The IPA Administrative Structure for the Implementation of Quality

The interest and insistence of the IPA administration to upgrade the quality of services and of performance in all IPA activities are seen in:

  • The Quality Council

  • The Permanent Quality Committee

  • The Quality Support Unit

  • Quality teams

 

The Quality Council

The council was set up by resolution 1284 of 28.9.1998, with the aim of drafting the general quality policy for the IPA and supporting implementation efforts.  The council was reorganized by resolution 1436 of 25.12.1999, as follows:

Chairman: The IPA Director General

Coordinator: The Director of the Quality Support Unit

Members:

  • The Deputy Director General for Training

  • The Deputy Director General for Research and Information

  • The Secretary General of the Ministerial Committee for Adminis­tra­tive Organization

  • The General Director of the Jeddah Branch

  • The General Director of the Dammam Branch

  • The General Director of the Women’s Branch

  • The General Director of Consultations

  • The General Director of Libraries and Documents

  • The General Director of the Research Center

  • The General Director of Higher Programs

  • The General Director of Administrative and Legal Programs

  • The General Director of Financial and Economic Programs

  • The General Director of Administrative and Financial Affairs

  • The General Director of Trainee Affairs

  • The Director of the Department of Planning and Development

  • The General Director of Printing and Publication

  • The Director of the Department of Public Relations

  • The General Director of the Computer Center

 

Tasks of the Council

  • Drafting the IPA general quality policy and supervising its implementation

  • Approving the plans and requirements of quality applications at the IPA

  • Supporting the efforts made to apply quality through sponsoring training programs for quality applications at the various levels

  • Approving a program to stimulate and reward teams and individuals who are outstanding in quality applications

  • Coordinating the efforts of the IPA and its branches

  • Approving general policies for spreading the concept of quality and introducing the IPA experience in government agencies and private organizations

  • Encouraging cooperation with public and private institutions that implement quality programs

 

The Permanent Quality Committee

In its first form, the committee comprises a chairman, a coordinator, and three members, in accordance with resolution 1963 of 7.3.1998.

 

Tasks of the Committee

  • Designing and developing a quality application system for the IPA

  • Preparing the plans and requirements for quality applications

  • Supervising the implementation of quality improvement projects

  • Coordinating the efforts of work teams

  • Monitoring the applications of quality

  • Suggesting distinction to be awarded to outstanding teams and individuals in the constant improvement efforts

  • Filing periodical reports on application results and submitting them to the Quality Council

 

The Quality Support Unit

This unit provides the necessary administrative and technical facilitations to apply quality in the IPA and to document the results.  It also collects and analyzes information on a regular basis and files periodical reports on the levels of performance and the satisfaction of internal and external customers for every IPA activity. These reports are submitted to the chairman and members of the Quality Council.

 

Work Teams

The application of quality at the IPA rests on the concept of having work teams that are formed and enabled to perform the processes of analysis and constant improvement of all IPA activities, whether in the headquart­ers or the branches.  The tasks of these work teams center on the application of constant improvement model, which consists of the following activities:

  • Preparing and planning for high quality

  • Measuring and analyzing quality

  • Quality improvement and development

  • Quality control

 

Types of Work Teams

The type of a work team is determined on the basis of the nature and size of the task(s) assigned to it.  There are four work team types through which the IPA applies quality and quality improvement process.  They are:

(A) Constant improvement teams:

These are formed at all IPA levels, and they have the task of performing the constant improvement processes for every IPA constant improvement project, such as the projects of training and research and the like.  These teams supervise the work of common function teams.

 

(B)  Common function teams

These are formed to perform functions that are common to various administrations and department, such as the teams of portfolios and training technology.  They work under the umbrella of constant improvement teams.

 

(C)  Definite function teams

These are formed so that each team deals with one definite function, such as the team of administrative programs.

 

(D) Definite task teams

These are formed so that each team copes with one definite task or problem, such as the team of self evaluation.

In addition there are work terms that are formed, at the start of quality applications in the IPA, to undertake the processes of continuous improvement.  The figure below illustrates the IPA quality organizational structure.