a n ge pr ocess, som e of
wh ich a r e con sider ed below.
Philo so phic al barrie rs
Th e TQM ph ilosoph y is n ot a pa n a cea for th e
developm en t of qu a lity sch ools a n d ca n n ot be
seen a s th e on ly m ea n s th r ou gh wh ich a
sch ool or sch ool system ca n a ch ieve im pr oved
qu a lity. Oth er in str u ction a l or or ga n iza tion a l
r efor m s, su ch a s effective sch ools, essen tia l
sch ools, co-oper a tive lea r n in g, a cceler a ted
lea r n in g a n d ou tcom e-ba sed edu ca tion a lso
n eed to be con sider ed.
Applic atio n to impro ve d stude nt le arning
Th e em ph a sis on or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e,
wh ich is fu n da m en ta l to th e TQM ph ilosoph y,
is a n a ppr oa ch to qu a lity im pr ovem en t wh ich
is n ew to sch ools a s or ga n iza tion s. It cou ld be
th a t th is em ph a sis la ck s cr edibility w ith in
th e tea ch in g pr ofession wh ich is m or e con cer n ed w ith th e pr a ctica lities of th e tea ch in g/ lea r n in g pr ocess. Th e lin k a ge between
TQM a n d im pr oved lea r n in g ou tcom es m ay
n ot be clea r – if, in fa ct, it exists.
Diffic ultie s with statistic al analysis
TQM r equ ir es th a t in for m a tion for pr oblem
solvin g a n d decision m a k in g be gen er a ted
th r ou gh th e u se of sta tistica l tech n iqu es. Th is
a ppr oa ch m ay be r eleva n t to in du str ia l or
pr odu ct-or ien ted en ter pr ises wh er e ou tcom es
a r e dir ectly obser va ble a n d m ea su r a ble. Th e
in tr odu ction of su ch tech n iqu es in sch ools for
decision m a k in g a n d policy developm en t m ay
be in a ppr opr ia te or cu ltu r a lly r em oved fr om
th e a ccepted in tu itive a n d pr ofession a l ju dgem en ts, a s well a s th e politica l pr ocess, th a t
per m ea te edu ca tion a l policy.
The c usto me r/ supplie r re latio nship
As well a s r equ ir in g stu den ts, pa r en ts, com m u n ity m em ber s a n d oth er sta k eh older s to
be con sider ed a s cu stom er s, TQM is ba sed
la r gely on a n in ter n a l lin ea r cu stom er / su pplier r ela tion sh ip wh ich r equ ir es th a t ea ch
per son w ith in th e or ga n iza tion be both cu stom er to oth er or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s,
wh ile a t th e sa m e tim e su pplyin g ser vices to
oth er per son n el. Th is cu stom er / su pplier
r ela tion sh ip m ay n ot be a n a ppr opr ia te con cept to descr ibe th e lon g-ter m , close a n d em otion a l r ela tion sh ip th a t tea ch er s develop w ith
stu den ts, collea gu es a n d pa r en ts w ith in th e
con text of th eir pr ofession a l r ole. Mor eover,
even if a ppr opr ia te, th e cu stom er / su pplier
r ela tion sh ip m ay be m or e com plex in
edu ca tion a l or ga n iza tion s wh er e r oles a n d
[ 59 ]
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
r espon sibilities a r e com plex a n d m u lti-fu n ction a l.
th r ou gh th ese sta ges, in th a t th ey a r e on goin g
a n d per m a n en t esta blish m en ts.
The right first time (RFT) philo so phy
On e a im of th e TQM pr ocess is to esta blish a n
or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e wh ich is er r or -fr ee in
th a t th e qu a lity system a ssu r es th a t m ista k es
a r e elim in a ted. Wh ile th is m ay be a
com m en da ble objective in m a n y in du str ia l
con texts, its possibility a n d va lu e a r e deba ta ble in edu ca tion a l or ga n iza tion s. E xper im en ta tion a n d th e exa m in a tion of a lter n a tive
idea s a n d pr ocesses seem to be r equ ir em en ts
of th e lea r n in g pr ocess a n d, su bsequ en tly, a
des
schools
Geoff Berry
Se nio r Educ atio n Offic e r, Ne w So uth Wale s De partme nt o f Sc ho o l Educ atio n,
Se ve n Hills, NSW, Australia
There is emerging evidence
that leadership is an indispensable element in the
process of initiating and
sustaining the development of
a quality culture in organizations. Such leadership is of
particular importance to
schools, where cultural,
political and organizational
factors make the management of quality problematic.
For leaders to make decisions
about the development of
quality culture within their
schools they require a thorough understanding of the
theoretical basis of current
approaches to quality management in education. In an
effort to contribute to this
theoretical understanding,
considers the paradigm of
total quality management
(TQM) as a broad philosophy
for the development of quality
culture in schools. Describes
how TQM is being identifi ed
increasingly as a viable paradigm for the development of a
quality culture in school
education and has been the
focus for improvement efforts
in individual schools internationally and in school districts, particularly in the USA.
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 ,2 [ 1997] 5 2 –6 4
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
[ 52 ]
Introduction
Th e sign ifica n ce of lea der sh ip in th e developm en t of qu a lity in itia tives in or ga n iza tion s is
well docu m en ted in th e qu a lity m a n a gem en t
liter a tu r e. Ma n y qu a lity m a n a gem en t m odels
clea r ly sta te th e n eed for top m a n a gem en t to
be th e fir st to u n der ta k e qu a lity m a n a gem en t
tr a in in g, or th a t a qu a lity com m ittee or a
qu a lity ch a m pion sh ou ld ta k e th e in itia tive
in esta blish in g qu a lity pr ocesses. Fox (1991,
p. 10), for exa m ple, iden tifies th e n eed for a
“TQM steer in g com m ittee”, wh ich in clu des a
“qu a lity ch a m pion ”, a “qu a lity spon sor ” a n d
a “TQM co-or din a tor ” a s pa r t of th e m a n a gem en t com m itm en t, a n d su ggests th a t th er e
a r e fou r a spects to top m a n a gem en t r espon sibility, wh ich a r e to: develop a vision for th e
fu tu r e; set specific qu a lity objectives; esta blish th e bu dget for qu a lity; a n d pr ovide lea der sh ip. Th er e is em er gin g eviden ce to su ggest
th a t it is th r ou gh th e exa m ple a n d com m itm en t to qu a lity of sen ior m a n a gem en t th a t
th e wh ole or ga n iza tion is a ble to a dopt a qu a lity eth os. E llis (1993), for exa m ple, a r gu es th a t
su ch m a n a gem en t com m itm en t is dem on str a ted by:
• gen er a tin g th e qu a lity policy th r ou gh con su lta tion ;
• pu blicizin g th e qu a lity policy;
• a lloca tin g m on ey a n d tim e to th e qu a lity
pr ocess;
• a tten din g qu a lity tea m m eetin gs;
• ta lk in g w ith sta ff both in for m a lly a n d for m a lly a bou t qu a lity;
• m odellin g th e qu a lity cu ltu r e;
• va lu in g a n d r espectin g people;
• in sistin g on clea r qu a lity r equ ir em en ts a n d
docu m en ted pr ocedu r es.
