Continuous Improvement in Education

In recent years, 'continuous improvement' has become a popular catchphrase in the field of education. However, while continuous improvement has become commonplace and well-documented in other industries, such as healthcare and manufacturing, little is known about how this work has manifested itself in education.This white paper attempts to map the landscape of this terrain by identifying and describing organizations engaged in continuous improvement, and by highlighting commonalities and differences among them. The findings classify three types of organizations engaged in continuous improvement: those focused on instructional improvement at the classroom level; those concentrating on system-wide improvement; and those addressing collective impact. Each type is described in turn and illustrated by an organizational case study. Through the analysis, six common themes that characterize all three types of organizations (e.g., leadership and strategy, communication and engagement, organizational infrastructure, methodology, data collection and analysis, and building capacity) are enumerated. This white paper makes four concluding observations. First, the three case studies provide evidence of organizations conducting continuous improvement work in the field of education, albeit at different levels and in different ways. Second, entry points to continuous improvement work are not mutually exclusive, but are nested and, hence, mutually informative and comparative. Third, continuous improvement is not synonymous with improving all organizational processes simultaneously; rather, research and learning cycles are iterative and gradual in nature. Fourth, despite being both iterative and gradual, it is imperative that improvement work is planned and undertaken in a rigorous, thoughtful, and transparent fashion

Developing a business improvement strategy based on the EFQM model

The use of the EFQM model and other business excellence models (BEM’s) has been recognised as a way of improving business processes among organisations. The information gathered through self-assessments using these models show the performance of organisations against several model criteria. There is evidence that organisations find it difficult to integrate the information from self-assessments to current business improvement programs or projects. Additionally, it has been claimed that the final reports derived from the deployment of self-assessments are rarely followed up. Thus, despite good efforts and some knowledge gained through the use of BEM’s there is a lack of methods, models, and techniques that effectively integrate the self-assessments with current business improvement strategies. In this context, the effective deployments of BEM’s and follow up activities and plans can contribute to support and develop business improvement strategies. Under this perspective, this paper explores the appropriate methods and techniques than can help to integrate self-assessments outcomes based on the EFQM model into a business improvement strategy. Based on emerging issues derived from an empirical study with twelve European Organisations that have used the EFQM model for more than five years, the paper identifies some of the best practices to integrate self-assessment outcomes with business improvement strategies. It then proposes a framework that can help to accomplish this integration and to mitigate the problems mentioned earlier. The conclusion of this work emphasises the necessity to standardise this process, and to integrate it with current knowledge management projects to store and retrieve the information for future business improvements project

Organizational excellence: approaches, models and their use at Czech organizations

Purpose: The paper brings a set of original information related to analysis and description of the current state in the area of excellence models implementation in Czech organisations. It defines these terms, analyses results of special research in Czech organisations and proposes a comprehensive and generic framework how to achieve the organisational excellence. The principal goal of this paper is to present the main possibilities, benefits, limitations and risks related to the practical use of excellence models in Czech organisations. Methodology/Approach: Brainstorming conferences, field research and relevant data analysis, seminars with quality professionals and other managers, comparative literature analysis and interviews were used to reach the principal goal. Findings: The organisational excellence concept is now widely discussed and implemented throughout the world. Unlike, the real situation in most Czech organizations is rather else. Level of knowledge and overall people awareness related to this concept and various excellence models is very low. This finding supports the assumption that is necessary to change company culture towards never-ending excellence effort in Czech organisations by way of systematic knowledge (including best practices) sharing among all levels of organizations staff. Research Limitation/implication: Special research activities focused on analysis and description of current state in area of excellence models implementation, which was performed on a sample of 321 Czech organisations (with more than 20% response rate). Such level of response rate was seriously influenced by the fact that practical use of various excellence models in Czech organisations is rather limited in present days. However, we can suppose the obtained results should be valid or interesting also for another organization, not only in the Czech Republic. Originality/Value of paper: The paper brings an original set of information from special market research as well as the development of a creative and generic framework of the organisational excellence tailored to Czech organisations. Category: Research paperWeb of Science222644

