The IACBE's Approach to Quality Assurance
In its accreditation reviews, the IACBE evaluates academic quality in terms of the mission-related performance of an academic business unit. In other words, the IACBE's process of quality assurance focuses on the results or outcomes of an academic business unit's various educational processes instead of prescriptive standards pertaining to academic resources. In addition, given that the quality of an academic business unit’s performance depends on its efforts at continuous improvement to meet future challenges, the IACBE’s accreditation process fosters continuous quality enhancement and promotes improvement in the overall performance of an academic business unit.
A Deming-Porter Framework for Quality Assurance and Advancement
Since the overall performance of an academic business unit depends on the extent to which the unit effectively manages its entire range of activities and operations, the IACBE’s accreditation process employs the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) in evaluating and advancing academic quality in business education. The TQM approach to organizational success was first developed by W. Edwards Deming and is mainly concerned with continuous improvement in all aspects of an organization.
Furthermore, the outcomes resulting from an academic business unit's educational processes pertain not only to the extent of student learning but also to the degree of an academic business unit's "operational effectiveness" – a concept developed by Michael E. Porter that deals with the functional performance of an organization and that complements strategy in contributing to the overall success of the organization. Consequently, the IACBE's accreditation process (1) examines the overall performance of an academic business unit in terms of both student learning outcomes and operational outcomes and (2) requires the integration of the results of outcomes assessment with the strategic planning processes of the academic business unit and its parent institution.
The IACBE's combined Deming-Porter accreditation framework provides a distinctive "strategic continuous improvement system" for quality management and enhancement.
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Learn more about the IACBE's Deming-Porter approach to quality assurance and advancement through specialized accreditation:
- Defining Academic Quality
Before we can talk about measuring, evaluating, and advancing academic quality in business and management education, we first have to define what we mean by "academic quality."
More - Quality Assurance and TQM
The IACBE's process of accreditation takes a Total Quality Management approach to quality assurance and advancement.
More - Continuous Quality Improvement and the Deming Cycle
The IACBE's process of quality assurance and advancement emphasizes continuous improvement based on the Deming Cycle of TQM.
More - Michael Porter and Operational Effectiveness
The IACBE's quality assurance process also involves an evaluation of an academic business unit's "operational effectiveness" – a concept developed and examined by Michael Porter.
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