Development of a simplified approach based on the EFQM model and Six Sigma for the implementation of TQM principles in a university administration

he total quality management (TQM) principles have been successfully applied to private companies over the years: the present challenge is to apply this approach proficiently also to the public administrations (PAs) in order to improve the efficiency of their processes. The complexity of the PAs' processes, the lack of experience in the field of process improvement and the reduced human resources usually dedicated to this task are responsible for the difficulty often encountered by the PAs in monitoring, analysing and improving their processes. This paper proposes a simplified model, developed in order to solve this problem, to bring the TQM principles into reality for a PA. The model is based both on the European Foundation for Quality Management auto-evaluation model and the Six Sigma approach and it is specifically designed for PA processes. The general idea is to define a simple but rigorous approach to evaluate and improve the health status of a single process without taking into account the whole organisation, which will allow the activation of effective improvement projects with reduced need of preventive training and resources. This model has been applied to a variety of administrative processes of the University of Firenze and a case study on Master courses management is reported.