Implementing QMS In Lebanon Ø Rima Charbaji Finance

Implementing QMS In Lebanon Ø Rima Charbaji Finance Coordinator Chelder S. A. L Off. Shore Ø Ø Beirut Lebanon Ø r. charbaji@chelder. com

This study investigates Quality Management System implementation in different organizations in Lebanon

ISO 9000 that was originally put in 1987 set up QMS requirements. Since it was originated in 1987 Having ISO 9000 helped organizations to expand locally and internationally and to demonstrate to customers that the firm is committed to quality

Reformation of ISO 9000 into other structures was intended to make the documents easier to use

Ø The last version Includes these sections: 1. Quality Management System 2. Management Responsibility 3. Resource Management 4. Product Realization 5. Measurement Analysis and Improvement

QMS Is the company’s wide effort (Culture) which involves everyone in the organization in order to improve performance

The task and duty of QMS lies with senior managers who have to be involved from the beginning of the process

Since there a broad variety of quality publications and software tools designed to help firms understand, implement and become registered to a quality management system, then it is imperative for a firm to choose a 3 rd party as the accredited registrar who comes and assesses and issue a certificate if the firm meets the requirements of the standard.

Now what about the suitability of these standards To different countries ?

Suitability of ISO to Developing Economies Newly Industrialized Nations Developing Countries & SME in Lebanon

Lebanese firms had many questions than answer about Quality Three Types of Lebanese Firms: 1. Adopted QMS & Trained Staff 2. Didn’t Adopt because they are not sure if they benefit 3. found themselves having the certificate without being prepared

Ø What motivate organizations to register for ISO and seek official documents? 1. Intrinsic Motives 2. Extrensic Motives

Djebarni and Eltigani concluded that implementing QM led to better productivity (1996). Sterman et al. Believe that TQM in the long run can increase productivity and lower costs (1997)

Ahire and Rana believe that TQM requires some years before achieving the desired results (1995) & Burati et al. believe that companies which have been implementing TQM for more than five years made a lot of saving (1991).

Tang and Kam (1999) Motives for Seeking ISO 9001 1. To improve the firm's quality image 2. To improve the firm's efficiency and management 3. To improve the firm's internal and external communication 4. To reduce insurance risk

Tang and Kam (1999) motives (Continued) 5. To resolve the quality problem 6. To meet the internal policy requirement from the parent company 7. It is mandate from government 8. ISO 9001 is a start for total quality management (TQM)

The Malcom Bridge National Award

In September 1996 ISO published the first of ISO 14001 That specify the requirements for Environmentally Management Systems EMS

Motives for implementing ISO 14000 1. Place product under “green consumer markets” 2. Enhance relationship with environmentally conscious investors and consumers 3. Because of possible trade restrictions

Need for the Study Despite the growing interest in quality-management system (QMS), little if non empirical investigations exist on the experience of the Lebanese firms

Purpose of the study The purpose of this study is to determine what are the factors that will be affected by the implementation of a quality system in the company.

Statement of Research Problem What is the effect of the duration of QMS implementation in organizations on: 1. Organizational objectives 2. Internal and external communication 3. Authority 4. Error identification 5. Customer perception and corporate image 6. Quality 7. ROI.

Research Hypotheses This research will help in testing the following research hypotheses: a) The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the more aware employees towards organizational goals b) The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the better the internal communication within the company c) The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the better the external communication with suppliers

Research Hypotheses (Continued) Ød) The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the clearer are each individual‘s responsibilities Øe) The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the easier it is for company to identify errors at early stages Øf) The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the more positive is the customer’s perception towards company’s image

Research Hypotheses (Continued g) The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the more standardized is the quality of its products &/or services Ø h) The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the easier it is for it to measure performance Ø i) The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the higher are its profits Ø j) The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the higher the organization’s satisfaction. Ø

Population of the Study The target population consists of the companies implementing QMS in Lebanon. A list of these companies can be found on the internet at www. QMI. com

Sample Selection The sample selected is not representative of the population. It is comprised of 45 companies that the researcher was able to contact and get valid response

Sample size is less than 50 companies due to the following limitations: 1. Limited number of companies implementing QMS in Lebanon. 2. Few companies in Lebanon have quality departments with proper records about QMS history.