MBNQA criteria in education: Assigning weights from a Malaysian perspective and proposition of an alternative evaluation scheme

In order to improve quality and productivity among American companies, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) was launched by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the Department of Commerce of US government in 1987. Over the years, the award has been proved to be effective in improving companies’ market share, customer satisfaction, employee morals and also profitability. MBNQA has been a ‘role model’ in developing national quality award for many other countries in the world. Furthermore, for organizational self-assessment, the criteria framework of MBNQA has been in use throughout the world. Presently, the award is offered in three categories: Business, Education, and Health-care. The present paper is concerned with MBNQA in Education. NIST has developed a comprehensive set of criteria to be fulfilled in order to be eligible to win the award. However, in the existing literature, it is not clear how the weights are assigned to the criteria and subcriteria. The present paper uses analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to reassign criteria weights from a Malaysian perspective. Furthermore, the paper points out the fallacy of the present evaluation scheme and proposes an alternative one based upon the absolute measurement procedure of AHP. The modified scheme is expected to enhance the fairness in evaluation of the award aspirants. The paper also shares the experiences gathered in data collection using AHP.Malcolm Baldrige national quality award, total quality management, analytic hierarchy process, evaluation

RESEARCH UPDATES

Includes: Farmers' Markets and Tourism: Some Information About These Customers at a Regional Farmers' Market, by David B. Eastwood and John R. Brooker; Assessing the Extent and Causes of Supermarket Under-Capacity in Low-Income Rural Areas, by Phil Kaufman; Food-System Quality Control and Stage of Distribution, by Garth J. Holloway; A Reaserch Proposal: An Investigation of Quality Strategies Followed by Past Winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and Their Application to the Food Industry, by Robert R. Cangemi and Raymond H. Lopez; Development of a Produce Inventory System for Small Food Retailers: A Case Study, by J. Richard Bacon, Ulrich C. Toensmeyer and Charles Goulston; Speciality Foods Shops Count Customers (Current and Defections), by Forrest StegelinResearch and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

A global study on how the national business excellence (BE) custodians design BE frameworks and promote, facilitate, and award BE in their countries : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at Massey University, Manawatu Campus, New Zealand

Business Excellence (BE) is a philosophy and a collection of BE Frameworks (BEFs) for organisations to follow to achieve excellence in strategies, business practices, and stakeholder-related performance results, to ultimately become the best they possibly can be. This research aimed to investigate the current state of and best practices in designing BEFs and deploying (promoting, facilitating, and awarding) BE on a national and/or regional level. The aim of this research was met through first conducting a systematic review of BE literature followed by collecting data directly from BECs. A mixed methodology and pragmatic philosophy were used in this research, thus collecting and analysing both quantitative and qualitative data. With regards to the participants of the research, 29 BECs from 26 countries undertook a 46-question survey. Of the survey participants, 13 BECs also undertook optional follow-up online structured interviews. It was found that while the BE literature comprises of 415 journal papers, no research covers how BECs support BE in their countries. There are 74 countries and four regions with BE Custodians (BECs) that promote BE within their countries, of which 57 actively hold BE Awards (BEA) with their last award held in 2018 or after. A key finding of this research is that BECs focus more on their BEA activities than their BE promotion and facilitation activities and report low levels of BE awareness and usage levels. A general framework for designing and reviewing a BEF is provided along with recommendations for BECs to improve their BE promotion, facilitation, and award activities. The findings of this research will help the national BECs to better understand their strengths and opportunities for improvement and to learn from other BECs’ practices. This will assist the BECs to better foster a culture of BE in their countries’ organisations that follow or aim to undertake a BE journey (of using a BE and adopting outstanding practices to achieve results) to ultimately benefit all of their stakeholders and lead to improved economic and societal benefits at a national level

Analyzing three quality management systems in relation to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

