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Deming's Quality Principles Applied to a Large Lecture Course
Authors:
Paul Jensen
University of Texas at Austin
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Operations Research Group
Austin, TX 78712
Jennifer Robinson
Abstract:
The quality movement is sweeping American industry. Rarely has a management philosophy
so entirely captured the imagination of the corporate leaders and workers alike.
Throughout the nation, terms such as Total Quality Management (TQM) direct the entire
activities of manufacturing companies and service providers. The Baldridge Award given
annually to the best companies in a number of categories illustrates the importance of
this movement at the highest government levels. The modern quality movement began
primarily in post war Japan with the direction of W. Edwards Deming (1) an American
consultant. Only in recent years has American industry, recognizing the necessity of
quality for international competition, adopted Deming's approach with enthusiasm.
University education has been slow to recognize Deming's principles (2). Although
individual professors teach the approach to students, most faculty and administrators are
unaware of Deming and his impact. This paper describes an effort to apply the quality
principles in a specific educational context, particularly for a course having a large
lecture section with teaching assistants leading discussion sections. There are a number
of such courses in the Engineering College and throughout the University of Texas.
Reference:
ASEE Journal of Engineering Education , January 1995.
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