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Quality and Performance Improvement, Essay Example

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Quality improvement refers to a management technique that aims at improvement of internal operation of the organization. Quality improvement focuses on the organizational system and does not deal with an individual the conduct of individual. Quality improvement aims at improving the quality of services or processes of the organization and not rectification of the errors that exist. Quality improvement entails setting of the organizational goals, making relevant changes to organizations systems, measuring the outcomes of the implemented policies, and finally, reviews of the subsequent approaches, to enhance the organizational processes. On the other hand, performance improvement involves continuance study of the existing processes and suggesting changes to enhance the efficiency of the system. However, accreditation boards enforce quality and performance improvement in most cases. In the absence of accreditation, the performance and quality improvement should entail the following (Evans, 2010).

Leadership within the organization is a crucial component in achievement of improved quality and performance. This will increase organization efficiency and help in boosting the morale of workers in that organization (Forgia & Couttolenc, 2008).

Secondly, training of the entire organization on various tools of improving performance and quality is essential. This will equip the workers with skills of reviewing the daily process and offer standard and improved output (Evans, 2010).

Thirdly, organization should embrace team work spirit in their daily operations. Team work is a crucial component in the achievement of improved quality and performance. This is because individual will aid each other with information necessary in solving a complicated situation. For example, doctors need to work together in solving a patient’s problem especially during surgery (Forgia & Couttolenc, 2008).

Finally, communication among individual is beneficial in the achievement of improved service quality of an organization. People from different departments, ranks, or grouping can only contribute towards achievement of the organizational goals if there is the free flow of information amongst them. This is possible by adoption of effective communication protocol in the organization that will enhance the free flow of the information in the organization (Forgia & Couttolenc, 2008).

Evans, J. R. (2010). Quality & Performance Excellence. New York: Cengage Learning.

Forgia, G. M., & Couttolenc, B. (2008). Hospital performance in Brazil: the search for excellence, Volume 828. New York: World Bank Publications.

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• Section 1. Achieving and Maintaining Quality Performance

Chapter 40 Sections

• Section 3. Obtaining and Using Feedback from Participants
• Section 4. Establishing Oversight Mechanisms
• Section 5. Creating Formal Public Reporting Processes

• Main Section

Why is quality important to you?

What are the basic principles of tqm, what is tqm and its relevance to your organization, how do you achieve quality performance, using tqm and other principles, how do you maintain quality performance, the fourteen points.

W. Edwards Deming, a businessman who was influential in American industry during World War II and Japanese industry afterwards developed successful management principles based on quality. These principles encouraged the development of a flexible, dynamic system which involved everyone in a company in the production of goods that exactly met the customer's needs, did precisely what they were supposed to do as effectively as possible every time at the best possible price, and were constantly being improved. His ideas are often referred to as Total Quality Management (TQM), and they have led to a number of similar theories of management and numerous innovations in businesses around the world.

Why is quality important for you?

Exactly what does quality mean in the context of advocacy, community development, health, or human service organizations or initiatives.

A quality program:

• Responds as effectively as possible to the needs it was designed to meet
• Is totally consistent with the mission and philosophy of the organization or group carrying it out
• Is sensitive to the needs and culture of the target population
• Is a model of ethical behavior

But why is quality important for a grass roots organization?

• Quality makes a group more effective at meeting the needs it's concerned with
• Quality adds strength and credibility to your organization or initiative
• Ethically, you're bound to provide the absolute best quality of service or advocacy you can
• Quality is always more economical in the long run

Developing a "culture of quality" can have a number of positive effects on your organization itself

• If staff members and volunteers know that they and the organization are doing the best job possible, it builds their morale and makes them proud of themselves and the organization
• Striving for quality helps to develop organizational and individual competence, thus continually improving the organization
• A quality program continually increases its performance level and improves its service delivery, which gives your organization credibility and ultimately benefits your target audience

(Much of the following discussion is based on material contained in Introduction to Total Quality: Quality Management for Production, Processing, and Services, 2nd Edition. Full source citation can be found under Resources .)

There are some basic assumptions that underlie the idea of TQM. In this section, we'll look at how they might relate to your organization or initiative.

Key elements of total quality

• Customer Focus : Everything an organization does should have the needs of the customer as its starting point. In your work, the "customer" is the target population or the community that will benefit from what you are offering or doing. What are the needs to which you are responding? How can you meet those needs effectively, appropriately, and with respect for the people you're intending to serve?
• Obsession with Quality : Quality has to be something that's considered from the very beginning and built into everything a business or organization does. Planning carefully, monitoring your work, and constant reevaluation and adjustment are all extremely important. You don't ensure quality by catching mistakes before they reach the customer; you ensure it by setting up a system in which you don't make the mistakes to begin with. Everyone in the organization must understand and adopt this point of view if the organization is truly going to have quality performance.
• Continual Improvement of Systems : The work of an organization must be viewed as a process that is never finished. Any program can always be improved, and must be changed as the needs of the community or the target population change.
• Unity of Purpose : In order for quality to be achieved, everyone in an organization or business has to work together toward common goals. That means mutual support throughout the organization , not turf battles, not jealousy, not unnecessary competition. All interactions among people in the organization should be mutually helpful and aimed at achieving the best possible performance of the organization as a whole.
• Teamwork : Working in teams, rather than individually, people make better connections with their colleagues and the organization, and create better results. Teamwork removes performance pressure from the individual and usually coaxes better performance from everyone.
• Employee Involvement : If everyone in an organization is to be committed to quality performance, then all staff members should have the ability to contribute to its achievement. That means that people must have enough control over their own jobs to do them effectively, and that everyone's opinions and ideas must be respected and taken seriously.
• Education and Training: Achieving quality requires constant learning for everyone in an organization, and that learning needs to be part of the organizational culture. Not only should staff members be learning from others in the organization, but they should also be encouraged to take courses, to attend organization-sponsored trainings and workshops, to visit other organizations, etc., to continually learn more about their work, and to get new ideas and perspectives on it.
• Scientific Approach : For grass roots and community-based organizations, this means using the best research available, as well as the experience of others, to construct an effective program or initiative. That approach is much more likely to result in success and high quality than relying only on intuition or on what seems politically correct.

The founders of a Massachusetts community-based adult literacy program, with backgrounds in both developmental psychology and reading theory, based their program on the best available research in both areas. They made sure that the educational and support elements of the program fit together properly, and trained staff with that in mind. Initially, since it was doing something that hadn't been done with adults before, the program was severely criticized by others in the field. The founders were accused of cheating their students by not using a strict, phonics-based approach to reading, and by paying too much attention to other matters - students' concerns, community issues, etc. As time went on, however, and the program's drop-out rate remained extremely low and its students' success rate extremely high, others began experimenting with similar ideas. 15 years later, the program is a model for the state, but it keeps changing, responding both to student needs and feedback and to new research findings.

• Long-Term Commitment:  The best work in the world is ultimately useless if it's not maintained. Quality is a long-term concept: you have to keep striving for its improvement, even after you've achieved an acceptable level of performance. "Acceptable" is never good enough. In fact, you're never really at an endpoint, because the level you're trying to reach is "the best that can possibly be."

The Deming Cycle

The assumptions above underlie the "Deming Cycle," which is really a process for creating and selling a quality product. We'll revisit the Deming Cycle later to examine how it can be used in an advocacy, community development, health, or human service context.

• Plan - conduct consumer research and use it for planning the product
• Do -  produce the product
• Check - check the product to make sure it was produced in accordance with the plan
• Act - market the product
• Analyze - analyze how the product is received in the marketplace in terms of quality, cost, and other data

It is important to note that the principles of TQM were designed for the business sector, so while some aspects are relevant to organizations concerned with advocacy, community development, health, and human services, other aspects may be contrary to the goals of those organizations.

Some elements of TQM that would work toward quality in any environment include:

• The need for careful planning, monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment
• Teamwork and the empowerment of all in the organization
• Constant education and training for all staff
• Attention to the needs of the target population and to the results for them
• Identifying and changing what doesn't work well
• Encouraging and rewarding, rather than discouraging, new ideas
• Developing an organization-wide culture of quality
• Keeping at it over the long term

Some elements which may not work toward quality for your organization are those that assume that the goal is the success of a business, such as:

• The emphasis on products and production, which may take the focus off the human needs and consequences your organization is concerned with
• The assumption of a hierarchical structure where those in authority "let " others have a say in the achievement of quality, and where leadership always comes from the top, which may conflict with the way your organization operates
• The definition of everyone as either a supplier or a consumer/customer, which may provide the wrong metaphors for grass roots work where everyone is, on some level, a participant

Using the Deming Cycle while keeping some of the basic TQM principles in mind can help you design, deliver, refine, and maintain an effective program or initiative.

Conduct consumer research and use it for planning the product. The "product" here is the actual program you intend to conduct, and the "consumer research" is an examination of actual needs of the target population, the community, and others who will be affected.

Thus, the "Plan" part of the cycle might include the following:

• Conducting a needs assessment , involving everyone concerned
• Deciding what the desirable outcomes are, from the perspectives of the target population, the organization, and the larger community
• Determining ways to reach those outcomes that are feasible, consistent with the guiding principles of the organization, inclusive (respectful of all and beneficial to as many people and groups as possible), and consistent with the needs and culture of the target population
• Developing indicators to show when you have reached either outcomes themselves or significant points on the way to reaching those outcomes
• Inviting all stakeholders to participate in the development of the plan

Produce the product. The "production" part of the process is the actual design of the program, outreach effort, treatment strategy, etc. that will meet the need determined in the "Plan" part of the cycle. Much of the actual work here depends not only on TQM principles (teamwork, employee involvement, scientific approach, obsession with quality, and customer focus), but also on common sense and organizing principles.

The following are important elements of designing an effective program:

• Finding out what has already been tried in the community, and how well it worked
• Discovering whether there's any residual bad feeling attached to certain methods or approaches -- or people -- which may resurface if they're proposed again
• Using as examples other communities that have successfully mounted similar programs, while remaining aware that not everything that works in one place will work in another
• Consulting the research to see what has worked in this situation
• Involving all stakeholders in the development of the program or initiative, especially the people who will do the actual work
• Taking care of the logistics: a place to operate, equipment and supplies, the proper staff and/or volunteers on board, etc.

Check the product to make sure it was produced in accordance with the plan. Compare the details and overall shape of the program or initiative to the plan. Does it align with the needs assessment? Does it look like it will address the desired outcomes in desired ways? Is it inclusive? Was everyone involved in its development? Is it feasible? Is it ready to go?

Market the product. "Marketing the product" here means actually running the program or initiative that you've planned.

If it's going to work well, there are some non-TQM standards that need to be applied:

• Everyone involved should understand the process that led up to this program, as well as the philosophy, concept, and workings of it
• Everyone involved should be committed to making every effort to bring about success. A program or initiative should never fail because people don't follow through or do their jobs. (This doesn't mean that you shouldn't expect mistakes; it means, rather, that mistakes shouldn't happen just because people weren't trying, or because they simply didn't bother to do something they knew they had to do.)
• All the planning in the world is useless if everyone involved doesn't go into the experience expecting to do their best, and if there aren't good people implementing the functions of the organization

Analyze how the product is received in terms of quality, cost, and other data. Analysis in this context - looking at what you're doing, evaluating it, and trying to improve it - needs to be conducted on the basis of the original plan, with discussions among participants, staff, and others.

• Does the program or initiative actually address the identified needs? Are these needs the same as when the original assessment was conducted?
• Does the program or initiative reach, or help participants reach, the desired outcomes? Were those outcomes the right ones to aim for, or do they need to be changed? (Looking at the indicators you've developed should help you answer both these questions.)
• Is the plan in fact feasible? Can the program or initiative be run with the time, resources, and personnel available? Is it accessible to participants? Are staff and volunteers able to do their jobs without having to work to exhaustion, or beyond reasonable expectations? Is the program or initiative accepted by the community and other organizations?
• Is the program or initiative consistent with the vision, mission, philosophy and guiding principles of the organization (and are those still the same as when the plan was formulated)? Does what actually goes on in the program or initiative -- working conditions, empowerment, relations among staff, participants, volunteers, and the community -- mirror its desired effect on the community and society?
• Is the program or initiative inclusive and respectful of the target population and the community?
• Is the program or initiative ethical? Are you skirting your own principles in any way? Are you ignoring basic principles of fairness, honesty, civility, democracy, or responsibility for your actions?

Although the two are usually congruent, ethical is not always exactly the same as legal. The exercise of civil disobedience may be profoundly ethical, while being, at the same time, inarguably illegal. The civil rights marches and actions led by Martin Luther King and others during the 1950's and 60's often fell into this category.

Restart the cycle

Your analysis should naturally lead into a new planning sessions, and where necessary, lead to rethinking and reworking the program or initiative, or even the task of the organization itself.

While the maintenance of quality is, to some extent, built into the Deming Cycle, it requires some particular commitments and action.