Th is over a ll r espon sibility, ou tlin ed by Oa k la n d (1989, p. 42), cou ld in clu de: en cou r a gin g
a n d fa cilita tin g qu a lity im pr ovem en t; m on itor in g a n d eva lu a tin g th e pr ogr ess of qu a lity
im pr ovem en t; pr om otin g th e pa r tn er sh ips in
qu a lity between cu stom er s a n d su pplier s;
pla n n in g, m a n a gin g, a u ditin g a n d r eview in g
qu a lity system s; a s well a s pla n n in g a n d pr ovidin g qu a lity tr a in in g a n d cou n sellin g or
con su lta n cy. It cou ld a lso in cor por a te givin g
a dvice to m a n a gem en t in r ela tion to th e:
• esta blish m en t of qu a lity system s a n d
pr ocess con tr ol;
• r eleva n t sta tu tor y/ le gisla tive r equ ir em en ts
w ith r espect to qu a lity;
• qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ogr a m m es
n ecessa r y;
• in clu sion of qu a lity elem en ts in a ll job
in str u ction s a n d pr ocedu r es.
Th is pa per w ill con sider th e sign ifica n ce of
lea der sh ip for th e developm en t of qu a lity
m a n a gem en t in sch ool edu ca tion a n d discu ss
a th eor etica l fr a m ewor k wh ich cou ld a ssist
lea der s to develop th e con ceptu a l u n der sta n din g n ecessa r y for th e developm en t of a qu a lity ph ilosoph y a ppr opr ia te to th eir or ga n iza tion s.
Leadership for quality
management in school education
A n u m ber of r esea r ch stu dies du r in g th e la st
deca de h ave esta blish ed a k ey fu n ction of
edu ca tion a l lea der sh ip in th e developm en t of
sch ool cu ltu r e gen er a lly (Dea l a n d Peter son ,
1994; Gr a ce, 1995; Leith wood a n d J a n tzi, 1991;
Sa sh k in a n d Sa sh k in , 1990; Sch ein , 1985).
Th er e is em er gin g eviden ce th a t lea der sh ip is
a sign ifica n t fa ctor in th e developm en t of
qu a lity or ga n iza tion s (Bla n ton , 1991; Robin son , 1996; Sch oltes a n d Ha cqu ebor d, 1988;
Sen ge, 1990; Tr ibu s a n d Tsu de, 1987). It is
a r gu ed by Gor e (1993, pp. 357-8) for exa m ple
th a t, fr om th e pleth or a of qu a lity m a n a gem en t a ppr oa ch es ava ila ble to or ga n iza tion s,
lea der sh ip, vision a n d cu ltu r e a r e essen tia l in
sch ools if sign ifica n t a n d per m a n en t ch a n ge
is goin g to be in stitu tion a lized. Aspin et a l.
(1994, p. 20) a r gu e th a t:
Th e fu n ction s a n d ta sk s th a t h ave been
iden tified a s h avin g to do w ith , a n d pr om otin g qu a lity in , edu ca tion a r e, in a m a jor w ay,
th e r espon sibility of th ose wh o a r e ch a r ged
w ith th e exer cise of lea der sh ip a n d m a n a gem en t of sch ool a n d sch ool system s.
Th e sign ifi ca n ce of lea der sh ip in th e developm en t of qu a lity in sch ool edu ca tion is a lso
r ecogn ized by P a in e et a l. (1992, p. 40) wh o, in
discu ssin g th e con cept of tota l qu a lity edu ca tion (TQE ) a s a m odel for sch ools, m a in ta in
th a t:
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
Wor k in g on system s a n d pr ocesses w ith th e
people wh o wor k in th em r equ ir es m or e
th a n m a n a gem en t. It r equ ir es lea der sh ip.
Sch ools u sin g TQE to develop str a te gies to
br in g a bou t la stin g a n d con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t m u st be led. Lea der sh ip is
a lso essen tia l to develop a m ission a n d
goa ls, a n d wor k con sta n tly tow a r ds th eir
im pr ovem en t.
Sim ila r ly, La n gfor d a n d Clea r y (1995, p. 35)
su ggest th a t:
In edu ca tion a l system s, th e r ole of lea der sh ip is to su sta in th e vision of con n ectedn ess, so th a t stu den ts, tea ch er s, a dm in istr a tor s, pa r en ts a n d ta xpayer s – a ll th ose wh o
r eceive th e ben efit of th e system – u n der sta n d th eir r oles w ith r espect to th e la r ger
system s of lea r n in g in wh ich th ey oper a te.
Su ch lea der sh ip cou ld in clu de, for exa m ple,
developin g a vision for th e fu tu r e, gen er a tin g
th e qu a lity policy th r ou gh con su lta tion , m odellin g th e qu a lity cu ltu r e, in sistin g on clea r
qu a lity pr ocedu r es, settin g specific qu a lity
objectives a n d th e a lloca tion of r esou r ces.
Sie gel a n d Byr n e (1994, p. 113) poin t ou t th a t:
In design in g su ccessfu l qu a lity im plem en ta tion str a te gies, edu ca tion lea der s con fr on t
two sign ifica n t ch a llen ges th a t m a n y com pa n ies do n ot. Th ey m u st bu ild for th eir people
a n u n der sta n din g of in dividu a l jobs a n d
pr ofession a l exper tise a s th e su m tota l of
con n ected wor k pr ocesses w ith a cu stom er
a t th e en d of ea ch pr ocess. An d th ey m u st
a lter th e or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e to su ppor t
people wor k in g togeth er.
A model for leadership in quality
management
A r ecen t r eview by Leith wood et a l. (1994)
illu str a ted th e com plexity a n d depth of
r esea r ch r ela tin g to sch ool lea der sh ip wh ich
h a s ta k en pla ce du r in g th e la st two deca des.
Wh ile th is r eview con sider s a n u m ber of
dim en sion s a n d fr a m ewor k s for view in g
lea der sh ip in sch ools, th e sign ifica n ce of
lea der s h avin g th e a bility to u tilize exper t
k n ow ledge to tr a n sfor m or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e is a k ey th em e em er gin g for fu tu r e
sch ool lea der sh ip.
‘...L ea d ersh ip is con sid ered to b e a con cept w h ich d escr ib es a ction s
w h ich yield socia l ch a n ge a n d im prov em en t, a n d is a ssocia ted
w ith th e d ev elopm en t of com m u n ity in volv em en t a n d
pa r ticipa tion on d ecision m a k in g...’
With in th e con text of th is r esea r ch , lea der sh ip is br oa dly descr ibed a s a pr ocess by
wh ich beh aviou r s, va lu es, beliefs a n d a ttitu des of m em ber s of a gr ou p, or ga n iza tion or
com m u n ity a r e in flu en ced in a w ay wh ich
pr om otes colla bor a tive a ction tow a r ds th e
a ch ievem en t of sh a r ed ou tcom es. Lea der sh ip
is con sider ed to be a con cept wh ich descr ibes
a ction s wh ich yield socia l ch a n ge a n d
im pr ovem en t, a n d is a ssocia ted w ith th e
developm en t of com m u n ity in volvem en t a n d
pa r ticipa tion on decision m a k in g, equ a lity of
oppor tu n ity for stu den t lea r n in g, th e developm en t of a n aw a r e a n d en ligh ten ed com m u n ity, th e m a n a gem en t of edu ca tion a l ch a n ge
a n d th e developm en t of pr ocesses wh ich pr om ote qu a lity edu ca tion a l ou tcom es.
In th is sen se, lea der sh ip ca n be per ceived a s
a for m of socia l a ction wh ich su ppor ts a
sh a r ed vision for edu ca tion a l ch a n ge. A fu n da m en ta l r espon sibility of sch ool lea der sh ip
is th e developm en t of a lea r n in g com m u n ity
ch a r a cter ized by r epr esen ta tive a n d dem ocr a tic decision m a k in g, cr itica l r eflection a n d
dia logu e, a n d a sh a r ed com m itm en t to
a ch ieve or ga n iza tion a l ou tcom es. Th e n otion
of a lea r n in g com m u n ity a ssu m es a n or ga n iza tion a l str u ctu r e wh ich en su r es lea r n in g
oppor tu n ities for a ll m em ber s a n d th e per ception of a ll sch ool m em ber s a s lea r n er s. Th e
developm en t of qu a lity lea r n in g r equ ir es th e
iden tifi ca tion of lea r n in g n eeds, th e iden tifica tion of lea r n in g ou tcom es a n d a n in cr ea sin g de gr ee of per son a l r espon sibility for th e
a ch ievem en t of th ese ou tcom es.
