Content By Mark Ames, Reg Blake, Michael J. Caruso, Phil Heinle

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By: Mark Ames, Reg Blake, Michael J. Caruso, Phil Heinle

Management system standards trace their beginnings to the use of simple preventive practices that were developed and used at the beginning of the industrial revolution. These preventive practices included responses to common problems, for example, ensuring changes are communicated to everyone who needs to know about the change, and attacking the cause of a problem, not just the symptom. Management systems evolved from these simple beginnings and eventually became the formally defined preventive methodologies that today contain a long list of universally accepted preventive practices.

From the time widely accepted management system standards (such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and others) came into common use in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many myths and misunderstandings related to their implementation and use have emerged. Belief in these myths is the most common barrier to the use of management system standards and, in addition, the greatest cause of frustration and diminished benefits on the part of users. Understanding these myths can help organizations choose to adopt a management system and ultimately achieve the intended benefits embedded within all management system standards. This paper has been written to identify and debunk the most common myths.

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By: Mark Ames, Reg Blake, Michael J. Caruso, Phil Heinle

In part one of this two-part article, we looked at the history of management system standards. Part two details some of the evidence that supports the assertion that these standards add value to organizations.

A 2008 detailed study published by the Harvard Business School provides real data, gathered by external means, which emphasize the value of management system standards and the accredited certification process. The study documents compelling evidence regarding standards from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) stating that “ISO adopters have higher rates of corporate survival, sales, employment growth, and wage increases than a matched group of non-adopters.” The study also finds that “annual earnings per employee grew substantially more rapidly, post-ISO certification, than organizations that did not adopt ISO.”

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By: Mark Ames, Reg Blake, Michael J. Caruso, Phil Heinle

More than ever, businesses need ways to improve their operations to better gain, serve, and retain customers while reducing costs and improving margins. Implementing management systems and attaining third-party accredited certification can help businesses achieve success on all of these fronts. For many years, various media have discussed anecdotal information concerning the value of third-party accredited certification to management systems. Sound, documented evidence from academic studies now confirms the value of third-party accredited certification of management systems. In part one of this two-part article, we will summarize the history of management systems. In part two, we'll take a closer look at the evidence supporting their value.