The participative management plan selected, adapted, and implemented by Beth Israel Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts) in 1989 is described. Successes, lessons learned, and plans for the future are also discussed. The teaching hospital chose the Scanlon Plan from among others as a means to quality improvement. (Author/MSE)

Describes the Total Quality Management (TQM) effort undertaken three years ago by Jackson Community College (JCC), in Michigan. Discusses the history of JCC, its early TQM efforts, the basic tenets of TQM, steps taken by JCC to integrate TQM practices into its evaluation methods, and benefits of TQM. (MAB)

Describes Yoji Akao's concept of quality function development (QFD), a strategic tool that translates the customers' quality requirements into organizational language. Examines how El Camino College's (California) application of QFD matches constituent needs to college functions. Includes an 11-item bibliography and lists El Camino College's…

It is argued that New Zealand polytechnics are currently not measuring service quality effectively, particularly from the student's perspective, and that a version of a recently developed measure of service quality, adapted for use in polytechnics, can and should be applied in this sector. (MSE)

It is argued that bringing the cultures of business, industry and advertising into higher education, in the form of quality assurance systems, goes beyond a healthy challenge to be destructive of many traditional values of university culture. Imposition, and acceptance, of the language of management reflects this phenomenon. (MSE)

Three university programs of continuous quality improvement, based on the Total Quality Management approach, are described. The institutions are the Georgia Institute of Technology; Pennsylvania State University; and University of Maryland at College Park. The report attempts to look beyond the mechanics of the programs to discover what is being…

Although the Total Quality Management approach in higher education institutions may focus greater attention on student needs, it also brings the risk of providing students with what they ask for rather than what they need to be well educated and prepared to enter a globally interdependent, complex workforce. (MSE)

At Samford University (Alabama), Total Quality Management methods and tools were used to reorganize the library. The professional librarians formed the quality team. Focus on customer needs and restructuring of staffing and organizational processes have resulted in both quantifiable and less tangible improvements in service and environment. (MSE)

Discusses the benefits of the library collection assessment process, and describes how a small community college library is using a turnkey automated system and a microcomputer-based database program to generate special reports and statistical profiles to support an ongoing collection assessment project. (Eight references) (CLB)

Responding to a budget deficit, St. John Fisher College (New York) used quality-management tools to address critical budget issues and initiate a strategic program. Because the process used consensus-building tools, committee members felt they had been given equal input into resource allocation decisions and the process provided a sense of shared…

Explores quality-assurance mechanisms for higher education and their use as a government policy instrument. Outlines several national or system-level approaches adopted worldwide; reviews an Australian quality-assurance program conducted from 1993 to 1995 and its successor program; and comments on ways in which the government used quality…

Reengineering efforts, vendor consolidation, and rising costs prompted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to convert its computer resale store to an online catalog that allows students, faculty, and staff to purchase equipment and software through a World Wide Web interface. The transition has been greeted with a mixed reaction. The next…

This article describes how to maximize clinician participation in outcome management systems: articulate the value of the outcomes management system, involve clinical staff in its design, make it relevant to treatment goals, assure clinicians it will not be used punitively, show how it will improve treatment, and obtain staff feedback. (Contains…

This article describes the development of a provider-based outcome measurement system, describing core components and processes, what to measure, who should be involved in the development and measurement process, and what data collection technologies can be used or adopted. Problems in developing model outcome measurement services are presented.…

Introduces a special theme journal issue on research and education in quality control, maintenance, reliability, risk analysis, and safety. Discusses each of these theme concepts and their applications to naval architecture, marine engineering, and industrial engineering. Considers the effects of the rapid transfer of research results through…