Implementation of ( TQM ) in the Faculty of Planning & Management at Al-Balqa Applied University

The purpose of the research is to identify the requirements for the implementation of Total Quality Management(TQM) in the Faculty of Planning and Management at Al-Balqa Applied University, Assalt, Jordan, analyzingeach of these requirements and how those fit in the faculty that leads to upgrade quality performance of theUniversity in general and the faculty in particular.The paper defines (TQM) as a philosophy of organizations, improves organizational performance andadministrative systems. The overall objective of this paper is to highlight the general principles and requirementsof (TQM) and to point out how this approach can be used to improve the quality of the academic institution.The research main finding include: the adoption of (TQM) as a modern approach still limited in the Arabcountries, particularly at higher education institutions. Teamwork, continuous improvement, integratedcoordination, creativity and innovation are the bases of (TQM) philosophy. The competent administrativeleadership is the backbone for implementing (TQM) methodology.


Introduction
Administrative traditional Patterns are no longer useful methods for higher education institutions, since the current stage of life in the world are rapidly evolving and changing, which makes the task of the Universities and Colleges in the society more difficult than before.Universities and Colleges should pursue this new development but must be preceded to the right direction for the benefit of humanity.(Suleiman, 1979) To meet economic, social and cultural challenges require flexible organizational structures and an implementing trend of modern management approach characterized by flexibility, portability and the ability to take advantage of modern culture.In order to meet these responsibilities, there are many challenges facing an institution, including diverse demands for scarcity of material and human resources.the University should change reality of the educational system that include content, methods, techniques and introducing models suitable to the changes around them.And overcome the challenges imposed on it, especially traditional structures which academic institutions can not respond to modern developments, so it's necessary to introduce the most useful methods for quality.Failure to adopt modern management techniques by the Universities, which proved achieving the desired results, such as total quality management (TQM) philosophy, is a case that worth making research, study and analysis to arrive at a mechanism of action enable these institutions to adopt this modern management approach.

Theoretical background 1.Concept of quality
The concept of Quality Management is considered as one of modern management approach based on a set of ideas and principles that can be applied to any institution to achieve the best possible performance, improve productivity, increase profits and improve the Organization's reputation in domestic and external markets.
The concept of quality has been changed following the development of management science with new dimensions (Daradkeh and Shibli, 2002).Management researchers and scholars have argued on the definition of (TQM) based on their cultural back ground and philosophy.Therefore, it is a management philosophy, strategic approach and mean of change aimed to transfer modern organizations to patterns of thought and action fits with environment and modern future requirements (Dagher, 2001).
1.1.2The adoption of (TQM) in higher education institutions The adoption of TQM in higher education has many reasons and motives as follows:-• Costs: A low level of spending in higher education makes Colleges seek control of cost.(TQM) is a mean of tools and principles to control costs during service (Decosmo, 1991).Expenditure on education is increased, and must be linked to benefit return which is to undertake the role of actual developmental contribute to the advancement of civilization through the quality of performance (Ibrahim, 2001).
CompetitionϩCornesky, 1994:1 ( Colleges and Universities should keep up with student's loyalty (Sims and Sims, 1995).Also they have a strong competition as each institution seeks to attract the largest possible number of students through compliance with international standards.The College's overall survival is accomplished by meeting the best needs for students and society.The adoption of (TQM) enhances credibility to meet the requirements of the College's performance which leads to improve its competitive position among other similar academic institutions (Cornesky, 1994).
Quality of higher education and reliability Now days Governments are keen to assess the quality of higher education more than ever and trying to apply quality and reliability more widely to develop the society and realizing that (TQM) is achieving high level of quality for the development of the higher education institutions.
Service directives after it was the concerned of planners and beneficiaries, Public participation in restructuring public institutions provides better service by adopting quality standards.the standard of educational quality , regardless of its nature, is the criterion capable of showing the value of quality that characterize educational service provided for students, namely: acts of education (teaching and learning processes and evaluation), education environment (policies, laws ,relations, models and expectations ) and educational content such as knowledge, skills, values (Wahbe, 2003).Colleges have to work on students preparations for the real world, which affirm continuous change of the work (Sims and Sims, 1995).
1.1.3The contents of (TQM) in higher education Morgan & Murgatroyd, 1997:420 The most important application of TQM in higher education is the beneficiary satisfaction, desires and aspirations, as in this case, students are the beneficiaries (Morgan and Murgatroyd, 1997).Sims, 1995:132 ( Therefore, the satisfaction is the crucial factor in the success of the higher education institutions and student satisfaction and development must be the focal point in all practices of (TQM) (Sims and Sims, 1995).Students' contribution were excluded in the past for planning educational process, however, contemporary trends such as (TQM), which confirms that significant gains through the involvement of undergraduate students in institutional planning enable them to explore new ideas.Scientific experiments have proved that involvement of students would achieve added benefits for faculty members and students, as well as the involvement of faculty and administrative staff in the development of the College.2001 -37 (Saeed, 2001).Universities and Colleges should focus on the following aspects: Full absorption of the beneficiaries, s needs and requirements using feedback for the sake of the continuity's development.
Connecting the students needs with educational process design at the higher education institutions.
• Cooperation and interaction between students and faculty members through an exchange of experiences, advice and assistance system.
•Measure the satisfaction of students and faculty members on the College service through the adoption of comparison criteria between the concerned College's output and other similar Colleges (Abu Nabaa and Massad, 2000).
The integration of employees of the College and University plays an important role in bringing management and faculty members close together to solve problems of team work leads to smooth flow of information and encourage individuals to express their views.
In order to improve performance of Colleges or Universities and quality outputs, the following (TQM) steps should be adopted: -• Identify main beneficiary of the Universities or Colleges output.
•Develop the academic institution's mission to enable it for competition through quality performance of: education program, students scientific experiments, service offered to beneficiaries, distinguished academics, services provided to the surrounding environment.
• Set up internal procedures to achieve quality performance.
•Identify individuals and groups who carry out the responsibility of the selected criteria.
•Provide incentives for those who achieve quality.
• Forming teams responsible for quality programs.
•Writing down and recognize achievements of high quality and provide incentives according to the selected criteria (Al-Khafaji and Babairman, 1995).

