ABSTRACT
The push to adopt Total Quality Management (TQM) for effective service provision has gained root in many academic libraries especially those in the developed world. This study sought to explore the total quality management principles being implemented in the selected private university libraries in Ghana. The main TQM principles which were given attention were TQM awareness, Top management commitment, encouragement and participation, training, strategic planning, and potential TQM challenges. The study was guided by a conceptual framework developed by the researcher. The study adopted a survey design, implemented using a mixed method approach. Questionnaire and interviews were the main instruments used for data collection. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics reported in tables and frequency distributions, and thematic content analysis.
The study revealed that: the majority of the staff in the selected libraries were partially aware of the TQM concept; there have been some quality improvement initiatives in the libraries; top management are perceived by the majority as being committed to quality services; views of staff had been evaluated and implemented by management; staff felt a sense of belongingness and valuability. Some of the training programmes identified in the study were job rotation, orientation for new staff, workshops, seminars, and mentoring. The study also revealed that the libraries lacked short and long-term strategic plans. Some of the potential challenges of TQM were lack of recognition and reward, inadequate resources, lack of strategic planning, and inadequate top management commitment. Generally, the study concluded that some aspects of TQM principles were already implemented, although all the libraries lacked a TQM policy. Based on the findings, the study recommended that there should be the establishment of TQM policies, training policies, strategic planning, and provision of adequate resources.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
- Background to the study
Right from time immemorial, businesses across the world, have been striving to survive in a highly competitive environment. Corporate managers have been working hard to attain business excellence by finding solutions to challenges which can kick them out of business. The focus on price, which hitherto ruled the competition in the industry, has shifted to both price and quality (Sureshchandar, Rajendran, and Anantharaman, 2001). The service industry such as academic libraries scenario is no different. For instance, in their quest to satisfy their patrons, libraries, from time to time, introduce new ways to deal with challenges that confront their operations.
McGregor (2015) maintains that today, “customers (users) are demanding quality in products and services. They have become increasingly discerning and have started looking for alternatives more in tune with their basic needs and requirements”. As a matter of fact, consumers are eager to offer a high price for a quality product or service than to pay a lower fee for inferior goods or services. In the same vein, Arunachalam and Palanichamy (2017) have argued that the survival of organisations in today’s globally competitive environment depends on their ability to meet and exceed customers’ expectations by rendering quality services. To them, due to this phenomenon, many organizations are designing newer strategies and approaches to successfully manage both human and systems to deliver high performance. One of such strategies which had been adopted by several organisations, including academic libraries is Total Quality Management (TQM).
While TQM is widely practiced, there is little agreement on what it actually means and a single homogenous definition is lacking. However, despite the wide gamut of definitions, the
underlying focus has always been customer satisfaction (Sahney, Banwet, and Karunes, 2004). TQM is generally seen as “all the coordinated management and leadership efforts and practices aimed at meeting or exceeding the expectations of customers or stakeholders in a given environment through continual improvement”. This means that TQM focuses on two key things namely, satisfying customers or stakeholders and improving continually to meet their changing needs and to create and deliver distinctive value to remain competitive (Alabi, 2016).
In an attempt to offer a more comprehensive description of TQM, Wang (2006) explains the meaning of each word in the phrase. The first word “total” refers to “a consciousness of the whole working process of the organisation”. This means that the management task is no longer limited to the top level of personnel, but extended to all the people with an organisation. The second word “quality” refers to “the measurement of performance based on customer needs, customer expectations and customer satisfaction”. In effect, this is the main focus of the whole concept of TQM. The last word “management” means continuous improvement of services because customers’ needs change each and every day. Moghaddam and Moballeghi (2008) have highlighted that “TQM is focused on the understanding that organisations are systems with processes that have the purpose of serving customers. TQM, therefore, calls for the integration of all organizational activities to achieve the goal of serving customers. It requires leaders who are willing to create a culture in which people define their roles in terms of quality outputs to customers”.
