Total Quality Management: From Industry to Education

Theories and practices in Educational Management as a field of study were derived from management principles originally applied in the industry (Sergiovanni and Starratt, 2007; Bush, 2003; Oliva and Paulas, 1999; Hoy and Miskel, 1991). This is because educational administration, as a field of scholarly endeavor, developed later than related fields, such as business administration and public administration (Kimbrough and Nunnery, 1976). These theories and principles were carefully modified in order to fit in the educational setting. Hence, in order to fully understand the underlying concepts in a particular theory and practice in education administration, it is important to explore its origin and impacts in the industry – where it came from.

As TQM derived its language, concepts, and methodology from industry (Sallis, 2002), it is therefore important to investigate how TQM started in the industry. This way, we will gain better understanding on how it permeated in the educational setting. Moreover, the distinction between product-oriented industries and service-oriented educational institutions can be established when there is thorough understanding on how TQM gained popularity in the industry and then in education.

TQM had its first success in Japan during the post-World War II rehabilitation. It was introduced by an American statistician, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, who first visited Japan in the late 1940s to work in their post-war census (Sallis, 2002). The idea was embraced by the Japanese where they started applying it in the manufacturing of goods and then followed by service industries. From then on, Japanese industries became popular icons in the world when it comes to product quality. Few of the companies which applied Deming’s management principle include Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company (Gilbert, 1992 as cited by Hashmi, 2000–2009). Dr. W. Edwards Deming is now celebrated in Japan as the “American father of Japanese industry” wherein the Deming Prize, established in 1950s, became Japan’s most prestigious industrial award (Schomoker and Wilson, 1993). It was only after Japan achieved tremendous success in the world industry that America realized that they also have to focus on quality as Japan started to dominate the world market.

However, the movement of total quality in education is of more recent origin as there were only few references in the literature before the late 1980s (Sallis, 2002). Sallis (2002) clearly narrated the beginning of TQM in education in the USA and the UK. He divulged, “Much of the pioneering work on TQM was carried out in the USA and by further education colleges in the UK. The US initiatives developed somewhat before those in Britain, but in both countries the surge of interest occurred from 1990 onwards.”

TQM was first applied in the higher education level but it then gained prominence in the entire levels of education specifically in the basic education level where schools, especially in the USA, became after of quality awards in education. However, even if TQM is proven to be applicable in education institutions, extra cautions must still be observed when applying concepts and practices from industry to education. In relation to this, Law and Glover (200) inscribe, ”While we need to recognize that a number of ‘commercial’ concepts may be applicable to educational scenarios as it becomes market-driven, it is clear that there is no ready-made or universally applicable theories we can simply pull off from the shelves.”

Defining TQM in Education

Plenty of definitions of TQM which exist in literatures define TQM as it is applied in business and industry. Although some of them are applicable in the field of education, others still need to be modified in order to fit into the needs of the education sector. In an attempt to define TQM in the educational context, Murgatroyd and Morgan (1993) defined TQM as a systematic management of an organization’s customer-supplier relationships in such a way as to ensure sustainable, steep-slope improvement in quality performance.

Ross (1994), Besterfield et al. (1995), Murgatroyd and Morgan (1993) and Mukopadhyay (2005) argue that TQM has to be viewed in a holistic manner. Mokupadhyay (2005) contends that a partisan or fragmented way of looking at quality in any organization is neither desirable, nor feasible, for an action in one area sets out a chain of reactions in several other areas of management of an educational institution. TQM provides an important opportunity to look at quality in a holistic fashion and also provides instrumentalities for managing quality.

Convinced that TQM is not an agenda of only the top management as opposed to other hierarchical management principles, Sallis (2002) inscribed, “The total in TQM dictates that everything and everybody in the organization is involved in the enterprise of continuous improvement. The management in TQM likewise means everyone, because everyone in the institution, whatever their status, position or role, is the manager of their own responsibilities.”

  

Underlying Concepts of TQM

Understanding the origin and impact of TQM in the industry and its transmission in education is not enough to fully comprehend what TQM really is all about. It has to be, first, understood that TQM is a management principle composed of many underlying concepts. Barry (1991), as cited by Binkley (1994), notes that TQM is a natural evolution of all the effective management techniques that are currently being applied by excellent organization.

Murgatroyd and Morgan (1993) argue that “the key word in TQM is management. Quality performance does not occur by happenchance or accident, it occurs because it is designed into the way the organization works; it permeates all aspects of the organization.”  Their statement has been supported by Sadgrove (1995) who believes that TQM is really just another word for good management.