Measurement of (TQM) in Higher Education
In order to support and encourage continuous improvement process, Universities or Colleges need a set of techniques and tools to reach positive results in improving performance.The most important tools are:- It's one of effective tools that guide the leadership to a manner of how to invest College's resources efficiently to improve its performance compared with an international criterion or with the College itself through the assessment of the implementation of an annual plan with previous year.

• Benchmarking
It is a process to determine where inputs, processes, outputs, systems, and functions are significantly different from those of competitors or others.It's also an ongoing regular process to compare work results at a College or a University with same work at another College or University in the same educational field, taking into consideration concentration on activities, functions, and internal operations (Alkazzaz, 2001: Walton, 1985) This method is the most appropriate technique for higher education.Supporters of this process believe that Benchmarking lead to: •Determine initial values, goals and monitor improvement through providing objective measurements.
• Make the College's work in such atmosphere to alleviate resistance of change.
•Create a structure of external evaluation.
• Effectiveness of the communication networks of new work and its role in sharing experiences between institutions of higher education and unified strategy (Sanyal, 1998).
•ISO Following the Adoption of (TQM) by Colleges and Universities, it is necessary to rely on standards set by the "international standardization Organization (ISO) to ensure quality performance.ISO standard is one of a set of management tools that Colleges and Universities have adopted in recent years.Many Colleges and Universities world wide received ISO certification of their quality management systems.In the United Kingdom more than (20) Colleges received ISO (9002) certification (Ani, 2002).

(TQM) themes in higher education
Total quality in higher education is distributed in to eight axes, as follows:

• Students
Student is considered one of major axis in the educational process and one of main element to establish the University and the College.The quality of education requires that educated persons reach national specified educational levels and measurable objective (UNESCO, 2004).
Quality indicators associated with this axis are as follows: 1 st Indicator: Selectivity 'Selectivity in undergraduate admissions is one of the most common and well-known practices of Colleges and Universities, salient because it is widely regarded as an indicator of institutional quality.This regard emanates from the folklore of higher education, which holds that institutions with more selective admissions have higher academic standards and thus higher quality academic programs than do institutions with less selective admissions.' (Braxton and Nordrvall, 1985, p. 5)

2nd indicator: Student-faculty member ratio
It refers to the number of academics in a University with respect to the number of students who attend the institution.It should be within an acceptable percentage to achieve efficiency and effectiveness of the educational process.
3 rd indicator: the average cost per student Quality can be measured by the educational institution's average spending per student.Quality of management, operation, guidance, control, activation, motivation as well as community and institutional efficiency are other influential factors for spending (Hassan, 1994;Psacharopoulos, 1987).