Although, a number of frameworks have been offered by quality experts such as Deming’s fourteen points to improve quality, Crosby’s fourteen steps for quality improvement, and Juran’s quality trilogy, yet, there is confusion on the main principles underpinning the TQM concept (Alabi, 2016). However, some authors including: Zwain, Lim, and Othman (2017); Yosof and
Aspinwall (1999); Milosan (2011) and Gupta, Garg, and Kumar (2014) have identified the following as the core components of TQM: top management commitment, strategic planning, continuous improvement, customer focus, process focus, employee involvement, training and education, rewards and recognition, communication, teamwork and confidence.
The principles of TQM are now a recognized characteristic of most of the successful service organisations world over. The need to respond to customer’s varying demands in a continuously changing environment and advanced technological era make TQM a practice of paramount importance for every service provider, including academic libraries (Gill, 2009).
TQM in Academic Libraries Context
The development of TQM from the 1950s onwards can be credited to the works of various quality gurus such as Walter A. Shewhart, W. Edward Deming, Joseph M. Juran, Philip B. Crosby, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa, and Genichi Taguchi (this is further explained in chapter two, section 2.3) (Dahlgaard, Kristensen, and Kanji, 2002). The major purpose of these experts was to design a strategy to improve the performances of various organizations, particularly in the manufacturing firms. It is worth noting that the very first success story of TQM came from Japan when their manufacturing industry adopted and implemented the philosophy of TQM introduced to them by Deming and Juran (Talha, 2004). In view of this, critics of TQM such as Wang (2006) argue that since TQM originated from the profit-making businesses (especially in the manufacturing firms) it is sufficient to raise concerns on its applicability to the non-profit organisations such as academic libraries. The author raises the following questions to buttress the argument made: how can library users be treated as customers?
However, the argument against the use of TQM in service institutions such as academic libraries advanced by Wang (2006) is more than adequately dealt with in the work of Alemna (2001). The Author is of the view that although academic libraries are considered as not for profit-making ventures, it does not mean that library services are free. He draws attention to the fact that patrons may not be paying directly for the use of the libraries but are entitled to quality services. Alemna (2001) further justifies that users taxes, school fees, and contributions they make towards the development of the libraries, coupled with grants and donations of various types received on their behalf, are good enough reasons for them to demand quality services. McGregor (2015) also argues that although the principles of TQM were conceived with a business or corporate audience in mind, it is believed that these are sources of great ideas that potentially, can be applied in public or non-profit organisations such as libraries to improve performance.
According to the ISO Standard 11620 (Performance Indicators for Libraries), the total quality of library means “totality of features and characteristics of a product or services that bear on the library’s ability to satisfy stated or implied needs” (ISO 11620, 2014). Because academic libraries are service organizations, the TQM in the context of a library is often treated as the quality of service. Rowley (2005) also defines TQM in the academic library as ‘‘all of the processes, activities, and measures that contribute to the management of the quality of service or outputs from the library’’.Derfert-Wolf, Gorski, and Marcinet (2005) posit that the high quality of library performance is crucial for each academic library to survive especially, those in the private sector. Derfert-Wolf, Gorski, and Marcinet (2005) further maintain that “wide internet access to information makes researchers and students demand the highest quality library
services. It is the quality of library services that decides the perception of the library within its parent institution and the society”.
Senthilvelan (2017) is of the view that academic libraries are apt places to implement TQM. By formulating a strategic plan, and following it with a commitment to continuous quality performance, library professionals can transform and improve their services. Senthilvelan (2017) therefore suggests that the following characteristics must be manifested in libraries that implement TQM: conducting a user survey about library services, change hours of operation to suit users, provide a convenient material return, simplify checkout of materials, use flexibility in staff responsibilities, ask vendors to give product demonstrations, give new staff a thorough orientation, improve the physical layout of the library, track complaints, develop an active outreach programme, publicize new or changed services, develop user and staff training materials.
