The ISO 9000 Quality Management - Case Study Example

Quality Management al Affiliation) Introduction The ISO 9000 in relation to the quality management system standards is designed to assist organizations make sure that they meet the necessities consumers, clients and other stakeholders while meeting legislative and regulatory needs in connection to a product. The ISO 900 deals with the key issues that are very important in the quality management systems (Besterfield, 2005). The eight management principles are also considered in the implementation of the business concept since the ISO 9001 deals with the requirements that firms opt to attain their standards in an appropriate manner. The firms that provide certificates for independent confirmation that organization congregate the needs for the ISO 9001. Approximately 98% of business enterprises in the world are independently certified giving the ISO 9001 an upper hand to be one of the most adopted management tool in the economic parameter of growth and development. Though the concept of ISO certification is being criticized as being uneconomical thus not being that useful to the organization. Major reasons why most organization prefer the ISO 9001 A number of vital factors may facilitate the international adoption of the ISO 9001. A great number of the core purchasers in the world require their suppliers to hold an ISO 9001 certification. Other than the benefits to the stakeholders, a number of research works have identified numerous benefits for organizations certified to ISO 9001 (Besterfield, 2005). In the year 2008, when ISO 90012008 was implemented in various enterprises, there was a great improvement as compared to the previous year. This therefore means that there were great improvements that considered economic growth and development. The firms that adopted this concept were increasingly making profits at a steady rate. After an effective study by great economists revealed that, the ISO 90012008 should be blended with other quality management techniques in order to make economic adjustments in an organization within the required time span. The mechanisms for improving the results have greatly been a subject to operational improvements such as time reduction and inventory reduction from the certification. With the adoption of ISO 90012008, the internal process improvements in organizations lead to improvement features that can be observed. The ISO 9001 has advantage of increased global trade and local market share on top of internal profits such as interdepartmental communications, work processes, customer satisfaction, and customer or supplier partnership as they will exceed the previous investments. The integration of EFQM and the ISO 90012008 The aim of this combination is to examine the adoption and results of both the ISO 90012008 and the self-evaluation model because of the external dependent data. There was a performance of some analysis of data concerning the impact of the models from the concept of ISO and the international organizations themselves (Besterfield, 2005). The combination of these two models brings some positive impact in the organization thus focusing on achieving the goals and objectives of the firm. The main result of the implementation of the ISO 990012008 and the EFQM model is the appropriate improvement of the organization’s external image, and a close attachment by an improvement in the goods produced and the services provided by the firms to their consumers or customers. The improvement in staff training relatively leads to a positive increase in the production level. The combination of these two elements is paramount in one way or another due to the sensitivity in the production chain. The ISO 9002008 therefore strives to combine with the EFQM concept in order to create a platform of great performance (Peters, 2012). The ISO 9001 finds it hard to operate alone because the internal factors must also be controlled in order to make the focus that is profit maximization in a firm easily attainable. The integration of the EFQM and the ISO 90012008 has the following benefits to an organization The internal factors of a business structure will be adequately sorted making the strengths and weaknesses of an organization fully analyzed. The production level of the firm will effectively increase in the organization because workers will deliver in their sectors of specialization and the spirit of teamwork plays a great role as it creates the element of togetherness (Peters, 2012). The integration of these two concepts will enhance communication in an organization because the top management and the support staff will be in good terms with their main aim being taking the firm into greater heights that will positively plough back returns into the premise. Challenges that arise from the integration of the ISO 90012008 and the EFQM concept: The main challenge of this integration is that the bureaucratic workload that it generates for the organization becomes a difficult factor to achieve. The initial and maintenance cost for this integration is always high thus a case may arise whereby a firm diverts from its major goals and objectives in order to cater for this concept that is not fundamental. The combination of this two models is always complex in that resources to operate the blend may be unavailable due to exhaustion. This indicates a situation whereby a firm finds it in situations that it can hardly divert. Integrating the six sigma with the ISO 90012008 The Six Sigma is a concept that focuses on the approach of achieving business improvement. The main goal in this case is to improve the performance of a specific major process in a sequential manner. It is therefore vivid that the Six Sigma understands the core processes happening within the organization and its effects to the external environment thus it is well conversant with the SWOT analysis concept. The integration of the Six Sigma and the ISO 90012008 will probably lead to a great improvement in the production level of a firm. The ISO 90012008 concept delivers in detail eight principles of quality management that should be implemented in order to achieve a better deliverance in the quality systems (Lawler, Mohrman & Ledford, 2008). They include leadership, involvement of people, customer focus, continuous approach, supplier relationship, continuous improvement, process approach, and system approach. However, in this case the major focus is on process approach and systems approach. The integration of these concepts is paramount to an organization. The benefits of integrating the Six Sigma and the ISO 90012008 This combination brings great and positive changes in an organization since the internal and the external factors will be in consideration at the same time. There will be a rise in the capability to focus on the customer requirements than using the convectional process maps. There will be a perfect ability to identify the potential six sigma improvement projects and definition of their scope through absolute deliverance in operations (Naidu, Babu, & Rajendra, 2006). The SIPOC figures provide a single common language within the firm to control, improve, and manage major activities. In this situation the use of a Six Sigma related tool, known as SIPOC, the suggestion under the context of development and implementation of ISO 9001:2008 quality management systems. There is a description of how the SIPOC diagrams can illustrate map, help and interrelate one to manage key processes from a customer-centric perspective. There is also the concept of how SIPOC can facilitate an integration of Six Sigma systems within the ISO 9000 group of standards (Charantimath, 2011). The main challenge for this blend is that it is possible in organizations that are big and fully established thus making it impossible for upcoming or minor enterprises to engage in this activity in order to enjoy the benefits. The integration of the five Ps and the ISO 90012008 The five Ps are price, product, place, people, and promotion that are fundamental concepts that facilitate marketing in an organization. The integration of the ISO 90012008 and these elements will create a great sale in the organization thus making great returns within the standard period (Ellington, 2012). This will make the products to be in high demand because all elements that create customer loyalty due to the attributes of products and services will be available. The benefits of the integration The major benefit in this case will be a firm gaining a competitive advantage both in the local and international markets. This apparently creates the idea of expansion due to the rise in demand. The customer loyalty is associated with the excellent services of the concept and quality or standard products and services. The challenges This kind of integration has some challenges that may lead to the collapse of an organization. The great challenge is that the operations in this stage are extremely complex and the management should be highly knowledgeable to handle this situation. Workers in other sectors should also have the basic idea of whatever activity they operate in the organization. Conclusion In summary, it is clear that the ISO 90012008 cannot operate by itself efficiently unless it is integrated with relevant quality management techniques (Charantimath, 2011). This will take an organization to greater heights of production thus profit maximization as the core issue of the enterprise operation. However, there are some challenges that are associated with the integration that an organization should create strategies to overcome as early as possible. An organization should also focus on both internal and external issue in order to have a smooth flow of operations. References Besterfield, D. (2005). Total quality management. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Charantimath, P. (2011). Total quality management. New Delhi, India: Dorling Kindersley (India). Ellington, N. (2012). TQM adoption approaches in manufacturing. Lawler, E., Mohrman, S., & Ledford, G. (2008). Strategies for high performance organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Naidu, N., Babu, K., & Rajendra, G. (2006). Total quality management. New Delhi: New Age International. Peters, B., & Peters, J. (2012). Total quality management. New York, N.Y.: Conference Board. Read More