Impact of ISO 9000 certification on quality management practices among SMEs in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

The study has been carried out on impact of implementing ISO standards on SMEs to seek general evaluation of its benefits. The purpose of this paper is to outline the benefits of ISO implementation on South African small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The SME sector is the backbone of developed economies, which is regarded as the engine of growth for economies all over the world. For developing countries, SMEs often offer the only realistic prospects for increases in employment since they employ the largest percentage of the workforce population. With the trend towards global market orientation and trade liberalisation, SMEs are moving towards implementing quality systems. The empirical study aims to explore current implementation of quality management tools and advanced improvement techniques in the Western Cape SMEs, in order to understand what factors impact on how quality control is managed. Two main categories are analysed, namely tangible and intangible. This study will assist other SMEs in developing countries on ISO 9000 implementation. This study is restricted to small and medium-sized companies in South Africa implementing ISO system and other quality tools or techniques. Data collection of this study is done based on a combination of survey questionnaires and interviews with managers, supervisors and general staff.