The secret lies in the fact that outstanding organizations have grasped the secret to building institutional excellence and have followed that path, step by step, until they achieved the desired excellence and quality. Building institutional excellence involves five sequential stages and steps until the organization achieves the highest possible level of performance quality.
- The first stage in building excellence: This is the stage in which a team is formed within the institution to lead performance quality and develop institutional performance. This team must carry out the necessary awareness-raising efforts regarding the importance of achieving excellence and quality in performance, It must also foster a culture that supports institutional development with the backing of the organization’s senior management, and it must develop comprehensive visions and plans to improve institutional performance in a way that meets the expectations of its members and society at large.
- The Self-Assessment Stage
- The second stage in building institutional excellence: This is the stage of self-assessment for the organization, and there is no doubt that this step and this phase are the most important and critical toward achieving the desired excellence and quality of performance within institutions. Through the self-assessment process, the institution is able to identify its strengths and weaknesses, as well as the extent of opportunities and the magnitude of internal and external threats “SWOT Analysis” across its various areas of operation. The strength of self-assessment also lies in the fact that it enables each organization to understand its current status, its various potentials and capabilities, as well as its needs and requirements for achieving the desired excellence and quality in performance, based on quality assurance standards. At this stage, the organization identifies its performance strengths that need to be reinforced and supported to ensure their sustainability, as well as its weaknesses and shortcomings that require development and improvement in order to overcome them and transform them into strengths as well.
- Identifying Strengths
- Phase Three: The phase of identifying priorities for institutional development, during which the strengths in institutional performance were identified, as well as the areas requiring development and improvement, At this stage, the performance gaps that have the most negative impact on the organization’s productivity and its ability to achieve its goals in line with its vision and mission are identified; the causes of these gaps are discussed; and appropriate decisions are made regarding development priorities—that is, determining the starting point for development and improvement and defining the subsequent steps based on importance, need, and the public interest.
- Forming the Task Force
- Phase Four: The phase of designing and preparing the action plan for institutional performance development. Here, a task force capable of developing such plans is formed; the timeline required to manage and implement this plan is established; the general objectives of school development are defined; and the performance levels expected to be achieved by the end of the plan’s implementation are set, as well as defining work strategies, assigning roles and responsibilities, and identifying success indicators for achieving the plan’s objectives, along with the time required for implementation and follow-up.
- Forming a Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Team
Phase Five: The phase of monitoring and evaluating performance related to the implementation of the action plan for institutional performance development. In this phase, a performance monitoring and evaluation team is formed and trained on performance monitoring and evaluation methods in accordance with the activities outlined in the plan. The team also agrees on the necessary monitoring mechanisms and tools, agree on the types of performance metrics, indicators, and evidence to be monitored, verify their actual availability, and determine how to analyze and evaluate them to make appropriate decisions regarding them. This ensures the continuous improvement of performance with the goal of achieving the highest possible level of quality assurance indicators in institutional performance.
By Dr. Samuel Essam Ammanoeeil
Professor of Management and Strategic Planning – At Egyptian Universities