Quality

The significance of quality assurance and quality development has continuously risen in recent years, particularly also in the field of education. This does not mean, however, that institutions had not been providers of high quality education beforehand. What is new is the use of special instruments and procedures by which quality can be “managed”. These quality management systems originally stem from industry and economics, where they have been strategically employed ever since the 1950s.

After the planning and implementation of relevant initiatives in the area of higher education (e.g. www.enqa.eu), since Copenhagen, in 2002, the topic is being much discussed also for the field of vocational education and training.

Quality Management: Lines of Development

In contrast to the area of education, quality management systems in enterprises look back on a longer tradition. Whereas at the beginning the focus was on product quality, and quality assurance was restricted to the final control of products, in the course of time, process-oriented approaches became more prominent. Thus, the whole process of creating a product moved into the spotlight. Extending the “process-oriented” approach to an organisation as a whole finally leads to quality management.

Among the most important approaches in the area of quality management are the theories and proposals put forward by the American physicist, statistician and pioneer in economics Edward William Deming. He defines quality management as a task, which does not only affect particular areas, but an enterprise or an organisation as a whole. Thus, the organisation as a whole needs to put quality into practice. One of his central postulations is the continuous improvement process. The respective quality management system needs to make sure that the quality of the respective products and services is being continuously improved.

The Deming Circle (or PDCA Circle) illustrates this process of continuous improvement:

The PDCA Circle, as a universal model for quality improvement, is still prevailing. It consists of four phases, which need to be understood as a continuous process that does not end:

Plan: At this stage measures for quality improvement, e.g. on the basis of a work programme, are developed.
Do: The planned measures are put into practice in the organisation.
Check: The measures are evaluated.
Act: On the basis of the results of the previous stage, corrective and/or improvement measures are introduced and new goals defined if necessary.
 
Building on Deming’s results, Ishikawa (Japan) developed the Company-Wide Quality Control concept, which focuses on better integrating the staff of a company or an organisation into the framework of quality management. This meant the beginning of one of the first Total Quality Management approaches, which can be seen as the most comprehensive quality strategies for companies and other organisations.