Investigating the influence of the elements of academic culture in ISO 9001 maintenance within Malaysian Public Higher Education
The research aim of this study was to develop a framework in which the elements ofacademic culture, which affect the ISO 9001 maintenance process within MalaysianPublic Higher Education Institutions (MPHEIs), were identified and demonstrated.The main elements of the ISO 9001 maintenance process and academic culture wereidentified from literature. After synthesising those elements, a theoretical frameworkwas developed which consisted of 4 main sections, i.e. ISO 9001 maintenance activities,ISO 9001 requirements, the elements of academic culture, and organisational benefitsand performance. The theoretical framework was investigated within the MPHEIenvironment.Phenomenological philosophy and a qualitative approach were used in this study. Theresearch strategy that was employed was case studies. These were used to deliver an indepthstudy and to gain rich data regarding the subject researched. Two Malaysianuniversities which had been certified with ISO 9001 for four years were selected. Onlyone faculty from each university was used in the case study. A semi-structuredinterview was used as the main method of data collection, and this was triangulated withdocument review, observation and archival records to enhance the credibility of theinformation gathered. Explanation building was employed to analyse the data collected.The research findings which emerged from the case studies were utilised to modify thetheoretical framework, draw out the contributions of this study and offerrecommendations for further related research.Taking into consideration the research findings, the theoretical framework changedsignificantly in terms of its sections and elements. The revised framework wasdeveloped to reflect the MPHEIs' environment. Therefore, the aim of this study wasachieved: i.e. a framework was developed in which the elements of academic culturewhich affect the ISO 9001 maintenance process within MPHEIs were identified anddemonstrated. The main contribution of this study was that the revised framework wasused to discover how and why the elements of academic culture influenced ISO 9001maintenance activities within MPHEIs.
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