For past three years, Tallahassee, Florida, elementary school has changed from good effective school to quality learning organization. Inspired by Deming's principles, the school's broad-based task force developed a culture suitable for continuous quality improvement. Newly established core values included the importance of individuals, teachers…

Although the Total Quality Management (TQM) system offers an admirable goal and offers promise of organizational improvement, the process it recommends is not a panacea and may only forestall the conflict inevitably arising from decision making, individual accountability, and organizational change. The approach is being abandoned by some. (MSE)

In a letter to a Japanese university president, a French-Canadian educational administration student ponders the fundamental contradictions between the authoritarian, hierarchical Japanese education system and the Total Quality Management principles driving Japanese industry. The university president's reply explains how de-individualization,…

This article details the four-year implementation of Total Quality Management at Delaware County Community College (Pennsylvania) to conserve resources, improve effectiveness, assure quality, and increase participation in decision making. Reported are planning, execution, and monitoring activities of the Implementation Team; specific problems…

Oregon State University implemented Total Quality Management in nine phases: exploration; establishing a pilot study team; defining customer needs; adopting the breakthrough planning process; performing breakthrough planning in divisions; forming daily management teams; initiating cross-functional pilot projects; implementing cross-functional…

Explores the implementation of total quality management in the maintenance and operations department of an upstate New York school district. Four figures illustrate the problem-solving process. (MLF)

Interviews with 12 workers and with management representatives in a manufacturing plant found that the total-quality-management process and workplace literacy program were implemented under the guise of worker development, but were actually driven by policy to reduce labor costs. Adult education was complicit in the strategy of using learning to…

Views academic libraries through the lens of the assessment and accountability movements. Illustrates how a research library at the University of Rochester (Rochester, New York) has created an assessment environment in an effort to focus on educational impact. Discusses principles of good practice, and formal and informal evaluation. (AEF)

An instrument for measuring service quality was developed in Singapore's polytechnic libraries, based on previous work done in New Zealand. Focus groups of academic librarians reported on their understanding of service quality. Contrasts between the two instruments are examined. The time lapse between the projects accounts for some variation. A…

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) underwent a business process reengineering (BPR) exercise with respect to future co-location of previously separate regulatory docket facilities. Their experience suggests that future mandatory electronic records management (ERM) requirements will cause federal agencies to take a more…

Outlines details of key pilot projects on quality assessment in the higher education sector in Ireland. Discusses how the Universities Act of 1997 can ensure that emphasis is placed on the highest standards in teaching and research. (DDR)

In addition to building a new facility and providing innovative services to its students/faculty/administration, the Valley Library of Oregon State University, winner of the Gale Group/Library Journal Library of the Year Award, has created partnerships with public libraries, the business community, school districts, and other academic…

Inspired by tips from a Motorola Corporation executive, the superintendent of an Illinois district initiated strategic- planning and total-quality practices to improve student performance, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency. Teachers have also successfully implemented quality and continuous-improvement practices in their classrooms.…

Summarizes the ways in which the Education Pilot Criteria for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award were adapted for use in institutional self-assessment. Presents the perceptions of academic deans in the North Carolina Community College System regarding current and future applications of continuous quality improvement principles in the…

Effective business management in the information age requires an understanding of the role of the information highway. This article examines communications technology (voice, video, image, data), information accessibility, information sharing and competition, and development of the information highway. Discusses the reengineering of business…