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PROCEEDINGS OF THE 9th INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
"Management and Innovation For Competitive Advantage", November 5th-6th, 2015, BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
QUALITY: A DETERMINANT FACTOR OF COMPETITIVENESS – THE
EVOLUTION OF ISO CERTIFICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Cosmin DOBRIN
1
Adriana GÎRNEAŢĂ
2
Mihaela MASCU (UDA)
3
Oana CROITORU
4
ABSTRACT
In the current economy characterized by increased competition, quality represents a fundamental
condition for the competitiveness of firms producing goods or providing services at global level.
Obtaining competitiveness implies a permanent adaptment of the management procesesses of the
organizations to the market conditions and consumer demands and requires the adoption of a
systemic quality control concept, which refers not only to the productive activities, but to all their
functional departments. The purpose of this article is to discuss the concept of quality from the
perspective of business competitiveness and, furthermore, to examine the evolution of ISO
certifications for management systems. The ISO 9000 series are standards based on the idea of
continual improvement, that establish the requirements for a quality management system, allowing
businesses and organizations to improve their process performance, organizational capabilities and
customer satisfaction. The permanent improvement and adaptation of this quality standard to the
economic turbulences are the subject of this study. Using methods of qualitative research, this
paper analyses the evolution of ISO certifications for management systems worldwide emphasizing
on ISO 9001.
The interest shown by organizations to continuous improvement of quality is due to an external
threat generated by real or potential market losses caused by poor quality. Therefore, quality is
considered a strategic contribution that can not be neglected in order to achieve competitiveness.
KEYWORDS: competitive advantage, ISO 9000, quality management
JEL CLASSIFICATION: L15
1. INTRODUCTION
The analysis of the global economy highlights certain indisputable defining features: diversification
and rapid renewal of products and services under the impact of fast development of science and
technology, globalization of markets facilitated by progress in telecommunications or increasing
demands of customers and society. Under these conditions, the quality of goods and services
represents a determinant of competitiveness for companies. A rising interest in quality assurance
issues is manifested at national, regional and international level. The competitiveness of a company
is determined mainly by quality and price, or in other words, the relation between these
components. Customers have become more aware of their rights and they are in permanent search
1
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania, cdobrin@yahoo.com
2
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania, adriana_girneata@yahoo.com
3
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania, mihaelauda@yahoo.com
4
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania, selenaoana@yahoo.com
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of quality products and services (Dobrin & Girneata, 2015). Thus, in order for organizations to be
globally competitive, they need to promote quality of products and services. The requirements for
quality are expressions of needs that equally relate to market demands (implicit), the contractual
requirements (explicit), the internal requirements of companies regarding profitability and the
requirements of the protection of society and the environment (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). For this
reason, quality requirements can take many forms as they relate to performance, reliability,
profitability, cost of achieving economic aspects, as well as maintenance and operating costs or
environmental protection. Organizations must reconsider their values and the feasibility of their
processes (Nica & Potcovaru, 2014) in order to gain or maintain competitiveness at the global level.
Quality is a continuous variable in both time and space, what is currently regarded as quality may
not meet certain requirements in the future, what is specific on a market segment can be completely
refuted elsewhere. Quality of conception, determined by marketing activities and design, defines the
extent to which the product design meets quality requirements.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Conner (1991) and Porter (1980, 1985) consider that there are two models of competitive
advantage, both being complementary and based on the economic theory. The first of these models
focuses on the market cost and differentiation. According to this model, inefficient companies,
including those that do not offer products for which consumers are willing to pay a premium price
are uncovered by the market (Reed et al., 2000). The second model, the one based on resources, is
centred on the resources available to a company and it is influenced by internal factors of the firm.
It can be ascertained there is a representative number of researches concerning the link between the
implementation of total quality management and improving performance of a company (Samson &
Terziovski, 1999 Easton & Jarrell, 1998; Lemak et al., 1997). Taking into consideration the
theoretical link existing between competitive advantage and performance, it can be stated that
quality management practices can be applied by companies in order to gain competitive advantage
on the market (Girneata et al., 2015; Curkovic & Pagell, 1999; Hewitt, 1994; Seawright & Young,
1996). The evolution of the main factors of competitiveness indicates that in the first half of the
twentieth century, the competitive advantage of companies was represented by lower prices
achieved on account of a cheaper workforce. Starting with the 1950s, another factor of
competitiveness becomes decisive, namely automated production. In parallel with this, two other
factors increase in significance: the company's ability to adapt to market demands and quality
products and services, respectively (Juran, 1995).
