Title: Implementation of quality management in organisations operating in the Sultanate of Oman: ISO 9001:2000 vs. non-ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations

Authors: Rafi Ashrafi, Hamdi A. Bashir

Addresses: Department of Information Systems, College of Commerce and Economics, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. ' Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

Abstract: This paper reports the findings of a survey exploring the implementation of four aspects of quality management (QM): tools, measurements and documentation in organisations operating in the Sultanate of Oman. Data for this study were collected from 57 ISO 9001:2000 (ISO, International Organization for Standardization) and non-ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations in both manufacturing and service sectors. The findings revealed that Omani organisations have a high usage of the best practices, tools and techniques of QM, have a high degree of documentation and have performed well in comparison to their competitors. The survey results showed that there are significant differences between ISO 9001:2000 and non-ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations in all the four aspects of QM. ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations have a high degree of usage of QM in all the four important aspects as compared to non-ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations. However, in terms of perceived performance, it was found that there were no statistically significant differences between the ISO 9001:2000 certified and non-ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations.

Keywords: ISO 9001; quality standards; ISO 9000; GCC; Gulf Cooperation Council; Arab States; Middle East; Bahrain; Persian Gulf; Kuwait; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Oman; United Arab Emirates; UAE; certified organisations; certification; non-certified organisations; quality management tools; quality management measurements; quality management documentation; International Organization for Standardization; standardisation; manufacturing industry; service sector; competitors; productivity; quality management implementation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2011.038684

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2011 Vol.7 No.2, pp.183 - 201

Published online: 21 Feb 2011 *

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