Researchers such as Dadzie (2004) and Alemna (2001) have agreed that TQM to a large extent, is not a common feature in libraries, especially in Africa. However, they maintain that the concept of quality is not new in the library environment as it is the basic requirement that all libraries strive to achieve.
The experience of the researcher in Ghana is that attempts in assessing service quality and higher performance in libraries by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) have largely been linked to factors such as data collection size, data on circulation, information on users who patronise the library, working hours, available space, and so on. These parameters by NAB serve as an evaluation tool for higher education institutions including academic library services. The rationale of these standards by NAB is to ensure that libraries in the academic institutions maintain the quality standard (National Accreditation Board, 2015).
A comparable quality framework such as TQM is, therefore, vital for efficient and effective library management. A library needs to satisfy its users and to prove to its funding bodies that it is worth funding. Moreover, the National Accreditation Board in the process of the assessment of higher education institutions takes the quality performance of academic libraries into account. Therefore efforts to determine unified strategy and library performance indicators are indispensable for library management (Derfert-Wolf, Gorski, and Marcinet, 2005).
Overview of the Study Settings
An overview of the study area is presented below in order to put the study into its rightful context.
Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission, and Culture (A-CITMC)
The Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission, and Culture (A-CITMC) is a postgraduate research and training Institute fully accredited by the National Accreditation Board of the Ministry of Education as a tertiary institution with a Presidential Charter to award its own degrees. It is a research university promoting African innovation and excellence and dedicated to the study and documentation of Christian history, thought and life in Ghana and in Africa as a whole, in relation to their African setting and to world Christianity. A-CITMC seeks to strengthen Christian witness in modern Africa and world context through Christian scholarship (Akrofi-Christaller Institute, 2018).
The institute was named after two past great scholars of the Twi language and pioneer figures in the cultural witness of the Church in Ghana, Clement Anderson Akrofi, and Johannes Gottlieb Christaller. The Institute was formally established in 1987 as an independent body, a company limited by guarantee and registered under the Companies Code as a charity. The
institute seeks to be at the cutting edge of the churches’ mission and encounter with society and culture in Ghana, Africa and the wider world (Akrofi-Christaller Institute, 2018).
The Johannes Zimmermann Library (JZL)
The Johannes Zimmermann library of A-CITMC is a reference library that serves the Institute’s academic and pastoral programmes and its research projects. It is also open to visiting academics and students, Christian workers and others interested in research in its areas of specialisation (Akrofi-Christaller Institute, 2018).
The library specialises in mission history and the history and theology of the church in the non- Western world generally, with a particular interest in the church in Africa and especially Ghana. Holdings include a collection of writings in Ghanaian languages dating from the mid-19th century, as well as studies in history, religion, and culture. Library facilities comprise the main reading room, a reference and periodicals reading rooms, study carrels, computer and microfilm facilities, and archives (ACI Library Guide,2017).In addition to over 30000 printed materials, the JZL has access to a wide range of electronic journals through the Consortium for Academic and Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH) (Akrofi-Christaller Institute, 2018).
Valley View University (VVU)
Valley View University was established in 1979 by the West African Union Mission of Seventh- day Adventists. In 1997 it was absorbed into the Adventist University system operated by the West Central Africa Division (WAD) now West Central African Division of Seventh-day Adventist with headquarters in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. The Ghana Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists serves as the local manager of the University. The University was initially called the Adventist Missionary College (AMC) and was located at Bekwai in the
Ashanti region. It was transferred to Adenta near Accra in 1983 where it operated in rented
facilities until it was relocated to its present site near Oyibi in 1989 when it was renamed Valley View College (Valley View University, 2018).
The Adventist Accrediting Association (AAA) has, since 1983, been evaluating and reviewing the accreditation status of the institution. In 1995, the University was affiliated to Griggs University in Silver Springs, Maryland, USA. This allowed the University to offer four years’ bachelor’s degrees in Theology and Religious Studies. Then in 1997, the National Accreditation Board (NAB) of the Ministry of Education in Ghana granted Valley View College national accreditation thus, permitting her to award her own degrees (VVU History). The University serves students from all over the world. It admits qualified students regardless of their religious background, provided such students accept the Christian principles and lifestyle which forms the basis for the University’s operations (Valley View University, 2018).
