Paulo Sampaio

ISO 9001 certification research: questions, answers and approaches

Purpose – The majority of ISO 9001 certification research studies conducted so far are supported by survey methodologies and descriptive statistics. As such, they express conclusions that are mainly derived from opinions and perceptions about the subject. Thus, it is common to find in the open literature references that point out the highly subjective results derived from such studies (often of somewhat contradictory nature). This paper tries to compile the main conclusions that ISO 9001 research studies have tried to address, with the aim of describing the quality management systems literature state‐of‐the‐art.Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve this objective, an exhaustive literature review of ISO 9000 studies was carried out. For that purpose approximately 100 articles were analysed, which were sorted in the following categories, according to the used methodology: surveys; analysis of financial indicators; case studies; interviews; literature review; and statistical data analysis.Finding...

Performance measures and quality tools in Portuguese small and medium enterprises: survey results

Abstract This paper describes a survey that was undertaken at the initial stage of a research project looking at performance measures and quality tools. Its objective was to determine the level of knowledge of performance measures and their degree of implementation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal. It also addressed the level of use of quality tools in the same companies, since they provide some degree of integration between the external requirements of a business and its internal activities and performance (Gregory, 1993). Most research to date has concentrated on large companies and so an important part of this work is to assess whether or not SMEs can adopt similar approaches with respect to quality, or in general, to management methodologies. For example, are ISO standards, TQM, balanced scorecard, or other excellence models beneficial to all companies and how are they implemented? The paper starts with a brief literature review and then presents the methodology used for the survey, the questionnaire construction and the pilot study. The full survey is described together with a comprehensive analysis of the results, including respondent bias and questionnaire reliability and validity. The general opinions of Portuguese SMEs with regard to performance measurement, the most important measures to use and the biggest obstacles to their adopting new ones are discussed. The paper culminates with an analysis of quality tools and the conclusions drawn from the study.

Management systems: integration or addition?

Purpose – In the past few years, management systems implementation and certification has become a common practice among different types of organizations. In this context, quality management systems certification, according to the ISO 9001 standard is in the spotlight, due to over than 1.000.000 certified organizations by the end of 2009. Quality management systems can be integrated with an increasing variety of other subsystems implemented according to other standards, including environmental systems, health and safety, social responsibility, R&D, risk, or human resources, and subsystems raised from specific standards designed for specific activity sectors (HACCP, automotive or aeronautics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and software). Due to this evolution, careful attention should be taken on how these different subsystems have been and should be articulated, harmonized and integrated. Thus, this paper intends to approach different strategies to achieve integration, with several levels of intensity, d...

A classification model for prediction of certification motivations from the contents of ISO 9001 audit reports

ISO 9001 certification motivations can be classified into two main categories: (1) internal motivations; and (2) external motivations. Internal motivations are related with genuine organisational improvement goals (productivity, internal communication, process performance), while external motivations are mainly related to promotional and marketing issues (customer and market pressures, market share). Some companies that become certified mostly upon the basis of external motivations define their main goal as ‘obtaining registration’, and thus typically adopt a limited view over the scope of quality management systems implementation and certification. Based upon a detailed review of 100 ISO 9001 audit reports, we performed a detailed statistical comparison between both types of motivations driving companies in their certification efforts, explored their differences and similarities and derived a statistically based classification model that was able to predict, for a particular organisation, what kind of predominant motivation lead to its certification, from information that can be retrieved from the contents of the corresponding ISO 9001 audit reports.

A comparison and usage overview of business excellence models

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative analysis and usage overview of the most common business excellence models: the European Foundation for Quality Management Model, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Model, the Deming Prize Model and the Iberoamerican Model for Excellence in Management.Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve such goals, the authors have performed a set of statistical analysis over public data sets, related to each one of the analyzed models, as well as making a comparative analysis of the model contents.Findings – The different business excellence models do share a similar set of principles and criteria. However, different adoption patterns have been found across regions of the globe, regarding the use of such business excellence models over the last decades.Originality/value – As far as the authors were able to find out, based on the literature review carried out, this is the first time that a set of statistical data results, related to the ...

