Quality Management and the University: A deafening clash of metaphors?

Abstract

Quality Management in various forms has been applied to the problem of maintenance and improvement of academic quality. However, key questions remain unresolved including the definition of academic quality and the applicability and transferability of key quality management concepts into educational organisations. Total Systems Intervention (TSI) is a critical systemic methodology for problem-solving in complex organisations. It in part uses the concept of metaphor to explore the relationship between organisations and problem-solving approaches. Participants in a university may hold images of the organisation which are not compatible with those underpinning Quality Management. Potentially there is a 'deafening clash of metaphors'. Initial observations from the research indicate that quality management is built on unitary images of organisations, while participants see the university as pluralist and, in some cases, coercive.