Developing measures for performance excellence: is the Baldrige criteria sufficient for performance excellence in higher education?

The implementation of the education criteria for performance excellence (ECPE)—the education version of the Baldrige criteria—is driven by the growing need for performance excellence in higher education. Ironically the criteria meant for performance excellence have no theoretical underpinning and are based on normative performance improvement requirements. The lack of content and internal validity is reflected in some critical weaknesses in the criteria. Based on a critical review, this paper highlights potential improvements in the areas of aligning processes with the organisational mission, operations focus, customer focus, workforce focus, and performance measurement. To help enhance the ECPE, the paper develops performance measures for systematic implementation of the criteria. This is discussed in terms of defining desired outcomes, developing key measures, identifying specific indicators to track performance, and choosing methods to assess performance. The discussions provide a basis for future revisions to the ECPE.

[1]  Mohammed Arif,et al.  Baldrige Theory into Practice: A Working Model. , 2004 .

[2]  A. Seetharaman,et al.  Critical Success Factors of Total Quality Management , 2006 .

[3]  Peter Galbraith,et al.  Systems thinking: a missing component in higher educational planning? , 1999 .

[4]  Veli Deniz,et al.  Quality Function Deployment in Education: A Curriculum Review , 2005 .

[5]  J. Dean,et al.  MANAGEMENT THEORY AND TOTAL QUALITY: IMPROVING RESEARCH AND PRACTICE THROUGH THEORY DEVELOPMENT , 1994 .

[6]  D. Houston.  TQM and Higher Education: A Critical Systems Perspective on Fitness for Purpose , 2007 .

[7]  D. Houston,et al.  Rethinking quality and improvement in higher education , 2008 .

[8]  Lori S. Cook,et al.  Using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in Teaching: One Criteria, Several Perspectives* , 2004 .

[9]  M. Ligarski,et al.  Appraisal of lecturers for the assessment of the quality of post-graduate studies , 2009 .

[10]  Harry V. Roberts,et al.  Academic initiatives in total quality for higher education , 1995 .

[11]  Stanislav Karapetrovic,et al.  Perennial self‐audit: model and applications , 2003 .

[12]  M. Alonso‐Almeida,et al.  International quality awards and excellence quality models around the world. A multidimensional analysis , 2012 .

[13]  M. Cruickshank,et al.  Total Quality Management in the higher education sector: A literature review from an international and Australian perspective , 2003 .

[14]  Shun-Hsing Chen,et al.  A performance matrix for strategies to improve satisfaction among faculty members in higher education , 2011 .

[15]  James R. Evans.  Critical Linkages in the Baldrige Award Criteria: Research Models and Educational Challenges , 1997 .

[16]  Abdul Raouf,et al.  Setting the course for quality assurance in higher education , 2013 .

[17]  E. Aspinwall,et al.  Quality function deployment: An empirical study in the UK , 2001 .

[18]  K. Cameron,et al.  ORGANIZATIONAL QUALITY: An Examination of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Framework , 1998 .

[19]  Mete Sirvanci.  Critical issues for TQM implementation in higher education , 2004 .

[20]  Michael J. Ellenbecker,et al.  Indicators of sustainable production: framework and methodology , 2001 .

[21]  Shun-Hsing Chen.  The establishment of a quality management system for the higher education industry , 2012 .

[22]  Khaled A. Alshare,et al.  The Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence Framework , 2006 .

[23]  R. Ball,et al.  The use and abuse of performance indicators in UK higher education , 1994 .

[24]  Barbara B. Flynn,et al.  Relevance of Baldrige constructs in an international context: A study of national culture , 2006 .

[25]  Jack Meredith Et Al.  Operations Management , 2013 .

[26]  Joseph A. Petrick,et al.  What Higher Education Should Be Teaching About Quality – But Is Not , 1998 .

[27]  L. J. Porter,et al.  Identification of the Critical Factors of TQM , 1996 .

[28]  Gavriel Meirovich,et al.  The difficulty in implementing TQM in higher education instruction: The duality of instructor/student roles , 2006 .

[29]  Ana B. Escrig-Tena,et al.  An empirical assessment of the EFQM Excellence Model: Evaluation as a TQM framework relative to the MBNQA Model , 2009 .

[30]  Stanislav Karapetrovic,et al.  Audit and self‐assessment in quality management: comparison and compatibility , 2001 .