The path to excellence of the Portuguese organisations recognised by the EFQM model

This paper presents research carried out in seven Portuguese organisations recognised by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Model between January 2009 and August 2011. Using a qualitative methodology, based on case studies, we conducted semi-structured interviews to find out the motivations behind the adoption of the EFQM Excellence Model of self-assessment, as well the companys current state of maturity, their route to improvement for a greater maturity level, their desirable future state of maturity, and finally, the definition of a methodology for using self-assessment based on the EFQM Model with all the inputs achieved in earlier stages. The main findings of this study are in accordance with other studies carried out across Europe, namely the fact that the internal motivations are the key factor for the implementation of the EFQM Excellence Model, the prevalence of Public organisations due the investment of National Authorities, the key role of CEOs and Top Managers and the ISO 9001 standard role in the successful implementation of several criteria of the model. A new methodology has been designed where the self-assessment team, Benchlearning and Benchmarking have a remarkable mission in the implementation process of the EFQM Excellence Model.

Analysis of integrated management systems from various perspectives

This article compiles the main topics addressed by management systems (MSs) literature concerning MSs integration by performing a systematic literature review. In this paper, it is intended to present the main limitations of non-integrated management systems (IMSs), the main motivations driving an IMS implementation, the major resistances faced, the most common resultant benefits, the suitable guidelines and standards and the critical success factors. In addition, this paper addresses the issues concerning integration strategies and models, the integration levels or degrees achieved by an IMS and the audit function in an integrated context. The motivations that drive companies to integrate their management subsystems, the obstacles faced and the benefits collected may have internal or external origins. The publishing of standards guiding companies on how to integrate their management subsystems has been done mainly at a national level. There are several models that could be used in order to support companies in their management subsystems integration processes, and a sequential or an all-in strategy may be adopted. Four audit typologies can be distinguished, and the adoption of any of these typologies should consider resource availability and audit team know-how, among other features.

Food safety management system implementation and certification: survey results

The worldwide implementation and certification of food safety management systems (FSMS) have increased significantly during the last few years, thus reflecting the importance of assuming these standards in some activity sectors. Based on the literature review carried out, there are a large number of research projects that have been conducted in this area. However, as far as Portugal is concerned, the nationwide research projects related to ISO 22000 are scarce. Therefore, this paper reflects what we believe to be a pioneering contribution in order to study FSMS adoption by Portuguese companies. In more detail, our aim is to provide fact-based insights, among others, into the following issues: (1) What are the motivations and benefits of ISO 22000 certification? (2) What are the main obstacles, difficulties and drawbacks of ISO 22000? (3) What are the benefits and costs directly related to the food management system implementation, certification and maintenance? (4) What are the market evolution perspectives of the food management system? In order to answer these questions, we used a research methodology that was based on a survey that was e-mailed to the ISO 22000-certified Portuguese companies.

New organisational issues and macroergonomics : integrating management systems

Integration and embedding interrelated concepts has become a major research field crossing over several scientific areas. Benchmarking, globalisation, sustainable development, clouding information flows, flexible work arrangements, democracy in management and teammanship over leadership are, currently, widely discussed issues among the industrial and academic communities. Systems integration has been reported in several technical areas, namely, in sensor development (organic-inorganic), artificial human tissue development and cybernetic projects. Organisational systems integration is also an appealing research field taking into account the number of papers and journals focusing on that matter. It is intended in this paper, of a mostly conceptual nature, to emphasise potential synergies between macroergonomics and integrated management systems (IMS), as complex systems, based on the available literature and on partial results of a survey focusing on Portuguese companies that enabled highlighting organisational IMS features. It is also intended to emphasise the relative position that ergonomics may assume in management systems integration, namely, on the challenges anticipated to the human in this new organisational reality by reporting on an IMS maturity assessment tool considering macroergonomics and other relevant concepts.

An extensive structural model of supply chain quality management and firm performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of supply chain quality management (SCQM) and to propose a research model that considers the impact of SCQM practices on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a comprehensive literature review, SCQM most relevant practices were analyzed and selected. These practices were categorized into four dimensions: upstream (supplier assessment, supplier quality management (QM)), downstream sides of a supply chain (customer focus), internal process (product/service design, process management and logistics) and support practices (top management support, human resource management, information and supply chain integration). The measurement instrument of firm performance was also developed, including three aspects: operational performance, customer satisfaction and financial performance. Findings – An innovative conceptual framework that provides a comprehensive picture covering core dimensions of SCQM and various aspects of firm performanc...