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Article
ISO 9001 as a Tool for Supporting Strategic Advantages
Wieslaw Urban
ABSTRACT. ISO 9001 is perceived as a kind of basis for TQM, but on the other hand it is criticised because of bureaucracy, bringing too few benefits and so on. This study tries to shed more light on the issue of the benefits that the Quality Management System (QMS) might bring, especially strategic ones. Thus, the aim of the study is to answer the question: How might QMS support strategic advantages more intensively? A qualitative methodology is employed because of the intention of in-depth penetration of QMS. The research demonstrates that QMS has the potential to bring significant benefits to an organization. However, these benefits do not happen “automatically”; they require appropriate utilisation of the ISO 9001 standard, as well as the effort and motivation of managers. QMS is a kind of framework for achieving a variety of strategically important results, namely profit growth, income growth, customer loyalty and organization image.
KEYWORDS: QMS, ISO 9001, quality system effectiveness, strategic benefits.
JEL classification: L15, L21.