The transfer of TQM from industry to education

Centres on the promotion of quality in schools and ways by which best practice in industry can be applied in education. Explores definitions, procedures, assessment methods and analyses what can be learned from major theorists on the subject and the experience of industry. Drawing from information gathered during an industrial placement in a major chemical company, compares attitudes and practices with those of staff in a Calderdale junior school. In both (the industrial settings and educational setting) attitudes and priorities with regard to quality appear very similar. It could be concluded from the study that quality requires commitment from the top, it should involve and be owned by all staff in the organization and that a culture of searching for continuous improvement should prevail. Such an approach would have a greater impact on standards, performance and, most importantly, identifying training needs in education if theory and practice from industry can be regarded as relevant and comparable. In education, the criteria for quality, and therefore the customer requirements, involves a much greater number of interested parties. Defining the customer is nearly as difficult as defining “quality”: the Government and other stakeholders, industry, parents, governors and society, not least the pupils and the staff. Since 1986, legislation has strengthened the role of parents, so it might be assumed that they are the major customer. However, the chances of everyone agreeing on a few manageable criteria seems slight. Therefore the criteria or aims often are difficult to define and assessment of performance equally so. Nevertheless, within the school itself, it is important for each person to ask him/herself, who are the customers?, what is the time requirement?, how is performance measured?, how can I improve? It seems important that, in both industry and schools, the “customer requirements” are considered. For clarity, customers will be divided into “internal customers”, those working in the firm or school and “external customers”, those outside the institution. It seems that firms and schools can learn from the best practice of each other when it comes to looking at procedures relating to internal customers. Indeed, although the issue of quality seems to be common sense, as Dick Budd, a quality development manager in a service industry explains, “it’s basic things we often forget. If someone has received a good quality service, it’s important to thank the provider so they know they’re getting it right”[7]. Schools need to: look at the way services are provided, identify the factors which affect the way a service is delivered, offer feedback, advice and question staff as to how they see “quality” operating in their area. Such procedures help them to assess their quality. Thus schools should give more thought to looking at industrial procedures in relation to their external customers. Industry often has systems which allow feedback from customers. Many industries have complaints procedures. For Hoechst, customer complaints are treated as a way to improve. These are analysed, their number and type are measured and action is taken. Hoechst has undergone a cultural change in terms of attitude to mistakes, following Deming’s idea that error in 96 per cent of cases was systemor management-related. Checks are made on training, motivation, resource availability and time. Moreover, the companies are often given “vendor” ratings. Some companies, for example, Autotech UK Ltd, ask suppliers to complete a quality assurance and assessment questionnaire. This is one area into which schools seem afraid to venture. During a recent industrial placement at Hoechst they suggested a possible customer complaints sheet for a school. This would be completed by a customer, indicating any way that the school had failed to satisfy their requirements.