IMS Assessmnet II
IMS Assessmnet II
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
DEPARTMENT OF QUALITY AND OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
Module Name: Integrated Management Systems
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1.1 Based on what you have learned, how would you conduct a readiness assessment?
Studies have been made overtime to assert the incredible benefits of an Integrated
Management System. However, before an organisation can start with the
implementation, it will require it to come up with a well thought systematic approach.
The Cambridge dictionary defines readiness as willingness or a state of being prepared
for something. Gallagher (2019) advice that, to prevent taking on a big change for your
organisation without knowing of it can handle it, readiness assessment can be an official
measurement of preparedness of your company to undergo these big changes.
1.2 Critique the difficulties and benefits of IMS. Briefly summarise the main five
difficulties and discuss some possible solutions.
• Difficulties
• Benefits
Solution: The supposed organisation must evaluate its individual situation and,
using a graded approach, scale the requirements and activities to manage the
development and implementation in accordance with its needs. Management
must further assess the costs versus the benefits of implementation to allow
proper decision making and dedication of the funds.
1.3 What would you recommend to address the failure of the quality management
system standards?
• Method vs Methodology
Methodology: A set of methods, rules, or ideas. These are the bases within which we
do all the work. They are developed from views, dogma, and values. These frameworks
guide us in selecting the tools we use, though they are not entirely prescriptive.
To get the maximum benefits of an IMS, the system must not be viewed as a quick fix to
the current problem. However, the implementation of the system must be a par of the
whole organisation and not stand-alone program. This will allow IMS to be bonded into
the business strategy, carrying the organisation towards an IMS direction. The system
must not be viewed as a method in which it can be applied to achieve compliance, it
must however be viewed as an overall organisational ideology to achieve best practice.
When the IMS is not institutionalised during the implementation, it will not receive
buy-in from employees, instead it will create sub-cultures within the organisation that
will view the new system as a way to rid of how things are. These then will lead to
failure of the IMS.
• Complex Documentations
The integration of several quality management systems to form an IMS will require an
intensive document integration. If this is not done right, the implementation of an IMS
can result in an epic failure of the system due to lack of effective document
management. Organisations are encouraged to develop an effective document control
and management strategy to ensure synergy in document integration.
• Regulatory Standard
Organisations must realise the need to be evaluated by a relation body that will allow
them to be assessed on their implemented strategies if they align. The regulatory body,
through auditing, will guide the organisation on satisfying the standards and how can
they improve. If there is no one to oversee the system, organisations will not know if
they are doing things right and how can they improve. It is therefore important to seek
certification or verification so as to help the organisation to follow proper standardised
practices.
• Resistance to change
Employees sometimes feel unprepared to change and adapt to new settings. This can
be seen in the actions such as micro-resistance or actions in general. However,
organisations can implement strategies such as onboarding and upskilling. By so doing,
this will give employees a sense of being part of something bigger and not only viewed
as another tool to accomplish organisational set objectives.
Question 02
2.1 Quality experts are of the view that there is a lack of common understanding between top
management and the workforce regarding the implementation of quality management
system standards. What would you cite to defend this view?
Lack of common understanding can be a situation where two or more people are engaged but
they do not have the same understanding on a particular matter. For this reason, basic human
communication is based on having a shared understanding. Communication can then be viewed
as sending information to another person and that person understands it. However, effective
communication is a different situation. This is when I send information to the receiver, ensuring
that the receiver understands and act on the information shared. It also includes I, receiving
information from other people and acting on it. Therefore, effective communication is not only
about giving information, but it is also about acting on the feedback from those that received
the information.
Same applies to managers. Based on the understanding that quality starts with the manager,
how information is shared creates the basis for effective information exchange and correct
application of the directives. It is therefore of utmost importance that management can
communicate effectively, this will create a mutual understanding of the ideas shared between
management and staff. This has been confirmed by Stanciu, Condrea and Zamfir (2016) that
communication in an organisation is one of the important and impacting business skill.
Therefore, communication can then be a crucial part in an organisation which seeks to
effectively implement quality as it can be used to link all issues related to quality by first
ensuring a common understating of the set objectives of a quality management system that
they would like to implement. When the objectives are clear and the roles are identified, it can
therefore be easy for management to set in motion implementation as everyone in the
organisation is aware of what is expected form them.
Clause 7.4 of ISO 9001:2015 seeks to ensure that organisations develop proper communication
channels so that quality related information in an organisation can be shared effectively.
However, some barriers can rise to disturb effective communication.
Barriers of communication
When teaching people about nonconformities and how to raise them, staff must be
trained to identify what is an NC and how to raise and close them in relation to their
job and job space. Other irrelevant information will only confuse the personnel and
they end-up losing interest.
