Total Quality Management in Information Services

Citation

Morgan, S. (1998), "Total Quality Management in Information Services", Library Review, Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 53-54. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.1998.47.1.53.12

Just when you thought that the “quality debate” was receding into the mists of time, along comes Guy St.Clair to remind us that TQM (Total Quality Management ‐ as I am sure you know by now) is alive and kicking in the information services environment. Or is it? In my view this book is an attempt to revive a rather tired holistic approach to improving service provision. This is not meant to be a criticism of St. Clair. He is clearly committed to the concept and, as Information Services Management series editor as well as author of this title, has succeeded in making a convincing case for adopting a TQM approach. But the problem he has is that the principles that lie behind TQM have been debated to saturation point in the professional and wider literature. Nevertheless, the number of organisations in the UK library and information world which have subscribed to TQM “lock, stock and barrel” has, I suspect, been fairly minimal. Clearly, the situation is rather different across the Pond from where most of the author’s examples emanate. It is this notion of TQM as an all‐embracing paradigm, an endless journey of continuous improvement, about which many organisations remain unconvinced. But cherrypicking has taken place on a grand scale. Many library and information services have taken on board certain important elements or themes within qualiteria and successfully adapted them to their own circumstances. Examples include the paramountcy of customer needs, the value of teamwork and measurement and the fact that all staff have responsibilities, not just the senior management.

While advocating a TQM approach, this book can also be digested as a series of chunks which the reader chews over as the need to consider the concept’s various components arises. Its ten chapters are divided into three parts. Part 1 (Chapters 1‐4) sets the scene, Part 2 (Chapters 5‐9) discusses each of the elements within TQM and Part 3 (Chapter 10) really consists of three chapters, although, oddly, only one is called a chapter! After the introduction the first couple of chapters represent a good overview of information services management including a particular management philosophy ‐ positive management, embracing change and building on vision ‐ and an environmental analysis. These contain some interesting ideas about the information eras through which we have passed. The approaching third era will be more towards knowledge management or “the integration and delivery of external and internal information as a unified transaction”. These act as a gentle lead‐in to the last two chapters in Part 1 which focus more specifically on quality management including information stakeholders, quality management versus quality assurance, benchmarking, etc. Chapter 4 (by Miriam Drake) addresses integration with and knowledge of the parent organisation, the importance of quality of outcome and collaboration with IT staff.

Part 2 kicks off on a familiar note (customer care) for those who have read Customer Service in the Information Environment in the same series. Alliteration abounds as we hear about reliability, responsiveness, relevance of information and reinventing services to meet customer needs. Coopers & Lybrand is used as a case study. Chapter 6 addresses a central tenet of TQM ‐ continuous improvement ‐ and the variety of barriers and resistance which staff may put in its way. There is nothing very new in the next chapter which deals with measuring quality. The author goes down some familiar avenues, for example, quantitative measures, feedback from customers, surveys, focus groups, complaints, effectiveness measures, etc. I found the last two chapters in Part 2 the most stimulating of all. First, the author deals with the manager’s role in building trust and teamwork. Much has been written about the latter but very little about the trust/integrity relationship. St. Clair touches on some slippery ethical notions including humaneness, professionalism and fairness, which are treated in a thought‐provoking way. Second, Chapter 9 discusses the task of bringing the organisation’s senior management into the TQM process. This includes five key attributes which will “spell success”. They revolve around convergence between the management of the library and that of the parent body at a number of different points, such as mutual understanding of each other’s roles, congruence of mission statements, shared communication and successful marketing. Part 3 contains Chapter 10 which is prefaced by three unnumbered sections. These cover the pioneering work of W. Edwards Deming as adapted for libraries, a practical step‐by‐step checklist for developing and implementing a quality initiative and, third, two case studies, one academic, one special library. The final brief chapter rounds off the book with some pieces of advice which may be received with scepticism in some quarters. “Find supportive management”, “build top‐notch staff” and “work hard ‐ and be fascinated by the work” may all be sound advice but are invariably easier said than done!

Written for practitioners in the profession, this book is easy to read, stimulating in parts and provides a refreshing array of examples from the more unusual information service providers. One minor criticism is that the quality of the text deserves a higher quality of illustrations. You certainly do not need to be a fully paid‐up member of the TQM club to gain much from this excellent text.