Delivering quality service to customers through total quality management systems in service organizations with particular reference to public schools in Limpopo Province

Abstract

Quality has always been a central concern in education. Parents are ready to pay more for the best value for their money, in order to give their children the quality education. The South African education system seems to have very sound policies, but one wonders if they are well implemented, and whether customers do in deed get what they expect (customer satisfaction) from the process. The Department of Education department introduced Integrated Quality Management System in 2003 as a strategy to be used in order to improve the quality of education and improve on the performance of educators in the country. The provincial department of education‟s attempts at implementing Integrated Quality Management System since early 2004 have not been without problems; however, more especially after the signing of the Agreement on the Occupational Specific Dispensation, there has been some uncertainty about the current status of Integrated Quality Management System. The purpose of this research is to investigate the extent to which service organisations such as public schools in Limpopo Province particularly in the Mankweng cluster deliver quality service as expected by their internal and external customers.