4th indicator: service
The service provided by the University and College for students is an essential indicator for quality management which includes health services, financial aid, guidance, counseling and transportation.5 th indicator: Motivation and preparations for students.
Its one of the main factors for the higher education institution.Because it leads to a strong motivation to start and maintain learning and to create good conditions for students before the start of the semester.
6 th indicator: ratio of graduate students to students' admission For educational quality, it's important to identify the ratio of students graduated from the University and College to all newly admitted students and those who were accepted for graduate school.

th indicator: student admission criteria and manpower
Students' admission criteria should be linked to the country's manpower needs and should be planed efficiently within a specific time frame to ensure the flow of quantities and quality of graduates connected with the country's economic policies and social development.

th indicator: evaluation criteria
Assessing the educational performance of the University require raising efficiency and quality by clear and specific evaluation criteria and easy to use measurements and then require restructuring activities and events according to those standards and performance levels (Mustafa,1997).9 th indicator: Graduate level University Graduates level ranges between good, medium and poor in different educational fields.Higher grades of excellent and very good are very rear compared with large number of enrolled students.
• The faculty members Human resources play a major role in achieving the goals of the University and College.Quality of the faculty member required curricula sufficiency, characteristics of students, education planning, adaptation of education, auditorium management, evaluation of students and human relations, social dimensions of education profession and general professions sufficiency (UNESCO, 1995).

This axes focus on the following indicators:
1 st indicator: number of faculty members and their sufficiency to the extent that allows covering all aspects of curricula of majors (Altwaijri, 2003).
2 nd Indicator: teaching skills for faculty members require identifying standards of knowledge and skills for them to ensure continuing professional development in their specialization.
Balance between tradition and modernity is essential for preparing curricula in terms of level, content, method and manner.Thus are factors associated with the University's educational quality.Curricula are able to develop student's ability to identify and solve problems, understand it and to maintain professional skill.
• Administrative leadership at the College Administrative leadership is an inevitable quality at the College and mainly depends on leadership.It includes quality of strategic planning and follow-up activities, which leads to quality of culture.
Here are the main indicators:-1 st indicator: senior management leadership commitment for quality that depends on quality performance of the University and College.
2nd indicator: enhancing climate of human relations between students, faculty members, department and faculty leadership lead to efficient performance of the College that requires good communication among its members.
3 rd indicator: the selectivity of management leaders and training in accordance with measurable criteria in light of need and specialization (Goetesch and Davis, 1997).

• Physical potential
There are many physical potential at the University or the College that enhance quality performance such as:-1 st indicator: capability of building facilities to carry out College's educational task, and its efficiency to accommodate numbers of students under standard units as the needs of space per student in the auditorium, laboratory, library and the College's ancillaries.
2 nd indicator: the faculty member and students benefit resulted from the use of the College's library through providing sources in all educational fields such as books, journals, periodicals, referenced materials and supplementary reading related to educational programs and research, and the availability of library staff, the extent of their assistance and ease access for reading materials, the availability of computers for students and faculty members.
3 rd indicator: The extents to which faculty members and students benefit from laboratories and workshops to be reflected on educational programs provided by the College and also provide the laboratories and workshops with necessary equipment to ensure higher quality.4 th indicator: the value of financial funds in which Financing is the most important input in the educational system, and without it, the educational system is unable to perform its main functions.The quality of education is a dependent variable to the ability of financial funding (Alimat, 2004).

• College-local community Relationship
Promoting community service is the main functions of the College, in order to achieve this goal, the College should put its financial and human resources potentials in the service of society, including the surrounding environment, which the College receives support from local community to achieve and reach most of possible goals.
This axis consists of the following indicators: -1 st indicator: Linking College majors to the needs of the surrounding community.
2 nd indicator: linking scientific research with problems facing the surrounding community in order to find solutions.
3 rd Indicator: interaction between the College's human resources, research, community's productivity and service (Senge, 1990).

