Implementation of quality management in organisations operating in the Sultanate of Oman: ISO 9001:2000 vs. non-ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations

This paper reports the findings of a survey exploring the implementation of four aspects of quality management (QM): tools, measurements and documentation in organisations operating in the Sultanate of Oman. Data for this study were collected from 57 ISO 9001:2000 (ISO, International Organization for Standardization) and non-ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations in both manufacturing and service sectors. The findings revealed that Omani organisations have a high usage of the best practices, tools and techniques of QM, have a high degree of documentation and have performed well in comparison to their competitors. The survey results showed that there are significant differences between ISO 9001:2000 and non-ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations in all the four aspects of QM. ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations have a high degree of usage of QM in all the four important aspects as compared to non-ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations. However, in terms of perceived performance, it was found that there were no statistically significant differences between the ISO 9001:2000 certified and non-ISO 9001:2000 certified organisations.