Organizational differences in ISO 9000 implementation practices

Extends previously published work which discussed a survey of senior executives in 682 organizations and concluded that commitment to ISO 9000 implementation left considerable room for improvement. Reviews the peculiar ISO 9000 implementation difficulties of small organizations as reported in the literature elsewhere. Provides further analysis of the previous survey data, especially the attitudes and behaviours of senior executives, revealing differences in ISO 9000 implementation practice associated with organization size, sector and country of ownership, based loosely on the work of Argyris comparing espoused behaviours with behaviours in use. Small organizations are shown to have particular problems in terms of understanding the purpose of ISO 9000, methods of measuring its business impact, and knowledge of where the potential benefits might lie. While not using consultants any more often, small organizations do permit them to write more of their system documentation. Conversely, small organizations have a greater tendency to subject the whole organization to the scope of the standard, yet they are less likely to go beyond ISO 9000 to TQM. Sectorally, textiles, general manufacturing and engineering show most positive orientation to ISO 9000, with retailing and services least. Concludes that small organizations should assess themselves against these findings to ensure that a comparative lack of resources is not merely an excuse for lack of resolve.