IJQRM

13,4
64
ISO 9000 as an entry key to
TQM: the case of Greek
industry
George Tsiotras and Katerina Gotzamani
University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece
Introduction
Competitiveness is becoming very aggressive in the 1990s. The competition of
companies for their dominance in their market has become tougher than the
competition on products themselves. Analysing the term competition,
contemporary researchers came to the conclusion that a products
competitiveness depends on two key elements; its price and its quality. About
20 years ago, the emphasis was on price. The main concern of companies was
mass production with the aim of producing large quantities of products at low
cost. Quality was thought to be of secondary priority. Today, things have been
changed drastically. The existence of products of any kind in a broad variety
has satisfied the basic needs of customers who in turn have become more
demanding and more interested in quality than ever before. Companies that
already possess quality take advantage of this new customer behaviour and use
quality as a powerful weapon against their competitors. The manufacturing
costs that are caused by quality are not a drawback any more, since there is
enough evidence that customers prefer higher quality products and services
even at a higher price. Todays customer mentality accepts higher cost if it is
justified by higher quality. More and more managers of small or large
companies realize now that the development of quality practices is a key issue
for the future competitiveness and prosperity of their companies. This has
caused a rapid expansion of international competition in quality. According to
Juran[1], this competition expansion is caused by the proliferation of
multinational companies, increased global competition, environmental
protection, and emerging regional markets that spur competition and destroy
protectionism. Juran predicts that the twentieth century has been the century of
productivity, but the twenty-first century will be the century of quality.
All companies produce products or services according to pre-established
specifications, designed to meet customer requirements. Unfortunately, in the
real world, product specifications alone cannot possibly guarantee the quality
of the product customers receive. Weaknesses or deficiencies may arise at one or
more stages of the products life cycle, resulting in products inconsistent with
Received May 1994
Revised November 1994
The authors are grateful to an anonymous referee for his constructive criticism and helpful
suggestions.
International Journal of Quality
& Reliability Management,
Vol. 13No. 4, 1996, pp. 64-76,
MCBUniversity Press,
0265-671X
ISO 9000 as an
entry key to
TQM
65
their original specifications. In the past, product quality was ensured by
quality control, which describes all the activities that measure and regulate
the characteristics of a product or service, according to previously defined
specifications. This posed the disadvantage of detecting the error too late, after
the product was completed, causing high reprocessing and waste cost for the
company. Furthermore, as products became more sophisticated, quality control
was getting very expensive without really ensuring absence of defects and,
therefore, without guaranteeing the quality that customers would finally
receive. It is well known that the damage caused by a defective product reaching
the final customer results in a negative reputation for the company (the
multiplying effect). At first glance, the parameters of competitiveness, price and
quality, seemed to be incompatible. However, it was more than ever necessary to
match them effectively for the sake of the customers and the competitiveness of
the companies. All the research efforts concentrated on the development of
preventive rather than detective quality control techniques, giving rise to what
we call quality assurance systems.
The next section of this paper deals with the development of quality
assurance systems through ISO 9000 standards. This is followed by a section
which focuses on the case of Greek industry, by analysing the targets of ISO
9000 standards, the main motives for their application, the benefits that can be
obtained, as well as the problems and difficulties that were experienced through
their development. The main reasons for the possible failure of an ISO 9000
implementation are then summarized, and the final section examines the
relationship between ISO 9000 standards and a total quality management
system.
Quality assurance through ISO 9000
A quality assurance system contains the process, organizational structure,
procedures, and resources that manufacturers and suppliers use in order to
control the variables on which product quality depends[2]. A quality assurance
system includes analyses, standardization and documentation of each and
every recurrent process in the life cycle of a product, from design and
manufacturing to packaging and distribution, controlling all their distinct
stages. It also includes tests and measurement procedures, and a control system
for the evaluation of the measurement equipment. In an effective quality
assurance system, all of the above mentioned procedures are properly followed,
resulting in products conformable to their specifications. A quality assurance
system is a dynamic sub-system of the companys organization system, which
should be continuously evolved tracing the evolution of the company. In
companies with a detailed and well documented organizational structure, only
a suitable adaptation is needed for the development of a quality assurance
system; while for those with poor or non-documented organizational structure,
as is commonly the case in Greek companies, the application of the quality
IJQRM
13,4
66
assurance system provides them with an opportunity to organize and
document a part of their companys operation system.
