ISO9000 is It Worth It

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ISO 9000: An Effective Quality System

by Chris Amponsah, Anne DeClouette, Dwight Dew, Elizabeth Pogue and Clint Wilson

Standards play a critical role in our lives every day. Without standards, quality would

suffer, safety would be jeopardized, and efficiencies would not be realized. Organizations need

standards to communicate, and to conduct business.

To promote standardization worldwide, the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) developed standards, so that a common international standard for

documentation of quality systems could be applied regardless of culture. ISO standards can be

adapted and applied to many different industries because of the broad construct of generically

written standards (Foster, 2004).

In 1987, ISO adopted ISO 9000 as an international standard. Ever since, business analysts

and other observers have debated whether it is an effective standard and worth pursuing. We

believe it is.

A Little Background

The ISO 9000 standard originated from the United Kingdom Standard BS 5750 and

focused on conformance with procedures. Subsequent revisions in 1994 emphasized quality

assurance, and the 2000 version brought the concept of process management to the forefront. The


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ISO considered ISO 9000 so effective, it embarked on developing an international standard for

environmental compliance called ISO 14000 (Foster, 2004, 92).

As of December 31, 2006, ISO had developed 16,455 international standards in nine

sectors based on the International Classification for Standards (ICS). The standards represent a

total output of 620,768 pages. The technical sectors include:

1. Generalities, infrastructures and sciences2. Health, safety and environment3. Engineering technologies4.

Electronics, information technology and telecommunications

5. Transport and distribution of goods6. Agriculture and food technology7. Materials technologies8. Construction9. Special technologies(ISO Figures, 2007).

ISO 9000 is built on eight quality management principles:

1. Customer focus2. Leadership3. Involvement of people4. Process approach5. System approach to management6. Continual improvement

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7. Factual approach to decision making8. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships(ISO 9000 Basics, 2007).

These principles are used by leaders to guide organizations toward improved

performance.

The benefits of ISO 9000 are not confined to the business sector alone, but benefit society

as a whole, including customers, governments, trade officials, developing countries, consumers,

and the environment. Standardization allows businesses the opportunity to compete in markets

around the world. This enables more competition, which results in more choices for customers.

Standards also help developing countries compete in international markets without investing

scarce resources on research and development. Consumers benefit from products or services

consistently manufactured to agreed-upon levels of safety and quality. And the environment

benefits through the establishment of controls to insure the quality of air, water, soil, and

emissions (ISO 9000 Basics, 2007).

ISO: A Broad Look at its Importance

The most general justification for ISO is the fact that it is an internationally developed set

of standards (Nelson and Daniels, 2007). This indicates broad inputs and applications suitable for

enterprises across the globe. The standards are rigid by nature, given the long consensus process

needed to create or modify them. With the increasing globalization of world markets,

international standards become more appropriate. Rao, Ragu-Nathan, and Solis (1997) noted the

increased global interest a decade ago. Martnez-Costa and Martnez-Lorente (2003), who

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focused on Spanish companies, more recently noted the global nature of certifications and

growth in registrations is becoming increasingly non-European. And Quazi et al. (2002)

recognized the same trend in increasing registrations by Asian companies.

The process for becoming certified is long, and requires total introspection on the part of

the applicant. Companies are required to comprehensively document, and strictly comply with,

the quality system in place (Reiman and Henry, 1996; Quazi et al., 2002). Therefore, the focus of

becoming registered is to assure the organizations internal conformity with its own documented

procedures.

The beauty of the ISO 9000 concept is its objectivity. The registration process culminates

in a third-party audit of international standards that lends credibility to the certification. An

independent organization, called a registrar, measures the company against the ISO 9000

standard that is accepted globally as the defining set of quality management system

requirements. As a result, what could otherwise be viewed as a self-serving marketing claim

becomes a third-party endorsement that is respected in the marketplace as being totally objective.

This independent evaluation assures existing and respective customers that an effective quality

management system is in place (Hutchins, 1997).

What Scholars Say

Some scholars (McAdam and McKeown, 1999; Martnez-Costa and Martnez-Lorente,

2003) have suggested that the motivations for implementing ISO 9000 are an important factor in

effectiveness. Externally driven ISO 9000 pursuits are frequently done as a requirement for

getting business. When initiated internally, however, rather than as a response to external

pressures, companies tend to view ISO 9000 registration as just the beginning of a quality

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journey (McAdam and McKeown, 1999; Renuka and Venkateshwara, 2006). Seeing ISO

certification as a beginning is consistent with the observation by Rao et al. (1997) that other

nationally and internationally recognized standards, such as BSI, Kitermark, and Underwriters

Laboratories, use ISO 9000 as a baseline requirement. ISO 9000 is therefore effective because it

serves can be a foundation for other certifications.

Quazi et al. (2002) noted that proponents of ISO 9000 certification cite benefits such as

having the ability to improve product or service quality, efficiency and productivity, customer

confidence, and competitive advantage as well as better control of business, increased

sales/business, reduced costs, increased productivity and fewer customer complaints (p. 54).

McAdam and McKeown (1999) similarly stressed better control, lower costs, and fewer

customer complaints. Elmuti and Kathawala (1997, as cited in Renuka and Venkateshwara,

2006) echoed the theme of higher productivity and asserted that ISO 9000 certification sparks

increased export sales as well. Rao et al. (1997) concurred, and also discussed consistency as a

benefit, and highlighted the comprehensive nature of the standards, which cover everything from

initial product design to post-delivery customer service. Quazi and Padibjo (1998, as cited in

Renuka and Venkateshwara, 2006) reported other, more intrinsic effects of certification, such as

improved quality of work life improved company image and competitiveness in the

marketplace, streamlined procedures and documentation; and increased consciousness for

preventive and corrective actions (p. 45).

Chow-Chua, Goh and Wan (2003) noted that most companies have experienced an

increase in overall sales after ISO 9000 certification. They further noted that ISO 9000-certified

companies attained better rates of return and the additional benefits of better documentation,

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greater quality awareness among employees, better internal communication, and an increase in

operational awareness. All of these factors sharpen a companys competitive edge.

ISO 9000 certification allows a company to have better internal processes through clearer

working procedures, better bottom line profitability, and stronger exports from expansion into

international markets. Fuller & Vertinsky (2006) reached a similar conclusion that ISO 9000-

certified companies engaged in software engineering achieved increased profitability.

Effectiveness Based on Size

Theres a well-documented difference in ISO 9000 certification benefits reaped by small

and large companies (McAdam and McKeown, 1999; Martnez-Costa and Martnez-Lorente,

2003; Renuka and Venkateshwara, 2006). Large companies, for example, tend to enjoy a boost

in stock price upon announcing they are pursuing certification. The marketplace believes that

such an announcement is a harbinger of improved future revenues for the companies involved

due to improved quality, which leads to reduced fixed costs, reduced variable-support costs that

increase as sales volume increases, and increased revenues from sales. (Fuller & Vertinsky,

2006).