Lea der sh ip in sch ools h a s th e fu n ction of
cr ea tin g a sh a r ed or ga n iza tion a l vision , bu t it
is a lso im per a tive th a t lea der s h ave th e
u n der sta n din g, k n ow ledge a n d sk ills – th a t is
th e exper tise – to lea d th e cu ltu r a l ch a n ge.
Su ch exper tise is n ecessa r y in or der to:
• set th e dir ection s for th e cu ltu r a l ch a n ge
wh ich m igh t be r equ ir ed;
• develop a sh a r ed la n gu a ge for qu a lity
im pr ovem en t;
• develop a set of sh a r ed beliefs a bou t th e
n a tu r e of qu a lity w ith in th e or ga n iza tion ;
• pr ovide a focu s for in tr odu cin g th e qu a lity
cu ltu r e;
• in itia te tr a in in g a n d developm en t in qu a lity m a n a gem en t w ith in th e sch ool com m u n ity;
• pr ovide a pla tfor m for th e r eview of em er gin g qu a lity pr ocesses;
• r ein for ce th e com m itm en t of th e or ga n iza tion a l lea der sh ip to a ch a n gin g cu ltu r e;
• cr ea te th e expecta tion th a t th er e w ill be
ch a n ges both of a ph ilosoph ica l a n d pr a ctica l n a tu r e.
Leadership for quality schools
Lea der sh ip is r equ ir ed to a r ticu la te th e qu a lity policy to be developed w ith in sch ools in
cu ltu r a lly a ppr opr ia te w ays so th a t n otion s of
qu a lity r efl ect th e u n iqu e a spir a tion s of th e
sch ool com m u n ity a n d be r epr esen ta tive of
th eir va lu es. Th e n otion of a qu a lity policy
im plies th e existen ce of a r a n ge of possible
[ 53 ]
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
qu a lity a lter n a tives wh ich n eed to be con sider ed, a n d decision s n eed to be m a de in r ela tion to th e con ten t a n d str u ctu r e of qu a lity
in itia tives.
Su ch lea der sh ip is a lso n ecessa r y beca u se
th e n otion of qu a lity, qu a lity m a n a gem en t
a n d qu a lity a ssu r a n ce a r e r ela tively n ew to
sch ools a n d m ay r equ ir e th ose in lea der sh ip
position s to in itia te str a te gies for a better
u n der sta n din g of qu a lity issu es a t th e or ga n iza tion a l level. It m ay be th a t som eon e, or a
gr ou p of or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s, fi n ds it
n ecessa r y to develop specific exper tise befor e
qu a lity pr ocesses ca n be a ttem pted.
As th er e is n o defin ite eviden ce th a t specifi c
qu a lity str a te gies ca n be u n pr oblem a tica lly
tr a n sfer r ed fr om oth er in du str ies to th e edu ca tion a l con text, lea der sh ip is r equ ir ed to
develop a sh a r ed u n der sta n din g of qu a lity
w ith in th e sch ool or gr ou p of sch ools a n d to
gr ow su ch in itia tives fr om existin g pr a ctices.
Th e iden tifica tion a n d fu r th er developm en t of
a qu a lity system in a sch ool, for exa m ple,
wou ld r equ ir e a th or ou gh k n ow ledge of th e
existin g or ga n iza tion a l pr ocesses w ith in th e
sch ool, th e sk ills to be a ble to iden tify th e
va r iou s possible com pon en ts of su ch a system
a n d th e a bility to m a n a ge it. Th is ch a llen ge
for lea der sh ip is descr ibed by Sie gel a n d
Byr n e (1994, p. 52) in th e follow in g w ay:
It is on e th in g for a lea der to h ave th e vision ;
it is qu ite a n oth er for th a t vision to gu ide
th e beh avior of a n en tir e or ga n iza tion .
Lea der s in su ccessfu l qu a lity settin gs h ave
been a ble to con ceptu a lize th e th eor y in
w ays th a t tr a n sla te in to pr a ctice, steer th e
ch a n ge pr ocess, a n d gu ide th eir people in
deter m in in g n ot on ly h ow to per for m th eir
jobs, bu t even m or e im por ta n tly, wh a t th ose
jobs sh ou ld be.
Th is con ceptu a liza tion pr ocess for lea der s
n eeds to be gin w ith a n in vestiga tion of th e
n a tu r e of qu a lity in or ga n iza tion s a n d th en to
con sider th e ph ilosoph ica l pr in ciples of existin g qu a lity m a n a gem en t a ppr oa ch es.
The nature of quality
Cen tr a l to th e qu a lity m ovem en t, wh ich is
in flu en cin g pu blic a n d pr iva te sector or ga n iza tion s wor ldw ide, is th e con cept of qu a lity
cu ltu r e a n d th e developm en t of su ch cu ltu r e
w ith in or ga n iza tion s (Ack er -Hoceva r, 1996;
Gilber t, 1987; Ka n ter, 1987; Liber a tor e, 1993).
Th e em ph a sis on cu ltu r e in th e cor por a te
con text r eflects th e h olistic n a tu r e of or ga n iza tion a l qu a lity in itia tives a n d in cor por a tes
th e n otion of tr a n sfor m a tion fr om existin g
com m on ly h eld a ssu m ption s, a ttitu des,
beh aviou r, va lu es a n d beliefs tow a r ds th e
developm en t of a n a lter n a tive pa r a digm .
[ 54 ]
Su ch a qu a lity cu ltu r e is descr ibed by Sa r a ph
a n d Seba stia n (1993, p. 73) in th e follow in g
w ay:
Qu a lity cu ltu r e is th e tota l of th e collective
or sh a r ed lea r n in g of th e qu a lity-r ela ted
va lu es a s th e or ga n iza tion develops its
ca pa city to su r vive in its exter n a l en vir on m en t a n d to m a n a ge its ow n in ter n a l a ffa ir s.
Wh ile th e n otion of a qu a lity cu ltu r e seem s
edu ca tion a lly desir a ble in th a t sch ools a r e
con cer n ed w ith cu ltu r a l developm en t a n d
ch a n ge for th e im pr ovem en t of lea r n in g, it is
pr oblem a tic beca u se th e con cept h a s a specific m ea n in g w ith in th e con text of th e qu a lity m ovem en t. Th is m ea n in g n eeds to be
explor ed th r ou gh th e a n a lysis of th e con cept
of qu a lity on wh ich th e n otion of qu a lity
cu ltu r e is ba sed. In m a in ta in in g th a t qu a lity
is a “slipper y con cept”, P feffer a n d Coote
(1991, p. 31), h owever, h igh ligh t th e difficu lty
in r ea ch in g a com m on u n der sta n din g or
u n iver sa l defin ition of th is ter m . Mu r ga tr oyd
(1991, p. 14), for exa m ple, a ssocia tes th e con cept of qu a lity w ith sta n da r ds a n d va lu es by
offer in g th r ee defin ition s of qu a lity:
1 Qu a lity is defin ed in ter m s of som e
a bsolu te sta n da r d a n d eva lu a tion s a r e
ba sed on th e a pplica tion of th ese sta n da r ds
to th e situ a tion s exper ien ced a cr oss a
va r iety of or ga n iza tion s, ir r espective of
th eir str a te gy of differ en tia ted ser vices
(establish ed sta n d a rd s defin ition ).