The development and use of quality assurance systems became wider with
the development of ISO 9000 international standards. A company is not
registered to ISO 9000 or 9004, which both provide guidelines only. A company
is normally certified to any ISO 9001, 9002 or 9003 quality assurance standard.
The standards only recommend the essential elements of a proper quality
assurance system, without recommending the ways to apply them. It is up to
the company to develop its own system according to its special needs and the
requirements of the standard. Contrary to what might be common belief, the
three ISO 9000 standards do not certify the quality of products themselves, but
instead, they certify the quality assurance system that produces them. They
ensure the existence of specific and documented procedures which are strictly
followed by the company, thus ensuring that the products the customer receives
are always in conformance to specifications. Also, the standards ensure quality
consistency and not higher quality of a certified companys products.
Certification according to one of the three ISO 9000 standards has international
value, increases a companys reliability, and assures its commitment to quality
and to its customers.
The international reaction to the ISO 9000 standards was extremely positive.
Until recently, any manufacturer who wished to sell his products in Europe
faced great difficulties. European countries, in a parallel effort to protect both
their consumers and their domestic manufacturing and economy established
and adopted national standards. The hundreds of national regulations and
standards that foreign competitors should comply with, in order to have their
products accepted, created technical difficulties and high certification and
inspection costs, resulting in less competitive prices for their products. With the
EC starting to eliminate internal trade barriers, the Europeans recognized the
need to adopt common standards and regulations that will harmonize the
standardization process and create a common market. ISO 9000 is expected to
play an important role in this harmonization. The certification of quality
assurance systems is expected to become the key issue for the entrance of
European companies into the new open market of 350 million consumers.
Lately there has also been tremendous interest in the ISO 9000 certification
from companies outside Europe and especially from the USA. More and more
US multinational companies realize the significant value of ISO 9000 for
contract agreements with European companies.
Thus, ISO 9000 has become worldwide the most commonly accepted series of
quality standards, and certification to one of these standards is becoming a
necessary precondition for a companys survival in the future. However, a
serious problem with certification is the harmonization of conformity
assessment and registration procedures. Certification of a companys quality
system in one country should be accepted by any other country. Unless there is
an international harmonization in these procedures, ISO 9000 standards will not
succeed in their main target of removing market barriers between the different
ISO 9000 as an
entry key to
TQM
67
countries. Thus, there is the need for the creation of international accrediting
authorities, who will certify the various national certification bodies.
The case of Greek industry
In Greek industry, companies first began to develop quality assurance systems
in the 1990s. Most of these companies were subsidiaries of foreign
organizations with certified quality assurance systems, and were forced to
follow the quality strategy dictated by their mother company. Since 1991, which
was announced as the year of quality, a large number of lectures and seminars
have taken place, motivating Greek companies of any size to develop and
implement their own quality assurance systems. ISO 9000 certification may
prove to be not only a competitive advantage, but also a necessity. Greek
companies, in order to survive in tomorrows increasingly competitive market,
must be able to produce competitive products both in price and in quality.
Especially when the borders in the EC will completely vanish and laws that
protect the domestic products will disappear, Greek companies will remain
naked against the well organized Western European competitors. It might then
be the time when no one will be willing to buy from a supplier who does not
possess a certified quality assurance system.
Today, Greek companies stand somewhere between quality control and
quality assurance. However, many of these companies have gained a
remarkable reputation, due to their sensitivity in quality matters and their true
commitment to quality. The challenge for these companies is very small, since
the international standards have nothing new or revolutionary to propose. Only
a slight adaptation of their quality system will be enough for their conformance
to the standards requirements.
