SANTHI KRISHNAN (MC 210413570 )

REFLECTION 4

As leaders in education begin to adopt TQM as their operational philosophy, they are
discovering the good news—and the bad news—about TQM. The bad news first: Total Quality
Management is neither a Holy Grail nor a magic silver bullet. TQM cannot be successful if it is
viewed as the flavor of the month or as “our project for this school year.”
The real rewards begin to emerge when TQM ideas and practices become so embedded
in the culture of the organization—the day-to-day work of its people and systems—that it is simply
“the way we do things around here.” Its greatest benefits come about as a natural part of the
evolutionary process of implementing a program of continuous improvement, over time, in a
consistent manner.
The benefits of TQM is People feel better about themselves and their efforts on the job,
and they take greater pride in their work. Relationships among people in the organization are
more honest and open. Administrators often feel less isolated, misunderstood, and burdened.
Productivity goes up, as work processes are improved continuously. With organizational change
come opportunities for personal and professional growth, along with the pride and joy that come
with getting better and better every day, and helping others to do the same.
Although the philosophy of Total Quality Management springs from the world of business,
it transcends the narrow commercial imperatives of increased productivity and profitability. TQM,
at its heart, is dedicated to bringing out the best qualities in ourselves, in others, and in the work
we do together. It is, in many ways, a natural fit with the hopes and aspirations of educational
leaders in their work to improve schools and communities.
Educational organizations around the country—in fact, around the world—are recreating
their work processes, systems of human interaction, mission statements, and their long-term
vision and strategies, all with the tools and philosophy of Total Quality Management.
1. Hungary's first private, teacher-operated secondary school, the
Independent High School of Economics in Budapest, is applying TQM and a process
orientation to its pioneering work with faculty, students, and the community. The school's
efforts to create a new educational context for democratic citizenship has provided a
breath of fresh air in a brand-new republic struggling to understand and catch up with the
post-industrial world. The school's process of development, in which I have been privileged
to participate, focuses on the continuous improvement of all the school community's
citizens. Their motto, “We are for the tadpoles!” reflects the school's profound
understanding of the inherent value of being the best possible tadpole, before becoming
the best possible frog.
2. School leaders in the well-known Total Quality experiment at small public,
residential Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, Alaska, have applied TQM principles and
practices not only to the work of teachers and students in the classroom, but also to the
establishment of a successful student-operated salmon export business with Japan. In
nearby Haines, Alaska, teachers and school board members have also convinced their
superintendent to support TQM throughout the district.
 3. In Erie, Pennsylvania, leaders of the town and the schools have joined
forces to create a communitywide Quality Council to generate a renaissance in all aspects
of citizens' lives. Long the butt of jokes about its stodgy image, Erie recently established
the World Center for Community Excellence as a helping hand to other communities who
would like to implement quality improvement programs.
4. In Glenwood, Maryland, the middle school has instituted New England-
style town meetings for the student body. Before attending the meeting, every student
works in one or more quality circle “S-Teams” with fellow students. S-Team (or Support
Team) is a play on the word esteem. In the teams students discuss how their work,
individually and collectively, can be improved. They pledge specific efforts to help bring
about the planned results in their “house” or grade, or even the entire school. S-Team
projects take the students into the community as well, for public service and town
improvement efforts at nursing homes and hospitals, at home to improve family life, and
at school for campus beautification.11
In neighboring Columbia, Maryland, Wilde Lake High School has practiced a philosophy of
continuous student progress since its inception more than 20 years ago. There is no
failure. Students perfect their school work until they deserve at least a C grade, a practice
that gives the school an exemplary reputation among college admissions officers.
5. At Central Park East School in East Harlem, grades are unknown. Student
projects, demonstrations of learning progress, and descriptive evaluations of students'
work, have—with strong administrative leadership and vision—contributed to the creation
of a Total Quality culture in a challenging environment.
