Job Crafting for Total Quality Management: A Qualitative Investigation in Italian Secondary Schools

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management philosophy to achieve business excellence using various core values, such as process orientation, continuous improvement, learning, and results orientation. In this study, an exploratory inquiry concerning job crafting was conducted to achieve TQM in Italian secondary schools. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect data from 56 participants, i.e., 28 teachers and 28 secretaries, and qualitative techniques were used to analyze the data. The results showed that the organization of work from a bottom-up perspective is vitally important in pursuing total quality. Human resource management practices, such as the design of jobs by employees, modify the behavioral approach and determine an orientation towards TQM by different types of workers. The results suggest practical implications to policy makers, school managers, educators, and leaders regarding the importance of the crafting of jobs in achieving TQM in the educational sector.