At the beginning, the propagation of quality assurance systems in Greece
was rather slow, mainly due to the lack of adequate information about them, but
soon the growth became exponential. The main reason for this was the
inclusion of ISO 9000 certification within the EC procedures for the certification
of industrial products, and the demand of already certified companies to their
suppliers (domino effect). About 30 companies have already been certified
according to ISO 9000 standards by the Greek Organization of Standardization
(ELOT), while a number of other companies have been certified by other foreign
organizations. Most of these companies are leaders in their domain and this is
expected to have an influence on their hundreds of suppliers who will be forced
to create and certify their own quality assurance systems. The great
repercussion that ISO 9000 has and will continue to have in Greece was also
shown by the results of a recent survey[3] which showed that 18 per cent of
Greek companies will be certified in the near future, and 82 per cent of these
companies will require their suppliers to be certified.
The change in Greek companies culture has been achieved. Quality has
become a serious concern of most company managers, who have realized that
quality, despite its cost, can be beneficial.
IJQRM
13,4
68
ISO 9000 targets
The ISO 9000 certification seems to have four main targets. The first target is
stability in quality according to specifications. This means the ability of a
company to achieve and maintain the quality of its products and/or services
needed to satisfy the customer. The second one is the ability of the company to
provide enough confidence to its customers about the quality they are receiving
from its products and/or services. The third is the ability of the company to
provide enough confidence to its leadership about the consistency of the quality
performance of the products and/or services that they are able to provide.
Finally, the fourth target is to provide an international means of communication
a reference point, so that everybody will speak the same language, clearing up
the differences and the relationships between the main issues of quality.
Motivation for ISO 9000 certification
There are four basic reasons why a Greek company usually chooses to adopt
ISO 9000 standards.
The first reason is to improve the companys image and reputation, thus
improving its competitive position in the market. In many cases, ISO 9000
certification was a requirement from the marketing department in order to be
used in advertising.
The second is to satisfy external demands and pressure from the market. As
the popularity of ISO 9000 increases, more and more customers require their
suppliers to be certified according to the standards. Actually, it is often claimed
that soon, due to this pressure, certification will no longer provide a competitive
advantage, but rather a means of survival.
The third reason is to facilitate and simplify quality acceptance procedures
and contracts with the customers, and help companys exports. Finally, the
fourth and most important reason to develop and certify a quality assurance
system is the need to improve the internal organization and productivity and to
upgrade the quality management system of the company. In these cases, ISO
9000 standards provide the discipline and infrastructure that are necessary to
make a major improvement in a companys quality system. Also, for companies
interested in TQM, having first implemented ISO 9000 will make the transition
much easier.
ISO 9000 benefits
Benefits from the application of ISO 9000 standards can not be quantified and
measured, and this is one of the main reasons that delayed their application in
Greece. However, according to managers from the Greek companies that
applied them, the benefits are many, and can be separated into internal and
external in respect of the company.
ISO 9000 as an
entry key to
TQM
69
Internal benefits
The ISO 9000 Standards:
Provide a new method for managing companies and improving
competitiveness without any extra technical investment.
Modernize the companys internal organization and operation, according
to the latest improvements.
Aid in the establishment of clearly defined responsibilities and
operational rules at the production level, reducing improvisations of the
employees.
Provide direct instructions to everyone involved in the company, through
carefully documented procedures. Thus, they ensure a uniform and
properly distributed communication and an effective control of all
procedures, even in cases of staff recruitment or staff movements to
different work positions.
Offer a systematic approach to personnel training.
Also,
The higher level personnel are now free to deal with the more important
matters of research and technology, rather than the trivial everyday
problems which are now assigned to the lower level employees.
The personnel sensitivity in quality matters increases, since they all
become more quality aware.