Smaller companies are less likely to automatically reap these benefits. Its more difficult

for customers in the business-to-business market to ascertain if a small company is well-run. But

while smaller companies may not get the automatic bioost in status from ISO 9000 certfifiation

enjoyed by larger companies, they can still leverage certifrication to prove to the world they have

greater control of their business. Renuka and Venkateshwara (2006) specifically cited benefits to

small companies which have achieved certification: They were more technologically advanced

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than their peers, and were more likely to have implemented standard training/development and

human resource management practices.

Standing Out While Conforming

While standardization is important for companies, so is product differentiation -- making

a product that stands out from the crowd. While external standards, such as those described by

ISO 9000, are rigid, internal company standards need to be flexible and dynamic. Companies

that are most successful at creating and sustaining competitive advantage are those that maintain

continuously renewing internal standards.

But its not enough merely to have these advantages: Companies must communicate their

advantages to other businesses, or the company will not prosper. Standardization through the

ISO certification process allows an organization to communicate with other businesses, through

a common language, even as its own internal processes are changing.

Improvements Across The Board

Ultimately, results are what matter. Does being ISO 9000-certified actually result in

improved product quality? Rao, et al. (1997) studied companies in four countries to test the link

between ISO 9000 registration and quality; the study found that certified companies had

significantly higher scores on measures of the eight quality constructs: leadership, information

and analysis, strategic quality planning, human resource development, quality assurance, supplier

relationships, customer orientation, and quality results.

Our Conclusion: ISO 9000 is Effective

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For these reasons, we conclude that ISO 9000 appears to be an effective means of

identifying companies that truly embrace quality standards.

***

References:

1. Chow-Chua. C., Goh, M., & Wan, T. (2003). Does ISO 9000 certification improvebusiness performance? The International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management,

20(8/9), 936-953.

2. Conti, T. (2004). From infancy to maturity: Rethinking the role of ISO 9000 standards.TQM, and business excellence models, Quality Congress, 58, 1-7.

3. Foster, S. (2004).Managing quality: An integrative approach (2nd ed.).Upper SaddleRiver, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

4. Fuller, G., & Vertinsky, I. (2006). Market response to ISO 9000 certification of softwareengineering processes,International Journal of IT Standards and Standardization

Research, 4(2), 43-54.

5. Hutchins, G. (1997).ISO 9000: A comprehensive guide to registration, audit guidelinesand successful certification.New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

6. ISO 9000 Basics. (2007). InISO 9000: Understand the basics. Retrieved from the Website of the International Organization for Standardization:

http://www.iso.org/iso/en/iso9000-14000/understand/qmp.html

7. ISO Figures. (2007). InISO in Figures. Retrieved from the Web site of the InternationalOrganization for Standardization:

http://www.iso.org/iso/en/aboutiso/isoinfigures/January2007-p4.html

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8. Martnez-Costa, M., & Martnez-Lorente, A. (2003). Effects of ISO 9000 certification onfirms' performance: a vision from the market. Total Quality Management & Business

Excellence, 14(10), 1179 -1191.

9. McAdam, R., & McKeown, M. (1999). Life after ISO 9000: An analysis of the impact ofISO 9000 and total quality management on small businesses in Northern Ireland. Total

Quality Management, 10(2), 229-241.

10.Nelsen, D., Daniels, S.E. (2007). Quality glossary. Quality Progress,40(6), 39-59.11.Quazi, H., Hong, C., & Meng, C. (2002). Impact of ISO 9000 certification on quality

management practices: A comparative study. Total Quality Management, 13(1), 53-67.

12.Rao, S., Ragu-Nathan, T., & Solis, L. (1997). Does ISO 9000 have an effect on qualitymanagement practices? An international empirical study. Total Quality Management,

8(6), 333-346.

13.Reiman, C., & Hertz, H. (1996). The Baldrige Award and ISO 9000 registrationcompared.Journal for Quality & Participation, 19(1), 12-19.

14.Renuka, S.D., Venkateshwara, B.A. (2006). A comparative study of human resourcemanagement practices and advanced technology adoption of SMEs with and without ISO

certification. Singapore Management Review,28(1), 41-61.

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ISO 9000: An Ineffective Quality System

by Chris Heffner, Steven C. Swede Larson, Barney Tim Lowder and Patti Stites

ISO 9000 was created as a family of models in 1987, based on a wartime British

manufacturing standard, as the answer to perceived manufacturing problems with quality and

safety. The program was originally published in 1987 by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO), which is a specialized international agency that focuses on the

standardization of organizational processes. The organization is composed of standards from

organizations representing 90 countries. ISO 9000 was quickly adopted as the premier standard

to ensure uniform manufacturing and auditing processes. The program went through a major

revision in 2000 and now includes ISO 9000:2000 (definitions), ISO 9001:2000 (requirements)

and ISO 9004:2000 (continuous improvement).

But even after these major revisions, the program is often criticized as ineffective for a

wide variety of reasons. We agree.

Overemphasis on Inspection

First, many researchers believe ISO 9000 is ineffective because it is based on

conservatism, overemphasizes inspections and audits, and fails to encourage real improvement.

Barnes (2000), for example, said that the current commercial certification process results in a


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pursuit of quality certificates, as opposed to a pursuit of quality. Johannsen (1995) also

asserted that the ISO concept does not incorporate the advances of Total Quality Management

because it is narrow, static and emphasize[s] conformance to specifications (p. 234). After

overseeing more than 50 ISO registrations, Bill Robinson (cited in Clifford, 2005), argued that

ISO is not one of the better systems that can be used for process improvement. Clifford (2005)

added that the ISO certification program can assist in raising a companys quality, but because of

the stringent regulations and specifications, the processes eventually stifle long-run quality

improvement. Quazi, Hong, and Meng (2002) agreed that the focus on standardization reduces

creativity and continuous quality improvement efforts.

In other words, a plateau of quality can be reached through certification, but this plateau

cannot be surpassed. Karon (1996). Quazi, Hong, and Meng (2002) also supported the premise

that the ISO program is not designed as a quality-enhancement program, and has not

significantly improved the quality of products and services in firms where it has been

implemented.

Questions of Safety

Significant evidence also exists that implementation of ISO 9000 does not maintain

quality, or even safety, for the customer. Chinese companies lead the world in ISO 9000

certifications (ISO Survey of Certifications, 2005, cited in Smith, 2007), and held more than

three times as many certifications as U.S. firms in 2007. Yet Chinese companies have frequently

made headlines due to dangerous pet food, lead-based paint on childrens toys, improperly fed

fish exported for consumption, poisoned toothpaste, cancer-causing ducks, and tainted cough

syrup, to cite only a few examples (Bristow, M, 2007). Chinese companies are also known for

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producing very cheap, low-quality products for export throughout the world. The correlation here

seems to be pointing in the wrong direction and does not serve the ISO 9000 initiative well.