Institutionalization of dynamism

An organization needs to be dynamic , always moving and always seeking continued improvement, and to institutionalize its dynamic character.

This means:

• An assumption of dynamism needs to be part of the organizational culture, with everyone understanding and buying into it.
• Encouraging and providing support -- to staff, volunteers, and participants -- for learning.

Organizational support for education includes providing, or coordinating with another organization's provision of, professional development or university courses, training, certification, etc., that help staff and volunteers to build their skills. If financial resources are not available, other means of institutional support -- release time or leave time, special recognition, a library for the organization, study circles or reading groups, etc. -- need to be considered. Everyone in the organization, including administrators and Board members, should be encouraged to take advantage of learning opportunities and to model learning behavior.

• Listening to and carefully evaluating ideas from everyone.
• Encouraging openness to change and experimentation with new ideas and strategies

Administrators and Board members need to model such openness by being willing to reexamine and change procedures, policies, etc. when needed. Staff and volunteers should be given room to try out even things that others may be skeptical about, as long as they can justify the attempt ("It worked elsewhere" and "I learned about it in a course" are both reasonable justifications.). If such an attempt is honestly carried out, it should be seen as a positive even if it fails: it provided new information, and is another building block in the construction of a quality program.

• Never being complacent and always being open to the idea that the work could be done differently -- and better.
• Incorporating constant reevaluation, including feedback and ideas from the target population.
• Always being aware of the original mission, but not being afraid of change. While the mission itself may change as the community and circumstances do, it should nonetheless remain consistent with the principles and philosophy upon which the organization was founded.

Long-range strategic planning

To maintain quality, an organization needs to continually look at itself over and for the long term.

It needs to ask some questions about its role and its future:

• Is it meeting an ongoing need effectively? If not, what does it need to do to become more effective?
• Have community needs changed? Are they likely to? If so, how can the organization regroup to meet new needs?
• Are there more or different things it should be doing? Does it need to expand its present activities to meet current or projected community needs?
• Does it need more resources, or will it in the future? What are some likely sources?
• Is its structure appropriate to what it's doing, and consistent with its mission and guiding principles? (An organization dedicated to empowerment, for instance, may not be consistent if its internal structure is hierarchical and authoritarian.)
• Are its goals, vision, and philosophy still relevant to the realities of the community and in keeping with its organizational mission and guiding principles?

SWOT Analysis

One way to explore these questions is through the use of another device partially borrowed from TQM: SWOT analysis . SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Each of the questions above can be examined in the light of SWOT analysis. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your organization in regard to each question? What opportunities exist for the organization in each area of its functioning? And what threats or challenges will the organization have to overcome if it is to continue to be successful, and to maintain quality performance?

Strengths and weaknesses : Strengths and weaknesses may be trends, rather than specifics. A level of service that is currently appropriate, for example, is not a strength if it is more or less than will be needed in a year. A new program that's not ready to implement yet is not a weakness if it's unready because the developers are taking the time necessary to make it effective.

By the same token, strengths and weaknesses don't necessarily lie only in the success of programs or the skills of staff members, but in such areas as relationships, contacts, and reputation. An organization running a great program may still be have serious weaknesses because it lacks some of these other features, no matter how well it carries out its day-to-day activities.

Opportunities: Opportunities can take many forms.

• An organization may be able to meet other needs with its current structure. For instance, an organization that publicizes and provides prenatal care to pregnant teens could be in an excellent position to also publicize and provide vaccinations, nutrition information, and help with parenting skills after the babies are born.
• It may be possible to expand into other areas of service, or into a larger arena (another town, another county, national instead of just one state).
• Increased funding may be available from new sources, or because of changed circumstances. A new census, for example, can result in an increase in federal funds to a region, or an economic downturn may bring a demand -- and increased funding -- for adult education or retraining.
• Collaboration with other groups , leading to increased resources, may become a prospect.
• Invitations or awards offered to your organization or staff members or good press may lead to your organization being viewed as more "legitimate."

Taking advantage of any opportunity can have both positive and negative consequences for your organization, so it's important to analyze the situation carefully before committing yourself.

Threats (Challenges): Some of the challenges that go along with any opportunity can be truly daunting if they're not thought through carefully. Many of the opportunities above require some sort of organizational restructuring or growth, processes that are always difficult, and require a lot of planning. Some even represent rethinking the purpose of the organization, which may become a different organization in the process. In becoming larger or more accepted, for instance, an organization may forget its roots or its guiding principles, and lose much of its effectiveness.

Other threats may come unaccompanied by opportunity. Your organization may experience difficulty finding -- and keeping -- ongoing funding and other resources, including competent staff; sustaining continued effort in all areas of functioning (advertising, recruitment, public relations, programming, evaluation, etc.); dealing with controversy; and addressing antagonism from individuals, other groups, or the community.

Applying SWOT analysis to all the areas your organization has to deal with makes it easier both to anticipate and prepare for the negative, and to remember to identify and build on the positive.

Other facets of the planning process

Some specific areas that long-range strategic planning needs to address at regular intervals:

• Reexamining the organization's vision, guiding principles, and mission statement . Are they still relevant to what the organization does, and are they still what the organization believes? Do they need to be restated or redefined?
• Reexamining the goals of the organization . Are they still relevant to the needs they were originally meant to address? Are they consistent with the vision and mission statement?
• Reexamining the current strategies of the organization for meeting those goals . Are current methods effective? Are they consistent with the organization's vision, mission statement, and guiding principles? Are they feasible? Do they play well in the community? Are they inclusive and respectful? Are they ethical?

Keeping at it

The single most important thing to understand about maintaining quality performance -- or maintaining an organization, for that matter -- is that you can never stop working at it. No effort at maintaining quality will work any longer than it is applied. No matter how institutionalized dynamism becomes, no matter how good your planning process is, they take constant care.

The Fourteen Points Deming used the key elements listed above in "Basic principles of TQM" to define the "Fourteen Points," fourteen things that he felt businesses needed to do in order to achieve quality performance. Create constancy of purpose toward the improvement of products and services in order to become competitive, stay in business, and provide jobs. Adopt the new philosophy. Management must learn that it is a new economic age and awaken to the challenge, learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change. Stop depending on inspection to achieve quality. Build in quality from the start. Stop awarding contracts on the basis of low bids. Continuously improve the system of production and services to enhance quality and productivity, and thus constantly to reduce costs. Institute training on the job. Institute leadership. The purpose of leadership should be to help people and technology work better. Drive out fear so that everyone may work effectively. Break down barriers between departments so that people can work as a team. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force. They create adversarial relationships. Eliminate quotas and management by objectives. Substitute leadership. Remove barriers that rob employees of their pride of workmanship. Institute a vigorous program of education and self improvement. Make the transformation everyone's job and put everyone to work on it.

Achieving and maintaining quality performance is important to the target population, to funders, and to the community.

Using some TQM principles and, specifically, the Deming Cycle ( Plan, Do, Check, Act, Analyze ) can be helpful in getting to a high level of quality and continuing to improve.

In general, achieving and maintaining quality is a result of:

• Careful planning
• Program or initiative development that adheres to that planning
• Implementation that takes quality into account
• Constant reevaluation of implementation and of the organization
• An assumption of the dynamic character of the organization, and a willingness to change continually in striving for a better way to accomplish goals
• Keeping at it indefinitely

If you can carry out and institutionalize these steps, especially the last, success is in your grasp.

Online Resources

ASQ: The Global Voice of Quality  is a global community of people passionate about quality, who use the tools and their ideas and expertise to make our world work better.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)  publishes International Standards which ensure that products and services are safe, reliable and of good quality. For business, they are strategic tools that reduce costs by minimizing waste and errors and increasing productivity. They help companies to access new markets, level the playing field for developing countries and facilitate free and fair global trade.   ISO 9000 WWW Pages , provided by  Simply Quality , lists websites that provide information on ISO 9000. The ISO 9000 family of standards is related to quality management systems and designed to help organizations ensure that they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to the product. ISO 9000 deals with the fundamentals of quality management systems.

Little-Bitty Quality Steps  is an article on small steps to quality on the website of Bacal & Associates, management and training consultants to the public sector in Canada.

Publich Health Quality Improvement Exchange (PHQIX)   allows people to submit short explanations of their initiatives and observations/lessons-learned.

Total Quality Management  provides a dictionary of TQM terms.

Print Resources

Deming,  E. Out of the Crisis . (1986). Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Engineering Study.

Deming,  E. Quality, Productivity, and Competitive Position . (1982). Cambridge, MA: M.I.T., Center for Advanced Engineering Study.

Goetsch, D., & Davis, S.  Introduction to Total Quality: Quality Management for Production, Processing, and Services , 2nd Edition. Merrill, an imprint of MacMillan Publishing Co.

Hunt, D. (1992).   Quality in America: How to Implement a Competitive Quality Program . Homewood, IL: Business One Irwin.

Latzko, W., & David, M. Four Days with Dr. Deming: A Strategy for Modern Methods of Management . (1995). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.

Sashkin, M., & Kenneth, J. (1993).  Putting Total Quality Management to Work . San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

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122 Quality Assurance Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Quality assurance is an essential aspect of any industry or organization, ensuring that products and services meet the highest standards of excellence. As such, it is crucial for professionals in this field to stay informed about the latest trends and best practices. To help you stay ahead of the curve, we have compiled a list of 122 quality assurance essay topic ideas and examples that you can use for your next research paper or project.

• The importance of quality assurance in the manufacturing industry
• Strategies for implementing a successful quality assurance program
• How to measure the effectiveness of a quality assurance program
• The role of technology in improving quality assurance processes
• Best practices for conducting quality audits
• The impact of quality assurance on customer satisfaction
• The relationship between quality assurance and risk management
• The benefits of implementing a total quality management system
• Quality assurance in the healthcare industry
• Quality assurance in the food industry
• The role of quality assurance in the pharmaceutical industry
• Quality assurance in the automotive industry
• Quality assurance in the aerospace industry
• Quality assurance in the construction industry
• The impact of globalization on quality assurance practices
• The role of quality assurance in ensuring compliance with regulations
• The relationship between quality assurance and continuous improvement
• The challenges of implementing a quality assurance program in a small business
• The role of leadership in promoting a culture of quality assurance
• The impact of quality assurance on employee morale
• The role of training and development in quality assurance
• The role of quality assurance in reducing costs and increasing efficiency
• The impact of quality assurance on brand reputation
• Quality assurance in the service industry
• The impact of quality assurance on supply chain management
• The role of quality assurance in ensuring product safety
• The challenges of implementing a quality assurance program in a global organization
• The impact of quality assurance on product innovation
• The role of quality assurance in new product development
• The relationship between quality assurance and customer loyalty
• The impact of quality assurance on organizational performance
• The role of quality assurance in maintaining competitive advantage
• The challenges of implementing a quality assurance program in a regulated industry
• The role of quality assurance in reducing waste and improving sustainability
• The impact of quality assurance on employee engagement
• The role of quality assurance in fostering a culture of continuous improvement
• The relationship between quality assurance and customer retention
• The impact of quality assurance on organizational resilience
• The role of quality assurance in ensuring product reliability
• The challenges of implementing a quality assurance program in a decentralized organization
• The impact of quality assurance on product differentiation
• The role of quality assurance in ensuring product quality
• The relationship between quality assurance and customer trust
• The impact of quality assurance on cost control
• The role of quality assurance in managing supplier relationships
• The challenges of implementing a quality assurance program in a fast-paced industry
• The impact of quality assurance on organizational culture
• The role of quality assurance in fostering innovation
• The relationship between quality assurance and organizational resilience
• The impact of quality assurance on employee satisfaction
• The role of quality assurance in ensuring product consistency
• The challenges of implementing a quality assurance program in a highly regulated industry
• The impact of quality assurance on product performance
• The role of quality assurance in ensuring customer satisfaction
• The relationship between quality assurance and organizational agility
• The impact of quality assurance on organizational efficiency
• The role of quality assurance in promoting a culture of quality excellence
• The challenges of implementing a quality assurance program in a dynamic industry
• The impact of quality assurance on product competitiveness
• The role of quality assurance in maintaining market leadership
• The relationship between quality assurance and organizational effectiveness
• The impact of quality assurance on product reliability
• The challenges of implementing a quality assurance program in a global supply chain
• The impact of quality assurance on customer loyalty

In conclusion, quality assurance is a critical component of any organization, ensuring that products and services meet the highest standards of excellence. By exploring these 122 quality assurance essay topic ideas and examples, you can gain a deeper understanding of the key issues and trends in this field, enabling you to develop innovative solutions and drive continuous improvement within your organization.

