THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE MODEL (EFQM) IN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES OF IRAN

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Submitted by:Nassim Heidari

                       Saeed Raoofi

                       Amir Barati

 

1. Abstract:

  1. Assertion of problem

In a competitive environment in which organizations contend to attract consumers, customer satisfaction of the presented services is a key element in success and an essential factor for profitability and customer loyalty (Mannel 2008; Gitman, etal., 2005).   

Since economic estates- and private-sector and governmental organizations are the activators of the national economy, maybe the crucial question facing the nations is how we can level the way for grown and pioneering organizations in a way that they can succeed in the global field. Which science and knowledge can cause alteration in the organizations or in other words alteration in the nations? The question was posed by Lester Thurow, the great economist, in this way: ''How should the nations change their structures and organizations so that an atmosphere nourishes in which grows the seed of knowledge and science and prepare the way for more national enrichment?"

Business Excellence Models provide a response to the question how we can identify a superior organization, what are its goals and contexts and the yardsticks governing its behaviors.

According to the subject of a “national prize for profit- making and organizational excellence'' which has been recently designed in the country , and entrance of universities, schools and teaching centers to this dominion, it seems something necessary to introduce and develop the concepts of organizational excellence in universities and educational or research centers in our country.

  1. The importance of dealing with the subject

Excellent Organizations achieve & sustain outstanding levels of performance that meet or exceed the expectation of all their stakeholders.

All organizations strive to be successful, some fail, some achieve periods of success but ultimately fade from view, and a few achieve sustainable success, gaining deserved respect and admiration.(Amazon.com: EFQM Excellence Model 2013 e-book)

According to the current situation of higher education in our country and its increasing importance for both government and people, and so an increasing competition in that domain, its increasing growth, change and fluctuation, lack of a scientific view to this subject, considering the leadership system, goals and missions, destinations and procedures have caused the recognition of differences and deficiencies and helps such organizations to judge whether they are moving toward organizational excellence and obtaining their goals and destination and moreover to increase their competitive capability, by choosing the suitable model and programming for moving in the right path.

1. Goals of this project
Function measurement of the organization in relation to outdoor clients and the entire fields including competitive capability, innovation, simultaneity with the market and responding speed rate using EFQM model.

2. Keywords:
EFQM, Business Excellence, Organizational Excellence, Strategy, Organizational Advantages, Educational institutes.

3. Introduction
Organizational excellence is one of the concepts that occupational and organizational systems have always been looking for and have uttered that in a special way in each era. It can be known as the growth and promotion of an organization in all aspects, in a way to increase the probability of organization success in the long-term by acquiring the satisfaction of the entire beneficiary and making a balance between them. As a result, organizational excellence includes a vast extent and this makes the complexity more.

In recent years some Models known as business excellence have been suggested and by its expansion, there have been established Models which include all kinds of organizations containing commercial, profit and nonprofit organizations. Of those kinds we can refer to the European Fundamental Quality Management Excellence Model. The outlook of most of these Models is to use a self-evaluation process for promoting the level of organization and for this purpose they have offered ways for organization self-evaluation. One goal of self-evaluation is a thorough pondering over the organization by its members and as a result, is accompanied with the individuals' actual look and their dominance in their own appraisal and with an outlook which follows its own improvement and not a comparison or choosing of the strong and weak units.

4. Introducing the EFQM Model
Generally speaking, the EFQM leading Model of business consists of four major sections which are Illustrated in the following table along with their interrelationships:

 

5. Discussing the criteria in the Model of EFQM and the method of scoring them

The organizational perfection Model of EFQM is a framework based on nine major criteria that fall into two major categories: the first five criteria go in the category of enablers and the rest go in the category of results. The enablers assess what an organization is doing and the results criteria assess the gains of the organization from these doings.

Actually, this methodology of assessment is based on the fact that perfect results in each of the fields of performance, customers, staff and society that are related to the organization can be achieved only through efficient leadership, a dynamic strategy and guideline, a proper and motivated staff, partners, sources and the processes of the organization.

 

The criteria of the Model according to which the performance of the organization is assessed have been shown in the above picture. Each criterion will be introduced and defined in the next part.

The direction of the arrows in the above picture emphasizes the dynamic nature of the Model and is based on the fact that innovation and learning improve the enablers, hence improve the results.

As was mentioned earlier, the criteria of leadership, staff, policy and strategy, partners, resources and processes belong to the category of enablers and the criteria of the results of the staff, the customers, the society and the key performance belong to the category of results. The score of each of these criteria is as follows:

  • Leadership 100 - the results of human sources 90

  • Human sources 90 - the results of the customers 200

  • Guideline and strategy 80 - the results of the society 60

  • Partners and sources 90 - the results of the key performance 150

  • Processes 140

500 scores belong to the enablers and 500 scores belong to the results. It must be noted that to fully understand each criterion, some sub-criterion (secondary criteria) have been predicted. Model of EFQM carries out the assessing process through nine major criteria. Each criterion has some sub-criterion (altogether, there are 32 of them). In the next part, these nine criteria and their sub-criterion will be briefly discussed.

6. Nine criteria and their sub-criterion
6.1)  The leadership of the organization:

It is for the leaders of the organization to decide on the methods of development and facilitate the achievement of organizational mission and goals, the development of needed values to achieve long-term accomplishment and seethes values through proper organizational activities and behavior. It is also by this criterion that the degree of commitment of the Management to developing and setting up the Management system of the organization is assessed. The sub-criteria of this criterion are the following:

  • The leaders of the mission choose the perspective, values and ethics of the organization and act themselves as a Model of perfect tradition.