6. Redwood Middle School in Napa, California, is solving its problems of an
unwieldy (and growing) population and concomitant tendencies toward impersonalization
by creating cohort groups of teachers and students. Teachers are given time every day to
meet in their groups, to discuss the progress of students, to monitor their individual and
collective learning processes, and to plan learning opportunities for students based on
analysis of diagnostic data. Learning at Redwood is a team project.
7. In Virginia's Rappahannock County schools, TQM training has paid off in
virtually every aspect of the district's functioning. Report cards have been designed by a
parent-teacher-student team. Serious disciplinary problems on bus runs have been solved
as a result of the efforts of a Quality Improvement Committee, composed of parents, bus
drivers, the transportation supervisor, administrators, and students. In addition, results of
districtwide customer satisfaction surveys have shown remarkable gains in the three years
since the district began implementing Total Quality principles and practices.
8. Quality-conscious companies such as Corning Incorporated are actively
supporting Total Quality transformation in the schools in their communities. The Koalaty
Kid Program, brainchild of the spirited staff of Carder Elementary School in Corning, New
York, is now vigorously supported by Corning Incorporated, the community's chief
employer, and by the American Society for Quality Control. The presence of their mascot,
the Koala, throughout the school and in assemblies celebrating the continuous
improvement of students, is a constant reminder that every kid is a Koalaty Kid. The
program, says David Luther of Corning Incorporated, “is based on the assumptions that
children want to learn in acceptable ways and will make a real effort to do so if the
 environment they're in promotes their self-esteem and stimulates their desire to achieve
attainable goals.” The program works, adds Luther, because it “is a systematic process for
achieving the desired outcome and for continuous improvement.”12
9. The Arlington Independent School District in Texas has united the
community to recreate their school system as “an open organization that actively listens
to customers and employees and then acts positively upon what it learns. Our
communication process will be marked by courtesy, responsiveness, and follow-through.”
The key to success will be the implementation of a districtwide vision as a “total quality
school district permeated with a commitment to continuous improvement throughout the
organization.”
all this sounds good and you would like to promote Total Quality in your schools, it's
important to know in advance some of the potential pitfalls and obstacles.
10. Total Quality is a long-term commitment to a different way of perceiving,
thinking, and acting. “Quality First” will become your way of life at work, at home, and in
the community. Without such a transformation, TQM will be just another project to do
while you wait for the next hot item of salvation to come down the pike.
11. Workers, acting alone, cannot create a Total Quality organization. The top
leadership must acquire the resources, inspire the troops (especially when the going gets
tough), and, most important, demonstrate openly and decisively an ongoing personal
commitment to Total Quality Management and its application to the continuing
improvement of schools and their people.
12. Training is essential if the meaning of Total Quality is to transcend the level
of buzzwords. Businesses that have experienced success implementing TQM can provide
guidance and training. However, their focus and mindsets are often attuned to a world
holding different values and practicing different norms than those of educators. Therefore,
schools must invest resources in training by educators who can build bridges of linguistic
and conceptual understanding between business and education.
13. Know, before you start, that the road to Total Quality in any “learning
organization” is not a smooth path. No magic plan, externally applied, will assure an
efficient or painless process. Outside experts can show you models, teach you useful tools,
and offer encouragement, but they cannot and should not do the work of transformation
for you. A “yearning for learning” comes, ultimately, from within the individual and within
the organization.
14. Take a pledge, personally and with your colleagues, before you begin your
Total Quality transformation, to help and support one another throughout the ongoing
process of improvement, no matter what! Make the principle of kaizen one that works in
your own life, and help the people with whom you work to do the same. Above all, don't
give up! When does it all end? As Deming says: “Forever!”
A decade after the publication of A Nation At Risk, educators today have the opportunity to
combine efforts with each other, with business and government leaders, and with all stakeholders
in our common future. We must transform our Nation at Risk into a Nation of Quality, beginning
with the creation of Schools of Quality.
References
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