• The College independence
Independence and release from pressure is one of higher education quality Indicators.As far as the College maintains freedom of action and decision, freedom of research and publication, freedom of thought and expression, it will proceed with more creativity and innovation.External control reduces the overall College's efficiency and effectiveness and educational activities.

• Diversity and disparity among Colleges
Majors for College graduates should be inline with the community actual needs, to make sure that there is no shortage of such qualified graduates and at the same time there is no surplus that leads to unemployment and linking the student's majors with local development plan.(Mustafa, 1997).Klocinski (1999) has determined the extent of failure and success in implementing (TQM) in educational institutions.A tool applied to (184) educational institution during the year (1991) and (1996) to find out the extent of implementing quality management.The researcher used a questionnaire with open questions distributed to Colleges and Universities owned by the private and public sector.He found that the number of Colleges and Universities that apply Total Quality Management has been increased).The researcher also found that 74% of these Colleges in 1991 have had an ongoing (TQM).86% are encouraged to follow the overall principles of quality in their administrative operations and services.57%confirmed that it faces obstacles and problems in implementing (TQM).37% said they suffer from a lack of administrative support and a weakness in leadership which is considered a major constraint in implementing (TQM).Ayoub (2000) seeks to identify the effectiveness of total quality management in the performance of Universities in Jordan.A random sample of (282) faculty members in the Jordanian governmental Universities have been selected.The researcher was able to develop a questionnaire of (35) points and the paper reached the following conclusions:

Literature review
• There are statistically significant differences among faculty members in estimating efficiency use of (TQM) to develop performance of the Jordanian Universities, according to the University.
• There are no statistically significant differences among faculty members in estimating efficiency use of (TQM) to develop the performance of the Jordanian Universities, according to the faculty members with different titles.Dagher (2001) highlights the most important challenges facing higher education in the Arab world and the possibility of meeting those challenges by adopting the philosophy of (TQM).
The researcher concluded that the possibility of successful implementation of(TQM) in Universities and Colleges in Iraq and the Arab world, after this approach has proved successful in improving standards, the traditional administrative methods do not match the information revolution experienced by the world in all aspects of life.Al-saud (2002) clarifies the concept of (TQM) and its steps applied at schools in Jordan.The researcher adopted " Analytic synthetic approach" as a way to identify the nature of (TQM).thecharacteristics of the research reached that new strategy for the development of educational systems that must be based on development inputs of the educational system and should be based on modern approaches , and should implement (TQM) in the educational institutions.Al-gmeez (2004) has examined the implementation of (TQM) at the Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia from the perspective of its employees.He found that there are statistically significant differences to the variable years of experience in planning and the potential ability reflects the quality requirements of (TQM) (buildings, playgrounds, laboratories, libraries, classrooms, and educational technology)

Sample and questionnaire
The survey was conducted during the year ( 2009).The population sample includes all faculty members representing Heads of the Departments of the faculty of Planning and Management at Al-Balqa Applied University and all academics consisting of (48) faculty members.All (48) Questionnaire were distributed, (46) were used (95.8% of the total sample), two were excluded due to lack of validity.
A five point likert scale was used: the weighed Mean of 3.00 and above was used as the criteria cut off point for the level of agreement.

Study problem
The Academic institutions are facing many challenges, including: • Renewable and diverse community demands verses human and physical resources scarcity • Changes occurred on the reality of educational systems that run the educational process in content, methods and techniques.
• There is a notable weakness in the administrative work style in the College's departments.It has never attempted to implement the philosophy of (TQM) on one of the institutions of higher education, particularly the business schools.

Study Importance
This research illustrates the concept of (TQM) as a modern approach that leads to upgrade quality performance of the University or College institution as well as for compensation for the shortfall of literature and research in this topic.

Study objective
The research aims to identify the requirements for the implementation of (TQM) in the Faculty of Planning and Management at Al-Balqa Applied University, analysis each of these requirements and how those fit reality in the educational institutions, especially in the faculty of planning and management.

