The purpose of existence of any organization is to satisfy the requirements of its customers and stakeholders. Customers are anyone who receives product(s) and/or service(s). They accept product(s) and/or service(s) because they have need(s). The organization can continue its existence if and only if it operates effectively and efficiently to meet customers’ needs or exceed customers’ expectations. Effectiveness can be defined as ‘extent to which planned activities are realized and planned results are achieved’. Efficiency can be defined as ‘relationship between the result achieved and the resources used’. Organization that cares for effectiveness and efficiency reaps the benefit of excellent Quality and high Productivity.
However, in the name of quality and productivity, our Mother Earth suffered tremendously especially during the 20th Century. Various industrial and non-industrial activities caused irreversible damages toher elements and harmed even the extreme fringe of our atmosphere that threatens the existence of life of all forms in the long run.
The strategy for simultaneously enhancing productivity and environmental performance
for overall socio-economic development that leads to sustained improvement in the quality of
human life is termed as Green Productivity.
Bitter experience has made us wiser! Today, across the globe we realize that combined application of appropriate productivity and environmental management tools, techniques and technologies that reduce the environmental impact of an organization’s activities, products and services while enhancing profitability and competitive advantage is the only way for sustainable development. Wise organizations are ‘Humanity focused’. Such organizations ensure that products they make a ‘safe’ for use and the ‘risk’ due to work related occupational health and other hazards are of acceptable level. Quality, Green Productivity and Workplace Safety result from good management of numerous interlinked processes within the organization. Any activity or operation that receives inputs and converts them to outputs can be considered as a process. Essentially all production and/or service activities and operations are processes. Often the output from one process directly forms the input into the next process. The systematic identification and management of the various processes employed within an organization, and ensuring that the interactions between such processes are effective is the key to good management practices.
Wise organizations are ‘Prevention oriented’. These organizations are proactive. Efforts within such organizations are towards prevention of occurrence of errors so that defectives are not produced, environment is not adversely affected and human are not harmed in any manner due to the activities carried out within their control. Prevention oriented organizations manage their activities through appropriate management system model(s).
Management system means the set of interrelated or interacting elements to establish policy and objectives and to achieve those objectives. A management system of an organization can include quality management system, a financial management system, environmental management system, safety and occupational health management system etc.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from more than 160 countries, one from each country. Its Central Secretariat is
located in Geneva. ISO is a non-governmental organization, established in 1947. The mission of
ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world with a
view to facilitating the international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity.
An organization can develop its own model for management system(s). Fortunately, there is no need to re-invent the wheel. ISO and collaborative effort of accredited management system certification bodies have already developed a number of models to assist organizations, of all types and sizes, to implement and operate effective management systems. Commonly, we refer to these models as Standards. In order to build a management system, organizations apply the methodology called ‘Plan – Do –
Check – Act’ (PDCA) to all its processes. PDCA means:
• Establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with customer and stakeholder requirements and the organization’s policies (Plan)
• Implement the processes (Do)
• Monitor and measure processes and product against policies, objectives and requirements for the product and report the results (Check)
• Take actions to continually improve process performance (Act)
As of the end of 2024, there are 25,703 ISO standards and allied guidelines. These standards cover a wide range of technical sectors, including information technology, mechanical engineering, and transport. An indicative list of popular Standards published by ISO is given below:
. ISO 9001 (for Quality Management System)
. ISO 14001 (for Environmental Management System)
. ISO 45001 (for Occupational Health and Safety Management System)
. ISO 50001 (for Energy Management System)
. ISO 27001 (for Information Security)
. ISO 22000 (for Food Safety)
. AS9100 (for Aerospace industry)
. ISO/TS 16949 (for Automotive industry)
. TL 9000 (for Telecommunication industry)
. ISO 13485 (for Medical Devices)
. ISO 29001 (for Oil / Gas industry) etc.
Our own Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has accepted the above Standards as Indian National Standards too. In addition, BIS has published Standards like IS 15700 Service quality of public service organizations for quality management in public service organizations.
In order to facilitate communication among the members of the organization, standardize the method of work and provide a basis for audit (check), organizations prepare a set of documents as per the requirements stated in the relevant Standards. The documents are variously termed as policy statements, objective statements, system manual, procedures, work instructions etc. To provide evidence of conformity to requirements organizations also maintain records.
The effectiveness of management system in any organization, to a great extent, is dependent on the attitude of the individuals. Attitude towards work are reflected through an individual’s concern for effectiveness, efficiency, reliability, discipline, cost control, waste reduction, innovativeness, teamwork etc. These attributes develop from positive thinking a belief that “There is always a better way”. Thinking is done in people’s mind. So in an excellent organization everyone must mind the mind. Ignited minds lead to –
.Working together with focused objectives;
.Self-motivation for organizational and global goodness;
.Complementing each other to do a good job;
.Continual improvement for sustainable development.
This is the essence of management system standards.
Sanjeev Kakoty
Phone no: 9435014576