The relationships between the different departments are improved by
the clearing up of the vague interdepartmental duties and
responsibilities. In addition, the relationships between management and
employees and between employees themselves are improved, since all
the above relationships are now clearly defined and documented.
There is an increase of employees productivity due to the systematic
approach to the work operations and the well defined and streamlined
interface between functions.
The frequent internal quality system audits to detect shortages,
deficiencies or non-value added activities help continuous improvement
with a serious reduction in operational costs. Written procedures are
continuously examined for their effectiveness and redesigned whenever
necessary.
There is reduction of variation and improvement of products and/or
services quality. Since the procedures that produce the products are
standardized, the quality of the products is standardized too.
There is a reduction in quality cost due to the reduction in scrap, rework,
and product returns.
IJQRM
13,4
70
The written data resulting from the recording, classification and
maintenance of all measurements, under documented and agreed
procedures, aid managerial decision making and analysis of causes of
bad quality. Decision making is now based on facts and not on
managements instinct.
The short, three year period, that the certification is valid, and the
frequent, usually every six months, external audits from the certification
body, oblige the manufacturer to maintain and develop its own quality
system. Otherwise, the systems application might fade.
Finally, if any company, implementing either ISO 9001 or ISO 9002 standard,
focuses on the following elements, quality improvement can be surely found:
periodical review of effectiveness and suitability of quality assurance
system, quality policy, objectives and goals by top management;
regular internal quality audit;
implementation of corrective actions with preventive actions taken by
analysing any trend of performance from customer complaint, incoming,
in-process and final inspection; and
emphasis on process control instead of product control.
External benefits
The ISO 9000 standards:
Offer a strong competitive advantage.
Provide satisfaction of the market demand or pressure.
Result in more satisfied clients, and easier attraction of new clients.
Increase the companys reputation and trust in its products.
Unify the criteria used from different customers for evaluation of the
companys quality assurance system. Standardized certification means
that a single audit can assure client organizations that the companys
products meet quality requirements. Therefore, redundant audits by
several companys customers can be eliminated or at least scaled down
considerably.
Offer better evaluation and classification of suppliers due to the
existence of clear and specific supplier evaluation criteria, and reduce the
incoming material inspection costs.
Support and facilitate the exports wherever these exist. They aid in
faster and more secure penetration in new, especially external, markets.
Finally,
The widespread compliance with international standards can help an
entire industry protect itself from competition. ISO 9000 will create a
barrier for new companies to enter a market, based on low price[4].
ISO 9000 as an
entry key to
TQM
71
Problems and difficulties
The main problems that arose for the Greek companies, through the ISO 9000
quality assurance and certification, are the following:
It is very difficult to change the quality culture of the company and
convince everybody of the usefulness of the necessary changes. It
requires great effort from the management, because what is really
needed is not only a certification but rather the development of a whole
company quality culture.
The development of a quality assurance system demands great effort
and group work. At least in the initial phase of the implementation there
will be a significant increase in work load for everybody.
Serious problems will possibly arise when the people who define and
document the processes differ from those who have to apply them.
Employees cannot commit themselves to processes that they do not
approve, and find inadequate or cumbersome.
Disappointment may arise when the huge number of problems and
deficiencies that exist in todays system are realized.
Disputes may arise between members of the company while they are in
search of the causes of the problems and of the people who are
responsible for them. This is a policy mistake and should be avoided,
since we should only be interested in what and not who caused the
problems.
Another difficulty faced is the changing of the buying policy, from the
cheapest supplier in the market to the most suitable cheapest
supplier in the market.
In Greece there is a lack of well trained and experienced internal quality
auditors. This is a serious problem, considering the importance of
internal quality audits for a companys certification.
The cost for the development and certification of a quality assurance
system may be too big for a small company to afford it.
