کاربرد ایزو نه هزار در فضای سازمانی؛ تجربه مدیریت تغییر استراتژیک در یک سازمان هندی Impact of ISO 9000 on organizational climate Strategic change management experience of an Indian organization

Abstract Purpose – ISO 9000 yields visible and concrete benefits to organizations in the form of sustained product quality, enhanced market image, increased customer satisfaction, and long-term profitability. However, the derivative impact of ISO 9000 on the human side of the organization, especially its impact on the internal human environment, has been only scantily researched. The purpose of this study is to explore how the process of ISO 9000 implementation transforms the components of organizational climate, particularly the climate motives existing in an organization. Design/methodology/approach – ISO 9000 system was deemed as the independent variable that could induce changes in organizational climate, the dependent variable. Climate was measured both before and after the implementation of ISO 9000, using Pareek’s MAO-C instrument. Based on the scores obtained for the constituent climate motives, the patterns of organizational climate that prevailed in an organization both before and after ISO implementation were deciphered. Findings – Results reveal that as a result of ISO 9000 implementation the dysfunctional organizational climate motives such as control, dependency, and affiliation undergo a u-turn transformation giving way to the functional and conducive climate motives such as achievement, expert influence, and extension. Originality/value – The study endeavors to throw light on the favorable impact that ISO 9000 may have on organizational climate of organizations. The findings tend to prognosticate that when implemented well the ISO 9000 system could function not just as a quality enhancement instrument but in addition as a useful tool for strategic change management that could truly hold the potential for transforming both the character and performance of organizations. Keywords ISO 9000 series, Strategic management, Organizational culture, Change management, Organizational processes, India Paper type Research paper Adoption of ISO 9000 system (ISO, 1996; ITC, 1996) yields visible and concrete benefits to organizations in the form of sustained product quality, enhanced market image, increased customer satisfaction, and long-term profitability. A plethora of studies have proved that these external benefits do occur for organizations across the world (Brecka, 1994; Brown et al., 1998; Casadesu´s and Jime´nez, 2000; Aarts and Vos, 2001; Gotzamani and Tsiotras, 2001). However, the derivative impact of ISO 9000 on the human side of the organization, especially its impact on the internal human environment or organizational climate, is only scantly researched, either in the west or in the east. A scanning of seven leading databases on peer-reviewed research journals indicates that studies linking the two variables are rarely undertaken. The present investigation conducted as case study of an Indian enterprise attempts to explore and explain how The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-7720.htm Impact of ISO 9000 175 Received December 2005 Revised May 2006 Accepted July 2006 International Journal of Manpower Vol. 28 No. 2, 2012 pp. 175-192 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0143-7720 DOI 10.1108/01437720710747983 the process of ISO 9000 implementation could bring about transformation in the components of organizational climate of an organization. In particular, it tries to portray how ISO implementation process alters the dominant organizational climate motives (Pareek, 1979, 1989) existing in an organization. Significance of the study Organizational climate has long been considered an important determinant of an enterprise’s potential to perform as a business entity and excel as a human organization predominantly because of its demonstrable influence on organizational effectiveness (Likert, 1961; Franklin, 1975; Kanter, 1983; Mudrack, 1989) as well as its relationship to individual motivation and behavior (Litwin and Stringer, 1968; Bowers, 1976). Reviewing nearly 35 years of consulting field research, Watkin and Habbard (2003) observe that organizational climate and performance are linked and that climate can directly account for up to 30 per cent of the variance in key business performance measures. In his research on emotional intelligence, Goleman (2001) also found that organizational climate is linked to organizational performance. Some organizations even use climate as a proxy measure when performance is difficult to quantify. In such cases, climate assessments provide an invaluable profit and loss statement on how well a company manages its people (Hay/McBer, 2000; Ingles and Menreno, 1998). Organizations across the world, therefore, are on the look out for methods and measures that could enhance the quality of organizational climate prevailing within them. Popular initiatives such as TQM and Six Sigma are chosen and practiced by organizations to achieve this end and these programs often tend to be successful in inducing favorable changes in the internal environment of organizations mainly because of the human interventions involved in their implementation process (Emery and Timothy, 1996; Powell, 1995). The widely practiced quality system, ISO 9000, though has human components in it, is, however, regarded by organizations as a certification process and hence viewed as having not much potential in moving the human elements of an organization’s systems. But what if ISO 9000 could bring in improvements in the internal environment of an organization, and particularly in its organizational climate? It could, then, be a source of added knowledge and inspiration for strategic change managers to advocate ISO 9000 not merely as a mechanism for product and process quality enhancement but also as a strategic tool for bringing about fundamental changes in the character and