Replying to LO14354
>Is ISO 9000 the answer to the learning organisation?
>The information that I have recevied about it is that it might be good for
>making bad companies better and satisfying bureaucracies, but it leads to
>preoccupation with paperwork, is costly, and possibly inhibits
>innovation.
All of the drawbacks Gary mentions can exist if a company looks at ISO
9000 certification as an end rather than a means to an end. ISO 9000 and
learning organizations are compatible for two reasons. First, ISO
requires an organization to document its processes. It is much easier to
communicate current and desired states of a process if the current state
has been documented. I think that this greatly enhances our ability to
suspend assumptions about what we're doing.
Second, ISO requires a corrective action process to be in place. While an
organization could get tied up in the paperwork, a good corrective action
system leads to continuously learning from our weaknesses.
ISO provides a good framework for a quality system, which can in turn
support a learning organization. It is not <bold>the</bold> answer to the
learning organization but, when properly applied, will definitely enhance
a company's learning.
Jay Spitulnik
AED, Inc.
600 Unicorn Park Drive
Woburn, MA 01801
617-932-9090 (phone)
617-932-9077 (fax)
jspitulnik@aedinc.com
--Jay Spitulnik <jspitulnik@aedinc.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>