Central to every TQM-driven organization is its focus on continuous improvement ( Rao et al., 1996; Schomoker & Wilson, 1993; Ross, 1994; Besterfield et al., 1995).  Ross (1994) contends that TQM is the integration of all functions and processes within an organization to achieve continuous improvement of the quality of goods and services. Besterfield et al. (1995) put the definition of TQM this way: “TQM is defined as both philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent a foundation of a continuously improving organization. It is the application of quantitative methods and human resources to improve all the processes within an organization and exceed customer needs now and in the future.”

            Customer-satisfaction is a focus of every endeavor in a TQM organization (Sadgrove, 1995; Sashkin, 1993). Sadgrove (1995) points out that TQM means satisfying the customers first time, every time.

References:

Besterfield, D. et al. (1995). Total quality management. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Binkley, B. (1994). Total quality management and its impact on higher education with emphasis on academic libraries. Unpublished master’s thesis, Tennessee State University, Tennessee

Murgatroyd, S. & Morgan, C. (1993). Total quality management and the school. Buckingham: Open University Press

Mokupadhyay, M. (2005). Total quality management in education. New Delhi: Sage Publications

Sadgrove, K. (1995). Making TQM work. London: Kogan Page Ltd.

Sallis, E. (2002). Total quality management in education. London: Kogan Page Ltd.

Schomoker, M. & Wilson, R. (1993). Total quality education: Profiles of schools that demonstrate the power of Deming’s management principles. Bloomington: Phi Delta Kappa

Teacher Complacency

I could still remember those days when I was still in a teacher-training institution preparing myself for my future teaching endeavors. When I was in fourth year and about to graduate, I was exposed to the real teaching atmosphere by having me attend a daily observation and participation session in our college's laboratory high school. I observed and assisted my cooperating teacher's high school Math classes for four months. At the same time, I learned to prepare those teaching materials like lesson plans, teaching reflections, assessment and feedback forms and others. That time, the importance of those materials in assisting the learners' need was clearly introduced to us that's why, as future teachers, we adhered on making the best possible output because we believed that those things were not just mere chores but a huge help to our learners as well. 


When I had my teaching practicum during the second semester, I passionately prepared my lessons and promptly did all those paperworks considering that they were of great importance for the learning of my students. I used to enter my classes carrying loads of visual aids and full of enthusiasm to teach. I have observed that the same attitude could also be observed from other student-teachers. All of us were very enthusiastic to teach and we loved to share our teaching experiences every time we go back to our college. Personally, when I had my off-campus teaching practicum in a government high school 72 kilometers away from the college I was attending, I took bundles of references with me. I had my portfolio, professional articles, notes and a variety of Mathematics book which guided me throughout my near-independent teaching practicum.


With all the enthusiasm I and my fellow student-teachers had during our practicum, a sense of confusion struck my head when I saw how 'experienced teachers' had become in their profession. Most, if not all, of them had become complacent in their respective fields. The enthusiasm that we had, could hardly be seen to these experienced teachers. Unlike the passionate sharing of teaching experiences evident in every student-teacher, professional conversation could hardly be heard in the faculty room where these experienced teachers stay during their free time. These teachers normally have complaints against their students and the tasks which they were mandated to do. It's very sad because those things directly affect the learners. 


Why do teachers tend to become complacent during their service years? What are the factors that demotivate teachers to pursue their passion in teaching? 


Like other professions, teachers need support in order to grow professionally. Everybody needs constant motivation to sustain one's passion. However, we know that teachers are the least paid professionals and most of the times very little support is given by the management of the school to meet the professional needs of the teachers. Professional development trainings are provided but they are not actually given to those teachers who need them. Instead, those who already have the potential and the passion for teaching get the best support from the administration. Aside from that, teachers are not considered as collaborators in the planning stage. Plans are usually done by those who are on the top and teachers are just asked to implement what has been planned. 


For instance, if there are changes which need to be implemented in the classroom, teachers are usually asked to implement the changes without enough information that would help them understand the urgency and the importance of the implementation. Changes in school forms and giving of additional loads to teachers are ordinarily given without considering the impact of such change to the teachers who directly influence the learners. Some of those forms and paperworks are just additional loads for teachers and they do not even contribute to students' learning. Instead of focusing on the support that every teacher could possibly give to the learners, much focus is given on asking teachers to provide unneeded reports and documents and sad to say, these reports are not even read by anyone--they're just kept as a files. Most of the times, it leads to teacher burn-out as teachers would eventually find out that they spend much of their time making those unnecessary reports than finding fulfillment through helping the students out in the learning process.


