Title: ISO 9000:2000 quality management standard: experience in the state of Qatar

Authors: Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Tamer A. Mohamed, Ameer Al-Salem

Addresses: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar. ' Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, The British University in Egypt, Misr-Ismalia Road, EL-Sherouk City, Cairo, Egypt. ' Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar

Abstract: The main purpose of this paper is to assess the experience of different organisations in the state of Qatar upon adopting the ISO 9000:2000 quality management standard. It is required to report the available motives, achieved benefits, difficulties encountered and success factors from adopting the standard among certified organisations, and obstacles from its adoption among non-certified organisations. The data collected for the research is from 47 certified organisations utilising a closed ended survey questionnaire. Among the most significant findings is the overall positive notion that the companies in the state of Qatar believe in the benefits and importance of adopting the ISO 9000:2000 standard. Most of these companies are convinced to adopt the standard as a result of its importance to improve process performance/product quality rather than pressure from external customers. In addition, it is proven through the context of this paper that utilising foreign consultants during the certification process to aid companies| staff help to resolve the main difficulty with the certification process that is the cultural change. Last but not the least, lack of time and lack of human resources were considered by the non-certified companies as the main obstacles for getting certified.

Keywords: ISO 9000 series; quality management; ISO 9000:2000; Qatar; quality assurance; ISO 9000 adoption; quality standards; quality certification; process performance; product quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2008.019761

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2008 Vol.3 No.4, pp.457 - 471

Published online: 29 Jul 2008 *

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