|
This document introduces the eight
quality management principles on which the quality management system
standards of the revised ISO 9000:2000 series are based. These principles
can be used by senior management as a framework to guide their organizations
towards improved performance. The principles are derived from the
collective experience and knowledge of the international experts
who participate in ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC
176, Quality management and quality assurance, which is
responsible for developing and maintaining the ISO 9000 standards.
The eight quality management principles are defined
in ISO 9000:2000, Quality management systems Fundamentals and
vocabulary, and in ISO 9004:2000, Quality management systems
Guidelines for performance improvements.
This document gives the standardized descriptions
of the principles as they appear in ISO 9000:2000 and ISO 9004:2000.
In addition, it provides examples of the benefits derived from their
use and of actions that managers typically take in applying the
principles to improve their organizations' performance.
Principle 1: Customer focus
[top]
Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should
understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer
requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.
Key benefits:
- Increased revenue and market share obtained through
flexible and fast responses to market opportunities.
- Increased effectiveness in the use of the organization's
resources to enhance customer satisfaction.
- Improved customer loyalty leading to repeat business.
Applying the principle of customer focus typically
leads to:
- Researching and understanding customer needs
and expectations.
- Ensuring that the objectives of the organization
are linked to customer needs and expectations.
- Communicating customer needs and expectations
throughout the organization.
- Measuring customer satisfaction and acting on
the results.
- Systematically managing customer relationships.
- Ensuring a balanced approach between satisfying
customers and other interested parties (such as owners, employees,
suppliers, financiers, local communities and society as a whole).
Principle 2: Leadership [top]
Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization.
They should create and maintain the internal environment in which
people can become fully involved in achieving the organizations
objectives.
Key benefits:
- People will understand and be motivated towards
the organizations goals and objectives.
- Activities are evaluated, aligned and implemented
in a unified way.
- Miscommunication between levels of an organization
will be minimized.
Applying the principle of leadership typically leads
to:
- Considering the needs of all interested parties
including customers, owners, employees, suppliers, financiers,
local communities and society as a whole.
- Establishing a clear vision of the organizations
future.
- Setting challenging goals and targets.
- Creating and sustaining shared values, fairness
and ethical role models at all levels of the organization.
- Establishing trust and eliminating fear.
- Providing people with the required resources,
training and freedom to act with responsibility and accountability.
- Inspiring, encouraging and recognizing people's
contributions.
Principle 3: Involvement of people
[top]
People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their
full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization's
benefit.
Key benefits:
- Motivated, committed and involved people within
the organization.
- Innovation and creativity in furthering the organization's
objectives.
- People being accountable for their own performance.
- People eager to participate in and contribute
to continual improvement.
Applying the principle of involvement of people
typically leads to:
- People understanding the importance of their
contribution and role in the organization.
- People identifying constraints to their performance.
- People accepting ownership of problems and their
responsibility for solving them.
- People evaluating their performance against their
personal goals and objectives.
- People actively seeking opportunities to enhance
their competence, knowledge and experience.
- People freely sharing knowledge and experience.
- People openly discussing problems and issues.
Principle 4: Process approach
[top]
A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities
and related resources are managed as a process.
Key benefits:
- Lower costs and shorter cycle times through effective
use of resources.
- Improved, consistent and predictable results.
- Focused and prioritized improvement opportunities.
Applying the principle of process approach typically
leads to:
- Systematically defining the activities necessary
to obtain a desired result.
- Establishing clear responsibility and accountability
for managing key activities.
- Analysing and measuring of the capability of
key activities.
- Identifying the interfaces of key activities
within and between the functions of the organization.
- Focusing on the factors such as resources, methods,
and materials that will improve key activities of the organization.
- Evaluating risks, consequences and impacts of
activities on customers, suppliers and other interested parties.
Principle 5: System approach
to management [top]
Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes
as a system contributes to the organization's effectiveness and
efficiency in achieving its objectives.
Key benefits:
- Integration and alignment of the processes that
will best achieve the desired results.
- Ability to focus effort on the key processes.
- Providing confidence to interested parties as
to the consistency, effectiveness and efficiency of the organization.
Applying the principle of system approach to management
typically leads to:
- Structuring a system to achieve the organization's
objectives in the most effective and efficient way.
- Understanding the interdependencies between the
processes of the system.
- Structured approaches that harmonize and integrate
processes.
- Providing a better understanding of the roles
and responsibilities necessary for achieving common objectives
and thereby reducing cross-functional barriers.
- Understanding organizational capabilities and
establishing resource constraints prior to action.
- Targeting and defining how specific activities
within a system should operate.
- Continually improving the system through measurement
and evaluation.
Principle 6: Continual improvement
[top]
Continual improvement of the organization's overall performance
should be a permanent objective of the organization.
Key benefits:
- Performance advantage through improved organizational
capabilities.
- Alignment of improvement activities at all levels
to an organization's strategic intent.
- Flexibility to react quickly to opportunities.
Applying the principle of continual improvement
typically leads to:
- Employing a consistent organization-wide approach
to continual improvement of the organization's performance.
- Providing people with training in the methods
and tools of continual improvement.
- Making continual improvement of products, processes
and systems an objective for every individual in the organization.
- Establishing goals to guide, and measures to
track, continual improvement.
- Recognizing and acknowledging improvements.
Principle 7: Factual approach
to decision making [top]
Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information
Key benefits:
- Informed decisions.
- An increased ability to demonstrate the effectiveness
of past decisions through reference to factual records.
- Increased ability to review, challenge and change
opinions and decisions.
Applying the principle of factual approach to decision
making typically leads to:
- Ensuring that data and information are sufficiently
accurate and reliable.
- Making data accessible to those who need it.
- Analysing data and information using valid methods.
- Making decisions and taking action based on factual
analysis, balanced with experience and intuition.
Principle 8: Mutually beneficial
supplier relationships [top]
An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually
beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value
Key benefits:
- Increased ability to create value for both parties.
- Flexibility and speed of joint responses to changing
market or customer needs and expectations.
- Optimization of costs and resources.
Applying the principles of mutually beneficial supplier
relationships typically leads to:
- Establishing relationships that balance short-term
gains with long-term considerations.
- Pooling of expertise and resources with partners.
- Identifying and selecting key suppliers.
- Clear and open communication.
- Sharing information and future plans.
- Establishing joint development and improvement
activities.
- Inspiring, encouraging and recognizing improvements
and achievements by suppliers.
The next step: [top]
This document provides a general perspective on
the quality management principles underlying the ISO 9000:2000 series.
It gives an overview of these principles and shows how, collectively,
they can form a basis for performance improvement and organizational
excellence.
There are many different ways of applying these
quality management principles. The nature of the organization and
the specific challenges it faces will determine how to implement
them. Many organizations will find it beneficial to set up quality
management systems based on these principles.
The requirements of quality management systems and
supporting guidelines are given in the
ISO 9000 family.
Further information on the ISO 9000 standards is
available from us or from the ISO
Central Secretariat ISO 9000 enquiry service. Sales enquiries
should also be directed to us or to the
ISO Central Secretariat sales department.
ISO publishes the bimonthly ISO 9000 + ISO 14000
News, which provides updates on these families of standards and
news on their implementation around the world. A Spanish-language
edition is published by the Spanish national standards institute,
AENOR.
|