2 Qu a lity is defin ed in ter m s of th e objectives set for a specific pr ogr a m m e or
pr ocess in a specific loca tion a t a specific
tim e (specifi c sta n d a rd s defin ition ).
3 Qu a lity is defin ed a s “fitn ess for u se” a s
a ttested by th e en d-u ser s on th e ba sis of
th eir dir ect exper ien ce ( fi tn ess for u se or
m a rk et-d r iv en defin ition ).
Sim ila r ly, Cu tta n ce (1995) iden tifies two defin ition s of qu a lity by m a k in g th e distin ction
between qu a lity a s th e in tr in sic va lu es a ssocia ted w ith a ser vice or pr odu ct a n d qu a lity
a s th e m eetin g of cu stom er r equ ir em en ts. In
th is sen se th er e is a n eed to m eet cu stom er
expecta tion s in r ela tion to th e per ceived
va lu e or wor th a tta ch ed to a pr odu ct or ser vice, wh ile a lso en su r in g th e pr odu ct or ser vice h a s in tr in sic m er it a s defin ed by w idely
h eld pr ofession a l sta n da r ds. Cu tta n ce (1995,
p. 4) n otes th a t it is th e n otion of qu a lity a s
“va lu e” or “wor th ” in r ela tion to cu stom er
expecta tion s th a t descr ibes th e n a tu r e of
qu a lity a s in ter pr eted w ith in th e qu a lity
m a n a gem en t con text:
Th e ter m qu a lity is th u s u sed in a differ en t
w ay to th a t of its u se in ever yday la n gu a ge.
In pa r ticu la r th e “qu a lity” of a pr odu ct or
ser vice sh ou ld be in ter pr eted a s its “va lu e”
or “wor th ” a s m ea su r ed by th e exten t to
wh ich it m eets th e n eeds of th e cu stom er.
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
With in th is n otion of qu a lity it is a ssu m ed
th a t m ost or ga n iza tion s pr odu ce a pr odu ct or
ser vice wh ich is in ten ded to sa tisfy th e n eeds
of u ser s or cu stom er s w ith qu a lity, th er efor e,
bein g th e “tota lity of fea tu r es a n d ch a r a cter istics of a pr odu ct or ser vice th a t bea r s on its
a bility to sa tisfy sta ted or im plied n eeds”
(Br itish Sta n da r ds In stitu te, 1992). Th is r ela tivist n otion of qu a lity is su ppor ted by Sa llis
(1993, p. 13), wh o per ceives qu a lity a s: “a ph ilosoph y or m eth odology wh ich a ssists in stitu tion s to m a n a ge ch a n ge, a n d to set th eir ow n
a gen da s for dea lin g w ith th e pleth or a of n ew
exter n a l pr essu r es”. In th is sen se, qu a lity is a
con cept im plyin g “fitn ess for pu r pose”, m ea su r in g u p to specifi ca tion a s well a s m eetin g
pa r ticu la r cu stom er n eeds:
Th e r ela tivist defin ition view s qu a lity n ot a s
a n a ttr ibu te of a pr odu ct or ser vice, bu t a s
som eth in g wh ich is a scr ibed to it. Qu a lity
ca n be ju dged to exist wh en a good or ser vice m eets th e specifica tion th a t h a s been
la id dow n for it. Qu a lity is n ot th e en d in
itself, bu t a m ea n s by wh ich th e en d pr odu ct
is ju dged to be u p to sta n da r d (Sa llis, 1993,
p. 23).
Qu a lity, th er efor e, ca n be per ceived in r ela tion to a ccepted qu a lity sta n da r ds a ssocia ted
w ith a pa r ticu la r sph er e of in ter est, “a ppr opr ia ten ess to pu r pose”, th r ou gh th e a bility
con sisten tly to m eet or exceed per ceived
cu stom er n eeds a n d a n or ga n iza tion a l ca pa city for con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t of pr ocesses
a n d system s.
‘...equ ity, ex cellen ce, d em ocra cy a n d ju stice provid e th e d im en sion s
for a th eor y of qu a lity for sch ools, w h ich su ggests th a t qu a lity
sch ools n eed to com m u n ica te civiliz a tion , m eet th e person a l n eed s
of stu d en ts a n d en su re th a t stu d en ts a re respon siv e to th e n eed s of
society...’
Wh ile th ese n otion s of qu a lity seem a ppr opr ia te to or ga n iza tion s gen er a lly, th ey do n ot
n ecessa r ily m eet a ll of th e cr iter ia for qu a lity
in sch ools. E du ca tion is a pr ocess ba sed on
br oa dly a ccepted eth ica l va lu es wh ich con stitu te th e m or a l fibr e of society. Ultim a tely,
edu ca tion a l qu a lity ca n n ot be isola ted fr om
th ese va lu es wh ich r ela te to wh a t is per ceived
a s cu ltu r a lly wor th wh ile in a society. Th ese
va lu es pr ovide a n eth ica lly ju stifia ble pla tfor m for deter m in in g a n d eva lu a tin g edu ca tion a l pr ocesses a n d ou tcom es wh ich m igh t
per m ea te th e n otion of qu a lity cu ltu r e in
sch ools. In discu ssin g th e n a tu r e of qu a lity
sch oolin g, Aspin et a l. (1994, p. 44) su ggest
th a t equ ity, excellen ce, dem ocr a cy a n d ju stice
pr ovide th e dim en sion s for a th eor y of qu a lity
for sch ools, wh ich su ggests th a t qu a lity
sch ools n eed to com m u n ica te civiliza tion ,
m eet th e per son a l n eeds of stu den ts a n d
en su r e th a t stu den ts a r e r espon sive to th e
n eeds of society. Qu a lity sch oolin g, it is su ggested (Aspin et a l., 1994, p. 45):
…is n ot so m u ch a bou t bein g equ ipped to
oper a te a s a qu a lified fu n ction a r y in society,
h avin g th e ca pa city to r espon d to econ om ic
n or m s a n d to per for m com peten tly in va r iou s m odes of econ om ic pr odu ction . It is
m u ch m or e a bou t th e ca pa city of th e in dividu a l to en h a n ce a n d en r ich th e society of
wh ich h e or sh e is bein g edu ca ted to becom e
a pa r t – som eon e wh o is goin g to be a giver,
a n en la r ger a n d a n en h a n cer, a s well a s a n
in h er itor a n d r ecipien t. Qu a lity sch oolin g is
a s m u ch a bou t th e fu tu r e of th e society we
see for ou r selves, even if a t sever a l gen er a tion s h en ce r em oved; a wor ld better a n d
r ich er th a n th e on e we cu r r en tly in h a bit.
In edu ca tion a l or ga n iza tion s qu a lity ca n be
expla in ed a s a specific for m of cu ltu r e wh ich
in clu des a lon g-ter m pr ocess of con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t tow a r ds per ceived sta n da r ds of
excellen ce w ith in th e con text of cor e eth ica l
va lu es, sta n da r ds of excellen ce a n d a pr ocess
of con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t. Th e pr ocess of
developin g su ch a n or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e
ca n be r efer r ed to a s qu a lity m a n a gem en t,
a n d th e m ost com m on a ppr oa ch to qu a lity
m a n a gem en t in m a n y pr iva te a n d pu blic
sector or ga n iza tion s is tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t (TQM). Th e n a tu r e of th is ph ilosoph y
a n d its em er gen ce in sch ool edu ca tion w ill be
con sider ed below.