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Essay on Total Quality Management TQM Total Quality Management system and the Enrichment of Customer requirements

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iaeme iaeme

In present scenario of globalization and economic slowdown, survival of organizations has become a challenging task for the management. Customers expect high product quality along with low cost, timely deliver and best service. In such a situation, total quality management in the organization is very relevant. This paper has tried to explore different issues affecting implementation of TQM, effect of TQM on performance and circumstances under which TQM fails. One hundred twenty research papers, mainly from referred international journals are reviewed to identify thrust areas of research. On the basis of review, gaps are identified and research agenda is proposed. This paper has identified certain gaps from literature on issues related with TQM such as development of framework for evaluating effectiveness of TQM, prioritization of critical success factors, comparative study of TQM and effect of TQM on performance of organizations from supply chain perspective etc on which further study can be conducted

Gangaram Biswakarma, PhD

In this 21st century, globally quality is the foremost emphasized in any sector, whether it is manufacturing or service sector. It leads to the competitive advantage to an organization. In this front, TQM implementation gives a cutting edge to the organization. In Nepalese context there is an increasing interest in TQM in service sector including hospitality, for providing company with a competitive advantage. A sample of 250 employees of hospitality sector in Nepal was taken with convenience sampling techniques, returned 226 questionnaires. It can be concluded in results that TQM is an important tool to manage organization successfully. TQM focuses strongly on the importance of the relationship between customers and as well as employee. It is practiced moderately. The dimensions of TQM - top management commitment & leadership, continuous improvement, quality planning, customer focus, service design, supplier relationship and employee management are equally vital and contribute to the instatement of TQM in hospitality industry. All the dimensions have positive correlation with effectiveness of TQM. Likewise, all dimensions have their impact over the effectiveness of TQM; employee management has the strongest impact on effectiveness of total quality management.

Canadian Institute for Knowledge Development (CIKD)

International Journal of Organizational Leadership (IJOL)

There are many skeptics about the contributions of Total Quality Management (TQM) to education because of its roots in the world of business. TQM says nothing about actual production but stresses the process of management and collaboration within the system to reach quality output. Any quality-conscious organization, despite the nature, should understand this. This paper will not present any innovative ideas but will define TQM and focus on its influence on the various facets of an institution of higher education. TQM helps to provide better services to its primary customers-students and the community. Moreover, TQM focuses on continuous improvement and growth that can offer an enhanced and challenging learning environment for all involved. Thus, a more effective and efficient corporate culture emerges.

Bala Salisu

Objective: The objective of this review is to spotlight, based on contextual fit, the essence of the Total Quality Management (TQM) concept, advance the context-specific tools for its adoption, and suggest Critical Success Factors (CSFs) researchers and management practitioners should consider when considering any TQM initiative. Method/ Analysis: The traditional narrative review design was used. Based on the authors' extensive readings, a number of TQM tools and CSFs reflective of Lee's conception of the paradigmatic shifts in management practice were identified from the extant literature. A synthesis of a selected set of TQM tools and CSFs form the paper's argument. Findings: The results show that when conceptualised to reflect the appropriate management context (mechanical, biological , or social), TQM can impact organisational outcomes based on intervention in six areas. Five management tools and a set of three foundational CSFs form the operational grid for a typical TQM programme. Novelty: Against the backcloth of the five revolutions in management, this paper presents a set of five management tools that could be used across industry groups in implementing TQM programmes based on the pedestal of three foundational CSFs.

unstyle service

IDOSI Publications

Ain Zakinuddin

The main purpose of this article is to propose a framework on the relationship between Total Quality Management (TQM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). In the relevant literature, many theories have focused on TQM dimensions like as leadership, strategic planning, customer focus and information analysis. TQM practices seems to become benefit to all types of organization in which it is applied. Like as TQM, organization will get a better chance to become successful if implementing CRM strategies in their organization with the help from flexibility and reconstruction of the organizational structure, organization wide commitment of resources and human resources management.

IOSR Journals publish within 3 days

Abstract: Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management philosophy which focuses on customer satisfaction by improving the organisation performance through co-ordination of various processes in all the business units. The purpose of TQM is to provide quality product or service to the customer which inturn provides increased productivity at low cost. TQM is applicable to all manufacturing and service industries. It operates on the principle that cost of prevention is less than the cost of correction. This study focuses on TQM development, performance and sustenance in service industries through effective communication, critical success factors and market orientation. It examines the quality improvement through effective employee communication and the relationship between CSFs and company performance. The study suggests Deming’s Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle based approach to develop and sustain TQM. It articulates the relationship between TQM and market orientation, in terms of both elements (practices) and performance. The study investigates the reasons for TQM failures and proposes guidelines for successful implementation of TQM. Keywords: Critical Success Factors (CSFs), Effective Communication, Market Based Quality, PDSA, TQM Failures, and TQM Implementation

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What is the Kano Model?

The Kano Model (pronounced “Kah-no”) is an approach to prioritizing features on a product roadmap based on the degree to which they are likely to satisfy customers. Product teams can weigh a high-satisfaction feature against its costs to implement to determine whether or not adding it to the roadmap is a strategically sound decision.

The Kano Model is one of many prioritization frameworks designed to help product teams prioritize initiatives. For example, Kano can help teams determine which features will satisfy and even delight customers. Product managers often use the Kano Model to prioritize potential new features by grouping them into categories. These feature categories can range from those that could disappoint customers to those likely to satisfy or even delight customers.

This strict focus on how customers react to each feature distinguishes the Kano Model from other prioritization frameworks. The Benefits vs. Cost Model , for example, might use customer satisfaction among its scoring criteria but might also use different criteria, such as increased revenue. With the Kano Model, the key consideration for any new feature is how much it will satisfy users.

Watch this video to visualize the Kano Model and learn how your product team can use it to prioritize initiatives.

What is the History of the Kano Model?

Dr. Noriaki Kano, a professor of quality management at the Tokyo University of Science, created the Kano Model in 1984. As author Dave Verduyn explains , Dr. Noriaki developed this framework while researching the factors that contributed to customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The model identifies five categories of potential customer reactions to a new feature, ranging from dissatisfaction to indifference, all the way up to what many call customer delight or excitement features.

How Does the Kano Model Work?

Using the Kano Model, product teams pull together a list of potential new features vying for development resources and space on the roadmap. The team will then weigh these features according to two competing criteria:

• Their potential to satisfy customers.
• The investment is needed to implement them.

You can also think of the Kano Model as the “Customer Delight vs. Implementation Investment” approach.

What are the Kano Model Feature Categories?

The Kano Model identifies three types of initiatives product teams will want to develop. We will discuss those below.

It’s also worth pointing out, however, that the model also identifies two types of features you will want to keep off of your roadmap:

• “indifferent” features , which customers won’t care about.
• “dissatisfaction” features , which will upset customers.

Under the Kano Model, the three categories of initiatives that could earn a slot on your roadmap include:

Basic (threshold) features

These are features your product needs to be competitive. Customers expect these features (such as a car’s turn signal) and take them for granted. This means they must be included. And, if they don’t work as expected, they may lead to dissatisfaction.

Excitement features

Excitement features yield a disproportionate increase in customer delight as you invest in them. If you don’t have these features, customers might not even miss them; but if you include them and continue to invest in them, you will create dramatic customer delight. You can also think of these features as the unique innovations and surprises you include in your product. Dr. Noriaki called these “attractive” features and “delighters” because they had that effect on users, and that delight can create an outsized positive response to your product.

After the internal product team has made its own determinations about which of the potential new features fall into which categories (including the two negative ones—indifference and dissatisfaction), the team will then take the issue directly to users or prospective users with customer surveys, questionnaires, and other feedback methods.

Performance features

These are features that give you a proportionate increase in customer satisfaction as you invest in them. One example would be increasing file storage capacity in an online app. Dr. Noriaki described this type of feature as “one-dimensional” because of the direct, linear correlation between how much you invest in it and the amount of customer satisfaction it delivers. These also feature customers who know they want and weigh heavily when deciding whether to choose your product or your competitor’s.

Explore how to prioritize your product roadmap with the Kano Model:

When should you use the kano model.

The Kano Model can be a helpful framework for product teams with limited time and resources who want to make sure they prioritize the appropriate mix of features to work on next.

This approach is most effective for teams in need of guidance to figure out which minimum-threshold features they absolutely must build, which performance features to start investing in now, and which customer-delight features will deliver the biggest customer “Wow!” for the buck.

As product management consultant Daniel Zacarias explains , “There are many different reasons why you might need to include a given feature, but what do you do to know which ones will make your (future) customers happy and prefer it over others?”

The Kano Model can help product teams answer that all-important question.

Kano Model Takeaways

The Kano Model is a useful framework for product teams looking for a systematic approach to feature prioritization. In addition, it helps teams that are interested in prioritizing functionalities they believe will delight customers.

Talk to an Expert

Schedule a few minutes with us to share more about your product roadmapping goals and we'll tailor a demo to show you how easy it is to build strategic roadmaps, align behind customer needs, prioritize, and measure success.

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, quality management system in higher education institutions and its impact on students' employability with the mediating effect of industry–academia collaboration.

Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences

ISSN : 2054-6238

Article publication date: 29 December 2021

Issue publication date: 15 May 2024

Based on the principles of the human capital theory, this study investigates the role of the quality management system (QMS) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing successful employability attributes among graduates. Considering industry as a prominent stakeholder in academia, the authors took industry–academia collaboration as the mediating variable.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the European Foundation for Quality Management model, the author analyzed how QMS in public HEIs located in London, the United Kingdom (UK), impacts business management, computer science and engineering students' employability. Following the nonprobability convenience sampling technique, this study included data from 324 local and international students.

The structural analysis identified QMS as a significant factor in enhancing students' employability, and industry–academia collaboration is found to act as a partial mediator in this relationship.

Originality/value

The management of HEIs in developing countries can take valuable guidelines from this study and integrate QMS in their institutions in developing their students' employability, as it is being done by HEIs in the UK.

• Human capital development
• Employability
• Total quality management
• Industry–academia collaboration
• Higher education institutions

Abbas, J. , Kumari, K. and Al-Rahmi, W.M. (2024), "Quality management system in higher education institutions and its impact on students' employability with the mediating effect of industry–academia collaboration", Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences , Vol. 40 No. 2, pp. 325-343. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEAS-07-2021-0135

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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26 Example Paragraphs for Performance Reviews [Positive & Negative Feedback]

By Status.net Editorial Team on April 8, 2023 — 15 minutes to read

Performance reviews play an essential role in employee growth and development. Effectively conveying praise and guidance facilitates open communication and contributes to a positive work environment. This article provides example paragraphs for performance reviews, focusing on various skills and including both positive and negative examples; each skill is addressed separately, with example paragraphs demonstrating how to effectively communicate strengths or areas for improvement.

See also: 2000+ Performance Review Phrases: The Complete List (Performance Feedback Examples)

How to Give Effective Feedback (and Avoid Mistakes)

Communication Skills

Positive feedback example for communication skills.

“Emma consistently demonstrates strong communication skills, both in writing and speaking. Her emails are clear, concise, and always contain all necessary information, making it easy for colleagues to understand her messages and respond promptly. Additionally, her ability to intertwine detailed explanations with relevant examples allows her to convey complex ideas in an easily digestible manner.

During team meetings, Emma is an active listener, giving her undivided attention to the speaker and providing thoughtful input on the topic at hand. Notably, she has shown tact and empathy when mediating team discussions, diffusing tense situations effectively. As a result, she contributes to a positive and inclusive work environment.”

Negative Feedback Example for Communication Skills

“John has room for improvement in his communication skills. His written correspondence tends to be disorganized and lacking in detail, creating confusion for the recipients. It is recommended that John proofread his messages carefully and ensure that they include all necessary information before sending them.

In team meetings, John often interrupts his colleagues and speaks over them, making it difficult for others to express their thoughts or complete their points. To improve, John should practice active listening, allowing his team members to speak uninterrupted and demonstrate respect for their opinions.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for communication skills : Performance Review Phrases for Communication

Leadership Skills

Positive feedback example for leadership skills.

“Emma has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills by fostering a positive work environment where team members feel valued and engaged. She leads by example and creates an atmosphere that encourages open communication, collaboration, and continuous learning. Her team consistently meets and often exceeds their goals, reflecting her ability to delegate tasks effectively and provide constructive feedback to drive improvement.

During challenging times, Emma maintains a calm and collected demeanor, serving as a source of support and reassurance for her team. She has been instrumental in implementing team-building exercises that have helped improve overall team performance and cohesion.”

Negative Feedback Example for Leadership Skills

“While George has demonstrated strong technical skills, his leadership abilities require improvement. He tends to micromanage tasks, which can undermine team members’ confidence and limit their opportunities for growth. In addition, rather than proactively addressing issues and conflicts, George often disregards them, leading to a tense work environment.

Team members have reported feeling unsupported and disengaged, impacting their overall motivation and productivity. To enhance his leadership skills, George should focus on developing better communication and delegation abilities, as well as providing timely and constructive feedback to foster a more supportive and collaborative team dynamic.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for leadership skills : 169 Performance Review Feedback Phrases for Planning, Leadership, Management Style

Teamwork Skills

Teamwork skills are essential for employees to effectively work together, achieve common goals, and create a positive workplace environment.