Another event that casts ISO 9000 in a bad light: the notorious Bridgestone/Firestone tire

case, in which tire treads separated from sidewalls, causing rollovers in Ford Explorers (Daniels,

Arter, Bajaria, & Ono, 2000). Both Bridgestone and Firestone were ISO and QS 9000 certified.

These quality programs failed to prevent these tragedies, ostensibly, because ISO 9000 is

focused on being a quality audit program, and doesnt look for field failures or failures in design,

which is where many quality issues reside (Daniels et al., 2000). In short, internal audit scopes

such as those performed by ISO auditors have limited reach and value, and this results in

products passing quality requirements but later failing when used by real-world customers. Many

product designs do not factor in human behavior, which leads to many quality problems that ISO

9000 cannot detect or improve (Daniels et al., p. 39).

Not a True Quality Program

According to Krajewski and Ritzman (1999), ISO 9000 is a set of standards governing

the documentation of a quality program, not a true quality program as many organizations are led

to believe. An effective quality program should be able to detect quality issues in products, and

ensure the safety of consumers that use the products. Simply put, ISO 9000 does not. These

empirical findings are significant because ISO 9000 certification is highly dependent on

documentation that focuses on internal and external audits. If an organizations ability to

document, monitor, and enforce certification guidelines can be called into question, the entire

quality program becomes suspect.

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Skrabec, Jr., Nathan, Rao and Bhatt (1997) demonstrated, based on a Dun and Bradstreet

survey, that the only true internal benefits afforded by ISO 9000 were quality awareness, better

documentation, and enhanced communications. External benefits such as improved perceived

quality, improved competitive advantage, and reduced quality audits were not realized in the

study (Skrabec Jr., Ragu-Nathan, Rao, & Bhatt, 1997).

Administration and Control

Another major grouping of complaints about ISO 9000 concerns the extensive

administration, control, and recording requirements. Johannsen (1995) documented claims that

the technically written manufacturing standards straitjacket the information sectors, drain

creativity and motivation to embrace quality from employees charged with the responsibility,

and create an illusion that the standards will act as a barrier to the achievement of quality

standards and customer satisfaction in these sectors (p. 232). Johannsen said the ISO 9000

standard was better-suited to industrial manufacturing than, for example, to professional services.

That because ISO 9000 is focused on routine tasks and programmed activities, as opposed to

fields where considerable skill and complex judgment are required.

According to Boiral (2003), conformance with the standard takes on a ceremonial and

mythical aspect. This ceremonial aspect, with a goal of projecting a rational and institutionally

approved image, was particularly visible during certification audits: The companys motivation

often was the ISO certificate, rather than the systematic improvement of company practices. The

documentation required by ISO 9000, the statements, and accompanying publicity were, hence,

part of rhetoric and language games, with symbolic than practical value.

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Whats more, ISO 9000 is not inflexible, and according to Moatazed-Keivani, Ghanbari-

Parsa, and Kagaya (1999), the standard can be extensively rewritten, greatly varying the

scheduling and detail of audits in order to reduce detail and paperwork. This leads to some

concern about the universal applicability of the standard with regards to quality and safety, as a

result of this unique customizability. According to Moatazed-Keivani et al. (1999), the greatest

potential failure, though, is in the standards broad nature and potential for misinterpretation.

Required for Basic Survival

Many of the worlds largest organizations, including many branches of the U.S.

government, require ISO certification (Clifford, 2005; Karon, 1996; Valenti, 1993). Thus, the

incentive to conform to the certification process, for many companies, is not increased

profitability or long-term, continuous improvement, but rather basic survival. Karapetrovic,

Rajamani, and Willborn (1997) documented that the standard is not friendly to small businesses,

and that those businesses mostly participated in the standard or adopted portions of the standard

because they were coerced by their large corporate customers, or because they needed to move

into the global market to remain competitive. The authors also pointed out several additional

obstacles confronting small businesses, including inadequate funding available to implement

these programs, lack of human resources to administer the programs, lack of knowledge and/or

training, too much paperwork, and prohibitive costs that might never be justified.

Tsiotras and Gotsamani (1996) added that selecting a registrar can be challenging; there

are numerous certification bodies available, but not all registrars are widely respected or

recognized. They added that many companies view the registration as an end in itself: Often

companies address the requirements of the standard with only the minimum amount of effort

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required and never really realize the full benefits. These companies seek registration for

registrations sake, not for the right reasons.

Barnes (2000) stated that certification can be expensive as well. While costs vary

depending on the size of the company, the number and types of products and the existing quality

management system, the average cost of certification was $245,200. Wayhan, Kirche, and

Khumawala (2002) said further that ISO 9000 certification has very little impact on financial

performance, and that any financial impact actually dissipates over time.

Employee and Customer Impacts

Despite the major revision to ISO 9000 in 2000, there are still many observations in the

literature of continued employee and customer impacts. Mezher, Ajam, and Shehab (2004)

researched and verified that the extensive 2000 update to the ISO 9000 standard did result in

some improvements for Lebanese firms that had already implemented the 1994 version, for

example, but found that employees had even less control or participation in decision-making,

adversely impacting organizational learning and employee motivation. They also observed that

there were still several customer satisfaction criteria that were not addressed. Boiral (2003)

conducted extensive interviews and found highly contrasting attitudes that were frequently

critical of the ISO 9000 system, which was often given only superficial support.

Through a qualitative analysis of the data, Boiral identifed three types of respondents,

grouped according to their opinions and attitudes about the implementation of this standard:

ceremonial integrators, quality enthusiasts, and dissidents (p. 720). Ceremonial integrators most

closely resembled those individuals and firms coerced by either circumstance or relationship to

implement the ISO 9000 standard. Quality enthusiasts responses reflected management

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rhetoric of success about the implementation of total quality programs, a trait not shared by the

other respondent categories. Dissident responses were anti-control, anti-standardization, and

against programs that removed employee participation in process. Boirals research project

contributes to a better understanding of how institutional pressures create isomorphic

organizations, by leading them to adopt identical management models in the name of rationality,

control, quality, and safety.

Relationship with Quality Award Programs

The ISO 9000 standard does not relate well to quality awards around the world.

Ghobadian and Woo (1996) compared and highlighted four major quality awards: the Deming

Application Prize, the European Quality Award, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award,

and the Australian Quality Award. Each of these awards provides a framework for evaluating

management practice, including the deployment of quality plans. The awards provide a

framework for implementing quality programs, an area that has been identified empirically as

one of the struggles for some companies that are ISO 9000-certified (Chow-Chua et al., 2003).

