Some organizations are having difficulty with the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach. Problems appear to come from reliance on prepackaged TQM programs, large-scale, diffuse implementation, mass training programs, measurement paralysis, overemphasis on tools, process selection, outmoded reward structures, and simplistic views of change and…

The introduction of Total Quality Management into the classroom is often driven by corporate, rather than student, interests. Corporations'"raison d'etre" is to maximize profit for their investors. If educators look at students and see only future employees, they distort learning by reducing it to fiscal terms and ignore what children…

The Japanese model of business management and Total Quality Management principles being applied to higher education as well as businesses are often ineffective because of the application of packaged ideas without consideration of the subtleties of individual organizations. The cowboy model of teamwork stresses the individual's role and better fits…

Use of the student portfolio as an assessment instrument in an interdisciplinary multimedia-development course is described. Guided by the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM), the portfolio is used both for continuous course improvement and for student self-assessment. The assessment portfolio is built on the Bloom taxonomy. A…

This book contains 18 chapters, written by different authors, on preparing for the future of multimedia computing (MMC). It is organized into four sections which focus on the following areas respectively: technology, applications and benefits, applications and development, and end users. The first section concerns the relationship between MMC…

This paper provides information about the development of a successful quality-assurance process in the New South Wales, Australia, school system. In 1992 the New South Wales (NSW) government announced its commitment to a program of quality-assurance reviews of schools. During that year, approximately 100 meetings were held with principals, school…

The current perception of faculty tenure as a guarantee of a job for life can impede the removal of teachers who do not perform up to standards. Such faculty, however, can have an extremely negative effect on overall college quality, and studies have shown that community college faculty do support post-tenure evaluation if it is responsibly…

The mission of this book is to facilitate effective instructor-student partnerships through the study of total quality management (TQM) principles and to demonstrate to instructors how they can make a difference in their classrooms, institutions, and communities. It uses an educational approach that actively involves students in the learning…

A study of a continuous quality improvement effort at Auburn University (Alabama) is reported. The study investigated variables predicting which students are at risk of failure. Data were drawn from the records of pre-engineering students enrolling at the university in fall terms of 1991 and 1993-95 (n=2,505). Data sources included achievement…

This book is addressed to educators and work-place trainers interested in applying the Malcolm Baldrige award criteria and/or the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9000 training guidelines for program improvement. An initial section compares and contrasts the ISO standards and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award…

This volume contains 17 articles on the emergence and potential of "Quality Improvement" (QI) efforts in higher education. Quality Improvement is defined as continuous improvement of processes in a cycle of plan (administration of instructional processes), do/check (assess), act (on the assessment and then continue to), plan-do-check-act. The…

This book traces the restructuring of a Texas school district that moved from management by coercion to continuous improvement for quality. In 1990, the Dickinson Independent School District (Texas) began implementation of Continuous Improvement Management (CIM), based on the teachings of W. Edwards Deming, William Glasser, and J. M. Juran.…

This book presents a wide array of sophisticated problem-solving tools and shows how to use them in a humanizing way that involves all stakeholders in the process. Chapter 1 develops the rationale for educational stakeholders to consider quality tools. Chapter 2 highlights three quality group-process tools--brainstorming, the nominal group…

This book is based on the belief that the American education system is in crisis and requires radical systemic change. Because this change is to be designed and carried out by those within schools and not through external mandates, the book focuses on the management responsibilities of the principal and teachers. It draws heavily on the…

Demographic and social changes, increasing economic interdependence, and educational reform movements are causing major changes in vocational education. Essential work force skills and the standards to account for their achievement are being debated. The 1980s'"Excellence Movement" focused on strengthening academic requirements,…