Communicating quality

Abstract

When I hear the term “report” or “representation” applied to the concept of expressing quality I feel as though I am expected to believe that an understanding of quality can be delivered in a nice, neat bundle. Granted, the delivery of information — numbers, dimensions, effects — can be an important part of such an expression, but it seems to me that the quality resides in and among these descriptors. By its very nature, therefore, quality is difficult to “report.” The only way to express this quality is through a concerted and careful effort of communication. It is for this reason that I prefer to limit my use of the term “reporting” to expressions of quantity, and my colleagues will hear me referring to the “communication” of quality.As I have noted, I see the communication of quality is an interactive process, whether this interaction takes the form of two friends talking about the quality of a backpack, an evaluator discussing the quality of a classroom teacher, or a critic's review speaking to its readers. In any case the effectiveness of the process is dependent on the interaction that takes place in the mind of the person who is accepting a representation (a re-presentation) of quality. The communicator's careful use of familiarity or some common language encourages this interaction and therefore enhances the communication of quality.I also used this forum to suggest that the complexities and responsibilities of social programs bring great importance to the effort of communicating quality. Given this importance, I recommend that program evaluators use descriptive and prescriptive methods, as well as subjectivity and objectivity, as tools to extend the capability of their work to communicate the quality that has been experienced. Again, their ability to communicate this quality rests upon the interaction that takes place between evaluator and audience. As I see it, the job of every evaluator, reviewer, and critic is to attend carefully to what has been described here as the communication of quality.

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