Valley View University Libraries
In order to provide access to information resources for effective teaching, learning, and research, VVU has established Walton Whaley Library, Accra, the Harold Lee Library, Kumasi, Tamale, and Techiman Campuses libraries. Apart from registered students, faculty members and staff, the libraries resources including computers are available for research and educational purpose. The collections of the libraries cover the various programmes the university offers. Moreover, as a Seventh-day Adventist institution, the Library is also interested in collecting and making available Adventist audio-visual materials. To this end, the Library maintains sermons and other audio-visual materials on the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which are available upon request (Valley View University, 2018).
Trinity Theological Seminary (TTS)
Trinity Theological Seminary was founded in 1942 as an ecumenical effort in ministerial training by three original sponsoring churches namely; Methodist Church Ghana, Presbyterian Church of Ghana, and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. In 1967, the joint Anglican Diocesan Council of Ghana, now the Accra Diocese, joined the three, which was followed by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. In order to extend out training and facilities to all, TTS now train members from the non-sponsoring churches to become clergy. These are the African Independent, Charismatic, and Pentecostal Churches. TTS has attained its Charter to award Degrees. Certificates, Diplomas, and Degrees awarded by Trinity are fully recognised both in Ghana and on the international scene (Trinity Theological Seminary, 2015).
S.G. Williamson Library
The TTS library is named after Rev. S.G. Williamson, a British Methodist minister who was the first principal of the Trinity College. The Library is run in a two storey building. The ground floor is the students’ lending section while the first floor is students’ reference section and Graduate School reference wing (Trinity Theological Seminary, 2015).
The library has a large collection of resources on theological and religious studies consisting books, serials, and e-resources. The total collection of books and serials number about twenty thousand (20,000). The library also has a special arrangement with the Princeton Theological Seminary in the United States of America (USA) that allows it access to their digital library resources. Other resources of the library include a computer laboratory connected to the Internet for use by students only (Trinity Theological Seminary, 2015).
Central University College (CUC)
Central University is an educational initiative of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC). It has its origin in a short-term Pastoral training institute, which was started in October 1988 by ICGC. It was later incorporated, in June 1991 under the name, Central Bible College. In 1993, the name was changed again to Central Christian College. The College later upgraded its programmes and in line with national aspirations, expanded its programmes to include an integrated and practice-oriented business school, named Central Business School (Central University College, 2013).
To reflect its new status as a liberal arts tertiary institution, the university was re-christened Central University College in 1998. The National Accreditation Board has since accredited it as a tertiary institution. Currently, CUC has a Presidential Charter to award Degrees. It is co- educational with equal access for male and female enrolment. Central University has six (6) faculties/schools, namely the School of Theology and Missions (STM), Central Business School (CBS), the School of Applied Sciences (SAS), School of Research & Graduate Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) and Faculty of Law (Central University College, 2013).
Central University Library System
Central University College believes that a library is of central importance to any educational institution. It is a combination of people, collections, buildings, and technology with a mission to transform information into knowledge. Knowledge is said to connote power and the mission of a library is to package this knowledge in a way that can be easily accessible to support teaching, research, give information and to entertain (Central University College, 2013).
In view of this, the University has established a library system comprising six (6) libraries, stocking mostly books on programmes run by the University. The vision of the library is to strive to acquire all relevant literature that will effectively respond to the needs of the Central University Community. The mission of the library is to apply modern practices to source, package and disseminate relevant information in support for teaching and research in the University (CUC Library website). In addition to the printed materials, the libraries have access to a wide range of electronic journals through the Consortium for Academic and Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH), E-book Service and an electronic catalogue (Central University College, 2013).