Variables The following variables are believed to be affected by the number of years QMS had been implemented: 1. “Awareness” refers to employees’ conscience 2. of organizational objectives. 3. 2. “Internal communication” refers to correspondence between individuals within / inside the organization. 3. “External communication” refers to correspondence between the organization and its suppliers.

Variables (Continued) 4. “Authority” refers to individual responsibilities 5. “Error identification” refers 6. to mistakes and problems being recognized 6. “Customer’s perception” is the way customers view the company) 7. “Standardized quality” means that the output is always the same 8. “Constant Indicators” are quantitative figures to measure performance 9. “ROI” refers to the company’s profits

Instrumentation (Questionnaire) A questionnaire was designed for the purpose of data collection. the questionnaire consisted of ten questions related to the company and the QMS implementation

DATA Descriptive ANALYSIS

Major Characteristics of the Selected Sample

Almost one fourth of firms provide service such as hospitals, one third provides products such as machinery and the rest provide both such as banks. TABLE. 1 1: Type of the Company Type Frequency Percentage Product 16 35. 6 Service 12 26. 7 Both 17 37. 8 Total 45 100. 0

20 Out of 45 firms (44. 4 %) had been in the market for more than 16 years. Most of them 86. 7% had been in the market for more than 5 years. TABLE. 2 Years of Establishment Number of Years Frequency Percentage 5 years or less 6 13. 3 6 – 10 years 12 26. 7 11 – 15 years 7 15. 6 16 years or more 20 44. 4 Total 45 100. 0

Firms in Lebanon as a developing country are small and Medium enterprises. Almost half of the firms have less than 100 employees TABLE. 3 Number of Employees Frequency Percentage 0 – 20 1 2. 2 21 – 50 3 6. 7 51 – 75 8 17. 8 76 – 100 9 20. 0 101 or more 24 53. 3 Total 45 100. 0

Most of the firms (two thirds) have been implementing QMS for 4 years or less TABLE. 4 Number of years in implementing QMS Number of Years Frequency Percentage 2 or less 11 24. 4 3– 4 19 42. 2 5 or more 15 33. 3 Total 45 100. 0

Two thirds of the firms agree and strongly agree that Implementing QMS raised employees’ awareness towards organizational objectives TABLE. 5

More than 90 percent of the firms agree and strongly agree that Implementing QMS Improved communication between different departments and functions TABLE. 6

Almost half of the firms agree and strongly agree that Implementing QMS Enhanced relationships between the organization and its suppliers TABLE. 7

Almost 87% of the firms agree and strongly agree that Implementing QMS Clearly defined each member’s responsibilities within the organizational structure TABLE. 8

Again, almost 80% of the firms agree and strongly agree that Implementing QMS Helped identify errors at their earliest stage TABLE. 9

More than 90% of the firms agree and strongly agree that Implementing QMS had a major impact on customers’ perception towards the company’s image TABLE. 10

More than 90% of the firms agree and strongly agree that Implementing QMS Standardized the quality of our products &/or services TABLE. 11

Two thirds (66. 7 %) of the firms agree and strongly agree that Implementing QMS Set indicators to measure performance TABLE. 12

Two thirds (64. 4 %) of the firms agree and strongly agree that Implementing QMS Substantially increased the organization’s profits TABLE. 13

75. 6 percent of the firms agree and strongly agree that they are satisfied with Implementing QMS and would advise other companies to implement QMS TABLE. 14

Testing Research Hypotheses

Chi Square test shows that: The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the better the external communication with suppliers

Chi Square test shows that: The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the clearer are each individual‘s responsibilities

Chi Square test shows that: The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the easier it is for it to set indicators to measure performance

Chi Square test shows that: The longer the organization has implemented QMS, the higher the organization’s satisfaction.

Conclusion This research tried to fulfill an identified information need and to offer practical help to companies starting out the implementation of TQM and ISO in Lebanon

Ø It became evident in this research that implementing QMS will help organizations to make individual’s responsibility clearer and it had a major positive impact on the company's satisfaction in addition to its external communication with suppliers and the ability to set indicators to measure performance

Thank you

ISO is superior to TQM Deming’s 14 point Greatest Company

Definition of QMS Getting Registered