Positive Feedback Example for Teamwork Skills

“John demonstrates a strong work ethic and a commitment to the team. He actively collaborates with colleagues and willingly offers his support in any way needed. John’s ability to give and receive constructive criticism has helped the team maintain a healthy working relationship. John respects and values the opinions of his team members. He also communicates his ideas and opinions clearly to other team members, which has greatly improved the group’s overall efficiency. John’s teamwork skills include: effective communication, open-mindedness, active listening, conflict resolution.”

Negative Feedback Example for Teamwork Skills

“Jane shows a lack of teamwork skills that have impacted her team’s performance. She tends to work in isolation and does not openly communicate her ideas or opinions with others. This has led to misunderstandings on several occasions and increased the risk of project delays.

Jane also tends to dismiss the feedback and input of other team members, which has negatively impacted overall morale. She struggles to accept constructive criticism and has shown resistance to change. This behavior hinders the team’s ability to optimize processes and achieve common goals.

Areas for improvement in Jane’s teamwork skills include:

• Area of improvement: Communication Suggested action: Participate in training sessions focused on communication skills.
• Area of improvement: Listening Suggested action: Attend workshops on active listening and open-mindedness to better understand the value of diverse perspectives.
• Area of improvement: Conflict resolution Suggested action: Seek guidance from a mentor or coach to improve conflict resolution skills.
• Area of improvement: Collaboration Suggested action: Connect with colleagues regularly and engage in team-building activities to strengthen bonds among the team members.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for teamwork skills : 150+ Performance Appraisal Phrases (Teamwork, Technical Skills, Time Management)

Problem-Solving Skills

Problem-solving skills are essential for employees to effectively tackle challenges and find solutions in their daily tasks.

Positive Feedback Example for Problem Solving Skills

“Jane has consistently showcased her exceptional problem-solving skills throughout her time on the customer support team. When faced with complex customer issues, she is able to quickly identify the root cause of the problem and implement an effective solution. For example, when a recent escalation arose involving a client’s recurring billing discrepancy, Jane swiftly analyzed the situation and discovered an error in the system settings. She then collaborated with the IT department to address the glitch, resulting in a prompt resolution for the client and preventing further issues.”

Negative Feedback Example for Problem Solving Skills

“While Mike is a valuable team member in our IT department, his problem-solving skills require improvement. When confronted with multiple issues during the recent network updates, Mike appeared overwhelmed and struggled to make problems more manageable. For instance, he failed to prioritize tasks, which led to delays in addressing critical system vulnerabilities. Additionally, his communication with colleagues was less than satisfactory, making it difficult for others to assist and collaborate on finding solutions.

Improving his problem-solving skills would enable Mike to respond more effectively to challenges and contribute significantly to the success of future projects. We encourage him to seek additional training and to collaborate more closely with colleagues to help break down complex tasks into more manageable, actionable steps.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for decision making and problem solving : 174 Performance Feedback Examples (Reliability, Integrity, Problem Solving)

Time Management Skills

Effective time management is essential for success in the workplace. Employees who excel in managing their time are able to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and complete work efficiently.

Positive Feedback Example for Time Management Skills

“During the past year, Jane has demonstrated exceptional time management skills by consistently completing projects ahead of schedule. She is able to create realistic time estimates for tasks and allocate her work hours effectively to ensure her goals are met. An example of her strong time management skills is her work on the ABC project, where she successfully managed multiple tasks and deadlines within tight time constraints. Jane’s excellent time management has allowed her to excel at prioritizing work and increase overall productivity in the team.”

Negative Feedback Example for Time Management Skills

“Over the last year, John has struggled with managing his time effectively, which has resulted in missed deadlines and low-quality work. Despite being provided with clear project timelines, John often underestimates the time required to complete tasks and is unable to prioritize his workload appropriately. One notable example is his involvement in a recent project, where he failed to meet several deadlines and did not effectively communicate his progress to the team. This lack of time management skills has negatively impacted the team’s overall performance and must be addressed in order to improve John’s productivity.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for time management skills : 150+ Performance Appraisal Phrases (Teamwork, Technical Skills, Time Management)

Creativity Skills

Creativity skills are essential for problem-solving and generating new ideas in the workplace.

Positive Feedback Example for Creativity

“John consistently demonstrates his ability to think outside the box. He is excellent at brainstorming sessions, frequently contributing innovative ideas and solutions. For instance, during a recent project, John developed a creative marketing strategy that increased engagement on social media by 30%. Thanks to his unique perspectives, John has helped drive successful outcomes and boost department performance.”

Negative Feedback Example for Creativity

“Though Jane has strong technical skills, she struggles with adapting to new challenges and situations. She often gets stuck in traditional ways of thinking and is hesitant to propose innovative solutions. This has, at times, limited the team’s ability to overcome obstacles and move forward with projects.

For Jane to improve their creativity skills, she should actively participate in brainstorming sessions, share her thoughts and ideas, and engage in exercises designed to promote out-of-the-box thinking.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for creativity and innovation : 242 Examples

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills are essential in the workplace to build healthy relationships and work collaboratively. These skills also help to manage conflicts effectively and cultivate a positive work environment.

Positive Feedback Example for Interpersonal Skills

“Jane has demonstrated excellent active listening skills during team meetings and while working on projects. She effectively listens to her colleagues’ ideas and provides thoughtful feedback, which has improved overall team communication. She consistently fosters an environment of collaboration and cooperation and readily offers her assistance to colleagues.”

Negative Feedback Example for Interpersonal Skills

“During the last quarter, Susan failed to take responsibility for the deadlines and often blamed her team members. She struggles with clearly conveying her ideas and thoughts to others, leaving her colleagues confused and unsure of their tasks or objectives. To improve her interpersonal skills, Susan needs to work on her communication abilities and practice being more concise and clear with her instructions.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for communication skills : Performance Review Phrases for Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Customer Service Skills

Effective customer service skills are crucial to providing an exceptional experience for customers.

Positive Feedback Example for Customer Service Skills

“Anna consistently demonstrates outstanding customer service skills. She is known for her empathy and active listening, allowing her to effectively understand and address customer concerns. As a result, Anna has been able to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. She was attentive to customer needs and swiftly addressed their concerns, resulting in repeat business. Her excellent communication abilities enabled her to provide clear instructions, helping to avoid any misunderstandings. Anna’s problem-solving skills allowed her to quickly find solutions to customer issues, ensuring their satisfaction.”

Negative Feedback Example for Customer Service Skills

“Tom struggles in providing satisfactory customer service, because he is often more focused on completing tasks than actively listening to customers, which leads to misunderstandings and dissatisfaction. His lack of empathy prevents Tom from building rapport with customers, which negatively impacts their experience. Tom’s problem-solving skills are limited; he usually needs assistance from a manager to handle complicated customer issues.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for customer service skills : Examples for Customer Focus and Customer Satisfaction

Technical Skills

Positive feedback example for technical skills.

“Alice has consistently demonstrated exceptional technical skills in her role. She exhibits a deep understanding of the latest software and tools, being proficient in their usage. Alice’s ability to troubleshoot complex technical issues and offer effective solutions showcases her strong problem-solving skills. Her mastery of technology has been pivotal in the successful completion of multiple projects, such as collaborating with team members to create a new app.”

Negative Feedback Example for Technical Skills

“Bob has been struggling to keep up with the technical demands of his role. He frequently requires assistance when working with new software or tools, causing delays in project completion. Bob’s inability to learn new technical skills quickly has hindered his effectiveness and impacted the overall team productivity. It is recommended that Bob invests more time in training and development to become proficient in essential technical skills.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for technical skills : 150+ Examples (Teamwork, Technical Skills, Time Management)

Attention to Detail

Attention to detail is a critical skill that reflects an employee’s ability to achieve accuracy and focus in their job. This skill significantly contributes to their overall performance and helps reduce mistakes in their work.

Positive Feedback Example for Attention to Detail

“Bob consistently demonstrates exceptional attention to detail in his assignments. He has been able to deliver outstanding results in his projects while maintaining high levels of accuracy. His commitment to ensuring all tasks are thoroughly completed before moving on to the next has contributed to a more efficient workflow. Some specific instances of his excellent attention to detail include: Identifying and correcting a crucial error in a report that could have led to inaccurate conclusions being drawn; Meticulously tracking and documenting project progress to ensure all stakeholders were kept informed and up-to-date; Proactively preventing potential misunderstandings by carefully reviewing and proofreading all communication materials before distribution.”

Negative Feedback Example for Attention to Details

“Alice has struggled with attention to detail in her performance. Her work has been marked by occasional errors and oversights, which have led to lost time and resources in correcting these issues. Despite her best efforts, Alice has not shown improvement in this area, and it has negatively impacted her overall performance. Some examples of her lack of attention to detail include:

• Failure to review and double-check calculations, resulting in inaccurate financial reports that needed to be reworked.
• Missing important deadlines due to overlooking key tasks on her project plans.
• Communicating unclear or incorrect information to team members, leading to confusion and lost time in seeking clarification.

In order to improve her attention to detail, Alice could benefit from implementing strategies such as creating detailed checklists, setting aside dedicated review time for her work, and seeking feedback from colleagues to identify potential areas for improvement.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for attitude : 100+ Performance Evaluation Comments for Attitude, Training Ability, Critical Thinking

Adaptability

Adaptability skills are critical for thriving in fast-paced and ever-changing work environments. It is important for employees to be able to handle change effectively, stay composed under pressure, and swiftly adjust to new situations.

Positive Feedback Example for Adaptability

“Jane has consistently showcased her adaptability skills throughout the past year, particularly during the company-wide shift to remote work. Despite the unexpected challenges, she quickly embraced the new work environment and made necessary adjustments to maintain her productivity levels.

She demonstrated her ability to handle new software tools effectively and collaborated well with her team, ensuring everyone stayed connected and informed. Jane’s proactive approach to learning and embracing change sets a positive example for her peers and has been instrumental in keeping her department running smoothly.”

Negative Feedback Example for Adaptability

“John has struggled with adaptability throughout the year. He often appears resistant to changes implemented within the organization, avoiding new processes and tools. As a consequence, he has fallen behind on multiple projects, causing delays and additional work for his team. John’s inability to cope with change effectively and maintain a positive attitude has raised concerns among his managers and colleagues.

In order to improve his adaptability skills, John should seek opportunities to enhance his flexibility and openness towards new challenges. He should work on developing a proactive mindset, embracing changes within the workplace, and learning new skills. Successfully doing so will contribute to both his personal growth and his team’s success.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for adaptability : Performance Review Phrases for Quality of Work, Adaptability, Communication

Reliability and Dependability

Positive feedback example for reliability.

“Heather consistently demonstrates a high level of reliability and dependability in her role. She can be trusted to complete tasks accurately and on time, even when faced with tight deadlines. She is often the first one in the office and the last one to leave, working diligently to ensure her projects are completed thoroughly and without errors. In fact, her dependability has made her a go-to person for her teammates, who know they can count on her assistance and collaboration.”

Negative Feedback Example for Reliability

“Although Michael is talented in many aspects of his job, he struggles with reliability and dependability. He is frequently late to work and has missed several deadlines, leaving his team members struggling to finish their tasks. Additionally, Michael has had difficulty in communicating effectively with his team, making it difficult for them to plan reliance on his contributions. This lack of reliability has had a negative impact on overall team performance, and Michael must focus on improving his time management and communication skills to become a reliable and dependable team member.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for reliability : Performance Feedback Examples for Reliability and Dependability

Organizational Skills

Organizational skills are essential for employees to effectively manage their time, energy, and resources.

Positive Feedback Example for Organizational Skills

“Jane has consistently demonstrated excellent organizational skills throughout the past year. She meticulously plans her daily tasks using a digital task manager, which allows her to prioritize her workload efficiently. This has greatly impacted her ability to meet deadlines and deliver high-quality work.

Jane’s attention to detail has improved the workflow within her team. By implementing a shared calendar, Jane has facilitated better communication and coordination among team members, resulting in fewer scheduling conflicts and improved project efficiency. Her documentation practices have also contributed to a more organized and accessible repository of project files.”

Negative Feedback Example for Organizational Skills

“John has been struggling with organizational skills for several months. He often arrives at meetings unprepared, leading to lost time and decreased productivity. His disorganized workspace has caused difficulty for his coworkers when they need access to shared resources.

John’s inability to prioritize tasks has led to missed deadlines and a decline in the quality of his work. He would benefit from leveraging available tools, such as digital task managers and shared calendars, to develop a system that helps him stay on top of his responsibilities.

By improving his organizational skills, John can increase his overall efficiency, contribute more effectively to team projects, and achieve better results in future performance reviews.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for planning skills : 169 Performance Review Feedback Phrases for Planning, Leadership, Management Style

How To Write a Manager Performance Review? (with Examples)

• 30 Employee Feedback Examples (Positive & Negative)
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• 100 Performance Review Phrases for Job Knowledge, Judgment, Listening Skills
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• Call to +1 844 889-9952

Quality Management Systems and Organizational Performance

Introduction

Background information about the organization, the rationale for selecting the quality program, potential benefits for the organization’s performance.

