Other topics
What is 'quality'?
Quality as an experience is that which is delightful to the
recipient both now and in the future. It meets expectations (as a minimum),
feels 'natural', is easier, ...
As used in this website 'quality' is an approach
to the 'management of tasks' that helps to
ensure that being part of the school and/or associated with it is a
quality experience because
- things happen easily and well
- people are able to work together well
- actions and responses are based on
reality
- recipients are pleased with the outcomes
- the best outcomes are achieved
- at minimum cost
- with maximum savings
Quality management is a philosophy and a set of practices & tools that make
life better for everyone by focusing on the hopes, needs and purposes of the
people involved (ie, by defining quality) by
improving processes to
makes tasks easier, and
outcomes better
Why 'quality'?
In the everyday sense quality is that which is delightful to the recipient both now and in the future.
Thus 'quality' is a management
strategy that attends to what is delightful to those
involved, both inside and outside the organisation.
While the principles and
practices of quality may not be 'conventional'
they are in fact very natural and scientific.
They are soundly based, they work and they feel
right.
You already have a philosophy and set of
practices. The ones that consistently serve you
and others best are likely to be closely related
to quality.
But what has management got to do with schools, classes and your work in particular?
Everyone is a manager.
You may be a teacher,
school administrator, school services officer,
principal, superintendent ... If so you
are responsible for making sure something
happens or something is achieved. You
sound like a manager.
And what you manage is some kind
of system: it has
purposes, contributors, processes,
beneficiaries, ...
Are you responsible for helping
others do their work? Your staff or students?
Would you like to make it easier for yourself
and others to work well?
Then quality has something to offer you!
Quality has a number of variants all of which focus on the system and its processes. It has also gone through several generations of development
|
Quality Assurance |
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|
Focus/goal |
Reduce variation |
Maximise throughput |
Ensure conformities |
|
Strategy |
Continuous Improvement: |
Identify & elevate constraints |
Specification |
At Riverside Primary School we apply elements of each of the above (and their associated tools) while attending to
- Knowledge, eg, major processes are well known, understood and enacted wisely ...
- Skills, eg, professional development ensures staff have the necessary skills
- Systems, eg, tools, processes, time and other resources are well managed to enable people to undertake the tasks easily & well
- Culture, eg, the School has a culture of shared responsibility, continuous improvement, ...