Quality not Important for British Companies
Survey reveals 42% of UK firms ignore quality management issues
Only 58% of British companies operate any type of quality management system according to research released today by the Institute of Quality Assurance (IQA). The smallest (1m - 5m turnover) and largest organisations (20m+ turnover) fare best with over 60% penetration, whereas only 36% of medium sized companies adhere to any systems.
Quality is not an issue high up on the boardroom agenda in large organisations. Senior executives in larger organisations were particularly likely to be ignorant of the systems that they do use with over one third having no idea until prompted. ISO 9000 was the most popular system at 30%, closely followed by bespoke in-house systems.
Of those firms who do operate a quality management system, production is the department with the most stringent standards. Nearly half of all HR and Marketing departments have no formal quality system in place*. Very encouragingly, 78% of respondents who have invested in a quality management system feel that their quality objectives are well on the way to being met.
Frank Steer, Director General of the Institute of Quality Assurance, comments: "British companies have still failed to grasp the importance of quality management and we are extremely concerned at the number of UK organisations which operate no defined system at all. High standards of quality are the driving force behind competitiveness, so quality needs to be an integral part of an organisation's culture and led from the top. We are particularly concerned that senior respondents are not aware of the systems that they do operate. We are hoping that the forthcoming Q2002 World Quality Congress will go some way in raising awareness amongst senior management."
Q2002, the World Quality Congress, takes place in Harrogate 29th September - 2nd October. Hosted by the IQA on behalf of the European Organization for Quality, major speakers at the event include Lord Sainsbury, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Science, Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer, Alan Jones, Group Managing Director TNT Express and Roger Cliffe, Director of Quality for Lloyds TSB.
There will also be presentations from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, World Health Organisation, Business in the Community, Nottingham Trent University, Cranfield University, British Gas, Rolls Royce, Yell and other prominent international business and industry figures. The event is sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry as part of the Fit for the Future campaign and BSI.
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Notes to Editors
The research was undertaken on behalf of the Institute for Quality Assurance by Continental Research. The sample consisted of 200 interviews with Managing Directors, Financial Directors and other senior managers of businesses with an annual turnover of between £1 million and £100 million. Quotas were applied by turnover, region and industry type. Weighting was applied by turnover, region and industry type to make the sample representative of the 135,000 companies with a turnover of £1m to £100m as estimated by the DTI.
*where such departments exist within these organisations
For further information, please contact Louise Daniels, Tony Bloomer or Charlotte Sandy at Corixa Communications 0117 9493394 email charlotte.sandy@corixa.co.uk
Date of issue: 10 September 2002