Background
The International Organization for Standardization, otherwise known as ISO, is a global organization, which accredits companies based on performance and service delivery.
The ISO certification for companies recognizes those companies, which have successfully gone through the laid down procedures in quality assurance.
Its principles include customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, the systems approach to management, continual improvement, factual approach to decision making, and mutually beneficial supplier relationships amongst others (Branson n.d., p. 1).
The scheme is about guaranteeing quality to the recipients of goods and services in business and entrepreneurship, as well as other fields. In determining this quality, customer needs are assessed followed by an evaluation of the degree to which an organization meets them. According to the ISO certification, quality cannot be achieved at once.
The process therefore is continuous. As such, it requires active improvement. It is also managed by instituting measures aimed at preventing rather than detecting flaws that may hinder companies’ performance. Some authors have described the quality as “getting it right the first time” (Branson n.d., p. 1).
This result is therefore the target of ISO certification in its course to achieve high standards in organizations’ performance. This research looks at the ISO 9000 clause 2.3. It describes it in details in a bid evaluated how companies and organizations deal with it and or how best they can reap from it.
Discussion of the Clause
There are a number of clauses in the ISO 9000. Companies target to achieve the demands of specific clauses for their accreditation to hold. The clause that the essay looks at is clause 2.3. This clause is on quality management systems approach. It entails a number of prestigious business functions (Branson n.d., p. 1).
There are also a number of steps involved for companies to fulfill the clause. The first step involves the initial determination of the expectations of clients to an organization or customers in a business enterprise.
In this step, a company considers the requirements of the population it serves so that it targets to fulfill the needs in a bid to benefit at the same time from the efforts. This stands out as the foundation of any successful company.
In the ISO requirement, an organization should be able to tell the needs of the people it serves before proceeding to meet them in a defined manner. Most of the organizations, which do not meet this first part of the clause, end up not satisfying the ISO standards. Therefore, they are not accredited.
The second part of the clause states that an organization should be able to come up with policies on quality and objectives pertaining to management (Branson n.d., p. 1).
These are laid down in the framework of the organization to be discussed with the interested parties and those involved in the management within a company. In most organizations, the quality statement is drafted and placed in the areas of work.
This strategy is meant to be adhered to by all workers and organizational affiliates. It sets the ground for those interested in the success of the organization, and for those who want the organization to proceed.
This part of the clause is pertinent to consider in excellence awarding exercise by ISO. It is also related to the first part of the clause. Therefore, it should be aligned with it.
After the organization or company sets up the objectives, the next step according to the clause is to determine the process that is required to achieve these goals (Branson n.d., p. 1).
Not only is the process established but also the responsibilities that are required to meet the objectives are also determined (Branson n.d., p. 1). These are in line with the second step of setting up the objectives.
They should be made by an exceptional quality control part of the organization where possible. The processes are then written down for implementation. However, they should be cost-effective, orderly, and logical.
An organization should use processes that are easy to lead in the achievement of the set goals, which should not be out of reach for the particular organization. The responsibilities determined thereof should also be equally distributed within the organization with each of the employees being made aware of his or her part in the process.
These responsibilities include the approach to clients, meeting their needs in an informed and friendly manner, and client feedback. The process should also have room for getting suggestions in an attempt to ensure their implementation in the company.
The fourth part of the clause is on determining and providing resources necessary to attain quality objectives (Branson n.d., p. 1). In this part of the clause, the organization spells out the requirements in meeting the set objectives some of which are physical while others are non-tangible resources.
The requirements include increased funding in the quality assurance process of the organization, increased staffing, increased machinery, reduced number of processes, and reduction in the time of getting services within the organization.
The company should then proceed to provide these resources through a process that is efficient and beneficial to it and its clients. The basis of taking this step is to ensure client satisfaction, which is the ultimate goal of any organization.
The fifth process in the clause is the establishing of “methods to measure the effectiveness and efficacy of each process” (Branson n.d., p. 1) that have been mapped down according to the above procedure. The setting up of these methods is linked to the determination of resources needed as indicated in the preceding part.
Once a company has set the objectives in quality assurance, it should then embark on determining the efficiency of the processes that it has laid down. This step should be done in an internal manner where the company evaluates the methods.
The company then needs to consult widely on the processes used elsewhere before proceeding to develop its own from the existing ones. Some of these methods include surveys where client satisfaction is established via feedback.
Any process that is chosen should be able to determine the effectiveness and the efficiency of each of the processes listed above. A company can also enlist the services of other external companies to guarantee the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes that it has set as its quality assurance.
The next step after the determination of effectiveness and efficiency of the processes is the elimination of non-conformities. This part tries to answer the question of what will be done to eliminate non-conformities (Branson n.d., p. 1).
A company spells out the measures it will take to prevent non-conformities to eliminate their causes (Branson n.d., p. 1). This part aims to reduce any risks that organizations face in the achievement of quality in their services.
For organizations to maintain and establish quality services, they need to seal all the loopholes in their quality assurance process. This step involves the elimination of all hindrances to quality services. The most common process that companies use is the development of rules and laws governing their performance.
The personnel, processes, and other affiliates that do not meet the set rules and organizational laws are then dealt with according to the laid procedures, which include termination of contracts, warnings, and other disciplinary measures.