The total quality management
paradigm
Defin ed in th e br oa d sen se, qu a lity m a n a gem en t h a s com e to m ea n “th a t a spect of th e
over a ll m a n a gem en t fu n ction th a t
deter m in es a n d im plem en ts th e qu a lity
policy (in ten tion s a n d dir ection s) of th e or ga n iza tion ” (Va n Vu gh t a n d Wester h eijda n ,
1992, p. 13). Qu a lity m a n a gem en t, a s a qu a lity
im pr ovem en t pr ocess, ca n be per ceived
w ith in th e con text of pla n n ed or ga n iza tion a l
ch a n ge. Th e n otion of or ga n iza tion a l ch a n ge
n eeds to be con sider ed if qu a lity m a n a gem en t
is th e be u n der stood. For exa m ple, or ga n iza tion a l ch a n ge ca n be in th e for m of th e
m otion of th e or ga n iza tion a s a wh ole a s it
r ela tes to m otion in its en vir on m en t – ch a n ge
th a t is m a cr o-evolu tion a r y, h istor ica l, a n d
typica lly r ela ted to clu ster s or wh ole
in du str ies.
Alter n a tively, ch a n ge cou ld descr ibe th e
m otion of th e pa r ts of th e or ga n iza tion in
r ela tion to ea ch oth er a s th e or ga n iza tion
gr ow s, a ges a n d pr ogr esses th r ou gh its life
cycle – ch a n ge th a t is m icr o-evolu tion a r y,
developm en ta l a n d typica lly r ela ted to size or
[ 55 ]
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
sh a pe, r esu ltin g in co-or din a tion issu es. F u r th er m or e, ch a n ge cou ld be th e r esu lt of str u ggles for power a n d con tr ol a m on g in dividu a ls
or gr ou ps w ith a sta k e in th e or ga n iza tion to
m a k e decision s or en joy ben efi ts a s a n expr ession of th eir in ter ests – ch a n ge th a t focu ses
on politica l dim en sion s a n d in volvin g r evolu tion a r y a ctivity.
In th is sen se ch a n ge is com plex a n d con tin u ou s, w ith ea ch a spect of th e m ovem en t of
or ga n iza tion s h avin g im plica tion s for th e
k in d of qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ocesses
u n der ta k en . Ch a n ge is th e r esu lt of cir cu m sta n ces beyon d th e con tr ol of th e or ga n iza tion , a s well a s bein g th e r esu lt of pla n n in g
a n d r a tion a l decision m a k in g w ith in th e
or ga n iza tion . With in th is n otion of or ga n iza tion a l m ovem en t, th e m a n a gem en t of qu a lity
r ela tes to pla n n ed cu ltu r a l ch a n ge to en a ble
qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ocesses to even tu a te.
Alth ou gh difficu lt to defin e, th e con cept of
cu ltu r e ca n be per ceived a s bein g closely
a ssocia ted w ith th e n otion of sh a r ed
a ttitu des, beh aviou r s, va lu es a n d a ssu m ption s. With in th is con text, Kr oeber a n d
Klu k h oh n (1952) m a in ta in th a t:
Cu ltu r e con sists of pa tter n s of…beh avior
a cqu ir ed a n d tr a n sm itted via sym bols,
con stitu tin g th e distin ctive a ch ievem en t of
h u m a n gr ou ps, in clu din g th eir em bodim en ts in a r tifa cts; th e essen tia l cor e cu ltu r e
con sists of tr a dition a l (h istor ica lly der ived
a n d selected) idea s a n d especia lly a tta ch ed
va lu es; cu ltu r e system s m ay, on th e on e
h a n d, be con sider ed a s pr odu cts of a ction ,
on th e oth er a s con dition in g elem en ts for
fu tu r e a ction .
Qu a lity m a n a gem en t, th er efor e, is ba sed on
ch a n ge tow a r ds th e developm en t of qu a lity
va lu es wh ich m igh t in clu de a cu stom er focu s,
tea m wor k , sa fety for a ll sta k eh older s, ca n dou r, tota l in volvem en t, in tim a cy, in te gr ity,
u n ity, con sen su s a n d excellen ce (Ha r t a n d
Sh oolbr ed, 1993, p. 17). A qu a lity cu ltu r e
wou ld in cor por a te com pon en ts su ch a s
“sh a r ed va lu es, com m itm en t to gettin g it
r igh t, open a n d explicit com m u n ica tion , tim e
for tea m wor k , tr a in in g in qu a lity, tota l
in volvem en t, sen sitivity to oth er s’ n eeds”
(E llis, 1993, p. 31). With in th is h olistic fr a m ewor k for or ga n iza tion a l ch a n ge, qu a lity m a n a gem en t is a lon g-ter m ch a n ge ph ilosoph y
r equ ir in g a cu ltu r a l tr a n sfor m a tion w ith in
a n or ga n iza tion wh ich cou ld in cor por a te th e
developm en t of a sh a r ed vision for th e fu tu r e
of th e or ga n iza tion , a pr ofession a l developm en t pr ogr a m m e to equ ip sta k eh older s w ith
th e r equ ir ed sk ills to a ch ieve goa ls, a focu s on
pr ovidin g ser vices wh ich sa tisfy cu stom er
n eeds a n d a pr ocess of r eview a n d eva lu a tion
(Offn er, 1993).
[ 56 ]
Un like m a n y or ga n iza tion s, h owever,
sch ools a r e com plex in n a tu r e a n d th eir con cer n w ith a m u ltitu de of edu cation a l pu r poses, in clu din g h u m a n developm en t, com m u n ity gr ow th a n d lea r n in g ou tcom es, m a k es
th e m a n a gem en t of qu a lity pr oblem a tic.
TQM in schools and school systems
Su bsta n tia l in ter est in TQM in edu ca tion h a s
be gu n to em er ge (Sa llis, 1993), a lth ou gh th is
in ter est h a s been focu sed pr im a r ily on h igh er
edu ca tion in stitu tion s (Coa te, 1990; Cope a n d
Sh er r, 1991; Cor n esk y, et a l., 1991; Ma ster s a n d
Leik er, 1992; N eedh a m et a l., 1992; Reyn olds,
1992; Sa u n der s a n d Wa lk er, 1991; Su tcliffe a n d
Pollock , 1992; Ta n n ock , 1991; Va n Vu gh t a n d
Wester h eijden , 1992; Win ter, 1991), tech n ica l
a n d fu r th er edu ca tion (TAF E N SW, 1994, 1995)
a n d tr a in in g in stitu tion s (E llis, 1993; Sh aw
a n d Roper, 1993). Oth er edu ca tion a l a r ea s
wh er e in ter est in TQM h a s been sh ow n
in clu de edu ca tion a l a dm in istr a tion (Hou gh ,
1993), voca tion a l edu ca tion (La a r n k a r d, 1992)
a n d cu r r icu lu m developm en t (Ma cch ia , 1992).
Th is in cr ea sin g in ter est in TQM in r ela tion to
edu ca tion gen er a lly is ba sed on th e per ception of edu ca tion a l in stitu tion s a s bein g pr edom in a n tly ser vice or ga n iza tion s wh er e th e
focu s is on su ch fa ctor s a s qu a lity, deliver y,
sa fety, cost, or ga n iza tion a l r espon sibility,
in fr a str u ctu r e, exter n a l r ela tion sh ips, cu stom er pr otection a n d com plia n ce (Sm ith ,
1993, p. 48).