The rise of former model C school alumni and other family structure situations has
contributed to a large number of people who cannot speak their home languages.
This becomes a problem in an environment where people speak their home
language and, to some extent, Afrikaans. This is very common in Government and
local Government environments. Organisations must ensure that quality
practitioners are able to speak at least the most common language in that
environment, otherwise, no one will what you are saying. If you are Xhosa or
Tswana and you are in Giyani to implement a quality system, you will need to be
able to speak XiTsonga because old people are stubborn, they are not interested in
learning your language so that you can implement what you came to implement.
You must learn the language.
• Disability: In an organisation, you must not assume that everyone can hear or see
what you are doing. Measures need to be put in place for those people who cannot
understand what you are saying due to their disability.
The Labour relations Act 66 of 1995 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of
disability. There is a very high likelihood that you will meet a disabled person around
workspaces. Quality belongs to everyone in an organisation, it does not matter their
position, therefore, if there is an individual who has a challenge in understanding
some of the quality requirements, that individual must be put in a space where they
have a strength in. If someone cannot type, but they peak eloquently, try to assign
them to a role where they can do a lot of speaking, such as presenting.
When an organisation meets regulatory quality standards, it does not mean that it has quality
culture. To develop a quality culture in an organisation, everyone in an organisation must
develop practices that promotes, as well as prioritise quality as a fundamental aspect for each
action or process to be undertaken. This will then motivate employees to also be in need to
improve themselves so that they excel.
A quality centric culture is not only worried about satisfying the customer, but it also sets to
exceed customer expectations by going over and beyond procedures and standards. Everyone
in the organisation strives for excellence through taking responsibility of their work, from top
management to the security guard. Some of the benefits includes:
2.3 Can you propose five critical success factors that could support the successful
implementation of IMS within State-owned enterprises? Cite some examples.
Independent organisations that are fully or in part owned by government are referred to as
State-owned enterprises (SOEs). They are established to execute specific activity while
functioning under a particular legislation or legislative Act. They have been observed to provide
important ideas to business and also contributes to the formation of capital. However, in recent
years, SOEs have been observed to be performing weak, with an increasingly deteriorating
financial state.
Success factors
Managers must not see IMS as another thing to be done in an organisation, they must
view it as a new way of conducting business. Eskom, for an example, has many
implemented many systems but they are still underperforming with consistent
loadshedding. Management of Eskom does not have the authority to make decisions
as they also have managers that are Politically affiliated who run an organisation
based on how they can profit form it. It is therefore important for SOEs breakaway
form political influence so that the decisions taken by management is of the interest
of the organisation and not political parties. When management does not have
quality orientated objectives, even when they implement quality systems, they will
not succeed due to their misguided decision.
The public health sector in South Africa is always in the news due to medical practice
related complains. Majority of these is caused by lack of resources in the sector.
Although the sector has many quality standards that they need to comply with, they
are still under resourced, and this affects their operation. The sector does not have
enough people to perform work, not enough equipment to do work, and not enough
infrastructure to perform the work. These all can have a significant impact on the
successful implementation of IMS.
• Focus on stakeholders: To ensure the sustainability of the business, stakeholders
must be taken care of. Stakeholders include anyone with an interest in an
organisation, such as customers, suppliers, even the community at large.
The performance of SOEs in South Africa is not interested in giving excellent services
to stakeholders, however, they are interested in satisfying politicians and the
politically affiliated. These organisations are consistently being bailed out by
government, despite huge budgets that they have. When an organisation is quality
driven, all its activities are towards providing excellent service to its customers. An
integrated system, therefore, could assist on the direction of the organisation and
on how they perform daily activities.
SOEs that seek to implement IMS must ensure that employees have enough
knowledge on how to implement the system. The training and development of staff
must be prioritised so that they know what to do. Clause 7.2 of ISO 9001:2015
requires that organisations must ensure that people have the right skill when doing
work. Different standards as sell also promotes for the training and development of
employees. An IMS can help to achieve this as it will assist organisations to meet
different standards.
• Measuring of performance: Companies must have a way to see how far they have
come and what improvements are needed to realise the objective.
Auditing could be a tool that can be used by SOEs to see how far they have come.
Institutions can be able to make better informed decisions based on the outcome of
the audit.
References
Einhorn, S., Fietz, B., Guenther, T.W. and Guenther, E., 2023. The relationship of
organizational culture with management control systems and environmental management
control systems. Review of Managerial Science, pp.1-51.
Gallagher, B. (2019). Why Organizational Readiness Assessments are Important. [online] I.S.
Partners. Available at: https://www.ispartnersllc.com/blog/why-organizational-readiness-
assessments-are-important/.
Stanciu, A.C., Condrea, E. and Zamfir, C., 2016. The importance of communication in quality
management. Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, 16(2), pp.393-396.