The last part of the clause entails the “establishment and application of a process for continual improvement of the quality management” (Branson n.d., p. 1: Rothery 1993, p.15). In the real sense, this means improving the business as a whole.
A business cannot achieve quality performance if any part of it is not performing according to clients’ requirements. The organization therefore targets to improve the overall rating of the organization by taking a holistic approach to quality service delivery. Any process that is initiated by the organization should be focused on improving it.
When a particular part of the organization is not performing optimally, the organization is perceived not to be performing as a whole. The target is therefore to eliminate this drawback by ensuring that all departments and services offered are within the organization’s target.
In most instances, various authors define the above clause as the most important in the ISO 9000 certification (Hoyle 1998, p.23). It is however not a constituent of ISO 9001 (Branson n.d., p. 1) despite its importance in quality assurance.
The clause can be used to improve the quality management systems that exist within a particular organization, or even maintain it at a desired level (Hoyle 1998, p.23). It is therefore indispensable to apply it in any organization.
Any organization that adopts it “…creates confidence in the capability of its processes and the quality of its products besides providing a basis for continual improvement” (Hoyle 1998, p.23). It is therefore a necessity in meeting clients’ needs by ensuring their satisfaction and hence the overall organizational success.
Critique
The clause is a paramount requirement in attaining the ISO 9000 certification for companies and organizations. The resources needed to meet these requirements are not readily available to medium and small companies. This gap may hinder their certification.
They are also subjective to an organization. Besides, standardization is difficult across various fields in the business world. These are the main disadvantages and hindrance to achieving the ISO in the companies. The clause however provides organizations with a chance to improve their services and operations.
This will not only improve their rating but also their market share, profitability, and efficiency. An organization therefore needs to pursue the principles in the clause irrespective of whether it is seeking ISO certification.
In the establishment of successful organizations, the clause also contributes in the development of quality management systems within the organization. This stands out as the target of the ISO 9000. All companies fulfilling this basic clause should be certified.
The clause is also not demanding to organizations, as the resources required are within the reach of most of them. An organization should determine resources it needs to guarantee client satisfaction.
Another positive creation of the clause is competition for companies. Organizations within a particular field and those offering related services continually compete to ensure the set standards are achieved. Other companies do not do it before them.
This competition has ensured that clients get the best services and products in a particular field (Klassen 2007, p.18). Companies that achieve ISO certification after meeting this clause therefore use it as a marketing strategy to improve their performance and rating (Johnson 1993, p.6).
There are a number of positive developments from this clause relative to quality assurance in organizations. This realization has contributed towards making service delivery efficient and affective.
Best Organizational and Company Practices
The clause has ensured that some practices are adopted within organizations. In most of the organizations with ISO 9000 certification, the clause enables organizations to set up client feedback systems.
Most companies have existent client feedback systems in place as a way for clients to express their satisfaction with the services offered by the companies.
For client satisfaction, there are feedback centers within organizations, quality assurance departments, client reward schemes, organizational feedback websites, and programs (Klassen 2007, p.18). These centers have culminated from the adherence that companies have put to the clause hence making it one of the resultant practices.
Another company practice that has resulted from the clause is the development of the company and organizational charters (Peach 1997, p. 73). Organizations and government institutions falling under ISO offer these charters to ensure that services provided, and goods manufactured are within their standards.
Most of the organizations have therefore developed distinctive units within them, which are concerned with the achievement of the laid down quality assurance goals.
A schedule for monthly and annual meetings exists in companies to discuss the success in quality assurance for the organization and the steps required to guarantee continued customer satisfaction (Johnson 1993, p.6).
Other positive practices that businesses have adopted because of this clause include the award schemes. Most organizations have set up a means of rewarding their best performing personnel in various departments. This gesture serves as a motivation for them since it improves service delivery in companies.
It improves their market rating. It also serves as a means of marketing for their products and services. In the business world, profitability for companies is linked to the adherence to the clause.
The clause has also increased consumer awareness thus contributing towards the improvement in service delivery across all sectors of trade and business. The clause therefore makes a positive contribution in service deliver. Thus, its adoption of importance for the success of any organization
Conclusion
In conclusion, the ISO certification has contributed towards establishing a reward scheme aimed at improving service delivery in organizations. The ISO 9000 and the constituent clause 2.3 have enabled this outcome to be effected, as it spells out the procedure to be followed in attaining quality service delivery.
The description made above establishes that the clause entails seven processes to be followed in attaining the fulfillment of this clause. They have been described in details. The critique establishes that the clause is beneficial to organizations and companies.
It therefore qualifies as an ingenious way of ensuring their positive market performance. Some of the best practices that organizations have adopted include awards scheme, quality assurance departments, and client feedback programs. These have contributed towards efficiency and effectiveness in organizational performance.
References
Branson, P n.d., Most important clause, Business improvement through effective process management. Web.
Hoyle, D 1998, ISO 9000 Quality Systems Handbook, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
Johnson, P 1993, ISO 9000: Meeting the New International Standards, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Klassen, L 2007, Certification Study Guide, International Technical Support Organization, IBM, United States.
Peach, R 1997, The ISO 9000 Handbook, Irwin Professional Publishers, Chicago.
Rothery, B 1993, ISO 9000, Brookfield, VT, Gower.