Great problems may possibly arise from the necessary changes in the
organizational structure of the company. Some employees try to take
advantage of the new opportunity to empower their position in the
company. Others fight to maintain their current position and the power
they already have. Some of them react negatively because they feel
threatened and uncomfortable with the change of the status quo, while
others find this an opportunity to express their personal disagreements
and contrasts with their colleagues, or with the company in general. All
these attitudes may sabotage the whole effort, and can only be handled
by effective management.
A final difficult point is the choice of the right body of certification from
the great number of them that are available today. The company must
IJQRM
13,4
72
choose the most suitable for its needs and the one that is widely accepted
and appreciated.
How an ISO 9000 implementation could fail
The reason an ISO 9000 implementation may fail is not because of its
inadequacy as a standard but because of the companys inability or
unwillingness to implement it correctly. The real benefits of the standard can be
achieved only if the company that implements it fully realizes both its potential
and its limits. Some common reasons for its failure are described below:
Absence of management commitment seems to be the main reason for
the failure of many ISO 9000 programmes. It is caused when the
management fails to understand the magnitude of the effort and the
commitment that is required. For this reason, the project should begin
only after the management realizes its magnitude and decides to support
it fully. True commitment means not only provision of the necessary
means, but also active involvement in all phases of the process, from
design to implementation and to maintenance.
Very often there are severe time constraints imposed by the market,
forcing companies to achieve certification in the shortest possible period
of time. This distorts the learning process and encourages bad
implementation.
Sometimes, top management uses ISO 9000 as a means to escape from its
own responsibility towards quality. It knows it must do something to
ensure and improve the quality it offers and so it decides to implement
the ISO 9000 standards. Once certification is achieved, it completely
relaxes, it thinks it has finished with quality and that it should stop
worrying about it. In these cases, the burden of quality is resting
totally on the quality assurance system and its certification and is
doomed to fail.
For many companies certification becomes an end in itself. Managers
seek certification just for the sake of it, worrying only about how to
achieve and preserve it. ISO 9000 is implemented by satisfying only the
minimum necessary requirements that assure certification, while
anything more is considered a waste of money and time. Certification is
viewed only as a tool to compete in the domestic and international
market, and not as a means of adding value to the organizational
processes and improving quality, productivity, performance and
profitability. But although certification is in effect a significant tool for
entering wider markets, its competitive advantage can very easily be
lost, once competitors also become certified. The real long-term value of
certification lies in the development of a solid quality assurance system
that is continuously tested and improved.
ISO 9000 as an
entry key to
TQM
73
Another mistake that companies may make during the development of
their quality assurance system is to document the already existing
procedures and activities without first re-examining them to detect
errors, inefficiencies, or redundancies. In fact, companies simply
document their sub-optimized procedures, leading to a sub-optimized
system. In these cases, they are deprived of one of the main benefits of
quality assurance, which is the reassessment, improvement and redesign
of its ineffective or non-value operational processes.
Finally, some companies relax on their certification, assuming that they
have achieved the desired level of quality and do not need to be
concerned with it any more. They think that certification is the end of
their efforts, while in fact it is only the start. A quality system must be
dynamic, continuously adapting to the variable external requirements.
Therefore, the right way to implement the standards is to combine
standardization with improvement. The cycle should be: standardize-
test-improve-standardize.
What can be concluded is that certification alone without the proper
development and continuous improvement of a solid quality assurance system,
will not bring the positive results expected. That is why Juran[1] says:
All in all, my prognosis for Europe is gloomy. In my view, many companies are in for a
massive letdown. They will get registered to ISO 9000, but this alone will not enable them to
attain world class economy.
ISO 9000 and total quality management
The criteria of ISO 9000 define a comprehensive quality system which offers
many benefits to a company. However, Juran[1] notices that the criteria fail to
include some of the essentials needed to attain world class quality, such as:
quality goals in the business plan;
quality improvement at a revolutionary rate;
training in managing for quality;
participation in the work force.