Th e con cept of TQM r equ ir es th a t sch ools
a r e per ceived a s ser vice or ga n iza tion s
design ed to fu lfi l th e n eeds of th eir clien ts or
cu stom er s. With in th e edu ca tion a l con text,
ser vices cou ld in clu de edu ca tion a l pr ogr a m m es, a dvice, ca r e, in for m a tion , oppor tu n ities to pa r ticipa te or specifi c sk ills tr a in in g. In r ela tion to sch ools, th e em ph a sis for
TQM cou ld be on tr a n sfor m in g tea ch in g,
cu r r icu lu m , or ga n iza tion a l a n d m a n a gem en t
pr ocesses w ith in edu ca tion a l in stitu tion s in a
w ay wh ich ser ves stu den t, pa r en t a n d com m u n ity in ter ests. Mu r ga tr oyd (1991, p. 13)
expla in s th e n a tu r e of su ch a qu a lity m a n a gem en t pr ocess in th e follow in g w ay:
Th e k ey ta sk of a ser vice or ga n iza tion , lik e a
sch ool, is to bu ild a n effective ch a in of cu stom er s...To cr ea te a lea r n in g or ga n iza tion
dedica ted to th is r equ ir es th e sch ool to th in k
fr om th e exper ien ce of th e stu den t ba ck w a r ds to edu ca tion a l design a n d str u ctu r e.
Ra th er th a n see str u ctu r e a s a n or m a liza tion of con tr ol system s, str u ctu r e sh ou ld
fa cilita te r espon siven ess to stu den t n eeds in
th e stu den ts’ ow n ter m s.
Th e r ela tively r ecen t in tr odu ction of th e TQM
ph ilosoph y to sch ool edu ca tion h a s been
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
per ceived gen er a lly a s a desir a ble u n der ta k in g for th e sch ool im pr ovem en t pr ocess, even
th ou gh som e a ttem pts to im plem en t th e
pr ocess in sch ools h ave been u n su ccessfu l
(Beavis, 1995). In a r gu in g th e ben efits of TQM
to sch ools, Gor e (1993, p. 335), for exa m ple,
m a in ta in s th a t TQM is ver y a pplica ble to
edu ca tion in th a t:
Th e cen tr a l con cept of TQM, con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t, is fu n da m en ta l to edu ca tion .
Wh er e else wou ld th e idea of a cu ltu r e or ien ted to con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t be m or e
a ppr opr ia te th a n in in stitu tion s wh ose
pu r pose is to su ppor t im pr ovem en t a n d
in dividu a l gr ow th ?
It is su ggested by Gor e (1993, p. 375) th a t,
a lth ou gh sch ools n eed to develop th eir ow n
a ppr oa ch , som e a spects of TQM a r e ver y
r eleva n t, th ese bein g:
• th e r ole of lea der sh ip;
• th e a r ticu la tion a n d developm en t of a
vision a n d th e developm en t of cu ltu r e;
• m a n a gem en t by fa ct;
• a focu s on tea m bu ildin g a n d pr ocesses th a t
cr oss fu n ction a l bou n da r ies;
• m a n a gem en t a n d en h a n cem en t of h u m a n
r esou r ces;
• ben ch m a r k in g;
• cycle tim e r edu ction ;
• cu stom er focu s, sa tisfa ction a n d m ea su r em en t.
Th is belief th a t th e TQM ph ilosoph y h a s a
logica l a pplica tion to sch ool or ga n iza tion s is
su ppor ted by Mu r ga tr oyd (1993, p. 245), wh o
m a in ta in s th a t qu a lity im pr ovem en t is cu ltu r a lly loca ted in th a t “im pr ovin g qu a lity
becom es a n over -r idin g m ission for th e
sch ool. It is n ot a fa d, or a ga m e or a n ew
a ctivity for a given a ca dem ic yea r. It is a n
essen tia l pa r t of th e developm en t str a te gy for
th e sch ool a n d is som eth in g th a t is ever yon e’s
r espon sibility.” Th er e is th e belief th a t TQM
pr in ciples ca n en h a n ce lea r n in g a t th e in dividu a l a n d or ga n iza tion a l levels, th a t sch ools
n eed to becom e tr u ly “lea r n in g or ga n iza tion s” a n d th a t sch ools ca n lea r n a gr ea t dea l
a bou t qu a lity m a n a gem en t fr om oth er k in ds
of or ga n iza tion s.
A definition of TQM
TQM h a s em er ged a s th e m ost well-k n ow n
a ppr oa ch to th e developm en t of or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e for qu a lity m a n a gem en t, r epr esen tin g a ph ilosoph ica l fr a m ewor k for th e
m a n a gem en t of qu a lity in or ga n iza tion s
wh ich cla im s to be a pplica ble to both pr iva te
a n d pu blic sector en ter pr ises a n d in stitu tion s. Oa k la n d (1989, p. 14) defi n es TQM in th e
follow in g w ay:
Tota l Qu a lity Ma n a gem en t (TQM) is a n
a ppr oa ch to im pr ovin g th e effectiven ess a n d
flexibility of bu sin esses a s a wh ole. It is
essen tia lly a w ay of or ga n izin g a n d in volvin g th e wh ole or ga n iza tion ; ever y depa r tm en t, ever y a ctivity, ever y sin gle per son a t
ever y level.
With in th is defin ition , TQM is con du cive to
th e con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t of qu a lity
w ith in a ll k in ds of or ga n iza tion s a n d, a s a
lon g-ter m ch a n ge pr ocess, ca n con tr ibu te to
or ga n iza tion a l gr ow th a n d r en ew a l. F r om
th is per spective, TQM r epr esen ts a qu a lity
m a n a gem en t pr ocess wh ich is con cer n ed
w ith people, system s a n d cu ltu r e, in cor por a tin g pr ocesses su ch a s lea der sh ip, system s
th in k in g, a n d em ployee em power m en t con tin u ou sly to im pr ove a n or ga n iza tion ’s ca pa city to m eet cu r r en t a n d fu tu r e cu stom er
n eeds. In su ggestin g th a t th e ou tcom es of
TQM a r e im pr oved qu a lity, en h a n ced effectiven ess a n d a ch a n ge of in stitu tion a l cu ltu r e,
Sm ith (1993, p. 57) m a in ta in s th a t TQM is a
m a n a ged pr ocess th a t seek s or ga n iza tion w ide im pr ovem en t th r ou gh :
• pla n n in g for n ew pr odu cts a n d ser vices;
• in n ova tion in existin g ser vices;
• con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t in a ll existin g
ser vice pr ocesses;
• da ily con tr ol of ser vice pr ocesses.
The TQM philosophy
In TQM, ever y elem en t of th e or ga n iza tion is
in volved in th e en ter pr ise of con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t, w ith ea ch in dividu a l sh a r in g
r espon sibility r e ga r dless of h is or h er position or sta tu s. It is m a in ta in ed by Sa llis (1993,
pp. 26-7) th a t TQM is a ph ilosoph y of or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e ch a n ge wh ich , th r ou gh
em ployee pa r ticipa tion a n d co-oper a tion ,
focu ses on th e sa tisfa ction of cu stom er expecta tion s:
TQM is a bou t cr ea tin g a qu a lity cu ltu r e
wh er e th e a im of ever y m em ber of sta ff is to
deligh t th eir cu stom er s, a n d wh er e th e
str u ctu r e of th eir or ga n iza tion a llow s th em
to do so. In th e tota l qu a lity defin ition of
qu a lity th e cu stom er is sover eign ...It is
a bou t pr ovidin g th e cu stom er s w ith wh a t
th ey w a n t, wh en th ey w a n t it a n d h ow th ey
w a n t it. It in volves m ovin g w ith cu stom er
expecta tion s a n d fa sh ion s to design pr odu cts a n d ser vices wh ich m eet a n d exceed
th eir expecta tion s.
