It is imperative to have quality assurance processes in place in division training to provide quality training to enable members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) to provide quality services to communities within their area of jurisdiction. The aim of the study was to determine the presence of and the need for implementation of effective quality assurance processes in education and training in the South African Police Service (SAPS). The concepts quality and quality assurance were explained in the literature review. Questionnaires were completed by the trainers in the South African Police Service (SAPS) at various training centers in the Northern Cape Province. The researcher advocates to promote and enhance quality assurance in education and training programmes in the South African Police Service (SAPS). Therefore, it is recommended that quality assurance programmes be introduced based on total quality management system for continuous improvement which can provide any training programme with a set of “tools” to meet and exceed the present needs and expectations of the adult learners in the South African Police Service (SAPS) context. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Education Management)

It is imperative to have quality assurance processes in place in division training to provide quality training to enable members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) to provide quality services to communities within their area of jurisdiction. The aim of the study was to determine the presence of and the need for implementation of effective quality assurance processes in education and training in the South African Police Service (SAPS). The concepts quality and quality assurance were explained in the literature review. Questionnaires were completed by the trainers in the South African Police Service (SAPS) at various training centers in the Northern Cape Province. The researcher advocates to promote and enhance quality assurance in education and training programmes in the South African Police Service (SAPS). Therefore, it is recommended that quality assurance programmes be introduced based on total quality management system for continuous improvement which can provide any training programme with a set of “tools” to meet and exceed the present needs and expectations of the adult learners in the South African Police Service (SAPS) context. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Education Management)

At frequent intervals, new reports and papers are published stressing the importance of high quality and quality improvement measures in the public and private sector if Sweden is to survive as a welfare state and industrial nation. The situation seems not to be unique for Sweden: similar opinions can be heard in other parts of the world as well. In the 21st century, consumers and citizens should be provided with continuously improved quality at a lower cost, otherwise businesses are likely to go bankrupt and politicians may lose the trust of the people. Quality is, thus, a word that is used persistently by people in power and the social commentators of today. From this perspective, it might seem fitting that quality, quality management (QM), total quality management (TQM) and other closely related terminologies are well defined, to make possible constructive dialogue that will culminate in effective action. This is often not the case, which is why vision statements, campaigns and other quality improvement measures risk falling short before they are even launched. With this background, the purpose of this thesis is to facilitate fruitful dialogue by examining QM-research and how trends, terminologies and research focus have shifted over time. By increasing the understanding of how QM-research has evolved it is also possible to create a coherent overview which hopefully can help to reduce confusion and polarisation amongst scholars and practitioners. In this way, it might be possible to increase the number of successful quality improvement measures as well as to lay the foundations for sustainable and system-wide quality improvement actions in society at large. The thesis is based on three studies, of which the first is looking into conference proceedings from one of the globally most prominent scientific conferences on quality – the QMOD-ICQSS conference. The two subsequent studies use abstracts from three of the top ranked scientific journals dealing with quality - International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Total Quality Management Journal and Total Quality Management &amp; Business Excellence. All studies have been conducted according to text mining methodology, which entails usage of statistical tools in the form of hard- and software for data collection, modelling and analysis. The approach is exploratory and previously not verified with this purpose, which is why the three studies offer unique perspectives on the research field, at the same time as new methodological tools and approaches are investigated and tested. Through the studies it is possible to show occurrence of trends in research alignment as well as in publication design and popularity. The studies also identify central, perpetual, topics around which the research has been concentrated. These topics indicate that the research field, in spite of momentary trends and fashions, rests on a firm foundation regarding problem definition and approaches to solve them. Finally, a model is presented which summarizes the perspectives and outsets which distinguish QM and make it a research field in its own right. / Regelbundet publiceras det nya rapporter och artiklar där vikten av hög kvalitet liksom kvalitetsförbättrande åtgärder inom offentlig och privat sektor lyfts fram som oumbärliga för att Sverige ska överleva som välfärds- och näringslivsnation. Situationen tycks inte vara unik för Sverige, likande tongångar hörs även i andra delar av världen. På 2000-talet ska konsumenter och medborgare tillhandahållas ständigt förbättrad kvalitet till lägre kostnad, annars går företag i konkurs och politiska företrädare förlorar folkets förtroende. Kvalitet är alltså ett ord som används flitigt av dagens makthavare och samhällsdebattörer. Utifrån detta perspektiv kan det anses angeläget att kvalitet, kvalitetsutveckling, kvalitetsarbete och andra närbesläktade ord är väl definierade för att möjliggöra konstruktiv dialog som mynnar ut i verkningsfulla insatser. Så är dock ofta inte fallet - varför visioner, kampanjer och andra kvalitetsförbättrande initiativ riskerar att faller till korta innan de ens hunnit lanseras. Med denna bakgrund, är syftet med avhandlingen att underlätta givande diskussioner genom att närmare belysa forskningsfältet kvalitetsteknik, eller Quality Management (QM), och hur trender, termer och forskningsfokus har växlat över tid. Genom att öka förståelsen för forskningens utveckling över tid kan även en sammanhängande översikt skapas, vilka tillsammans förhoppningsvis kan bidra till att minska den förvirring och polarisering som råder både inom akademi liksom praktik. Därigenom kanske det är möjligt att öka mängden lyckade kvalitetssatsningar liksom att lägga grunden för ett långsiktigt hållbart och systemövergripande kvalitetsarbete i samhället i överlag. Avhandlingen baseras på tre studier, varav den första har tittat närmare på konferensbidrag från en av världens idag ledande forskningskonferenser om kvalitet – QMOD-ICQSS konferensen. De två senare studierna behandlar sammanfattningar från tre av de högst rankade forskningstidskrifterna med fokus på kvalitet – International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Total Quality Management Journal och Total Quality Management &amp; Business Excellence. Samtliga studier har utformats enligt text-mining metodik, vilket medför att statistiska hjälpmedel i form av hård och mjukvara har använts för datainsamling, modellering och analys. Angreppssättet är explorativt och tidigare ej beprövat i ovanstående syfte varför de tre studierna erbjuder unika perspektiv på forskningsområdet samtidigt som nya metodologiska verktyg och arbetssätt utforskats och utvärderats. Genom studierna går det att påvisa förekomsten av trender i forskningsinriktningar liksom i publikationernas utformning och popularitet. Studierna identifierar även centrala, återkommande teman kring vilka forskningen koncentrerats. Dessa teman indikerar att forskningsområdet, trots tillfälliga trender och moden, vilar på en stadigvarande grund gällande problemformuleringar och ansatser att lösa dessa. Slutligen presenteras en modell som sammanfattar de perspektiv och utgångspunkter som utmärker kvalitetstekniken (QM) och som gör det till ett forskningsområde i sin egen rätt. / <p>Vid tidpunkten för framläggandet av avhandlingen var följande delarbeten opublicerade: delarbete B accepterat för publicering och delarbete C inskickat.</p><p>At the time of the licentiate defence the following papers were unpublished: paper B accepted for publication and paper C submitted.</p>

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