Hill, C J; Howarth, T A P; McNamara, E T and Watson, P (1997) A TQM approach to construction education. In: Stephenson, P (ed.) Proceedings of 13th Annual ARCOM Conference, 15-17 September 1997, Cambridge, UK.
Abstract
Many organisations in the construction industry have recognised Total Quality Management as a focus for improvement of the process and the product. Client satisfaction and continuous improvement are accepted as positive strategies for the organisations and individuals who make up the industry to adopt. However, it is recognised that the change in philosophy demanded by the adoption of TQM is by no means straightforward. Research projects undertaken at Sheffield Hallam University and The University of Hull have highlighted the learning outcomes approach as a means of formally recognising the demands of the customers of higher education. The learning outcomes approach is proposed as a means of promoting continuous life-long learning in students, and inter alia, continuous improvement in the construction industry. The paper notes that education must be seen as a provider to the construction industry of its main resource: people. The authors propose that the recognition of, and striving for TQM in higher education will enable both a successful HEFCE assessment, and by extension the adoption of TQM in the construction industry.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | education; total quality management; learning outcomes; hefce assessment |
| Index terms: | construction education, client satisfaction, construction industry, learning outcome, total quality management, strategy, continuous improvement, higher education, philosophy |
| Subjects: | evaluation methods, client relations, professional education, educational institutions, philosophical studies, industry analysis, student development, management, performance measurement |
| Topics: | Education, Quality Management, Stakeholder Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here