The economic restructuring process cannot be designed without taking into account the criteria and
costs of quality. Considering the consequences of poor quality, it can be stated that "quality is free".
The cost of poor quality varies from one firm to another. Practically, non-quality management
consists in optimizing the effectiveness of the company by treating the causes of anomalies (Castka
et al., 2015). Non-quality expenses can be grouped in two categories:
• A first category represents charges for repairs or, if this is not possible, expenses resulted from
rejected products.
• The second category are costs related to the resumption of quality control, further necessary
negotiations and delays in delivering the products.
The economic repercussions of poor quality lead to personnel reduction (unemployment) and even
to the closure of companies. In the economy of firms, non-quality is expressed in high prices in
relation to the competitors, bad reputation on the market; poor knowledge of the market and
competition (Johnston & Ozment, (2015). Therefore, the most visible elements generating poor
quality are the absence of firm strategy, subjective evaluation of personnel, the lack of delegation of
authority or failure to comply with social legislation.
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3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study focuses on emphasizing the necessity of implementing quality standards in
organizations, as a prerequisite for increasing competitiveness, based on investigating the
relationship between implementing ISO 9001 and the performance of companies in terms of
improving quality. Hence, in order to illustrate the evolution of ISO certifications worldwide in the
last decade, this research uses data from the International Organization for Standardization
database, covering the period 2000-2014. A significant period of time was analysed in which the
global economy has undergone significant changes. Data were divided according to the seven main
geographical areas of the world, thus obtaining an objective structuring of information.
Subsequently, the main ISO standards were analysed, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000
respectively, indicating the first 10 countries that registered the largest number of these standards in
2014.
4. ISO STANDARDS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO ENSURE QUALITY
In order to achieve sustainability, hence to maintain or develop their performance in the long term
(Cuc, 2009), companies must permanently seek modalities to improve the quality of products or
services they provide. Quality of services, products or management which, in fact, influences the
quality of other products or processes of the enterprise, is an important factor in any competitive
business on the market. This quality contributes directly or indirectly to increasing turnover,
maintaining the market position, conquering new market segments, improving the image of the
company or increasing customers and suppliers’ confidence in the services and products offered by
the company.
Conformity certification (products, systems, personnel) is the action of a third party (certification
body) which proves the existence of adequate confidence that an entity properly identified is
conforming to a specific standard or other normative documents. "ISO" is the abbreviation of the
"International Organization for Standardization". It is headquartered in Geneva and has developed
about 10,000 standards of quality for over 50 years, of which the best known is the international
standard management system standard ISO 9001 quality.
According to ISO standards, quality is determined by all stages of the product or service (technical
and economical circuit), from conception to execution, delivery and service, respectively. ISO
standards define non-compliance as failure to satisfy specified requirements and defects are
regarded as the failure of products or services to satisfy the requirements for the intended use. Non
quality, defined as the sum of all the anomalies of an economic unit, is manifested in various forms
within the organizations. Market research shows that customers are willing to pay more to buy a
quality product or service. For customers, operational reliability and security remain two key
purchasing criteria.
Whether it is a recent or old company, having ISO accreditation is proof of the quality of the
company. Such quality certification is an indicator to customers of the quality and reliability of the
company and ensures its stability in a volatile market where the element or ISO certification ISO
certification is a must. A company may hold more certifications for various ISO standards. A set of
ISO certifications obtained by a company, are proof that it is deploying special efforts to function
according to high quality standards. The fact that a company holds ISO certification does not simply
imply obtaining an internationally recognized certificate, but is the extent to which the company
uses certain working practices, it is aware of its obligations relating to its purpose, it complies with
customer requirements and it actually represents, a general recommendation based on the
organization's processes and performance.