This paper explores different quality management systems (QMS) and correlates their value in achieving success as measured by the Malcolm Baldrige Award. The three major quality management systems were reviewed, International Organization of Standards (ISO), Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma. Quality management systems are the single most powerful tool that a company can establish to create a sucessful organization

Experiences of senior administrators in creating performance excellence in Thailand\u27s private universities

Higher education in Thailand is challenged with increasing pressures. Like other kinds of organizations, universities have been challenged by external, uncontrollable forces. The increased challenges in Thailand\u27s higher education have prompted senior institutional administrators to understand the nature of higher education institutional affairs, and to articulate new solutions and adapt the business world\u27s operational paradigm in quality management to direct their institutions in allocating their limited resources. The purpose of the study was to discover and make meaning of institutional administrative affairs in private universities in Bangkok, Thailand, as perceived by senior level administrators. A case study methodology with constructivist epistemology was employed for the study. Eight university administrators in four institutions in Bangkok, Thailand were invited to join the individual interviews and focus group. Findings were discovered how institution has addressed and moved on improving excellence in administrative performance. Utilizing Baldrige and ONESQA for their performance excellence development provided a detailed snapshot of the institutional system. Thailand\u27s universities using the quality frameworks to transform their business start with an assessment. Universities need a new understanding of the nature of their quality initiatives system, and a measurement of their improvement. All participants recognized and understood the benefits of the quality frameworks assessment. As a result of the implementation of the SAR reports, universities can produce a roadmap for continuous improvement, and also validate key performance areas, and set a process for improvement

Improving learning center usage verification processes using Six Sigma

The Academic Learning Center at the University of Northern Iowa provides tutoring and advising services to enrolled students at the university. As Iowa legislatures consider performance based funding, having accurate and timely student usage data is imperative for the Academic Learning Center as the data is used in making funding decisions. The purpose of this research is to improve the student usage verification process and increase the accuracy of data collected by a math and science tutoring center located in the Academic Learning Center. An Access database was designed to record and track the math and science tutoring services provided and verify the usage data maintained by the AccuTrack system. The Six Sigma DMAIC methodology was used to improve the verification process and the DMADV method was applied when testing the reliability of the database. The Six Sigma DMAIC process improvement methodology improved the efficiency of the learning center’s AccuTrack verification process. The DMADV methodology is an effective tool for testing the reliability of the new database in verifying the center’s usage data. The cycle time for completing the verification process improved by 63% from an average of 44 days to 16 days. Before the process, the number of errors per report ranged between 25 and 111 with an average of 60 errors per report. After the process was improved, errors per report ranged between 0 and 32 with the average number of errors per report being 8. Applying the Six Sigma techniques can refine existing processes and increase the efficiency of a learning center. Accurate usage data assist in acquiring funding and validating request for increased staffing, expanding services, and evaluating the effectiveness of learning centers. The Six Sigma process improvement techniques have not been applied in a tutoring or learning center. The research validates using the Six Sigma DMADV and DMAIC methodologies in these settings

Driving Strategies in Performance Excellence

Only a small number of U.S. businesses have implemented the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence to improve their performance. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that executive business leaders use to implement the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. The study population consisted of 6 business executives and 2 organizations in the U.S. state of Texas, all with experience in implementing the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. The theory of high performance work systems provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were gathered from interviews and record reviews that were conducted within the organizations. Inductive analysis was used to identify words, phrases, ideas, and actions that were consistent among participants and organizations as well as to identify patterns and themes. Triangulation of sources between the interview and record review data was used for consistency. Three main themes emerged from data analysis: organizational leaders embedded the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence into native work models; they also used robust strategy deployment systems with accountability for action plans to spread the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence; and, rather than specifically create goals to align with the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, they identified actions to reach organizational strategic goals that were created using the Criteria as a business model. Implications for positive social change arising from this study include the potential to increase the number of available jobs by improving overall organizational performance through the increased implementation and use of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence among U.S. organizations