The ISO 9000 standards are also accused of the following:
They fail to cope with significant matters, such as the cost of quality,
employees development, customers satisfaction, benchmarking and
competitiveness, which are all very important issues of a quality system.
The certification of a quality system does not necessarily mean that the
system is able to provide high quality and satisfy the customer. But after
all, the ultimate judge of quality is the customer.
They do not include specific requirements about health, security and
environment.
IJQRM
13,4
74
They cope only a little with a companys supporting operations, such as
marketing, advertising, sales and finance, although the operation of
these departments has a significant role on the companys overall
success.
Because of their general nature and wide range of application, the
standards do not include the industrial and technological requirements
that should be incorporated in a companys quality system.
Another deficiency of the standards is that they do not impose the
statistical processing of all process performance results, which is
necessary for the continuous improvement of the system. However,
Deming[5] has greatly emphasized the importance of SPC, and the need
to distinguish between common causes and special causes of bad
performance and to act accordingly in order to improve quality.
An important deficiency of the standards is the absence, in their
assessment criteria, of the financial or any other kind of result (sales or
market share increase, productivity increase, life cycle reduction, cost
reduction, etc.). It is very unusual for any assessment method not to
consider the results of the system under assessment.
Another issue that must be raised is their low flexibility and slow
response to the proposed changes.
Excessive obedience to the documented procedures may discourage
critical thinking, and process standardization may act as a barrier for
process improvement. According to the standards requirements,
employees must strictly obey to the written procedures in their everyday
work. But in many cases, critical thinking and judgement of the
employees may find a better, more effective way of doing things.
Effective thinking should continuously criticize the basic principles
described in written procedures and search for innovations.
Management must encourage this kind of thinking and any expression
of new ideas, which must be taken into consideration for procedure
improvement. Combination of standardization and improvement is the
ideal proposed by TQM, and should be adopted by ISO 9000 standards
as well, by incorporating the plan-do-check-act cycle in every activity
of the quality assurance system.
While for ISO 9000 quality means conformance to specified
requirements, for TQM quality is a dynamic concept that evolves as
customers requirements evolve. There is no clear end, improvement
should always be pursued, and efforts should never relax. A total quality
system pays great attention to customer needs and expectations,
considering both the internal and the external customer of the company.
After all, the customer is the ultimate judge of a companys quality, not
the body of certification.
ISO 9000 as an
entry key to
TQM
75
However, quality assurance and total quality share many of the same principles
and the first can be regarded as a subset of the second. The only advantage of
ISO 9000 over TQM is that its application is structured and has a clear end and
a final achievement, which is the certification of the quality assurance system,
thus making easier the senior managements commitment. The absence of
specific requirements or standards for TQM is one of the reasons why Greek
companies seem to be confused about the meaning of TQM and the
requirements of a total quality system. That is why the application of a quality
assurance system is considered a good way to start with quality. The
requirements of the system are clear enough, ask for sound organizational
structure and introduce the main principles of a quality system. Although they
are not innovative or revolutionary, it is necessary for a company to first satisfy
these requirements in order to proceed with the more demanding requirements
of a total quality system. Total quality means change of the companys culture
and this change can only be achieved through well-planned and well-defined
successive steps.
The steps are: empirical method quality control quality assurance total
quality. They are all dependent and inter-related, and they are all equally
important and necessary for overall success. None of the successive stages
completely abolishes the previous ones:
TQ may be viewed as the outer edges of a system of concentric circles, with quality assurance
and quality control as central, core elements. Leaping to the outer edges of the circle will leave
a dangerous vacuum at the center[6].
Summarizing all the above, the best policy is to use ISO 9000 as an entry key to
total quality. The system proposed by the standard should be implemented in
the best possible way, creating a solid background for its future evolution to a
total quality system. Certification is not the end, it is only the start of the
companys quality journey.