The advantages of product evaluation and certification consist in (Blackman & Rivera, 2011):
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• providing confidence for leadership, customers or the authorities that the products satisfy the
requirements of safety and quality by providing the opinion of objective and impartial third party
certification body;
• analysing the characteristics of the products, particularly those that can influence the health and
safety of users in all phases of the product lifecycle (from design to after-sales service);
• continuous improvement of product, as body and procedures apply to schemes which take account
of existing legislation and standards;
• identifying weaknesses related to manufacturing and testing by competent and impartial persons;
• optimizing the quality/price ratio, reducing the risk of non-compliances due to regular surveillance
quality.
The main ISO standards are the following:
- ISO 9001 provides requirements for the management system of an organization that aims to
demonstrate its ability to consistently provide a product or service under both customer
requirements and legal provisions and to increase customer satisfaction through effective
application of the system, including improving processes continue (International
Organization for Standardization, 2015a). Implementation of ISO 9001 ensures customers of
the existence of a constant quality of products and services, entailing numerous benefits for
the business, such as: increasing the confidence of customers and suppliers in the products
and services, improvement of processes, efficiency, significant cost reduction, increasing
competitiveness, maintaining market position and conquering new market niches, increase
customer satisfaction, benefits regarding the company image associated with
professionalism and high standards (International Organization for Standardization, 2015b).
- ISO 14000 are general standards that relate to environmental management systems, aimed at
keeping under control the impact that business processes have on the environment. The ISO
14001 standard establishes the framework and criteria that an organization can follow to
have an effective environmental management system. It can be implemented in any type of
company, regardless of the activity in which it operates. Implementing ISO 14001 ensures
the management of the company and employees as well as external stakeholders
(shareholders, investors, institutions, authorities) that the impact of the organization on the
environment is measured and constantly improved. The advantages of ISO 14001
certification reside in low cost waste management, savings in energy and consumption of
materials, reducing raw material costs, lower distribution costs (transport and storage),
improving the public image of the company to third parties (authorities, public reviews),
increasing customer confidence in the probity supplier, competitive prices due to the amount
of waste minimization, optimized use of financial resources, compliance with regulations on
environmental protection authorities (International Organization for Standardization,
2015c).
- ISO 22000 is the food safety management standard. However, through this set of standards,
the organization is encouraged to integrate other aspects of the management system, such as
quality in general and/or environmental protection. Organizations that want to take into
account such matters can do it through the full implementation of ISO 22000 to ISO 9001
and / or ISO 14001. ISO 22000 identifies, evaluates and controls all physical, chemical or
biological hazards arising from raw materials, premises, environment, personnel, equipment
or production processes (https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:22000:ed-1:v1:en).
Through ISO 22000 certification, the organization transmits to all its stakeholders that: the
main objective is the safety of the food and compliance with legal requirements regarding
food safety, all aspects of the organization (process performance, staff competence,
products, services) are continuously improved, it demonstrates ability to control food safety
hazards in order to provide safe end products that meet the food safety requirements agreed
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by customers and regulators, it has major interests and proposes to improve customer
satisfaction through the effective control of food safety hazards.
- ISO 50001 is the standard for energy management system that can be applied by
organizations in all sectors. It provides a framework for commitment to individual actions
and aims at continuously reducing specific energy consumption. Contrary to other
management systems, it refers to specific technical points, such as continuous data recording
energy, screening tests and evaluation of operational energy consumption. Continuous
improvement of the organization energy performance is the priority of ISO 50001. The
standard describes requirements that the company must meet when introducing,
implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system. This systematic
approach is designed to enable organizations to improve the energy performance, to increase
energy efficiency and to optimize energy consumption (European Commission, 2013). The
main objective of this standard is to reduce costs and emissions of greenhouse and other
tasks on the environment.
- ISO 27001 presents the principles, terms and requirements for information security
management systems, defining the requirements for an information security management
system and enabling and optimizing the selection of appropriate control measures. This
provides the opportunity of protecting all data and information, hence increasing the
confidence of collaborators and stakeholders. Using the family of standards ISO 27000
companies may secure their assets, such as financial information, intellectual property,
employee details or information entrusted by third parties. ISO 27001 was revised in 2013
and the major improvements made aimed at security checks, in order to assure the
maintenance of the timeliness of the standard, capable of facing the current risks such as
identity theft, risks related to mobile devices and other online vulnerabilities
(https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:54534:en). Furthermore, the new version of ISO/IEC
27001:2013 enables easy integration with other management system.