TQM is ba sed on th e n otion of or ga n iza tion s
a s system s a n d su b-system s wh ich fu n ction
a s a u n ifi ed wh ole, w ith em ph a sis on th e
in ter fa ce between th e va r iou s elem en ts of th e
or ga n iza tion a s m u ch a s on th e n a tu r e of th e
elem en ts th em selves. As a qu a lity im pr ovem en t ph ilosoph y ba sed on system s th in k in g,
TQM h a s a r a n ge of ch a r a cter istics wh ich
distin gu ish it fr om oth er qu a lity m a n a gem en t pr ocesses su ch a s th ose ba sed on
[ 57 ]
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
in spection , qu a lity in dica tor s or a ch ievem en t
objectives. Th ese k ey elem en ts h ave been
in ter pr eted by TQM en th u sia sts a n d pr a ctition er s in a n u m ber of w ays, a lth ou gh ea ch
pr ovides a n in sigh t in to th e TQM pa r a digm .
In defin in g TQM a s a “cooper a tive for m of
doin g bu sin ess th a t r elies on th e ta len ts a n d
ca pa bilities of both la bor a n d m a n a gem en t to
con tin u a lly im pr ove qu a lity a n d pr odu ctivity
u sin g tea m s”, J a blon sk i (1991, p. 4) a r gu es
th a t TQM is ba sed on six pr in ciples wh ich
in clu de: developin g a focu s on cu stom er s,
pr ocesses a s well a s r esu lts, pr even tion
r a th er th a n in spection , m obilizin g wor k for ce
exper tise, fa ct-ba sed m a n a gem en t a n d pr ovidin g feedba ck for im pr ovem en t. With in th is
m odel, TQM r equ ir es pa r ticipa tive m a n a gem en t, con tin u ou s pr ocess im pr ovem en t a n d
th e u se of tea m s. Sim ila r ly, La m pr ech t (1993,
p. 24) em ph a sizes th e fu n ction of pr ocess
im pr ovem en t a s a cen tr a l fa ctor in TQM a n d
defin es tota l qu a lity a s h avin g five com pon en ts:
1 E m ployee pa r ticipa tion .
2 Con tin u ou sly im pr ovin g a ll pr ocesses.
3 Mon itor in g you r pr ocesses u sin g a ppr opr ia te sta tistica l tech n iqu es.
4 Su r veyin g you r cu stom er s a n d ben ch m a r k in g you r com petitor s.
5 In n ova tion , in or der to r em a in
com petitive.
In defin in g cu stom er ser vice, con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t, system s th in k in g a n d lea der sh ip a s fu n da m en ta l elem en ts, Bon stin gl
(1992, pp. 6-7) m a in ta in s th a t th er e a r e “fou r
pilla r s” of tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t:
1 Th e or ga n iza tion m u st focu s, fi r st a n d
for em ost, on its su pplier s a n d cu stom er s.
2 E ver yon e in th e or ga n iza tion m u st be
dedica ted to con tin u ou s im pr ovem en t,
per son a lly a n d collectively.
3 Th e or ga n iza tion m u st be viewed a s a
system , a n d th e wor k people do w ith in th e
system m u st be seen a s on goin g pr ocesses.
4 Th e su ccess of tota l qu a lity m a n a gem en t is
th e r espon sibility of top m a n a gem en t.
Fox (1991), in a dvoca tin g th e n eed for th e
fu r th er developm en t of TQM in Au str a lia n
or ga n iza tion s, su ggests six sequ en tia l steps
for th e developm en t of a TQM cu ltu r e in or ga n iza tion s. Th e steps Fox (1991, p. 8) su ggests
a r e ba sed on wh a t is r efer r ed to a s “th e TQM
tr ilogy”, wh ich in clu des th e con cepts of qu a lity, qu a lity system s a n d qu a lity m ea su r em en t. Th e “six steps to TQM” a r e:
1 Dem on str a te top m a n a gem en t com m itm en t.
2 E sta blish th e cu r r en t sta te of qu a lity.
3 Deter m in e th e qu a lity str a te gies.
4 E du ca te m a n a gem en t in TQM.
5 Ra ise qu a lity aw a r en ess ever ywh er e.
6 In stitu te n ever -en din g im pr ovem en t.
[ 58 ]
Characteristics of TQM
It is a ppa r en t fr om th e m odels discu ssed
a bove th a t th e ph ilosoph y of TQM is lon gter m , la r ge-sca le a n d a ll-em br a cin g, in cor por a tin g a ll or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s a n d a ctivities in to th e qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ocess,
r a th er th a n bein g focu sed on lim ited a spects
of th e or ga n iza tion . Th is in clu des th e in ter n a l in ter r ela tion sh ips a m on g th e va r iou s
com pon en ts of th e or ga n iza tion a s well a s its
r ela tion sh ips w ith cu stom er s. TQM is a bou t
developin g a n ew cu ltu r e in th e for m of qu a lity-ba sed decision m a k in g per m ea tin g a ll
a spects of th e or ga n iza tion . Th is n otion of
qu a lity is ba sed on th e well docu m en ted W.
E dw a r ds Dem in g’s 14 poin ts wh ich for m th e
ph ilosoph ica l pla tfor m of th e qu a lity m ovem en t. Th ese poin ts a r e:
1 Cr ea te con sta n cy of pu r pose for im pr ovem en t of pr odu ct a n d ser vice.
2 Adopt a n ew ph ilosoph y.
3 Cea se depen den ce on m a ss in spection .
4 E n d th e pr a ctice of aw a r din g bu sin ess on
pr ice-ta g a lon e.
5 Im pr ove con sta n tly a n d for ever th e system of pr odu ction a n d ser vice.
6 In stitu te tr a in in g.
7 In stitu te lea der sh ip.
8 Dr ive ou t fea r.
9 Br ea k d ow n b a r r ier s b et w een s t a ff
a r ea s.
10 E lim in a te sloga n s, exh or ta tion s a n d
ta r gets for th e wor k for ce.
11 E lim in a te n u m er ica l qu ota s.
12 Rem ove ba r r ier s to pr ide of wor k m a n sh ip.
13 In stitu te a vigor ou s pr ogr a m m e of edu ca tion a n d r e-tr a in in g.
14 Ta k e a ction to a ccom plish th e
tr a n sfor m a tion .
Th ese, a n d oth er essen tia l ch a r a cter istics of
TQM, a r e su m m a r ized below.
Custo me r-drive n pro c e ss
Th e m eth ods a n d pr ocesses of th e or ga n iza tion a r e design ed a n d m a n a ged to m eet both
in ter n a l a n d exter n a l cu stom er expecta tion s.
Su pplier s a n d cu stom er s a r e viewed a s pa r tn er s in th e qu a lity in itia tive.
Emphasis o n te amwo rk
Tea m wor k cou ld be descr ibed a s th e pr im a r y
elem en t of th e TQM a ppr oa ch to qu a lity or ga n iza tion s a n d r epr esen ts th e or ga n iza tion a l
str u ctu r e on wh ich th e qu a lity im pr ovem en t
pr ocess is ba sed. P a r ticipa tion is a ch ieved
pr im a r ily th r ou gh th e esta blish m en t of cr ossfu n ction a l a n d/ or cr oss-depa r tm en ta l, pr oblem -solvin g tea m s in th e for m of qu a lity
im pr ovem en t tea m s or qu a lity cir cles.
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
Co ntinuo us impro ve me nt
Th e TQM pr ocess is ba sed on th e pr in ciple
th a t w idespr ea d cu ltu r a l ch a n ge ca n be best
a ch ieved th r ou gh th e in cr em en ta l pr ocess of
gr a du a l, sm a ll-sca le, a ch ieva ble pr ojects
in cor por a tin g th e u se of sta tistica l tools a n d
tech n iqu es (expr essed in th e J a pa n ese n otion
of k a iz en ) r a th er th a n on r a dica l str u ctu r a l
r eor ga n iza tion . Th e per for m a n ce of sim ila r
pr ocesses in differ en t pa r ts of th e or ga n iza tion is com pa r ed th r ou gh in ter n a l ben ch m a r k in g.
