ISO 9000
...realizing the importance of the orientation towards quality standards. But another problem appeared. Many of the existed standards could not make the transition from product orientation to process orientation. Some countries realized the need for making changes in their own requirements. As the companies entered the global market, the difference of standard requirements led the producers toward confusion. To eliminate some of the confusion, the International Organization for Standardization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, developed an international quality system standard, called ISO 9000. The first standards were published in 1987. (Greene, 1991). One of the objectives of ISO 9000 standards are business benefits. Thus the ISO 9000 standards aim at profitable increase of turnover and market share. In this case, such benefits are gained in the result of cost decreases. ISO 9000 also increases stakeholder confidence and customers’ reliance on the quality of the product. It adds value to the company which acquire ISO 9000 certification. Most companies have three overall goals to mix: minimize costs, maximize profits, and maximize customer satisfaction. This way, the benefits, expected from ISO certification, are both external and internal. The customers perceive the product as having superior product quality and willingly buy it. Having adopted ISO 9000, the company gains trust from the customers and suppliers. The company, using this advantage, increases sales. Since the standards are considered to be universally accepted quality standards, the company also gets worldwide recognition. And finally, it increases its stock value. (www.xanedu.com). Understanding and controlling all fields of the production process leads to reduction of costs. ISO 9000 gives an opportunity to reduces manufacturing lead times and work in process. (Harrington, 2002). The documentation aspect of ISO is really very important: once the company starts documenting, it develops uniformity in different shift operations. A good documentation can also lead to reductions in training time. With the help of ISO 9000, more effective work instructions are created for employees. The company can reduce the amount of time required to train them. (Brown, 1997). Another a very important factor is that the employees discuss their procedures within ISO standards. It leads to clarity of process documentation. Consequently, ISO 9000 leads to increase in productivity, meanwhile the inventories are decreased. It lowers costs, and increase sales. This way, it increases the material flow efficiency. The production and inventory control becomes more clear and transparent. All uncertainty is minimized, while discipline increases. (Craft, 1994). Today, these ISO standards are the most widely recognized and accepted international standards. Quality is becoming increasingly important, therefore many companies are seeking registration to demonstrate to their customers that they are in control of their businesses. There are currently about 40,000 organizations in the world registered under ISO 9003, 9002, or 9001 standards. By 1992, more than 20,000 companies in the EC had registered, compared to about 600 in the United States. The Japanese not only have adopted the standards, but also encourage registration among the companies. Many other countries are moving rapidly toward ISO 9000 registration. (Avery, 1995). In some situations, ISO standards become vital for a company to find the customer. It can be very harmful not to have the standards, since ISO are required for products by European Community. (Bodinson, 1991). How does a company adopt ISO 9000? The involvement of top management is the most important element in preparing for ISO registration. Senior management must drive the process, managing the time and expense connected with obtaining the registration. It is essential that every employee have a clear understanding of ISO 9000. Everyone must be aware of his role in the organization process. Once a company is sure that ISO implementation will be beneficial, it must select the ISO 9000 quality system standard. The preparation process demands a lot of time, and it depends how well the organization's current quality system meets the requirements of the chosen standards. Usually, this process takes from eighteen to twenty four months. The purchase of ISO 9000 becomes a long strategy decision. Audit is the first thing to do. The first thing an auditor looks for is documentation. After examining the documentation, the auditor checks if the company production process follows the documentation. Such approach not only ensures quality of products, but also ensures confidence in the process of standardization. ISO 9001 establishes a management system that provides confidence of the product to the generally accepted requirements. ISO 9000 is the only standard against whose requirements the quality system can be certified by an external agency. Senior management often questions the value of quality management systems for improving company performance connected with the costs. This same group also may view quality management as something separate from business management. The new ISO 9000:2000 standards have been redesigned to address many of these issues, including requirements for a process-based orientation to business. There are some criticisms about ISO 9000. ISO registration costs appear to be rather high. The price verify from four thousand dollars for small companies up to thirty thousand dollars for larger firms. These costs do not include the cost of preparing a firm for approval. It is said that, usually, it costs $500,000 to prepare a 250-person plant for an au...