Total quality management elements and results in higher education institutions. The Greek case
| Date | 03 April 2017 |
| Published date | 03 April 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-08-2015-0033 |
| Pages | 206-223 |
| Author | Evangelos Psomas,Jiju Antony |
| Subject Matter | Education,Curriculum, instruction & assessment,Educational evaluation/assessment |
Total quality management
elements and results in higher
education institutions
The Greek case
Evangelos Psomas
Department of Business Administration of Food and Agricultural Enterprises,
University of Patras, Agrinio, Greece, and
Jiju Antony
School of Management and Languages, Heriot-Watt University,
Edinburgh, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to determine the main total quality management (TQM) elements
adopted and the respective results achieved by higher education institutions (HEIs) in Greece.
Design/methodology/approach –A research study was designed and carried out in private sector
Greek HEIs. Fifteen HEIs were approached through interviews based on a structured questionnaire. The
measured variables of the TQM elements and results identied in the literature were used as the questionnaire
items. Descriptive statistics were applied to determine the TQM elements mostly adopted and the results
achieved by the HEIs.
Findings –According to the ndings, the TQM elements mostly adopted by the Greek HEIs concern the
following: student focus, leadership and top management commitment, strategic quality planning, process
management and teaching staff and employee involvement. On the other hand, the most signicant results
achieved by the sample HEIs concern quality performance improvement, teaching staff and employee
satisfaction, operational performance improvement and the positive impact on society.
Research limitations/implications –The subjective data collection involved chief executive ofcers of
a small sample of HEIs operating in a European Union country. Thus, no advanced statistical methods could
be applied. Based on these limitations, future research studies are recommended.
Practical implications –By focusing on specic TQM elements, an HEI can develop a robust TQM
model, approach business excellence, which can, in turn, help the HEI apply for appropriate quality awards,
and nally derive signicant benets. In doing so, an HEI can lay the foundations for being competitive in the
current global context that is characterised by an economic downturn.
Originality/value –This study contributes to the literature by empirically determining the TQM elements
mostly adopted as well as the respective results achieved by Greek HEIs in a period of economic downturn.
This is the rst research study in the eld of TQM in higher education that has been carried out in Greece in
a period where many service organisations, whether private or public, are making signicant efforts to
withstand the current downturn and achieve a sustainable growth.
Keywords Total quality management, Greece, Higher education institutions
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Higher education institutions (HEIs) operate in an increasingly complex and challenging
environment. Competition has increased, and previously anticipated government funding
has become scarce (Dumond and Johnson, 2013). This is evident in many European countries
and especially in Greece, where an economic downturn and nancial crisis continue to
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0968-4883.htm
QAE
25,2
206
Received 19 August 2015
Revised 28 August 2016
Accepted 17 January 2017
QualityAssurance in Education
Vol.25 No. 2, 2017
pp.206-223
©Emerald Publishing Limited
0968-4883
DOI 10.1108/QAE-08-2015-0033
dominate (Psomas et al., 2013). In such circumstances, HEIs must succeed in a nancial sense
or else they will go out of business (Juhl and Christensen, 2008). So, driven by the struggle to
survive, these organisations are seeking to meet and/or exceed their customers’ expectations
while also focusing on cost reduction and increased efciency (Dumond and Johnson, 2013).
HEIs also cope with the current competitive world by continuously improving their
processes and by providing high-quality education (Venkatraman, 2007). All of these
management practices adopted by HEIs reect the principles of total quality management
(TQM). Literature has provided adequate justication for accepting the philosophy of TQM
in service sectors like education (Thakkar et al., 2006). Indeed, in the dynamic environment of
the world of higher education, TQM seems to be one of the most powerful techniques for
dealing not only with challenges in the market but also with stakeholders (both internal and
external) (Mehta et al., 2014).
The momentum of TQM has been so contagious that, although it started with its roots in
manufacturing, branching off into services and healthcare, it now penetrates government
and education as well (Venkatraman, 2007;Bayraktar et al., 2008;Mehta et al., 2014). A
growing number of universities are embracing TQM for the same reasons that led industry
and government to embrace it: management systems are outmoded and can no longer ensure
success in an increasing competitive world (Aly and Akpovi, 2001). So, to overcome the
current challenges, HEIs have implemented TQM as a way to continuously ensure the
quality of their education provision (Ardi et al., 2012). It is worth noting that TQM has also
found its way into international colleges and universities (Grant et al., 2004). So, many HEIs
in developed countries such as the USA and the UK have tried out TQM (Law, 2010). There
are also several examples of educational organisations in Turkey and Malaysia (Grant et al.,
2004), Sweden and, in fact, all around the world which are performing quality work based on
TQM (Svensson and Klefsj
, 2006). Moreover, a wide variety of educational organisations
internationally (for example, in the USA, Canada, Singapore, the UK, Switzerland, Australia,
Romania and Malaysia) have implemented quality management systems according to the
ISO 9001 standard (Dumond and Johnson, 2013), the principles of which are in line with the
TQM philosophy (Fotopoulos and Psomas, 2010).
However, not all the efforts to implement TQM in higher education have been successful
(Venkatraman, 2007). The TQM-related concepts do not always have a signicant inuence
on the mainstream concepts and practices of educational quality (Law, 2010). This may be
attributable to the fact that there is still no universal consensus on how best to manage
quality within higher education (Becket and Brookes, 2006), and that the borrowing of TQM
ideas from industry for use in education is not always successful (Meirovich and Romar,
2006;Venkatraman, 2007). Moreover, TQM deployment in the education sector is certainly
not an easy process, as several barriers need to be overcome for it to be successful (Rosa et al.,
2001). For example, the unwillingness on the part of academic staff to use the tools and
participate in methods that have been imported from industry must be carefully managed
(Hodgkinson and Kelly, 2007). Bearing this in mind, many researchers from higher
educational institutions are still sceptical about adopting TQM in education (Venkatraman,
2007) and more specically about its appropriateness and suitability (Svensson and Klefsjo,
2006), applicability (Rosa et al., 2001;Meirovich and Romar, 2006;Svensson and Klefsjo,
2006), adaptability and efciency (Konidari and Abernot, 2006).
The applicability of TQM philosophies and theories in the education sector has attracted
the interest of many theorists and practitioners. So a number of studies, both theoretical and
empirical, have been conducted so far (Sahney et al., 2004;Thakkar et al., 2006;Soria-Garcia
and Martinez-Lorente, 2014). However, a literature gap in the eld of TQM in the education
sector still exists. According to Mehta et al. (2014), in the past decade, much has been written
207
Total quality
management
elements
To continue reading
Request your trial