Conclusions
ISO 9000 standards harmonized the large number of national quality system
standards and satisfied the urgent need for a universal evaluation method of
suppliers quality assurance systems. Although they are not mandatory, their
popularity has made them a necessity for companies who want to create a high
quality profile and satisfy intense market demand. This is also the case with
Greek industry, whose products must be competitive not only in the internal but
in the external market as well.
ISO 9000 standards offer a great opportunity to Greek companies wanting to
improve their internal organization system and increase their products
competitiveness. However, they must be careful in order to avoid the ISO 9000
pitfalls. Certification alone must not be the aim. The ultimate target must be the
development of a solid quality assurance system which will lead to the future
development of a total quality system.
IJQRM
13,4
76
References
1. Juran, J.M., Assessing quality growth in the US, Quality, October 1993, pp. 48-9.
2. ISO 9000, US Department of Commerce-Technology Administration, National Institute of
Standards and Technology, July 1992.
3. Trilizas, N., ISO 9000 implementation in process industries TheGreek experience,
Conference: Quality Assurancein Process Industries, Athens, 16-18 June 1993.
4. Kochan, A., ISO 9000: creating a global standardization process, Quality, October 1993,
pp. 26-34.
5. Deming, E.W., Out of theCrisis, MIT Center for Advanced Engineering Study, Cambridge,
NY, MA, 1982.
6. Conti, T., Europe at the quality crossroads, EOQ Special ShowcaseEdition, June 1993.
Further reading
Agelopoulos, C., Certification: the day after, Total Quality Management Greek EditionQuality
Assurance Part A, pp. 58-61.
Bertram, D., The future for quality in Europe, Total Quality Management, Vol. 1 No. 1, 1990,
pp. 48-53.
Byrnes, D., Exploring the world of ISO 9000, Quality, October 1992, pp. 19-31.
Conti, T., From standard based quality to total quality, International Conference on Total
Quality, Athens, 20-21 September 1993.
Craig, J., The no-nonsense guide to achieving ISO 9000 registration, ASME, 1994.
Dale, B.G, Managing Quality, 2nd ed., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1994.
ELOT, ISO 9000 certification: an enterprises fashion or a strategic investment?
Juran, J.M. and Gryna, F.M., Quality Planning and Analysis, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 1970.
Lamprecht, J.L., ISO 9000 implementation strategies, Quality, November 1991, pp. 14-17.
Marash, S.A., The key to TQM and world-class competitiveness part I, Quality, September
1993, pp. 37-9.
Marash, S.A., The key to TQM and world-class competitiveness Part II, Quality, October 1993,
pp. 43-6.
Plastiras, V.N., Quality assurance standards and total quality, Conference: Quality Assurancein
Process Industries, Athens, 16-18 June 1993.
Plueceu, C., Agreement on standards, testing and certification outpacing agreement on many
other issues, facing European Community, Quality, October 1991, p. 13.
Prado, J., Gonzalez V. and Hernandez, A., Strategic interpretations of the quality systems ISO
9000 standards, Mexican Institute for Quality Control,
Quality assurance and total quality Greek industry cases, Epilogi, July 1993.
Stout, G., Quality practices in Europe, Quality, October 1993, pp. 20-24.
Survival of the fittest, EOQ-Special ShowcaseEdition, (Report from the European Seminars in
Quality Promotion in Aachen), June 1993, pp. 10-14.
Tsarouchis, N., Benefits and weaknesses of ISO 9000 standards, Total Quality Management
Greek EditionQuality Assurance Part A, pp. 28-31.
Tsiligiris, J., ISO 9000: another point of view, Total Quality Management-Greek Edition, Quality
Assurance Part C, pp. 106-10.
Vergados, D., ISO 9000 quality assurance in Greece, Plant, June 1993, pp. 58-66.
Vitantzakis, N., Greek companies awareness about quality, Manager, March 1992, pp. 53-5.
Zoumbos, G., ISO 9000 + Deming = the successful combination, Total Quality Management
Greek Edition, Quality Assurance Part C, pp. 114-16.