Francisco Balbastre Benavent

Analysis of the implementation of ISO 9000 quality assurance systems

Examines the literature relating to the implementation of quality assurance systems and then uses a questionnaire to a number of organisations and consultants to compare “practice” with “theory”. Analyses the implementation process for quality assurance systems designed to meet the requirements of the ISO 9000 standard to identify the role of the different “actors” to find out which factors facilitate the implementation or make it more difficult. Suggests that the primary motivation for introducing ISO 9000 systems is to improve image and reputation rather than processes.

ISO 9000‐based quality assurance approaches and their relationship with strategic analysis

Many organisations use the ISO 9000 series as a reference framework to establish their quality assurance system. In doing so, most of them overlook the process of interpreting and adapting these standards to their own characteristics and capabilities. As a result, there is a misunderstanding with respect to the objectives of the standards. The correct implementation of the ISO 9000 series requires a preliminary analysis that facilitates the adaptation of them to the particular circumstances of a company. Therefore, this paper pays attention to the relationship existing between ISO 9000 implementation and the use of strategic diagnosis tools. The employment of such tools could be studied as an important facilitator for the ISO 9000 implementation process. However, this is not the aim of this research. Instead, the aim is threefold. First, the article analyses the use of strategic diagnosis tools by ISO 9000‐certified companies before and after the implementation process. Second, it examines how aspects relative to the management of processes, the organisational structure, and the relationship with suppliers and customers, are going to determine the quality approach resulting from the ISO 9000 implementation. Finally, the paper aims to analyse the influence of the development of strategic diagnosis activities, prior to the implementation, on the quality approach adopted by firms.

TQM Application Through Self-Assessment and Learning: Some Experiences from Two EQA Applicants

Nowadays, TQM implementation through self-assessment application is gaining importance as a means of continuously improving the management of organizations, particularly since the introduction of international quality awards. The models underlying these awards consider the process of organizational learning as a fundamental factor for companies to become competitive in todays environments. Little attention has been given, however, to the relationship between self-assessment application and learning by the specialized literature. Therefore, the authors research attempts to shed light into this topic. This article analyzes the way in which self-assessment application based on the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model facilitates the process of organizational learning (while the EFQM Excellence Model is not broadly used by American firms, this work is not focused on the reference model itself but on the way in which companies employ such models to self-assess how good or bad they are). To reach such an objective, the author has developed an exploratory case study of two Spanish companies with a broad experience in self-assessment, constituting the results obtained through a preliminary theoretical framework in a research field still unexplored.