http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/18050/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21971/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Purpose – This paper seeks to find out which factors influence the willingness of professionals to contribute to a certification process and to understand the rationale behind this willingness. Design/methodology/approach – Based on literature, prerequisites are formulated for the willingness of professionals to contribute to certification. These are compared with the results of a study among lecturers at Universities of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands and Flanders about their willingness to contribute to accreditation of their schools. This study combines survey and Delphi research. Findings – Professionals agree on the added value of certification systems. They are willing to contribute to the certification process, provided that a set of conditions is fulfilled. Research limitations/implications – The case focuses on large organisations for which certification is obligatory. The findings may not apply in small or medium-sized organisations or if the main driver for certification is internal improvement. Further research is needed to verify the generalisation of the results to other sectors and countries. Originality/value – Research has shown that it is difficult to motivate professionals to contribute to certification. Little research has been done on the reasons why. The paper provides more insight into the difficulties that organizations face to commit their professionals to become involved in certification and turns these into requirements to be fulfilled to achieve commitment. These are relevant for organisations, which need the support of their professional employees to achieve management system certification. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/17589/ 2009-08-21T00:00:00Z Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to define what factors cause willingness and/or resistance among lecturers in universities towards external evaluation systems, especially accreditation. Design/methodology/approach - A model has been designed to describe possible factors of willingness and/or resistance towards accreditation based on Ajzen and Metselaar. A literature review has been undertaken on the effects of external evaluation like ISO 9000 as well as accreditation systems such as Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and European Quality Improvement System. A questionnaire has been administered to a group of 63 lecturers from three departments at Fontys University in The Netherlands. The results of this preliminary survey have been presented to 1,500 academics in The Netherlands and Flanders to collect empirical data. Findings - Resistance to accreditation can be found in the consequences of accreditation for the work of the lecturer (workload), negative emotions (stress and insecurity); the lack of knowledge and experience (help from specialists is needed); and lack of acceptance (other paradigm). Originality/value - The paper provides more insight into the difficulties that organizations, especially universities, have to commit their employees to external evaluation. It might be possible to generalize the findings to other professionals in other organizations. Little research in this field has been undertaken so far. Accreditation of prior learning Higher education ISO 9000 series The Netherlands © 2009 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15588/ 2009-04-23T00:00:00Z In de bedrijfskunde hebben meerdere onderzoeken aannemelijk gemaakt, dat een organisatie om te kunnen overleven een evenwicht moet zien te vinden enerzijds tussen de externe oriëntatie en de interne oriëntatie en anderzijds tussen oriëntatie op beheersing en oriëntatie op verandering (Quinn en Rohrbaugh, 1983; Hardjono, 1995). Het zoeken naar dit evenwicht zien we terug in het deel van bedrijfskunde dat we kwaliteitsmanagement noemen. Onder kwaliteitsmanagement wordt verstaan: “een complex van waarden, opvattingen èn van methoden en technieken, die erop gericht zijn om prestaties te optimaliseren” (naar Wentink, 1998, pp. 23-24). Kwaliteitsmanagement vereist participatie van medewerkers bij activiteiten die verbetering en vernieuwing als doel hebben. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15223/ 2008-07-01T00:00:00Z There are lots of definitions of quality, and also of quality in education. Garvin (1984) discerns five approaches: the transcendental approach, the product-oriented approach, the customer-oriented approach, the manufacturing-oriented approach and the value-for-money approach. Harvey and Green (1993) give five interrelated concepts of quality as: exceptional, perfection (or consistency), fitness for purpose, value for money and transformative. A new definition of quality is needed to explain recent quality issues in higher education. This article describes a quality concept with four constituents: object, standard, subject and values. The article elaborates on the values. Four value systems derived from Beck and Cowan (1996) are transformed into four value systems on quality and quality management: control, continuous improvement, commitment and breakthrough. These value systems make it possible to explain some recent developments in quality management in higher education.