4.1.1 Factors affecting positive reputation and sustain the school success.
Reference to the studies mentioned in chapter 2, parents’ choice result is applicable in Lebanon as it is applicable in all countries built on several criteria:
- Leadership is the head force behind successful and chosen school, when these organizations put strategies on the long run; it is the commitment of the Top Management to lead the school to the positive reputation starting internal quality system arriving to the global leadership.
- Continual training help the staff to improve and to be involved directly in any decision taken for the benefit of the school, and this reflects the image of the school and shows to parents good confidence of the teamwork, especially when meeting teachers regularly with a preset plan to treat any misunderstanding and avoid any problems.
- School Deming loop PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) protects it from gaps and mistakes done before and ensure the effectiveness of the system using the preventive and corrective actions.
- School improvement using the new technologies for example (IPads instead of books, following new technologies – concerned about students’ health – no more heavy bags that spoil students back and contribute to health problems), this will open the way to improve of the curriculum.
Furthermore, it is not only the curriculum or the student’s success that influence parents’ choice, the reputation that may influence parents’ selection is the result of the following two facts:
- The word of mouth is a greater marketing, when parents are satisfied, they will convince their friends and relatives to put their children in the specific school.
- This increasing number of admission leads to student retention, the school objective will be subsequently to maintain and increase the number of students.
As mentioned, not only the curriculum or the success rate of students that leads to school success and to parents school choice “public or private” but as we have revealed in studies done in chapter 2 that public school have one and only objective which is the students success in official exams without taking into consideration other factors as create leader students, build cultured students, generate successful curriculum, form efficient education system, taking into consideration parents’ needs, teachers continual improvement and students success in addition to lead changes when necessary.
Teachers and administrators performance plays an important role in response to student’s needs, and in the direction of the external determinants… since there must be a link between school climate and students outcome, the best performance is to be methodical but not stiff, to be arranged without being cruel.
Both private and public schools are obliged to follow a specific curriculum, because their students are obliged to be admitted to official exams to get their diploma’s that allows them to be admitted in universities. Some private schools, for example, have a specific branch that called “IB” or international baccalaureate for Lebanese students who hold European nationality, this branch facilitate for students the higher study outside the country, but this option doesn’t exist in public schools so it doesn’t meet parents satisfaction sometimes.
Qualified training agencies may contribute in school development giving the school the opportunity of profiting from the professionalism of the trainers and their experience to support the implementation of the Quality Management System.
Training and development plans are to be delivered to the training agency, and to be evaluated and measured as it goes noting that training providers and consulting agencies for schools are not much in Lebanon till now since there is only one and unique training agency called WAZNAT, that our school is dealing with.
4.1.2 Comparative table describing the Quality Management System and the present situation at “R” School
Based on the questionnaire and the assessment in chapter three, describing the situation of the “R school” that has no Quality Management System, where nothing is documented, no performance appraisal that leads to motivation; the table below explains the actual situation in details and compare it to the Quality Management System requirements.
Table 1: Comparative table describing the QMS and the present situation at “R” School
| Concept: QMS Requirement | Definition | Actual Situation | Source |
| Process Approach | The School should set series of written processes covering all the activities and implement them in accordance with the Quality Management System and continually approve their effectiveness. | No Written Processes however the activities are executed in a trial and error bases, and no one is ensuring the effectiveness of the system. For example nothing written regarding teacher absence process and how to perform it. | Reference to the answers collected in accordance with the Administrators and teachers coordinators’ questionnaires. |
Table 1 (bis): Comparative table describing the QMS and the present situation at “R” School
| Documentation | The QMS must include documentation techniques, documents to ensure the effective planning, operation and control of its processes, and records. All documents are required to be organized. Also required is the control of records, i.e. identification, storage, protection, retrieval, retention time and disposition of records. | No documentation process. The conditions related to identification, storage protection, retention time are not defined.