Study Tool
The research based on a number of literature studies dealing with (TQM) in general and (TQM) in education and higher education in particular.

study Hypothesis
There are no statistically significant differences in the responses of members of the research sample at the level of significance (0.05) among the departments of the Faculty of planning and management at Al-Balqa Applied University.

Data analysis
Results are based on the objectives and analysis of the sample answers of the faculty members depending on the requirements of (TQM) according to Malcolm Baldrige national quality Award.The statistical analysis was conducted by using the histogram of the study sample response, mean and weight percentage to determine the requirements of (TQM).
The research aim to identify the requirements of (TQM) based on the perspective of the faculty members at the College according to the following criteria:-Results obtained from table 1.The Administrative Leadership Show that the mean score is (3.12) and weight percentage is 62.3%.This means that these requirements are indicating the level of relatively agree.
The highest mean score reached (3.8) with Weight percentage of 76%, while the minimum mean score reached 2.55 with Weight percentage of 51%.It means that the sample response between the level of relatively agree to highly agree.It's found that this criterion is an important requirement for the implementation of (TQM).
Table 2.For strategic planning illustrates that the mean score is (2.66) and weight percentage is 53%.This means that these requirements falls under the level of relatively agree.
We noticed that, the highest mean score reached (3.05) with Weight percentage of 61%, while the minimum mean score reached (2.3) with Weight percentage of 46%.It means that the sample response between the level of relatively agree to disagree.
It's found that the strategic planning is less important than "Administrative Leadership" in the successful of (TQM) implementation.Table 3. for data collection systems and analysis, illustrates that the mean score is (2.54) with weight percentage of 51%.This means that these requirements indicate for the level of relatively agree.The maximum mean score reached (3.05) with Weight percentage of 61%, while the minimum mean score reached (2.11) with Weight percentage of 42%.It means that the sample response between the level of relatively agree to disagree and this criterion ranked 3 rd in importance in the successful of (TQM) implementation.
Table 4 illustrates human resource management and development criterion.The mean score is (2.58) with weight percentage of 52%.It means that the population sample is relatively agreed to these requirements.
The weighted mean score for all requirements falls between the maximum mean score of (3) with weight percentage of 60%, and a minimum mean score of (1.89) with weight percentage of 37%.The sample response ranged between the levels of relatively agrees and disagree.This criterion is less in importance than other criteria in terms of the successful implementation of (TQM) Table 5 for Design processes and quality management show that the mean score is (2.73) with weight percentage of 55%.This means that these requirements obtained the level of relatively agree.
The weighted mean score for all requirements falls between the maximum mean of (3.89) with Weight percentage of 77%, while the minimum mean score reached (1.84) with Weight percentage of 37%.It means that the sample response between the level of agree to disagree.This criterion occupied such importance in the successful implementation of (TQM)

Results obtained from table 6 shows statistical analysis for the beneficiary satisfaction
The mean score is (2.48) with weight percentage of 50%.This means that these requirements indicated the level of relatively agree.The weighted mean score for all requirements falls between the maximum mean score of (3.5) with weight percentage of 61%, and a minimum mean score of (2.11) with weight percentage of 42%.This means the sample response ranged between the levels of relatively agree to disagree.It's found that this criterion is less in importance than other criteria in the successful implementation of (TQM).
Table 7. Illustrates statistical analysis for Quality evaluation and measurement.
The mean score is (2.53) with weight percentage of 51%.This means that these requirements are located at the level of relatively agree.The mean score for these requirements lies between maximum score of (2.89) with weight percentage of 57%, and a minimum mean score of (2.05) with weight percentage of 41%.It falls under the level of relatively agree and disagree.This means that this criterion is less in importance than other criteria in terms of the successful implementation of (TQM).

