PERSPECTIVES OF TOTAL QUALITY IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Dr. R. Gopalakrishnan and Ms. S. D. Uma mageswari

I Dr. R. Gopalakrishnan

Emeritus Professor

Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering,

RMK Engineering College, Kavaraipettai, Thiruvallur Dt.

rg_krishnan2k@yahoo.com

II S.D. Umamageswari

Asst. Professor

Department of Management Studies

RMK Engineering College

s_d_uma@yahoo.com.
 PERSPECTIVES OF TOTAL QUALITY IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

ABSTRACT

Quality has become a buzzword in every walk of life. Slackness in maintaining

quality has been proved to result in definite failure. It has become imperative that

every individual acquires a fairly good knowledge on quality improvement

methodologies to be successful in life. Because of this, all universities in India are

introducing Total Quality Management as a subject in their undergraduate and

postgraduate curriculum. A curriculum bereft of quality ethics, environment and

entrepreneurship is considered to be inconsummate.

There is a plethora of books available on various topics related to TQM and in

general, on quality but each one of them has a different focus. A lot of research is

being done and many authors have contributed in this direction to supplement the

books and classroom teaching. Major development programmes are also being

incorporated for the benefit of engineering college teachers as well as practicing

engineers to enhance their knowledge about TQM.

The present paper deals with some of the important topics in relevance to

implementation of TQM methodologies in engineering education.

Key words : Quality, Education, TQM.

Introduction

In the late 1950’s, Dr. W.E. Deming propounded the techniques of TQM (1). While

the U.S did not readily accept his ideas, Japan heartily agreed to implement them for

its recovery and rehabilitation from the scourges of World War II. In consequence of

implementation, the derogatory usage of words ‘Made in Japan’ had no further

currency. In 1980’s, US industries realized the efficacy of TQM and particularly

Motorola and Federal Express, which were failing in business earlier, became world

leaders in selling after the implementation of TQM principles. Besides business

houses, several schools and colleges are now using TQM to improve their

administration. For example, Oregon State University a few years back implemented

TQM philosophy in their management activities and achieved tremendous success(2).

In 1988 US Air Force Academy had attempted to use the principles of TQM for the

improvement of its curriculum and designed several courses based on TQM. Many of

the courses that the cadets took were relevant to the graduate requirement (3). These

became immensely palatable to the students and consequently the quantitative

measures of their performance and assimilation of the subject showed significant

increase.

The purpose of this paper is not to rehash the details but make some observations

based on experience that can be applied to similar situations prevailing in any

institution.
 1. Application of TQM principles

For any successful implementation, there must be universal endorsement particularly

from the management at the top without which the whole effort would become

infructuous. The management must be aware of and convinced about the efficacy of

the effort.

In our case, we had the unstinted support from the management and the college

administration. It is also important to obtain the acceptance from the students as well

as those higher in the chain of administration. The students are made to take active

part and in so doing they are being taught the fundamentals of TQM. Fortunately

TQM is prescribed by the University as a core course in the curriculum to be taught at

the fourth year of BE/ B.Tech courses at present.

The next step in the implementation strategy is to identify the customers (or) stack

holders. In the context of an industrial application, the customers are the purchasers

of the product / service, suppliers, contractors etc. In the university / college setting,

there can be many customers such as students, the employers of the graduates coming

out successfully from the college, parents of students, the tax payers, the entire

society which gets the benefits from the graduates etc. But we identify students and

employers of our students as our primary customers.

It is not uncommon for university/college to address the needs of the industry in

curriculum development. Students are usually treated more as a product than as a

customer. Many of the current problems stem from the fact that we try to satisfy a
remote body than satisfy the most immediate customers like students. Thus all the

concerned participants must be identified and the relevant importance of each

participant should be established.

Fig.1. Internal customers in an educational institution

 Society
Government

College Funding
Parents
Agencies

Industries

Fig. 2. External customers for an educational institution

Taking a systems approach to education can be a very useful endeavour. If the

student is identified as one of the customers, you must try to satisfy that customer by

knowing what his real wants are. These can be elicited from him personally. The

customers must be able to state in proper terms what they really need. But we must

be sure that we are satisfying their real long-term needs and not the short term desires.

