DEVELOPMENT OF A SIX SIGMA RATING SCALE FOR MEASURING THE QUALITY OF WORK LIFE OF TEACHING STAFF WORKING IN SAUDI UNIVERSITIES

Higher Education institutions in Saudi Arabia is currently performing several evaluations by both students and teaching staff as a measure to improve the quality by understanding the perception of its stakeholders. In order to retain the best and efficient work force to carry out the teaching roles in these universities, the Quality of Work Life (QoWL) prevailing in these Educational institutions needs to be studied. Accordingly, this study was conducted among the teaching staff of the University of Dammam [UOD] to capture their experiences related to various aspects of the QoWL. The teaching staff opinion was captured through a pre-tested QoWL questionnaire and the data were analyzed through six sigma analytical tool using the Poisson distribution model. From the non-conformance level captured through the responses from the faculty/teaching staff about the various aspects of quality of work life prevailing in their respective colleges, the corresponding sigma rating for each component of QoWL was calculated. Subsequently, an innovative six point quality rating system was established for each sigma values. The overall opinion of teaching staff about the QoWL prevailing at UOD is rated as "Adaptable" signifying that there is room for further improvement and appropriate strategies need to be employed to improve it.