Although total quality management has potential benefits, its human costs are often substantial, for example, diminished morale of middle management, trivial employee participation, and coercive teamwork. Productivity gains thus come at a price. (SK)

Discusses the need for academic and public libraries to confront the challenges and inevitability of change to retain their relevancy in the information age. Visioning, strategic planning, TQM (total quality management), and Preferred Futuring are considered. (Author/LRW)

A survey of 584 Australian companies investigated the impact of 5 management practices (total quality management, teamwork, lean production, reengineering, learning organizations) in relation to 8 training practices. New management practices had significant but differing effects on the organization of training: total quality management had the…

Junior and senior nursing students participated in collaborative learning projects developed using total quality management/continuous quality improvement processes. Seniors mentored and evaluated juniors. Feedback from 37 seniors and 53 juniors was predominantly positive; dissatisfaction centered on time issues and misunderstanding of project…

A continuous improvement approach to upgrading nurses' administration of sedatives and analgesics included (1) data collection from charts, shift reports, rounds, and bedside examinations; (2) identification of clinical issues and needs; and (3) design of interventions using on teaching moments, competency-based modules, and instruction during…

Total Quality Management is a system for creating organizationwide participation in planning and implementing a continuous improvement process exceeding customer expectations. It is built on the assumption that 90 percent of problems are a result of process, not employees. Implementation at Oregon State University has nine phases. (MSE)

A literature review classified four streams on total quality management (TQM) in education: (1) definition and measurement; (2) normative studies; (3) conceptual models; and (4) implementation and assessment. Phases of TQM implementation were identified: awareness and commitment, planning, program implementation, and evaluation; future directions…

In two undergraduate business courses, students in instructor-assigned multidisciplinary teams analyzed organizational processes. The project emphasized cooperative learning, the interdisciplinary nature of work, and teamwork, with a total quality management foundation. Common rewards and resource dependence fostered positive interdependence. (SK)

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…

Examines two systems for quality assurance in nursing education, based on total quality management. The first is concerned with what needs to be done to achieve goals and objectives, based on quality characteristics associated with nurse education. The second considers how things should be done and how to translate policy statements into educator…

Presents an experiential exercise that engages students in a quality audit and applies focus group techniques. (SR)

A Colorado elementary school began its Total Quality Management work about a year ago after several staff members participated in an IBM Leadership Training Program addressing applications of Deming's theories. The school's new writing assessment has increased collegiality and cross-grade collaboration. (MLH)

Investigates Total Quality Control (TQC) as a companywide, pivotal, and unifying philosophy for quality production and human interaction in Japanese organizations. Stresses the central role of communication processes. Challenges business communication scholars to incorporate TQC as a macro framework in dissections of the quality movement within…

Describes career services program at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse that adapted material from W.E. Deming's quality control manual to the needs of its office. Discusses Deming's work and its implications for career services professionals, then describes application of Deming's model to the career services program. (NB)

Total quality management will not work well in government agencies because of stress on products, not services; on well-defined consumer groups; on inputs/processes, not results; and on preoccupation with quality. An effective revised version emphasizes client feedback, performance monitoring, continuous improvement, and worker participation. (SK)