Convergence of the Policies for Promoting Total Quality Management in the Public Administrations of Balkan States – European Union Member States.docVIP

Theoretical and Applied Economics Volume XVIII (2011), No. 3(556), pp. 41-76 Convergence of the Policies for Promoting Total Quality Management in the Public Administrations of Balkan States – European Union Member States* Ani MATEI National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest amatei@snspa.ro Carmen S?VULESCU National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest csavulescu@snspa.ro Abstract. In the past three decades, total quality management (TQM) has been appreciated as “fundamental modality in view to improve the activity in the public and private sectors” (Boyne and Walker, 2002, p. 1). For the time being, in public administrations, we witness an extension of the policies for promoting TQM, although the experiences have not always been positive. The European Administrative Space (EAS) incorporates TQM, in different manners at national level, taking into consideration its recognised impact on the efficiency of public administration, one of EAS fundamental principles (Zurga, 2008, pp. 39-49). In the context of analysing EAS evolution, the administrative convergence will also comprise the convergence of TQM policies. In fact, the field literature (Hackman, Wageman, 1995) reveals, in the context of national TQM policy-making, the concepts of ”Convergent validity” and ”Discriminant validity”, reflecting ”the degree to which the version of TQM promulgated by the founders and observed in organizational practice share a common set of assumptions and prescriptions” (Hackman, Wageman, 1995, pp. 318-319). * Paper achieved with the support of the project “Restructuring doctoral research in the fields of political sciences, public administration, sociology and communication”, co-funded by the European Union through the European So