However Ghobadian and Woo pointed out that ISO certification and the requirements for

the awards were extremely different. The certification process focuses more on audits, whereas

the award requirements focus on wider issues, such as leadership and results.

Perhaps the most interesting finding is that both certification and awards are not based on

customer satisfaction from the customers perspective. The customer or a consumer-like

committee does not grant certification, nor does the customer nominate organizations to receive

quality awards (applicants nominate themselves). The question becomes, then: Does the

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organization that receives ISO certification, or receives a major award, really have satisfy

customers?

Lack of Management Support

Many researchers have emphasized that the success of any quality program depends on

the organizations management and culture. Quantitative research on the perceived benefits of

ISO 9000, which looked at 146 organizations participated, found that firms acknowledged some

advantages of ISO 9000 certification, but that they also noted significant problems (Chow-Chua,

Goh, & Wan, 2003). This investigation provided reasonable evidence that even though

organizations with ISO certification experienced some benefits, these companies experienced

failures in establishing adequate monitoring programs, installing strict compliance systems, and

conducting regular management reviews. Other studies previously found that very few

companies ever reap the rewards of the programs, due to unsuccessful implementation (Karon,

1996; Valenti, 1993).

The ISO certification program is rigorous, demanding, complex, and time-consuming

(Dale, 2002; Valenti, 1993). Unsuccessful implementation is often the result of a lack of long-

term commitment by top management, because managers underestimate the time, resources,

finances, and scope required (Bennis, 1977; Chatterjee & Yilmaz, 1993; Geri, 2005). The ISO

9000 program requirements may appear, to a manager, to be manageable in the beginning, but as

program implementation progresses, many new factors that were previously unaddressed rise to

the surface and impede progress (Rastetter, 1985; Widmer, 1979). Tsiotras and Gotsamani

(1996) went so far as to assert that the greatest reason for the failure of ISO 9000 programs is a

lack of management commitment throughout the organization.

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Conclusion

Though ostensibly proposed and required by many firms as a quality and safety

management program, ISO 9000 has failed in many cases to achieve any long-term impact on

customer interpretation of quality, or to guarantee safety for either employees or customers. It

has similarly failed to achieve quality improvement for many firms, or the increased profitability

which has been claimed. It does not support the growing trend for rapid customization, and

seems to inhibit adaptability and response to rapid change in professional fields which require

less routinized processes and thinking. Whats more, management frequently lacks commitment

to the program, beyond pursuing because the company is required to do so for business reasons.

For these reasons and the others discussed above, we believe ISO 9000 program is

largely ineffective as a quality and safety management standard.

References

1. Barnes, F. (2000). Good business sense is the key to confronting ISO 9000. The Reviewof Business, 21(1/2), 11-15.

2. Bennis, W. G. (1977). Where have all the leaders gone?McKinsey Quarterly(3), 32.3. Boiral, O. (2003). ISO 9000: outside the iron cage. Organization Science, 14(6), 720-737.4. Bristow, M. (2007). China tackles tainted food crisis.BBC News Web service:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6288096.stm.

5. Chatterjee, S., & Yilmaz, M. (1993). Quality confusion: Too many gurus, not enoughdisciples.Business Horizons, 36(3), 15.

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6. Chow-Chua, C., Goh, M., & Wan, T. (2003). Does ISO 9000 certification improvebusiness performance?. The International Journal of Quality and Reliability

Management, 20(8/9), 936.

7. Clifford, S. (2005, May). So many standards to follow, so little payoff.Inc.comWebservice: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20050501/management.html.

8. Dale, K. G. (2002). Quality management system versus Quality improvement. QualityProgress, 35(11), 86.

9. Daniels, S., Arter, D., Bajaria, H., & Ono, M. (2000). Tire failures, SUV rollovers putquality on trial. Quality Progress, 33(12), 30.

10.Geri, N., & Ronen, B. (2005). Relevance lost: The rise and fall of activity-based costing.Human Systems Management, 24(2), 133-144.

11.Ghobadian, A., & Woo, H. (1996). Characteristics, benefits and shortcomings of fourmajor quality awards. The International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management,

13(2), 10.

12.Johannsen, C. (1995). Application of the ISO 9000 standards of quality management inprofessional services: an information sector case. Total Quality Management, 6(3), 231-

242.

13.Karapetrovic, S., & Rajamani, D. (1997). ISO 9000 for small business: do it yourself.Industrial Management, 39(3), 24-31.

14.Karon, P. (1996). Confronting ISO 9000.InfoWorld, 18(31), 61.15.Krajewski, L., & Ritzman, L. (1999). Operations management: Strategy and analysis.

Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

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16.Mezher, T., Ajam, M., & Shehab, M. (2004). The historical impact of ISO 9000 onLebanese firms. Quality Assurance, 11(1), 25-42.

17.Moatazed-Keivani, R., Ghanbari-Parsa, A., & Kagaya, S. (1999). ISO 9000 standards:perceptions and experiences in the UK construction industry. Construction Management

and Economics, 17, 107-119.

18.Quazi, H. A., Hong, C. W., & Meng, C. T. (2002). Impact of ISO 9000 certification onquality management practices: A comparative study. Total Quality Management, 13(1),

53-67.

19.Rastetter, A. L., III. (1985).Managerial activity analysis via Mintzberg's role theory: The

effects of person and organization variables.Unpublished doctoral thesis submitted to

Florida State University.

20.Skrabec Jr., Q., Ragu-Nathan, T., Rao, S., & Bhatt, B. (1997). ISO 9000: Do the benefitsoutweigh the costs?.Industrial Management, 39(6), 26.

21.Smith, L. (2007, May). The hidden costs of cheap certification. Quality Digest Webservice: http://www.qualitydigest.com/may07/articles/02_article.shtml.

22.Tsiotras, G. & Gotzamani, K. (1996). ISO 9000 as an entry key to TQM : The case ofGreek industry.International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management,13(4), 64-

76.

23.Valenti, M. (1993). In search of quality ... American firms turn to ISO 9000. MechanicalEngineering, 115(4), 42.

24.Wayhan, V. B., Kirche. E. T., & Khumawala, B. M. (2002, March). ISO 9000certification: The financial performance implications. Total Quality Management, 13(2),

217-231.

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25.Widmer, H. (1979). Chance, change, and strategy.McKinsey Quarterly(2), 36.

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Team 1 Rebuttal

ISO-9000: An Effective Quality System

byChris Amponsah, Anne DeClouette,Dwight Dew,Elizabeth Pogue and Clint Wilson

Our Team 2 colleagues argue that the ISO 9000 family of certification standards is

ineffective in today's business environment. We disagree, for the reasons explained below.

