Integral Logistics Management — Operations Management and Supply Chain Management Within and Across Companies

18.3.1 Standards and Norms of Quality Management: ISO 9000:2015

Intended learning outcomes: Disclose standards in the DIN ISO 9000:2015 series (without ISO 10001 to 10004). Differentiate between the fulfillment paradigm and the optimization paradigm.



The ISO 9000:2015 Standards are shown in Figure 18.3.1.1.

Fig. 18.3.1.1       Standards in the DIN ISO 9000:2015 series (without ISO 10001 to 10004).

The standards pay attention to the ability of the organization to fulfill the requirements of various stakeholders, such as customers, employees, and investors, as well as for continual improvement. A major revision is scheduled for the end of the year 2015.

Today, there exist two strategies for deriving a quality management system. The two strategies can also be seen as paradigms:

  • The fulfillment paradigm leads to systems that contain a set number of quality assurance standards, or rules and measures. Certification by an impartial third party aims to guarantee mutual trust among business partners as to the required quality of products or services. All organizations that achieve a specified level of quality receive certification. ISO 9000:2015 is a quality management system of this type.
  • The optimization paradigm leads to comprehensive concepts that aim for out­standing quality performance. Here, independent associa­tions evaluate the degree to which a company recognizes quality to be the crucial factor for all its activities and makes it the focus of attention of business activity. Only the best organizations receive a Quality Award (QA). Corresponding quality management systems are introduced in Section 18.3.2.

The advantage of awards over certification is that the demands to be met for awards actually increase over time, as the companies improve. This means that awards result in best practices instead of merely sufficient levels. Awards are the embodiment of a continual improvement philosophy (optimization relating to goals), whereas certification according to a standard results “only” in achievement of a specific level (fulfillment of requirements).

Durable improvement of company performance is a question of company culture, and thus of the behavior of the individual, the individual organizational units, but also the organization as a whole. The desired culture and the corresponding behavior are generally laid down in a strategy or policy. Strategic management then builds up the corresponding management systems (“structure follows strategy”), such as, for example, a quality management system. The aim of establishing such management systems is to influence the individual and thus to achieve the desired behavior (“culture follows structure”).




Course section 18.3: Subsections and their intended learning outcomes

  • 18.3.4 Benchmarking

    Intended learning outcomes: Differentiate between benchmarking in very different industries and of different sizes at the level of the general management, and benchmarking with other firms in the same industry sector.