The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the book Personnel Administration in Education by Ronald R. Rebore. The presented analysis critiques the book through an examination of three topics discussed in the text. These are the topics of: Total Quality Management (TQM); Employment Tests, and Sexual Harassment. This discussion of selected topics is then followed by an overall evaluation of the book.
Rebore's book is relatively large consisting of about 300 pages discussing various personnel administration issues as they relate to education. The issues discussed include recruitment, human resource planning, collective negotiation, and several other topics. The best way to see both the strengths and the weaknesses of the book overall is to examine the way a few selected areas are handled and look at the positives and negatives associated with the writing of each.
In the early chapter of the book, Rebore delineates Deming's fourteen principles of Total Quality Management, noting that Japanese companies have used the TQM approach with great success. It is also noted that American businesses have used the approach starting in the 1980s, and that more and more American companies are continuing to adopt it. Rebore also points out that the approach has only in the last few years been applied to educational institutions.
In this discussion, Rebore lists each of the fourteen principles of TQM. These principles include recommendations such as: Adopt the new philosophy; Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality, and so forth. Regarding the length of the provided discussion, Rebore devotes about a paragraph of narrative to each listed item.
Given the claims of strong success for Japanese companies that have applied the TQM approach, it seems reasonable to state that more discussion probably should have been given to each of the principles. For example, the first principle states, "Create constancy of pur...