This article analyses the discourse and practices of quality assurance and quality control through the lens of neo-liberal governing as expressed in economic rationalities such as new public management, total quality management, public choice and human capital. As an alternative to this form of governing, an ethico-aesthetic paradigm is enacted,…

This paper is an endeavor to develop a customised and computerized matrix of Quality Function Deployment paradigm (QFD) that has been applied in industry, with the aim of probing quality assurance and enhancement in Universities. Results of testing the new matrix proved that, it is efficient and time-saving while compared with a detailed field…

Public interest in educational outcomes has markedly increased in the most recent decade; however, quality management and statistical process control have not deeply penetrated the management of academic institutions. This paper presents results of an attempt to use Statistical Process Control (SPC) to identify a key impediment to continuous…

This seminal study investigates the use of the EFQM Excellence Model[R] in the UK Further Education sector. Following initial interviews with Senior Managers and Quality Consultants, an online survey was sent to Principals and Senior Managers in all Colleges across the UK to critically investigate the relationship between the use of the Model and…

For social work practitioners to engage fully in efforts designed to improve the quality of social services, they need to understand what is meant by quality of care, grapple with its complexity, and know how to identify and leverage the key factors most likely to influence it. This article introduces a conceptual model that articulates numerous…

The Malcolm Baldrige Quality guideposts provide a comprehensive model for systematic quality improvement and innovation in colleges and universities.

A model of gradual reputation formation through a process of continuous investment in product quality is developed. We assume that the ability to produce high-quality products requires continuous investment and that as a consequence of informational frictions, such as search costs, information about firms' past performance diffuses only gradually…

Argues that a holistic approach to defining quality is helpful to technical communicators, who often must ensure quality without knowing what is meant by quality in a given instance. Describes a holistic model of quality that includes four emphases: internal, external, subjective, and objective. Notes that the definition of quality differs…

Various total quality management (TQM) approaches are explored and some core elements specified. Generic problems of TQM and those relating to higher education are analyzed. It is argued that while there are some aspects of TQM that are applicable in the collegiate setting, the specific approach is inapplicable in higher education. A new…

Robert Birnbaum argues that higher education tends to adopt management fads -- newly conceived techniques enjoying brief popularity but which fail to live up to their promoters claims at the point when the corporate sector and government are discarding them. Although fads may have failed in these sectors because of various reasons, their failure…

Texas A&M University's Evans Library conducted a survey (SERVQUAL) to measure service quality in terms of tangibles (appearance of facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials), reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Discrepancies between expectations and perceptions were found in reliability, responsiveness,…

This paper reviews the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) to learning and suggests where continuous quality improvement in education may lead in the future. Several issues in the application of TQM are discussed, including: the need for active participation and full support of faculty and staff, active and creative involvement of…

Three models for college and university decision-making about scarce resources are outlined: (1) shared governance, (2) corporate management, and (3) total quality management. Two underlying principles of all the models are, first, that faculty are the heart of the institution and, second, that successful institutions are governed through the…

Advocates the use of the Total Quality Management (TQM) model for libraries to survive financially and to retain their customers. An award for library quality based on the Malcolm Baldridge Award is proposed to enable institutions to use an evaluation procedure that rewards a commitment to continuous improvement. (Contains five references.) (EAM)

Business process redesign (BPR) is a multifunctional, interdisciplinary, and strategic business improvement methodology designed to improve service, costs, and quality. This book provides a conceptual framework for institutions of higher education to shape such an improvement effort including examples of BPR activities and tools. Chapter 1…