In brief: The first step in deciding if anything is effective is to consider what its actually

trying to do, the goals its trying to achieve, and the objectives its trying to satisfy. Once this is

established, we can proceed to decide if a venture was successful: Did it actually succeed in what

it set out to do? (Rushmer, 1997).

The purpose of ISO 9000 is to provide customers with confidence that a supplier has a

documented, effective and independently verified management system. The arguments presented

by our Team 2 colleagues primarily deal with management and implementation problems, rather

than with the certification standards themselves.

ISO 9000 is a global certification system. The certification standards are intentionally

broad, so they can be applied to companies across many industries. As a result, ISO 9000 leaves

the interpretation of many of its requirements to the judgment of the managers closest to a

particular companys processes. The human implementation of these standards relies on the

managers ethics to fully achieve the intended policies.

Furthermore, ISO 9000 was not designed for, nor should it be confused with, the purpose

of the country-specific quality awards programs cited by our Team 2 colleagues.

Point 1: Overemphasis on Certification Achievement


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Our Team 2 colleagues state that in the pursuit of ISO 9000 certification, businesses often

emphasize the number of quality certificates theyve attained, rather than focusing on improving

the quality in the company and its products or services. They also say that quality certification

programs stifle creativity by creating a mindset in which a minimum level of quality is the goal,

beyond which process improvement is never realized (Larson, Lowder, Matthews, & Stites,

2007).

These problems are not the fault of the ISO 9000 certification program. Rather,

management is responsible for poor results, by only requiring the minimum ISO standards to be

met. The default message given to the organization, as a result, is that continuous quality

improvement is not important. The executive leadership of any company sets the tone on issues

of ethics, quality, safety, and other cultural attributes. They, not ISO 9000, are also responsible

for setting the tone for continuous quality improvement.

Our Team 2 colleagues reference some serious lapses in safety and quality in Chinese

products as evidence that ISO 9000 is ineffective. They note that as of 2007, China led the world

in the number of ISO 9000 certifications. But they fail to mention that the large companies that

hold those certifications are generally not the companies whose products have made such tragic

headlines. Many Chinese consumer goods are produced by very small family businesses that

have no interest in meeting, or ability to meet, global safety standards.

Meanwhile, the larger companies who produced unsafe products obviously were not

following the ISO quality standards: Simply meeting minimum qualifications once does not

automatically mean that a company will continue to meet safety standards. ISO standards simply

provide a benchmark by which other companies and consumers can judge the probable level of

quality standards in the certified company.

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Quality design and inspection must also be completed in an ethical and responsible

manner. Again, this is managements responsibility. The cited example of tire failures at

Bridgestone and Firestone involved, in both cases, poor ethical judgments made by management.

Point 2 Administration and Control

The check-the-box mentality suggested by our Team 2 colleagues can be seen not only in

the ISO model, but also within many other standard-setting bodies. Tax law, financial statement

audits, compliance audits, and quality audits that are written in checklist formats leave room for

users to find the loopholes that invariably exist. A principle-based format, in which ethical

managers voluntarily comply with the underlying concepts of the model, is a stronger model for

written standards. Much of Europe, for example, uses principle-based financial reporting, in

which a company is expected to disclose any and all financial information that would assist

readers of the financial statements in making investment and credit decisions. However, this

method of standard-setting has its own unique set of problems, and historically most US

standard-setting bodies have used the checklist method.

Our Team 2 colleagues write that the broad and customizable nature of the ISO standards

is a fault. Yet, these general guidelines allow use by companies in many industries, not just those

involved in manufacturing. Having more specific, detailed guidelines would serve as even more

of a straitjacket to creativity (Larson, et al., 2007). As written, the standards allow for

creativity and process improvement, which are among the programs greatest strengths. The

success of the program depends on the use and interpretation of the general guidelines by all

employees responsible for product safety and improvement.

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Point 3 Required for Basic Survival

Complying with basic ISO 9000 standards is a hugely popular benchmarking activity.

Rather than being a weakness, the spread of the certification across the world attests to its

tremendous value.

The supposed weakness of cost can also be easily explained. Continuous improvement of

any sort is expensive. Still, companies continually engage in it to expand their strategic

competitive advantage. The cost of quality failure is generally considered to be much higher than

the cost of quality improvement.

One of the arguments posed by our Team 2 colleagues is the negative impact on

employees during the decision-making process: that employees had less control and less

involvement in the decision-making process because of standardization. We would believe,

conversely, that ISO 9000 positively impacts employees. Zuckerman (1999), for example,

discussed ISO 9000 as a communication tool that is documentation-based. She asserted that

when all employees are highly involved in the documentation of work procedures, they are better

prepared to perform other tasks that involve gathering, sorting, and culling information. They

will be able to better monitor information flow throughout a company's supply chain, provide

strategic analysis to aid a marketing or sales department, and, in the long run, maximize

technology use (p. 35). In other words, employees working in an ISO 9000 organization are

better prepared to contribute to strategic planning and to the decision-making process, because

theyre better equipped with information about business processes and work flows.

Zuckerman went on to describe the right way for employees to practice ISO 9000: This

includes documenting procedures, storing them for reference, proposing changes, and

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disseminating information. These employees are extraordinarily prepared to assist their

companies in gathering any type of information that would be of strategic value, she said.

Our Team 2 colleagues also assert that certification is an expensive process, basing their

argument on research by Barnes (2000). A more recent article by Casadess and & Karapetrovic

(2005) suggested that the costs of ISO 9000 implementation and maintenance substantially

decreased between 1998 and 2002.

On the surface, the costs may still appear to be excessive. However, comparing the

benefits received to the cost of implementation brings to light a much different picture.

Casadess and & Karapetrovic (2005) noted a perception that overall benefits of certification

outweigh the costs (p. 584). Using survey data, they further described the perceived benefits of

ISO 9000, including:

A decrease in nonconformities, increase in customer satisfaction, improvement ofrelationships with suppliers and a decrease in complaints.

Improvements in customer service, a decrease in customer complaints, and betteraccess to new markets.

Improvements in delivery targets and supplier relationships. Very few companies (less than 2 percent) with an unfavorable view of the

benefits from ISO 9000 implementation.

Our Team 2 colleagues argue that ISO 9000 results in poorly perceived benefits and the

stifling of long-term quality improvement. On the contrary: The Lloyds Quality Assurance

Register performed a study investigating perceptions of ISO 9000 benefits over time. This study

of 400 organizations showed that the companies which had been registered for more than

five years reported greater benefits than the companies that had just completed the process. The

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study also suggested that companies should realize that benefits from registration may not come

immediately; therefore they should look at ISO 9000 certification as a long-term investment

(ibid, p. 583).

In other words: ISO 9000 is not a quick fix way to become a quality organization. It is

a process that takes time to change an organization into a company based on documented work

procedures.