- ISO 13485 defines requirements for a quality management system for organizations that
must demonstrate their ability to provide medical devices and related services which
consistently meet customer requirements and the applicable regulatory requirements of
medical devices and related services. The main objective of this standard is to facilitate the
utilization of harmonized regulatory requirements for medical devices in the context of
quality management system (https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:13485:ed-2:v1:en).
Consequently, it includes some specific requirements for medical devices and excludes
some of ISO 9001 that are not suitable as regulatory requirements. Due to these exclusions,
firms whose quality management system conforms to ISO 13485 cannot claim conformity to
ISO 9001, unless their quality management system complies with all the requirements of
ISO 9001.
With the exception of family of standards ISO 9000 and ISO 14000, the vast majority of ISO
standards have specific features. They are documented agreements which contain technical
specifications or other precise criteria utilized as rules, guidelines or definitions of characteristics
necessary to ensure that materials, products or services and processes are suitable for their
requirements in application.
Generally, ISO reviews standards every five years to ensure they are maintained relevant to the
changes regarding market demands. In 2015, new editions of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 appeared.
ISO 9001, the standard used by organizations worldwide as a framework for quality management
system, offers companies in which it is implemented, both the ability to provide customers with
products and services that meet their requirements, but also the applicable legal and regulated
requirements, as well as the possibility to enhance customer satisfaction simultaneously by taking
into account the risks and opportunities associated with the context and objectives of the
organization.
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4.1. ISO 9000: International Quality Standards
The family of standards ISO 9000 is an international consensus on the management practices
necessary to ensure the capability of an organization to meet on time and continuously the customer
requirements regarding quality and applicable regulatory requirements in order to increase customer
satisfaction and achieve continual improvement of its own performance in meeting these objectives.
These best practices have been incorporated into a synthetic set of standardized requirements,
representing the standards ISO 9000, concerning quality management system implemented in an
organization, regardless of specific size or type of ownership of it. Therefore, ISO 9000 family of
standards was developed to help organizations to design, implement and lead effective quality
management systems (Terziovski & Guerrero, 2014).
To lead and manage a company successfully, it is essential to direct and control it in a systematic
and transparent modality. Success can arise from implementing and maintaining a management
system for continuous improvement to include all stakeholders.
According to ISO 9000, eight basic principles of quality management are identified, that must be
implemented by top management to lead the organization towards improved performance:
- Focusing on the consumer - organizations depend on consumers and, therefore, they should
understand their current and future needs, meet their demands and try to exceed their
expectations. For this reason, management must ensure that consumer demands are fully
understood, transmitted and recorded properly;
- Leadership - leaders establish unity of direction and purpose of the organization. They must
have the ability to create and maintain the internal environment where people can
understand, follow and assume the objectives of the organization;
- Involving employees - employees represent the core of the organization and their full
implication facilitates that their abilities are used for the benefit the enterprise.
- Process approach - a desired result is achieved in a more efficient modality when related
resources and activities are managed as a whole;
- System-based approach to management - identification, understanding and management of
interdependent processes like a system contribute to increase efficiency and effectiveness of
the organization in achieving its objectives;
- Continual improvement - continual improvement should be a permanent objective for any
company;
- Addressing decisions based on facts - the decisions must be based upon data and
information analysis;
- Mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers - a company and its suppliers are
interdependent, but a relationship reciprocally beneficial increases the ability of all parties to
create value.
The sophisticated workflow processes contribute decisively to the quality of products or services.
ISO 9001 was developed to provide customers the certification that a company operates in
agreement and based on an internationally recognized quality system, representative of both quality
products and services, as well as management organization (Biazzo, Bernardi, 2003). Due to its
orientation towards process, ISO 9001 certification take into account specific requirements and
prospects of the companies (Tricker, 2014). It also ensures continued development using a
continuous improvement process. ISO 9001 is one of the factors that favour international trade of
goods and services. The proof is the number of countries that have adopted this standard and the
hundreds of thousands of companies that have obtained ISO 9001 certification. Counting over 1
million certified organizations worldwide, ISO 9001 standard is the most known management
system that has proven effective in over 25 years of existence.
