Research News And Comment: Let the Buyer Beware: Total Quality Management and Educational Research and Practice

P schools appear to be failing the basic educational mandate of any democracy, to provide equitable preparation for, and equal opportunity in, society. A system that holds a far higher likelihood of educational failure for students who typically struggle in school cannot be considered effective, even if some students are experiencing success. This basic failure has led to a cacophony of voices calling for educa­ tional reform. One of the most insistent voices has been from business and industry. In­ dustrial America has found itself in a situation remarkably similar to public education: beset by dissatisfied con­ sumers, accused of producing inferior products, and perceived as being un­ able to right itself without outside assistance. As part of its reformation, American industry has communicated very direct expectations to public educa­ tion in the need for a more competent workforce. The lack of basic skills in the workforce has compelled industry to reeducate employees, at great cost. When industry is forced to reeducate high school graduates in basic work skills, the gnashing of teeth emanating from corporate boardrooms is not dif­ ficult to understand. It is under these national conditions that business and industry have felt compelled to insert themselves into the public education debate. One method that business prescribes for educational reform is known as TQM, or Total Quality Management. TQM methods have been adopted by a diverse cross section of industry (Walton, 1990). It has been touted as the method to lead public education out of its current malaise, much as it resur­ rected industry in Japan and hopes to do in America. In this article, we describe some basic principles of TQM and its application to education. Follow­ ing an analysis of its basic tenets, we share one case example of a principal's experience implementing TQM. Then we draw implications for researchers and practitioners. Summed up in 14 principles, or points, TQM has the absolute and ob­ sessive goal of quality, achieved through a three-way interaction be­ tween the product itself, the way the customer reacts to it, and the service accompanying the product (Deming, 1982,1986). Deming is clear in the need to honor the "voice of the customer," as customer feedback serves as the fun­ damental definition of quality. Only with this feedback can a product be constantly improved. Quality is also defined by a manufacturing process that creates products efficiently, precisely, and cost-effectively, while still guaranteeing customer satisfaction. This convergence of meeting customer needs with an efficient and economical production process defines Deming's notion of quality. Overarching all TQM technique is data collection, statistical procedure, and scientific methods, including Pareto charts, fish-bone diagrams, and scattergrams. Variation in the manufac­ turing process is anathema to TQM, as a highly variable product is less likely to satisfy the customer. Basic methods of data collection and analysis are relied upon to identify, understand, and reduce special and common causes of variation in the production process. The ultimate aim is to use data, not hunches or intuition, to eliminate product varia­ tion, and to render production pro­ cesses in a state of regulated, statistical control. TQM, then, is rooted in the fields of statistics and engineering. It is driven by a philosophy calling for constancy of purpose aimed toward quality. Quality is defined in terms of customer satisfac­ tion and the elimination of variation in the production process. Continuous im­ provement in the production system is the means by which quality is constant­ ly improved. TQM seeks to provide the means to monitor, control, and improve production systems. TQM relies on sys­ tems thinking, customer feedback, worker empowerment, and data-based methods to build quality into the manufacturing process. Many individual schools and entire school districts have embraced TQM and have launched long-term efforts to