Quality management programs are essential for the organization’s performance since they help companies to maintain and improve the quality of products and remain competitive. This paper discusses one of the quality management programs, namely, Total Quality Management. TQM makes companies focus their attention on customer satisfaction and regular quality improvement. Using Almarai, a Saudi Arabian company producing food and beverages, as an example, this paper explains how TQM may benefit organizations in terms of performance.

This company was chosen because its vision aligns with the principles of TQM. The major advantages of this program include enhancing quality at different organizational levels, understanding the needs of the market, and improving the quality chain. Moreover, a brief description of approaches to measuring the organization’s performance is provided, including the approaches based on results and behavior.

Quality management is closely related to the performance of an organization. Quality, along with time and quantity, defines performance standards that allow for assessing how well employees achieve the organization’s objectives (Aguinis, 2013). To enhance its performance, an organization should adopt a quality management program. Three commonly used quality management programs are ISO 9001-2008, Six Sigma, and Total Quality Management (TQM) (Purwihartuti, Sule, Hilmiana, & Zusnita, 2016). This paper will discuss the TQM program and apply it to a Saudi Arabian organization called Almarai. Since TQM is aimed at continuous improvement and customer satisfaction, it aligns with the company’s vision and may help it enhance its performance.

Almarai is a large organization based and operating in Saudi Arabia. The company is specialized in producing and distributing a wide range of food products and beverages. It was founded in 1976 by Prince Sultan bin Mohammed Al Kabeer and headquartered in the capital of the country, Riyadh. Nowadays, the company serves more than 18 million customers in over 100,000 retail outlets (Almarai, n.d.). Almarai’s vision is to be the preferred choice in foodstuffs and promote health and well-being (Singh, 2017). Its mission is to “constantly exceed consumer expectations by providing the highest quality food products and superior customer services” (Singh, 2017, p. 2). The orientation toward continuous improvement of quality has placed the organization among leaders in its industry.

Almarai pays great attention to the quality of its products. It is the owner of its key supply chain points, including the production of feed, packaging, and distribution, which allows it to control the quality of goods at each stage of manufacturing (Almarai, n.d.). It also applies “the Food Safety Management System (ISO22000: 2005)” to ensure the highest quality of its products (Almarai, n.d., para. 8). It should be said that Almarai’s efforts to improve its product quality have been successful.

The survey designed to determine customers’ satisfaction with Almarai’s goods showed that the majority of 150 respondents preferred this company’s production to that of its competitors (Singh, 2017). Yet, some customers were not completely satisfied with Almarai’s products (Singh, 2017). Therefore, the organization still has room to grow in terms of quality and performance.

Among the existing quality programs, Total Quality Management (TQM) seems to be the most appropriate for the chosen organization. TQM is a comprehensive quality management system that aims at achieving the sustainable success of an organization (Peljhan & Marc, 2016). TQM suggests attaining the organization’s objectives by “encouraging employee feedback and participation, satisfying customer needs and expectations, respecting societal values and beliefs, and obeying governmental statutes and regulations” (Peljhan & Marc, 2016, p. 921). The central focus of TQM is customer satisfaction and constant improvement (Peljhan & Marc, 2016).

TQM encourages every member of the organization to participate in enhancing the quality of products, processes, services, and working culture (Way, Aichouni, Badawi, & Boujelbene, 2016). Example practices that can be used in TQM include teamwork and increasing employee engagement, reducing manufacturing rework, regularly measuring results, and process redesign (Peljhan & Marc, 2016). Thus, TQM is concerned with quality improvement at all levels of an organization.

TQM is focused on customer satisfaction and quality enhancement for some reason. First, paying too much attention to profitability rather than customer satisfaction hinders an organization from improving its production processes (Peljhan & Marc, 2016). Secondly, it is consumers who define the quality level of products and services, and their needs and expectations serve as a driver for further developments in different industries (Muiruri, 2016). Therefore, assessing customer satisfaction and performance results is a justified measure used in this quality management program.

Since Almarai strives to be customers’ preferred choice when it comes to food and beverage products, TQM is a proper quality management program for it. The company operates in the manufacturing industry, and it has been proved that enterprises in this kind of industry benefit from implementing TQM (Way et al., 2016). Naturally, there may be some difficulties in trying to introduce this quality management program into an organization.

For example, companies sometimes have troubles with poor planning, lack of top-level management, and unsatisfactory leadership quality (Way et al., 2016). However, organizations that face these problems are usually small or medium-sized. Almarai, on the contrary, is a large company with international recognition and strong leadership. Therefore, it has the necessary resources for successfully implementing TQM.

TQM has great potential to enhance the performance of the organization. However, at first, it is necessary to discuss how a company can measure its performance. If an organization decides to measure its performance based on results, it should define accountabilities and goals at the beginning (Aguinis, 2013). Further, the organization should develop its performance standards that include such aspects as quality, quantity, and time (Aguinis, 2013). Quality involves such parameters as customer’s feedback, error rates, and usefulness; quantity means the amount of produced goods, and time stands for adherence to schedule (Aguinis, 2013).

To assess employee performance, a behavior approach can be used, which involves two possible systems of measuring behaviors: comparative and absolute (Aguinis, 2013). In comparative systems, workers are compared with each other, and the organization may rank its employees from the best to the worst (Aguinis, 2013). On the other hand, absolute systems require supervisors to assess and give feedback to each worker (Aguinis, 2013). The use of the behavior approach to measuring performance may be of use in the context of TQM since it requires every employee to commit to organizational objectives and quality improvement.

One way in which TQM may benefit Almarai’s performance is through improving quality at every level of the organization. TQM brings changes to the work culture and employees’ attitudes within a company (Worlu & Obi, 2019). Since it fosters improvement throughout the organization, it is likely to encourage employees to develop their competencies. According to the behavior approach to measuring performance, competencies are key determinants of how an organization can achieve its goals (Aguinis, 2013). Thus, the improvement of workers’ skills and knowledge will lead to quality enhancement.

TQM can help the organization to respond to the market needs better. Since the major focus of TQM is customer satisfaction, it encourages companies to identify consumers’ needs and meet them as best as they can (Worlu & Obi, 2019). By adopting TQM, Almarai could, for example, not only maintain the high quality of its products but also determine the emerging needs of its clients and try to satisfy them earlier than its competitors.

One more benefit of TQM is the improvement of the quality chain. TQM sees a company’s staff as a chain in which employees are simultaneously suppliers and customers for other departments (Worlu & Obi, 2019). For example, in Almarai, units that are engaged in farming are customers of employees producing animal feed and suppliers for workers manufacturing foodstuffs. Enhancing the quality of work of each manufacturing unit will lead to an overall increase in performance.

To sum up, quality management programs are important for enhancing organizations’ performance. This paper discussed the principles of Total Quality Management, a quality management program focused on customer satisfaction and constant improvement. TQM would be appropriate for Almarai because the focus of this program aligns with the organization’s vision to become the preferred choice in the food and beverage market. TQM can benefit the organization’s performance by enhancing quality at different organizational levels, giving a better understanding of the market needs, and improving the quality chain.

Aguinis, H. (2013). Performance management (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Almarai. (n.d.). Quality and food safety . Web.

Muiruri, Z. K. (2016). Quality management systems and organizational performance: A theoretical review in Kenya’s public sector organizations. Science Journal of Business and Management , 4 (5), 150-155.

Peljhan, D., & Marc, M. (2016). Total quality management and performance management systems: team players or lonely riders? Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 29 (7-8), 920-940.

Purwihartuti, K., Sule, E. T., Hilmiana, & Zusnita, W. O. (2016). Quality management systems and performance of organization. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 4 (11), 598-611.

Singh, A. (2017). Performance measurement of Almarai products and customer satisfaction. International Journal of Management Science, 4 (1), 1-12.

Way, Y., Aichouni, M., Badawi, I., & Boujelbene, M. (2016). A survey on the implementation of total quality management (TQM) at manufacturing industries in north region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2nd International Conference on Information Management (ICIM) (pp. 84-88). Piscataway, NJ: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Worlu, R. E., & Obi, J. N. (2019). Total quality management practices and organizational performance. Covenant Journal of Business & Social Sciences, 10 (1), 106-129.

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Textbook Quality Criteria and Evaluation

• First Online: 05 April 2018

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The chapter explains the state of development of assessment methods for the quality of educational media within the general context of the current discourse about educational quality. Several theoretical approaches and the corresponding evaluation designs developed in recent years in different countries are presented and compared in order to outline common factors, methodological principles and directions. This demonstrates their primarily deductive nature, based upon their relationship to various academic disciplines, their foundation in textbook and media theories and their relationship to political, ethical or religious concepts, linguistic perspectives and methodologies and pragmatic and administrative needs. Finally, the chapter summarises benefits and new directions of textbook evaluation, focusing on its functional role regarding educational policy systems, cultural development, guiding pedagogical values and potential applications.

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Quality in Educational Research

Quality criteria in educational research: is beauty more important than popularity, questions of quality in educational research.

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Fey, CC., Matthes, E. (2018). Textbook Quality Criteria and Evaluation. In: Fuchs, E., Bock, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Textbook Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53142-1_11

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Predictors of the Quality of Life of University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Enrique ramón-arbués.

1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Campus Universitario Villanueva de Gállego, Universidad San Jorge, 50830 Saragossa, Spain

2 H27_20D Transfercult, Investigation Group, Aragón, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

Emmanuel Echániz-Serrano

3 Faculty of Health Sciences, Zaragoza University, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

Blanca Martínez-Abadía

4 Occupational Health and Prevention Service of the Zaragoza City Council, 50003 Saragossa, Spain

Isabel Antón-Solanas

Ana cobos-rincón.

5 GRUPAC, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of La Rioja, 26004 Logroño, Spain

6 Biomedical Research Center of La Rioja (CIBIR), 26004 Logroño, Spain

Iván Santolalla-Arnedo

Raúl juárez-vela, benjamin adam jerue.

7 Faculty of Communication and Social Sciences, Campus Universitario Villanueva de Gállego, Universidad San Jorge, 50830 Saragossa, Spain

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Quality of life (QOL) is a complex and multifaceted concept that has been used to study different aspects of people’s lives, including physical and psychological wellbeing, financial independence, social relationships, personal beliefs and living situation. In this study, we aimed to assess the QOL of a group of Spanish university students and identify associated factors. Method: We completed a cross-sectional study of the QOL of 868 university students using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. In addition, data regarding sociodemographic information and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short version), diet (Spanish Index of Healthy Eating), alcohol consumption (CAGE questionnaire) and sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) were collected. Results: A total of 66.2% of participants assessed their QOL positively, while 58.8% favorably evaluated their overall health. Students reported the highest scores for the physical health domain of QOL, whereas they gave the lowest scores for the psychological health domain. Age was inversely associated with QOL. Higher self-esteem and satisfaction with academic performance, as well as sleep and diet quality, were directly associated with higher QOL. The physical health domain of QOL was scored more highly by participants who had a healthy body weight or those who reported moderate levels of physical activity. Higher scores in the social relationships domain of QOL were directly linked to alcohol intake, smoking and low body weight in addition to being inversely associated with screen time. The psychological domain of QOL was lower for those who were overweight or lived alone. Conclusion: Many sociodemographic, academic and behavioral variables are associated with university students’ QOL. The present findings underscore the need to direct further initiatives toward identifying and overcoming barriers to increased QOL for university students.

1. Introduction

Quality of life (QOL) is a complex and multifaceted concept that has been used to study different aspects of people’s lives, including physical and psychological wellbeing, financial independence, social relationships, personal beliefs and living situation [ 1 ]. The varied contexts in which QOL has been used, however, have made it difficult to define the term in a way that is acceptable to researchers in all fields. Accordingly, starting in the 1960s, researchers proposed a range of definitions of QOL focusing on different factors, including basic human needs, subjective wellbeing, hopes and expectations for the future, and other phenomenological considerations [ 2 ]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined QOL as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns” [ 3 ], and goes on to urge researchers to measure QOL in different cultures and contexts in order to obtain a more holistic view of health and provide better treatment to patients [ 3 ].

Adolescence and the early years of adulthood are among the most crucial phases of human development [ 4 ]. In these periods of physical, psychological, social and sexual development, adolescents and young adults gradually assume greater responsibility for and autonomy over their own lives; likewise, they develop new attitudes and beliefs about their health and risks to it [ 5 ]. For this population, the transition from secondary to higher education can be especially demanding for many reasons, including the pressure to thrive academically, competition between peers, changes in workload and support networks and, on certain occasions, changes in living conditions and being away from family for an extended period of time [ 6 ]. The potent mix of biological and social–psychological factors during this period can leave university students especially vulnerable and susceptible to high-risk behavior, whether physical, psychological, or a combination thereof; such behaviors, in turn, can have a negative impact on students’ QOL in both the short and long term [ 7 ].