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4.2. Evolution of the ISO Standards
Since the first edition of standards related to quality, which aimed to implement controls and
improve product quality, particularly in the industrial sectors, to the edition from 2000, then to one
in 2008 and to the newest edition in 2015, ISO 9001 has seen developments related to market needs,
the reality and the context in which businesses operate. ISO 9001: 2015 has been revised from a
technical standpoint to adopt the unification and understanding of high-level structures.
Table 1 presents the evolution of ISO Standards in 2000 - 2014 period. It can be noted that the
number of ISO standards has increased almost steadily each year, both globally and in each of the
seven areas analysed, indicating the availability of companies to obtain certification and acquire a
good reputation in front of customers or business partners. The number of ISO standards has
increased from 408,062 in 2000 to 1,138,155 in 2014. Each of the analysed regions recorded at least
a doubling of the number of ISO certifications in 2014 compared to 2000, except North America,
where the growth was of almost 5%. As a percentage, the highest increase was recorded in Central
and South Asia: over 7 times the level of 2000. Based on the number of certificates, the most
significant growth was in East Asia and the Pacific, where in 2014 there were issued 366,810 more
ISO certifications than in 2000.
Table 1. The evolution of ISO Standards in the period 2000 - 2014
Year
Africa
Central
and
South
America
North
America
Europe
East Asia
and
Pacific
Central
and
South
Asia
Middle
East
TOTAL
2000
4769
10805
48296
219561
109217
6411
9003
408062
2001
3903
14409
50894
269648
155597
6348
9550
510349
2002
4529
13679
53806
292878
177767
9383
9724
561766
2003
3769
9303
40185
242455
185846
9162
7199
497919
2004
4865
17016
49962
320748
240938
13856
12747
660132
2005
6763
22498
59663
377172
266100
27966
13681
773843
2006
7441
29382
61436
414208
320320
44923
19195
896905
2007
7446
39354
47600
431479
354056
50379
21172
951486
2008
8534
37458
47896
455303
366491
44171
20469
980322
2009
8435
35549
41947
500286
408498
44432
24604
1063751
2010
7667
49260
36632
530039
438477
37596
18839
1118510
2011
8164
51685
37530
459367
471836
33577
17069
1079228
2012
9674
51459
38586
469739
476106
32373
19050
1096987
2013
9816
52466
48579
482620
467320
44847
20812
1126460
2014
10308
50256
50533
483710
476027
45365
21956
1138155
2014/
2000(%)
2.16
4.65
1.05
2.20
4.36
7.08
2.44
2.79
2014/2000
5539
39451
2237
264149
366810
38954
12953
730093
Source: International Standard Organization database (http://www.iso.org/) and authors’ calculation
The annual growth of ISO 9001 certificates in the period 1994-2014 is graphically presented in
Figure 1. It has been an inconsistent evolution, as evidenced by the trend line included in the chart.
It can be noticed that in 2003 and 2011, the number of ISO 9001 certificates was below the level
recorded in the previous years. Also, in the period after the world economic crisis and especially in
the last three years, the increases were extremely low.
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Figure 1. Annual growth of ISO 9001 certification in the period 1994-2014 (in %)
Source: Created by authors based on the data available in ISO database
The main industrial sectors that have received the most ISO 9001 certificates were the same in 2013
and 2014, respectively, basic metal and fabricated metal products, electrical and optical equipment,
construction, wholesale and retail trade or repairs of motor vehicles and machinery and equipment
(Table 2.). The evolution of the number of certificates issued was also fluctuant in this case,
registering quite small increases in only three out of the five most important industrial sectors. It is
noteworthy the preoccupation of the companies in the production sector to obtain certifications
regarding assurance of quality compliance with the conditions of the goods and services they
delivers to their customers.
Table 2. First five industrial sectors for ISO 9001 certificates in 2013 and 2014
First five industrial sectors for ISO 9001 certificates
In 2014
In 2013
1
Basic metal & fabricated metal products
118272
116602
2
Electrical and optical equipment
86523
87797
3
Construction
76862
80920
4
Wholesale & retail trade, repairs of motor vehicles
73676
73167
5
Machinery and equipment
64699
63497
Source: Data collected from International Standard Organization database (http://www.iso.org/)
Table 3 shows the first 10 countries according to the number of ISO 9001 certificates issued in
2014, and Figure 2 illustrates the percentage distribution. The country which obtained the most ISO
9001 certificates in 2014 is China, with a total of 342,800, representing approximately 30% of the
1,138,155 certificates issued worldwide. At European level, Italy is the country that has the most
ISO 9001 certifications obtained in 2014, respectively 168,960, followed by Germany with around
5% of the total. Japan, India, United Kingdom, Spain, USA, France, Australia are found also in the
charts, but they accumulate less than a quarter of all certificates in this category.
