An empirical study of total quality
management in engineering
educational institutions of India
Perspective of management
Begum Sayeda, Chandrasekharan Rajendran and
Prakash Sai Lokachari
Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
Chennai, India
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the adoption of quality management practices in
engineering educational institutions (EEIs) in India from management’s perspective.
Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was developed based on a literature review of
research in quality management and based on the responses of the pilot survey among the senior
faculty/management. The psychometric properties of this instrument were examined using tests of
reliability and validity. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the impact
of the total quality management (TQM) dimensions on institutional performance (effectiveness).
Findings – Findings highlight 27 critical factors/dimensions of quality management, which
analyzed the relationship between TQM dimensions and institutional performance, which has been
formulated using five dimensions. Positive and significant relationships among the TQM dimensions
and institutional performance have been observed.
Research limitations/implications – Results of the study are dependent on the profile and
number of the respondents, i.e. on the perceptions of the management.
Practical implications – The paper proposes a model for achieving institutional excellence from
the macro perspective of the management. Two critical factors, i.e. healthy innovative practices and
feeder institution partnership have been identified as key enablers in the paper. Institutional
performance (effectiveness), as a holistic construct, has been measured by five measures of
performance, institution reputation and image, infrastructure quality, faculty excellence, research and
industry exposure and stakeholders’ satisfaction. The instrument developed can be used as a
self-assessment tool in continuously measuring the overall performance of the institution’s processes
and systems.
Originality/value – The paper focuses on EEIs. It evolved a holistic framework for institutional
effectiveness and formulated a comprehensive instrument with respect to management’s perceptions
on quality management issues. The paper also identified five critical factors to measure institutional
performance and 27 dimensions of TQM in the context of EEIs.
Keywords Education, Total quality management, Performance management, India
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Services contribute over 80 per cent of domestic gross domestic product (GDP) in the
developed countries; even in the developing world, service sectors are contributing
upwards of 50 per cent of GDP since the turn of the century (Karmakar, 2008).
International trade agreements such as General Agreement on Trade in Services
identified education as a service sector. The fact that World Trade Organization (WTO)
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BIJ
17,5
728
Benchmarking: An International
Journal
Vol. 17 No. 5, 2010
pp. 728-767
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1463-5771
DOI 10.1108/14635771011076461