Previous studies have demonstrated how university students, especially those studying health sciences, exhibit lower levels of QOL than the general population [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. This body of research has already revealed several factors linked to having a higher QOL among university students, including, but not limited to, the following: satisfaction with their studies [ 11 , 12 ], satisfaction with life [ 13 ], being male [ 14 ], the absence of signs of depression [ 15 , 16 ] and stress [ 16 , 17 ], being well off economically [ 12 ], having healthy sleep habits [ 18 , 19 ] and having a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30 [ 10 , 20 ]. However, there are other factors that have been shown to affect the QOL of the general population, but their influence on the QOL of university students has yet to be properly studied. These factors include diet [ 21 ], physical activity [ 22 ], smoking [ 23 ], alcohol intake [ 24 ] and relationship status [ 25 ]. Furthermore, most of the scholarly literature on the QOL of university students has focused on specific groups of students: generally those enrolled in health science programs (e.g., medicine, dentistry or nursing). These degree programs are notoriously competitive, give rise to stressful situations, and are punctuated with important rites of passage [ 26 , 27 ]. Given the prevailing focus on this subset of students, there is a dearth of research on the QOL of the general population of university students. In Spain, such research has been limited to only a handful of studies with small sample sizes [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. The present paper aims to fill in this gap in the literature by studying a broader group of university students from different fields of study and determining which variables are associated with QOL.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. procedure and participants.

A cross-sectional study was carried out among students from three different faculties (Architecture and Technology, Health Sciences and Communication and Social Sciences) at the Universidad San Jorge in Villanueva de Gállego (Aragon, Spain). Both participant recruitment and data collection took place in the classroom during May 2021. A researcher went to various classrooms to explain to students the study’s objectives and provide them with pertinent information about the collection and handling of data. Students were physically provided with explanatory information for participants as well as an informed consent form. Students were assured that all information would be kept confidential. Furthermore, it was explained that students did not have to participate in the study and that they could choose to end their participation at any time. Of the 1437 students enrolled at the university, 912 opted to participate in the study and filled out the questionnaires provided by the researchers. Of the 912 questionnaires that were received, 44 were discarded and not analyzed since they were incomplete or because the provided information was patently untrue ( Figure 1 ).

Study flowchart.

2.2. Data Collection

The questionnaire used to collect data was comprised of two sections, with the first dealing with sociodemographics (e.g., anthropometric, academic and behavioral data) and the second dealing with QOL.

Using a process designed to protect anonymity, participants reported information about their age, gender, studies, place of residence, relationship status, height, weight, smoking habits, use of mobile devices, physical activity, diet, self-esteem, alcohol intake, sleep habits and quality of life.

The short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ—Short Version) was used to collect data about physical activity. The short IPAQ asks participants about the intensity, frequency and duration of physical activity carried out over the last seven days. Responses allow each participant’s physical activity to be classified into one of three levels: high, moderate or low [ 32 ].

The Spanish Healthy Eating Index (SHEI) was used to assess participants’ diet quality [ 33 ]. The Spanish Society for Community Nutrition has designed this research tool, which is an adapted version of the Healthy Eating Index first introduced by Kennedy et al. [ 34 ] to better fit the Spanish context. The SHEI consists of 10 items that are scored between 0 and 10. Accordingly, the final score can range between 0 and 100 and is classified as follows: over 80 (healthy diet), between 50 and 80 (diet needing modification) and under 50 (unhealthy).

Participants’ self-esteem was assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale [ 35 ] This questionnaire contains 10 items (with Likert-style options ranging between 1 and 4 points) so that the minimum score is 10 and the maximum is 40. Participants’ self-esteem is then classified using the following levels: 30 and above (high self-esteem), 26–29 (moderate self-esteem) and 25 and below (low self-esteem). Among the Spanish population, this scale has received an internal consistency of 0.87 and a test–retest reliability (within a year) of 0.74 [ 36 ].

Data on alcohol intake were gathered by means of the CAGE questionnaire, which has been validated for Spain by Rodríguez Martos et al. [ 37 ]. This questionnaire consists of 4 items, each of which has 2 options (“yes” or “no”). Since each affirmative answer is worth 1 point, there is a maximum score of 4 and a minimum of 0. This questionnaire’s sensitivity oscillates between 65 and 100%, and its specificity between 88 and 100% [ 38 ].

Participants’ sleep quality was assessed through the Spanish version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) [ 39 ]. This research tool consists of 19 items that comprise 7 subscales. These subscales, each of which is individually scored between 0 (very good) and 3 (very bad), are added together for a final score ranging from 0 to 21. Any score above 5 signals poor sleep quality or pathological difficulties related to sleep. The Spanish version of the PSQI has demonstrated adequate psychometric properties [ 39 , 40 ] and hence has been deemed a useful tool for epidemiological and clinical research.

The WHOQOL-BREF was used to measure participants’ QOL [ 41 , 42 ]. This questionnaire consists of 26 items, each of which is scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1–5). The first two items assess participants’ overall perception of their QOL (item 1) and health (item 2). The remaining items gather information about four specific domains of QOL: physical health (7 items), psychological health (6 items), social relationships (3 items) and environmental health (8 items). The average score of each domain is used to calculate a raw score for that domain. Following the guidelines provided by the WHO, the sum of the various raw scores can then be converted to a 0–100-point scale, with higher scores denoting a higher QOL [ 41 ]. The WHOQOL-BREF has been repeatedly used to study university students’ QOL [ 14 , 43 , 44 ] and the Spanish version has demonstrated positive psychometric properties during its validation for a clinical population [ 45 ].

2.3. Data Analysis

The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test and graphic analysis were used to check the normality of the data distribution. The averages and standard deviations are given to present the results of the descriptive analysis of each WHOQOL-BREF domain. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the reliability of the Spanish version of the WHOQOL-BREF for the sample, with internal consistency being considered good when values were equal to or higher than 0.7. The Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) was used to determine the correlation between the different WHOQOL-BREF domains. The bivariate relationships between different variables and QOL scores were analyzed using the Pearson or Spearman correlation coefficient, a Student’s t -test and ANOVA.

Different multiple linear regression models (stepwise method using a probability of F to enter ≤ 0.05 and to exit ≤ 0.10) were carried out in order to identify independent predictors of QOL. Age and CAGE score variables showed a significant amount of asymmetry and were log-transformed for this analysis. Furthermore, a collinearity analysis was used to discard from the regression models any factor that presented a tolerance value or variance inflation factor (VIF) close to 1 and a condition index less than 30. Data codification, processing and analysis were completed using the statistical software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 21 for Windows, IBM Corp., Chicago, IL, USA), accepting a level of significance of p < 0.05.

3.1. Demographic Characteristics

A total of 868 university students participated in this study. The average age was 22.84 ± 7.51 and most participants were female (78.2%). Most students were enrolled in a health science program (61.3%), had a healthy body weight (77.4%), lived at home with parents/family (69.4%), were not smokers (67.7%) and had a diet that was either unhealthy or needed modification (82.2%). Table 1 provides further information about the demographics and habits of the sample.

Participant characteristics and quality of life.

* p < 0.01, ** p < 0.05.

3.2. WHOQOL-BREF scores and their reliability

The QOL scores in all domains showed a normal distribution. A total of 66.2% of participants positively evaluated their QOL, while 58.8% were satisfied with their overall health (WHOQOL-BREF items 1 and 2) ( Figure 2 ).

Participants’ perception of their quality of life and satisfaction with their health.

The following scores were reported for items 1 and 2, as well as the four QOL domains: perception of QOL (3.77 ± 0.88), overall health (3.63 ± 0.95), physical health (76.08 ± 14.17), psychological health (65.92 ± 15.79), social relationships (72.55 ± 19.83) and environmental health (73.77 ± 13.37). The reliability analysis gave Cronbach alpha values between 0.71 and 0.979 for the various domains ( Table 2 ). Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that since the third domain (social relationships) only consists of three items, the results should be viewed with caution.

Participant scores on the WHOQOL-BREF and reliability for each domain.

Statistically significant bivariate correlations were found between the four domains of QOL. There were also statistically significant correlations between general perception of QOL and overall health and the scores obtained in the four domains. The strength of the correlation between the different domains ranged from moderate to strong (Pearson’s r between 0.302 and 0.553) ( Table 3 ).

Bivariate correlations between different domains of the WHOQOL-BREF.

* Correlations are significant at the level of 0.01 (bilateral).

3.3. The Relationship between Sociodemographic Variables and QOL: Multivariant Analysis

The physical health domain was directly associated with satisfaction with academic performance and increased screen time, while it was inversely related to low body weight, obesity, increased alcohol intake (assessed with the CAGE questionnaire) and high levels of physical activity. Being older, female, overweight and having an increased alcohol intake were all associated with lower QOL in the psychological health domain. Satisfaction with school, low body weight, low levels of physical activity, being a smoker, increased alcohol intake and having a stable partner all correlated with higher levels of satisfaction in the social relationships domain, whereas being older and having more screen were associated with lower levels of satisfaction in the same domain. There was a direct relationship between the environmental health domain and academic satisfaction, increased screen time, healthy body weight, being younger and having lower levels of alcohol consumption. It is also worth noting that participants in the final years of their university studies and those that had flat mates reported lower scores in the environmental health domain. Furthermore, self-esteem and sleep quality were associated with a higher QOL in all domains, and healthier diets were linked to stronger scores in the social relationships and environmental health domains. The goodness-of-fit of the different regression models ranged between r 2 = 0.351 and r 2 = 0.595 ( Table 4 ).

Multivariate analysis of factors associated with the different QOL domains.

Age and CAGE score are expressed as log-transformed. Does not enter in the model; * p < 0.01; ** p < 0.05.

4. Discussion

The present study has sought to assess the QOL of Spanish university students and identify associated predictive factors. A total of 66.2% of the study participants assessed their QOL favorably, while 58.8% positively rated their overall health. Notably, these numbers are lower than those reported in the National Health Survey for the general Spanish population [ 46 ]. The participants’ responses concerning their overall perception of QOL and overall health gave average values of 3.77 ± 0.88 and 3.63 ± 0.95, respectively (minimum 1 and maximum 5). These findings are analogous to those reported in other studies of university students from Spain [ 47 ], Europe [ 47 , 48 ] and around the world [ 14 , 49 ].

In the present sample, physical and psychological health were the highest and lowest scoring domains, respectively (76.08 ± 14.17 and 65.92 ± 15.79). While the body of published literature on the QOL of university students has been inconclusive concerning which domain university students score the highest, there is a recurring pattern that psychological health receives the lowest score [ 47 , 50 , 51 ]. It is likely that the differences that emerge in the literature over the strongest QOL domain can be explained in terms of contextual, cultural and socio-economic differences between different countries, communities and cultures; more specifically, we should be aware that there are meaningful differences in the expectations and customs of university students from one context to the next and that such differences surely exercise an influence over QOL.

Previous research has suggested that the first [ 52 ] and last [ 53 ] years of university are especially punctuated with stressful situations, a fact that could lead to changes in QOL from one year to the next. In our sample, however, age (and not year of study) was the variable that was inversely associated with the psychological, environmental and social domains of QOL. Such a finding could be explained by the particular characteristics of the university from which participants were recruited, since they can study remotely if there are conflicts in their work and school schedules. Given that students who work tend to be older, it would be reasonable that the psychological health, social relationships and environmental health of older students would be negatively impacted due to a greater number of responsibilities (i.e., balancing school and work at once).

Being female has repeatedly been associated with a lower QOL for university students [ 10 , 12 , 54 ]. This finding has often been explained in the following terms: stress is negatively associated with QOL [ 17 , 55 ] and women tend to identify a greater range of situations as stressful, and are more negatively impacted by stressful situations than men [ 50 ]. In the present study, however, gender was not a significant predictor for QOL. Likewise, QOL was not linked to a student’s field of study. These results diverge from most previously reported findings which have suggested that studying health sciences is associated with higher levels of stress and worse QOL due to a range of factors, such as heavy workloads, exacting standards, and the need to work with real-life patients during clinical internships [ 9 , 56 ].

Various studies have argued for the beneficial impact of a balanced diet on QOL, as well as the physical and mental health of the general population [ 57 , 58 ], and university students in particular [ 59 , 60 ]. In this regard, diet quality was only linked to higher QOL in the domains of social relationships and environmental health, and not to the physical or psychological health domains. The direct link between physical activity and higher QOL is plausible from a biological perspective, and has been observed in previous studies [ 61 , 62 ]. However, the present analysis of this association provided surprising results since it revealed a U-shaped relationship for the domains of psychological and environmental health: participants with either high or low levels of physical activity reported a higher QOL. Perhaps these results can be partially explained by the questionnaire used to measure physical activity (IPAQ—Short Version), since it does not draw potentially meaningful distinctions between competitive/recreational activities, individual/team activities or indoor/outdoor activities. All these factors could plausibly influence the QOL domains of psychological health, social relationships and environmental health. Furthermore, the IPAQ—Short Version relies on participants’ ability to recall what exercise they had undertaken over the last seven days. Accordingly, it would be of particular interest to measure levels of physical activity more objectively in future studies on the QOL of Spanish university students.