I hope that administrators would be awakened and would realize how the current surge of the system negatively affects the teachers. Teachers need support and encouragement to reinvent their teaching and be motivated with the help they are providing to the students. I hope everybody would realize such thing before it's too late. One day, we might witness a huge number of dedicated teachers shifting careers for they do not find fulfillment and happiness in what they are doing anymore. After all, it's the desire of every human being to find fulfillment at what he/she is doing and I believe that such fulfillment can only be achieved if we see impact of our efforts. Such impact can be seen in the number of lives we have touched and not in the bundle of irrelevant files we have finished.

Total Quality Management (TQM) and Thailand's English Program (EP)

Image Source:  www.stock.adobe.com

In the course of a decade, the world has tremendously experienced rapid change in various aspects which eventually led to the globalization of economy and the transformation of society. Competition became a cliché in all aspects from economy to education and others.

Realizing the current condition of the world, the National Education Act of 1999, which is the blueprint of the modern Thai educational system, has profoundly expressed, “The urgently needed reform will undoubtedly redeem the country from the downward spiral, so that Thailand will rise in the immediate future as a nation of wealth, stability and dignity, capable of competing with others in this age of globalization” (ONEC, 2007).

Heeding the latest national education reform which calls for competency among Thai citizens in the global arena, the Ministry of Education spearheaded the transformation of the education system through a strategy based around enhancing moral and ethical values together with a core program of enhancing the quality of education in which the transformation of language learning is one of the focuses. The learning of English language has been given main focus through English Program which aimed at providing full Thai curriculum subjects in English (Thailand MOE, 2004).

However, as an emergent practice in the field of basic education, a plethora of problems has stricken the operation of the program and has caused several impediments in achieving the nation’s goal for its citizens. These problems include difficulty in finding textbooks that would match the Ministry of Education’s curriculum, hiring qualified teachers to teach the subject matter in English, low level of students’ conception over the subject matter, lack of motivation to learn the subject matter in English among students, internal conflicts among teachers and school administrators resulting to low level of teachers retention, lack of awareness of the program’s vision, mission, goals and objectives among most of the stakeholders and dissatisfaction of some parents over the operation of the program. Beyond the school organization, there is a pungent competition among the basic education institutions offering English Program.

The abovementioned problems are supported by an array of local researches and literatures which reveals the current status of language education in Thailand especially in the English Program. As pointed out by Wiriyachitra (2007), with all the efforts to enhance English language teaching and learning, Thailand is still facing many problems that inhibit her from standing tall in the “Knowledge” societies. She further revealed that one of the factors that inhibit Thailand’s capability to be in the “Knowledge” society is that foreign teachers in the English program are less qualified. Hence the students, on average, do not excel in mathematics and science.

Furthermore, a study of attitudes and problems in teaching and learning English in Islamic religious schools in Yala conducted by Rattnanayart, Charumanee and Chiramanee in 2006 has revealed the following results:

1. English teachers in the three school sizes perceive English teaching problems mostly at a critical level. These problems, ranked in order of seriousness, are those concerning teaching and learning materials, evaluation and testing, students, and workload.

2. All administrators agree that they have not yet succeeded in their management; they want to improve the quality of teaching and learning English to make it more effective.

3. School administrators face similar problems concerning financial support from the government, students, English teachers, curriculum, the environment, teaching and learning facilities, and assistance from the educational authority in charge.

The problems cited in the previous paragraphs are few of the dilemmas which can be addressed by a well-implemented TQM Program. However, even if TQM can be a panacea of the various problems facing the English Program in basic education institutions, it has to be understood that TQM is not a solution which ordinarily comes out of the blue. As mentioned by Sallis (2003) in his book Total Quality Management in Education, "TQM is not an imposition. It is not something which can be done by somebody for you and for the others. TQM needs to be implemented by individuals who are of utmost commitment in achieving the customer-focused vision of the program."

TQM, in general, could be an answer to Thailand’s dream to redeem itself from the downward spiral and become a country capable of competing with others in this age of globalization. As pointed out by Fitzgerald (2004), “Now that the technologies of transportation and communication have replaced national economic systems with a global economy, nations and businesses that do not practice TQM can become globally non-competitive rather rapidly.” He further divulged, “This march towards non-competitiveness can be avoided if citizens are helped to become TQM practitioners.”

