126 Total Quality Management for Schools

Planning for Quality 127

The seven S's

Hard S Strategy can be changed without effort uni.-,s

Structure
Systems

Soft S Staff you have in place the soft s

Skills
Shared values

At this point perhaps we should remind ourselves of the key features of the quality cul-
ture which we are trying to put in place, partly through our quality system, but without 5
which our quality system will certainly fail.
Time (2 to 5 years)

A quality culture 1 = Shock

Management must stop allocating blame 2 = Denial
3 = Strong emotion
Management must lead by example/celebrate success
4 = Frustration
Management must empower people/encourage champions
S = Acceptance
People must be self-directed
6 = Frustration
Middle managers must become coaches and facilitators, not bosses 7 = Experimentation
Customer requirements come first, every time 8 = Fuller understanding
Manage horizontally/flatten the hierarchy 9 = Integration

Figure 10.1 Traneition awe.

If once your quality system is in place, and to your astonishment you find that it is Smarr: Atkinson (1990)

breaking down, these are the reasons why it has happened:

Reasons for failure of a quality programme Now we have seen why we must have a quality programme, and looked at some of the
possible pitfalls of the journey, we can go on to develop a model for a system which might
Fear of the unknown/and of retribution for failure be applied in a school.
Loss of control/security
Personal sense of inadequacy
Past resentments and barriers QUALITY SYSTEMS: A MODEL FOR SCHOOLS
Fear of commitment to more work
Cynicism about top-down reforms A quality system for a school should contain two elements:
Lack of commitment from the top
I. A system to ensure that the organization carries out its function of delivering all
The last of these is the most likely reason for failure. Of course there will be setbacks, as is aspects of 'education services' to its immediate customers — parent and child — and
confirmed by the experience of all organizations who have taken this step forward. its external customers — employers and institutions of higher and further education. It
Leadership commitment from the top is vital at key points on what Atkinson calls the must ensure that every department within the organization is aware of the impera-
'transition curve' (Figure 10.1). tive need to deliver a quality service to all its internal customers.
2. On a second level, the system must be developed to ensure that a consistent
approach is taken by all teachers to the delivery of a quality service to their pupils. It