For the participants of the present study, there was a direct correlation between self-esteem and QOL in all domains. This relationship has previously been reported for university students [ 63 ]. Self-esteem is a multidimensional concept that is influenced by a large range of factors, such as self-image, perception of social support, life experience or the achievement of goals. Thus, a high level of self-esteem improves one’s mindset, positively influences health-related behaviors and fosters emotional wellbeing and stability [ 64 ]. Inversely, low levels of self-esteem are correlated with worse mental health [ 65 , 66 ] and ultimately lower QOL. As previous studies have found [ 67 , 68 ], higher levels of satisfaction with academic performance were linked to higher scores in the physical and psychological health domains of QOL. One possible explanation for the relationship between academic success and higher QOL in the physical health domain could be that students with higher energy levels are able to spend more time studying, which is then reflected in higher grades [ 69 ]. In a similar vein, different studies have shown how physical activity can improve young people’s academic habits and skills and hence boost their academic performance [ 70 , 71 ]. As far as the psychological health domain is concerned, fulfilling one’s own academic goals seems to lead to increased efficiency and self-esteem, both of which would positively impact QOL in this domain [ 11 ].

In this study, the variable that was most strongly correlated to QOL (in all domains) was sleep quality, an association that has repeatedly been reported in the literature [ 18 , 61 ]. University students may have trouble sleeping due to physiological factors and, especially, behavioral ones, such as poor sleep habits, the use of stimulants, alcohol intake, the consumption of caffeinated or energy drinks or an overuse of screens [ 72 , 73 ]. Furthermore, poor sleep quality is related to stress [ 74 ], mood swings [ 75 , 76 ] and lower academic achievement [ 77 , 78 ], all of which could lead to diminishing QOL.

Due to their health implications, several of the present study’s findings deserve special attention: being a smoker, consuming alcohol and having a low body weight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m 2 ) were all related to higher scores in the social relationships domain of QOL. It must be acknowledged that in many western societies, beauty is associated with being thin, and both alcohol and tobacco are widely considered to be important for socializing. Today, there are still prevalent attitudes that encourage insufficient diet as well as normalize drinking and smoking, while downplaying their health consequences [ 79 , 80 ]. Public health authorities should be engaged in forging a broad social consensus that acknowledges the importance of a healthy diet and dissuades adolescents and young adults from taking up smoking and consuming alcohol on a regular basis. On its own, information campaigns will not be sufficient to address the problem since this action needs to be buttressed by other effective policies (e.g., stricter regulations on advertising as well as the tobacco and alcohol industries generally) to protect the health of young people.

While the vast majority of published literature on the QOL of university students has focused on those enrolled in specific degree programs, the present study is, as far as the authors are aware, the first to investigate the QOL of the general population of Spanish university students and a broad range of sociodemographic and behavioral variables. When combined with the large sample size, the approved techniques for collecting data and the plausibility of the results, the scope and design of the study have led the authors to posit that the results can be taken as representative of the larger body of Spanish university students. Accordingly, the authors believe that the present portrait is reliable and can serve as a point of departure for developing and implementing new interventions aimed at improving the various domains of QOL for Spanish university students. Despite this confidence, several limitations of the present study must be acknowledged. First, the transversal design has made it possible to detect associations, but it does not allow us to determine a cause-and-effect relationship or the direction of influence; this is also true for potentially bidirectional relationships, such as the link between QOL and alcohol and tobacco intake or sleep quality. Second, given that the findings come from only one academic center, as a limitation we emphasize that it is not possible to extrapolate them to the total number of centers in our country. Third, our data were collected when the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting public health measures were well underway in Spain. This fact provides valuable information concerning the QOL of Spanish university students in that specific context and, in all likelihood, the results reflect the pandemic’s impact on this population; however, these results do not allow us to determine the precise way in which the pandemic has influenced university students’ QOL. Fourth, our data were collected outside of an exam period, which means that results could very well have been different (i.e., lower scores in the psychological and environmental health domains) had students completed the study questionnaire during an exam period. This hypothesis is based on the assumption that some students see exams as high-stakes events that are emotionally taxing and can increase levels of stress [ 81 , 82 ]. As a result, QOL could fluctuate throughout the academic year, reaching a low point during exams.

Finally, it is quite possible that our theoretical model could be further refined through the inclusion of even more variables, such as satisfaction with one’s field of study, the institutional support available to students (in the classroom and through more general guidance counseling) or the techniques and resources that students use to overcome challenges. Future studies in this area ought to address the limitations of the present study. Accordingly, it would be desirable to conduct longitudinal studies and include an increased number of variables related to education and study habits.

5. Conclusions

Spanish university students reported medium–high levels of QOL (3.77 out of 5), with the physical health domain scoring the highest and the psychological one the lowest. These results, however, showed lower levels of perceived QOL among university students than the general population. A suite of sociodemographic (e.g., age and BMI), academic (satisfaction with academic performance), emotional (self-esteem) and behavioral (the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, sleep practices and diet) factors have been identified to help us significantly predict the QOL of this population.

The present results provide relevant information for policymakers hoping to implement strategies to identify barriers in the physical, psychological, social and environmental domains in order to increase the overall QOL of university students. In this vein, putting into practice activities geared towards improving physical health and the level of socialization, designing health education programs meant to modify unhealthy lifestyle choices and training educators to identify the immediate psychological needs of the student body would all be effective and impactful measures to improve the QOL of university students.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, E.R.-A. and B.A.J. methodology, E.R.-A.; software E.E.-S.; validation, E.E.-S., formal analysis, E.R.-A.; investigation, I.A.-S.; resources, A.C.-R.; data curation, I.S.-A.; writing—original draft preparation, I.A.-S.; writing—review and editing, E.R.-A.; visualization, A.C.-R.; supervision, B.M.-A.; project administration, B.A.J.; funding acquisition, R.J.-V. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The research protocol was reviewed and approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Aragon (IRB Ref: CP-CI.PI09/93) before the study began. Furthermore, the signing authors affirm that throughout the entire process they followed and applied all national and international ethical standards for research involving human beings.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Quality Metrics and Performance Improvement Capability Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

UCM Description

As a non-profit, accredited medical system, UCM employs nearly 10,000 physicians and personnel (Uchicago Medicine). It is renowned worldwide for its medical technology and understands the necessity to improve patient care to keep up with the caliber of its science. It incorporates the Pritzker School of Medicine, the Biological Sciences Division, the Medical Center, the Community Health and Hospital Division, and the UChicago Medicine Physicians.

Developing Improvement Capability for Organizational Performance

Any provider organization considering improving capabilities at scale must obtain early board-level support. It is very challenging to implement an organization-wide improvement capability development program without the active and apparent assistance of the board.

Provider organizations must consider how they will pay for programs to increase their capabilities. A training program’s initial planning, development, and promotion expenditures, the hiring of coaches and administrators, and ongoing costs of maintaining the program over time require funding to build improved capability at scale.

UCM must develop ways to give employees more time to participate in training programs.

More has to be done by commissioners to assist organizations in creating improvement capability-building programs. They must carefully consider whether they currently support providers who intend to invest in developing scalable improvement capabilities within their workforce.

System administrators with regulatory responsibilities in this organization must ensure it has the time and space to create quality-improvement initiatives.

Resources Needed to Develop Improvement Capability

With the increasing demand for intricate health amenities and the rapid implementation of novel techniques, healthcare has grown more specialized. These changes compel physicians to adopt a holistic tactic, imposing a more significant demand for cohesive, effective teams.

The planning process in medical institutions comprises setting targets and goals predicated on where the organization sees itself in the future. The administrators must establish following social customs, administrative guidelines, and practical advances.

By giving clients something diverse from what their competitors may be marketing, using strategic capabilities to distinguish the healthcare system will aid the institution’s development.

Medical practitioners must be trained and educated to guarantee individual awareness and a team strategy with shared information, abilities, and perspectives toward controlling this condition.

Quality Managers, Internal Advisors, Quality Technology Staff, Steering Committees, Improvement teams, and Quality Councils are possible additional structures or positions.

Metrics Used by The Organization to Measure Quality

Patient care measures include how the hospital gives patients access to a professional who can handle billing issues swiftly and complete billing information. Preventing and Responding to Patient Harm measures demonstrate how the hospital promotes patient safety. Critical care shows whether the hospital has Doctors with Special Training Who Care for Patients Needing Critical Care. Healthcare-Associated Infections explain how the hospital views various infections. Maternity care demonstrates the safety of deliveries in the hospital.

Medication safety measures demonstrate whether the hospital has safe and effective medication prescription, reconciliation, management, and recording for patients undergoing elective outpatient surgery. Pediatric care measures indicate the Radiation Level for Head Scans, Pelvis Scans, and encounters of Parents and Their Children in the Hospital. Complex adult and pediatric surgery measures demonstrate the number of successful Mitral Valve Repair and Maintenance, Open Aortic Operations, Gastric Surgery for Weight Reduction, and Cancer Treatments conducted each year in the facility. Total joint replacement measures demonstrate the annual number of total knee replacements and total hip replacements in the hospital.

How the Metrics Help Develop Improvement Capability for The Organization

These metrics give accurate performance measurements, and this information lets the administrator manage them consciously. Metrics make it easier to define performance standards for individual workgroups and each job within the organization.

The improvement goals must be assessed in numerical terms to be achieved. These metrics are essential because they convert operational efficiency and client needs into quantitative data that may be contrasted.

Metrics make the system goal: processes must be created under customer-critical requirements for quality. Metrics help alter obscure conditions from a patient to a thread of numbers that can be used to trace the procedure for efficacy (Ahmed et al., 2019). Metrics will let this organization identify whether a method is acceptable to match the consumers. They indicate if the operation is in shape or requires outside intervention.

Quality Improvement Tools or Strategies Available to Help Develop Improvement Capability

Reviewers utilize star ratings to rank products based on their level of pleasure; for instance, the hospitals’ star rating is three out of five (Medicare.gov).

The hospital’s Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade demonstrates how secure it is for its patients.

Database software builds, modifies, and administers database documents and accounts, facilitating the creation, entry, editing, updating, and reporting of records and files.

Surveys of patient satisfaction offer information about how patients view the facility; for instance, the hospital’s patient survey rating is four out of five, which shows high patient satisfaction.

Staff communication creates a positive organizational culture, guarantees employees the knowledge they need to function adequately, and eliminates inefficiencies.

Employee feedback is any commentaries made by the workers about one another’s work, skills, or cooperation which gives managers insight into their leadership style.

When communities are effectively communicated to, they are given access to reliable, factual, and pertinent information in formats and dialects suited to their cultures and available to various groups.

Transformational Improvement in Relation to Organization Performance

The planning phase for transformational improvements is an exceptionally systematic technique to create a process for transforming or restructuring several organizational departments. This is accomplished by improving the rules and processes already in place within organizations (Ribeiro et al., 2018). All medical systems are built on accurate and timely facts from healthcare systems. UCM cannot adequately address the communities’ requirements without targeted initiatives meant to improve the utilization of data generated by information systems.

Patients across all contexts should seek healthcare customized to their requirements instead of what the medical team deems to be the most practicable. The UCM healthcare system must be altered to accomplish this goal. New chances for new positions will arise because more people are anticipated to use this hospital, as seen from the positive star and patient survey ratings.

The Transformational Models Which Can Be Used to Help with Transformational Improvement

Participatory practice will combine components of collaborative problem-solving and decision-making in the institution (Patrício et al., 2019). In contrast, an evidence-based approach will incorporate the most current evidence from treating specific patients to assess areas that need improvement.

The data-driven approach ensures healthcare practitioners are paid based on results for patients and groups rather than on recommended procedures and treatments (Sanmarchi et al., 2021). Hence, it will help with institution development in this hospital since the practitioners will work harder to ensure positive results.

Ahmed, Y., Naqvi, S., & Josephs, M. (2019). Cybersecurity metrics for enhanced protection of healthcare IT systems. 2019 13th International Symposium on Medical Information and Communication Technology (ISMICT) . Web.

Medicare.gov. (n.d.). Web.

Patrício, L., Grenha Teixeira, J., & Vink, J. (2019). A service design approach to Healthcare Innovation: From decision-making to sense-making and institutional change . AMS Review , 9 (1-2), 115–120. Web.

Ribeiro, N., Yücel, İ., & Gomes, D. (2018). How transformational leadership predicts employees’ affective commitment and performance . International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management , 67 (9), 1901–1917. Web.

Sanmarchi, F., Toscano, F., Fattorini, M., Bucci, A., & Golinelli, D. (2021). Distributed solutions for a reliable data-driven transformation of healthcare management and Research. Frontiers in Public Health , 9. Web.

UChicago Medicine . University of Chicago. (n.d.). Web.

Wang, Y., Kung, L. A., Wang, W. Y., & Cegielski, C. G. (2018). An integrated big data analytics-enabled Transformation model: Application to health care . Information & Management , 55 (1), 64–79. Web.