Pro ble m pre ve ntio n
Qu a lity is bu ilt in a t th e design a n d pr ocessin g sta ge r a th er th a n bein g in spected ou t a s
defects in th e en d pr odu ct. Th e or ga n iza tion
r ew a r ds qu a lity wor k a n d su ggestion s for
im pr ovem en t, u su a lly th r ou gh n on -pecu n ia r y m ea n s.
Partic ipatio n in de c isio n making
TQM is ba sed on th e n otion of pa r ticipa tion
th r ou gh a “tota l in volvem en t” a ppr oa ch
wh ich r equ ir es con tin u ou s, fi r st-h a n d
in volvem en t of top m a n a gem en t a s well a s th e
pa r ticipa tion of a ll or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s
in th e developm en t a n d im plem en ta tion of
qu a lity m a n a gem en t str a te gies.
Manage me nt by fac t
Ma n a gem en t decision m a k in g is ba sed on
qu a lita tive a n d qu a n tita tive da ta fr om feedba ck a bou t th e per for m a n ce of pr ocesses a n d
pr odu cts. Gu t feelin gs a n d in tu ition a r e con sider ed in a dequ a te ba ses for decision
m a k in g.
Individual re spo nsibility
In or der th a t TQM be su ccessfu l a s a pr ocess
of qu a lity im pr ovem en t, ea ch or ga n iza tion a l
m em ber is r equ ir ed to ta k e r espon sibility for
th e qu a lity of th eir ow n per for m a n ce. Or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s a r e per ceived a s in ter depen den t on on e a n oth er w ith in th e cu stom er /
su pplier r ela tion sh ip. Ra th er th a n depen din g
in a n exter n a l a u th or ity str u ctu r e to en for ce,
coer ce or in du ce desir ed beh aviou r s, TQM is
con cer n ed w ith m ovin g th e focu s of con tr ol
fr om ou tside th e in dividu a l to w ith in .
Co mmitme nt to staff training
All or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s r equ ir e edu ca tion a n d tr a in in g in w ays of wor k in g in a
qu a lity en vir on m en t, pr a ctisin g er r or pr even tion r a th er th a n detection , a s well a s th e
u se of pr oblem -solvin g tech n iqu es a n d tools.
Sen ior m a n a gem en t r equ ir es edu ca tion in
r ela tion to th e ph ilosoph y of TQM a n d th e
im plica tion s for or ga n iza tion a l ch a n ge a ssocia ted w ith a TQM cu ltu r e. All or ga n iza tion a l
m em ber s r equ ir e sk ills in r ela tion to tea m
m em ber sh ip a n d th e u se of tech n iqu es for
pr oblem solvin g.
Perceived barriers to TQM in schools
Alth ou gh th e TQM pr ocess seem s com pa tible
w ith th e sch ool im pr ovem en t pr ocess, th er e
is a r a n ge of issu es wh ich em er ge in r ela tion
to TQM a s a ph ilosoph y for qu a lity im pr ovem en t in sch ools, a n d th ese m ay for m ba r r ier s
to th e in ten ded ch a n ge pr ocess, som e of
wh ich a r e con sider ed below.
Philo so phic al barrie rs
Th e TQM ph ilosoph y is n ot a pa n a cea for th e
developm en t of qu a lity sch ools a n d ca n n ot be
seen a s th e on ly m ea n s th r ou gh wh ich a
sch ool or sch ool system ca n a ch ieve im pr oved
qu a lity. Oth er in str u ction a l or or ga n iza tion a l
r efor m s, su ch a s effective sch ools, essen tia l
sch ools, co-oper a tive lea r n in g, a cceler a ted
lea r n in g a n d ou tcom e-ba sed edu ca tion a lso
n eed to be con sider ed.
Applic atio n to impro ve d stude nt le arning
Th e em ph a sis on or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e,
wh ich is fu n da m en ta l to th e TQM ph ilosoph y,
is a n a ppr oa ch to qu a lity im pr ovem en t wh ich
is n ew to sch ools a s or ga n iza tion s. It cou ld be
th a t th is em ph a sis la ck s cr edibility w ith in
th e tea ch in g pr ofession wh ich is m or e con cer n ed w ith th e pr a ctica lities of th e tea ch in g/ lea r n in g pr ocess. Th e lin k a ge between
TQM a n d im pr oved lea r n in g ou tcom es m ay
n ot be clea r – if, in fa ct, it exists.
Diffic ultie s with statistic al analysis
TQM r equ ir es th a t in for m a tion for pr oblem
solvin g a n d decision m a k in g be gen er a ted
th r ou gh th e u se of sta tistica l tech n iqu es. Th is
a ppr oa ch m ay be r eleva n t to in du str ia l or
pr odu ct-or ien ted en ter pr ises wh er e ou tcom es
a r e dir ectly obser va ble a n d m ea su r a ble. Th e
in tr odu ction of su ch tech n iqu es in sch ools for
decision m a k in g a n d policy developm en t m ay
be in a ppr opr ia te or cu ltu r a lly r em oved fr om
th e a ccepted in tu itive a n d pr ofession a l ju dgem en ts, a s well a s th e politica l pr ocess, th a t
per m ea te edu ca tion a l policy.
The c usto me r/ supplie r re latio nship
As well a s r equ ir in g stu den ts, pa r en ts, com m u n ity m em ber s a n d oth er sta k eh older s to
be con sider ed a s cu stom er s, TQM is ba sed
la r gely on a n in ter n a l lin ea r cu stom er / su pplier r ela tion sh ip wh ich r equ ir es th a t ea ch
per son w ith in th e or ga n iza tion be both cu stom er to oth er or ga n iza tion a l m em ber s,
wh ile a t th e sa m e tim e su pplyin g ser vices to
oth er per son n el. Th is cu stom er / su pplier
r ela tion sh ip m ay n ot be a n a ppr opr ia te con cept to descr ibe th e lon g-ter m , close a n d em otion a l r ela tion sh ip th a t tea ch er s develop w ith
stu den ts, collea gu es a n d pa r en ts w ith in th e
con text of th eir pr ofession a l r ole. Mor eover,
even if a ppr opr ia te, th e cu stom er / su pplier
r ela tion sh ip m ay be m or e com plex in
edu ca tion a l or ga n iza tion s wh er e r oles a n d
[ 59 ]
Ge o ff Be rry
Le ade rship and the
de ve lo pme nt o f quality
c ulture in sc ho o ls
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 5 2 –6 4
r espon sibilities a r e com plex a n d m u lti-fu n ction a l.
th r ou gh th ese sta ges, in th a t th ey a r e on goin g
a n d per m a n en t esta blish m en ts.
The right first time (RFT) philo so phy
On e a im of th e TQM pr ocess is to esta blish a n
or ga n iza tion a l cu ltu r e wh ich is er r or -fr ee in
th a t th e qu a lity system a ssu r es th a t m ista k es
a r e elim in a ted. Wh ile th is m ay be a
com m en da ble objective in m a n y in du str ia l
con texts, its possibility a n d va lu e a r e deba ta ble in edu ca tion a l or ga n iza tion s. E xper im en ta tion a n d th e exa m in a tion of a lter n a tive
idea s a n d pr ocesses seem to be r equ ir em en ts
of th e lea r n in g pr ocess a n d, su bsequ en tly, a
des