References:

Fitzgerald, Ron (2004). Total quality management in education. Minuteman career and technical high school. Retrieved December 18, 2008 from http://www.minuteman.org/topics/tqm.html

Rattnanayart, W., Charumanee, N., & Chiramanee, N. (2007). A study of attitudes and problems in teaching and learning English in Islamic religious schools in Yala. ThaiTESOL Bulletin, 20 (1-2), 73–100

Ministry of Education(2004). The education system in Thailand. Towards a learning society in Thailand (pamphlet of the Bureau of International Cooperation). Retrieved January 26, 2009 from http://www.bic.moe.go.th/fileadmin/BIC_Document/book/MOEleaflet/Thai-ed-system.pdf

Office of the Education Council (2007). National Education Act of B.E. 2542 (1999). Office of the Education Council. Retrieved January 26, 2009 from http://www.onec.go.th/publication/law2542/index_law2542.html

Sallis, Edward. Total quality management in education. Kogan Page Ltd. London: 2002

Tan, Hedda (2009). English language teaching in Thailand: where do Filipinos fit in? Filipinos in Thailand: Filipinos living, working, traveling in Thailand blog. Retrieved February 20, 2009 from http://www.filipinosinthailand.com/english-language-teaching-in-thailand-where-do-filipinos-fit-in/

Wiriyachittra, Arunee (2007). The present perfect for the future perfect. ThaiTESOL Bulletin, 20 (1-2), 101–110

Leadership Towards the 21st Century Education

Our world is now entering into the age of globalization. Schools and other educational institutions are expected to provide globally competent individuals who could survive in the ever-changing landscape of the industry. Hence, a new and modified breed of leadership that would meet the demands of our society is needed to suit our present educational needs.

The following are the leadership features which I strongly believe would successfully drive our educational institutions in the 21st century.

1. Excellence-Driven Leadership. At this age, competition is getting higher and higher. We might not want to accept it but the reality is we have to strive and survive to keep ourselves alive. Mediocre leaders are outdated in the educational arena. We need leaders who believe the value of excellence in all aspects of the educational setting. We need leaders who believe that excellence is not beyond their reach. In short, we need visionary and competent leaders. Imagine a school in a competitive society driven by a mediocre leader.

An excellence-driven leader will never be outdated because he knows how to adjust if not adapt the society where he is living. An excellent leader never stops learning for a reason but continues to explore for personal and professional world. An excellent-driven leader does not retire from the world but the world retires at him.

2. Values-Driven Leadership. We cannot lead people by just our mouths but we lead them best by example. An excellent 21st century leader has strong interpersonal and intrapersonal values- he is clean inside and out. A leader cannot expect those people in school to practice the values he is promoting if he himself does not practice those values. A values-driven leader who is suited to the type of education in the 21st century believes and practices integrity, honesty, equality, respect, responsibility and all other values which our learners need to have.

3. People-Driven Leadership. Leading people does not mean letting them follow you but making them feel important to you as a leader. A style of leadership which would surely survive in this era is the “I-know-it-all” kind of leadership. As educational leader, one must be very sensitive to the needs of its constituents and not just make decision according to what he believe is right and what he thinks is good and to what he feels better.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LEADERSHIP

History itself has proven that leadership is inseparable to mankind. Since the inception of society before the dawn of civilization, leadership has been a very important aspect.

Needless to say, we are living in a very unique society where individuality is the only thing common among every people. People tend to have different attitudes, traits and characteristics due to the upbringing of the community where they live. Diversity is found in every level and every corner of the world that even the smallest of the smallest society enjoy it. Different we might be, we cannot deny the fact that this world is meant to be a world of happiness where everyone enjoys while in harmony with each other. Whether we are in Asia, Europe, South America, North America, Africa, or Australia; we are one and we should work as one. In order to do this, we need leaders who possess strong leadership attitude to guide and inspire every people in the society.

Leadership is needed in every corner of the world. Leaders are important in every organization. A world without leaders is like a ship without lighthouse. It would work yet it would be undirected and possibilities of naval accidents would be very high. In a society, a leader is of equal important to the lighthouse of navigating ships. Without a leader, fight against each one’s principles and philosophies would be more rampant and misunderstanding would be more prevalent. A sound leader is needed to create a sound society and the good thing is we can all be leaders. We can all be leaders of ourselves by possessing strong leadership attitude. We can all be leaders by leading our inner self and leading others by example. We can all be leaders by taking initiative every time needed, by being proactive to every situation, by taking part in the solution and not the problem, and by taking responsibility in our actions. Everybody is meant to be leaders. Leadership is very necessary. Even the jungle animals have their lion king and the colony of ants has their king and queen; how about, we, people?