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Table 3. First 10 countries for
ISO 9001 certificates – 2014
Source: International Standard
Organization
(http://www.iso.org/)
First 10 countries for
ISO 9001 certificates - 2014
1
China
342800
2
Italy
168960
3
Germany
55363
4
Japan
45785
5
India
41016
6
United Kingdom
40200
7
Spain
36005
8
USA
33008
9
France
29122
10
Australia
19731
11
Others
326165
Figure 2. Distribution of ISO 9001 certificates in
2014
Source: Created by authors based on the data available
in ISO database
Table 4. First 10 countries for
ISO 14001 certificates - 2014
First 10 countries for
ISO 14001 certificates - 2014
1
China
117758
2
Italy
27178
3
Japan
23753
4
United Kingdom
16685
5
Spain
13869
6
Romania
9302
7
France
8306
8
Germany
7708
9
USA
6586
10
India
6446
11
Others
86557
Source: International Standard
Organization (http://www.iso.org/)
Figure 3. Distribution of ISO 14001 certificates in
2014
Source: Created by authors based on the data
available in ISO database
In Table 4 there are included the first 10 countries by number of ISO 14001 certificates issued in
2014 and in Figure 3 they are graphically represented according to the percentage held by each of
them in the total of 324,148 certificates. China is the country with the most ISO certificates 14001
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received in 2014, respectively 117,758, accounting for about 36% of the total, followed by Italy
which recorded a total of 27,178 certificates, representing approximately 9% of the total. It is found
that most countries from the first rankings are found herein, except Australia. One change is that
Romania ranks sixth, with 9,302 certificates and surpassing countries such as France, Germany or
USA.
Table 5. First 10 countries for
ISO 22000 certificates - 2014
Source: International Standard
Organization (http://www.iso.org/)
First 10 countries for
ISO 22000 certificates - 2014
1
China
10212
2
India
1817
3
Greece
1354
4
Italy
1214
5
Romania
1130
6
Japan
1043
7
Taipei, Chinese
836
8
Turkey
858
9
France
632
10
Poland
626
11
Others
10778
Figure 4. Distribution of ISO 22000 certificates in
2014
Source: Created by authors based on the data available
in ISO database
Regarding the ISO 22000 certification issued in 2014, the first place is occupied by China with
10,212 certifications, representing approximately 34% of the total 30,500 (Table 5). India ranks
second place with a total of 1,817 ISO 22000 certificates, meaning 6% of the total. In the five
countries there are also found Greece, Italy and Romania. Figure 4 graphically illustrates the
percentage held by each country in this ranking.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The evolution of the number of ISO certifications emitted worldwide highlights the increased
interest of present organizations for quality. Also, the efforts of companies to comply with ISO
standards and to continuously improve processes and quality demonstrates the importance of this
factor over the long term competitiveness of the organizations.
In the current socio-economic context, product quality has become the determinant of the
competitiveness of enterprises as it ensures adaptability to increasingly dynamic market
requirements. Product quality is expressed by a set of features made either by contracts, orders or
requests in direct relationships between customer and producer, it is explained by standards or rules
or exists as a state of affairs caused by similar products present at a given time on the market.
The importance of obtaining ISO certificates in order to increase competitiveness of companies on
international level arises from the following considerations:
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• Firstly, for an enterprise to achieve and maintain the quality desired by the customer, in terms of
efficiency, it is a necessity in business. Achieving this goal is conditioned by planned and efficient
use of human, material and financial available resources. To do this, it requires an efficient
management system.
• On the other hand, the client wants a company that has the capacity to provide the required quality
and to maintain this quality. In order to gain customer loyalty, companies must be able to
demonstrate that they have implemented an effective system of quality management.
• Besides these mentioned aspects, companies must take into account the requirements of society
embodied in regulations and other restrictions aimed at protecting the life and health of the
individual and the environment.
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