Process
management
practices
149
Business Process Management
Journal
Vol. 9 No. 2, 2003
pp. 149-169
# MCB UP Limited
1463-7154
DOI 10.1108/14637150310468371
Process management practices
and quality systems standards
Risks and opportunities of the new
ISO 9001 certification
Stefano Biazzo and Giovanni Bernardi
University of Padua, Padova, Italy
Keywords Process management, ISO 9000, Quality systems, Total quality management
Abstract The attention focused on the complex set of human activities through which a
company attempts to create value for its stakeholders is one of the most characteristic features of
the total quality management (TQM) concept. This focalisation on the concept of process in the
field of competitive quality is today mirrored in the prerequisites of normative quality, as the new
ISO 9001: 2000 standard encourages a process approach to quality management. This article
aims to investigate the relationship between the crucial aspects of process management and the
normative indications of ISO 9001: 2000. To this aim, a conceptual framework is proposed
which integrates the core components of process management methodologies described in the
literature. The framework is used to analyse the requirements of the new quality system standard
and to evaluate the conceptual advancement of ISO 9001: 2000 toward TQM principles and
practices. The paper discusses howthe harmonisation of normative requirements with TQM
could entail several important risks as it increases the problem of ritualistic implementation ± i.e.
the adoption of external norms exclusively targeted at social legitimation ± and concludes with a
reflection on the ``implementation challenge'' that both companies and consultants have to face in
order to seek ISO 9001 registration and develop an effective process management system.
Introduction
There is no doubt that process management (PM), in any of its forms, is part of
the language and the actions of many organisations (Armistead et al., 1999). As
Garvin (1998) said, today managers are enthusiastic, indeed impassioned,
about processes because of the possibilities for change they offer in terms of
both reducing fragmentation and compartmentalisation of work and
improving the capacity for lateral co-ordination and communication.
The attention focused on the complex set of human activities through which
a company attempts to create value for its stakeholders is one of the most
characteristic features of the TQM concept (see Spencer (1994)). Both the
European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model for
the European Quality Award and the Performance Excellence Framework for
the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) attribute a role of
fundamental importance to ``processes'' for evaluating an organisation's
progress towards TQM. The EFQM model has an evaluation section entitled
``processes'' which deals with the management of all of the company's value-
generating activities: the section examines how the processes are identified,
analysed and, if necessary, re-engineered to ensure continuous improvement in
company performance. In the MBNQA conceptual model, the criterion PM
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/1463-7154.htm