This report examines the program improvement strategies, step-by-step, that allowed The James Irvine Foundation's Communities Organizing to Advance Learning (CORAL) initiative to achieve the levels of quality needed to boost the academic success of participating students, and makes policy and funding suggestions for improving program performance.…

What happens when researching the radical unveils the simplest of solutions? This article tells the story of the 2007 ISPI Annual Conference Encore Presentation, Healthcare, Heal Thyself, sharing the findings of an exploration into high-performance health care facilities and their relevance to all organizations today. It shows how to overcome…

This paper reports a study designed to examine the key concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation and their effects on organizational performance. Process Alignment and People Involvement are two key concepts for successful implementation of TQM. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how these two constructs affect organizational…

Taking small steps toward change is a sensible way to improve the leadership and management practices in an early care and education program. A director must be able to make continuous improvements without alienating staff by asking them to make drastic changes that seem overwhelming and unachievable. Taking on change one step at a time is a way…

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a poor fit with higher education and can only be made to fit by major reshaping either of TQM to a more appropriate methodology (and hence not TQM), or of higher education to an image of organisation that fits TQM. The paper revisits longstanding concerns about multiple aspects of TQM from a critical systems…

This study addresses managers' awareness and familiarity with Total Quality Management (TQM). Eighteen (18) semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with managers working in a variety of service organizations in Greece. The major argument of the study is that although the acronym TQM and some of its concepts and practices are known by a…

This study examines the use of Internet polling at schools to gain student input for the improvement of learning conditions to assist in the continuous improvement planning. The study consists of 2006 respondents and three different schools containing the middle school child. The grades included in the study were 5, 6, 7, and 8. Although two…

Resources matter. How well schools and districts use their people, time, and money is often even more important than how much they receive. Education Resource Strategies' extensive research with districts and schools shows that despite differences in school level, size, location, student population, or even instructional focus, high-performing…

In this paper, we propose a conceptual and operational framework for process reengineering (PR) in higher education (HE) institutions. Using a case study aimed at streamlining exam scheduling and distribution in a distance learning (DL) unit, we outline a sequential and non-linear four-step framework designed to reengineer processes. The first two…

Application of Deming's TQM principles to education is long overdue. Principles that have proven their worth in businesses for decades could revolutionize our thinking about education. But they require a total commitment, from the highest to the lowest level. Deming's 14 points, and Gray Rinehart's suggestions, are presented, discussed, and…

Presents theoretical considerations on both similarities and differences between information management and knowledge management and presents a conceptual model of basic knowledge management processes. Discusses total quality management and quality control in the context of information management. (Author/LRW)

In one case study, teamwork was implemented in mainstream production; in a second, teamwork was applied to an ad hoc project. The cases show that process technologies and management strategies such as just-in-time are not enough; selection of the appropriate mix of individuals with complementary traits is crucial. (SK)

Purpose: This paper aims to develop an overarching basis to consider issues of quality in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: An attempt is made to synthesise different approaches to management in higher education. Findings: The article concludes that it is possible to synthesise a model, based on existing literature, to uniquely…

This article examines the introduction and practice of action learning into a highly volatile, commercial environment. During nine years of action learning projects, the impact on individuals, the action learning sets into which they were formed, the organization and its structure and the organizational culture were evaluated. The article…

The successful development and implementation of an electronic resources management (ERM) system depends on an undertaking that includes many key factors. Some of these key factors include determining user groups and their needs, evaluating implementation and technical issues, testing the system, exploring how the system will be used, setting…