Discussions
ŹAll 70 (TQM) requirements are of great significance and there are no major significant differences among these requirements.
ŹThe overall rate of mean score for (TQM) requirements to members of the sample was (2.66) with weight percentage of (53.2) %.This means that the sample was aware of the importance implementation of (TQM).
Ź"Administrative Leadership at the College" criterion ranked first among seven other criteria, while requirement no (5) which states that "To Improve the College overall performance requires that each individual feels that he is responsible for its failure or success" ranked first among other requirements with weight percentage of 76%.This means that that the sample recognize the importance of an efficient administrative leadership in support and implementing (TQM) and also it is necessary for each individual to hold responsible for its failure or success.
ŹDesign processes and quality management ranked second among other seven requirements with weight percentage of 55%.Requirement no (8) "Implementing (TQM) requires the use of modern educational technology" ranked first among other requirements with weight percentage of 77%.This means that the sample recognizes the importance of design processes and quality management in implementing (TQM).
ŹThe criterion of strategic planning ranked third among the seven other criteria with weight percentage of 53% and requirement no.(3) "The College deanship is keen to involve heads of departments and faculty members in the annual plan" and requirement no.(4) "The College Deanship is keen to make its strategic plan applicable" are both ranked first among other requirements with weight percentage of 61%.This means that the sample recognize the importance of strategic planning in implementing (TQM).It is also necessary to involve the heads of departments and the faculty members in drafting the annual plan while the Strategic Plan should be applicable.
Ź Human Resources Management and Development criterion is ranked fourth among seven other criteria with weight percentage of 51.6%, while requirement no.(3) "Colleges benefit from feedback to determine the degree of the positive impact of its training programs" is ranked first among other requirements with weight percentage of 60%.This means that the sample recognize the importance of Human Resources Management and Development in implementing (TQM).It is also necessary to benefit from feedback to make sure of its effects on training programs.
ŹQuality evaluation and measurement criterion ranked fifth among seven other requirements with weight percentage of 51%, while requirement no. ( 9) "The College (TQM) enhances completion with similar Colleges" is ranked first among other requirements with weight percentage of 57%.This means that the sample recognize Quality evaluation and measurement in implementing (TQM).
ŹData collection systems and analysis criterion is also ranked fifth among other seven criteria with weight percentage of 51% and requirement no.(2) "The College Deanship interested in documenting the performance of students in various educational levels" is ranked first among other requirements with weight percentage of 61%.
This means that the sample recognize the importance of this criterion in implementing (TQM).
ŹThe beneficiary satisfaction criterion ranked sixth among seven other criteria with weight percentage of 50%, and requirement no. ( 7) "The College Deanship responds and replies to students complaints" ranked first among other requirements with weight percentage of 61%.This means that the sample recognize the importance of the beneficiary satisfaction in implementing (TQM).It is also necessary for this requirement to be implemented.

Conclusions
Ź(TQM) is one of modern approaches, which its adoption is still limited in Arab countries, particularly at higher education institutions .There isn't any Arab university reached the first row in the classification of the best international universities.
ŹThere was no concentration on Teamwork, continuous improvement and coordination which lead to creativity and innovation.
ŹThe competent administrative leadership is one of the main factors for implementing (TQM) methodology and should be adopted by the academic institutions which depend on the extraordinary role by demonstrating its qualities and its role in activating public participation related to decision-making and the devolution of powers towards achieving the goals of (TQM).
ŹLearning, Training and development play an important role in increasing technical and information skills to all members of the University institution.The results emerged from the research indicated that there was a weakness in training for administrative leadership in the universities and colleges which is essential to the success of implementing this modern management approach.
ŹDespite different views by scholars and specialist on the success elements of (TQM), we found that Malcolm Baldrige approach used in this study formed an excellent model of (TQM).

Recommendations
ŹCall of administrative leadership in Arab Management schools to view this study and its results to make the initiative for adopting the philosophy of (TQM) as an administrative approach to promote future performance.
ŹAdopting a participatory approach of leadership and the leadership should believes in the philosophy of (TQM) and make the necessary efforts to create an enabling environment for implementation.
ŹTo Work on establishing a national center specializing in quality management for training of administrative leaders at the educational institutions and carry out quality assessments for Colleges performance and grant quality certificates.
ŹEvaluating performance in accordance with analysis system method, which deals with the College inputs, processes and outputs using the criteria of quantitative and qualitative measurement.
ŹThis study is the first study in determining the implementation of (TQM) in accordance with Baldrige award in the faculty of planning and management at Al-Balqa Applied University.It should be expanded further to gauge the requirements for the implementations of (TQM) at the university as well as in Arab Universities and Colleges.