European Journal of Scientific Research (ISSN: 1450 ... - EuroJournals

© European Journal of Scientific Research, Vol 7, No 5, 2005
They returned to their advisory board to validate the definitions and clusters, and to reach
consensus on the level of mastery needed in each area - from simple awareness, through
operational knowledge, to full mastery of a skill or knowledge area. They were also asked
to assign a measure of importance to each of the clusters to make sure it was given
appropriate weight within the curriculum. Throughout this process, the team returned to
the advisory board at each step to validate and fine-tune their design efforts. When they
finally completed their curriculum, the result received "rave reviews' from business
executives, potential students and faculty from peer institutions who reviewed the
proposed program. The entire process is customer-driven from the outset, and the
overwhelmingly positive response that team will receive for its efforts - not to mention
customer commitment to use the new program - more than compensated for the
expenditure of time and energy. The side benefits included a strong sense of teamwork
and dedication to the new program among faculty and administrators who led the effort.
Most importantly, the school now has a well-defined process that can be replicated and
improved to address curricular needs in other areas.
III. THE BENEFITS OF TQM IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Several benefits were identified ;
Giving people a voice. Almost every respondent mentioned that involving people in the
improvement of their own work environment has positive effects.
This empowerment deepens an institution's ability to be responsible and accountable for
the services it provides.
Less explaining, more listening. The focus on customers shifts the priorities of the
institution and its employees from generating policies and rules to generating
opportunities to learn about customer expectations and requirements.
A change in climate. Respondents believe that attitudes change as a result of quality
improvement efforts. "Improved morale" was cited frequently.
Willingness to base decisions on facts. Many criticized decision making in higher
education as relying too much on intuition, tradition and notions of "this is how we do
things around here." Respondents saw the relevance and importance of data based
decisions.
Bringing people together. All too often, department structures and a rigid division
between business, student and academic affairs contribute to a sense of disconnectedness.
Because of its teamwork orientation, TQM brings people together allowing a more
complete understanding of the entire work process.
A common language. Because of the terminology and training involved with TQM,
respondents say they had a set of universal principles that makes as much sense in an
English department as they do in the admissions office or custodial services. As a result,
communication across functions is easier. In the final analysis, to achieve the benefits of
TQM in higher education, we will need to improve our communication skills (MIS).
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