• Transitional Infant Care Speciality Hospital's Value Chain
• Strategies for Hospital Preparedness
• Supply Chain Metrics: General Motors Company
• Alliance Boots Marketing Metrics
• Knowledge Quality and Quality Metrics in Knowledge Management Systems
• The 104-Bed Health City, Cayman Islands Hospital
• Patients at Health City Cayman Islands and Those in India
• Strategies to Improve the Safety of Patients at Hospital
• Infection Control at Massachusetts General Hospital
• The Rural Hospital: Mission Statement
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, September 3). Quality Metrics and Performance Improvement Capability. https://ivypanda.com/essays/quality-metrics-and-performance-improvement-capability/

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IvyPanda . 2023. "Quality Metrics and Performance Improvement Capability." September 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/quality-metrics-and-performance-improvement-capability/.

1. IvyPanda . "Quality Metrics and Performance Improvement Capability." September 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/quality-metrics-and-performance-improvement-capability/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Quality Metrics and Performance Improvement Capability." September 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/quality-metrics-and-performance-improvement-capability/.

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30+ Employee Performance Review Examples & Useful Phrases

The sole purpose of employee performance reviews is to check in on how someone is doing at work, share what they're great at, and pinpoint where they might need a bit of help. Performance reviews are the best way for managers to provide valuable feedback to their employees on a regular basis. It helps avoid confusion that can come from vague or general comments, ensuring everyone understands exactly what’s being addressed and how to move forward.

So how do you provide clear feedback that boosts productivity and job satisfaction? Sit tight! In this blog, we will explore some of the best employee performance review examples that will help encourage a culture of continuous learning and improvement , benefiting both the employees and the company.

What are employee evaluations?

Employee evaluations are a part of the detailed performance review examples that look closely at an employee's work ethic and productivity. They offer clear, actionable goals ( S.M.A.R.T framework ) for professional growth and development. 

Generally, a performance evaluation usually includes a bunch of summaries or comments on different key areas of an employee's work. So, as a manager, you can use these comments to give clear examples of where the employee is doing well and where they might need to improve. By providing this kind of focused feedback , evaluations help employees stay motivated and understand exactly how to excel in their roles. 

This process not only highlights areas where they’re doing well but also outlines specific steps for improvement, ensuring that everyone knows how to build on their strengths and address any challenges.

In fact, even the Leapsome Workforce Report shows that 73% of employees want real-time feedback and recognition from their managers. 52% of them suggest that employee performance reviews should happen more often.

So what are the best ways to enhance the feedback mechanism in the workplace ? Let’s explore further.

30+ Best Employee Performance Review Examples With Phrases

Here are some of the positive and negative phrases you must keep in mind while providing feedback to your employees:

1. Teamwork & Support

Examples of positive phrases:

• " Fosters a collaborative team environment where everyone consistently meets deadlines."
• "Actively supports colleagues and contributes to team success."
• "Builds and maintains strong, positive relationships with all team members."
• "Promotes a culture of mutual support and teamwork among peers."

Examples of critical phrases:

• " Enhance collaboration by participating more and sharing ideas."
• "Increase engagement in team activities to support collective goals."
• "Offer more support to colleagues to strengthen team dynamics."
• "Work on conflict management to maintain a positive team environment."

2. Accountability & Competence

• "Demonstrates strong self-reliance and consistently manages tasks with minimal supervision."
• "Ensures all assignments are completed promptly and efficiently."
• "Shows eagerness to acquire new skills and adapt to new processes."
• "Consistently produces work of exceptional quality and reliability."
• "Work on consistency in ethical conduct to build trust and credibility."
• "Increase transparency in communication to strengthen team and client relationships."
• "Take more responsibility for your actions to enhance trust and respect."
• "Maintain respect in all interactions, especially under pressure."

3. Attitude

• "Maintains a positive attitude, leading to better decision-making ."
• "Positive attitude is a standout strength."
• "Shares uplifting ideas and motivates others."
• "Inspires colleagues to do their best."
• "Needs to adopt a more positive attitude towards colleagues."
• "Should focus on offering constructive solutions rather than just raising concerns."
• "Works hard but needs to improve problem-solving skills ."
• "Could benefit from being more patient and supportive with team members."

4. Quality Of Work

• "Consistently produces high-quality work that exceeds expectations."
• "Delivers work with great attention to detail and accuracy."
• "Regularly demonstrates a strong commitment to excellence in all tasks."
• "Frequently receives praise for the exceptional quality of work."
• "Prioritize improving the accuracy and thoroughness of your work."
• "Good productivity, but work quality sometimes falls short."
• "Quality of work occasionally doesn’t meet team standards."
• "Focus more on task details to improve output quality."

5. Flexibility & Adaptability

• "Adapts quickly to changing priorities and new challenges."
• "Handles unexpected changes with ease and professionalism."
• "Easily adjusts to new tasks and shifting deadlines."
• "Shows great versatility in taking on different roles and responsibilities."
• "Struggles to adapt to changes in priorities or new tasks."
• "Show more flexibility with unexpected situations."
• "Focus on improving adaptability to sudden project changes."
• "Difficulty adjusting quickly has affected team productivity."
• "Adopt a more open mindset to enhance growth and team success."

6. Communication & Skills

• " Communicates clearly and effectively with team members and stakeholders."
• "Consistently provides timely and constructive feedback ."
• "Demonstrates strong listening skills and responds thoughtfully."
• "Keeps everyone well-informed and engaged through regular updates."
• "Communication with team members is often unclear or inconsistent."
• "Hesitation in decision-making has sometimes delayed progress."
• "Focus on enhancing your ability to motivate and inspire the team."
• " Improve leadership communication to better connect with your team."

7. Reliability 

• "Handles tasks independently and efficiently, requiring minimal supervision."
• "Shows strong self-reliance and takes initiative in completing assignments."
• "Demonstrates the ability to work autonomously while meeting deadlines."
• “Can always be relied upon to get the job done on time.”
• “Always ready to take up new challenges no matter what.”
• “Tasks often require reviews and back-to-back feedback.”
• "Work on being more dependable with deadlines and responsibilities."
• "Consistency in completing tasks as promised needs improvement."
• "Focus on developing better reliability in meeting assigned tasks."

8. Leadership & Ownership

• Exhibits strong leadership skills by effectively guiding and motivating the team."
• "Consistently demonstrates a clear vision and inspires others to achieve shared goals."
• "Handles challenging situations with confidence and provides decisive direction."
• “Always appreciates teamwork for getting the job done.”
• "Has difficulty motivating and engaging team members, impacting overall morale."
• "Tends to avoid taking charge in challenging situations, leading to uncertainty."
• "Practice acknowledging the work of your colleagues."
• "Focus on improving your team's motivation and inspiration."
• “Needs to learn how to treat coworkers equally.”

9. Innovation 

• “Always thinks outside the box.”
• "Brings fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to challenges."
• "Skilled at transforming creative concepts into practical, actionable solutions."
• "Excels at finding original solutions to complex problems."
• “Lack of creativity in work.”
• "Create room for innovative ideas and creative problem-solving approaches."
• "Encourage new ideas that pop up and embrace creativity."

10. Time Management

• "Effectively prioritizes tasks and manages time to meet all deadlines consistently."
• "Demonstrates excellent organization skills and efficiently handles multiple responsibilities."
• "Consistently completes work ahead of schedule while maintaining high quality."
• "Shows strong ability to plan and allocate time effectively to maximize productivity."
• "Manages time well, balancing competing priorities and adapting to changing demands."
• "Needs to improve time management to boost efficiency and productivity."
• "Task management can be inefficient; better prioritization is needed."
• "Occasional lapses in time management have impacted work quality."
• " Enhancing time management skills will help you excel further in your role."

11. Overall Performance Summary

• "Your amazing teamwork has really helped us succeed this year. Your positive attitude and team spirit make a big difference in the workplace."
• "Your dedication to making the workplace better has been key to creating such a positive environment this year."
• "Your commitment to delivering top-notch work has really strengthened our relationships with clients and colleagues. Your professionalism sets a great example for everyone."
• "The quality of your work this year has been outstanding. Your keen attention to detail has set a high bar for the team."
• "Focusing on better time management will help us meet our team’s goals. Prioritizing tasks and sticking to deadlines will make a big difference for our projects and team dynamics."
• "Being more adaptable day-to-day is key to keeping up with the fast-paced nature of our work. Greater flexibility and responsiveness will help maintain productivity."
• " Enhancing your technical skills is important as our projects evolve. Committing to continuous learning will boost your efficiency and the quality of your work."
• "Being open to feedback is crucial for your growth. Seeing constructive criticism as a chance to improve will significantly enhance your performance."

How to write an effective performance evaluation comment?

When giving feedback in a performance review, it’s important to be more specific than just saying, "You exceeded expectations." Here’s what to keep in mind when writing your comments:

1. Review The Performance

If you only conduct formal reviews once a year , it’s tempting to focus only on recent events. However, it is important to give valuable feedback to your employees on their performance every now and then. 

Make it a habit to provide regular, informal updates to your employees. In addition, jot down any notable moments or achievements throughout the year. Although it might seem like extra work, this practice will greatly enhance the quality of your performance reviews .

2. Be Vocal

Performance reviews are a chance to tackle any issues that might be impacting an employee’s performance or the team’s overall vibe. If someone’s struggling, your team probably knows it, and not addressing it could affect your credibility as a manager. 

Keep communication honest and straightforward . Make sure both you and the employee leave the review with a clear understanding of each other’s expectations and what needs to happen next.

3. Provide Examples

Be sure to use clear, concrete examples when giving feedback. Point out specific instances and explain how you'd like the employee to handle similar situations in the future. This approach shows that you’re paying attention and helps make your expectations more understandable and impactful.

4. Think Before You Speak

Remember that your words can make or break the entire day for someone. So it is always important to be mindful of what you say to the other person. Even if you need to give out critical feedback to your employees, it is always best to practice and give feedback very wisely, considering the other person sitting next to you.

5. End On A Positive Note

No matter what the evaluation covers, it’s crucial to wrap things up on a positive note. Make sure to take a moment to express appreciation for the employee’s efforts. Ending on a high note helps both of you leave the review with a sense of mutual understanding and respect. 

Remember, the main goal of a performance review is to offer constructive feedback along with positive reinforcement.

What are the benefits of using effective evaluation phrases?

Using the right performance review examples and phrases offers advantages to both employers and employees. Here are a few:

On-Point Feedback

Using specific feedback in evaluations helps you give clear, actionable insights into an employee’s performance. This is often more useful than vague comments because it shows exactly what’s working well and what needs improvement.

Promotes Positive Behavior

Good evaluation phrases can really help boost positive behavior. By highlighting what employees are doing well, you encourage them to keep up the great work and continue performing at their best.

Helps Identify Areas For Improvement

Evaluation phrases can pinpoint where employees might need to improve and offer clear guidance on how they can develop those skills . This helps them understand exactly what to work on and how to get better.

Encourages Open Dialogue

Using clear evaluation phrases can promote open communication between managers and employees. This encourages a more collaborative and positive work environment by making it easier to discuss and address any issues or concerns.

In Conclusion

Performance review examples and phrases are key to employee development , engagement , and organizational growth . Using well-crafted phrases helps make these reviews more constructive and useful. To ensure performance reviews are effective and efficient, it’s important to keep the process structured, consistent, fair, and objective.

Unlike a skill gap analysis that enables employers to figure out the knowledge and skills gap in their employees, a proper performance review plan enables HRs to efficiently review the overall performance of their employees and provide real-time feedback to help them improve and grow in the workplace.

Calibr LXP is the best AI-powered learning experience platform to get started with your online learning journey. This platform helps employers develop a robust training program that encourages open dialogue, enhances skill development, and behavioral skills, and helps the employees perform better in the organization. Schedule your demo to learn more about our LMS tool today!

1. What is the purpose of employee performance reviews?

Employee performance reviews aim to evaluate an employee’s work, highlight strengths, and identify areas for improvement. They provide constructive feedback and set goals for future development, helping both the employee and the organization grow.

2. How can I make performance reviews more effective?

To make performance reviews more effective, provide specific examples, keep communication clear and honest, and offer actionable feedback. Regular updates and a structured, consistent process also enhance the review’s impact.

3. Why is it important to end a performance review on a positive note?

Ending a performance review positively helps maintain motivation and encourages continued effort. It reinforces appreciation and respect, ensuring that both manager and employee leave with a clear, constructive understanding of the next steps.

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As an enthusiastic English literature graduate, Chandni enjoys writing as much as a toddler enjoys animation. She discovered her passion for writing and expressing thoughts through this form amidst the nail-biting months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ever since then, she has volunteered in various anthology books that have been published on Amazon. Her experience working on a diverse range of verticals has enabled her to excel in this domain and face new challenges as they come. With a contagious thrill and excitement at the workplace, Chandni embraces wearing different hats and soaks up information like a sponge.