2. Deming’s Quality framework

Deming’s system of profound knowledge applied to engineering education:

Deming emphasizes that the prevailing style of management must undergo transformation. A

system of profound knowledge provides a map of theory by which to understand the

organizations that we work in. The first step is transformation of an individual viz. student,
teachers, management personnel, librarians, office personnel etc. The individual transformed

will have a new perception of his/ her teaching and learning process. The transformed

student/teacher will set an example in his community, will be a good listener and help the

fellow students in their studies. To achieve this Deming advocated four essentials:

1. Appreciation of the system: understanding the overall education process involving

internal customers (teacher and office personnel) and external customers (students.

Parents, recruiting organizations etc.)

2. Knowledge of variation: The knowledge on the causes of variation in the education

process (reduction in pass percentage, failure to achieve the targeted results, the

placement activities etc.)

3. Theory of knowledge: the concepts explaining theory.

4. Knowledge of psychology : Concepts of human nature (student psychology,

employee satisfaction )

The list of 14 points of Deming is used here as a checklist for the implementation of

TQM into an educational process which differs from the manner in which it is applied

to a business or industrial institution, through the general pattern remains the same.

Each of these points can be applied for administration of the college and the

curriculum. The suggestions given below are most representative so that one can

think of implementation of TQM to any unique situation.

Create constancy of purpose

Prepare a mission statement as applicable to a university / college. This may read

as ‘ to develop the skills, attitudes and motivation in our students so that they will
 become responsible citizens and be capable of making positive contributions to

the society.’ The mission statement for an engineering college may be ‘to

develop the sills, attitudes and motivation in our students so that they will perform

in a technically competent, socially responsible and ethical manner as engineers

entrusted with the safety and comfort of their clients. The one given in the box is

an example which is most appropriate for a technical institution.

Mission

To foster quality technical and higher education, research and training in

rural areas in various braches of science and technology.

To inculcate among the youth a sense of discipline so that they can be

moulded into competent and talented engineers.

To render philanthropic and educational service to Telugu linguistic

people living in rural areas bordering Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

It is not a trivial matter to develop a mission statement. It explicitly tells us why

the organization exists. Next step is to develop the departmental mission

statement, which depends on the college mission, which in turn on the University

mission. This is not a mere statement but means that everyone in the organization

(not only the staff and administration but every employee) must know how they

can contribute to the mission. If a certain process or position does not add value

or does not contribute to the mission, then it should be eliminated.

Adopt a new philosophy

Quality must be insisted on everything – lecture in a classroom, service in the library

or bookstore, maintenance and upkeep rest rooms play fields, interactions with

parents and visitors. An atmosphere of co-operation must prevail at every level,

student to student, student to faculty etc. Instead of being at loggerheads, and

questions like ‘what can we, the staff, do to make the learning process better?’, ‘what

can we, the teacher and the taught, do to ensure better opportunities for acquisition of

more knowledge?’

Involvement of the Management is the fundamental requirement in adopting new

philosophy of quality in engineering education. The principles of quality education must

percolate to all the levels of the institution.

Cease reliance on mass inspection

In the educational context, it has been felt that a bad, failed student is something like

a scrap that must be reworked (to take the course again) or discarded. Develop the

processes in which there is lesser stress on testing and more focus on the process of

learning. There should be a optimum number of tests to evaluate the student. At

present there are too many checks prescribed by the university. Can we reduce the

need for inspections? Attention on smaller groups and individual attention are

advisable for teaching – learning process. The purpose of education must be understood.

The quality principles are not just for the sake of inspection but for the improved customer

satisfaction. Hence continuous improvement and continuous monitoring should be made

mandatory.
End the practice of conducting business based on price / cost alone.

In all our processes, we need to focus on long-term costs and benefits. Those courses,

which have long-term value, should be offered and not those new courses which have

short term benefits. The representation made from the concerned colleges should be

brought to the notice of the university in this regard.

Continuously improve the production and service

It is pertinent to assess the improvement in the process periodically. What is the

progress achieved this semester over the last semester? Whether the faculty members

are happier? Are the students happier? If the answer is affirmative, determine the

factors responsible for this process and improve upon these processes to make them

better. If the answer is no, find out why and take remedial measures to rectify.

Incremental improvements must be effected every semester. This is exactly the

philosophy of KAIZEN (which means gradual orderly and continuous improvement

requiring no capital investment but time and effort of every employee in the

organization right from the management). Encourage innovation but insist upon

incremental improvements after innovation (fig. 3). Seek for places where one can

improve. Use course grades, performance reports, students’ critiques, complaints etc.

for effecting improvements. The PDCA cycle ‘plan, do, check, act/analyze’ can be

used to improve quality and productivity (fig.4) (5, 6)

Desired Future New Future

Status Status

New
quality Quality

Current state New current state Fig.3

Act / Analyse Plan

Check
Do

Fig.4
Direct discussion with students about their problems will have a salutary effect. This

they will appreciate since it lessens the ‘you versus me’ attitude.

