Quality Management for the Small Business

In many countries throughout the world, businesses which employ less than 20 people comprise over 90 percent of all business activity. Increasingly, these businesses are coming under pressure from larger companies and local government organizations to adopt quality systems modelled on the requirements of the ISO 9000 series of standards, with an attendant requirement for certification, or registration, by one of the numerous accredited certification bodies. Many small business see the cost of developing and implementing such quality systems to ISO 9000 as bureaucratic, expensive and an unnecessary imposition with no tangible benefit. However, it is argued that it is not the standard itself which is the problem, but the way in which it is being applied. Too many consultants advising small businesses have only big business experience and overlook the fact that many of the methods they are trying to implement do not apply to small businesses. This book discusses the problems encountered by the small business when faced with the requirements of ISO 9000 and suggests methods for effectively coming to terms with them.
It should be useful reading for anyone involved in the running of a small business.