While ISO certification is more difficult for smaller companies to achieve, Renuka and

Venkateshwara (2006) cited the unique benefits smaller companies gain. In India, small ISO-

certified companies are more technologically advanced, implement more standard

training/development, and have greater employee-friendly human resource management

practices than their counterparts that have not obtained ISO certification. Certification also

distinguishes small companies as serious entities among an inconsistent group, and often leads to

business opportunities that the small company would otherwise not have received. The

overwhelming support and expansion of the ISO 9000 program shows that businesses want to

voluntarily comply. As far as the cost is concerned, what could be more expensive than going out

of business?

Point 4 Connections to Quality Award Programs

Team 2 points out that the ISO 9000 program does not mesh perfectly with quality

awards around the world. Thats because theyre not supposed to mesh. They do not duplicate

each other.

Because ISO 9000 is global in nature and is applied to many different industries, it has a

very different purpose than the country-specific quality awards cited by our Team 2 colleagues.

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These awards look to identify best practices, leadership, and results. These aspects of a business

are fluid, since organizational leadership and business results can and do change from year to

year. Thats why it makes sense to recognize these aspects with an award. On the other hand,

documenting processes and the development and ongoing implementation of quality program, as

ISO calls for, are more static, and lend themselves more to certification. (The certification is not

entirely inflexible, though, since the standards documented can be updated.) This accounts for

the reliance on audits.

The fact that companies are not nominated by customers for certification is

inconsequential. Companies pursue certification to build internal quality awareness and

programs. Customers generally do not care about certification: They just want a product that

works as promoted. Besides, before the widespread use of the Internet, it was often nearly

impossible for a companys customers to organize in such a way. Suppliers and downstream

business-to-business customers, on the other hand, do care about certification, because they want

assurance that the company has a quality program.

Point 5 Lack of Management Support

Team 2 states the unsuccessful implementation is often the result of a lack of long-term

commitment by top management because of an underestimation of requirements that include

time, resources, finances, and scope (Larson, et al., 2007, p. 8). We reiterate that this is not a

fault in the standards themselves, but speaks instead to the integrity and ethics of the managers

who supposedly lead the quality improvement processes. If management is not motivated to

comply with the spirit of the ISO family, then how much motivation would they have to support

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a different quality improvement program, especially if the alternative program were not so well-

structured?

Companies that plateau often do so because they view certification as the end of a

process, rather than the beginning. ISO certification is most successful when it is part of a larger

quality initiative. Many of the examples cited by Team 2 illustrate this point: Many Singaporean

companies did experience post-certification issues with monitoring programs, compliance

systems, and management reviews, but those problems were caused by management seeing ISO

certification as the means to an end, and not fully integrating quality. Similarly, its true that

Bridgestone/Firestone and some Chinese companies experienced horrendous quality problems

despite being ISO 9000 certified, but the problems can be traced to bad implementation of

quality, not bad standards. With any program, there will be companies that seek to circumvent its

true nature, rather than embracing the benefits. Long-term executive management support is vital

for any continuous improvement process, not just ISO certification.

Conclusion

The purpose of ISO 9000 is to provide customers with confidence that a supplier has a

documented, effective and independently verified management system. The ISO 9001 standard,

for example, has 20 elements describing the minimum requirements of sound business practice,

and the validity of any of the requirements is rarely disputed: They include such clearly sound

practices as a customer complaint resolution process, formal design reviews, testing of all

deliverables, reviews of requirements before accepting contracts, and regular audits to verify

compliance and the effectiveness of procedures. (Amita, 2006).

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The success of any tool is directly dependent on the skill of its users. Organizations

failing to gain value from their ISO 9000 registration have used the tools incorrectly.

Whats more, the ISO 9000 standards simply state the mandatory elements required to

assure quality in deliverables; they do not specify how to achieve compliance. When ISO 9000

critics point to massive overhead, bureaucratic procedures, unnecessary processes, slow cycle

times, etc., they are describing examples of ineffective applications of the standard, not flaws

within the standard itself.

We remind readers, and our Team 2 colleagues, that a four-country study testing the link

between ISO registration and quality resulted in statistically significant scores in the eight quality

constructs of Leadership, Information and analysis, Strategic quality planning, Human resource

development, Quality assurance, Supplier relationship, Customer orientation, and Quality results

(Rao, Ragu-Nathan & Solis, 1997). Considering these results, as well as other consequential

benefits noted by the scholars, we remain convinced that ISO 9000 appears to be an effective

means of identifying companies that embrace quality standards.

References:

1. Amita.com.Amitas approach to ensuring customer satisfaction:http://www.amita.com/ISO9000/CustomerSatisfaction.aspx


3. Casadess, M., & Karapetrovic, S. (2005). Has ISO 9000 lost some of its luster? Alongitudinal impact study.International Journal of Operations & Production

Management, 25(5/6), 580-596.

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4. Chow-Chua. C., Goh, M. & Wan, T. (2003). Does ISO 9000 certification improvebusiness performance? The International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management,

20(8/9), 936-953.

5. Rao, S., Ragu-Nathan, T., & Solis, L. (1997). Does ISO 9000 have an effect on qualitymanagement practices? An international empirical study. Total Quality Management,

8(6), 333-346.

6. Renuka, S. & Venkateshwara, B. (2006). A comparative study of human resourcemanagement practices and advanced technology adoption of SMEs with and without ISO

certification. Singapore Management Review,28(1), 41-61.

7. Rushmer, R. (1997). How do we measure the effectiveness of team building? Is it goodenough? Team Management System a - case study.Journal of Management

Development, 16(2/3), 93-110.

8. Zuckerman, A. (1999). ISO 9000 revisions are key to knowledge age excellence. QualityProgress, 32(7), 35-39.

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Team 2 Rebuttal

ISO 9000 - An Ineffective Quality System

by Chris Heffner, Steven C. Swede Larson, Barney Tim Lowder, Michael Matthews andPatti Stites

Team 1s premise is that ISO 9000 certification is beneficial for an organization because

it provides significant rewards. We believe, however, that the ISO program is neither a panacea

nor an effective tool for ensuring quality throughout an organization, especially continuous

quality improvement.

In this rebuttal, we will address Teams 1s positions on ISO 9000s importance, the

views of scholars, and ISO 9000s effectiveness related to Total Quality Management,

profitability, and competitive advantage.

