Guyanese-born Quality Auditor Owen Ramsay has stated in a paper prepared for Stabroek Business that despite the support of various international agencies most companies in Guyana that participate in ISO 9001 standards enhancement programmes “are not operating close to or at world class levels.”
Ramsay, who is also a Quality Assurance Manager, has attributed the slow or failed pace of the ISO 9001 implementation process in some organizations in Guyana to challenges the entities face in seeking to overcome organizational resistance to change.
Despite support from the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), the European Union (EU) and the Caribbean Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC) among others, Ramsay said, top management in local companies say there is still resistance to change. This has been identified as existing at mid and lower level management to mid-level and lower-level. In addition, “intransigent union/management relationships,” unqualified staff and lack of funds for investment in improvement activities are among the principal reasons for the lack of success in the implementation of the ISO 9001 standard. However, Ramsay said that in his own experience resistance to change is more commonly associated with, among other things, “a failure by top management to encourage staff to recognize the need and the gains that could be made by changing.” Ramsay said some local management cultures are stuck in a mode of operation associated with a reasoning which says “the way we have always done things has proven OK, so why change it?”According to Ramsay top management frequently displays a lack of will to implement training programmes that can result in the learning of new skills and thinking that supports behavioural change.
ISO 9000 is a family of standards that relate to quality management systems and is designed to help organizations meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders. The standards are published by the International Organization for Standards and are available through the various national standards bodies. The family of standards deals with the fundamentals of quality management systems, including the core management principles on which the family of standards is based. ISO 9001 deals with the requirements that organisations wishing to meet the standard have to fulfil.
Third party certification bodies provide independent confirmation that organizations meet the requirements of ISO 9001. Over a million organizations worldwide are independently certified, making ISO 9001 one of the most widely used management tools in the world today
In his article Ramsay writes that managerial resistance to change often overlooks the operational impact on higher production costs and prices and consequent profitability. By not putting these factors into the buy-in process, the need to overcome the ubiquitous resistance to change phenomenon, in the eyes of the yet to be converted, is not justified. Top management becomes frustrated and takes comfort in the familiar refrain “they’re not ready as yet for what’s being offered” Ramsay said.
And according to Ramsay, business expansion that seeks to capitalize on the opportunities by the Caribbean Single Market (CSM) must “plan for continuous external pressures from customers who want more for less, shareholders who demand greater returns, competitors who continuously raise the bar and governments that continually add rules that have to be abided by. These pressures can be dealt with only if resistance to change is overcome.”
Ramsay cited three local companies—the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, (GGMC) the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and Demerara Distillers Ltd—as having realized successful ISO 9001 programmes on account of having leaders that are committed to driving change, possess a clear strategic direction, have an organised implementation plan that involves everyone and embrace training as an essential tool for organizational improvement. These companies, Ramsay added operate on the basis of managed processes that keep teams focused on projects that are critical to the success of the organisation while providing meaningful rewards that serve to maintain the momentum of the process. Ramsay said this approach to management “reflects the values and philosophies of the corporate culture and defines acceptable and unacceptable organizational treatment within an organisation, the managerial style that is perceived as most desirable, and the way work gets done. In short, it reflects what is and what is not considered important by the organisation,” Ramsay added.
