Improving local public  administration responsiveness to citizens’ needs using Quality Function Deployment

Laura Mina-Raiu (laura.minaraiu@amp.ase.ro), 

Viorela Negreanu (negreanuviorela@stud.ase.ro)  

Cătălin Valentin Raiu (catalin.raiu@faa.unibuc.ro) 

Total quality management is one of the most spread management approaches focused on improving products, services and processes with the aim of achieving a higher organizational competitiveness. This paper emphasizes the key role of the planification process, seen the first and most important phase in achieving quality services, which significantly influences all the following phases of the quality management process. The paper analyses the way local public administration should respond to citizens needs in order to improve its responsiveness, according to internationally consecrated good governance tools. We explain what is the Total Quality Management (TQM) framework, firstly developed within the private sector, and afterwards analyse the needs expressed by the citizens of Roșiori de Vede using a questionnaire and statistical analysis in order to design local administrative services that correspond with citizensʼ needs and expectation. We argue on the potential of the QFD matrix, as planning tool which might help public organizations focus less on the internal environment and more on the external environment, by understanding better customers needs and designing public services accordingly.

Keywords: quality management, local public administration, quality planning, public services, citizensʼ needs and expectations, Quality Deployment Function (QFD)