ISO: A Broad Look at its Importance

Team one justifies ISO 9000, in part, by stating that ISO is an internationally developed

set of standards, and thus consists of broad inputs and applications for enterprises across the

globe, which can be adapted to meet a specific organizations needs. In reality, the standards

were developed, and are still overseen, by a technical committee, ISO/TC 176, which includes

experts from limited fields in the industrial, technological, and business sectors. Johannsen

(1995) asserted that the standards are better-suited to industrial manufacturing than to

professional services or services in general. The technical sectors for the standards alone would

seem to preclude many smaller businesses, and even developing countries with limited

infrastructure, limited and technology and difficulty with agriculture, food, and the distribution


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of goods. Implementation of ISO Programs is difficult at best, and prohibitively costly in

countries such as New Zealand, where 87% of businesses have fewer than five employees and

92% have fewer than twenty. The vast majority of New Zealands industry seems to be left out

by both the cost and rigidity of these standards (Mann & Grigg, 2004).

Team 1 also says a strength of the ISO 9000 concept is its objectivity, and the credibility

associated with having an independent third-party registrar issue a certificate of endorsement. On

the contrary: Tsiotras and Gotsamani (1996) noted that selecting a registrar can be challenging.

There are numerous certification bodies available, but not all registrars are widely respected or

recognized. Therefore, the third-party audit system may not provide the objectivity that is

claimed by proponents of the program.

Some anecdotal evidence: A search of an online, informal Google chat forum on

miscellaneous industry quality in March 2003 revealed comments from QMS auditors

suggesting that bad ISO certificates could mislead customer thinking. One participant, who

claimed to be an auditor from China, said he has been shown ISO 9000 certificates for systems

that had not yet been established. His comments: If someone shows you a certificate, dont trust

it. ISO is a good management standard but it doesnt mean that all the systems behind the

certificates are good too. We think its significant that this observation was made well after the

ISO 9000 standard revision of 2000.

What Scholars Say About ISO

Team 1 offers a substantial list of scholarly references that are purported to support the

various motivations, drivers and benefits of ISO 9000 certification. But most of the research

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cited by the team predates the 2000 revision. Additionally, many of these same researchers also

pointed out severe flaws in the ISO 9000 program.

For instance, Dick (2000), listed as a source in support of ISO 9000, reviewed several

studies, and while he acknowledged that some companies report increased performance, his

overall conclusion was that ISO certification has little or no explanatory power in terms of

organisational [sic] performance. He also concluded that there does appear to be some

evidence that accreditation can be achieved too easily by those who just want the badge. And,

he said, companies that did realize increased profits may have done so as a result of their

motivation to seek improved quality, not because of the ISO certification itself.

Tsiotras and Gotsamani (1996), in another study included in defense of ISO 9000, agreed

with other authors that many companies seek certification just for the sake of it. They added

that the real value in any quality improvement program is continuous improvement itself, not

necessarily the initial certification, and they listed a number of problems with ISO 9000,

including:

Low flexibility and slow response to change. Lack of correlation between certification and high quality or increased customer

satisfaction.

An excessive obedience to documented procedures, which may discourage criticalthinking.

A lack of focus on continuous improvement beyond the achievement of certification.

A report by Vloeberghs and Bellens (1996) is also listed as a source in support of ISO

9000, yet the authors argued that the ISO 9000 system does not put enough emphasis on process

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improvement, and does not address the strategic management frameworks that should be the

basis for quality management. In their survey, a large percentage of managers stated that they

would like to see ISO 9000 move more toward Total Quality Management and focus more

attention on results, as opposed to documentation. Among 30% of their respondents, the

companys human-resources department played no role in the ISO certification, even though

81% said they believed that the involvement of HR was a necessary component. Further, 61% of

the respondents said that the biggest disadvantage of ISO 9000 was the enormous administrative

burden. Second to this was lost flexibility, reported by 12% of the respondents. Interestingly, the

two top-rated external advantages cited for ISO related to having certification, as opposed to

improving quality or customer satisfaction.

Numerous researchers have shown that ISO 9000 has few implications for improvement

in leadership (for examples, see Tsiotras & Gotzamani, 1996; Karon, 1996; Valenti, 1993;

Chatterjee & Yilmaz, 1993; and Geri, 2005). The necessity of culture change initiated by

leadership in order to achieve an effective quality program is also well-documented in the

literature (for examples, see Claver, Gasco, Llopis, & Gonzalez, 2001, and Savolainen, 2000). If

a program aimed at improving quality is too cumbersome or difficult, and does not address issues

such as leadership and culture change, it may not be the most effective program available.

Finally, Mo and Chan (1997), cited by Team 1 as a source for the ISO benefit of

increased profitability, noted that businesses must be ISO certified in order to do business with

European industries. Thus the argument that certification increases opportunities for export and

expansion to the international market may have nothing to do with the actual benefits of quality

improvement, but may merely be a reflection of the companys securing of the certification

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document itself. The researchers also admitted that many companies find ISO 9000 certification

too time-consuming and overly formalized and impersonal.

Team 1s point that the standards created by ISO 9000 are detailed in 620,768 pages is

actually a testament to the time and burdens that certification places on companies wishing to

compete.

Return on Investment?

Team 1 supports the idea that ISO certification enhances profitability. But Wayhan,

Kirche, and Khumawala (2002) observed that certification has very little impact on financial

profitability, and that any profitability that is improved dissipates over time. In a survey of more

than 600 firms in the United Kingdom, Batchelor (1992) found that 85% gained no increase in

profitability due to quality certification. Likewise, Terziovski et al. (1997) surveyed 1000 firms

in Australia and New Zealand and found no positive relationship between certification and

business performance.

Seddon (1997, cited in Dick, 2000) even goes so far as to suggest any impact from

implementation of ISO 9000 is actually negative. One comment made by a participant of the

study seems to sum up Seddons view: Our printer announced that he could no longer supply us

with quotations over the telephone. He had become registered to ISO 9000 and this meant that

paperwork had to go between us. Even using the fax, we found that quotations now took at least

four days. We changed printers.

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Relationship to TQM and Competitive Advantage

Does ISO implementation really lead to further incorporation of the quality practices of

TQM within an organization? Johannsen (1995) asserted just the opposite, saying that the ISO

concept does not incorporate the advances of TQM because it is narrow, static and emphasized

conformance to specifications. Quazi, Hong, and Meng (2002) agreed that the ISO focus on

standardization reduces creativity and continuous quality improvement efforts. After overseeing

more than 50 ISO registrations, Bill Robinson (cited in Clifford, 2005), argued that ISO is not

one of the better systems that can be used for process improvement. Clifford added that the ISO

Certification Program can assist in raising a companys quality, but because of the stringent

regulations and specifications, the processes eventually stifle long-term quality improvement.

There is also much discussion in the literature of the high levels of human and financial

resources required for implementation. According to Barnes (2000) certification can be

expensive. While costs do vary with organization size and complexity, the average cost of

certification is estimated at $245,000, which is out of reach of many smaller companies. Mo and

Chan (1997) found in their survey of small and medium sized businesses that cost was the

number one reason some chose not to seek certification. Tsiotras and Gotzamani (1996) also

found that the costs of becoming certified were too great for many small companies to afford.

