Systems thinking for the
integration of management
systems
Jan Jonker
Nijmegen School of Management, University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen,
The Netherlands, and
Stanislav Karapetrovic
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Keywords ISO 9000 series, Quality, Business environment, Safety, Management techniques
Abstract This paper discusses how a systems approach to management can be used to facilitate the
development and implementation of an integrated management system (IMS) in an organization. It
is argued that any solution to address the rapidly growing need for the integration of function-specific
management systems requires two elements: a conceptual model and a supporting methodology.
While the research on IMS modelling is fairly advanced, evidenced by a number of existing models
that would probably qualify to provide the basis for integration, development of methodologies to
achieve fully-integrated systems is still lacking. This paper therefore provides a set of criteria for
selection of the most appropriate IMS model, followed by a discussion of one such model based on the
systems approach. The presented model can be used to integrate the requirements of existing and
upcoming function-specific management system standards, and provide a foundation for the
top-down integration of internal systems that these standards describe. Subsequently, a short
discussion on the issue of the IMS methodology is given, and the paper concludes with a list of
questions that will help researchers design a comprehensive IMS methodology.
Introduction
Standardised management systems, such as ISO 9000 for quality and ISO 14000 for
environment, have become a widespread phenomenon the world over. According to a
survey conducted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO, 2004),
global ISO 9001:2000 registrations surpassed the 500,000 mark at the end of 2003,
while the number of ISO 14001:1996-registered companies approached 70,000. In
addition, the growth in registrations over the last several years confirms the fact that
companies have embraced management system standards (MSS). At the same time,
they are also struggling with the rapidly growing number of standards they have to
comply with. Occupational health and safety (OH&S), information security, and even
corporate social accountability standards are quickly gaining international acceptance
and are becoming a necessary condition for doing business. Indeed, management
system (MS) implementation and auditing is a multibillion-dollar industry.
It is due to the proliferation of function-specific MSS and the related costs of
implementation and assessment that business organizations, many of which already
have or are about to have these systems in place, have begun questioning the
introduction of MSS as completely separate entities. Consequently, a growing need has
emerged to somehow integrate both the standards and the internal management
systems that they describe in order to reduce wasteful redundancies, facilitate
implementation and possibly generate synergetic effects. However, practical experience
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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BPMJ
10,6
608
Business Process Management
Journal
Vol. 10 No. 6, 2004
pp. 608-615
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1463-7154
DOI 10.1108/14637150410567839