human quality of organizations. The present investigation, conducted in an Indian enterprise, attempts to explore the possible influence that ISO 9000 may have on organizational climate and examines whether ISO system has the ability to unleash the productive motives that lie dormant in an organization’s human environment and on the other hand help the organization change or control those negative forces that often retard its functioning as a human entity. Review of literature The ISO 9000 quality system ISO 9000 quality system is a series of standards and guidelines developed in 1987 by the International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, for enhancing the basic quality management systems of organizations. Adoption of ISO certification yields a variety of advantages to the organizations in terms of technology, quality, speed of supply, reliability of the products, delivery of services and after-sales services, and IJM 28,2 176 savings in costs (Gotzamani and Tsiotras, 2001; Aarts and Vos, 2001; Casadesu´s and Jime´nez, 2000; Gupta, 2000; Brown et al., 1998;). The process of ISO implementation covers all elements in the systems of an organization (ISO, 1996; ITC, 1996). The operating procedures and processes of the organization right from product design till after sales service have to be standardized on adopting the quality system. The certification process clearly specifies the development of systems, procedures, and work instructions for the organization. The role of employee involvement in ISO 9000 system Though widely regarded as a quality certification program, the soul or living principle of the ISO 9000 quality system is the mental attitude and emotional participation of the employees and their commitment to the organization’s quality concerns and goals. Without the participation and involvement of employees the system will become inactive (Huarng et al., 1999; Bannister, 1995). Unless the employees are dedicated to the idea of quality, elaborate documentation of the quality system will bring in no benefits to the organization, its quality systems, or the end-users of its products or services (Huarng et al., 1999; Bannister, 1995). Many authors like Cartin (1993), Hunt and Beardsley (1993), Ingles (1994), and Tenner and DeToro (1992) have stressed employee involvement and other human elements as the keys to successful implementation of the ISO 9000 system. In Cartin’s view, total involvement of all the organizational participants aligns and integrates the efforts mobilized under the ISO 9000 system (Cartin, 1993). Hunt and Beardsley (1993) view human elements as the chief determiners of the success of the ISO 9000 certification process and argue that it is the willing cooperation and unflagging involvement of everyone in the organization that leads to success of the ISO 9000 implementation process. Can ISO 9000 system change the internal climate? Most of the research findings, outlined above, are equivocal in emphasizing the role of employee involvement and commitment in successfully implementing the ISO 9000 system. But, can the enhanced level of involvement and participation induced by the ISO process go further and induce changes in the internal environment (climate) of the organization? Empirical leads indicate that such changes are possible. Jackson and Ashton (1995), Kumar (1993), and Srivastava (1992) observed that involvement of people at various levels and stages of the ISO process brings about improved goal orientation, openness of communication, willing changes in the organization’s structure, and multidisciplinary teamwork across the organization. When improvements in these organizational dimensions occur as a result of ISO implementation it activates a chain reaction within the organization bringing in a host of intangible benefits to the human environment of the organization, particularly in the form of positive changes in the organizational climate (Taylor, 1995; Gupta, 1994). Srivastava (1992) observed that ISO 9000 processes permeate all aspects of organizational functioning including manufacturing and non-manufacturing areas and bring about visible changes in such areas as human resource development, involvement of workforce, teamwork, goal-orientation, and openness of communication. In a survey conducted among 682 organizations, Taylor (1995) found that commitment to ISO 9000 implementation brought about significant improvements in the attitudes and behaviors of the senior executives in those organizations. Impact of ISO 9000 177 In research conducted by Rothery (1992), it was observed that implementation of ISO 9000 system motivates people and enhances their mastery of the business processes performed by the organization. Kumar (1993) observed that adoption of ISO 9000 enhances the levels of employee involvement, horizontal and bottom-up communication, and commitment and motivation of employees at all levels of the organization. Gupta (1994) reported that ISO 9000 implementation brings about several tangible and non-tangible benefits to the organization such as delegation resulting in responsiveness, improved morale of the workers, and job satisfaction. According to Jackson and Ashton (1995), one of the important derivative benefits of ISO 9000 is that the staff throughout the company gets deeply involved in designing an effective system and shares a sense of achievement. This shared activity not only produces effective solutions but also acts as a powerful motivator for enhanced staff performance. Though the above studies do not link ISO and organizational climate directly, the findings in general lead to the possibility that ISO 9000 system holds the potential to induce changes in the internal human processes of an organization and, thereby, bring about alterations and reconfigurations in the organizational climate, as the latter depends largely on the organization and operation of the organizational processes (Pareek, 1979, 1989; Pareek et al., 1981).