A study of integrated total quality management practice in engineering educational institutions

Abstract

Quality takes the pivotal role in the present competitive business environment all over the world. Needless to say, India, particularly Tamilnadu, has also embraced the quality concept, not only in business and industrial products but also in technical education. The mushrooming of engineering institutions in Tamilnadu has resulted in an enormous number of technical graduates, quality technical education being necessary for the survival of the institution and the delivery of quality engineers. Quality technical education will certainly boost the ability to face competition and improve quality in every sphere of business. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comparative study of the integrated total quality management concept as practised in technical institutions in Tamilnadu from the perspectives of faculty, students and stakeholders. This research has focused on 50 engineering educational institutions randomly chosen from two zones of the affiliated institutions of Anna University, Chennai, India. Data obtained from a survey of 750 samples including engineering faculty members, students and common stakeholders were analysed. Based on a comparative analysis, recommendations have been made. The results of this study can also be applied internationally in institutions of professional learning.

Keywords:

• ISO 9001:2000
• Six-Sigma (DMAIC methodology)
• TQM
• ITQM
• engineering institutions

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the secretary and the director of SACS MAVMM Engineering College, Madurai, India, for providing research facilities and specially thankful to the reviewers for their valuable suggestions for improving the technical content of this paper.