Institute training appropriate to the job

Faculty may be well educated in their disciplines but may not be well versed in the art

of teaching. Faculty development programs help teachers to acquire new knowledge.

Word processing classes help administrative staff to do their job better. Money spent

on faculty improvement programs has a long term payback. TQM must be taught to

everyone – faculty, staff and students. Emulate the Japanese attitude towards

refresher training. Japanese yearn to learn continuously on every issue/technique

related to their work.

Institute leadership

Emphasize leadership in everyone since this quality is a corollary of managing

without fear. Every person having a supervisory role (including the staff) should try

to be a coach and teacher and not a judge. According to Senge (7), a leader should be

a designer and a creator of an environment. A leader transcends the barrier to

communication and productivity. An effective teacher-leader, for example, would

immediately act in such a way that an ill-lit classroom gets proper lighting enabling

the students to read and write. An engineer-leader should be able to help people,

machines, and gadgets to do a better job.

Drive out fear so that every one may work effectively for the organization
A sense of security and freedom from fear will enable a person to work freely and

effectively and turnout best performance. In an academic scenario, fear engulfs both

students and teachers. Students are afraid of securing low marks in sessionals because

of absence from periodical tests and bad performance in examinations. Allowing for

make-up exams, dropping of a low grade mark, reworking of missed problems and

resubmission of assignments would offset their fear. Teachers have to balance their

roles as educators and evaluators. Often the teachers feel that their job is to teach and

educate their students, but, the length of time they spend on evaluation tends to

contradict this view. Some of the effective steps that can be taken are suggested below

based on Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), which is a proactive tool, used to

foresee the probable failures that can occur at a later stage so that they can be

prevented.

• Teaching should be made more interesting to the students.

• Wherever possible students should be made to ‘do and learn’ rather than ‘hear

and learn’.

• Give a few easy tests sot that they gain confidence and

• Use innovative methods such as presentations in seminars by students,

involvement in the organization of workshops etc.

As regards the faculty, fear plays a major role. Very few people will be willing to

take the risk of adopting a novel teaching technique because of failure and adverse
criticism. If the teacher were allowed to have a try, certainly some valuable technique

might have emerged. Even if the trial ends up in a failure, the teacher should be

applauded. Further fear of the faculty can be overcome by

• Being friendly to the students

• Avoiding a showoff attitude and

• Having an interaction with them, now and then, during non- academic and

extracurricular activities, in informal meetings and outings etc.

Breakdown barriers between departments

This would mean cooperation and not competition. Too much of

compartmentalization is not healthy for the progress. Cross-functional teams must be

encouraged to address problems and process improvements. Multi disciplinary teams

of faculty and students will have a broader perspective in tackling problems more

effectively. Bringing everyone into a decision-making body would result in a better

solution palatable to all.

Eliminate slogans and exhortations

Deming points out,’ exhortations only create adversarial relationships as the bulk of

causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond

the power of work force’. Without a means to achieve it, a goal should not be stated.

Mere words and slogans do not mean any concrete realization of a goal. Management

must provide the needed infrastructure so that goals can be achieved. Stating a goal is

one thing and its realization is another. To state 80% is the minimum acceptable
score on an examination will not by itself achieve that goal. Efforts must be taken by

way of concerted coaching and arranging for extra help and facilities like study

materials, books, audio visual aids, numerical exercises, viva voce, test etc.

Eliminate numerical quota

As per Deming’s ideas, a worker should not be subjected to a targeted quota since he

can work only to the maximum the system permits. On the industrial side, this

principle is obvious on the academic side and not so obvious however it is true. This

would turn out a lower quality product. Hence priority must be given to quality and

only after quality is assured should the questions of quantity be addressed.

Remove barriers to pride of workmanship

This is an innate quality of any living being to be proud of an innovation or an

achievement. In the academic setting, pride may spring from the personal or group

achievements. There is a good deal of pride in the institution as well. Often this

institutional pride stems from the achievement of a developmental program. When

the students are included in some of the decision-making bodies they will develop a

strong sense of pride. A step as simple as talking to student representative on a

contentious issue or a developmental program can entirely transform an antagonistic

stalemate into an amicable settlement between students or faculty and students and

administration. Similarly barriers between departments and colleges should be

eliminated so that each professor may learn a lot from another department.