  • The leaders assure themselves of the creation, development and implementation of Management systems and their constant improvement.

  • The leaders communicate with the customers, partners and representatives of the society.

  • The leaders encourage the tradition of perfection among the staff.

  • The leaders understand organizational reformation and support it.

6.2)  Guideline and strategy:
The way of implementing the mission and achieving the goals of the organization through a clear strategy which is based on the interests of the beneficiaries and supported by the guidelines, plans, long- term and short- term goals and processes, is assessed by this criterion. The sub-criteria of this criterion are the following:

  • The guideline and strategy are based on the present and future desires of the beneficiaries.

  • The guideline and strategy are based on the information obtained from measuring performance, research, learning and outside activities.

  • The chosen guideline and strategy are revised and modernized.

  • The guideline and strategy derive from a framework of key processes in the organization.−

6.3)  Staff:
anagement, developing and using the full knowledge and potential of the staff as individuals, working groups and organizational levels and also the method of organizing these activities in order to support the guideline, strategy and effective fulfillment of processes, are assessed by this criterion. The sub-criterion of this criterion is the following:

  • Human sources are managed, organized and improved.

  • The knowledge and competence of the staff are realized, developed and preserved.

  • The staff is given roles and power.

  • The staff and the organization negotiate with each other.

  • The staff are encouraged and praised and paid tribute.

6.4)  Partnership and sources:
Organizing and managing foreign corporations and domestic sources on the way to the fulfillment of guidelines, policies and processes, are assessed by this criterion. The sub-criterion of this criterion is the following:

  • Outside commercial cooperation are organized.

  • Financial sources are organized.

  • BALDRIGE, equipment and materials are organized.

  • Technology is organized.

  • Data and knowledge are organized.

6.5)  Processes:
Designing, managing and improving the processes to support the guidelines and strategy of the organization and to fully satisfy the beneficiaries and create increasing values for them, are assessed by this criterion.

  • The processes are designed and organized systematically.

  • Products and services will be designed and produced on the basis of the desires and expectations of the customers.

  • Products and services are produced, delivered supported.

  • Links with the customers are organized and reinforced.

6.6)  Customers results:
The achievements of the organization concerning the customers and outside audiences are assessed by this criterion. The sub-criteria of this criterion are the following:

  • Perception measures: these indexes include the impression and understanding of the customers from the organization, and as leading indexes, are measurable through polls from the customers, focused groups, rating the sellers, praises and complaints.

  • Performance indexes: these are inside indexes which are assessed by the organization in order to understand, predict and improve performance and predict the understanding of outside customers.


6.7)  Results concerning human sources:
The achievements of the organization concerning its staff and personnel (people inside the organization) are assessed by this criterion. The sub-criteria are the following:

  • The perception measures indicate the staff's perception of the organization (for example, this measure is calculated through polls, sample groups, interviews and systematic assessments).

  • Performance indexes: they are inside indexes which are applied by the organization in order to understand, predict and improve the performance of the staff and predict their perceptions.

6.8)  Results concerning the society:
The achievements of the organization concerning local, national and international societies that are related to it, are assessed by this criterion. Its sub-criteria are the following:

  • Perception measures: these measures indicate the society's perception of the organization (for example, these measures are obtained through polls, reports, gazettes, public gatherings and formal and official sources). Some of the scales that were introduced as perception measures are applicable to performance indexes and vice versa.

  • Performance indexes: these are inside indexes which are applied by the organization in order to understand, predict and improve its performance and predict the society's perception.

6.9)  The key results of the performance of the organization:
The achievements of the organization concerning organized performance and the degree of realizing the general goals of the organization are assessed by this criterion. Its sub-criteria are the

Following:

  • The key achievements of performance: these indexes are the organized key results of the organization which are dependent on its long-term and short- term goals.

  • The key indexes of performance: these are operational indexes which are applied in order to understand the processes and predict and probably improve the key achievements of performance.

On the whole, we can sum up the major features of the EFQM organizational perfection model in its emphasis on results- centeredness, customers- centeredness, leadership and constancy of organizational goals, process and fact-based management, staff cooperation, learning, innovation and constant improvement, developing useful and honest relationships with the partners, and social responsibility.

7. Self-assessment in EFQM Model
Using the EFQM high operation Model for self-assessment has considerable advantages for the organization, such as:

  • It recognizes the organization strong points and the domains which need improvement.

  • It creates a complete formed approach and based on organization realities in order to know the organization accurately by it and to evaluate and arrange the progress processes and measure them sequentially.

  • It creates a common language and conceptual frame in the Management method and doing the improvement in the organization.

  • It trains the organization people the high main concepts and the Quality of these concepts relationship with their responsibilities.

  • It involves all the staff in all the levels and the entities in the process improvement.

  • It evaluates the organization coherently and correspondingly in the small and large level.

  • It recognizes and promulgates the useful experiences in the organization.

  • It facilitates the organization comparison with the other organizations (with similar or different field) with the use of series of ambient criteria.

  • It coordinates and integrates the spontaneous action for the organization routine operation improvement.

  • It causes the strategy development and large business program.

  • It creates appropriate opportunities through forming the organizational internal awards in order to appreciate the appropriate progresses in organization improvement and operative prominent results.

8. Conclusion:
The main goal of this paper is analyzing and measuring the level of organizational excellence and quality of educational services in educational institutes of Iran. The finding of this paper can directly influence the decision making of the managers and authorities of higher education system in Iran.

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