Nothing written regarding documentation process, the teachers’ files, for example, are not up-to-date in terms of some necessarily category, like latest diploma obtained, yearly appraisals, etc… |
Reference to the answers collected in accordance with the Administrators and teachers coordinators’ questionnaires. |
| Management Responsibility and commitment | Identification of the Top management responsibility and its commitment towards implementation of the QMS inquiring the essential need for leadership. | No identification of the top management responsibility or delegation of authority in order to manage the development of the newest school system. The management commitment towards QMS requires the prior understanding of the benefits of the implementation of it, and this is a significant shortfall.
Decision for school closure, for example, for any circumstances, is not taken based on data analysis or on a written internal order. |
Reference to the answers collected in accordance with the Administrators and teachers coordinators and parents’ questionnaires. |
Table 1 (bis): Comparative table describing the QMS and the present situation at “R” School
| Student Focus and Parents satisfaction | Management shall ensure that Student essentials and needs are determined and met. Parents’ satisfaction must be measured and surveyed. | No studies or statistics are established to determine students’ needs or students’ developments, other than the exams and the notes. Parents are not involved in the system.
No regularly feedback students and parents’ statistics to measure their satisfaction. |
Reference to the answers collected in accordance with the Administrators and teachers coordinators and parents’ questionnaires. |
| Quality Policy | It is the mark of the quality commitment, and the continuous improvement commitment. | No Quality Policy stated written or oral. For Example the commitment of excellence of all activities statement published and visible for all. | Reference to the answers collected in accordance with the Administrators and teachers coordinators’ questionnaires. |
| Resource Management including Human resources | Ensure that the resources required to maintain and improve QMS are obtainable. Staff performing work shall be competent in terms of appropriate education, training, skills and experience. The school must also make sure that its teachers and administrative staffs are aware of the importance and the consequences of their activities and their contribution to the quality objectives. | The resources are not clearly provided; they are only available when badly needed without any prior plans. Human Resources department doesn’t exist in the school therefore the basics HR requirements are not applicable. There is no appraisal form or process, for example, neither any motivation for extra diploma’s hold. | Reference to the answers collected in accordance with the Administrators and teachers coordinators’ questionnaires. |
Table 1 (bis): Comparative table describing the QMS and the present situation at “R” School
| Infrastructure and Work environment | School shall provide and maintain the infrastructure and the work environment to perform work needed. | The infrastructure is not clearly surveyed under stated process; no heating or climate control in the classes or in the teachers’ room.
The work environment is governed by the religious atmosphere and not directly monitored. |
Reference to the answers collected in accordance with the Administrators and teachers coordinators’ questionnaires. |
| Internal Quality Audit | School shall conduct internal audit to ensure the improvement stating any corrective or preventive action. | No Internal Audit function or activity in the school, I can say that they do not realize the importance of its existence. No internal quality auditor. | Reference to the answers collected in accordance with the Administrators and teachers coordinators’ questionnaires. |
4.1.3 The positive impact of implementation of Quality Management System in ‘R” School
A Lot of Lebanese organizations are still working without Quality Management System or any other quality written methodology, schools are good example; therefore they can’t control their gaps, they can’t evaluate their failure and they can’t value their success; the management relies on the trial-and-error routine, when they face any problem they don’t know from where to start to solve it because they can’t define it. QMS is managing structure, responsibilities and procedures and it does constitute the whole management process. Noting that the greatest capital of a good and reputed school is its people, Schools recognize more and more the benefits of Quality Management System because it helps the school to achieve a level of excellence.
External Positive Impact
- Better focus on parents’ requirements and academic service.
- Commitment to quality.
- Positive credibility to the international standards.
Internal Positive Impact
- Brings standardization in all curriculum and procedures.
- Endless Improvement by establishing objectives for all operational departments.
- Push internal operations to be more efficient and more effective, and review the effectiveness.
- Individuals communicate better.
- Measure the performance and ensure gaps are controlled and recuperated fast.
- Generates cognizance of the necessity for training.
- Provides on going feedback of how well schools and their staff are performing with management.
The silent obstacle to get ISO certification is when the school resists to change and the mentality of “we’ve always done it this way”.