Involvement of all in the organization:

This is very much necessary because everyone must be aware of and concerned about

his or her “immediate customer”. For example, the lab in-charges and technicians

who sit in the practical courses must participate and contribute their best for the

proper running of the course. Their support contributes to the mission. Similarly the

secretaries and office administration staff when involved are sure to play crucial role

and suggest improvements to the processes. Faculty members who learn about TQM

are likely to endorse the concept and suggest improvements. One cannot predict just

what a pride of knowledge will spark the idea that will lead to an important process

improvement. Improvement in quality is everybody’s job.

Management’s responsibilities to make it happen

This aspect is of prime importance and the management at every level particularly at

the top must take keen interest and show pride in adopting the TQM techniques. All

the 14 points must be very clear to all involved. The time and effort spent forms the

foundation for all the TQM implementation.

Deming chain reaction:

Improve the quality of education ------ improved infrastructure -------- improved

teaching /learning process --------- higher employability --------- Satisfied

customers ---- survival ------- provides jobs and more jobs

Deadly diseases:
According to Deming the attainment of total quality in an organization is postponed or

hindered due to the following reasons which he calls as deadly diseases.

1. Lack of constancy of purpose: The purpose of education is knowledge oriented.

Students are to be taught practically with real life examples. Perfect correlation

between the theory and practical should be established. Most of the educational

institutions fail to do this.

2. Emphasis on short term profits: Neglecting long range planning is another

hindrance. Institutions work based on the academic results and the overall

development of students is often sidelined.

3. Annual review of performance: Examinations and the marks obtained cannot be the

scale of measurement of knowledge and potential of a student.

4. Running an organization on visible figures alone: The pass percentages, results

alone cannot be the measure of success of any institution.

5. Excuses such as ‘Our problems are different”: Being an educational institution,

management always gives the above excuse.

3. Application details of the principles of TQM to an educational institution

The above mentioned points are of general nature and a careful study is necessary for

applying these to a specific case. No two cases can have same TQM application

methodology since they involve different factors such as size of the institution,

whether it is a public or private and the strength of the people involved.(other crucial

aspects are degree of maturity of the students and involvement of the employer).
The application of TQM principles is possible for different grades of an institution

such as school, college and training institute etc., but the implementation of TQM will

depend on the relative weight age assigned to each of the customers at different levels

of education depending upon maturity of students and other considerations as well.

As the maturity of the students increases, the students replace the parents as the most

important customer. In a training organization the employer who requires the trained

personnel is the most important customer.

However, it is essential that students must be included in the list of customers for any

Educational setting. The relative importance values of customers in the various

educational organizations are shown in fig. 5.

School College Training

Parents Students Employer Parents Students Employer Parents Students employer

 Fig .5 Relative customer importance

4. Conclusion

In the context of educational processes, TQM can be a powerful tool like what can be

achieved in the industrial manufacturing processes. However the factors necessary to

achieve this goal are:

• Support from everyone in the chain of supervision

• Recognition of all the important customers

• Attention on the refinement of the processes and

• Judicious use of Deming’s 14 points during implementation stage.

This would surely end up in a rewarding result, efficient operation, and harmonious,

co-operative, teamwork situation between students, staff and work force.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge their grateful thanks to the management and

authorities of the R.M.K. Engineering College for providing facilities and permission

for publication of this work.

References

Books :

1. Walton M(1986). The Deming Management method ,Perigee Books, New

York.

2. Imai M (1986) , “Kaizen” ,McGRawHill, New York

3. Subburaj R (2004) , “Total Quality Management” Tata McGraw-Hill, New

Delhi.

Journals :

4. Coate L F, Total Quality Management at Oregon State University, Oregon

State Univeristy, Corvallis, OR, and March 1992.

5. Green R S and Winn R C; Applying of TQM to Engineering Education,

Proc. Of the ASEE, Toledo, OH, July 1992.

6. Sugathi L and Samuel A A, Total Quality Management (Prentice Hall of

India, New Delhi), 2004.

7. Senge P, The Fifth Discipline (Doubleday, New York, N Y) 1990.

8. Deming, W. Edwards, Out of the crisis, MIT Press (1986).