Similarly, the ISO 9000 program does not offer the opportunity to compete without

investing resources: Companies must adopt the standard before being allowed to participate.

Since many small businesses cannot afford the cost of certification, even if they are committed to

quality, competition is thus actually decreased by ISO 9000, allowing the larger corporations to

compete with each other while pushing out smaller competitors.

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Conclusion

ISO 9000 may have served its purpose in the 1980s, but it has since become bogged

down by documentation and a failure to adapt to the changing needs of industry. The world has

moved on communications and technology available today were hardly imagined a mere 20

years ago -- and the need for flexibility and rapid change runs counter to ISOs reliance on

standardization and detailed documentation. Further, ISO has kept smaller companies from

competing in many industries and for many government contracts.

While Team 1 argues that ISO 9000 provides companies with advantages, even after 20

years the research remains inconclusive, at best, regarding the benefits of the program. While

businesses need TQM and continuous quality improvement to successfully compete, ISO 9000

may no longer be an answer.

--

References


2. Chatterjee, S., & Yilmaz, M. (1993). Quality confusion: Too many gurus, not enoughdisciples.Business Horizons, 36(3), 15.

3. Chow-Chua, C., Goh, M., & Wan, T. (2003). Does ISO 9000 certification improvebusiness performance?. The International Journal of Quality and Reliability

Management, 20(8/9), 936.

4. Claver, E., Gasco, J. L., Llopis, J., and Gonzalez, R. (2001). The strategic process of aculture change to implement total quality management: A case study. Total Quality

Management, 12(4), 469-482.

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5. Clifford, S. (2005, May). So many standards to follow, so little payoff.Inc.com Webservice: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20050501/management.html.

6. Dick, G. P. M. (2000). ISO 9000 certification benefits, reality or myth? The TQMMagazine, 12(6).

7. Geri, N., and Ronen, B. (2005). Relevance lost: The rise and fall of activity-basedcosting.Human Systems Management, 24(2), 133-144.

8. Google group misc.industry.quality (3 March 2003). Maybe we should say ISO9000certification have [sic] died?:

http://groups.google.com/group/misc.industry.quality/browse_thread/thread/95d1ebf1fc7

c4aa4/f7fc4f533b3cfd4a.

9. Johannsen, C. (1995). Application of the ISO 9000 standards of quality management inprofessional services: an information sector case. Total Quality Management, 6(3), 231-

242.

10.Karapetrovic, S., & Rajamani, D. (1997). ISO 9000 for small business: do it yourself.Industrial Management, 39(3), 24-31.

11.Karon, P. (1996). Confronting ISO 9000.InfoWorld, 18(31), 61.12.Mann, R., & Grigg, N. (2004). Helping the Kiwi to fly. Total Quality Management &

Business Excellence, 15(5/6), 707-718.

13.Mo, J. P. T., & Chan, A. M. S. (1997). Strategy for the successful implementation of ISO9000 in small and medium manufacturers. The TQM Magazine, 9(2), 135-145.

14.Quazi, H. A., Hong, C. W., & Meng, C. T. (2002). Impact of ISO 9000 certification onquality management practices: A comparative study. Total Quality Management, 13(1),

53-67.

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15.Savolainen, T. (2000). Towards a new workplace culture: Development strategies foremployer-employee relations.Journal of Workplace Learning, 12(8), 318.

16.Seddon, J. (1997). Ten arguments against ISO 9000.Managing Service Quality, 7(4),162-168.

17.Tsiotras, G., & Gotzamani, K. (1996). ISO 9000 as an entry key to TQM : The case ofGreek industry.International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management,13(4), 64-

76.

18.Valenti, M. (1993). In search of quality ... American firms turn to ISO 9000. MechanicalEngineering, 115(4), 42.

19.Vloeberghs, D., & Bellens, J. (1996). Implementing the ISO 9000 standards in Belgium.Quality Progress, 29(6), 43-48.

20.Wayhan, V. B., Kirche. E. T., & Khumawala, B. M. (2002, March). ISO 9000certification: The financial performance implications. Total Quality Management, 13(2),

217-231.

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Meet the Teams

Team 1

Christian Tabi Amponsah is a senior associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers corporate

advisory and restructuring practice in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He is a civil engineer, and

holds an MBA from the University of Leicester, England. He is currently a doctoralstudent in organization and management at Capella University.

Anshila Anne DeClouette is an instructor at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, CA,teaching accounting and general business courses. She previously held business and

financial analyst positions with several Fortune 200 companies. She earned an MBA

from The University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, and is currently a doctoral student inorganization and management at Capella University.

Dwight Dew is a retired U.S. Navy captain who is a principal analyst with the Northrop

Grumman Corporation in Virginia Beach, VA. He is a mechanical engineer, and holds a

MSME degree from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and an MBA from AuburnUniversity. He is currently a doctoral student in organization and management at CapellaUniversity.

Elizabeth A. Pogue, CPA, CMA, is an assistant professor of accounting at St. Ambrose

University in Davenport, IA. She holds a masters degree in accounting from St.

Ambrose, and is currently a doctoral student at Capella University

Clint Wilson is a manager with EPB, a municipally owned electric utility in Chattanooga,

TN. He is an electrical engineer and holds a BSECE degree from the University ofTennessee at Knoxville and an MBA from the University of Chattanooga. He is currently

a doctoral student in organization and management at Capella University.

--

Team 2

Christopher Heffner is a core faculty member at Capella Universitys Harold Abel School

of Psychology, where he teaches courses related to research, statistics and outcomemeasurement. He holds a bachelors degree with a dual major in psychology and business

administration, a masters degree in psychology and a doctorate in clinical psychology.

He is currently a doctoral student in organization and management at Capella University.

Steven "Swede" Larson is a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, working in support of themilitarys air, land, surface, subsurface and special-operations communities. Formerly adefense contractor, he is now an executive with the U.S. Department of Defense. He

holds a masters degree in organizational leadership from Chapman University in Orange,

CA, and is currently a doctoral student in organization and management at CapellaUniversity


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Tim Lowder is a professor of management at Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, FL. He

earned bachelors degrees in both business administration and economics from PfeifferUniversity in North Carolina and an MBA from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC.

He is currently a doctoral student in organization and management at Capella University.

Patricia Stites has worked for Alcatel-Lucent (formerly Lucent Technologies, Western

Electric and AT&T) for 30 years. She has served as a quality facilitator and quality

trainer, and is currently a doctoral student in organization and management at CapellaUniversity.

(Special thanks to Ronald Benson, an adjunct professor at Capella University, fororganizing the debate project, and to James Bossert of Bank of America, for providing

helpful reviews.)

Documents

ISO9000 is It Worth It