Quality Issues and Insights in the 21st Century

3

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents

6-19

Authors: Lali Giorgidze

Employee empowerment and job satisfaction have recently been progressively presumed as aspects of quality management and a competitive advantage of organizations. However, they have scarcely been studied in a higher education leadership context. The purpose of the research was to a) explore the correlation between employee empowerment in management practices and job satisfaction in a higher education institution’s context, by applying perspectives of organizational psychology and higher education leadership and b) determining their implications for higher education leadership at the institutional level. The study tested the hypothesis that there should be a correlation between employee empowerment and job satisfaction of university employees. Data were obtained using an on-line survey method from a sample of 158 administrative and academic staff at the selected public university in Georgia. Correlation analysis was made for the purpose of analysing correlation between employee empowerment and job satisfaction. For ensuring the validity, criterion validity has been applied. The data were interpreted based on the Total Quality Management conceptual framework. The results of the research showed that there is a positive correlation between employee empowerment and job satisfaction in general and a high degree of empowerment is more correlated with job satisfaction in case of academic staff than in case of administrative. The research outcomes offer meaningful implications to individuals involved in quality assurance practices and leadership roles at universities. The findings of the research will allow higher education managers to maximize organizational strategies and improve overall organizational quality culture at universities, by considering the topics explored in the present research. Finally, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

31-45

Authors: Vincentas Lamanauskas, Rita Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė

University study quality questions do not lose actuality. On the contrary, this becomes an object of intense discussions. Universities are in pursuit of study quality, because such is their purpose. However, in a public space, quite a big concern is observed in an insufficient, dissatisfying the clients study quality. It is necessary to understand, that students are not only passive study participants, they can and they should take the initiative in the improvement of the study quality. As competent study process participants, students have not only the obligation to learn, be active and responsible, but to require qualitative work from the other participants of this process. It happens quite often, that requirements are subjective, groundless. As studies are a continual process, every raised problem, correction or supplement made, contribute to the improvement. It was sought by this research to ascertain university students’ position regarding study quality questions. Eighty students from two Lithuanian universities participated in a qualitative research. Study quality is basically understood as a suitable study process organisation. According to the respondents’ evaluation, academic process participant quality pursuit mostly determines the study quality. Study participant uncompetitiveness and study programme and their realisation inappropriateness worsen the study quality mostly. The essential personal effort seeking study process quality is self-motivation and responsibility.